Winx Club A Different Way AU: A Dragon Awakens

by RayeWonderland

Bloom, a teen girl from Earth discovers she has magical abilities and enrolls in the Alfea College for Fairies. Along with her newfound friend Stella, a fairy princess, Bloom meets her other flatmates Flora, Musa, and Tecna. Together, they form the Winx Club and fight off the wicked Trix! This is a rewrite and I don't own anything from the Winx Club franchise.

4. Chapter 4: Save the First Dance

Summary:

It's time for Alfea's Back to School Dance, but Bloom is feeling all but confident after her little excursion with the three witches. Now Bloom has to stop the witches from poisoning the freshman class, ruining the dance, and stealing Stella's powerful solaria ring, does she have it in her to save the day and receive a hero's welcome?

A/N:

Chapter 4 is here, thank you for all the favs and follows so far, it warms my heart, but I'm going to keep this short, don't want you reading a boring author's note. I wanted to say though I have big plans for this rewrite that'll include original chapters, side stories, and rewriting the movies. And yes these chapters will always be split into parts, just making reading these easier. You'll love it! I'm here. but enough about me, let's get into chapter 4 where Bloom will prove if she's a true blue fairy!

This is a rewrite. Changes have been made that conflict with the original canon, characters are different so please go in knowing this, whether you like it or not please understand this is a rewrite.

Edit: This story was originally in parts, but I decided to just make them whole chapters instead of two parters because the other format was a phase I was trying and not one I liked. So enjoy my long ass chapters now lol.

Co-writers:

Ditzy_Diva_315

Nadia

Chapter 4: Save the First Dance

The first day of classes was something every student dreads, but Bloom was more than nervous. It wasn't just her first day of classes at a new school; it was her first day at a new school where she would be learning magic. She was trying to be as optimistic as possible; it was pretty exciting being at a real magic school, but something felt off. After being attacked the other day, she couldn't help feeling powerless. She was stuck with the sniffles and felt unsure if she belonged at a place like Alfea or Magix.

She stood by herself, the hood on her slightly tattered black leather jacket obscuring her face. She didn't want just to walk away, but her heart was beating erratically as the doors to Room 203 opened on their own. Students eagerly began entering the room as the nervous girl leaned back against the wall, silently contemplating if she herself should set foot into the classroom.

"There's nothing to worry about, love; all first-years are new to this. Just go in there, your head held high and a bit of confidence," she remembered Stella telling her earlier in the morning.

Bloom gulped nervously, stood up straight, and calmly walked into the classroom, which was pretty much like the ones on Earth. Individual desks were spread out across the room. At the head, there was an elegant mahogany desk, presumably for the teacher, and a large blackboard behind it. Sunlight streamed through the large windows, making the room feel bright and warm. Chatter filled the room as various students gossiped about anything and everything, no matter how trivial.

Bloom sighed with relief as she rested a hand on the desk she'd chosen in the back of the room. Pulling down her hood she stared at the different students around her. Each girl seemed to have a unique sense of style. Some wore long flowing dresses, overalls, pantsuits, or jeans and T-shirts, and others added large colorful hats, long scarves, or sparkling jewelry to their outfits. Although she did receive the occasional glance her way, her leather jacket, black eyeliner, and lip gloss didn't seem to sit well with some of the fairies.

Come on, I can't be the only fairy who looks like this. Please don't let everyone be like Tinkerbell. Bloom thought scratching her head with an eye roll.

Bloom placed the largest, most insincere smile on her face she could muster and mockingly waved back at a girl with pink hair, who had been staring at her oddly. She wasn't going to let that ruin her day. The girl shook before turning back to the girls she was talking to. She giggled. She went back to ignoring the stares, instead of searching the room for her flatmates, as Stella called them, who shared the same morning class with her.

She spotted Flora at the front. The nature fairy sat atop her desk in a lotus pose as she chatted away with another girl who was wearing a long pink sweater and matching skirt. Bloom surmised Flora was droning on and on about plants as usual. Tecna was standing alone, checking her phone. Bloom wasn't sure what she was looking at, but the southern girl seemed deep into whatever it was.

Musa wasn't too far from Bloom. She was talking to some girls as well, displaying the same liveliness as yesterday. How could she be so energetic this early in the morning?

Once the bubbly girl spotted her roommate, she waved eagerly, causing the group of girls she was conversing with to stare back at her.

Bloom's eyes shifted before she gave her a faint wave in return. As she was about to take her seat, she noticed a small man wearing a full-on green suit and hat sitting on the desk next to hers. She jolted back in surprise.

He waved at her. He appeared to be the same man from the teacher's presentation. It seemed like the girl sitting there had been replaced by the little man. He had a bemused smirk on his face as he watched the students, intrigued as they slowly realized his presence. The students' chatter began to die down and turned into an awkward silence.

"I thought it'd take yer forever to notice me," he said, laughing. "Top o' th' mornin' ter ya, everyone. It's good to see fresh, new faces for this year an' since it befalls on me to kick off th' new school year, I'd first like to properly introduce myself, I am Professor Maize Wizgiz, your teacher of metamorphosis. Any questions before I start my lesson?"

The students remained silent for a moment. A girl with wavy brown hair raised her hand.

"The lass over there in the purple shirt," Wizgiz said, pointing at her.

"Uh, thank you, I, uh, I was just wondering when did you get here?" the student asked, nervously.

"I've been 'ere the whole time; you just didn't know it was me," Wizgiz explained, amused. "And by the look on ye faces I's can see that none o' you noticed me. I was disguised as one o' ye girls."

Wizgiz snapped his fingers and transformed into a slender girl, who was much taller than the professor, with long red hair and the same outfit. The students gasped, taking a few steps back causing Wizgiz to smile. "Before, I was an average leprechaun. Now, with an instant flick of my fingers, I can look just like one of you girls. To be fair though, this took years of practice for myself to learn. I can also transform into people you've met before."

The professor snapped his fingers again and suddenly transformed into Griselda in front of the students' eyes. The students gasped in shock, with a couple ducking underneath their desks. "Don't ye worry, I'm not really the Queen o' Demerits. De beauty o' magic is dat you can always go back to bein' you."

For one last time, Wizgiz snapped his fingers again, reverting to his original form.

Musa eagerly applauded, followed by the rest of the students.

"Thanks, but I am the teacher o' transformation for a reason. Enough of that though, we 'av much to do today. Transformation can be a pure complicated task, but th' toughest part would be-"

"Oh, oh, oh I know th' answer to this one!" Tecna raised her hand.

"Yes, the eager magenta 'aired girl upfront," Wizgiz said, pointing at her.

"The toughest part about transformin' is tryin' to maintain concentration," Tecna answered with confidence.

"Somethin' like dat, it's not de 'ardest part though," Wizgiz said, causing Tecna to pout. "Tryin' to change yerself into somethin' you're not ain't easy. Bein' a male leprechaun can cause trouble if I try to transform and focus too much on that nothin' will happen, but with little practice, I don't focus on dat. Any other suggestions?"

No other student raised their hand.

"No? Okay, well de answer is a bit less impressive, but the toughest part about transformation is 'oldin' the new form. Combined with changing your weight, shape, and form, 'oldin' dat with your magic can only last for so long before ye become exhausted. It takes a long while to keep the form and in certain cases, ye can hurt yourself. That's why most people go to professional alters to become taller, shorter, bigger, smaller, get wings, horns, or somethin' like dat," Wizgiz explained. "Since I'm the kind teacher, we'll start out with de basics." He snapped his fingers, causing silver hand mirrors to appear in each girl's hand.

Bloom blinked twice, stunned at the sudden weight of the mirror in her hand.

"Today you'll warm up with one o' the simplest of exercises: changin' yer hair. Ye should all be able to breeze through this one. Just stare into yer mirror, focus on your power and think about changin' your hair into a different color, growin' it out, or whateva ye like."

Once Wizgiz named the assignment almost every student started trying it.

Bloom, on the other hand, sighed. She wasn't expecting something this complex on her first day of class. She stared at her reflection before taking a deep breath, then closed her eyes in concentration while focusing all her mental strength to change her hair from red to purple. After a few minutes, she slowly opened her eyes only to see her normal curly bright red hair.

"Why did I think that would work?" she mumbled, feeling aggravated at this point, and looked around, hoping she wasn't the only one failing.

To her surprise, the degree of success varied with each student. Some hair was standing on all ends, falling out or moving on its own. Tecna, along with a couple other girls, made their hair change different colors rapidly, from green to red to blue to black to brown with white spots. Others, like Musa, had changed the length of their hair. The bemused fairy was going at a slow pace, but this wasn't an issue for her. She grabbed one of her now waist-length pigtails and wrapped it around her neck while bouncing eagerly. Flora, who was sitting in the lotus position atop her desk, was meditating calmly as her hair stood up in the air changing colors like Tecna's, but at a slower pace.

Bloom chuckled at the surrealism of it all, but couldn't help feeling inferior to everybody else. At least they could do the trick, she couldn't even change the color of her hair. She looked back down to her mirror and tried again. This time she scrunched up her face while strongly focusing all her willpower to change her hair color, but only gave herself a headache.

After a couple of minutes, she heard a quizzical voice ask, "How's yer progress goin'?"

She jolted, nearly dropping her mirror as she noticed Wizgiz standing beside her. "You again?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at sneakin' up on people," Wizgiz said with a sly smile. "Now I see you're havin' trouble here."

"That's an understatement," Bloom replied, rubbing her forehead.

"Don't ye worry, lass. It's only the first day, if at first you don't succeed, be patient and try again," the leprechaun gave her a reassuring smile as he patted the skeptical fairy on the leg before racing over to assist a girl whose hair was trying to attack another girl's hair.

Bloom pondered his advice for a moment before taking a deep breath. Closing her eyes again, she mentally thought of having purple highlights at the bottom of her hair. That was simple enough, she didn't want her hair falling out or attacking her, just purple highlights. Bloom could feel a slight tingle going down her head and once she opened her eyes, she quickly noticed the dark purple decorating different strands of her hair, but not the tips. It looked hideous, but as she stared at a strand a smile came across her face.

...

Once classes had ended for the day, the students of Alfea were either in their dorms, getting dinner, or touring the school. Stella was headed back to her dorm to get some rest and relaxation after a long day of relearning the same courses, along with a few new etiquette classes for children of nobility.

She silently walked down the brightly lit hallway, a shining grin on her face as a slender tan-skinned girl wearing a white mini dress prattled on about the latest gala she attended over the summer. Stella wasn't paying much attention.

"And long story short, that's how my bodyguard became my boyfriend," she said, ending her anecdote.

"Huh?" Stella said, snapping back to the conversation. "Uh, I mean, that's great to hear, hun."

"I know! It's so fabulous being me." she flipped her hair casually. "One night-"

Stella interrupted the girl by laughing politely as she reached for the door handle to her flat, "I'm sorry to cut you off, darling, but I must rest. A Princess needs her alone time, you understand?" she said with enough elegance that the girl simply nodded in response, too charmed to be offended. "Cheerio, sweetie."

The girl waved faintly before walking away, humming to herself. Once the girl was gone, Stella quickly ushered herself into the room and shut the door behind her. Her eyes shifted around the room for a second to make sure no one was around, then after a second, her smile dropped into a frown. She let out an exhausted huff while rubbing her cheeks. "Bleeding omega, my face hurts."

Stella sashayed over to the kitchen, her skirt swaying around her hourglass hips as she went over the refrigerator. Opening the fridge door, her eyes immediately focused on a small glass bottle labeled 'Sunni's Peach Pomegranate Smoothie'. She grabbed the bottle, threw off the cap, and took a long swig from it like she was drinking from a beer bottle.

As the flavor settled on her tongue she mumbled, "I needed that." She heaved another exhausted sigh. "It's hard keeping smiles like that all day, but I must as I am the royal Princess to the Davenwood Dynasty. Nobody is here to hear me say that… bummer. And I'm talking to myself. Such is life."

Stella took another swig from her bottle.

"Stella, is that you?" the Princess heard a voice call to her from the bathroom.

Stella looked around the room. "Yes, who wants to know?"

"It's me, Princess," the voice called back, sounding somewhat aggravated.

"Bloom, it's you," Stella exclaimed, relaxing. It was her Earth roommate. "Have you survived your first day of classes?"

"Sort of," Bloom answered somberly. "Yours?"

"Don't even get me started," Stella groaned, walking over to the bathroom door while still holding her juice bottle. She stood at the doorway, ready to vent until the now purple-haired girl opened it, stepping out with a somber expression. "Hey love, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Did you have a rubbish day as well?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Bloom replied.

"Come here, darling," Stella cooed, then brought the girl into a hug. Bloom groaned for a second until she felt herself melt into it. Perhaps this was what she needed. "Your hair's on the violet side this afternoon. Did you do it yourself?"

"Sort of," Bloom replied bluntly.

"Well, can I guess?" Stella asked. Bloom shrugged in response. "I'll take that as a yes!" The Princess tapped her chin while looking over Bloom's hair and noticed it was very damp with a strong fruity aroma. "Let's see, Wizgiz assigned the class to do a hair alteration spell, said it was easy, takes patience, that bunch of tosh. It worked, but you have no bloody idea of how to reverse it?" Bloom sighed in affirmation as her head dropped. "And you thought washing it out would work?" she asked, grabbing a damp strand of the girl's hair. "Strawberry scented shampoo, ace."

"How'd you figure it out?"

"My last flatmate was an utter mess with that spell too," Stella said, confidently. Bloom stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "I also… might have gone through something similar last year as well. My hair smelled like bubble gum for a week."

"Bubblegum?"

"It's a long story," Stella replied, giggling. "The hair assignment isn't that easy for beginners, but it's basically a rite of passage. Just takes a lot of practice."

Practice, practice, practice. Princess here is just trying to make you feel better, but you know she's lying. You couldn't even stop three witches with your fire powers. You can't even remember who attacked you. What makes you think you can master a simple hair spell? Bloom admonished herself.

"I don't know if I believe that," Bloom admitted aloud.

"I'll show you how to change it back, let's head to your room," Stella said, placing her juice on the counter and then throwing her arm around the girl's shoulder. "We'll get it done in a flash."

"Um, I'm not going in there for a reason," Bloom replied. "Flora has been whispering to her plants for the last fifteen minutes."

"I've seen weirder." Stella shrugged. "Now, come with me, we have hair to change back."

"I don't want to go, I don't want to go," Bloom begged, being dragged into her room by her arm.

Stella ignored her bestie's pleas.

As the two entered the room, much like Bloom said, they noticed Flora crouched down at the desk where her plants were. Whispers came from the girl as if she was chatting with the plants, and the weird - well, weirder - thing was that they were talking back. Flora turned towards Bloom and Stella, waved at them, then went right back to talking to her Venus flytrap.

"I want to ask what she's doing, but I'm kinda afraid to," Bloom admitted.

"Still not the strangest thing I've seen from a flatmate," Stella repeated without sympathy, walking over to Bloom's bed. "Last year, my flatmate, Missy, jumped on the bed the night before a test because she thought it was good luck."

"She's talking to a flytrap," Bloom whispered through gritted teeth, pointing to the scatterbrained girl.

"Would you stop focusing on the damn plant girl and sit down," Stella demanded, patting the empty spot on Bloom's bed. "Before we start on the hair, tell me about your day."

"It sucked. I was actually happy when some of my hair changed colors, but after a few seconds, all my hair got frizzy and then turned purple. I tried changing it back before the bell rang, but I couldn't and I didn't feel like asking that Wizgiz guy for help. I wanted to just make it through the rest of my classes and then fix it at the end of the day, but I could hear all these girls talking about me. I wasn't even that close to them, but I could hear every single snide comment."

"What did you hear?"

"'What's wrong with her hair?', 'Why's she walking around like that', 'She's dressed so weird.', 'There are some other weirdos like her here'." Bloom put her hands behind her head, groaning.

"It's best to just ignore twats like that," Stella advised her. "They feed off of judging others."

"I'm usually good at that, but it just kept happening in every class I was in! Oh, and the rest of my classes weren't any better. Botany class was boring, math-a-mancy, which I can barely say, was confusing, and artwork class… actually wasn't that bad. But I still have four more classes tomorrow that I am not ready for. Then when I was eating lunch, Griselda dragged me out of the cafeteria and grilled me for an hour to see if I remembered anything about my attackers. I kept telling her I couldn't remember anything, but it felt like she thought I was lying."

"Yeah, Griselda is like that," Stella said. "I think she grilled all of us, as you put it if that makes you feel any better."

"I just… I don't feel like being reminded of that again." Bloom rubbed her eyes in frustration. "I would've been stuck there longer if Faragonda hadn't stepped in. When classes were finally over, I came back here and you know the rest."

Stella sighed, knowing she had to choose her words carefully. "Okay… you had a rough day. Well pretty few rough days, honestly. I know you weren't expecting this to happen when you first came to Magix," she said. "I can assure you that this is just a minor misstep and I'll do what I can to help you. Starting with your hair."

"You're going to help me?" The hope in Bloom's voice was unmistakable. If it meant she didn't have to walk around with purple hair tomorrow as well, she was all for it.

"Of course!" Stella said, grabbing the girl's arm. "All right, now first things first, changing your hair back to normal takes more than just focus. It also deals with a positive self-image which means you need to quit your moping."

"I'm pretty much a perpetual mope," Bloom joked with a small smile. "But I can try to be happy for a few minutes."

"That's the spirit, and if it doesn't work now, don't worry, it's not the end of the world," Stella advised, patting the girl on the back.

"I can't just ignore this Stella, there's a saying on Earth: 'Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today'," Bloom responded.

"Where I come from, we have no such expression, and we're all much more relaxed," Stella jested.

"Stella," Bloom scolded. "Don't make me ask Flora for help."

Both girls turned to Flora who was still whispering to her plants. Whatever conversation she was having seemed to be deep.

"Harsh. Okay, sorry," Stella apologized. "Trust me, this is going to work. I've figured out how to accomplish this spell without ruining your hair. All you have to do is stare into this mirror and concentrate-" With a wave of her hand, a small hand mirror appeared in Stella's hand and she passed it over to the surprised Bloom. "-Deep in your mind you felt insecure and worried. You were probably confident at first, but when you tried to change it back, you became doubtful, unsure if the magic would work in reverse, which in turn caused you to think about purple again. Then when your hair turned into this mess, you became even more unsure of yourself which in turn caused the current color we have now to stay. Am I right?"

"N- no," Bloom lied quickly. "It's probably because I have a bit of cold, you know, from being frozen like a popsicle yesterday?"

Stella shook her head incredulously at the girl's claim. "Right. While colds and feeling tired can have an effect on magic, I'm not so sure that's why it's still purple."

"Well, it is," Bloom hissed in defense. Stella put her hands up, giggling, "Can we just focus on changing my hair back, please?"

"Of course, although, you still have the sniffles? Feeling knackered? Because, if so, we can try again tomorrow," she questioned with a mischievous smile on her face.

"I'm fine," Bloom grumbled.

"All right then, now as Wizgiz told you, it's all about self-image or, y'know, not feeling under the weather," Stella said sarcastically, playing around with Bloom's hair.

Bloom swatted her hand away as she stared angrily into the mirror.

"Don't focus on the purple, don't focus on the concern that it won't change back, just focus your mind on the curly red hair you had this morning."

"Okay," Bloom took a deep breath.

"Just one last thing," Stella added, bringing some of Bloom's hair to her back, "A little trick I use when performing spells like this is imagining my best hair day. Everything is perfect, the sun is shining, my skirt is free of wrinkles, and my heels fit perfectly. Think about your best hair day and how great you felt and that might work."

"My best hair day…"

Bloom cracked her knuckles before scrunching up her face, imagining a good hair day. She thought about her curly, messy red hair down at her shoulders. She pictured herself at the park, drawing under her favorite tree spot. Everything was peaceful and quiet. As she kept focusing on the day, the unsightly purple highlights began to fade.

"You're doing it. Keep going!" Stella urged her.

Bloom was doing well until she remembered Stella was watching. Her heart began to beat quickly as her bright sun turned into storm clouds. Raindrops fell from the dark sky, soaking the girl. The ink from her sketch melted down the paper. Bloom shook her head, frustrated as the storm got worse with wind storms and thunder. Once she reached her limit, a large puff of smoke engulfed her as flashing sparks erupted from the haze, causing Bloom to shriek in pain.

Stella waved the smolder away while coughing. "Didn't expect that to happen. Are you all, right?"

As the smoke cleared from around her head, Bloom's face was unscathed, but her hair wasn't so lucky. The purple was gone, but now her hair stood completely in spikes around her entire head. Her eyes widened as she stared at her new style.

It went from bad to worse real quick. Stella covered her mouth in shock, hiding her laughter as well.

Bloom's eyes shifted towards her giggling friend and then back to the mirror. She held her breath attempting to resist the urge to yell while repeating subconsciously.

Don't freak out. You can handle this. You can handle this. You can handle this... You can… you can't handle this!

"Shit!" she swore.

"What is going on?" Flora asked, finally noticing the commotion and turning away from her startled plants.

"I'm helping Bloom change her hair color," Stella said, full of pride, and gestured towards Bloom whose face was still bright red.

"And failing at it!" Bloom exclaimed, struggling to pull her hair down. "Thanks to your brilliant 'advice', my hair went from purple to… this! What's next, it sets on fire?"

"That would make a good YouTube video," Flora said, snickering.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that YouTube exists here, and just say, it is not the time for jokes, Poison Ivy!" Bloom shouted. "Why does this keep happening to me!"

"Poison Ivy?" Flora questioned, tilting her head in confusion. "I like that."

"Bloom, you're not paying attention!" Stella scolded. "You're not concentrating enough!

"That's it!" Bloom seethed turning to Flora. "Would you help me instead?"

"I'd be glad to-" Flora started before Stella jumped in front of her.

"Nuh-uh, I'm training her, and we're going to get this!" Stella cut in. "You can trust me, darling."

"No, I can't, darling," Bloom mocked. "Maybe I should just keep it this way. I can make this look work, right?"

Stella's eyes shifted away from the spiky-haired redhead while Flora shook her head.

"I'm… so… screwed," Bloom said through gritted teeth.

"That's why we're trying it again, now breathe. Okay, breathe," Stella began inhaling and exhaling to encourage her.

Flora followed suit and although Bloom could feel the fire burning in her chest, she went along to calm her nerves, or else she felt like she might explode from the pressure.

"Let… me… try… again," Bloom said slowly. "Best hair day…"

"Or, or, think of a relaxing hobby and go from there. When I was doing the assignment today, I thought about being in my mother's garden as she planted saplings in a fresh bed of dirt. The smell of the pansies, the freshness of the soil, the comforting sound of birds chirping. That's always nice."

"Um, okay, that does actually help," Bloom said, somewhat surprised. She pictured herself in art class back on Earth with a paintbrush in hand. The blank canvas had been coated in white paint before she started, and fresh paints were in front of her. She had a campfire in mind. As her hand swept against the canvas, the smell of paints hit her nose. Unlike the flowers, the smell of paint wasn't strong on her nose, it made her feel… relaxed. As the image materialized in the painting, Bloom's heart stopped racing. She could feel everything coming together. A second later she opened her eyes.

Flora and Stella stared at her with soft, matching smiles on their faces. "What?"

"Look," Stella said in wonder, holding up the silver mirror.

Bloom gazed into it and sighed in relief as her hair had returned to its normal, unruly red. Once, she had fought to put it into a ponytail and had cursed its disobedience, but now she was only joyful to see it fall around her shoulders.

She'd done it. Her technically first official magic spell.

"Told you you could do it," Stella said with a wink. "Mostly thanks to me."

"Hey, I helped too," Flora interjected. "You're welcome."

"Let's just agree, you both did your part," Bloom reasoned, sitting down on her bed. As if on cue, Kiko, who had been napping in the living room entered the room, spotting his owner he let out a soft meow and walked over to her.

"I really need you right now," Bloom scooped the orange cat off the floor and started stroking his fur to calm her down while also relaxing Kiko. "This has been a really tough few days."

"It gets better with time," Stella reassured, sitting back down next to Bloom. "You just need to practice more and stop worrying about the negatives and what-ifs. You have to focus on the positives."

"There's so much to take in." Bloom kept stroking Kiko's fur.

"I totally get that," Flora said. She turned Bloom's desk chair to face the two fairies and then sat down as well. This seemed to be a good opportunity to try and bond a little with Bloom. "When my powers kicked in at seven, I had to instantly learn all this crazy stuff about my powers and I was just like, 'I thought it'd be less complicated'. Not!"

"I can't believe I'm going to agree with you, but here we are." Bloom cocked her head to the side. "You already seem to know a lot about magic, though."

"Well, I'm more versatile in botany, but yeah, I've been educated in the art of magic even before my powers fully started. Living in Linphea can be, like, very dangerous, so magi are taught at an early age to hone their spark," Flora explained. "I may not be a royal or anything like that, but becoming a powerful fairy is something I've for sure dreamed of. It'd be totally awesome knowing I had the power to protect my people and stuff."

"Is that why you chose Alfea?" Bloom asked.

"Yep, like ya know this place gives me a lot of opportunities that Linphea's universities couldn't teach me. Not to mention most focused on combat fighting and less on using magic for botany… plus my parents wanted me to go to the best college out there and like, ya know, this was one of them."

"Cool," Stella said, adjusting herself on the bed. "Wanna know why a regal Princess such as myself is attending Alfea?"

Bloom stared at Flora, then Kiko, who seemed to share the same look of indifference.

"I feel like even if we said no, you would still tell us, so go ahead," she said, deadpan.

Stella smiled indulgently. "I used to be homeschooled and went to public institutions, but when I got to the age to attend a university, my instant decision was Alfea. I plan on becoming a skilled, powerful, and loved Queen of Solaria like my mum and her mum before her. But becoming queen isn't an easy process and Alfea was the best that I knew to attend. I don't want to just be married to some simple-minded prince and be known for clubbing and being gorgeous, fashion-savvy, and universally admired. I have servants to tell me that." She paused for a moment, biting her bottom lip. "I just want to show everyone I'm capable of leading a planet. I want to defend my planet and subjects from evil and if I can, reunite estranged lovers … starting with my parents."

Bloom's eyes widened in surprise at the last part, but she did not mention it. She was filled with a newfound respect for her friend. Instead, she said, "that's pretty admirable, Princess."

"I know," Stella said, jumping back to her jovial tone. Bloom was unsure how to respond after that, except to smile with a chuckle.

"I wish my choice to attend Alfea was that well thought out," Bloom admitted. "I just wanted to learn how to use magic… didn't expect to go through this much hell in just four days."

"Hey, don't try to trivialize your decision to attend such an amazing school. I still think it's strange you're from a place that has no magic, but it's not like you could ignore your new powers," Stella reassured.

Bloom nodded, but inside her head, she didn't feel like she was ready to stay in Magix. "I can't even do those fire tricks anymore; if I, could I would've defeated those witches."

Stella rubbed Bloom's back and Flora frowned in sympathy. Even Kiko seemed to notice as he propped his paws on the somber girl's left shoulder. He purred as he softly rubbed his head against her cheek. Bloom grabbed him calmly and placed him on her shoulder immediately scratching his head with a small smile on her face.

"If it makes you feel better, transforming is super easy to do," Flora said. "It's all about confidence. You have to want it and be ready for it. You don't have to do any fancy poses or shout your name or something silly like that. You just gotta have it in your heart. Once you're ready, your body will feel like it's floating, but in a good way and then a glow comes around you. You'll feel like you're going through time and space, but in a few seconds, just like that," Flora snapped. "You're in a fabulous battle outfit."

"Battle outfit? You mean the thing Stella was in?" Bloom asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm going to have one of those silly outfits, too?" Just the thought of it made her cringe.

"Yup, battle outfits come with the fairy form," Flora said leaning in the chair. "You just can't have so much doubt, remember that confidence is key, know you have your spark and you can kick butt with it."

"Okay… but will I be covered in glitter?" Bloom questioned making her flatmates laugh.

Stella nudged her with her elbow. "You'll learn to love it."

"We'll see about that," Bloom said, going underneath her covers. She adjusted the pillow and then rested her head against it. Kiko cuddled up next to her. "I just want to go to bed now."

"We'll leave you alone to rest." Stella grabbed Flora's arm, pulled her up from the chair, and led her out of the room.

Flora stared at her, confused as to why she was being removed from her own room. "Wait a minute, this is my room too," she protested.

"Come on, love, she's had a rough day. She needs her rest and she won't get it if we're still talking to her," Stella whispered. "You can come look at my new outfits and talk about that bot-any stuff."

"It's botany," Flora corrected, and Bloom couldn't help but chuckle at the mispronunciation. "Fine, I'll leave." Looking back at Bloom one last time before leaving, she said, "Remember, Bloom, confidence is key." Then she left and as an afterthought called over her shoulder, "Oh, and don't burn my plants while I'm gone."

"See you in the morning," Stella said as she left the room and closed the door behind her.

Bloom muttered something unintelligible under her covers as her eyes slowly closed.

...

Morning arrived and greeted the students of Alfea with a bright, shining sun and chirping birds. All of the faculty and students were gathered in the dining hall eating breakfast. The dining hall was a spacious room with several grand, green pillars, and tables, some for two people, four people, or lined together with burgundy seats at each table. At the end of the hall, close to the kitchen, was a long table with a white tablecloth and large, fancy wood-crafted chairs for the staff.

Chef Sfoglia, a large, impatient-looking man, along with a few other lunch staff members, were busy handing out breakfast, gooseberry crumble griddle cakes, apricot & honey breakfast tarts, and a small bowl of grits.

Stella, Tecna, and Musa sat together at one of the lined-up tables, saving two seats for Flora and Bloom, who were running late.

Two girls were about to take the two empty seats until Stella laid both her long legs over the seats. With her arms crossed, she told them, "These seats are taken."

The two girls stared at the Princess, unsure if she was joking or not. Stella casually waved her hand away to show she wasn't kidding. Both girls stormed off to search for another table, sucking their teeth at the Princess in disrespect. She merely shrugged it off.

"Where are those gals?" Tecna asked, scanning around the dining hall for Bloom and Flora. "Griselda ain't gonna be happy."

"They weren't up this morning, so they probably slept in," Musa said, nibbling on a tart. "I know Flora was up really late studying."

Stella giggled, knowing the girl was actually talking to her plants before heading off to bed.

"Bloom was beyond knackered," Stella added before stuffing her mouth full of griddle cakes but frowned. They just weren't the same compared to Vanessa's. "Griselda's going to mark them late if they don't show up in the next…"

"Two minutes," Tecna supplied, checking her watch.

"You have a watch!" Musa exclaimed, staring at the girl's scarred arm adorned with a digital watch. Musa seemed to be surprised at the prospect of anyone using a watch.

Tecna chuckled, ruffling the curious girl's hair like she was her sibling. Musa smiled per usual. "Of course, I do, sho't stack. Also, I find it mighty kind of you to grab them food before they get here."

"It's the least I could do," Musa chirped, readjusting the plates in the empty seats. The chef had been unsure why she needed three, but since she was so friendly about it, he let her take them without protest. "They're going to be so happy. I can already see their bright smiling faces."

Meanwhile, Bloom and Flora frantically raced down the empty halls, trying to reach the dining hall on time. Well, Bloom was as she skied around another corner while Flora slowly trailed behind her, walking as if she was an old woman.

Bloom checked behind her shoulder to see Flora slowly catching up to her. "Hurry up!"

"Bloom, I've learned something living in the Magix realm, and it's that slow and steady wins the race."

"That's from a fairy tale - an earth fairy tale!" Bloom rushed over and yanked the girl's arm to quicken her pace.

"It's going to be okay, late is late," Flora reasoned slowly, trying to match Bloom's quick strides so she wouldn't be dragging her feet on the ground.

"Flora, speed it up!" Bloom ordered, ignoring the ditzy girl.

The sound of the bell went off a second later as the girls arrived at the front doors of the cafeteria. The teachers had already taken their seats and the Chef had served the last plate. Bloom and Flora quietly snuck in, searching for empty seats, but the room was filled. Stella spotted them and gave them a quick wave to come over to her table.

Covering their faces, they stealthily went over to the two empty seats with Stella, Musa, and Tecna. Bloom and Flora were about to sigh with relief until Griselda shouted, "Bloom Mason and Flora Rosa, you're one minute late. Next time, arrive on time instead of sneaking in."

Snickers filled the room as students turned towards them. Bloom and Flora kept their heads down in shame.

Musa slid the two untouched breakfast plates towards them while whispering, "I was able to grab some food for you."

"Thanks," both girls said in unison, looking over the dishes.

Bloom examined her food, apprehensive as to what half of the stuff was and unsure what she might be eating. She wasn't entirely sure if any of it was safe for her to eat, but since it was the closest thing to the food she didn't mind.

"It's about bleeding' time, what took you guys so long?" Stella asked.

"We overslept," Bloom answered. "Flora woke up first. Which it makes sense why I overslept; Flora, why did you?"

"I had to put Claudia to sleep before my head hit the pillow," Flora casually answered, before sipping her tea.

"Claudia's a plant, ain't she?" Tecna asked, although she already knew the answer. Bloom rolled her eyes with a nod.

"I would've appreciated you not dumping water in my face, by the way," Bloom said to Flora, chewing on a bland griddlecake. After a second, she grabbed a bottle of pink liquid, possibly syrup, and doused the cake with it.

"She's totally exaggerating, it was a few drops from my watering can," Flora replied with a hint of smugness. "Such a drama queen."

Bloom grumbled under her breath as she shoved a spoonful of grits into her mouth.

"That's why I make sure to wake up early in the mo'nin' right when that sun is risin'. Gives me plenty of time to get ready," Tecna said haughtily.

"When her alarm clock goes off, it's the sound of a rooster," Musa said giggling. "I love it."

"That's why you're my flatmate," Tecna complimented the bemused girl. She then turned back towards Bloom and Flora. "By the way, watch out for that deputy headmistress Griselda, I heard it's pretty easy to get on her bad side."

The five girls glanced over at the bitter woman, who was busy eating her breakfast while reading off her clipboard, looking frustrated. Bloom had never seen a person look that angry while eating.

"That's an understatement," Stella observed, resting her chin in her hand. "You could breathe the wrong way and get on her bad side."

The girls laughed.

While the dining common was buzzing with the sound of chatter, Faragonda rose from her seat and tapped a spoon against her drinking glass. Silence slowly fell over the hall as everyone turned towards the woman, but Griselda wasn't pleased with the few students still talking. She rose from her chair and let out a loud, ear-piercing whistle, causing any students to end their conversations.

"Thank you, Griselda," Faragonda winced, trying to get the ringing out of her ear. "Good morning, young ladies. It's such a pleasure to see all your bright, chipper faces again. I have a very exciting announcement to make: As most of you already know it is a tradition at Alfea, we are kicking off the new school year with a formal party to honor our new and returning students: The Back to School Gala! This fantastic party will take place tonight and a delicious buffet will be prepared by Chef Sfoglia and the kitchen staff. Our special guests will be the boys from Red Fountain School for Heroics and Bravery-"

Faragonda was cut off when the dining hall erupted with cheers and excited chattering. The white-haired woman simply smiled at the excited buzz in the room.

The deputy headmistress, Griselda didn't seem to agree as she let out another shrill whistle causing the students to go silent again. "Hey, Faragonda, your Headmistress, is speaking about very important news. Show a little respect!"

"Thank you again, Griselda," Faragonda smiled. "Where was I… oh yes, the students of Red Fountain will be in attendance, along with personalized gifts for each girl as usual, and you'll each be giving them gift bags with special objects handpicked by the upperclassmen. We hope you'll be friendly hostesses to our heroes and make them feel right at home."

"But not too friendly, I don't want a repeat of last year," Griselda interrupted with a serious tone. "Chaperones will be on watch so don't even try to sneak in potions or intoxicating drinks."

Faragonda cleared her throat, making Griselda shrink back, blushing. "We trust that you can follow these rules for tonight," she paused for a moment, turning towards the deputy headmistress and giving her a meaningful look. The woman groaned in response. "In addition, every first-year student will be assigned a specific task on setting up the gala, so I'm calling on all your creative minds to turn that ordinary banquet hall into a festive ballroom for tonight. Griselda will be handing out the envelopes of your assigned task and schedule in a few. You will all also be given a suitable amount of money to buy supplies and a dress. And please don't waste all the money on one dress, save whatever you have leftover if you're not tasked with buying supplies. We've run into this problem too many times."

Before Griselda could bark out another order, Faragonda placed her hand in front of the Deputy Headmistress before saying, "I can't stress this enough, do not just use the money to buy one dress or you will receive nothing but demerits from my strict cohort. And you don't want that."

Most girls seemed to agree as the room fell silent with some of them nodding in response.

Bloom chuckled at the thought of the girls wasting all their school money on extravagant dresses, but conveniently forgetting to buy supplies.

"This'll be such a fun evening, I'll have you know I met my first husband at this gala," Faragonda said with a dreamy expression. She quickly sobered. "But that will have to be a story for another time. As per tradition, at the end of the night, every student, both here and Red Fountain, will be cleaning up the banquet hall." Once Faragonda said that the dining hall echoed with resounding groans from the students. The white-haired lady giggled. "That response never ceases to change."

"Such bollocks," Stella grumbled.

"Don't be upset, classes will be canceled for today to give you plenty of time to plan and shop for tonight. I truly do hope we can work as a team to make sure tonight will be a splendiferous and enchanting Back to School Gala."

Once Headmistress Faragonda sat down finishing her speech, the room erupted with cheers as the excitement of the dance began to set in. Musa especially seemed to be bouncing in her seat with glee. Bloom silently munched on her breakfast until Musa grabbed her and shook her by the shoulders.

"Can you believe it, a dance? This is going to be thrilling!" Musa beamed.

Bloom gave her a small smile then looked around; everyone seemed excited, even most of the faculty, excluding Griselda whose shoulders had slouched at the end of the announcement. First-year girls began racing over to the faculty table to receive their tasks. Bloom finished off the rest of the tart and grits, wiped off the extra crumbs on her mouth, then headed over to the lunch table to receive her task as well.

...

Deep in the forest, on a dark and barren cliff stood the massive structure of the Cloud Tower Institute for Witches and Warlocks, one of the few co-ed universities for witches on Magix. It was a massive, twisting castle, a purple spire towering over the surrounding landscape. It looked like the school had grown from the cliff itself. The architecture's bending so defied physics that it made people question how the building stayed stable, or if the builder had been on drugs constructing it. Inside the very top of the structure was a massive amphitheater with rows and rows of seats, rising higher than the other, surrounding a tall mahogany podium.

This early morning, the collective students were ordered to gather there after breakfast for an important meeting. The students were busy chatting amongst each other when suddenly a cloud of black smoke seeped from behind the curtain and slowly made its way towards the podium. Talking started to die down as the students noticed its appearance. Some of the students felt a shiver go through their spines when yellow eyes snapped open from within the smoke and the presence of their headmistress took form: The great and fearless Esmeralda Griffin.

She was a very tall woman with pale pinkish white skin. Her dark purple hair was pulled up into a pointy hat with twin lilac strands on each side that matched an ankle-length silk dress, which hugged her thin frame, and a high white collar.

Another person soon followed behind her but decided to walk out instead of coming out in a puff of smoke. She was Headmistress Griffin's second in command, deputy headmistress, and the resident Hexing and Alchemy teacher Maureen Ediltrude. She was a head taller than Griffin, with the same thin frame as her and a frailer appearance, but with a will stronger than steel. Her hair was black with white streaks on the sides and down the middle of her steep widow's peak. She had on a damson suit with a large V- neck, tight pants that split open past her knees, and high heels.

Not far behind her was her sister, the teacher of Mayhem and Manipulation, Morag Zarathustra. She was much shorter than her sister and curvier; she had on a long, teal turtleneck sweater with a light purple belt across her waist, teal pants, and amethyst boots. Her blue hair was cut to a choppy bob style that didn't cover her face. Her skin was tighter and more jagged than her sisters', and a long purple scar went down her right eye, which made her looming presence even more frightening.

Beside her walked the elderly teacher of potions, a warlock named Saul Bittersmoke. Despite his old age and many harrowing experiences, he was a kind man, but stern when he needed to be. His face was wrinkled, and he had short, dark grey hair with light brown streaks in a bowl-like cut. His curved nose often reminded students of a hawk's beak. He had a slight hunch in his back which made him slouch over, and he was clad in a black cloak that covered his matching suit. He stuck out quite a bit, not only due to his gender but also for his somewhat non-threatening and gentle appearance compared to the other teachers. He also tried to be nicer to the students, even if that did get very little respect from them, considering they were witches who didn't exactly bother with niceties.

As Headmistress Griffin's appearance finished forming at the podium, she placed both her hands on its surface and glared at the students as a warning that any unnecessary interruption wouldn't go unpunished.

"My young witches and warlocks," she started, her voice sounding both smooth and seductive, yet still clear and calm, reaching every student, "I hope your first day of school has been full of malice and troublemaking, but I've summoned you here because I have rather sad news to share: Alfea is having their annual and most sacred back-to-school gala tonight. A delightful celebration where they invite the students of Red Fountain to give gifts and drink tea together, isn't that just quaint?" Nobody dared to answer to that response in fear that Griffin might hex them. The purple-haired woman took a deep breath, then continued. "And once again they have decided that Cloud Tower should not be invited."

Students immediately started booing, and instead of Headmistress Griffin being angry at this, she merely raised her hand to silence them.

"I'm aware of your irritation, and I understand, but maybe they had their reasons. They probably want a quiet, boring little party with tea and sandwiches, with happy music and everyone smiling and other special fairy nonsense."

A couple more students jeered at this.

"No matter the reason, this gives you a perfect opportunity to test your powers. We are witches and warlocks for a reason, and it is our job, nay, our right to crash this party and wipe those goofy smiles off their faces."

The audience couldn't help but clap at Griffin's speech as she continued.

"They've snubbed us, so we'll make them pay for it. Not too hard to understand, and that's why we'll be kicking off this year with a wicked school-wide competition. I urge you to come up with a way to ruin their little soiree! Submit your proposals by email within the next five hours and I'll select the worst one. The winners will receive a gift certificate to the Tiecoon. Every student is welcome to enter and do not hesitate to come up with the nastiest ideas you can think of. May the worst witch or warlock win."

Headmistress Griffin took her smoke form again without hesitation and flew out of the room as the students cheered. Professor Ediltrude then gave them the signal to leave.

"Oh, I'm going to come up with something super devious to scare those fairies," a girl wearing a skintight dress said to her friend as they stood up.

Her friend, a short girl with short magenta hair and spiky clothes nodded in approval, but snarked, "not before I do."

As the students and staff cleared the auditorium, three witches sitting in the far back stayed behind; Icy, Darcy, and Stormy. Darcy and Stormy were busy playing on their phones. Icy, on the other hand, had a mischievous look on her face while rubbing her hands together.

As Icy started chuckling, Darcy spoke, "So I assume by your tittering that you have a scheme brewing."

"Of course," Icy replied. "This'll bring us one step closer to getting that bimbo's ring and making a bit of mischief along the way."

"We'd be wasting our time," Stormy said, missing the point. "It's just supposed to be sabotaging this party. What good would that do for us?"

"Trust me, Stormy, this will be fun," Icy reminded her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her grin widened. "We'll be killing two birds with one spell."

...

"Party, party, party, I like to go to parties," Musa sang while dancing around the living room. "Oh, I'm so excited. We're going to have a big party with gifts, food, and dancing!"

"And handsome blokes," Stella swooned while relaxing on the couch. "By the way, Musa, it's not just a party, it's a Gala. And a Gala is only good when you have a stylish outfit to wear. What shall I wear though? I have so many dresses to choose from, but I will not be caught wearing something I've worn to a Gala before."

"You're right, I don't have anything good to put on," Musa murmured thoughtfully, twirling on her tiptoes. "I wonder if I can get a nice dress with the money, they gave us? Well, I guess when you think about it, it doesn't matter what I wear; I'll still be having so much fun!"

"Musa, so innocent." Stella shook her head, a fond note in her voice. "You have to wear your best attire to a Gala." Her face lit up as she remembered a recent purchase. "I might have something fetching for myself." She then stood up from the couch and raced to her room while Musa and Flora waited in the living room. She came out a second later holding a jewel accented, salmon-colored, strapless mini dress. "Behold, a Quaroa Wixrahi exclusive. I had to max out one of the credit cards daddy gave me, but it was worth it. It was calling to me from the shop window: 'Buy… buy me please'."

"And you nobly answered its plea," Flora joked, ruffling her hair. "You'll look super cute in it, that's for sure."

"Thank you, Flora." Stella beamed, then looked at her ring and pouted. "Shame my ring doesn't go with it. I'm going to have to hide it."

"I can keep it safe!" Musa said, waving her hand in the air. "I can hide it in one of my books- oops, I just told you my- 'hide stuff' spot."

"It's no worries, Muse," Stella said, amused. "I know where to put it."

"All right, I reckon I found the right thing to wear. Tell me what y'all think," Tecna called from her room before entering the main hall wearing a knee-length, chocolate brown lace dress. She did a slow spin to show it off to the three girls. "It took me fo' evah to find this thing. Thank goodness mah mama packed this with mah stuff."

"You look so adorable," Musa squealed, clasping her hands together. "You're like a model."

Tecna blushed. "Aw shucks, you being too kind."

"It's ...flattering," Stella half-complimented.

"Flatterin'? What kind of mess is that?" Tecna said, offended. "I scoured my closet for hours and this works."

"Yes, and it's flattering," Stella said, still looking somewhat unconvinced. "A nice pair of shoes would accent the outfit though."

Tecna placed her hands on her hips as Flora whipped out the cash she was given for the gala. She started counting it slowly, then sighed.

"This isn't nearly enough for the right dress and supplies," Flora noted. "I hope I can find the right one, one that pops, and still have time to buy decorations for the dance. I'm so glad they assigned me that, but why can't we use magic to make our dresses?"

"Oh no, don't do that, trying to make a dress with nothing…" Stella shook her head and sighed. "Magic is difficult. There has to be an image of the dress you want in your head and then there's getting the right spell and magic dust and there's a chance it might not stabilize."

"Might not what?" Flora questioned.

"A girl tried to make her own dress with magic for the gala last year and she sort of succeeded before the dress literally turned into dust during the first dance." Flora, Musa, and Tecna gasped simultaneously while Stella simply nodded in response. "She ran out in tears afterward, only wearing a strapless bra and weirdly patterned panties."

"Maybe buying a dress won't be that bad," Flora relented nervously.

"Don't worry, Flo'a, we'll help you find one," Tecna said, giving her a reassuring smile. "The Magix bus will be arriving soon. We can have a shopping spree."

"I like the way you think," Stella smiled in approval.

"Totally. I heard the guys at Red Fountain are major hotties and I want to get some numbers," Flora said, sighing dreamily.

"You're not wrong about that." Stella winked. "You will totally get some guy's attention and a nice dress could distract them from you being shaped like a candy bar."

"As if I care about gettin' a gaze from a boy." Tecna scoffed, crossing her arms. "One will gimme a gif' and I reckon y'all will be by my side for the rest of the night."

"Is that why you're dressed like a total diva?" Musa questioned with a bemused smile.

"When you attend a festival occasion, you gotta dress acco'din'ly. That's why I'm wearin' this," Tecna refuted. "Plus, mah parents would flip if I spent a bunch of money when I already own a nice dress like this."

"Mm-hm, whatever you say, love," Stella said, rolling her eyes. "I should probably give you gals a few tips before tonight."

"This oughta be good," Tecna said.

"Okay to start, never ever ask a bloke for the first dance. That's his job," Stella said crossing her legs. "A proper gentleman will always take the first approach when it comes to etiquette. If you offer your hand first, it'll become awkward."

"Should I be taking notes?" Musa asked her.

"Yes-" Stella started before being interrupted by laughing in the background.

"Yeah, take notes and, don't forget to title it, 'What Not to Do at a School Dance'," the girls looked over to see Bloom standing behind Stella. The amused fairy casually waved at the Princess with a smirk on her face. "It totally works, just wait for the guy to probably ask you for a dance. You'll be waiting all night, but it's totally worth it."

"I'll take that as a no then," Musa said, a little confused. "That's good, I don't like waiting for someone to talk to me, anyway!"

"Oh, Princess, whatever shall she do?" Bloom bemoaned, dropping to one knee with a dramatic flourish. "Now she will never know the gift of waiting for that special someone."

Flora, Tecna, and Musa began laughing as Bloom started fake-crying, but Stella frowned.

"Are you done?" she questioned, annoyed.

"Maybe," Bloom smirked. "Do you mind if I finish the rest of your fantastical advice? Step one, make sure he calls you on the telephone to ask you out ahead of time." Bloom raised her voice in a mocking British tone while raising her index finger. "Step two, don't wear glasses because it'll be a turn-off for the boys. Step three, wear the tightest shoes to make sure you're limping after standing for hours waiting for that special somebody to ask you for a dance."

Everyone except Stella chuckled at this.

"Oh, haha, laugh it up," Stella chided. "This is top-tier guy-scoring advice, I'll have you know. Appreciate it."

Bloom rolled her eyes.

Stella cocked her head. "Bloom, so negative. Oh, and just in case you wanted to know the proper shoes to wear. Two-inch heels, not flats, that match the color of your dress. Avoid stripes, spots, and especially splotched shoes. When the night of the Gala arrives, the heels will give off the appearance of poise and confidence."

"Yes, poise and confidence as you step on his toes. That is of utmost importance," Bloom said very seriously, walking on her tiptoes. She was trying and failing to hide her amusement. "The boys will drop to their knees."

Everyone laughed again, except Stella, who simply grumbled in frustration. "Never mind," she sighed. "Bloom, I'm sure you didn't just come in here to annoy me, what else do you bleeding want?"

"Right," Bloom remembered, staring down at the slip of paper in her hand. "I wanted to know what job you guys were assigned. I'm just curious."

"I'm providing the decorations," Flora answered.

"I'm taking care of the music, so just send me your best jams," Musa added. "I've already gotten seven hundred songs, score!"

"Did they assign you that, or did you volunteer?" Tecna asked knowingly.

"You already know the answer to that," Musa said with a prideful grin. "I want to make sure the music is upbeat for the entire night. Have you ever been to a party with no good music?" She paused, seeming to wait for a reply from one of the girls, then quickly exclaimed, "of course, you haven't, because that'd be crazy!"

"Well, there was that one place I went that played polka music all night, but not very many people were dancing. So that is very generous of you," Stella said, patting her on the shoulder. "I was tasked with setting up lights, and I know Griselda said no using unauthorized magic but hanging up a few lights with it should be an exception to that rule."

"Did you use magic without permission last year?" Bloom asked.

"Yes," Stella said without hesitating.

"Did it end well?"

That seemed to humble her. "Y- Not really," Stella sheepishly admitted. "That was last year though. I've gotten much better at evading the faculty."

"I doubt that," Tecna said dryly. "They got me workin' with food."

"What about you, love?" Stella asked Bloom since she was the one who brought it up.

"I... have to wash dishes," she replied, reading the slip of paper. Her flatmates groaned sympathetically. "Aren't there going to be like a thousand people there?"

"Close to it," Musa answered. "If you're counting Alfea students and Red Fountain students it'll be over… nine hundred and ninety-eight attending guests."

"You forgot to factor in staff," Tecna mentioned.

"I'm going to wash over nine hundred dishes at the end of the night?" Bloom exclaimed.

"It won't just be you. Four other Alfea students and six Red Fountain students were unfortunate enough to get assigned that task. You won't be completely alone," Stella corrected, giggling mischievously. "I needed that."

Bloom glared at Stella for a few seconds.

"Don't look so grim, darling, there'll be tons of handsome blokes you'll be meeting," Stella said looking at the positives. "Before you have to prune your hands at midnight, you'll be dancing the night away."

"I don't care about that," Bloom admitted with a shrug.

"Please," Stella said with a hand wave. "You say that now, but once you see all the gorgeous boys there, you'll be changing your tune. Oh, and did I mention that cute blond guy you met will be there?"

Bloom shook her head. "I'll have to see that idiot again. I mean if he doesn't hide behind that prince," she said.

"No way, you met one of the Specialists?" Flora asked.

"We met four of them and one was a prince," Stella said gleefully.

"No way!" Musa said, cupping her cheeks. "You met the Specialists? Like the really real Specialists? The school for training warriors? They actually saved you guys. For really real? Tell me!"

Bloom stared at the wide-eyed girl for a few seconds before sighing. "Yes."

"Whoa," Musa breathlessly said. "Was it super awesome?"

"Of course, it was, love, they saved our lives after all," Stella said.

Bloom stared at Stella with a raised eyebrow. "You mean they came thirty minutes after you called them, right when an ogre had already destroyed my parents' house?"

"Girl, you got every right to be mad, let me tell ya," Tecna agreed.

Bloom nodded at her emphatically. "Thank you!"

"You're still mad about that?" Stella asked, surprised. "Didn't you tell me that your house was already repaired, thanks to the Specialist sending a crew to fix it?"

Bloom crossed her arms before turning away from the Princess. "Anyways, don't you guys think it's odd there's a school dance today? Classes literally started yesterday and there's already some big party or whatever it's called. Shouldn't it be later in the semester?"

"She's not wrong," Tecna mused aloud.

"I get that it's weird," Stella said. "You see, the Back to School Gala is a welcome gift to all the first years, a congratulations for the new students for being accepted into Alfea especially since it's going to get tougher as the semester goes on. You get to mingle, dance, and receive gifts before getting into the nitty-gritty." Stella explained. "It's best to throw it now instead of a few months into classes when we're too knackered to enjoy ourselves. If the gala happened a few months from now, we'd all be too tired and stressed."

"That's true," Bloom said, rubbing her forehead. "I need a break already, honestly."

"That's the spirit," Stella said cheerfully. "Now what do you have to wear?"

"Do you think they'll let me wear this?" Bloom asked.

"No, are you telling me you don't have a dress?" Stella said, shocked.

"Not really. At least, not any dresses for some gala and I'm not sure I'd fit any of yours," Bloom motioned towards the whole group. "Guess I'll have to skip this whole dance after all. Maybe eat some popcorn and hang out with Kiko."

"While that is fun," Musa said sincerely, "Bloom, you gotta go, this is one of the most important events of the year. Think of all the fun you'd miss out on if you decided to just stay here all night."

"Please, what does this dance have that I can't get from my cat?"

"Good music and dancing," Musa answered.

"Healthy food," Flora added.

"Boys!" Stella said dreamily.

"Human interaction," Tecna finished.

"That and it's a school-wide requirement, if you skip, you'll be stuck doing tedious chores around the school for the next two weeks," Stella added. "Plus, dish duty."

"What the omega?" Tecna questioned in shock.

"Aww, lucky," Musa pouted.

"I'm already washing god damn dishes!" Bloom shouted. "So, I have to go whether I want to or not? This party is sounding better and better. I didn't even go to school dances back on Earth. Why is it such a big deal to go?"

"Oh, Bloom," Stella chided, shaking her head. "I get things might've been a little different on Earth when it came to stuff like parties, but I promise you it won't be bad. You'll have your best friends with you, by your side, to keep you company."

"I'm good with that," Tecna said. "We'll have our own little posse."

"Totally," Flora surprisingly said.

"Uh-huh, I still don't have anything to wear," Bloom reminded her friend.

"Did you already receive the money for supplies?" Stella asked.

Bloom nodded.

Stella threw her hands in the air cheerfully. "The solution, as the fabulous Tecna suggested: Shopping spree! There's a bus headed here in the next-" Stella and the others turned to Tecna who intuitively checked her watch.

"Fifteen minutes," she answered.

"Fifteen minutes. We head down there, buy our supplies, and then spend the rest of the time shopping for fantastic gowns for the gala. What do you say?"

"Yes, we're going to Magix again!" Musa cheered.

"Magix does seem like the best place to find a dress that pops," Flora agreed. "I'm in."

"But I already have something to wear," Tecna protested.

Stella glanced at her with a tight smile. "It never hurts to keep your options open."

Tecna pouted but reasoned that it would be a good idea to at least look for a new dress at a good price.

Bloom, on the other hand, still didn't seem to be in the mood to go shopping. She'd just started classes and was still having trouble figuring out what she was in this magical world. She knew she didn't have much of a choice though, as Stella eagerly nudged her in the side with a wide grin on her face.

"Eh. Eh, what do you say, Bloom?" She placed her hands on the girl's shoulder. "Come on, love, it'll be fun! There are a dozen stores where you can find just the right dress, I have a few in mind myself. It's a win-win." Stella then pulled Bloom closer to her and whispered, "Plus I really want to help you out, no new bestie of mine is attending any gala in casual attire."

"Fine," Bloom relented. "I'm only doing this because I might, might find an outfit in town."

"Yes! I'm the best, aren't I?" Stella beamed, resting her arm on Bloom's shoulder.

Bloom rolled her eyes but felt a small smile come across her face.

...

After a long bus ride, a wave of Alfea students exited the bus quickly onto the streets of Magix. Stella eagerly led her four curious friends to a small boutique a block from the bus stop. Bloom had perked up a little about the party after Stella filled her in on all the other fun things that would be there. She'd even submitted a song before she left for the bus, nothing too explicit, but something she knew people would like. Although now that she was in Magix again she couldn't help feeling uneasy. It was only a day ago where she was frozen to a wall but those villainous witches that she still couldn't remember. As Stella led the girls down the sidewalk and they approached the store, Bloom looked around, tensely. "Isn't there another town we could've gone to?"

"No, silly," Stella said. "That bus only takes us to and from Magix, Red Fountain, and Alfea."

"Great," Bloom mumbled. "I wonder if we'll pass the corner where I was frozen to a wall."

Stella giggled, looping her arm around Blooms. "Love, there's nothing to fret about. You have us by your side, we'll protect you from any evil witches that try to hurt you."

"Hopefully," Bloom said, looking over her shoulder. "Anyways, I just hope we don't spend more than an hour dress shopping."

"You can't place a time limit on shopping, darling," Stella countered. "When you shop, you must make sure to try on everything you like."

"Yeah, but ours is 'til four, so we got about three hours," Tecna said looking at her watch. The girls laughed as the emotionally ignorant girl looked on in confusion. "I ain't kiddin'."

"We know, Tecna," Musa reassured by patting the girl on the back. "It's so great to be back in Magix. The sun's out, the air is cool and no witches are attacking us."

Bloom giggled as she thought about how surreal that last part sounded to her. Back on Earth, all she had to worry about was Mitzi annoying her, not witches freezing her to a wall.

"It really is a charming place where the best boutiques reside, and you'll find some of the most darling outfits at my personal favorite, Poppy's Petals!" Stella said as she and the girls got closer to the front of a small store wedged between a shoe store and a diner. A large white sign at the front read Poppy's Petals in yellow letters. Mannequins dressed in strange and unique gowns were posed at the front window. Bloom saw the store was already packed with girls frantically searching for outfits to wear to the gala.

Stella eagerly ushered her group into the store. A tall and thin woman with choppy purple hair spotted her at the entrance and speed-walked over to her.

"Princess Stella Luna Leanna Celestia Estelle Davenwood, it's such a pleasure to see you again!" she said, giving the Princess air kisses.

"Dang, how did you get that many names?" Tecna questioned, scratching her head. "An' how does she know who you are?"

"I'm a regular here," Stella boasted.

"Well of course you are, we only cater to the high class and sophisticated clientele after all." The woman's eyes glanced over at Stella's roommates with a wary look on her face. "I see you're helping the less fortunate today."

Stella's face turned a bright red in embarrassment as she took in the shocked expressions from her flatmates.

"Excuse me?" Flora and Tecna exclaimed, offended.

"Yup, saw that coming," Bloom said.

Musa, on the other hand, didn't seem too bothered by the insult as she was too enamored by the clothes in the store. "Do you have any dresses with a hoop skirt?"

"We do, but I'm not so sure you can afford a hair clip here, let alone a dress," the woman said, still in the same saccharine voice.

"That's okay-" Musa began to say with a smile before being interrupted by Bloom.

"You can tone down the bitch, lady. She was just asking a question," she snapped. "I love what you did to your hair though. How did you manage to buy such a realistic wig?"

Flora and Tecna burst out into laughter as Musa covered her mouth in shock. Stella's eyes widened as the woman's face scrunched up in disgust.

"I'll have you know that this is my real hair and it costs more to get done than your shirt."

"Really?" Bloom asked, sounding concerned. "You might need to sue your hairstylist."

The woman gasped as she prepared to usher Bloom out of the store. "You little-"

"D- don't mind her, she's just kidding!" Stella exclaimed, giggling nervously. She elbowed Bloom in the side with a twinge of aggravation in her eyes. She seemed to have reached her point with the snippy girl. "She has an odd sense of humor, for sure, but trust me, she means no harm. Isn't that right, darling?"

"Sure," Bloom slowly said.

The woman gave Bloom a hard look, before looking back at Stella with a polite smile. "Let's forget this little episode and move on. Princess, what brings you back to Poppy's Petals?" she inquired instead. "Was there an issue with the Quaroa Wixrahi? I can hook you up. I know we don't do exchanges or refunds, but I can let that slide for my favorite customer."

"Why thank you, Vera, but I'm not here for me." Stella waved her hands towards the four girls. "My flatmates are in dire need of new dresses for the back to school gala at Alfea tonight and I thought, what better place to bring them to than here?"

Vera nodded with a wide smile on her face.

"Dire, seriously?" Bloom questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Stella's eyes angrily darted towards her curt bestie before she let out a forced laugh. "You must excuse her, she's not in a good mood."

"I can see that, don't worry I've seen this before; searching for the right dress the day before a Gala is serious business, you've come to the right place," Vera said, giving each girl a once-over. "Hm… it might take a while, but each of you should be able to find the perfect ensemble. Even you, hun." Vera motioned towards Bloom with a forced smile. "We do have the best."

"I don't know, after such rude service I'm not sure there's anything to my liking," Flora said. "I have specific tastes, after all. I don't just want something that's okay. It has to, like, pop."

"Say no more, I already know what you have in mind. Allow me to show you around," Vera offered, leading Flora to one of the many dress racks.

"She seems nice," Musa said sincerely. "Anyways, I better start looking before all the good stuff is gone. Good luck, girls!" She eagerly raced away with Tecna following behind her.

"I guess we're splitting up then," Bloom said.

"Not us," Stella sang. "For today only, I shall be your stylist."

"Stylist?" Bloom questioned.

"Yes, and I want to find you something that is sexy, alluring, and brimming with confidence," Stella said, looking her friend up and down. "What do you think?"

"Um, well I was hoping to wear something simple, but unique," Bloom explained. "And nothing that shows off my body."

"Oh, mate, where's the fun in that?" Stella laughed. "You're not giving me a lot to work with." Bloom shrugged in response with a laid-back smile on her face. "All right, I can make this work. I know my way around this store, so I should be able to find something for your taste."

"Lead the way," the bemused Bloom said with an unenthusiastic wave of her hand.

The Princess eagerly yanked her bestie's arm to scour the store for every dress she thought would look good on her friend. It took over half an hour, but Stella found three dresses from different racks that she thought her roommate would like. Bloom was then ushered into a fitting room and tried on her first choice.

Bloom walked out in a short-sleeved black and white striped sheath dress with a black belt. "How about this?" she asked, spinning around slowly.

Stella gave it a once over then shook her head. "That looks far too bland. To be honest, I grabbed that one in a hurry."

"I don't know, I think it works. Simple, yet fancy and it's got a nice feel to it," Bloom disagreed. Unfortunately, once she checked the price tag she flinched. "I don't get the currency here, but that looks like a lot of numbers."

Stella looked over the price tag as well. "Bleeding omega, I must've picked this off the limited rack. I'd help you pay for it, but I maxed out all my credit cards for the month."

For the month? Bloom thought in her head. "Um, no worries I still have two left."

"I made sure to put a lot of effort into picking out the best dresses for you and they're affordable. I don't just go around doing that for every commoner, you know."

"How generous of you to help out the less fortunate," Bloom sarcastically said. After another few minutes, she slunk out of the fitting room in an above-the-knee-length, pink, long-sleeve lace dress. Her face stayed bright red as she kept her arms covered over her body that was showing off more skin than she had planned.

"What do you think of this one?" Stella asked, satisfied with her choice.

"Ok, well some notes," Bloom said nervously covering her chest. "One, I have an issue with showing off this much of my body. Two, I'm not sure what size this dress is because it's really pinching around my waist and most importantly, I look ridiculous in this! My father wouldn't even let me leave the dressing room with this on."

"Nonsense, I think you look stunning," Stella complimented. "You just need to pin up your hair to complete the ensemble. Well, that, better makeup and proper jewelry, but away from that the dress really works."

Bloom sighed. "I'm not putting anything up, my back is already showing as it is. We need to talk about that, too." she turned around to show that the dress was so low-cut that it stopped right at the lower part of her freckled back. "This much of my back should not be exposed!"

"My word, those are a lot of spots," Stella said, poking one of the freckles on Bloom's back. "I can cover that up with some concealer."

"I don't need a concealer, I want a dress that keeps them covered," Bloom said, placing her hands on her back.

"Dearie, you're overreacting, this dress is stylish," Stella said. "I'd wear it."

Bloom huffed. "No." She waddled back into the fitting room as her hands remained at her back attempting to hide her spots. After she removed that dress, she grabbed the last dress from the pile and sighed at how small the single piece of clothing looked.

While Bloom struggled to put on the last dress, the rest of the girls met up at the dressing rooms. Musa and Tecna sat down on some chairs near the rooms talking to Stella while Flora went into the second fitting room with ten dresses hanging from her arm.

As the minutes passed, Stella became worried for the girl. "Mate, is everything okay in there?"

"Uh-huh," Bloom replied.

"Well, you coming out soon?" Stella asked.

Bloom sighed; this time more exhausted. "All... right."

She walked out of the dressing room in the last dress, a glitter-coated skintight dress that stopped at her knees. It was more constricting than the second dress, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Stella clapped bouncing from the chair she was sitting on. Musa and Tecna simply shared the same surprised look. Vera walked up to the Princess and nodded in approval when she saw Bloom in the dress.

"It's absolutely brills, don't you think so?" Stella asked the saleswoman.

Vera nodded. "This is one of our best sellers and it's a perfect fit."

"It is?" Tecna questioned.

"I think you look really… tight," Musa said, struggling to find a compliment. Even for her, this dress looked ridiculous.

"I… I… can't breathe," Bloom said, struggling to talk. Even when she adjusted it around her waist, she still found it difficult to catch her breath. "I need to get out of this thing before I pass out."

She waddled back into the dressing room still struggling to breathe and closed the curtain behind her. There was no way she'd be wearing that dress.

Stella groaned, rubbing the temple of her forehead, "So, that's another no."

"Guess our clothes don't fit her taste," Vera chided. "There might be a thrift shop in town though. They have a lot of...simpler attire there."

"I apologize for that, Vera," Stella said, mortified. "She's new here."

"At least she's trying," Bloom mumbled, struggling to remove the dress. She kept tugging it off her head before tossing it on the floor with Stella's other picks. She quickly put on her regular clothes and then stared at herself in the mirror for a few seconds. "This was such a waste of time." She pulled back the curtain in aggravation leaving the outfits on the dressing room floor.

"Don't you want to try anything else on?" Stella questioned.

"Nope," Bloom said. "Is Flora still in the dressing room?"

"Yup," Musa answered. "She wants to find something that'll make her pop!"

"She keeps sayin' that too," Tecna added. "She got about ten of 'em, bless her heart. I'll be dawgone surprised if she still has enough time to buy those dishes. Musa and I decided on usin' our money for supplies, savin' whatever we have left, and wearin' somethin' we bought from home."

"Yeah, the hoop skirt outfits are too rich for me. I'm pretty sure my nana sent me a couple of outfits I can wear tonight," Musa agreed. "But if it makes you feel any better, I thought you looked lovely in all those dresses, Bloom."

"Please, I wouldn't be caught dead in any of those things." Bloom dug into her pockets and pulled out the cash she had. After thinking for a second, she decided on buying an outfit by herself. She stuffed the cash deeper into her pocket and then said, "I'll see you guys back at the dorms. I don't have to buy any supplies for the party, but I'd rather look around for dresses." She gave Stella a meaningful look. "By myself."

"You sure?" Tecna asked, checking her watch. "It's gettin' kinda late. Shit, I have to buy the ingredients for my dip soon. Gotta run, gals."

In a flash, Tecna raced out of the store, knocking over a few mannequins in her stride. Musa smiled, scratching her head.

"I'll just stay here with Stella, we can go off and buy some silverware, isn't that right Princess?" Musa said, looping her arm around Stella's.

"Of course, I'd love to," Stella smiled.

"Yay!" Musa cheered.

"Well, I'll be done before that bus comes to pick us up," Bloom reassured. "An hour is too much time for me. I'm bound to find something quicker than that."

At least she hoped so.

Stella pouted. "All right, but if you need any help from me, I'm one text away."

"I know, you made sure to enter your two phone numbers in my phone after I told you not to," Bloom joked. "See ya."

She waved to the group before walking out of the store down the main street. She slowly walked through the streets, going into a couple of stores, but none of them appealed to her. They were either filled with flowing ball gowns or tacky overpriced attire. She didn't want anything extravagant or expensive, she only wanted something simple, unique, and cheap, but none of the town's stores seemed to agree with her stance on dresses.

"Why is every store here the same?" she wondered aloud. "Either I waste my money on an ugly dress or skip this stupid dance. Unless there's a sale somewhere."

As she rounded a corner, she noticed the wonderful sight of a sale sign in the window of a store called 'Tainted Paradise'. A large white sign hanging in front of the window read, 'Big Blowout Sale! Everything 50 to 70% off!'

Bloom rushed inside the small, cozy shop, noticing the darkly lit, quaint atmosphere, male and female clothing in different shades. The girl let out a sigh of relief. This was the perfect spot for her and as she walked around Tainted Paradise, she was mesmerized by how much this store fit her style.

"This… this is my store," Bloom said, looking around the whole room.

A pale girl with freckles and short burgundy hair with blue streaks walked out of one of the dressing rooms, her eyes focused on her phone. When she spotted Bloom, she nearly dropped it.

"Holy shit, a customer?" she said surprised. "Lucy, we got a customer!"

"Dude, I'm just in the break room, you don't have to yell," Lucy, an odd-looking girl with an elongated chin, thin frame, and green hair said, walking out from another room on the side. The pale girl pointed at Bloom eagerly. "Oh hey."

"What can we do to help you?" Dude asked, springing up to Bloom. "I'm Mirta, btw, not Dude, but I mean you can call me dude or like whatever, just don't leave the store."

"Um… 'kay," Bloom said, backing away a few inches. "I'm searching for a dress for the Back to School gala."

"Wait, really, you ?" Lucy questioned, surprised while going through the mid-sip of her drink.

"You're a fairy?" Mirta asked, circling around the girl. "Totally awesome!"

Bloom couldn't help laughing at the attention she was getting from the two girls. "You don't see a lot of goth fairies?"

"At this store? Rarely, but we don't get much clientele here, to begin with," Lucy shrugged. "I prefer that."

"We work sales, so I don't," Mirta said, rolling her eyes. "Only witches shop here and even they don't shop here that much. So, Lucy and I just spend our time doing nothing."

"Again, exactly how I prefer," Lucy said, holding up her cup. "Anyways, you're going to that dumb dance, why?"

"Yeah, you really don't want to go, it's-" Before Mirta could tell Bloom anything else Lucy interrupted her.

"Lame city."

"Uh, yeah, that's why you shouldn't go," Mirta said, blushing. "And nothing else."

"...Right," Bloom said, shifting her eyes as the burgundy hair girl avoided eye contact with her. "I have to go, literally have to go, or I get punished. Are you guys going?"

Lucy burst out into laughter, nearly choking on her straw. Mirta rolled her eyes at her coworkers' reaction.

"Cloud Tower witches aren't invited." she pouted.

Cloud Tower witches? Bloom had never heard of Cloud Tower, but she had remembered witches and she wasn't sure how to feel about being around them again but kept quiet about her worries since the girls were so nice. Well one of them.

"Thank you for that," Lucy said seriously while walking behind the counter. "Mirt, you think Rodney will mind me taking from the donation jar? I'm jonesing for another strawberry blast."

"No, but we discussed this, it's morally wrong," Mirt said, nervously. "Ignore her, now as you were saying earlier, you're searching for a dress for that gala thing? I'd be honored to help."

"Fairy trash," Lucy mumbled, as Mirta ushered Bloom over to a rack of glimmering dark-colored dresses.

"Not everyone dresses the same and Tainted Paradise provides them a better choice than won't cost them an entire check," Mirta said as if she was reading off a cue card. "May I show you this fashionable number?" She dramatically whipped out a sparkling red dress with a wide grin on her face. "Do you love it or do you love it?"

"I kind of love it," Bloom said brightly, examining the dress. "I'll try it on, thanks, Mirta."

"You're welcome," Mirta said, gushing with joy.

As Bloom walked away, Lucy came close to Mirta and whispered in her ear, "Why are you helping out the fairy trash?"

"Because as the mission statement says, 'Tainted Paradise turns away no customer whether fairy, witch, wizard or even troll. Because everyone deserves some wicked clothing'."

"You are literally the only person who I know who's ever read a handbook, cover to cover," Lucy said, embarrassed. "Why are we even friends?"

"Because you adore me?" Mirta said, blinking energetically.

Lucy rolled her eyes with a small, fond smile on her face.

"What do you think?" Bloom asked, stepping out of the dressing room.

Mirta clasped her hands together like a parent sending their daughter to prom while Lucy looked on indifferently. "You look perfect. Oh, and I know just the perfect shoes for you."

Mirta raced to the shoes lined up along the back wall. It turned out to be a really easy choice when she spotted a pair of shiny black combat boots. She walked over with the perfect pair before asking, "I'm guessing a size six?"

"Uh, yeah," Bloom said, taking the shoes. The girl's immediate knowledge of her shoe size was impressive. "Thanks, Mirta."

"Oh well, it's just, and I, thank you," Mirta stuttered, blushing heavily.

"For the love of the omega dimension, why are we friends?" Lucy repeated, facepalming.

"You adore me," Mirta said.

Bloom laughed. "I'm going to check out the jewelry case now," she said, still giggling at the intriguing girls. She approached the jewelry shelves near the counter where a wide array of exotic necklaces, rings, and bracelets appeared. "I don't know what to choose."

"I'd go with that beaded necklace," Lucy suggested, pointing at a black and red beaded necklace. "The colors match the dress."

Bloom and Mirta turned towards the formerly unhelpful Lucy who simply shrugged, sipping the last remnants of her smoothie. "I might as well help out a little since my break ended four minutes ago."

Bloom's eyes went back to the necklace at the bottom of the shelf. Red and black beads were connected with stainless steel links. It was perfect. "You guys are pretty good at this."

"That's why we have this job," Mirta said pridefully.

"Well, I needed a part-time job, but I try," Lucy replied dryly.

Bloom chuckled, before looking down at her phone and found she only had ten minutes left until the bus would arrive. She raced back into the fitting room and changed into her regular clothes then went to the front counter with her dress, shoes, and necklace in hand. "Well, time for me to checkout. Mirta, would you do the honors?"

"Definitely," Mirta exclaimed.

Bloom quickly paid for her items and with a bag in hand she hurried out the door, yelling over her shoulder, "Thank you."

"Come back soon!" Mirta called, closing the door behind her. "What a totally awesome girl."

"For a fairy, she was pretty all right," Lucy begrudgingly agreed. "Shame that she and every other fairy are gonna be pranked tonight. I told you we should've submitted something, maybe a slime prank."

"No way, you know I can't think of anything cruel like that," Mirta said giggling while pressing buttons on the register. "Wish you had let me warn her, poor thing."

"She's a fairy, we can't ruin it or we'll be total narcs," Lucy said. "It'll be fine."

"I sure hope so," Mirta said, frowning. Her mood quickly improved, and she began to smirk. "It's definitely going to be a night to remember."

...

Icy, Darcy, and Stormy sat in Headmistress Griffin's office as the headmistress read through a folder that the girls couldn't recognize. The three girls, one with white hair, one with brown hair, and one with blue frizzy hair, sat impatiently on the other side, somewhat unsure why they were being called down to her office, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. Some of the mischievous deeds they did around the school were legendary around Cloud Tower.

Icy tried to sneak a peek at one of the many papers on Griffin's desk before the woman's eyes shot up from her paper and a dark smoke emitted from her body. The girl immediately drew her hand back; even someone as tough as her feared the menacing headmistress.

"If you don't mind me asking, Headmistress Griffin, why'd you call us up to your office?" Darcy asked, breaking the silence.

"Glad you asked, Miss. Maganti," Griffin said, closing the folder. "I have good news for the three of you. I've received many proposals for the nefarious prank on the fairies at Alfea. All of them were very devious, but none as disgusting as yours! Your idea is simply repulsive! Icy, Stormy, Darcy, what I'm trying to say is the idea you came up with is the best! Congratulations."

"All right!" Stormy cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

"Huh, thanks… I think?" Darcy said, scratching her head, wondering whether she should be flattered or insulted.

"Ignore her," Icy cut over her quickly. "We knew our idea would win, Headmistress Griffin, thank you."

"No need to thank me," Griffin said. "You're the ones who came up with the idea, it's just the thing to spoil their fun. Make sure to not disappoint me."

"Trust me, headmistress, it'll be a night full of wickedness," Icy started, nodding with a mischievous smile.

"Just one more thing Headmistress, how would we get into the school? Isn't there a protection spell on Alfea that prevents teleportation in and out of the school?" Darcy inquired.

"There is, that is why you will be using the ancient catacombs connecting the three schools," Headmistress Griffin answered. The three young witches smiled at the prospect of exploring the abandoned catacombs.

"Take this." She extended her hand and out came smoke, shooting towards Darcy. Darcy held out her own hand, and in her palm, the smoke took the form of a small, black vial, filled to the brim with clear purple bubbling liquid.

"A potion for the use of only the most diabolical witches and warlocks with the Darkness Source," Griffin said with glee. "Use it to travel through the ancient catacombs connecting all three schools, and to explore Alfea. Undetected ." She put special emphasis on the last word.

Darcy stared at the vial for a while and then questioned the Headmistress, "won't Faragonda's magic override the effects of the potion?"

Griffin glared at Darcy with her piercing yellow eyes, causing the girl to recoil in fear. "That tea-loving, well-mannered fool may be strong, but she is not the most powerful fairy, especially considering she's dealing with someone just as, if not more powerful than her." The three young witches looked up at her, confused. Griffin groaned, "I brewed the potion myself, and my powers far surpass those of that fool. Got it!"

Realization dawned on the witches as they nodded nervously and smiled wickedly at each other.

...

Back in the dorms, Bloom hurried to her room and made a few alterations to her newly bought dress. Once it was on, she stared at herself in the mirror. The floor-length fishtail ruby red dress, adorned with Bloom's custom black rose pin and covered in the right amount of glitter, hugged her body comfortably. She model-walked across the floor as her cat looked on.

"What do you think?" Bloom asked, turning towards Kiko. The cat answered with an eager meow before licking his paws; the styled fairy took that as a good sign. "Yeah, I think it looks great too. All I have left is to style my hair, makeup, and jewelry and I'll be ready to sit at a table before spending the rest of the night washing dishes!"

"Don't forget about the gift ceremony," Bloom heard a voice say behind her, startling her.

"Holy shi-taki!" she exclaimed, stopping herself from cursing. She jumped around to face an equally startled Musa. "Oh, it's just you. Don't do that!"

"Oopsie! Sorry, but it's always fun greeting people that way," Musa said, only sounding a little apologetic. "Anyways, I'm glad you got a dress. It looks so nice on you. You're going to have to beat the guys off you with a stick when they see you in that."

"Thanks." Bloom laughed. "You don't look too bad yourself."

Musa was wearing a baby blue long-sleeved dress with a fur collar and embroidered flowers across the dress, over a pair of dark blue tights and baby blue chunky high heels.

"Aw, thanks," Musa said, her eyes twinkling. "My grandma got it for me before I left for Alfea. It doesn't look too cute, does it? Like I want to look cute, but not too cute."

Bloom's eyes shifted around, unsure of how she could answer this for Musa, but clearing her throat she said, "It's perfect for you."

"Yeeees!" Musa squealed.

"Was there anything else you needed?" Bloom asked, hoping she wasn't sounding too impatient.

"First, I wanted to ask, what song did you submit for the dance?"

"Shut up and Dance by Walk the Moon," Bloom answered, covering her eyelashes in mascara. "It was hard at first to send the song because I don't know how half this place works, but Tecna was able to help me out."

"Huh, never heard of that," Musa said admiring herself in the mirror.

"Not surprising," Bloom said. "What'd you pick?"

"Raindrops and Sunshine by Jacquelin. It's a festive song that I've listened to a billion times," Musa said. "Everyone's gonna love it!"

"Cool," Bloom said, closing the cap on her mascara. "What was the other thing you needed?"

"Oh, well, I was just wondering if you wanted to sit with us tonight?" Musa suggested. "I've already talked to Tecna, Stella, and Flora about us sharing a table tonight and hanging out. Since none of us have made any other friends yet."

"I honestly don't care where I'm sitting tonight since the rest of my night will be filled with the joy of washing dishes," Bloom said bitterly. "But sure, I'll sit with you guys."

"Really?" Musa asked, her eyes widening in joy. "Oh, this'll be the best night ever, I could almost sing."

The blue-haired girl grabbed her hands and started bouncing in the air in excitement. Bloom just stood there, unsure of what to say. Her eyes shifted towards Kiko who simply just stared at the two girls like they were crazy.

"Please don't start singing," Bloom said, struggling to extricate herself. "Now I really need to get ready, do you mind?"

"Of course, see you in the dance hall, bestie!" Musa said, letting go, but continued to bounce on her toes. "Oh, thank you, Bloomie! This is gonna be the greatest night of your life, I swear."

"Right," Bloom said, taking a step back. "Anyways, I'll see you there."

"Totally," Musa said, patting her best friend on the shoulder. "Also, if you're ever feeling sad or stressed out just come talk to me. I'll do whatever I can to help you, especially if it involves magic." Musa winked before turning on her heel.

"I'll remember that," Bloom said smiling as the chipper girl went out the door. "See you in twenty minutes."

...

As the students prepared for the big night, Icy, Stormy, and Darcy made their way to Alfea through the Enchanted Forest to enact their plan. It had been a quiet walk from the tower, and no one seemed too keen on breaking the silence until Darcy wearily tugged on the strap of her heel.

"You didn't tell me we'd be walking all the way here. These heels are pinching my damn feet," she complained.

"Do not start your bitching, Darcy. I'm not in the mood for it," Icy growled, rubbing her head. "Once we get the ring and rule, we can take chariots everywhere."

"And then you can bitch whenever you want to," Stormy mocked.

"Fantastic, but please tell me we're almost to the school," Darcy whined.

"According to the map, we should be there in another few minutes or so. If that pleases you," Icy said, keeping her eyes trained on the ring.

Darcy rolled her eyes as they silently kept walking. They arrived at a set of tunnels a few minutes later.

"Here it is! What did I tell you? They'll take a while to maneuver through, but these old tunnels have been abandoned for decades, back when they were connected to the three schools and used in emergencies."

"Took us long enough," Darcy grumbled under her breath.

"Just take out the potion," Icy demanded, annoyed. "The faster you do, the quicker we can get this done and head home!"

"The potion is far too valuable to waste on this event," Darcy reasoned. "We might not even get the ring."

"We have nothing to worry about! We're the most powerful witches in Cloud tower!" Stormy yelled at her, offended.

Icy pinched her nose in annoyance. "Stormy's right, we can get more of that potion later, I guarantee ol' Griffin has a dozen of those potions in her office. Just activate the damn potion!"

Darcy shrugged and made her way to the tunnel entrance as opened the vial. "Release the secret of this liquid, cover us in shadows and secrets, to walk through these tunnels without being seen, to accomplish all our dreams."

The liquid slowly evaporated and a whirl of dark clouds wrapped around the three girls. A faint light glowed around them before dying away.

"All our dreams?" Stormy questioned, unimpressed.

"Give me a break, I'm still learning spellcasting!" Darcy said, annoyed. "Let's go already."

...

About an hour later, Bloom found herself standing with a large group of eager first-year students before the big doors leading to the banquet hall. Her outfit had been eloquently put together with a pair of black chunky combat boots and a skull hair clip placed on the side of her hair causing it to fall gracefully at her shoulders. Bloom looked forward to seeing the hall fully decorated since it would be her first time there. Even if standing outside, waiting for the doors to open made her shoes pinch her feet.

The banquet hall was a large room located behind Alfea with large windows that were being covered by curtains for the big dance.

As the eager goth rechecked her reflection in her phone to make sure everything was in place, she heard a familiar voice shout behind her, "Fyrecracker, is that you? Fry mah hide, I've been lookin' for you ev'rywhere!"

"Why does everyone keep sneaking up on me?" Bloom grumbled, before facing Tecna. "I wasn't aware we're giving each other nicknames."

"I only call you that 'cause of your fiery attitude. You'll get used to it," Tecna said, patting the girl on the back so hard she nearly knocked her off her feet. "By the way, you look fabulous."

"Eh, I just put this all together; nothing to brag about," Bloom said nonchalantly. "You cleaned yourself up well- wait, that didn't come out how I wanted it to."

Unoffended, Tecna chuckled, waving her hand. "Thanks, gal." She was wearing the same dress she'd picked out earlier, with a pair of black knee-high socks and oddly, a pair of black high-top sneakers. "I chose only the best for tonight's occasion."

"Are you wearing bleeding sneakers to a dance?!" said another voice in shock.

Bloom turned and saw Stella, Musa, and Flora making their way through the crowd. Musa, who had a wide grin on her face, was in her dress with her hair styled normally into pigtails, except with two light blue scrunchies holding them together. She waved at the two girls eagerly.

Tonight, Flora had donned herself in a simple fuchsia mini dress with black nylon stockings and matching black flats with a strap around the ankle. She'd also flawlessly styled her hair to flow down her back with a curl at the bottom and a rose barrette.

Stella was wearing the jewel accented salmon dress she mentioned earlier, with her hair lightly curled and her fringe swept to the side. Bloom saw that the Princess had gone a bit heavy on the purple eyeshadow, but all in all, she looked stunning. She also currently had the most scandalized expression on her face.

"Stellar Stella, y'all found us and you makin' that outfit work girl!" Tecna complimented, snapping her fingers. "I see you noticed mah new kicks, knew people would notice them."

"Th- this is a formal event, you know, not a place to wear sneakers," Stella muttered, looking abashed. "It looks weird."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Tecna laughed.

"I literally can't with you right now," Stella said, putting a hand up. She took a deep breath to compose herself. "Tonight is going to be ace and I can't let your fashion faux pas ruin that."

Tecna and Bloom stared at each other, sharing the same small smirk. Suddenly, the ping of a bell rang through the halls as the doors slowly opened. Eager students rushed in to see the hall in its full glory, but then they halted, staring in a mixture of amazement and shock, the stunned silence only being broken by Musa's exclamation, "This is so awesomerific!"

Several large round tables had been placed across the dance floor, each draped in gold or silver tablecloths. White and silver plastic plates were surrounded by white silverware, wine glasses filled with a weird purple liquid, blue, pink, and green streamers and balloons, yellow small paper lanterns, and lit candles in different colors. A DJ station stood at the front of the dance floor and a drink bar was located on the side.

The girls began to walk around the room, the amazement still fresh on their faces.

"Elegance at its finest," Stella said sarcastically.

At that moment, another set of double doors opened, and the staff entered. Faragonda stepped forward and clapped her hands adoring every centerpiece, utensil, and balloon adorned in the dance hall. "Everyone, take your seats." She gestured to the eager first-year students.

As Bloom looked over at the staff, she saw that most of the staff were absolutely delighted at the décor, especially Faragonda, whereas Griselda had a serious yet aggravated expression.

"You know I was expecting them to do better this year," Griselda said, rubbing her forehead.

"They did, Jeanie, this year they got a DJ station!" Faragonda cheered. "Whoever got the DJ station, meet me for tea tomorrow!"

"Yes!" Musa cheered.

The deputy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "At least it's tamer compared to last year. There aren't any live animals this time."

Bloom couldn't help giggling as she found her seat amongst other chairs. Flora, Musa, and Tecna took three seats next to her. They all noticed individual pieces of paper on their dishes. As Bloom picked it up, she saw what was written on it, "Why does a squirrel swim on its back? To keep its nuts dry."

"The freak?" she found herself saying aloud. Bloom felt her cheeks heating up, turning the same color as her hair as she covered her mouth. The joke came off as both dumb and funny at the same time. She looked around at the other students, noticing the reactions were mixed.

Tecna's eyes widened once she fully read her slip of paper that had a different joke on it. "Fry mah hide, who thought of this smut?"

Flora raised an eyebrow at her joke, Musa struggled to hold back her laughter, and Stella only sighed, crumpling the paper into a tiny ball.

The reaction at the faculty table wasn't any better. Faragonda's mouth was wide open in shock, DuFour's face had practically turned the same color as her scarlet dress as her face contorted in a look of confusion and uneasiness, Palladium matched her expression while preventing his colleague, Wizgiz was trying not to fall over in laughter, and Griselda's eyes widened trying to register whether to toss the card on the ground or burn it in her hand. She was forcing all her willpower to prevent herself from storming out of the room or searching for the culprit.

"Uh, Flora," Bloom said to the brunette who was sitting next to her. "What task were you assigned, again?"

"Cutlery and wine glasses," she answered, picking up a paper-made fork. "You like 'em? They display a biodegradable elegance and refinement. Were you the one who came up with these "witty" jokes?"

"No, I have to wash dishes, remember?" Bloom replied. "Um, are these dances usually this… odd?"

"You bet," Stella said, taking a seat in a chair across from Bloom. "Last year, I picked out these cute orange solar lights that illuminated the dance hall, everyone loved them… mostly everyone, anyway."

"What about the ones who didn't?" Bloom questioned while cautiously appraising the purple liquid in her glass.

"Some complained they were too bright," Stella chuckled, gazing at the clock for a minute. "Better than the chickens another student snuck in. I wanted to tell you it'd be rather weird tonight, but they informed the older students like myself not to say anything. Part of tradition, I gather."

Bloom wanted to bring up how Stella was technically still a first-year student since she had to repeat but decided against it. Once Stella looked at the clock again, she asked, "Why do you keep staring at the clock?"

"Just waiting," Stella started, then stopped when the sound of marching feet could be heard. "Right on schedule as usual."

"Who?" Bloom questioned.

The big double doors opened, and in marched dozens of Red Fountain students in unison, all, no matter guy or girl, clad in coal-black suits. Leading them was a very elderly looking man with long grey hair and a slight hunch on his back, walking with the support of a gold plated metal cane, its top fashioned with a dragon, from what Bloom could make out, the students behind him never halting or losing their step.

By his side marched a large, tall man, muscled and enormous, with short brown hair, bushy eyebrows, and a goatee-sideburn combo. Behind the first wave of Red Fountain students was a line of what Bloom assumed to be four other teachers, two leprechauns, a bald female, and a very tall and muscular male with a full beard and wild hair with the color of hay.

Bloom frowned when she recognized the bodyguard, Brandon, in the crowd.

"All right, ladies, go find your seats!" bellowed the massive brunette.

The students immediately rushed into position, splitting up in a less organized fashion, looking for their respective places. The Red Fountain staff made their way to the faculty table, the elderly man warmly greeting Faragonda, with the massive man giving Palladium a pat on the back that almost sent the elf face-first onto the table.

Once the faculty started chatting, everyone else did as well, friends chatting with friends, guys flirting with girls, and vice versa. A fairy with raven black hair went to the DJ station to start the music, and a random song started playing for fifteen seconds and went through eight curse words before Palladium and Griselda both rushed over to the station to stop the song.

Bloom couldn't help laughing as a plate of food was placed in front of her by one of the catering staff.

The deputy and teacher fiddled with the console, much to the annoyance of the fairy managing the booth and to the amusement of everyone else. Griselda fumed as she began to kick the DJ stand in frustration, not knowing how it worked.

Palladium pushed her out of the way before shooting through five songs that had either curse words or racy lyrics before coming across something more family-friendly. Once that amusement was over, the students moved around, talking, dancing, sharing drinks, and so on.

Bloom was ready to eat but warily inspected the food in front of her, missing her mother's home cooking or, at the very least, fast food. Bloom poked her meal with a fork. "I don't know whether to eat this or test it in a lab."

"This is fun and all, but I'm going to talk to some hot guys. BRB," Flora said, standing up and casually walking away.

"She's right," Stella said, slamming her fist down on the table. "Why are you eating when we're at the bleeding Back to School Gala! We can't just be sitting here staring at each other we should be having fun. Not to mention we have tons of blokes at our disposal."

"Yeah, come on, Tecna, let's dance!" Musa said, yanking the surprised magenta hair girl by her arm and leading her to the dance floor, where a few guys were occupying it with drinks in hand. Musa began swinging Tecna around the floor while shaking her hips energetically.

Bloom smiled, but once she saw Stella's eyes on her she gulped. "I'd rather just-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Stella said, grabbing her bestie by the arm. "I'm not letting you just sit here all night like I know you planned. I already know exactly whom to talk to."

Her eyes shifted away from Bloom as she started staring at someone else with a dreamy look in her eyes. Bloom slowly turned around and spotted a familiar sight that only made her groan. Brandon and Sky were busy talking and laughing in a corner.

"Um, these shoes are hurting my fee- Hey!"

"I said we're talking to cute boys," Stella commanded, jumping up and yanking her along by the arm.

Bloom struggled for freedom while trying to reclaim her seat, but Stella remained unrelenting.

"I don't want to!" Bloom whined. "They destroyed my house."

"The ogre destroyed your house!" Stella exclaimed, exasperated.

"Yeah, well they took their precious time getting there," Bloom pointed out.

"You're such a broken record," Stella complained. "When are you going to let that go? They're nice blokes, I promise. Give 'em a chance, for me, please." Stella hit Bloom with the biggest set of puppy eyes she could muster, until Bloom finally pulled away, affected by how cute and pathetic the Princess looked.

"Whatever, let's just make this fast," Bloom relented. She wasn't all that angry anymore - the damages had been fixed, after all - but that didn't mean she wanted to spend any time with those guys. Okay, so maybe she was still a tiny bit annoyed; they really did take their sweet time that night.

Stella squealed, then ushered Bloom over to the two guys. "Hi Brandon, hello, Sky," the Princess greeted, with a slight flirtatious air.

"Hi," both guys greeted back.

Bloom remained silent, glowering at the boys with her arms crossed for what felt like a minute until Stella elbowed her in the side. "…Hello," she said, her eyes shifting towards Brandon.

Brandon took a step back and then placed Sky in front of him as a shield. "I'm happy you came to the gala, Bloom."

"Yeah, wish I could say the same about either of you," Bloom said curtly. "And you don't have to worry, goldilocks, I'm not going to touch you again."

"Goldilocks?" Brandon raised an eyebrow.

"It's your hair. It's yellower than Stella's," Sky said, before taking a sip from his cup.

"It is not," Brandon said, slightly offended. He then turned to Bloom, "Wait, you're not going to hurt me again?"

"Not at the moment, no," Bloom shrugged. But there was a dangerous glint in her eye.

"Um, okay," Brandon said, scratching his head. Bloom couldn't help but wonder what bodyguard or squire needed protection from the person he was protecting.

"Ignore her, she's just messing with you. Good one, Bloom," Stella said too brightly, letting out a forced laugh. "She is incredibly grateful that you saved us, which is what they did, right, Bloom?"

"Technically," Bloom admitted. She paused for a moment to compose her emotions then added, "I mean, thanks for sending some of those guys out to repair the house and stuff."

"It's the least we could do," Brandon said.

"Yup," Bloom replied, crossing her arms.

"So… Stella, how have you been since we last met?" Sky asked, changing the subject. "Have you fought any ogres again?"

"Sadly, yes. The same one in fact," Stella said with a sigh. "I'm pretty sure he was hired by some bleeding witches, although I have no idea who they are."

"Dude, seriously?" the prince said, shocked.

"It's in the past. Since you've brought it up, I happened to hear that your teachers weren't too happy about you guys playing heroes," Stella replied.

"They were pretty peeved off until we managed to get a word in and explained the situation. Once that was over, they just stayed pissed at Sky instead." Brandon clarified. "This pal o' mine will have to be working in the stables for a week."

Sky pouted. "Stupid stable cleaning."

"So… Bloom, how are you doing?" Brandon asked the silent girl giving him an intense death glare "Are you adjusting to everything?"

"It's been a mixed bag," Bloom replied. "Just last week, I got kidnapped by some witches and froze to a wall, got a cold from it. So, all in all, not too bad."

Brandon's eyes widened. "Oh. Um. Well, I'm glad you're okay," he said.

"Whatever." Bloom shrugged.

The moment became extremely awkward as the whole group went silent. Brandon wasn't sure of what to say next without feeling like he was putting his foot in his mouth, and Bloom just wanted to retreat to her table.

Sky's eyes shifted.

Stella pounded her fists together, but then they both shared the same expression. Stella motioned her head to the side and gave the boy a wink.

"You know what, Stella and I have to do this thing… somewhere else that isn't this… awkward," Sky said nervously, creeping away from the nervous bodyguard and still holding a grudge fairy. Stella followed suit.

Brandon grabbed his friend's arm, trying to pull him back, but the brunette was able to pull away and ran off. "Don't leave me here by myself," he demanded in a desperate whisper. It was too late; Brandon and Bloom were left alone. Brandon faced Bloom, who avoided eye contact with him before he let an exasperated huff. "Oh, come on, are you really still mad at us?"

Bloom refused to reply.

"I truly do understand the frustration of seeing your home destroyed and your friends and family getting hurt, especially by a boorish ogre, but you can't keep blaming us for being late. We still saved you before something worse happened."

"...That's true," Bloom admitted, letting her arms drop to her sides.

"Plus, we've- well, Prince Sky and I… well, just me- have apologized, and I feel truly guilty not getting there before anyone got hurt." Clearing his throat, he went on. "So let me offer my apology again." He cautiously stepped closer to Bloom. "I also apologize for the few days you've had. Don't worry though, on my first week here I got lost in Magix for five hours after one of my roommates told me there was an arcade there."

Bloom rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, those are definitely one and the same."

"It's a little bit the same," Brandon said nodding. "When Sky found me, I was stuck in some bar having accidentally gotten drunk from what I thought was regular iced tea."

Bloom laughed, "Seriously?"

"Yes," Brandon admitted blushing. "Plus, come on, you can't be so mad at me when you look absolutely stunning tonight."

"Are you trying to flatter me?" Bloom questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Ma- aybe," Brandon admitted. "Is it working?"

"A little." Bloom shrugged, a small smile forming. "This doesn't mean we're instantly friends."

"That's understandable, but I think we should at least start over," Brandon held out his head. "I'm Brandon, a specialist-in-training, and I don't want to have my suit yanked again."

"I'm Bloom, fairy-in-training and feeling somewhat generous so you don't have anything to worry about." Bloom shook the nervous boy's hand with a shy smile, easing him. "So, goldilocks, tell me more about yourself."

"Oh me? Well, uh, I'm Squire to Prince Sky and I'm tasked with protecting him," Brandon answered.

Bloom shook her head. "No, I don't want to know your job, I want to know more about you ."

Brandon paused, clearly not having expected that. "Oh… I like dragons," he said with a wide grin. "I really like the extra scaly ones because when you ride them it feels like you're a king straight out of history. Riding on your regal steed through the sky."

"Wait, wait, wait, you've actually ridden a dragon?" Bloom asked, surprised.

"Yes, you haven't?" Brandon asked, equally surprised, but when Bloom shook her head, he nearly dropped his drink. "You've never ridden a dragon!"

"I've never seen one in real life!" Bloom exclaimed back.

"Get out of here!" Brandon cried. "It's so awesome, you're literally floating through the clouds, seeing every building and person in sight. And the people look like ants."

"So, it's like flying on a plane?"

"I- I- no!" Brandon exclaimed, causing Bloom to jolt before laughing. "It's better than being on any aircraft. You can literally touch the clouds. Touch. The. Clouds."

"Okay, calm down, Goldi," Bloom said, patting the eager boy on his shoulder. "I got it."

"Sorry, I just love riding dragons so much. Next, you're going to tell me you've never flown on a Pegasus."

Bloom calmly took Brandon's drink before saying, "I have not."

Brandon's mouth gaped open in shock. He wasn't sure what to say next, but he seemed to forget Bloom was from Earth. "Right, you're from the dirt planet where no magic exists. I learned about that, but how do you live without seeing a Pegasus or unicorn or dragon? It must be rough."

"Yes, it is quite the burden to bear, but we learn to live with it," Bloom said, deadpan, passing Brandon back his drink. "I'd rather see a dragon over being frozen to a wall."

"Anything is better than that," Brandon agreed. "I can't believe they did that to you. Luckily, you were taken out of that mess or you wouldn't be here, looking absolutely stunning."

Bloom blushed. "Stop making me like you."

Brandon nudged her with a wink, "Already? I'm doing a good job."

Brandon and Bloom laughed. As the two kept talking, Bloom's eyes shifted to see Stella and Sky dancing together. Stella was focused on running her fingers through Sky's hair, but once she spotted Bloom staring, she waved at her and then gave her a thumbs up.

"She seems to like you quite a lot," Brandon said, noticing Bloom smiling. "From what I overheard from her and Sky, you're her new bestie."

"Pretty much," Bloom shrugged. "It's taking a while to get used to it."

"I can imagine, don't worry, she's a tough cookie at first, but once you get to know her, she's a… less tough cookie."

Bloom laughed again. "Gee, thanks." She then sighed. "Brandon, let's continue this conversation later after I get some air."

"Okay, have fun with that," Brandon said with a quick wave.

Bloom shook her head as she walked out the double doors into the hallway. She let out a sigh of relief once she was in an area with no other people around. While she was still somewhat annoyed with Brandon and his team, she realized holding a grudge forever wasn't any good and was glad they could have a nice conversation, but for right now she needed some fresh air. She just didn't feel comfortable talking to a boy that long.

She walked down the long hallway in silence, wanting time by herself after all the noise and awkward conversations. As she kept going down the long hallway, she spotted a large door. Curious, she opened it, finding dark tunnels she had never seen before.

"Whoa," she said in awe. "This reminds me of the catacombs in France… which means there might be dead bodies in this school. Cool." Bloom checked over her shoulder for anybody watching her before stepping through the doorway. She walked for a while through the dark, when suddenly she heard voices echoing in the darkness. Unsure of if she'd been hallucinating them, she froze, craning her neck to listen. As she leaned her head through the door the voices started getting louder.

"Which way do we go now?" one voice whined. "We've been walking through these tunnels for hours!"

"Would you shut up, we're almost there!" another voice shouted back. "You just keep whining; it's giving me a migraine."

"Where do I recognize those voices from?" Bloom whispered, scratching her head. She felt her heart race once the voices started to form a picture in her head. Please don't be them.

She slammed the door and hid on the side before being met with the door coming close to her face and the voices closer to her now. It was them, the girls who froze her to the wall and nearly took Stella's ring. The hot fire of anxiety began to burn in her chest again.

"So, this is Alfea," Stormy said, appraising the place. "Not too bad."

"We're in the banquet hallway, you idiot," Icy scolded. "Tell us where to go before someone spots us."

Stormy groaned. "We have to make a right and there we'll find the stupid gift chest."

The three witches seemed to walk away as Bloom pushed the door away and quietly closed it. She stood still for a few seconds before tiptoeing behind them.

"Here they are, the Red Fountain gifts in all their stupidity," Icy said before rubbing her hands together. "We've got some time, Darcy, you think you can track her ring?"

"With pleasure, sister," Darcy said, holding up both her hands. "I even have a perfect spell for this." The brunette closed her eyes for a second, then opened them to reveal them both glowing white as she recited a spell. "Illusion, show us the past, show us where she put it, show us where it is, show us where to find it."

Slowly, an image began to manifest in front of the three witches, showing Stella staring at her ring, then placing it in her jewelry box.

Icy clapped in glee.

Crap, Bloom thought.

...

Meanwhile, at the Faculty Dining table, Faragonda sensed a disturbance from the doors of the catacombs, but couldn't put her finger on why. It felt like foreign magic, something she was very familiar with. She looked around, looking for a way to get out without making a scene.

But, as her seat was in the middle of the table, in full view of everyone, she slowly sat back down placing a hand on her chest.

"Everything okay, headmistress?" Griselda asked in concern.

Faragonda mentally relayed a message to Griselda. "Jeanie, someone has entered through the catacombs, I can't tell if it's one of the students or not, look into it and apprehend the intruders if needed."

"Of course, Headmistress Faragonda," she replied mentally.

Slowly, Griselda made her way out of the room, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

...

"This will be like taking candy from a baby," Icy smirked. "Your turn, Stormy, let's see what the boys got the fairies."

"On it," Stormy said, snapping her fingers and causing the treasure chest to open with ease. Inside the chest were eggs dyed pink, purple, or blue. Each girl cocked their heads confused.

Darcy picked one up and opened it causing little butterflies to appear.

Butterflies? Bloom thought. Cute, but goofy.

The witches didn't seem to agree.

"This is the cheesiest damn thing I have ever seen," Darcy said, tossing the eggshell over her shoulder. "Enchanted eggs with butterflies - were bags full of glitter too much?"

"Simply tacky. I would want a guy getting me a spider or ingredients to make a dastardly potion," Icy added in disdain. "No matter, once we're done with them, they'll be the most memorable gifts those losers ever receive. Ready, sisters?"

Darcy and Stormy nodded, then each girl raised their index finger at the treasure chest as Bloom stayed hidden behind the corner, watching frantically as the witches recited the incantation.

"Dark ancestors hear our chant, turn this enchanted gift into a curse that makes the victim puke their guts and gives them a bite." As they spoke, a dark aura spread across each egg. "Change these butterflies into snake-rat eggs that hatch at the touch of a fairy's hand and spread panic, nausea, and terror across this dance!"

Bloom covered her mouth in shock.

On the other hand, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy seemed deviously chipper, with their spell enacting well.

"Once they open those eggs, those pretentious fairies won't know what hit them," Icy triumphantly said. "Well done, sisters, now let's watch the melee before we take that ring."

Icy cast a spell on the wall facing them to make them pass through easily, cackling along the way.

Once they were gone, Bloom rushed down the opposite end of the tunnel she went through, frantically saying, "Crap, crap, crap, crappity, crap, crap! Gotta find Stella!"

Bloom ran through the halls at full speed, ignoring the increasingly pinching feeling in her feet. On the way she ran past a furious Griselda, ignoring her. Griselda called out to her but to no avail, as the young fairy was far too worried to notice who she had just run past. She frantically searched for one of her flatmates, fretting at the same time she wouldn't make it in time. As she entered back into the dance hall, she bumped into Brandon's back.

"Watch where you're goin- oh it's you," Bloom grumbled, rubbing her nose.

"Huh?" Brandon wondered, turning around. "Bloom, it's you, are you okay?"

"Of course, I am," Bloom said, annoyed. "I'd love to chat but I gotta-"

Before Bloom could run off, Brandon grabbed her arm preventing her from leaving.

"Wait, I was hoping to ask you if you wanted to… to… uh." Brandon nervously scratched his head.

"Spit it out, dude," Bloom said, exasperated, moving her hand in a circle.

He cleared his throat, like he had done before, obviously nervous. "I was just wondering if you would do me the honor of dancing with me?"

Bloom sucked in her bottom lip while staring at the flustered boy for a minute. Shaking her head to bring her focus back on what was important now, she desperately searched the crowd for Stella and finally spotted her talking with Flora, Musa, and Tecna.

"Uh, sure. Later, though, cause right now I got something to do. Peace!" Bloom said distractedly, racing past Brandon in a hurry while calling to her friends.

"Um… I'm going to take that as a yes," Brandon called after her, a hesitant smile gracing his face.

"Girls, hey girls!" Bloom called, getting their attention.

"Bloom, darling, there you are," Stella chirped, waving eagerly. "Where did you disappear off to?"

"Not important, I have to tell you something… important," Bloom said, catching her breath. "I need to talk to you in the hall…way… I can't breathe… and… I need something to drink."

Musa held her drink out in front of Bloom, who grabbed it and took a long sip, emptying the glass.

"I needed that. That was delicious, can I have more of this?"

"Weren't you gonna tell us somethin'?" Tecna reminded her.

"Oh, yeah, the thing!" Bloom remembered, her look of concern returning.

She ushered the four girls into the hallway and hastily filled them in on everything she heard from the three witches. "They're back, those witches are back!"

"What?" Stella screeched, then got hushed by Bloom. "This can't be real, what are they going to do?"

"Well, what happened was I heard them casting some weird spell on the gifts the guys are going to give us, apparently, they're some enchanted eggs that they changed into having snake-rats?"

"A snake-rat?" the girls exclaimed, shocked. Stella, Flora, and Musa paused for a moment then asked, "What's a snake-rat?"

"Ya'll do not want to get close to one of them varmints," Tecna said, her face contorted into a grimace. "I saw one of 'em when I went huntin' with mah older brother back home, first of all, it is one of th' ugliest life forms you'll ever see. They're these small venomous swamp creatures that pack a mighty oda an' can cause a messy amount of projectile vomitin' with one bad whiff."

"Thank you for the description, Tecna." Stella squirmed. "I know why they're doing this; those evil witches are so jealous of us that they'd go so far as to destroy this big party. I bet they also wish they had a chance with the Red Fountain blokes."

Bloom slumped her shoulders. "No, Princess, the witches don't give two craps about going after the guys. They want to provoke a huge panic as a diversion to get your ring."

Stella stomped her foot in frustration. "Bleeding omega, again!"

"That's quite the sneaky plan," Musa said, rubbing her chin. "We've gotta stop those eggs from being handed out or the dance floor will be coated in vomit."

"We're a little late on that." Flora grimaced. "Look."

Flora pointed behind the girls and they all saw Timmy and Sky carrying the chest with the eggs in them. The girls shared the same wide-eyed expression, speechless to say anything.

The guys calmly walked past them as Sky said, "We hope you like the gifts we brought ya."

"Actually, those are-" Tecna started until Musa covered her mouth to say instead, "-Awesome, we can't wait!"

The guys casually walked away leaving the girls by themselves.

"Why?" Tecna snarled, pushing the blue-haired girl's hand away.

"We can't cause a scene, that's what those pranksters want," Musa explained.

"Musa's right," Bloom agreed. "We have to think of something or the only "surprise" that's coming out of that egg is a cuddly snake-rat!"

"I got it!" Stella said, snapping her fingers. "We can do a counterspell, but we must all focus our energy on it fast! Girls form a circle. You too, Bloom." Stella held out her hands waiting for the girls to join in, after a few seconds of reluctance they came together in a circle, holding hands.

Bloom gulped nervously, she wasn't sure her spark or whatever could even work on a spell at all, but after a second of hesitation she said, "I can do this."

"Good. Repeat after me: What it once was, let it be again, let all the dark magic be reversed," Stella recited.

"What it once was, let it be again, let all the dark magic be reversed," the girls said together.

The girls, except for Bloom, began glowing with their own unique aura. Flora had a soft, pink, and green aura, flowing like vines wrapping around her whole body. Musa had a bright purple aura - it looked like she had hundreds of thin, fluctuating rings up and down her entire body. Tecna had a purple and lime aura, sparking around her entire body like electrical shocks. Stella had a golden and silver aura, emitting from her like a warm glow.

Bloom closed her eyes so she didn't notice this. All she thought was having a peaceful, fancy party, and having her new friends all around her. Bloom felt the fire rising in her chest as she focused on those thoughts.

"Make the eggs like they were before, take away this dastardly curse!" Stella finished.

The girls followed suit: "Make the eggs like they were before, take away this dastardly curse!"

As she said this, Bloom could feel a little bit of the fire escaping from her hands. She opened her eyes and saw that her hands were glowing, along with the rest of them. She looked up to see the rest of the girls glowing in their respective colors. She also noticed that their eyes were glowing in the same colors, unaware that her own was glowing orange. A smile crept onto her face and the glowing in her hands intensified and started to spread to the rest of her body.

A wisp of light formed from the circle, then launched to the chest, returning the eggs back to normal without anyone seeing a thing. Sky and a few other specialists picked up an egg and handed it to some giggling girls. The fairies opened them, and colorful butterflies came out instead of the snake rats.

The girls looked on and let out a sigh of relief as more eggs were opened, with butterflies flying out.

"This is so sweet!" One of the girls exclaimed.

"Thank goodness that worked," Bloom said, putting a hand on her chest. "This deserves a high-five!"

Bloom lifted her arm, preparing for one of the girls to follow suit and high-five her back but was only met with quizzical stares making her remember they probably didn't know what she was doing.

"Yeah, high-five!" Musa shouted, slapping Bloom's hand.

"Yeah, we just playin'," Tecna said, chuckling and slapping palms with Musa and then Flora. "We done good, girls."

"I can't believe I actually did it again," Bloom said, staring at her hands. "My magic is getting… better."

"It's because you're totally confident right now," Flora said high fiving Bloom. "Come on, let's head back before someone notices we're gone."

She and the others walked back into the room and were greeted each with an egg except for Stella.

"Oh, thank you!" Musa thanked gleefully.

"Gee, thanks," Tecna said, passing the egg over to Musa, uninterested. The auburn-haired boy with glasses took offense to that and walked off annoyed. "Hey, cowboy, don't walk away from me with that disgusted look."

Tecna chased after the boy making the girls shake their heads.

"I hope this egg brings you lots of luck, Stel," Sky said, handing the Princess an egg.

"Aw, Sky," she said, suspiciously taking it. She bumped her hip against Sky, making him blush. "I have a good feeling that it will soon enough."

Stella ushered the girls back out into the hall and then showed the egg to Flora. "Flora… are you, by any chance, thinking what I'm thinking?"

Flora put her hands on her hips. "Why aren't juniper berries used more for modern medicine?"

"N- no," Stella said, confused. "Come here."

Stella whispered in Flora's ear making the girl grin ear to ear. "Oh, that, I'm totally thinking the same thing now. Thanks to that article from Teen Fairy, you showed me last night."

"It's all yours then." Stella tossed Flora the egg.

Flora held the egg in one hand and then casually waved her other hand over it while whispering a spell that Bloom couldn't understand. Once the brunette was done, she held out the egg in front of the group. "Ta-da, we have nothing to worry about, let's get back to the party."

"What did you just do to that egg?" Bloom asked, warily staring at it.

"Trust me, you'll find out soon enough," Flora said with a mischievous smile. Something Bloom never thought she'd see.

"Cool, well I'm headed back to the room," Bloom said, yawning. "Want to relax for a bit, before I'm washing dishes all night."

"Oh Bloom, don't you want to stay? Our gifting ceremony to the boys starts soon," Stella said, pouting. "You don't want to miss it."

"I think I can afford to," Bloom said, turning on her heel. "Don't worry, I'll be back in fifteen minutes, promise. I've just… had enough for tonight."

"All right, hurry back, love," Stella said with a wave.

Bloom waved back before quietly leaving the banquet hall.

...

While Bloom left the banquet hall, Icy, Stormy and Darcy were secretly watching the party, waiting for the prank to go through, only to witness it fail as each fairy happily opened their non-snake-rat eggs.

Angrily, Icy froze the surrounding vegetation, then shattered it with her hands. "This is bullshit, I… I can't believe that spell didn't work!" she screamed, stomping on the ice fragments. "Our spells always work!"

"When I find out who did this, I'm breaking their arm," Stormy threatened, clenching her fist.

"Would you two calm down?" Darcy said, putting a hand on each girl's back. "This is just one minor misstep; we still have time to get the ring."

...

As the girls celebrated their gifts (and victory for Bloom's flatmates), Griselda made her way to the tunnel again where the gifts were held, although she could sense dark energy in that area, she couldn't sense where it was coming from.

Griselda inspected the chambers and a shimmering wall caught her attention. She reached for it and in a flash, her hand phased past it. A spell had been cast over the wall and it was still fresh.

"What?!" She asked herself, confused.

She dispelled the wall and followed the trail of dark energy to its source.

...

Bloom pushed the door to her room open and turned on the lights, revealing Kiko cuddled on one of her pillows, peacefully sleeping. She smiled while taking off her boots and tossing them to the side. "Jesus Christ, those things were crushing my feet," she said, rubbing her aching toes. "I just need fifteen minutes, that's all. That'll give me enough time to grab Stella's ring and bring it to her… wherever it is. I'm not sure what Flora did, but it's probably not enough-"

She suddenly got interrupted by Kiko lifting his head from the pillow and meowing softly in greeting. Bloom patted his head while cooing, "Mommy can't play right now, just go back to sleep." She was headed to Stella's room when she saw the Princess' jewelry box, floating from her room towards the open door. She gasped and then chased after it.

"Get back here, floating jewelry box!" she screamed before pausing. "That's another thing I never thought I'd say… this is a weird night. I'm doing so much goddamn running tonight!"

"Those witches must've already put a spell on it," Bloom said to herself. "I gotta try to stop it. Um, let me think: One, two, three, stop there ring! Four, five, six, stop in a… fix… Oh God, that sounded lame!"

As the box kept floating in mid-air, it began to open and dropped to the floor leaving only Stella's ring case. "Come the freak on! How is this getting stranger!?"

The ring box slowly floated outside, going directly for the impatiently awaiting witches.

"I see the ring," Icy said, looking at the sight. "But someone is coming after it."

Bloom was so focused on catching the ring box that she ignored the fact she was barefoot; she wasn't going to let some thieves take someone else's ring and with all her might, she caught the ring.

"She got the ring… she got the ring!" Icy raged. "I'm going to take that ring out of her hands and then turn her into a keychain like I should've done the last time!"

"Don't leave us out of this," Darcy said, taking her sister's hand.

Stormy followed suit and together they formed a giant mist.

"Huh, that was easy. Good job, Bloom," Bloom happily said, patting herself on the back. She gleefully walked back to the building with the ring box in her hand when she felt a looming presence approaching her. When she turned around, she nearly dropped the ring box. "Oh no, not them again."

...

"Where is Bloom?" Stella wondered, nibbling on her nail. "She should've been back by now. Do people rest for a long time?"

Stella, Flora, Tecna, and Musa had been waiting in the hall for Bloom to return, she had already been gone for ten minutes, which wasn't good since the gift-giving ceremony for the girls' side would be starting soon.

"She could be taking a nap," Flora suggested. "She did say she was tired."

"Yeah, but I feel like she's in trouble, I can feel it," Stella fretted, putting a hand over her chest. "What if she's in trouble? We can't let her get hurt. If we sneak out—"

"Young ladies," Faragonda called. "It's time to offer our gifts, every student should be in here, and will Musa Tori please come up to the DJ station to sing her song."

"What's the word Bloom used earlier?" Tecna asked Stella.

"Crap?" Stella answered.

"Oh, fudgin' crap," Tecna repeated, covering her face.

"Girls, after Musa's finished singing, can I talk to you for a moment," Griselda ordered, walking past the girls who froze in fear.

"Tonight… just keeps gettin' betta," Tecna mumbled.

...

Back outside, Bloom slowly backed away from the furious-looking witches who had a dark aura emanating from them. The terrified girl fearfully brought the small box closer to her chest with a tight grip.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little earthling ginger fairy," Stormy insulted. "We meet again."

"Are you disappointed about that, too?" Bloom insulted back, clutching the box. "I healed up from that little frostbite you gave me."

"Still remember being frozen I see," Icy snarked. "Don't worry, this time you won't even remember your name."

"Oh, ominous," Bloom mocked, continuing to back away from the witches.

"Let's not make this difficult, whatever your name is," Icy said with a deadly calm tone. "Just hand over the ring box and we won't hurt you."

"Well… much," Stormy said mischievously, cracking her knuckles.

"Girls, girls, let's not fight, I mean why would you want this dumb ol' ring anyways?" Bloom said, trying to save her some time. "How important can it really be?"

"Trust me, fairy, that ring is more important than you think," Icy said, manifesting a blue glow from her fingers. "And it's best for you to hand it over to us, now!"

"I can't really do that, you see, Stella kind of needs it and I'd rather not hand it over to girls who look like they're about to snap me in half," Bloom said. She couldn't let them see how afraid she was, so she willed her legs to stop trembling.

"Snap you in half?" Stormy sneered. "You wish."

"Look, if you want the damn ring, you'll... have to catch me," Bloom said before rushing away.

The witches stared at each other for a second and then brought up the same menacing smile.

Icy brought up her hand and said, "Have it your way: Ice Path!" With that, she shot a beam onto the ground, causing ice to approach Bloom at a quick speed, but she managed to dodge out of the way in time while still holding the case.

"Nice dodge, but can you avoid this? Heel of Oblivion!" Darcy shouted, stomping her foot onto the ground, creating a crevice to open across Bloom's feet that made her stumble. "Finally, I got to do something!"

Bloom cried out and pulled her foot out, feeling a sharp pain spiking through it, but this didn't stop her from holding on to the box.

"I got this part," Stormy smirked. "Mighty Twister!"

A strong column of wind formed around the frantic girl, lifting her into the air. Bloom screamed as her body was thrown around inside the tornado. After what felt like forever, the tornado began to dissolve as she was in mid-air and dropped her back first onto the hard cobblestone ground.

Bloom grabbed her knee in pain, seeing numerous cuts and scrapes around it. "I really hate you!" she seethed.

"I know," Icy mocked, waving a hand and levitating the ring case that had fallen beside Bloom. "That was entertaining, but we'll be taking this from you."

"You can't," Bloom choked out, futilely reaching for the box.

"Oh, we can," Icy harshly said. "Face it, you're defenseless, little fairy."

"No powers." Stormy snickered.

"No friends to save you. In other words: You. Are. Useless," Darcy added.

"I'm shocked you even got into this school, you don't have any powers at all," Icy chided. "That'll make it easier for me to kill you."

"You're wrong, I have powers," Bloom whimpered, holding down her head.

This only made the witches cackle hysterically, as the box came closer to them, Icy knew it was her time to eliminate Bloom. "Sisters, may I do the honors?"

"Go ahead," Stormy offered.

Icy calmly walked towards Bloom, the box now in her hands and a plain yet vicious expression on her face. Bloom struggled to crawl away from her, but Icy simply grabbed her arm. "Goodbye, little fairy." Icy's hands became colder while ice slowly went around Bloom's arm.

She knew this ice witch was going to turn her into an ice sculpture again and that would mean she would crush her afterward. Bloom's arm trembled and shivered to break free as she felt warm energy going through her body. She held down her head, snarling, struggling to break free.

Clenching her fist, she said, "I am not weak. I am not useless. I have powers. I am a fairy and I will not die from you, witch!" She kicked Icy in the stomach, sending her flying backward.

You've got this, you have the spark of a powerful flame, Bloom heard a voice reassure her in her head, but it wasn't her own. It was someone calmer, surer, and she listened to it with everything she had left. Now, use that energy.

Bloom used all her strength to stand back up. Her ankle still hurt, but the ice-cold touch the witch tried to use on her was gone. She could feel a strong warmth emitting from her hands; she stared at them, breathing heavily. A fire was brewing inside her, and she was ready to use it.

"You wanna fight? Okay, let's fight," Bloom said, fire starting to form around her fingers. "I may be new to this, I may not know how to control my powers and I may be new to this whole world, but you're not going to turn me into some statue again."

"Look at this, the little girl is growing a spine," Stormy jeered, unafraid. "You're just all talk."

"I am not. All. Talk!" Bloom yelled, hurling a fireball towards the unsuspecting witch who ducked out of the way. "That's a new one."

"No matter, we'll still defeat you," Icy said, standing back up, launching a chunk of ice at the girl.

Bloom caught it with ease and the ice ball melted between her fingers, turning into water. She confidently said, "Hm, what else you got?"

"What's happening? She went from pathetic to fire?" Darcy asked, taking a step back.

"I guess I'm not as useless as you thought," Bloom said, checking her nails. "Before you have any other stupid retorts, I'm not backing down, and I'm not letting you take Stella's ring. I am a powerful fairy no matter what you say, and my name is Bloom!"

As Bloom said that, her hair started glowing as an equally bright light covered her entire body for a few seconds. She stared down at herself, then smiled. Just as it had with the other girls, Bloom emerged wearing a new outfit.

Her red dress had turned into a sparkly light blue heart-shaped cropped halter top with an oval-shaped jewel on the center of her chest, she had on red blue shorts covered by a miniskirt with red underneath the skirt and light blue with a stripe of red at the top ankle boots. Her hands were covered in matching long fingerless gloves that went around her forearms. Her teal wings were similar to a butterfly. Once the transformation was over, Bloom looked over herself in surprise.

"Wow, it actually worked! Odd choice of clothing, but it won't stop me from fighting," Bloom said, tugging at her skirt. "So, where were we?"

"You think changing into a trampy little outfit will stop us?" Icy sneered.

"Trampy, bimbo, you talk weird, ice bitch," Bloom said, moving her hand in a talking mouth motion. "Let's fight instead."

Darcy stepped up, holding her hands out at her sides. "I got this one: Vertigo!"

Darcy's spell made everything around Bloom contorted and blurry. The area gave her an intense headache; she covered her eyes to avoid getting dizzy. "It's just a trick. I can handle this; I just have to focus," Bloom thought about what to do when she heard her wings flapping. She bit down on her lip with hope. "Please let this work."

Bloom focused all her strength on her wings and was able to get a few feet in the air, flying out of the trance-like area.

"Ha, is that all you got? Making me a little dizzy?" she taunted, sticking out her tongue.

Darcy growled, clenching her fist.

"Aw, are you mad?" Bloom taunted, feeling another fireball forming in her hand. "Let's see if you can dodge another fireball!" Bloom effortlessly tossed another fireball at Darcy, nearly burning her hair off. "What should I call those, fiery inferno? Blasting witch ball? Totally awesome blaze! The ideas are limitless."

The witches groaned, annoyed.

"Let's see if you can face a Hectic Hurricane!" Stormy shouted, launching a hurricane of wind towards the confident newly transformed fairy, who could avoid the wind storm this time with a quick sweep of her wings.

She dropped a few feet but still managed to stay in the air. "Aw, I guess your little windstorm couldn't hurt me this time," Bloom teased. "Do you want to come a little closer with a bullseye? You might be able to get me."

"Shut up, you… jerk!" Stormy stammered, thrown off.

"I hope you two aren't getting offended by some freshman fairy," Icy critiqued. "I mean, a weakling gains a couple of wings, and she gets some attitude."

"Something like that," Bloom said, struggling to stay in the air. As she kept floating, her memory of the witches started coming back; it wasn't a lot, but it was enough to anger the witches. "Listen, Icy, Darcy, Stormy, was it? Oh god, I forgot that was two of your names!" Bloom started laughing, angering Icy and Stormy. "Whew, anyways, just hand over Stella's ring, so I don't have to beat you up?"

"I have had it with you!" Icy groaned. "Arctic Blast!"

A strong gust of icy cold wind went through the air towards Bloom, sending her flying back into some shrubs.

The witches maliciously cackled, then Icy confidently levitated the ring box back over to her and snatched it into her hands. "We got the ring; let's get the omega out of here!"

The witches came together, then Icy snapped her fingers, teleporting them back to the school. After they were gone, Bloom crawled out from the bushes, dizzy. She was still in her fairy form, with a few branches stuck in her hair. She saw the witches were gone and stomped her foot in anger.

"I almost had them! But I also have fire powers, or is it element powers, elemental?" Bloom pondered. "Eh, doesn't matter, this is still freaking awesome!"

Good job, the voice congratulated her.

"Bloom! Bloom!" Bloom heard a voice call to her while doing her victory dance. She turned around to spot Stella and her other flatmates racing towards her.

"You finally made it!" Bloom called back, throwing her hands up. "Where the hell were you guys?"

"We couldn't get away from the deputy headmistress," Stella explained, hugging the girl. "And it's not like we could just tell her those witches snuck onto school grounds… oh my Solaris, you transformed! You actually transformed!"

"Yup, it wasn't that hard," Bloom proudly said, wiping the dust off her glove. "This whole outfit will take a while to get used to, but I can make it work."

"Totally," Flora complimented.

"You look great; I love your wings," Musa added admiringly.

"Are you okay?" Stella asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I had to fight them, but it was a piece of cake," Bloom said nonchalantly.

"You took them on all by yourself?" Stella exclaimed.

Bloom nodded.

"How was it?" Tecna asked, intrigued.

"I grew wings, shot fire from my hands, and melted ice, so it was pretty awesome," Bloom couldn't help but brag. "They didn't even see it coming!"

"That's absolutely brill; congrats, Bloom!" Stella cheered, hugging the girl. "Oh, I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, Stella, but the only problem is that I wasn't able to stop them from taking your ring," Bloom sadly admitted. "I'm sorry."

Flora laughed. "They don't have it, silly. Remember about the Spell of the Month I got from Teen Fairy?"

"I'm not sure it worked," Bloom said.

"Oh, trust me, it worked perfectly," Flora said, putting her arm around the girl's shoulder. "Now, let's focus on something more important. You're probably going to need help de-transforming; I think we can help you."

"Yes, please," Bloom laughed as she and the group headed towards the dorms. "I really don't wanna head back to the party wearing this."

"I agree with that sentiment," Bloom heard a voice behind her say. She turned away nervously only to be met with the displeased-looking Griselda.

"Remember when I said we couldn't get away from Griselda?" Stella said blushing nervously.

"She's been here the entire time?" Bloom mumbled but didn't wait for a response.

"Yes, and I think you girls have a lot of explaining to do," Griselda said, sounding aggravated. "Starting with your transformation."

"Oh crap," Bloom said, causing Griselda's eye to twitch.

...

Icy, Stormy, and Darcy reappeared in their dorm room, feeling groggy and exhausted. Compared to Alfea, student clusters were a lot smaller, with three beds surrounding a common room with a small kitchen and bathroom. Icy kept the ring box close to her chest as she fell over on her bed.

"Shit, that was way worse than last time," she huffed.

"No, really?!" Stormy angrily chided. "At least you didn't have to avoid a fireball hurled at your head. That ginger nearly burned my hair!"

"Stop complaining; it could've been worse," Icy reasoned, sitting back up. "If I hadn't used my powers, she might've hit you in the face."

"Let's not focus on that," Darcy said, sitting down on her bed. "Icy, are you going to open the box anytime soon?"

"Oh… right, the ring," Icy regained her sinister composure. She placed the small blue box in front of her. "Finally, the ring of Solaria. Ultimate power will now be min- I mean ours! Ha, ha, ha!"

"Would you open it already?" Stormy ordered impatiently.

Icy carefully opened the box but was confused when she found an egg inside the case instead of a ring. Icy picked the egg up and shook it.

"An egg? Why would she hide a ring inside this? Something is in here, that's for sure," Icy cracked the egg open only to be met with a bright light illuminating the room for a split second. When it dissolved, the whole room was filled with tons of vines wrapped around the witches and everything in their place. They struggled to break free from the vines.

Although that made them angry, especially the already fuming Icy, what really disgusted them was the creature that came from the egg soon after. They all screamed in horror.

Stormy averted her eyes from the creature. "Ew, it's so disgusting!"

"I think I'm gonna puke," Darcy said, trying to squirm away from the creature.

It was a tiny purple duck that waddled over to Icy, identifying her as his new mother. "Quack, quack," the creature said.

Icy immediately crawled away from the duck, which had imprinted on her. She attempted to run away from the duck but toppled to the ground. Icy squirmed as the duck hugged her. "I hate it! I hate cute!"

"Okay, vines I can take, but that thing," Stormy used her free hand to point at the duck. "That is just cruel."

"Get it off of me!" Icy cried, struggling to break from the vines. "Those damn fairies!"

...

"So, if I'm not mistaken, these three witches, snuck into the school through the ancient tunnels? Cursed the gifts from Red Fountain? Which you then reversed? And they also came to steal Miss Davenwood's ring? And then you fought them all on your own?" Griselda asked Bloom rapid-fire as they walked to the front entrance of the dance hall.

"Uh, pretty much," Bloom replied. She had transformed back into her party dress, wearing her boots with her cuts and bruises all healed up, thanks to a potion Griselda had given her.

"And are you sure that you are telling me the truth?" Griselda confirmed.

"If she wasn't, she wouldn't have said it!" Musa snapped at the deputy headmistress.

The girls stared at Musa surprised, but the blue-haired girl simply shrugged. Even she was getting annoyed by Griselda and that was saying a lot. Although her voice mirrored a children's host trying to sound angry.

Griselda looked flustered at first, then finally she sighed. "Go…go enjoy the party."

Musa jumped with joy. "Really?!"

Griselda rolled her eyes and grit out, "Go. Before. I. Change. My. Mind!"

The girls all briskly walked away, and after they were far enough away, broke into a run, laughing.

"What did you do to that egg anyways?" Bloom asked Flora, smiling.

"When Stella handed me the egg, I was able to change it into a little vine wrapping with a bigger surprise," Flora explained to Bloom as they all headed back to their table. "There was no need to grab it; you should've just relaxed, girl," Flora said, her arm around the girl's shoulder. "We appreciate you fighting back, though."

"Well- You know- It was nothing," Bloom said, blushing. "Those witches are going to be in for quite the surprise, and we finished in time to get back to the dance. What did I miss?"

"Not much," Flora answered. "The red fountain students were given their gifts, Faragonda asked Musa to sing to them."

"Which I recorded for you," Musa interrupted happily.

Flora giggled. "Right, also Prince Sky flirted with Stella and Brandon pestered us about where you were, that's about it."

"She's correct," Stella agreed. "Tonight has been ace! Saved the party while looking fabulous."

"You're not wrong, Princess," Bloom said. "I can honestly say this day was truly amazing; I actually transformed!"

"Don't forget you're rockin' that dress," Flora complimented.

"Thanks." Bloom smiled. "You don't look too bad yourself."

The group arrived back at the party without anyone paying attention to them. As they went back to their table, Bloom caught Brandon glancing her way. He seemed to be nervously staring at the ceiling by himself.

"Look at him over there," Stella said, noticing it as well. "He's like a lost puppy."

Bloom shrugged.

"Love, it's obvious he wants to dance with you."

"How do you know that? He might just be deep in thought and doesn't want to be disturbed," Bloom reasoned stubbornly.

Stella raised her eyebrow, knowing her bestie was lying. "You promised me you'd give him a chance, and this is a perfect time."

Lights on the dance floor started to dim as the DJ played a slow song. Brandon glanced at Bloom one more time; then his eyes shifted back towards the ceiling.

Stella nudged Bloom eagerly, causing her to relent.

"I hope he doesn't step on my feet," she mumbled, walking over to him. She tapped him on the shoulder while he was still staring at the ceiling. "Hey. Again."

"Hello," the blond greeted back, keeping his eyes on the glass dome ceiling.

"Anything interesting up there?" Bloom asked, staring at the ceiling with him.

"Uh, well, did you notice the glass on the dome illuminates the moonlight at just the right spot?" Brandon asked. "I forgot it did that."

"Yeah… that's pretty amazing," Bloom said. "Anything else?"

"No, not really," Brandon said, slowly taking his eyes off the moon illuminated ceiling. "Uh, you know you owe me a dance. It's okay if you don't want to, I know you're probably still mad at me - which I'm fine with - well, not really, but I understand…." The boy paused as Bloom stared at him, confused.

She shook her head, a small smile on her face. "Let's do this, big guy." She took Brandon's hand, leading him to the dance floor. Bloom placed her hands on Brandon's shoulders, and they began to dance. "A few rules; make sure to keep your hands at my waist, not below or above, and don't try anything fresh."

"Yes sir- I mean ma'am- I mean Bloom," Brandon stuttered nervously. "I'm being dumb, aren't I?"

"Dumb? No, a little goofy? Maybe. It's fine, though," Bloom reassured, blushing slightly.

"Th- thank you." Brandon smiled. "I have to be honest with you; I thought you'd say no, to a dance. I mean, you did run away when I asked you the first time."

"About that, I kind of got caught in a sticky situation… it's a long story that I'd rather not explain while we're dancing," Bloom said apologetically.

"Oh, okay, well, you aren't going to run away again, are you?" Brandon half-joked, tugging her closer to him.

"I won't, I promise, specialist-in-training," Bloom joked.

Brandon chuckled before effortlessly twirling Bloom.

"Hm, you're not too bad a lead."

"Thank you," Brandon nodded. "Earth girl."

Bloom chuckled. "Where are you from, goldilocks?"

"The realm of Eraklyon. A nice, peaceful place with nice temperate weather," Brandon answered. "It's quite an enjoyable spot if I do say so myself."

"Mm-hm, it sounds nice," Bloom said, enjoying his conversation. She wasn't sure how to feel about the new guy, but she had to admit she was warming up to him. "Might check it out sometime."

"Whenever you do, I'll be your personal tour guide," Brandon said with a wink causing Bloom to giggle again. "So, do you like Alfea? Feeling at home?"

Bloom thought about that question for a moment, nibbling on her lip before answering, "I don't feel at home quite yet, but I'm starting to get used to this place."

...

A/N:

End

Wow, awesome right? I think it was, but again I'm biased, it's not as good as the show, but I liked it. Lol. Anyways time for schedule, chapter 5 will be posted next week... sorry for the late one. I have to do a ton of edits but do not worry it'll be out and you're going to loooove it! Hopefully, at the very least you'll like it! We're coming to the home stretch of pre-written chapters, after the wait will be a little longer and I hope you guys are okay with longer wait times. lol, thanks so much for being patient with me and waiting out while I went through hell at home. I'm sorry for the wait, but I love you guys, and thank you!