It had been a few minutes since the princesses were told they were to be queens. The whole affair was so confusing and to some them, frustrating. The parents suggested among each other that they talk to the princesses, but after a while, they decided that the best thing for them to do would be to walk the whole off, give them some time with each other to talk things out.

And the princesses did just that. In the castle courtyard, all 11 of the princesses walked together and were in deep thought and conversation.

"Girls, maybe we should not have walked out like that," Aurora said.

"Are you kidding?!" Jasmine protested. "I'm not gonna have those two tell me what to do!"

"Me neither!" said Merida. "I mean who do those two think they are."

"Hey! They're my parents!" said Rapunzel.

"Well I'm sorry that your 'parents' are trying to run our lives!" said Merida.

"They're not trying to run anyone's lives!" Rapunzel said in retaliation..

"Oh really?! And what do you call what just happened back there?!" Merida said.

"Well, it does seem like a great opportunity," said Cinderella.

"Oh for what? For our lives to be run for us?!" Jasmine protested. "I will not go through this again! I will not!"

"I understand how you feel, but you have think about this, we've been given a great responsibility that we can't just ignore," Cinderella said.

"Yeah, Jas!" Tiana said in agreement. "I'm skeptical about this too, but we should at least give this some thought."

Jasmine placed her eyes to the ground. She didn't make eye contact with Tiana, but Tiana could tell she was thinking.

"Well responsibility or not, I'm not being a queen!" Merida protested.

Pocahontas walked over to Merida. "Having the burden of the world on your shoulders is always something that is not dealt with easily," she said. She focused her attention on Merida and then directed it to the other princesses. "But the important thing is strength."

"Like Merida's dad?" asked Snow White. "He seemed like a very strong man."

No, no," Pocahontas said with a chuckle. "I mean we must be emotionally strong."

"But what if we can't do this? What if we completely mess up?" Mulan said.

"There is always a chance we might, but whatever we decided to do, we must make sure it is what our hearts truly want," Pocahontas said.

Mulan nodded in agreement.

Ariel, who at first had protested against the idea, stroked her finger across her chin in deep thought as the thought of her daughter, Melody came into her mind. She then turned to the other princesses. "Actually, I'm started to consider this too," she said.

"What?!" Jasmine and Merida said in shock and disbelief.

"Well it's just...I have a family to think about and I have a daughter who needs to be provided with everything she could possibly need and well the more I think about it, the more I think being a queen would do just that," Ariel said.

"Well I'm not even thinking about marriage, let alone being a queen or about my family!" Merida said.

"Don't be so selfish, Merida," Belle said, stepping in. "Ariel's just thinking about her daughter and her family."

"I'm not being selfish!" Merida snapped. "And I didn't ask for your opinion!"

"I'm just saying you should consider Ariel's feelings!" Belle said in retaliation.

Now tension was starting to build between the princesses. It was obvious that this news was taking it emotional toll on them. Just then, Snow White stepped in to attempt to quell the arguing.

"Wait girls, maybe we should all calm down," Snow White said.

"And what about you, Snowy, whose side are you on?" asked Merida.

"Well I...I..." Snow White said, not knowing what to say or think.

"Leave Snow White alone!" said Belle.

"I was just asking her a question!" Merida said to Belle.

The argument was now reaching its peak. The whole thing was making Snow White feel uneasy. Just then, the princesses all heard the sounds of excited burring.

"That sounds like horses," Cinderella said.

"Maximus!" said Rapunzel.

"Khan!" said Mulan.

"Angus?" said Merida.

With that, Rapunzel, Merida and Mulan rushed over to the royal horse stables.

From Maleficent's castle, she and the other villains watched with malicious intent at the princesses from her crystal ball.

"So why exactly have you brought us here?" asked Mother Gothel.

"I have brought you all here to form...an alliance. An alliance where we shall become the supreme rulers of all the kingdoms!" Maleficent said.

"Why should we listen to you?" asked Shan Yu before Maleficent slowly walked over to him.

"Well I know for a fact that most, if not all of you individually have had more than your share of bad luck in your pursuits...I know I have!" Maleficent said as showed images of the villains' respective failed attempts. "But, with our combined efforts, we can stand tall and take what is ours."

"Yes..." said Jafar, licking his chops. "I like the sound of that."

"Will there be riches involved?" asked Ratcliff.

"Oh yes," Maleficent said. "As much gold and jewels as your heart desires. Do we have an agreement?"

Some of the villains seemed to like the idea, however, Dr. Facilier had some second thoughts. "Hold up just one second," he said. "The last time I made a deal like this, I ended up in the Underworld and let me tell you, that Hades is a real hot head. That guy makes a fire-breathing dragon look like a popsicle."

"Ah yes, Dr. Facilier," Maleficent said as she slowly paced around Facilier. "You have a history of making deals with the wrong kind of people, such as selling your soul."

"Yeah, what's your point?" said Facilier.

"What if I could make it so you control the shadows instead of them controlling you?" Maleficent said.

"What?" Facilier said in confusion.

With a wave of her septor, Maleficent cast a spell on Facilier, engulfing him in green smoke.

"What did you do to me?" Facilier asked.

"I have given you a special power," Maleficent answered. "Wave you cane."

Facilier gave his cane a wave and instantly, a shadow creature appeared. Facilier now had the power to summon shadow creatures at will. Of course, he could do it before, but this time, he didn't need help from his 'friends' on the other side. The Shadow Man was amazed at this newly found power.

Maleficent then turned to the other villains. "You see, if you decide to join me, I can give you power beyond your wildest dreams and no one will be able to stop us! We will rise and create a new empire where we will be its soul rulers!"

The other villains looked at each other and gave a sinister smile with the exception of Mother Gothel who secretly had a look of indifference, but made sure the other villains didn't see it.

"I relish the chance to get even with that street rat and his little street mouse," said Jafar.

"Those poor souls won't know what hit them," said Ursula.

"Sounds good to me," said Shan Yu.

The other villains were in agreement. Gothel was reluctant at first, but she joined in too.

So now, the greatest villains in the world had joined together to form an unholy alliance. Now the world would have to prepare for this cavalcade of villainy. A group that Maleficent declared from this day forward would be known as, The Evil Empire.

Mulan, Merida and Rapunzel were tending to their horses in the stables. Khan, Maximus, and Angus were having a bit of trouble getting along, so the three princesses had to calm them down. They each took a bucket of water and some sponges and gave their respective horses a scrub.

"Your horse is nice and very handsome," Mulan said to Rapunzel which made Maximus blush and Khan a little jealous. "You met him when you were traveling with Flynn, right?"

"Yep, he's just a big softie, aren't you, you little baby you," Rapunzel said as she rubbed her nose against Maximus.'

Merida cringed in somewhat disgust and then proceeded to mock Rapunzel. "Aren't you, you little baby you? Mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah! Hahaha!" she said. "Really, Punzie, could you be more of a pansy."

"Uh...it's called being nice," Rapunzel said.

"Well you shouldn't be so sensitive," Merida said, mocking Rapunzel again.

"Well maybe you invest in a little something called a brush," Rapunzel said, pointing to Merida's hair.

"I will when you invest in something called clippers, Ms. Long Hair," said Merida.

"Frizzy head!" said Rapunzel.

"Well at least my hair isn't so long, you could land an airplane on it!" said Merida.

"Oh yeah?! I can't help but wonder what little things you keep stored in that giant red pantry on your head!" said Rapunzel.

Mulan just chuckled as Merida and Rapunzel continued arguing. "The way two argue, it's like your sisters," she said.

"What?! No we're not!" Merida and Rapunzel said.

"Having three brothers is enough, I don't need a sister," said Merida.

"Me either, especially one so headstrong as her," Rapunzel said. In retaliation, Merida threw a wet sponge at Rapunzel's face. "Oh so that's the way you wanna play it huh?"

Rapunzel responded with a wet sponge to Merida's face.

Mulan laughed as Merida and Rapunzel were having their wet sponge fight, that is until Rapunzel threw one and Merida ducked and the sponge hit her in the face. Now Mulan joined in. Kahn, Maximus, and Angus looked on confused as the three threw sponges at each other.

Meanwhile, Jasmine and Pocahontas decided to take a walk along the river outside the castle walls. The two were still contemplating the responsibilities of being queens.

As they walked, Jasmine turned to Pocahontas. "Pocahontas, have you ever had any responsibilities? Have you ever felt like the weight of the world is on your shoulders?" she asked.

In response to Jasmine's question, Pocahontas looked to her mother's necklace. She thought about the time she was asked for her hand in marriage by Kocoum and the time she went to England to negotiate peace with King James. "Yes...I do," she said.

"How do you handle it?" she asked.

"Life is full of responsibilities," Pocahontas answered. "But sometimes you have to learn to deal with them and face them."

"But I didn't ask for this," said Jasmine.

"No one ever asks for these things, they just happen," said Pocahontas.

After a bit of walking, the two decided to stop and sit down. Jasmine took her shoes off and soaked her feet in the river. Pocahontas didn't need to since she was already barefoot. The cool, soothing flow of the river almost tickled their feet and at the moment, things felt peaceful. The gentle wind blew through their hair and the warm sun relaxed them. For a while, it seemed like all the stress they had felt before was gone. Looking up at the bright sun, which had almost blinded her, Jasmine let out a small chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Pocahontas asked.

"Well...it's just...I was think of when I ran away from the castle and met Aladdin," she said. "He was something when I first met him, cocky, full of himself, a real charmer...matter of fact, he's still like that now."

Pocahontas laughed. "That's how my first love was," she said.

"John Smith?" asked Jasmine.

Pocahontas nodded. "He was so pig-headed, brash, sometimes arrogant...matter of a fact..." she said.

Jasmine joined her in finishing the sentence. "He's still like that now!" the two said with a laugh.

"It just seemed like he was the one, but overtime, we just grew apart," said Pocahontas.

"Love is so complicated, isn't it?" Jasmine said. "But just wait until we become parents!"

"Oh! Shudder the thought!" Pocahontas said with a shudder. "You think Ariel could give us some advice?"

"Maybe, but something tells she me was a bit too busy screaming at the top of her lungs to pay attention!" Jasmine said.

The two princesses just laughed and laughed as they continued their conversation.

Cinderella and Snow White were in the castle gardens. Snow White instantly fell in love with the wide assortment of roses, daffodils, lilies, and other flowers and went over to smell them.

"These flowers are so lovely," said Snow White.

Just then, Snow White noticed what looked to be the largest rose she had ever seen and went over to touch it. As she inched her hands towards it, Cinderella noticed a large row of thorns underneath the rose.

"Snow White, wait!" Cinderella shouted.

But it was too late. Snow pricked one of her finger on the rose's thorns, giving herself a small cut.

Cinderella could see the trickles of blood spilling from Snow White's finger and quickly walked her over to a lake near the garden. Snow White winced in pain as Cinderella dipped her finger in the lake to temporarily stop the blood. Cinderella then tore a piece of her dress and wrapped it around her finger. She made sure to tie it up tight.

"Thank you," said Snow White.

"You should be more careful," Cinderella said with a gentle scorn.

"I'm sorry," Snow White said, feeling guilty that Cinderella had to give up a piece of her dress for her.

Cinderella looked up at Snow's guilty face and placed her hand on her cheek. "It's ok," she said with a smile.

The two decided to take a seat on a stone bench next to the lake.

As far as the notion of becoming queens was concerned, Snow White and Cinderella were vastly indifferent on the subject. Cinderella understood the responsibilities of being a queen. She had gone through the same problems on her first day as a princess. Before, she was a servant and in one day, she was a princess with servants of her own, duties, and commitments.

"Cinderella?" Snow White said.

"Yes?" Cinderella responded.

"I was just thinking...about all the people..." Snow White said meekly.

"The people?" Cinderella asked.

"The people of not just this kingdom, but the others," Snow White said. "The ones who we will be responsible for if we decided to become queens."

"I'm not sure all of us will," Cinderella said. "Jasmine and Merida aren't exactly thrilled with the idea. I'm not sure any of us will."

"Have you ever thought about becoming a queen?" Snow White asked.

Cinderella pondered for a moment. "Well...not exactly," she answered. "When I became a princess, I had to focus on that and to tell you the truth, there are still some things I've yet to learn. I'm not sure how I would be able to handle being a queen." Just then, Cinderella noticed that Snow White was in tears. "Snow White? What's wrong?"

"I hope this will not change us," Snow White said. "Our friendship means everything to me and I don't want us to fight."

Cinderella took Snow White's hand with one and wiped her tears off with another. "Snow White, I promise, no matter what happens, none of us will change," she said.

"You promise?" Snow White asked.

With her other hand, Cinderella took a yellow flower from a nearby bush and placed it in Snow White's hand. "I promise," she said.

Suddenly, Snow White felt self-assured and she and Cinderella shared a warm embrace for she knew that no matter what happened, her friends would always be there for her.

In the halls, Tiana was walking, doing some thinking, when she suddenly ran head first into Ariel who was also deep in thought.

"Oh, hi Tiana," said Ariel.

"Hey Ariel. Where you headed?" asked Tiana.

"Oh just doing some walking," Ariel answered.

"Yeah, me too," said Tiana.

"By the way, have you seen Belle?" asked Ariel.

"No, but I think I have a good idea where she is," said Tiana. Her guess was as good as gold as she and Ariel found Belle in the library, supposedly drowning her sorrows in books. "I knew we'd find you here."

"This was all I could think to do at a time like this," Belle said.

"Girl, I swear, you would marry a book if it proposed to you," Tiana said teasingly.

Ariel giggled a bit.

"Very funny," Belle said sarcastically, trying to hide a smile.

Belle had read her way through at least half a dozen books, because she felt it was the only thing she could do to try to get her mind off of the obvious.

Just then, Aurora walked in, also knowing that the library was where Belle was likely to be.

"Hi girls," Aurora said meekly.

Belle, Tiana and Ariel saw how down Aurora was and Belle could instantly tell what was up.

"Thinking about the whole queen thing, huh?" Belle asked to Aurora who nodded. "Me too."

"I know it seems like something that just came out of nowhere, but maybe we should do it," Tiana suggested.

"Well, I'm not sure," said Belle.

"I'm weary about this too, but like I said before, I do have a child to think about and this would probably be the best thing for her," said Ariel.

"Well I don't think we should do it," said Belle. "I just seems like they're trying to tell us what to do."

"I don't think they're telling us what to do, I think they're trying to do what is best for us," said Tiana.

"Maybe, but I still don't agree with it," said Belle.

Ariel, Belle, and Tiana were at their wits end. This situation was leaving the princesses on many sides of the fence.

Ariel turned to Aurora. "What do you think, Aurora?" she asked her.

Truthfully, Aurora had done her best to avoid the subject. She herself knew all too well about a situation like this.

"Well?" Tiana said.

Aurora tried to hold herself back, but ultimately, she finally expressed herself. "Well if we decided to become queens, then we need to make sure it's something we really want to do and if we do it, we should be ready to take on the responsibilities that are presented in front of us. When I found out I was a princess, truth be told, I didn't react to it well, but nevertheless, I did go through with it and in time, I became a good princess."

"I know what you mean," Ariel said. "Even though, I was the youngest of seven siblings, my father held me in the highest regard. He was always trying to protect me, look out for me, because he knew one day, I would become a great princess. I never thought much about it. Then, when I married Eric and had Melody, everything changed. It seemed that I needed to be more responsible. In a way, I was becoming like my father."

"At least you still have your father," said Tiana. "My father always dreamed of havin' his own restaurant. But he died when I was in my preteens and never got to see his dream realized. But I remember he always told me to never lose sight of what was really important. So when I became a princess and finally got my restaurant, I felt like I had finally made my daddy's dream come true, but I always remembered what was really important, my friends and my family."

At that moment, something snapped in Tiana. The memory of her father's words and lessons had made her remember indeed what was really important.

"Guys, I'm sorry," Tiana said. "I just thought that being queens would be the best thing for us, but if you guys don't wanna do it, it's ok. I won't do it either."

Belle approached Tiana and put a hand to her shoulder. "It's alright, " she said. "The way you feel about your father, is the same way I feel about my mother. She and I were very close. When I was a little girl, she gave me my first book. And I grew to love books, and now whenever I read, It's not just out of my love of reading, sometimes when I pick up a book, it reminds me of my mother. And as for being a queen, well...I'm not entirely sure. I haven't done a lot as a princess, so I wouldn't know what to do as a queen."

Tiana, Ariel and Aurora all nodded in agreement.

"Neither would I," said Tiana.

"Or me," said Ariel.

"But if we do decide to be queens, at least we won't be asleep for half the time like some people," Tiana said, pointing to Aurora.

Belle and Ariel laughed and Aurora couldn't help but giggle herself.

Feeling in a more positive mood, the princesses continued to chat while taking the time to read some books together.

In the royal throne room, Elinor and Fergus were discussing the issue with York and Tera. Rapunzel's parents had now felt guilty about the whole affair. After all, they didn't mean to cause any trouble

"We feel just awful about this," said Queen Tera.

"Don't fault yourselves," said Queen Elinor. "This was just...big news to the girls."

"Yeah, our little Merida reacted the same way when Elina here told her she was gonna be married," said Fergus.

Elinor and Fergus laughed along with King York and Queen Tera.

But Tera stopped laughing for a minute as she began to think about her daughter, Rapunzel. "Elinor, you are your daughter seem to get along very well," she said. "I been Rapunzel's daughter for a couple of years now and things seem fine, except sometimes it seems me and her are so...so..."

"Different?" Elinor asked.

"Yes," said Tera. "There are sometimes some awkward moments between us. Even after all this time, it is like we don't know each other at all."

"I know how you feel," said Elinor. "Me and my daughter used to be the same way. Then one day, we discovered how much we meant to each other. I just realized that as a mother, I had to think about my daughter's feelings, not just my own. And the same thing goes for you and Rapunzel."

Elinor and Fergus gave a respectful bow before they left. Tera meanwhile thought about Elinor's words as well as York. It was true that they hadn't been Rapunzel's parents for too long a time. Even with two years behind, they couldn't tell what Rapunzel was thinking half the time. With that in mind, they began to think that this coronation was not the best thing. Their daughter plenty of time to be responsible, but for right now, they had to be parents. If they were to establish any kind of relationship with Rapunzel, they had to think of her first and themselves second. It was then and there that they finally resolved to cancel the coronation. And so they went off to find the princesses and tell them the news.