Shadgirl2: To those of you following this story, sorry for spamming your inbox the last few days with chapter updates. I tried to upload chapter 6 only to have it return the same error message over and over when either Midna or I tried to open it.

Midna Azusa: We contacted fanfiction about it, and the issue seems to be resolved, so we'll just move on now!

Shadgirl2: Yep! Time for more trouble!

Midna: Also there's a character in here who hasn't shown up yet this story (or in any of our stories, for that matter). She'll be popping in and out. There's a reason, which we'll detail at the end of this chapter. I don't wanna spoil it.

Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls. United City, the general, and President Oak all belong to Shadgirl2. The songs aren't ours, either. Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffet sang "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere," and Travis Tritt sang "Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man."

Edit: Added detail, added interactions between Poppy and Branch, and fixed inconsistencies and grammatical errors.

While Aspen and Fuzzbert became Rock Trolls against their wills, Smidge was taken into the fortified Pop Troll village she had found. One soldier took the caterbus and drove it somewhere to be "impounded and inspected," whatever the hair that meant. She soon discovered that it was similar to home. There were pods hanging from trees, and several mushroom pods on the ground.

The differences, however, were intense. Army-brown awnings and tents made up their market. A huge pink, purple, and white tie-dyed pod hung in the center of town, and it, along with every other building in town, was flying the same flag that flew from the outer wall. The flag's symbol was on everything—baby carriages, bandannas worn by critters, the market awnings, and there was even a bed of flowers that looked to be planted in the shape of that flag. In addition to the mushroom pods, there were rectangular concrete buildings on the ground, all either gray or white. Some had many small windows on three sides, others had them on all four, but each had the same sturdy wooden doors.

As she was escorted through town by her captors, she noticed other brick buildings with guards in front of them. These buildings didn't have any windows. There were furnaces where trolls were hard at work making weapons, like glitter cannons, axes, and glitter guns. She saw several training camps filled with obstacle courses and classrooms teaching trolls how to be soldiers. Worst of all was that nobody was having any fun. Even the trollings were hard at work training or studying. What was wrong with this town? It was like they only lived to fight!

She looked around in awe, not at all pleased with the view. "Oh, my ga. What is this place?"

"Quiet, thief!" snapped one of her guards. "You'll have plenty of time for questions later! Once you've met with President Oak, that is."

Since when did thieves come to drop off things? Where was their proof that she was a thief?

Smidge just blinked as she was brought up to the troll she'd seen earlier—the one wearing the lavender coat.

"Mr. President!" said one of her guards as he saluted. "We've apprehended the interloper and brought her in, as ordered!"

Smidge's eyes widened in surprise. An interloper... Okay, maybe they had her on that one. But she was not a thief, and that accusation had to go. She wasn't even dressed for a robbery today! "Whoa, whoa, hold up!" Smidge protested, feeling both nervous and insulted. "I'm not—"

"Silence, intruder!" the president cut her off firmly as he held up a hand. "I'll do the talking around here! So! I hear you tried to steal all our newly replenished party supplies!?"

"No! I wasn't trying to—"

Oak held up a swift, firm hand to silence her again. (She thought it would be nice if he'd just let her finish a sentence.) "Silence, criminal! You have the right to remain silent until your court trial tomorrow!"

Smidge couldn't help but wonder why the weirdo was asking questions if he didn't want her to answer them. Could he just make up his mind already?

"Anything you say can and will be used against you under the court of law! So says President Oak of United City! We stand united, or united we fall!" He saluted his troops, and the soldiers gathered saluted him back.

"We stand united, or united we fall!" they echoed.

Smidge looked around, dumbfounded. From the way he said that, she got the feeling even innocent comments would be used to "prove" she was guilty. Even asking for water would probably be considered an admission of guilt. Maybe she should stop trying to talk. "...Oh, my ga..."

These guys were unnatural. She could understand the desire for a unified community, but these guys acted like a well-oiled machine!

"Soldiers! Take this thief away to await her trial!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the soldiers said, saluting.

The soldier trolls grabbed Smidge again and hauled her off to a jailhouse. There were four doors on it, all on the outside—one for each of the four cells. Surprisingly, in Smidge's opinion, not a single one of these cells appeared to be occupied. They tossed her into one of them, where a toilet, sink, and bunk bed for three were the only furnishings.

"Your trial will be held tomorrow morning," said one of the soldiers firmly. "So says our great and noble President Oak!"

Smidge gripped the bars in the door, annoyed. "Oh, come on! I didn't even do anything! You guys just jumped the gun without even knowing what was going on!"

"Tell it to the judge," said the guard. She looked away from Smidge then, stoically standing guard over her.

The general came over then, saluting his subordinate. "Report, private! What's the status on the enemy's transport!?"

Well, that seemed like a dumb question. This "private" had been with Smidge the entire time. How would she know about it?

The soldier saluted the general and answered (rather stupidly in Smidge's opinion, since the woman hadn't been there), "Sir! The enemy vehicle has been impounded and is being searched for any signs of a threat as we speak, sir!"

"Very good!" shouted the general firmly. "Soon we'll know—"

"Oh, my ga!" Smidge cut him off, now insulted as well as annoyed. "What's the matter with you people!? That caterbus was loaded up with relief supplies Queen Poppy sent me to deliver! There's nothing wrong with them at all!"

If these guys would just let her explain herself or check out what was on that bus, they could sort this all out without a ridiculous trial at which they'd try to prove she'd robbed someone while they had no evidence of any wrongdoing.

The soldier and general turned stern looks on her, their expressions offering the threat of harm if she didn't stop talking.

"That's enough out of you, you mangy—"

"Hey! Who're you calling a mangy anything!?" Smidge cut her off, not one to be intimidated. For proof, she was glaring angrily at the guard. "Do I look like an ugly, scale-covered lizard man to you!? 'Cause, the last time I checked, I wasn't a Party Crasher!" She jabbed a thumb into her chest, a serious look in her eyes, as she continued, "The name's Smidge, and I'm the loyal helper of my queen back in Troll Village! I do everything she tells me to, and she told me to help you!"

The general gave her a curious look. She'd cut him off. Not a lot of trolls had that kind of moxie. Huh. Girl's got spunk, and a lot of it. My kind of woman.

"I said be quiet, you worthless intruder!" the soldier commanded. "You can tell your story to the judge at tomorrow's trial! Keep it to yourself until then, or we'll put you to work shoveling cuddle pup droppings until then!"

Smidge backed down, sitting on the floor with her arms crossed and grumbling to herself in irritation. She didn't want to do that.

The soldier turned away from her with a satisfied grunt. "Situation under control here, sir!"

"Good work, private! See to it there's no more trouble from her!" the general shouted as loudly as he could. Apparently, he didn't have an inside voice...or anything quieter than a "there's a construction crew working right beside me" voice. He started walking off then.

The soldier saluted him, saying, "Sir, yes, sir! As you command, sir!"

Smidge watched as the general headed toward one of the training grounds, apparently intent on yelling at some soldiers. "Alright, soldiers!" he shouted as he walked. "Now, I want to see some effort on that..."

After that, Smidge couldn't make out any more of his words. He was finally far enough away that his shouting was but a distant, incomprehensible rumble.

She cried out in frustration, leaping up and pulling on her own hair. Oh, my ga! What's the matter with these guys!? They're acting even more paranoid than Branch does! She sighed and walked over to a bunk bed against the wall. Three bunks were stacked on top of each other. Smidge sat down on the bottom one and said, "This...is gonna take awhile. These guys need some sense knocked into 'em before someone gets hurt."

She sighed in defeat and just waited, bored, for her trial. She debated singing the new Troll Anthem at said trial to prove that she was friendly, but she wasn't sure if that would help her cause or not. Considering these guys didn't seem willing to listen, she didn't have high hopes. But she knew something needed to be done here! These guys were out of control, attacking anything that got too close. If they kept that up, someone could get hurt, which made her glad that Biggie was elsewhere. This would scar him for life.

Regardless of her trial's results, Smidge swore to herself that she wasn't leaving until these guys calmed down some. The way these guys were, it was only a matter of time before somebody got killed.

In another jail, miles away, Lazy Larry kept singing "Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man" over and over again. Ordinarily, this would be nothing but a small annoyance to the jail warden, Growly Pete. As it was, it was a massive annoyance for one blue Pop Troll who was technically prepared for a jailbreak...if not for his stupid cellmate frequently attracting the attention of said warden.

"Oh, won't you tell me if you can? 'Cause life's so—" Larry sang for roughly the 12th time.

Branch growled in frustration, the sound quickly rising and turning into a shout. He whirled on Larry, saying, "Larry, if you don't stop singing that right now, I'll give you something to complain about!"

Poppy ran up to grab his arm reassuringly. Clearly, Branch was too stressed right now, and she needed to calm him down before someone got hurt. "Easy, Branch. Violence never solves a problem. We just have to put our heads together and figure something out."

"Poppy—"

He cut off as a random troll popped up right between them, holding both their shoulders in a reassuring manner. She looked like a Pop Troll, with her purple skin, orange pigtails, and lack of hooves, although she was a little chubbier than most. Her arms and legs were quite short. She wore a pair of green overalls with a flower on the front and an anklet made of colorful beads and bells.

The real question was where she came from. This cell was a single room, and she certainly hadn't been there a minute ago.

"That's right, Poppy!" this new troll said. "If we all work together, we can get out of this! All we have to do is show these guys we're all friendly trolls, and—"

Poppy stared, eyes wide in confusion, at this new arrival. "I'm sorry, but who are you, and where did you come from?"

Branch grabbed Poppy and backed away from this strange new troll, pulling them both clear of her. He pushed Poppy behind himself protectively as he glared at the stranger. Poppy personally felt that was overkill, but she knew how Branch could be about these kinds of situations, so she kept her mouth shut. Even if this girl didn't look like she could harm a fly, countering Branch's concern wouldn't be very supportive.

"What?" the troll asked, looking hurt. "Why, Poppy! Don't you recognize me?" She put a hand to her chest and said, "It's me! Legsly!"

"Who's Legsly?" Branch asked. "I don't know anyone named Legsly!"

"For once, I have to agree with you," Poppy said, stunned, confused, and a bit disturbed. This was a bizarre turn of events. Who was this girl, and how did she know them?

"Ah! Guys, I'm surprised at you! I've always been here! Why, don't you guys remember that time Cooper broke all our homes and you—" she pointed at Branch "—invited us all over to stay with you?" She looked rather excited, raising her arms happily, and added, "We ate cookies in bed together, remember!?"

Poppy blinked, looking at Branch in concern. "Uh, Branch? Did you really do that?" That had to be the Fun Branch episode. When else would he have let anyone eat cookies in his bed? "You hate making a mess of your—"

Branch pulled a frying pan out of his hair and moved toward Legsly, looking ready to pulverize her. "You weren't there! How do you know about that!?"

Legsly backed up nervously. She eyed Poppy with worry and said, "P-Poppy! Help me out here! After all, you did a great job teaching me how to get over my party anxieties by learning to feel the flow, right!?"

Poppy's eyes widened in shock. She had been debating stepping between Branch and Legsly as a sort of shield. It didn't seem like she needed a pounding. She was just weird. However, the shock of that claim drove any thoughts of defense from her mind as she cried, "What!? That wasn't you I did that with! It was DJ Suki!"

Seriously, who was this troll? A stalker? An impostor? Surely, she wasn't as dangerous as Branch thought, but there was definitely something wrong.

"I-it was?" Legsly asked, apparently genuinely convinced that she had been the one Poppy taught at Party Class.

"Yeah, and DJ's the one who told me I'd love eating cookies in bed!" Muttering, Branch added, "Which I didn't, but still." He raised his frying pan and pointed it at Legsly, demanding, "Who do you think you are!?"

Poppy, feeling that this was definitely overkill, moved up beside him and took hold of his arm gently but firmly. "Alpha Wolf..." she soothed affectionately, reassuringly, as she gently pulled his arm down, encouraging him to lower his weapon.

It wasn't like Legsly was doing anything wrong. She was just seriously confused, like she wanted to be just like DJ and had forgotten that she wasn't DJ.

Branch looked at Poppy out of the corner of his eye and slowly lowered his weapon himself. He knew what that word and that tone meant by now: Calm down. It's okay.

Legsly sighed, apparently exasperated. "I already told you. But whatever, guys. If you're in that bad a mood getting yourselves locked up, then fine. Be that way. But, if you ask me, maybe singing that new Troll Anthem of ours could help. You do want the Country Trolls to understand you, right?"

Poppy gasped, eyes widening as she let go of Branch. She turned an excited look on Branch and said, "The new Troll Anthem! How could I forget that one!? That's perfect!" She turned back toward Legsly, smiling, and said, "Thanks a ton, L—" She cut off and looked around.

Nobody was there. Legsly had vanished without a trace.

Poppy blinked, lost. "Uuuhh... Where did..."

She and Branch looked around in confusion. They could have sworn that she was actually there. It couldn't have been a hallucination if they both saw her, could it?

"Shoot," Larry said with an amused grin. Apparently, he had seen her, too. "Ya Pop Trolls sure are mysterious, aren't ya?"

Branch glared at him.

Giving up on making sense of that Pop Troll she'd never met, Poppy said, "Oh, whatever. She does have a point, Branch! We could sing these guys that anthem we just wrote up for this occasion!" She narrowed her eyes at him, feeling a little annoyed, and added, "Though I still don't know how telling a bunch of random troll tribes you've got their backs will help, but still!" She beamed at Branch again, clenching her fists in front of her in that manner she had that always said she was positive of what she was saying. "That song was made to show everyone we're all friendly! So, by singing it for them, then they're bound to change their minds about this and let us go!" She got excited again as she finished up, throwing her arms up into the air.

"I don't know, Poppy," Branch answered skeptically. He shook his head, raising an eyebrow, and asked, "What if the Country Trolls feel the same way about pop music as Pop Trolls do about country?"

Poppy waved a hand through the air dismissively, smiling confidently and a little smugly. "Aw, come on, Branch. That's only a problem for us! I'm sure the Country Trolls like other genres, too. They most likely only have one genre they can't stand, and I highly doubt pop is it." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... Maybe funk or techno... Now those seem like the kinds Country Trolls would hate!"

Branch shrugged. It was hard to argue when they didn't seem like they had anything to lose. "I guess it's worth a shot."

Poppy bounced around a bit, excitedly beaming at him once again. "Right!? Then here goes!" She danced around as she continued, "A-five, six, seven, eight!"

And so, in a Country Troll jail, two Pop Trolls began their song.

"From the mist of Misty Meadows to the shores of the lagoon," Poppy sang happily, "every troll will stand united as we sing this song to you."

Next door, in a place called The Honky Tonk, trolls looked up from their drinks (root beer, mostly) with little interest, turning their attention to the wall behind which they could hear this new melody. Growly Pete gave a start, eyes widening, and looked into the jail through the window in the door. Even Larry looked at the two funny, but neither seemed to notice the problem yet.

Poppy and Branch sang, "We're the trolls. We're love and harmony."

Pete covered his ears, annoyed with this strange pop melody. "Growly growly growl!"

Larry covered his ears and cried, "What in tarnation!?"

Poppy made an executive decision to skip Smidge's part. Only she, Branch, and Larry were currently here, so she couldn't exactly excite the crowd. She didn't have a crowd.

"Sing it with me now," she sang instead as she held her arms out to Branch for a hug, looking affectionate. Branch responded, and they hugged, her arms around his neck in a lovers' embrace.

Her plan worked. She got Branch to get lost in the song, which was the only sure way to get him actively involved and at the top of his game. Branch's full attention was now on Poppy, the girl he loved.

Both she and Branch rocked a bit to the music as they held each other close and continued, "We stand hand in hand—"

They pulled back, holding each other's hands at arm's length and smiling at each other.

The Country Trolls in The Honky Tonk came out, gathering around the jailhouse as they tried to figure out what the noise was about.

The jailbird couple started spinning in circles, still holding hands. "—and no matter what kind of creature you are —" Here they pulled apart, dancing in sync as they copied each other's moves. "—we'll be sharing that joy and spreading the love around."

They spun in separate circles, Poppy going clockwise and Branch counterclockwise. Both were so involved in the dance that they seemed to have temporarily forgotten why they were doing this.

Delta came out of the sheriff's office then, hearing annoyed moans and groans from her people. She suspected the usual culprit, which is why she burst out pointing at the jail in irritation and shouting, "Lazy Larry! Stop yer griping! Nobody's gonna..." Her eyes widened in shock, seeing her people gathered around with their ears covered.

And then she heard it—the faint sounds of pop music floating through the air.

She slowly lowered her arm, stunned, as she said, "...pay...yer...bail... Alright! What in tarnation's goin' on over there!?" Now angry, she stormed over to see what the fuss was about.

And the Pop Trolls sang on holding hands again and spinning happily, "Ohh." They reversed direction. "Oh, oh..."

Branch looked around at the angry crowd outside, suddenly glad there was a locked door between him and Poppy and those Country Trolls. He frowned and stopped singing, slowly letting go of Poppy's hands as he looked at the crowd with concern. He mentally kicked himself for not noticing the problem sooner. How did he always let himself get so lost in the music? That was how he'd lost his grandma, getting lost in the music in a bad situation!

Poppy, still oblivious, figured Branch had remembered that one of them would need to take the twins' part here. She pumped her hands in front of her and started, "We got endless hugs! For—" She cut off, blinking, as she realized that Branch wasn't singing now. She had thought he'd let go so she'd have more room to dance, but...

Poppy looked at Branch in concern. "Uh, Branch? Why did you...?"

"Look," he answered simply, pointing at the crowd. He looked about as unsure as he possibly could, which told Poppy that she wasn't going to like whatever it was.

Poppy looked and sweat. The Country Trolls looked anything but pleased. Delta Dawn, charging toward them, looked positively steamed.

Realizing they might be in real trouble, Poppy turned to Branch, looking spooked, and grabbed his shoulders hastily. "Quick! Sing your part of the song, Branch! Forget the rest of it, just show 'em what you can do!" she panicked.

His eyes widened. Did she really think that was a good idea? "What!? Poppy, that's—"

"Hurry!" she cried, shaking him a bit.

Normally she wouldn't think trolls from a distant land would need Branch to protect them, especially since he didn't live with them. But she'd make an exception here. Branch's addition showed support and care for others, and they needed to show that side of themselves right now.

Reluctantly, he sang, "I've got your back so you can all relax. I'll keep the lookout for you, and I'll never stop."

The Country Trolls all raised eyebrows, looking disturbed. Was this Pop Troll seriously saying he'd protect them? As if they needed it.

Delta was feeling the same as her people. "What in tarnation...?"

Pop trying to spread the love of pop music to everyone again aside, that boy needed some serious help if he thought he needed to protect them. They were stronger than a weak and timid Pop Troll any day!

Poppy quickly slid across the floor toward the door on her knees, singing, "And we'll be spreading that love around." She gave an awkward smile, her arms raised into the air, as she sat there, waiting for the Country Trolls' reactions.

Branch smacked himself in the face and shook his head. Could this be going worse?

Delta just stared at Poppy, more than a little disturbed at this point. This was...hard to wrap her mind around. Like a Pop Troll could protect anything. Recovering, she put her hands on her hips and demanded, "And just what do y'all think you're doin' now!? That had to be the worst little ditty I've ever heard! So, is that what ya Pop Trolls call music!? Sounds more like a crime against it, if ya ask me."

She'd been warned that Pop Trolls wanted to make everyone be like them, and that song just confirmed it! There was no doubt in her mind that "spreading the love" was some kind of rotten metaphor for spreading the pop, and Delta wasn't going to stand for it!

Poppy's eyes widened in shock. "What!? But, Mayor Delta! That song was all about—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah. You Pop Trolls and yer endless drives for 'unity' or such," Delta cut her off. She put her hands on her hips, sparing the Pop queen a firm glare. "Well, I got news for ya, little missy. We ain't got no need for yer nonsense 'round here. And, if you're gonna insist on spreading it here, then I'm gonna have to insist on extendin' yer stay here by a few more years! How's that sound?"

She was stopping this pop mutiny before it began.

Branch grabbed Poppy's arm and pulled her back, casting a glare at the mayor and countering, "Hey, if you're going to lock up a couple of Pop Trolls, you'd think you'd be expecting to hear some pop music!"

He was tempted to just sing pop song after pop song now until these guys got sick of it and threw them out.

"Uh-hm. Yeah. But was that really all y'all were goin' for, hon?" Delta asked, a knowing look on her face. Everyone knew Pop Trolls were nothing but trouble, and these two didn't seem to be any exception. Delta could find a hidden message when she heard it. What kind of fool did he take her for?

Poppy looked at Branch, worried. It sounded like they were in serious trouble here. What did these guys have against Pop Trolls, and why did Branch always have to be right?

"We weren't going for 'spreading our nonsense,' either!" he argued.

"Uh-huh," Delta said flatly. "Well, let's see how ya feel after a few extra years in there. Yer already up to 50 'cause of that there mutiny thing! Want to go for life, too?" She looked at them threateningly, refusing to be fooled into trusting the very trolls that every tribe knew couldn't be trusted.

Poppy's eyes widened in horror. She couldn't stay here that long. She was a queen, for hairball's sake!"What!? 50—b-but we didn't—"

Branch covered her mouth to stop her from putting her foot in it. "No, sorry. Won't happen again," he said, meaning not a single word of it.

Delta snorted in apparent disbelief and left. The other observers headed off as well, leaving just Growly Pete outside.

Poppy, now panicking, looked to Branch and cried, "50 years, Branch! We've got to find a way out of here! I can't—"

"Calm down," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Are you forgetting who you're with?"

Larry mustered up the energy to walk over to them and said, "Dang. That sure is rough. I only ever get 80 days. Guess it's 'cause yer Pop Trolls, huh?"

Branch glared at him and demanded, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Aw, ya know. Pop Trolls ain't nothin' but a bunch of trouble-makers and—"

"Trouble-makers? W-what are you talking about? We came here to help you guys, not to cause trouble!" Poppy protested. Why would they think she and Branch were trouble-makers? Okay, the mutiny thing helped answer that, but it didn't explain why they'd get 50 years while Larry only got 80 days!

"Yeah, you're the only trouble-maker I see!" Branch agreed as he kept glaring at Larry.

"Ooh. Guess that means ya don't know yer history, do ya?" He gave them a slightly pitying look.

"History?" Poppy asked, lost.

"What history?"

Shocked, Larry jumped, eyes wide and limbs flailing a bit. Branch figured it was the most activity this lazy sack of bones had ever engaged in during his whole life. "Oh, dang. Ya really don't know!" He smiled lazily, slightly amused, and laughed once. "Well, ain't that a shame. Seems yer bein' judged for somethin' ya know nothin' about. Told ya Delta Dawn's nothin' but a—"

"Ugh!" Branch threw his arms up, frustrated. So much for getting a straight answer out of that idiot. "Okay, that's it!" He looked at Larry and took a gamble, saying, "Listen, Larry, I need you to be quiet and stop attracting attention. If you can do that, I can get us all out of here!"

Larry shrugged and said, "Eh. No skin off my nose." He walked off, strumming out a new song on his guitar. "I say pour me somethin' tall and strong. Make it a hurricane before I go insane."

Now very concerned, Poppy looked at Branch and asked, "Branch...? What was Larry talking about? Our history doesn't even mention any of the other troll tribes anywhere in it!" She threw her arms out to the sides, then pounded her chest as she added, "I would know! I've read the whole thing! So what's that all about?"

"I don't know, but we need to get out of here and make sure the others are okay," Branch answered. "If the Country Trolls are hostile toward Pop Trolls, I wouldn't be surprised if the other tribes all felt the same. That might be why we don't talk about them ever."

Worried, Poppy threw her arms out to the sides again as she said, "Yeah, but Branch! That doesn't explain why everyone hates us, does it!? What in trolls' name did we even do!?" she asked, frustrated.

"Growly growl growl!" Pete snapped at Larry, looking back into the jail. It definitely was not time to cut work when Mayor Delta got that uptight.

"Aw, come on, man," Larry whined. "It is 5 o'clock somewhere!"

"You mean besides start a mutiny?" Branch asked lamely.

Poppy gave a start, eyes widening. She blushed sheepishly and put her hands behind her back. "Uuuhh... Rrriiight... About that—"

"Never mind," Branch cut her off. He turned his attention to Larry, who was back to lounging on the top bunk, and snapped, "Larry, if you don't stop right now, I'll stop you myself!"

"Aw, relax, man. It ain't that bad in h—" Larry started with another lazy smile.

Branch moved toward him, looking menacing. Larry gave a nervous chuckle and strummed his guitar quietly. Branch stopped moving and watched, glaring.

Quietly, Larry sang, "It's only half-past twelve, but I don't care."

"That's it!" Branch snapped, lunging toward the Country Troll nuisance.

Poppy pounced at him, grabbing him and pulling him back. "Branch! Down, boy!"

Pete took a look in, curious. Seeing the Pop Trolls wrestling with each other, he raised an eyebrow, curious. "...Growly growly growl?"

Shadgirl2: Did you find the new character?

Midna: Legsly! She's so weird, but I guess she's nice? I don't know, I hardly know her.

Shadgirl2: She's a running gag in this story, so you'll be seeing more of her. (We're not saying where or when, though.)

Midna: Seeing as she came out of nowhere in TWT and was, apparently, a friend of Poppy's for a long time, we figured we'd put her in here randomly and have her act like she's been their friend for a long time. You know, kind of like TWT did, where we were all just thinking, "Who's that? Where did she come from? What's wrong with her legs?"

Shadgirl2: We just couldn't resist.