Featured Songs:
1. "Ready, Set, Don't Go" by Billy Ray Cyrus & Miley Cyrus
2. "What Dreams Are Made Of" from Lizzie McGuire movie (Paolo & Isabella version, then Hilary Duff)
Kara entered the ballroom looking absolutely gorgeous in the gold sparkling gown that was custom designed just for her. Her friends and family all looked so proud of her for standing so beautifully and coming to be the official crown princess of Solaris.
Her crown was specially made to symbolize her status as the crown princess. Similar to her father's crown, her tiara was golden and had a sun at its center. However, it also had some lightning bolts on it to symbolize her speed.
As part of the ritual for the crown prince or princess of Solaris, the pollen of a poinsunna flower was sprinkled on Kara's head by her stepmother. Normally, in such a ritual, the queen of Solaris did so. But in this case, a motherly figure to the crown princess was doing so.
"I, Kara Tahl Jinn, do hereby promise and swear to protect and defend the kingdom of Solaris, and when the time comes for me to rise as queen, I will rule justly and fairly as my predecessors."
And then, Qui-Gon, with a proud smile on his face, officially crowned his daughter crown princess of Solaris.
Naturally, Kara's ball wouldn't be complete without a father-daughter dance.
Banjo, Pinto, and Maybelle came together to sing a special song just for the father and daughter as they danced together
Pinto:
She's gotta do what she's gotta do
And I've gotta like it or not
She's got dreams too big for this town
And she needs to give 'em a shot
Whatever they are
Maybelle:
Looks like she's all ready to leave
Nothing left to pack
Pinto:
Ain't no room for me in that car
Pinto & Banjo:
Even if she asked me to tag along
All:
God, I gotta be strong
Qui-Gon looked at Kara and how beautiful she'd grown up to be. Having had to watch her grow from the sidelines was not how he would've liked to raise her, but he was nevertheless proud of the woman she was becoming. And even though she was all grown up, he still saw her as his little girl, like any good, loving father should.
Maybelle:
She's at the startin' line of the rest of her life
As ready as she's ever been
Got the hunger and the stars in her eyes
The prize is hers to win
Pinto & Banjo:
She's waitin' on my blessings
Before she hits that open road
But baby get ready, get set, don't go
Maybelle:
She says things are fallin' in place
Feels like they're fallin' apart
Pinto & Banjo:
I painted this big old smile on my face
To hide my broken heart
If only she knew
Maybelle:
This is where I don't say
What I want so bad to say
Pinto & Banjo:
This is where I want to
But I won't get in the way
Of her and her dreams
And spreadin' her wings
Maybelle:
She's at the startin' line of the rest of her life
As ready as she's ever been
Got the hunger and the stars in her eyes
The prize is hers to win
Pinto & Banjo:
She's waitin' on my blessings
Before she hits that open road
But baby get ready, get set, don't go
Maybelle:
She's at the startin' line of the rest of her life
As ready as she's ever been
Got the hunger and the stars in her eyes
The prize is hers to win
Pinto & Banjo:
She's waitin' on my blessings
Before she hits that open road
But baby get ready, get set, please don't go
All:
Don't go, mmm don't go
She's gotta do what she's gotta do
She's gotta do what she's gotta do
Kara still couldn't believe how much love she was getting today. She'd been the least involved in the family even after it was revealed that Qui-Gon was Anakin and Carmine's father as well as her. The day she learned of such, she'd wanted to go to them and tell them she was their sister, but for some reason, she never did.
Possibly, she was scared that her brothers would think she was keeping secrets from them or that she'd known their origins the whole time or something. But when her father was revived, everything changed. She still remembered when she reunited with him for the very first time, and they'd shared the biggest hug ever. And ending this dance, they did so again.
"I love you, Daddy." whispered Kara.
Soon, Carmine stepped up on stage and called for everyone's attention.
"First off, let me say thanks to everyone who came to support my big sister Kara." Carmine said. "My siblings and I, we all had to grow up in three separate homes as children. But fate gave us a happy ending with us reuniting and being a family together at last. In my eyes, it's a dream better than anything I could imagine. So, this song is for you, Kara."
Carmine strummed a slow, beautiful song on his guitar.
Carmine:
Have you ever seen such a beautiful night
I could almost kiss the stars for shining so bright
Then I see you smiling as I go
Oh oh oh
I would never want to miss this
'Cause in my heart I know what this is
Hey now
Hey now
This is what dreams are made of
Hey now
Hey now
This is what dreams are made of
I've got somewhere I belong
I got somebody to love
This is what dreams are made of
The music then changed to an upbeat version with Remix and Magenta coming in to join.
"Ladies and gentleman, please welcome brother-sister duo Remix and Magenta Mareheart to the stage!" Carmine announced.
Carmine:
Hey now
Hey now
Hey now
Hey now
Magenta:
Have you ever seen such a beautiful night
I could almost kiss the stars for shining so bright
Then I see you smiling as I go
Magenta & Remix:
Oh oh oh
Remix:
I would never want to miss this
'Cause in my heart I know what this is
All:
Hey now
Hey now
Carmine:
This is what dreams are made of
All:
Hey now
Hey now
This is what dreams are made of
Magenta:
I've got somewhere I belong
I got somebody to love
This is what dreams are made of
Magenta never felt better being on stage than she did now. At last, she and Remix were both making music and this time doing it together.
Remix:
Have you ever wondered what life is about
You could search the world and never figure it out
You don't have to sail the ocean
No no no
Magenta:
Happiness is no mystery its
Here and now, its you and me
Hey now
Remix:
Hey now
Carmine:
This is what dreams are made of
All:
Hey now
Hey now
This is what dreams are made of
Remix:
I've got somewhere I belong
I got somebody to love
This is what dreams are made of
Carmine:
Open your eyes
Magenta & Remix:
This is what dreams are made of
Carmine:
Shout to the sky
Magenta & Remix:
This what dreams are made of
Carmine:
Then I see you smile as I go
Oh oh oh
Yesterday my life was duller
Now everything's technicolor
Hey now
Magenta & Remix:
Hey now
This is what dreams are made of
All:
Hey now
Hey now
This is what dreams are made of
I've got somewhere I belong
I got somebody to love
This is what dreams are made of
Everyone cheered as the song was finished. Kara felt so touched that her younger brother would risk suspicion of his alter ego as Count Crescendo just to show her how much he loved her.
"Princess Kara," said Anakin, approaching his sister, presenting her with a yellow rose. "May I offer you the next dance?"
"Why, thank you, Ani." Kara smiled.
Anakin and Kara had a brother-sister dance as music played again.
"You know, Ani. I think you would be a great king." Kara said, knowing her brother was thought to be heir before Kara was revealed.
"I'm not disappointed about that." Anakin said. "Being a king is the last thing I was prepared for. Besides, what more could I need. I've got my wife, my kids, Carmine, Lamenta, Caroline, Mom and Dad, and I have you now. We have our family. And no matter which of us is the next king or queen, like you said, we're each other's real crown jewels."
"You really inherited Dad's wisdom, didn't you?" Kara smiled.
"Partially, but I mostly learned that from you... Big Sister."
"What did I do to deserve you?" Kara gave her brother a kiss on his cheek. Of course, she didn't neglect to give Carmine a kiss when she got to him.
Kara felt so blessed that she had such a wonderful family, grownups and the children. Maybe someday she would have some of her own, but for now, she picked up Luke and said, "Hello, Little Lukey. Do you wanna dance with your Auntie Kara?"
Luke cooed and grabbed his aunt's nose, not knowing any better since he was a baby. Kara giggled and took that as a yes.
"I guess that leaves you with your Uncle Carmine, Leia." Carmine chuckled, picking up his youngest niece, giving her a kiss.
Magenta and Remix stood together and looked around at the party.
"You've really been to twenty of these kinds of parties?" said Magenta in disbelief.
"Dinner parties, birthday parties, a couple weddings, you name it." Remix said. "When the kid you're matched with comes from a rich family, you can expect a lot of parties coming your way."
"What about when you're matched with a grownup?"
"Peppermint, Harmony and Sapphire all seem pretty happy with their riders. So do Indira, the Cabellos, and Teatra too. Though, to be fair, Wrecker is kind of a child in a grown man's body."
"That must be a lot of fun for Pinto."
The two siblings laughed together.
Remix sighed happily. "This is nice. Us, finally a family again."
"Yeah. The dynamic duo, Mareheart Mix, reunited after ten years apart."
The two siblings cuddled as Queen Reigna approached Qui-Gon about something. From what Remix could make out, it was something about Kara's present being ready.
"I wonder what they got for her." Remix said.
"Probably some alicorn feather pillows," said Magenta. "Those are perfect for an amazing sleep."
Qui-Gon called for everyone's attention, as it was time to present Kara with a very special gift.
Qui-Gon left the room and came in with a rein in his hand, and attached to that rein was a beautiful little pegasus mare. She had a pearl white coat with a white and sparkly silver mane, sparkly silver eyes, and she had a beautiful little diamond in the middle of her forehead.
"This is Diamond Beauty," said Reigna. "Your father picked her out himself."
Those who received their horses through matching by the Equinary were a bit surprised, but Boba had picked his horse on his own. So, why couldn't Qui-Gon do the same? He had good judgement of character, and he wanted to give his daughter a perfect gift. So, he consulted Queen Reigna, and initially she'd offered to use the Equinary to find a perfect match for Kara, but Qui-Gon declined, wanting to prove he knew his daughter.
It was a really hard decision, though. Qui-Gon wanted to make sure he got a horse that wasn't too big or too small, definitely one who had lots of energy and was affectionate too.
So, instead of consulting the Equinary, Queen Reigna made an announcement that King Qui-Gon was searching for a horse for his daughter. But, that brought in a lot more equines than expected.
Many equines had heard many stories about how wonderful life was for horses with royalty for owners. Exquisite feed, custom made saddles, the finest grooming, and being in the presence of other royals too and getting such amazing treatment. But, picking the right horse came easier when Qui-Gon interviewed each horse and had Lamenta truth check them. And they soon came to meet little Diamond.
Diamond was too small for Kara to ride her now, but she was very affectionate, that being shown when she approached Qui-Gon and started licking him when he petted her. She was also very energetic and fast like a bullet, which meant she would probably be more likely to keep up with Kara, and Kara might not have any children of her own, but caring for a young horse would be good for a start. Master Mundi did that with Comedia, after all. Why couldn't Kara?
And, it turned out, Diamond was Sapphire's niece. So, they already had at least one horse who could vouch that she was a good filly, but also a handful.
Here and now, Kara couldn't believe she got such a beautiful little horse that her father picked just for her.
"Hi, Princess Kara." Diamond said, rushing over and rubbing her head against her new master.
Judging by her voice and playfulness, she was about seven years old.
Kara pet Diamond's mane with a chuckle.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Diamond." Kara said. "Thank you, Daddy. She's a wonderful gift."
Diamond, however, being so energetic, got excited to meet the rest of the royal family as well. She started sniffing everyone and familiarizing herself with her new surroundings.
"Diamond, slow down!" Sapphire said.
"Auntie Sapphire!" Diamond exclaimed, practically tackling her aunt and licking her affectionately.
"Okay, I missed you too."
Diamond was definitely very affectionate, but also very playful and loved sweet things.
"You gonna eat that?" said Diamond, noting some mini quiches on a plate Caroline was holding, and gobbling them up, only to spit them out. "Yuck! Bacon."
Carmine chuckled. "Finally, someone who agrees on it."
"Only because she's a vegetarian by nature," said Anakin.
Kara approached the young horse and scolded her for just eating off Caroline's plate.
"If you're hungry, all you have to do is ask." Kara said, picking up some carrots from the table to feed Diamond, but Diamond gagged at them.
"I don't like carrots." Diamond whined.
"Diamond was always a picky eater." said Sapphire.
"Then what do you like?" Kara asked her little horse.
"Watermelon is my favorite." Diamond said.
And lucky for Diamond, there were some little flower-shaped watermelon pieces. Diamond loved watermelon, and she loved flowers. It was a perfect treat. But, Kara knew for a fact she was going to make sure Diamond had a healthy variety of foods in her diet, and that she was well cared for.