Shadgirl2: We've got another chapter ready to go.

Midna: It's shorter than usual, but it's the way it had to go. Next chapter will be longer again.

Shadgir2: There's an extra fairy tale in here, along with a reference to a Disney movie/novel. (Midna told me that, and she's a book worm, so I figure she knows what she's talking about.)

Midna: Yes, it is a novel! Never read it, though. Anyway, you already know what fairy tale it is if you know anything about Bridget and Gristle. But you get a cookie if you can figure out the book that Disney made into a movie that we referenced, too! It's very, very subtle.

Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls. The song mentioned here, "Free Together," is from TTBGO.

While Creek may have thought they should enjoy the time they had left, Branch found that impossible. For one, his life was anything but enjoyable to begin with. Knowing how it was going to end just made it even worse, especially since he couldn't come up with any other plans to save anybody. As more time passed, he just grew more and more miserable. Generally, he tried to pretend that he wasn't trapped and that everyone wasn't doomed, which was easier when Creek was around to give him some kind of distraction.

For his part, Creek tried not to mention Chef or openly discuss his relationship with Poppy too much as both of these subjects did nothing but upset Branch. Still, Creek did mention it sometimes. He couldn't help himself—he loved that girl. Besides, Chef was still a terrifying presence in his life. On the occasions where he mentioned either of these, Branch tended to get snippy now that they didn't have any kind of plan. The two argued more during the next few years, Branch being less concerned now about driving Creek off. There were some times when Creek wondered if he should stop visiting, but he was the one who triggered each of their arguments and the reason Branch was in that situation to begin with. Given that Branch's situation wasn't any better than his—and some would even argue that it was worse—Creek chose not to hold a grudge and to just be more careful what he said.

By the time he was 26, Branch couldn't take it anymore. There wasn't anything he could do to help anyone, Creek was too selfish to care, and a single traitor troll was the only company he ever had anymore. He was desperate for a way out.

On the 16th anniversary of his imprisonment, Branch stood alone in the tower early in the morning—around 4am, given that Creek had just left recently. He leaned on the windowsill, staring out at the world he couldn't reach.

"16 years. I've been stuck here for 16 years." He sighed, closing his eyes as he did. "Any day now, Creek's going to marry Poppy and become king of Troll Village. Then he'll betray them all to save his own skin because he's too big of a coward to fight back! And worst of all, there's nothing I can do about it! Agh!" He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "If I hadn't run away from home that night, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe I'd have figured out what Creek was up to without getting trapped in a tower! Then we could have helped him escape Chef and everyone would be safe!"

Branch opened his eyes again and stared out the window as hopelessness set in completely. He thought of the people back in Troll Village that he still cared about—people he'd treated horribly and who had deserved better from him. Biggie. Cooper. King Peppy. Even Poppy. None of them had any clue what was coming, and Poppy was falling for Creek's tricks as surely as Branch himself had.

"...They're all going to die. And who knows what's going to happen to me when they leave."

Before Branch could consider the idea of just taking himself out now so he wouldn't have to keep living with that knowledge, a shooting star lit up across the sky and reminded him of something his mother and grandmother had told him when he was just a little kid. They'd said that, if you wish on a shooting star, it would come true as long as you didn't tell anyone what you wished. Branch had believed them at the time, but he'd given up such childish dreams after they'd died.

"A shooting star..." he said. "Well, I don't really have anything to lose, I guess..."

Magic was real, and he was desperate. As far as he could tell, his only hope was more magic. He could only hope that this wasn't just superstition.

Branch closed his eyes and lowered his head, hands clasped in front of him, and silently wished, I wish there was some way out of this mess, for all of us!

He didn't want anything to happen to his friends or Peppy. He didn't want the villagers getting hurt. He didn't even want Creek to suffer the consequences, strange as it seemed. And he didn't want to be trapped here, alone.

The star vanished soon after. Unseen, it burst into a tiny speck of lavender as it faded.

Then reality smacked Branch upside his miserable head—shooting stars weren't anything magical, just rocks falling from space and burning up in the atmosphere. There wasn't any power there.

Branch groaned and flopped his head on the windowsill. "You're definitely desperate, Branch," he said to himself. "Now you're wishing on rocks in the sky!" He sighed and went to bed, feeling worse than ever before. And here he'd thought that wasn't possible.

Little did Branch know he wasn't the only one who saw that star. A few hours earlier, while Creek had been on his way to visit Branch for the night, Poppy was stargazing at a sleepover with her girlfriends. Around 1 in the morning, they were still up, staring at the stars. Well, most of them were, anyway.

"Ooh, look! A unicorn!" Chenille said, pointing up at a cluster of stars.

"Where?" Satin asked.

"Uh, where I'm pointing?" Chenille said with that tone that said she thought her sister was an idiot.

Satin looked, furrowing her brow, then said, "I think that looks more like a cupcake."

"What!? No, it doesn't! It's a unicorn!"

"Cupcake!"

"Unicorn!"

By this point, lying on the ground or not, the twins were in each other's faces, glaring, as they so often did when they disagreed.

"Ah, stargazing... Sure is a fun sleepover activity, ain't it?" Smidge asked Poppy, glancing over at her with a smile.

"Psh. I know," Poppy answered with a wave of her hand, looking relaxed as she grinned. "And it's especially good when you get to share it with all your friends! Look!" She pointed up at a lighter space that looked a bit like a river through space as the twins growled in each other's faces. "It's the Great Troll Reef! They say it's made up of real water!"

Satin and Chenille stopped fighting and looked. Both of them said, "Ooh," impressed.

"Whoa... It's amazing! Ain't it, DJ?" Smidge asked, looking to her other side with a smile now. Her eyes widened as she saw DJ Suki snoozing soundly in the grass there. She rolled over onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows as she got a better look, stunned at how quickly DJ had fallen asleep. She'd been wide awake just seconds ago. "Uh..."

That had to be the fastest nap attack yet—less than 30 seconds.

The twins caught sight of something then, and Satin pointed excitedly, crying, "A shooting star!"

Chenille started making a wish, and Satin immediately did, too.

Poppy looked at them in confusion. "Uh, what are you two doing?"

"Are you telling me you seriously don't know!?" Smidge asked in disbelief. "When you wish on a shooting star and don't tell anyone, your wish will be granted!" She then quickly started making a wish of her own, hoping to do so before the star was gone.

Poppy's eyes lit up excitedly just as the twins finished their wishes. "Really!?"

"Of course!" Chenille answered.

"You mean nobody ever told you?" Satin asked, surprised.

"You have to do it before it's gone, though."

Poppy gasped, her eyes widening as she sat up. She wanted to make a wish, but just as she was about to, the star vanished. Nobody noticed the unusual pink flash as it blinked out of existence, though.

"Phew! Close one!" Smidge said, glad she'd managed to make her wish before it was too late.

"What!? No fair, you guys! I didn't even know!" Poppy whined.

"Sorry, Poppy," Smidge said.

"We can't control shooting stars," Satin added.

"Maybe you'll catch the next one," Chenille reasoned.

Poppy sighed and lay back down. Aw, man! Now how will I get Creek to propose to me? Guess I'll just have to wait for the next one's all!

Poppy and Creek had been dating since she was 16. They loved each other so much that Poppy had been sure he'd ask her to marry him when she was old enough, but he'd made no move to do so when she turned 18. When asked if he'd want to marry her, he said he might "when the time was right." Now she was 20, and she'd be 21 in just another week. Still he hadn't proposed. She was starting to worry that he wasn't brave enough to commit to life as the king of the trolls. But, if anything could convince him it would be okay, a wish on a magical star would be it.

Smidge yawned, stretching. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat. Think I'll take DJ and go to bed now." Using her hair, she picked up the sleeping troll and carried her to their tent.

Satin and Chenille both yawned, too, and Chenille said, "Bed sounds like a good idea."

"Yeah," her twin agreed. "It is late."

"Yeah," Poppy said. "Uh, you guys go ahead! I'm gonna see if I can't catch another shooting star first!" She looked at the sky with determination.

"Okay, but you'll probably be waiting a long time, Poppy," Satin warned.

"Shooting stars aren't that common," Chenille added. "That's why you have to take advantage of them when you see them."

As the twins headed for the tent, Poppy laughed awkwardly. "Yeah! Thanks for being so supportive, you guys!" she called sarcastically. "Good night!"

"Good night, Poppy!" they called back.

"Yeah. Night." She turned her full attention toward the sky. "Okay! Time to wait for that wish-granting shooting star! Come on..."

She waited, excited.

…

Come 2 AM, she was still waiting. Her eyes were wide open, her pupils contracted, and an awkward grin on her face. Her excitement was turning to anxiety. Was there going to be another tonight?

"Eh, heheh... Any second now," she told herself, uncertain.

…

3 AM found her twiddling her thumbs, completely worked up about this. "One's on the way, I'm sure. Just another minute or two..." Her eyebrows twitched nervously as her doubts increased. But she wasn't giving up—she couldn't afford to.

…

By 4 AM, she was dozing, too tired to stay awake much longer. Feeling herself drifting off, she reached up and slapped herself. Now she was frustrated. "Gah!" she cried, sitting up. "Come on, already! What's a girl gotta do to get a wish granted around here!?"

She was just about to get up and head to bed herself when she saw it—another shooting star. Poppy gasped, eyes widening. "T-there it is!" She quickly bowed her head and wished, Oh, please, shooting star! I waited all night for you! Just give me this one chance to find true love and live happily ever after with him! Like all those fairy tale princesses in those stories my dad used to tell me!

She opened her eyes just in time to see the star vanish, but she didn't notice the lavender glow as it did. She sighed in relief. "Made it! Alright! One wedding to Creek, coming right up! I can't wait! Whoo-hoo!" She jumped up excitedly, pumping a fist in the air, then finally headed to the tent to get some sleep. Excited or not, she was exhausted.

A little over a month passed, and Poppy and her friends found themselves in Bergen Town as they prepared a party to celebrated 20 years of peace and friendship. They sang their usual song, "Free Together," as they prepared for the party between their two peoples. Each year, they switched who hosted, the trolls or the bergens. This year may have been the bergen's turn, but that didn't mean the trolls didn't want to help them get ready for it.

"Whoo-hoo! I can't believe it's been 20 years since Dad made peace with the bergens!" Poppy said as she helped Biggie and the bergen chef bake a cake for the event. Currently, she was using her hair to hold a spoon she used to mix some food coloring into some frosting and make it green. "This is gonna be the best party we've ever had!"

"Yes, it is! I'm so excited!" Biggie agreed. He looked at a little green and pink worm in his arms and asked, "Aren't you, Mr. Dinkles?"

Mr. Dinkles was Biggie's pet worm, who he'd gotten a couple of years ago. The two had been inseparable ever since, although the worm could be rude at times.

"Meep!" the worm said, looking somewhat excited.

"You must be hungry," Biggie said—the worm's response had been eager for cake but also somewhat more rude than usual. He didn't sound like he wanted to wait at all. "You're not you when you're hungry."

"Aw, no worries, Mr. D!" Poppy said, letting go of the spoon and walking over to the worm. She bent down to look at him better, hands on her knees.. "Soon you can have all the delicious treats you want!"

Mr. Dinkles grew more excited then. "Meep!"

The twins came running up then, looking frantic and crying, "Poppy! Poppy! We've got a problem!"

"Huh?" Poppy looked at them with curiosity as Biggie started decorating the side of the large cake with the newly mixed green frosting. "What's up?"

"Bridget, the scullery maid, doesn't have anything to wear to the party!" Satin cried.

"And there isn't a single scrap of decent fabric anywhere in this castle!"

"Ooh... That is a problem... Let's see now..." She put a finger to her chin, thinking. "Uh, why not ask King Gristle if he can take you shopping for materials? I'm sure he won't mind." Given their reasons for this, Poppy was sure that he'd actually love it.

Creek came down from the top of the cake then, a bug holding his hair and flying him down, some large star-shaped sprinkles with 8 points under his arm. "That's right, ladies. We all know how simply perfect those two's auras are together. But we won't be getting them together until the king sees in Bridget what she sees in him." He landed then, setting the unused sprinkles down as the bug flew off. "Now run along now and hop to it. The sooner that girl turns into a sure beauty, the better."

Poppy and Bridget had become friends when Poppy had been visiting Gristle one day. She'd seen the scullery maid lurking around a corner and, curious and a bit concerned, gone to investigate. The maid had been flustered at being called out for spying, and Poppy had picked up on the anxiety easily. When pressed about it, Bridget confessed that she had a crush on the king, although he didn't even know she existed. That was a few years ago. At that time, Poppy had promised to help her get a date with the king, but Bridget had insisted that it wasn't necessary. It had taken Poppy until now to convince Bridget to at least give her a chance to make this work. Since the Snack Pack were Poppy's friends, she'd asked them to help, and they'd happily agreed.

The twins ran off to see about having Gristle take them shopping. There was something slightly ironic about the fact that Gristle would be buying the materials that would be used to make an outfit which would be worn by a girl who would then be flirting with him.

"Well, I guess I'd better go get those streamers hung up in the throne room," Poppy said as she headed off, eager to make this party the best ever.

"Uh, yes," Creek said, suddenly nervous. "But, uh, before you do that, Poppet, may I speak to you in private?"

Poppy stopped and looked at him, curious. "Sure, Creek. What's up?"

Creek fidgeted, feeling a bit uncomfortable now. "Ah, yes. Well, i-it's just that...w-we've been t-together f-for quite s-some time, and—"

Before Creek could finish, Cooper bounced over excitedly, saying, "The firework display's all set and ready to go, Poppy!"

Both she and Creek jumped at the sudden announcement. Cooper's sudden appearance could have that effect, given that he usually popped up right between them and spoke very loudly. "Aah! Cooper!" both cried, Poppy turning to glare at him in annoyance and Creek staring at him with shock.

"What?" Cooper asked as he cocked his head, completely oblivious.

"Uh, well...I can see you're quite busy, so why not pick this up later?" Creek said to Poppy. "How's tonight down by the lagoon sound?"

"Sounds good to me. See you there, Creek."

"I look forward to it, love." He reached out and poked her in the nose lovingly. "Boop!"

Poppy smiled affectionately as he left. Then she turned to Cooper and said, "Okay. What was it you needed, Coop?"

As Creek walked away, he pulled a pink ring box out of his pocket and looked at it sadly.

Curious, Guy and Biggie approached him, Guy asking, "So how'd it go?"

"Well, it was going alright, I guess, but then Cooper showed up, and—"

Guy gasped. "Oh, don't tell me you did it again?"

This wasn't the first time Creek had tried to propose to Poppy. He knew he needed to, but he kept finding ways to avoid it, even though he really did want to. Most of his ways of avoiding it were interruptions like a sick troll, a plumbing emergency, or even Poppy's duties as princess (which he encouraged her to take care of immediately, emergency or not, when he tried to propose). He'd latch onto any he could, even though he'd quit both medical training and construction, if it meant he could delay the inevitable a little longer and prolong the good times. Still, the moment he did, he knew it would only be a matter of time before Chef had her way. Of course, neither Biggie nor Guy knew that—only one troll did besides Creek, and he wasn't here.

As the days went on, though, Chef was growing more impatient. Poppy would be crowned queen at the age of 22, so she was less than a year away from that. Chef's threats were growing more and more serious, but now Cooper was always getting in the way...along with Smidge, coming to get Poppy for urgent reasons, or the twins, or Fuzzbert... Pretty much all of the Snack Pack could be the interruption.

Biggie and Guy were getting the feeling that Creek was too shy to ask or something. No matter what, there always seemed to be something that stopped him from popping the question, usually Cooper, but he had been coming up with his own excuses, too.

"Oh, Creek, do you need us to make sure nobody disturbs you next time you try?" Biggie asked sympathetically.

"T-that's alright, gents," Creek said awkwardly. "Because I've just invited her to meet me tonight at the lagoon. I doubt anyone will disturb us out there."

He thought back to an unpleasant memory from just last night. He knew that Poppy was old enough that she'd be crowned queen soon, and Chef knew it, too. She'd been growing impatient with Creek lately since he should have proposed to her by now. There was only so long he could stall.

"I have to tell her," Creek said. "Tomorrow, Branch. Chef's getting really tired of me stalling, so—"

"So you're going to propose to her so you can break her heart and kill everyone she loves," Branch said bitterly, his arms crossed and a glare firmly fixed on his face.

"What else do you expect me to do? You know how dangerous Chef can be! And—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Your own hide's worth more to you than all of your friends and your supposed 'crush' put together. Don't bother explaining it to me. Save it for when you have to explain it to Poppy."

"Hey! It's not my idea, alright! Why, if I had my way, she'd be—"

"Save it, Creek." Then Branch yelled, "Don't act like you care about her! If you really cared, you wouldn't be ready to sacrifice her for your own sake! Don't try telling me it's not your fault! You've been living with them for 16 years, knowing you'd have to betray them someday, and you never bothered saying ANYTHING to them!"

"Oh, come on, Branch! You know I can't do that!" Creek responded, annoyed and exasperated. They'd been over this countless times lately.

"Of course, you can! You just don't have the guts to do it because you're afraid of what's going to happen to you!" Branch fumed, pointing at Creek. "Well, take it from me, Creek! Being alone because everyone you love gets eaten is not fun! I'd rather have died with them than lived on ALONE!"

Creek started yelling and glaring at Branch in frustration then as he pointed at him and said, "Well, that might be how you see it, but—"

"Yeah!? And you think you'd rather be alone, too, huh!?"

"Hey! I never said—"

"Forget it, Creek. Just—leave me alone," Branch cut him off, turning away. "I'll see you tomorrow night." He'd walked away then, clearly finished talking to Creek in any capacity.

Creek sighed at the memory. He'd left after that, upset himself at the fight they'd just had, but he still knew it was his own fault for bringing it up. He just doesn't understand. This is the only way.

Guy put a hand on his shoulder and offered a reassuring smile as he said, "Hey, cheer up, Creek. You'll get there. Just be patient, and you'll see it rewarded in due time."

"That's right, Creek," Biggie agreed. "It will all work out in the end."

Creek sighed sadly. He'd been hoping it would, but, honestly, it was starting to look like that had been just wishful thinking. "If you say so, mates." He looked at the ring box in his hand again.

Later that afternoon, the entire town was present in the throne room for the party, along with all of Troll Village. DJ Suki teamed up with King Gristle Jr (crowned about 3 years ago) to play the music for the event, with DJ using her wooferbug and Gristle his keyboard. Gristle was wearing a dazzling white and blue outfit and sunglasses, trying his best to look cool. He had some bling around his neck and more fancy, shiny jewelry on his wrists.

Biggie was dancing with Guy and Smidge, having a great time, while Mr. Dinkles ate his weight on chocolate cupcakes.

"Well! Someone's looking better!" Guy commented as he danced, seeing the worm looking more cheerful than earlier. "Just look at that angelic smile!"

"Yes, I'm glad he's having such a good time!" Biggie said happily as both he and Guy smiled at the worm.

"Haha! Yeah! Well, ya know what they say! Ya turn into a real beast sometimes when you're hungry, right?" Smidge grinned amusedly.

"Yes," Biggie agreed.

Just then, some of the bergens gasped, and several pointed at the doorway.

"Oh, my pizzas! Who is that?"

Several other bergens and trolls looked, curious. Standing in the doorway was a highly attractive bergen lady. Her long hair was a rainbow of colors, and she wore a very stylish outfit—a black and pink jumpsuit and platform shoes. She also didn't look all that comfortable. In fact, she looked like she'd rather be anywhere else right now. Two trolls, Satin and Chenille, were perched on her shoulder, looking quite pleased with themselves.

"Oh, my gosh! Bridget!" Poppy called, running over and looking at her best friend in awe. "You look fantastic, girlfriend! Way to go!" she said with a smile.

"Th-thanks, Poppy," Bridget said nervously.

"Hey, girls! Love what ya did to her," Poppy said to the twins next. "How'd you get her hair to do that?"

Before the twins could answer, a few trolls poked their heads out of Bridget's hair, smiling. "Hey, Princess Poppy!" one of them said. "Sweet look we cam up with, ain't it?"

A nearby bergen woman gasped. "Oh, my hot dogs! Trolls can do that to your hair!?" she asked as she started messing with her own hair, excited about the possibilities.

"Now I want some trolls to do my hair!" another said, looking at her split ends with distaste.

Most of the guests hadn't bothered dressing up for this event—it was an annual party and usually considered casual. But Gristle couldn't help but notice this bergen. His glasses slipped off his face as he leaned forward to stare at her. "Oh, my pizzas, that's the scullery maid I keep stepping on every morning?" he asked as he leaned back, smiling slyly at her new look. "You sure clean up good," he called out to her.

Bridget jumped a bit, startled, as the twins hopped off her shoulder. "Oh, uh, thanks. You, um...you, too," she said awkwardly. She had no idea what to say right now.

DJ nudged Gristle with her hair and gave him an encouraging smile. "Hey, man. Don't just stand there gawking. Go over there and ask her to dance!"

"You sure that's okay? I'm a little busy helpin' perform for the party," he reminded her. Sure, he wanted to dance with that babe, but he didn't want to just ditch his friend like that.

DJ waved a hand dismissively and answered, "Aw, it's cool, man. I got this." She spun the records on her wooferbug a bit, scratching them, looking energetic as she said, "Wiki wiki, what!"

Gristle's face lit up. "Well, alright, then! If you insist!" He unstrapped his keyboard and put it down, waving excitedly at Bridget. "Oh, Bridget! Is it cool if I dance with you for a bit!?" he asked as he ran over, excited.

This was the first time he'd ever used her name. Or, for that matter, acknowledged her existence in any way.

Other bergens quickly grew jealous, seeing the two together, but Bridget looked thrilled. "Yes!" she answered eagerly.

"Sweet! Shall we?" Gristle asked with a gentlemanly bow as he offered her his hand. "My lady?"

She smiled and took his hand as she answered, "Of course."

Suddenly the king and scullery maid were the center of attention as he led her onto the dance floor. Trolls and bergens alike were watching them.

"Aw, man! That's no fair! I wanted to dance with her!" one bergen said.

"Better luck next time, bro," his friend said as he snickered.

"They sure look cute together, huh?" a troll asked a bergen friend of hers, smiling.

"I think I would look better with our king!" the bergen answered, clearly jealous.

"Aw, come on. What about Kevin, your husband? He looks pretty good tonight, doesn't he?" the troll asked with an amused smile.

"Oh, no fair! She looks so much prettier than we do," said another bergen woman enviously to her four friends.

"I know, hon. We have got to learn her secret sometime or we'll look like total rejects!" one agreed.

"I hear that, girlfriends. She is such a poser."

The others all nodded in agreement. They only wished they could look like Bridget.

Nearby, another bergen was involved in a debate with his friend over which was better, Bridget or the guy's girlfriend. "You know, man, looks aren't everything," he said to his friend. "Margaret's a good cook, at least."

"Yeah, but that babe looks way better."

"Excuse me?" Margaret said, glaring at her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.

"Wow! Look at that! Lady and the others did a great job!" one of the trolls said, looking at Bridget's hair.

Another laughed, amused. "Yeah, I know. I love what Glitter and Sparkles did, too! But who named a troll 'Lady,' anyway?" he wondered, a hand to his chin. That wasn't a common name for trolls, after all.

The other troll gave a slight start. "Er, now that you mention it..."

Both then spent a longer time thinking about that than they probably should have.

The former king, Gristle Sr, stood and watched with Peppy. "You know, normally I would never allow my son to even look at such a homely maiden as a scullery maid. But, you got to admit, she looks pretty good tonight, don't she?" Gristle Sr said, watching his son dance with a servant.

Peppy chuckled, amused. "Oh, Gristle. There's nothing wrong with it as long as the kids are happy, right?"

"Yeah. You're right, old friend. Besides, it's not like I could say no. He's the king now, so..."

Peppy just laughed in amusement.

"Great work, you guys!" Poppy said to the twins. "Thanks to you, Bridget finally had the confidence to finally tell the king how she feels!" She threw her arms up, excited at this development. Then she looked at the bergens in question and grinned, amused. "Well, sort of."

Bridget had been dancing so hard that she lost a shoe, and Gristle noticed it about then. "Oh, Bridget! Your shoe came off!"

Bridget looked, startled. "Oh!"

"Don't worry, babe. I've got this," Gristle assured her, and he went to get her shoe, which he slipped back onto her foot himself.

The twins were going to address Poppy's praise, but the fact that they had just played Fairy Godmother for an overworked and underappreciated bergen drew their attention to this next aspect of the night that made it seem very fairy tale-esque.

"Oh, look at that!" Satin said, watching the king slip Bridget's shoe back onto her foot.

"Too bad we didn't make them out of glass," Chenille said, thinking of Cinderella and her glass slipper. She honestly had an urge to go tell Bridget that her outfit wouldn't disappear at midnight, but she resisted.

Poppy stared, seeing the awkward and unexpected similarities to that fairy tale herself. What were the odds of her living a real fairy tale—or, at least, something this close? Now she found herself hoping Bridget didn't decide to leave early. That would be really weird.

"...Huh." Poppy turned to the twins again, smiling, as she put that aside. "Anyway, you guys, you did a great job. Come on! We got a party to get to! So let's get out there and enjoy ourselves! What do ya say!?"

"Yeah!" they agreed excitedly, and the three went to join the party.

As she rejoined her friends and long-term boyfriend on the dance floor, however, Poppy couldn't help but feel jealous herself. No, she didn't want to date Gristle—Creek was perfect, and she couldn't ask for a better boyfriend. But she did want her own fairy tale to come true already.

So Bridget starts off as a lowly scullery maid, turns into a gorgeous babe with the help of her tiny friends, gets the man of her dream's attention, who just so happens to be a king, and—Aw, man! That's no fair at all! How come she gets her happily ever after as some odd form of "Cinderella," but I can't even get engaged!? I mean, I'm happy for her, but...

"Poppy? Is everything cool?" Smidge asked with concern. She'd noticed a slight look of distress about her friend and couldn't help but worry.

Poppy smiled brightly, brushing those thoughts aside. It was a good thing that Bridget finally got Gristle's attention. It made them both happy, after all, and it would be selfish of her to ruin it with her own jealousy. "Aw, it's nothing, Smidge! I'm just admiring how great King Gristle looks with Bridget is all."

Smidge laughed, amused. "Yeah. They really do make a cute couple together, don't they?"

"Don't they, though? They're the cutest couple I've ever seen!" Poppy answered with a laugh.

"I hear ya, girlfriend! Those two were made for each other."

"You know it, Smidge! Totally." Poppy closed her eyes, nodding, a smile on her face and her arms crossed.

As Smidge went back to dancing with the others, Poppy sighed inwardly.

She hoped her turn would come soon. She'd made a wish on a star, so it had to. It was only a matter of time.