During dinner, which was once again spaghetti and tomato sauce, Marie casually excused herself and went into the nearest bathroom. The group could here Marie grunting and growling in pain. Princess Bubblegum looked up from her plate and glanced around the table, silently asking if they should be concerned. Marceline shook her head, and Ann never even looked up. When Marie emerged, she was in wolf form. "Ah, that's better," she announced, purposely making it even more awkward.
Ann put her fork down. "So, ladies, it has come to my attention that, well, Marie and I haven't even explained why we came to the Candy Kingdom."
Marie stopped shoveling meatballs into her dripping maw. "Oh, yeah! You guys have to come with us!"
The Princess gave Ann a puzzled look. "What is it that we're going to?"
Marie grinned. "Only Sweet Tooth, the most awesome band ever, live and in concert!"
Princess Bubblegum froze, her pasta filled fork half-way to her mouth. She put it back on her plate and glanced at Marceline, who was now staring at the floor.
Ann looked between the two, suddenly concerned. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. Marie and I will be just fine on our own."
The Princess held up a hand. "No, there's no need for that. Don't worry, we'll come too. Just… give me a moment to change outfits."
Princess Bubblegum hurried up the stairs to her royal chamber and shut the door. She took a breath and walked over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out the first shirt on the left. She held it up and inspected it. It was a black t-shirt with a picture of two chocolate-covered marshmallows being impaled with wooden sticks. A snake twisted around the bases of the sticks with its jaw opened wide, revealing sharp fangs.
The Princess smiled. She remembered when Marceline had taken her to a Sweet Tooth concert for her birthday. It was the best gift that anyone had ever given her. The souvenir shirt had just been the icing on the birthday cake.Hesitantly, she slipped her dress off and replaced it with the shirt and an old pair of black skinny jeans.
When she came back down stairs, Marceline pretended to ignore Princess Bubblegum's familiar choice of clothes. However, the Princess could see her staring and blushing out of the corner of her eye.
"Well, looks like we're all set," Ann announced. Princess Bubblegum noticed that they had a slight change in clothes as well. Ann was wearing a black biker helmet while Marie was wearing a hot pink dog collar.
The Princess tried to be polite. "Oh, Ann, what a lovely…head accessory. It even matches your clogs."
Marceline snickered. "Nice collar, fluffy. The snooty dog show isn't very far from here."
Marie growled. If her face wasn't covered with fur at the moment, Princess Bubblegum was sure that it would be bright red.
Ann frowned. "To be clear, the collar is because…well, most of the kingdoms that we've visited aren't the most hospitable to wolves of any kind."
Marie mumbled, "Please don't tell me I need the leash too."
Ann thought for a moment. "It's a rock concert. I think you'll be fine, even in the Candy Kingdom."
The Princess felt guilty and ashamed. She couldn't believe that she had allowed people like Marie to be treated as a second class citizen in her kingdom. She knew that she had to put a stop to this as soon as possible.
"As for the helmet," Ann continued, "that's because someone isn't always the most aware of a passenger on her back."
Marie grunted, "I said that I was sorry. Besides, that mountain goat was delicious. You said so yourself while you were eating it."
Ann threw up her hands in exasperation. "That doesn't mean it was worth falling off a mountain for!"
"Um, guys?" Marceline nodded towards the door.
"Oh, right. We should probably get going," Ann noted, putting her argument on pause.
The group made their way outside. Ann climbed onto Marie's back and sat in an upright position like she was riding a horse. Princess Bubblegum walked awkwardly over to Marceline. She placed one arm around her shoulder and the other around her waist, blushing as she tried to avoid eye contact.
Marie took off running at full speed. Marceline rocketed into the air and soared just above the other two girls. Neither the Princess nor Marceline spoke during the short trip to the concert, so Princess Bubblegum enjoyed the silence and the feeling of cool air whipping against her face.
They arrived just in time for the opening act. Ann and Marie pushed their way through the crowd to get a little closer to the stage. The Princess and Marceline remained in the back together.
Throughout the concert, Princess Bubblegum kept an eye on Ann and Marie. Ann waved her arms in the air and sang along. Marie bounced up and down and quite literally howled along.
The Princess self-consciously kept her arms folded at her chest and tapped her foot to the beat. Marceline hovered in the air next to her and seemed to lose herself in the song. After a while, though, Marceline took notice of Princess Bubblegum's discomfort and settled on the ground next to her.
She leaned forward and whispered into Princess Bubblegum's ear, "Do you want to go someplace quiet?"
The Princess glanced at Ann and Marie, still singing and having a good time. "But, the kids…"
"They'll be fine. We won't go very far," Marceline reassured her.
Princess Bubblegum nodded sleepily. Marceline led her to a grassy meadow from which they could still see and hear the concert, but at least now it was quiet enough to hear themselves think.
Marceline fell onto her back, and the Princess followed her example. For a while, they said nothing, wordlessly staring at the beauty of the night sky and enjoying the cool air.
Princess Bubblegum felt something graze her hand. Marceline broke the silence and muttered, "I thought you said you only wore it at night."
The Princess curled her hand around Marceline's hand. She smirked and said with a hint of sarcasm, "I do. It is night."