"For as long as anyone can remember, the happiest, sunniest, singingest creatures in all the world were my people, the Trolls." Poppy smiled as she turned the page of her scrapbook. "Look at us. We didn't have a care in the world, except for Bergens. See, Bergens didn't sing or dance. They were always sad."

Willow and Branch looked at each other, amused as she recapped their recent adventure. Willow was just grateful Poppy decided to hold onto everything she had planned until she could walk without her brother hovering.

"So Trolls and Bergens made peace, starting what I'm sure will be a harmonious new era. And that, Branch and Willow is why we're having a parade today." She grinned at her friends. "That and Willow was officially cleared to dance and party."

"As long as she doesn't lift anything," Branch corrected, lifting a finger in the air. "And thanks for the lengthy recap, Poppy. But we were there, remember?" He pointed to the scrapbook. "That's me."

"Oh, I know," Poppy said, putting the book back in her hair. "I just saw an opportunity to share my scrapbook. And I took it." She shoved a kazoo in Branch's mouth when he groaned in annoyance. "Let the first annual Troll Liberation Parade begin!" She used her hair to launch herself onto a rock and let out a whistle to get the other Trolls to join. When they arrived, she started to sing and started the parade.

(Poppy)

Raise up your hands

I want you dancing

(Branch)

Raise 'em up, raise 'em up now

(Poppy)

There's no, no time to hesitate

(Branch)

Do it, do it now

Willow laughed and worked to keep up with Branch as he followed Poppy.

(Poppy)

Lift up

(Poppy and Branch)

Your voices all together right now

'Cause your day is our day

(Willow, Poppy, and Branch)

Say goodbye to the clouds

Goodbye to the rain

And look to a world

Where everything's changed

And freedom is ours

So let's gather around and celebrate

Willow walked beside Branch in the parade. She loved finally getting the chance to sing with her brother.

(Willow, Poppy, and Branch)

We are free together

And we're soaring so high

Yeah, high in the sky

And we're smuggling by

And shining so brightly

Free forever

And we're livin' our lives

In lovin' and laughter

Freely and happily ever after

Willow grinned as the Trolls cheered at the end of the song. She stood by Branch in front of the crowd with the Snack Pack. "Great job, Trolls," Poppy said at the top of a mushroom. "As your queen, I decree that tomorrow, we're having a Troll Liberation Party!"

Willow cheered with her friends while Branch smiled, approvingly at Poppy. "Oh, it gets better," Poppy said, pointing at the cheering Trolls. "'Cause I led us here to give this invitation to a very special guest." She used her hair to pull the grass behind her apart. "The Bergens!"

Willow smiled sheepishly as the rest of the Trolls stayed silent. She walked up to Poppy and stood beside her as she tried to get some reaction from the crowd. "I thought you talked about this with them already," She whispered to Poppy.

"Well I talked about it with Branch," Poppy said, looking at Branch. He had his arms crossed and looked a little irritated.

Branch sighed and stepped forward. "I thought you were joking. Poppy, come on. A party? With the Bergens? You're kidding?"

"She is?" Cooper asked, relieved. He started laughing. "Oh, oh. Oh, okay. I get it now. It took me a second."

"Wha?" Poppy groaned, annoyed. "No. Guys, I'm inviting the Bergens 'cause they're our friends now, remember? We've been singing about it for a half hour now. It's a new era!" She pulled out her scrapbook and opened it. "See?"

Branch hopped up and grabbed the scrapbook from Poppy. "Okay, that's enough scrapbook for today." He pulled the top of the mushroom up and covered the scrapbook like it was in bed. "Night-night, scrapbook."

"Sorry, Poppy," Biggie said. "The Bergens are just so different than we are."

Willow nodded thoughtfully. They were different than what they were used to. DJ Suki pointed out they weren't interested in the same music as them either. "Then we should make an effort to learn what kind of things they like," Willow said thoughtfully. "We can't be friends with them if they feel uncomfortable at our parties."

"They even hate being glittered," Guy Diamond added, farting glitter on Cooper's head.

Cooper laughed. "Who wouldn't enjoy that?"

"Don't encourage this," Branch said, pointing at Willow. Willow stuck her tongue out in retaliation as she wrote down questions to ask King Gristle when they invited them to the party. "And sure, we're all glad the Bergens have promised not to eat us." Branch held his hand out. "But, one, are we sure they all promised?" The group of Trolls gasped in fear. "Two, what if they change their minds?" The Trolls gasped again. "And three, I lifted too many fingers."

Willow rolled her eyes as the Trolls gasped even louder that time. "Alright, that's enough panic." She leaned against her brother. "I know this is uncharted territory, but you gotta relax. We made peace with the king. He isn't going to let his people eat us."

"Willow's right," Poppy said. "You all are being ridiculous. I promise you, it's perfectly safe."

Willow ducked with Branch and Poppy when Bridget and King Gristle stuck their heads through the grass. "Did we miss the parade?" They asked loudly.

She sighed when the Trolls started to panic and scatter. "Great timing, guys," she said amused. Poppy tried to calm her people down while she looked at the two Bergens. "Sorry, you missed the parade."

Poppy sighed and went to pick up Branch, who fell in a mud puddle during the panic. "Hey, Bridget. Hey, Gristle."

"Oh no," Bridget said, concerned. "What scared them off?"

"Guys," Poppy put her scrapbook back in her hair. "We've just got to get the Trolls and Bergens to be friends." She pulled the invitation out of her pocket. "So we are inviting you to a party."

"A Troll part?" Bridget asked, surprised as she picked up the invitation. "It's a dream come true. All I need is a plus-one." Willow watched amused as the two Bergens started singing to each other. They were adorable.

"Whoa!" Branch called as they were about to kiss. "Still here, guys. Feeling awkward." The two Bergens stepped back and apologized, embarrassed.

"Well I think it's adorable," Willow said, crossing her arms. "I love that you guys can express how much you care for each other."

Branch rolled his eyes at his sister before turning to Poppy. "Poppy, listen. You can't do this party. The Trolls aren't ready to have the Bergens in our village."

"Branch, just trust me," Poppy said, full of confidence. "This party is going to be a smash!"

Willow nodded and looked to the Bergen king. "And to make sure it goes smoothly, I have some questions I need to ask you." She motioned for King Gristle to move his hand down so she could climb up. She pulled a notebook from her hair and looked up at him. "Are there any allergies we should be aware of? What about sensitivities? Any particular music you all are fond of? And what kind of games do you all like?"

King Gristle looked at the Troll in his hands. "Why do you want to know?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "This is a party to celebrate the newfound friendship between Trolls and Bergens. We can't have a good party if either group is uncomfortable, now can we?"

Gristle nodded, thoughtfully. "That makes sense." He sat down on a tree trunk. "We don't have any food allergies that I know of, though that could differ from Bergen to Bergen. We have a light sensitivity and loud noises hurt our ears. Glitter is probably a bad idea too." Willow nodded and wrote that down. "We usually do pinatas for parties and we have games we like to play." He looked down at the Trolls. "Is there anything we need to know to make you guys more comfortable?"

Poppy thought for a minute before grimacing. "Actually, yeah. As you could probably guess from the running, and screaming, most of the Trolls are still uneasy about getting eaten." She looked at the Bergen King. If you bring any games, we'd appreciate it if they didn't have anything to do with us getting eaten."

King Gristle nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, a lot of our games are based on eating Trolls. Even our pinatas have that theme."

Willow chuckled nervously. "Yeah, maybe don't bring those. The last thing we need is panic."

"And you'll need to take into account how much bigger you all are," Branch pointed out begrudgingly. He still didn't like the idea, but his sister was on board, so he couldn't do much about it. May as well help. "There's usually a lot of dancing at these parties, and I don't want to worry about some Troll getting stepped on."

"If you all are comfortable, we could hold you while the dancing is happening," Bridget offered.

"That could work," Willow said, thoughtfully. She raised her pencil in the air. "But you need to have permission before you even think of picking up a Troll. Like we said, many Trolls are still terrified of getting eaten." She looked at the King. "And I know this is supposed to be a party to celebrate our new friendship, but a formal apology would be a good idea."

"I don't think that's necessary," Poppy argued. "We're friends now. Any bad blood should be buried and behind us."

Willow narrowed her eyes at Poppy. "You might think it's unnecessary, but I think you're people would disagree. We have been imprisoned and eaten for generations because of Bergens. It's going to be hard for all of those feelings to leave." She looked to King Gristle. "This isn't a slight against you. I know you haven't ever eaten a Troll, but you have to understand why an apology would be necessary."

King Gristle nodded. "I think you're right." He placed Willow down beside her brother. "I'll get to work on that apology and see what I can do about any potential party games. I'll need to make sure the Bergens that go won't mention eating Trolls during their games. And that we watch where we step."

Willow smiled, relieved. "That's great. I was worried you wouldn't take all of this well." She nodded at the King. "We'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

The group waved goodbye to each other and walked off to their respective villages. "Sorry about all of that, Poppy," Willow apologized to her friend. "I know you're the queen, and this is your party, I should have let you make all the decisions about it."

Poppy laughed. "Don't worry about it." Her smile turned sheepish. "I don't think I would have thought of half of the things you suggested. This party could have been a disaster."

Branch nodded. "You know, in case it still is disastrous, we could still use the Bergen defenses we still have." He waved his remote control around. "It could be useful.

Poppy glared at Branch. "We don't need that," Poppy said, irritated. "Get rid of it."

"You want me to get rid of Gary?" Branch asked, appalled.

"Yes," Poppy said, walking away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta check...wait a minute. You named it?"

"I didn't have that many friends until recently, okay?" Branch defended. "Besides, Willow's okay with it. So should you."

Willow laughed. "Yeah, Gary is like his son. It's adorable." She looked at Poppy. "You need to check on refreshments, right?" At Poppy's nod, she looked thoughtful. "We should talk about making the snacks more Bergen accessible. I don't think our punch bowls are going to be big enough."

Poppy nodded in agreement and looked at Branch. "Any chance you can make a giant punch bowl before the night's over? I can make sure there's more than enough punch, but I'll need a container for it all." Branch nodded, smiling. "Do you think you can make some snacks big enough for the Bergens to enjoy?" She asked looking at Willow. "If your ribs are bothering you too much, I understand, but it would be a big help."

Willow grinned widely. "It would be my pleasure." She looked up in thought. "I'm going to need a lot of sugar, flour, chocolate." Her eyes lit up. And fruit." She looked at her brother and friend. "I need to get started now if it's going to be done in time for the party." She started running off to get supplies. "See you later!"

"Be careful!" Branch yelled after his sister. He sighed. "She's going to be up all night."

Poppy laughed. "At least she's excited." She grabbed Branch's hand. "Now come on! I gotta make sure everything will be perfect for this party." She pulled Branch along before he could protest.

The duo went through the village, making sure everyone was aware of the changes that needed to be made as well as making all the glitter Trolls promise to keep the glitter spraying to Trolls as it could hurt the Bergens.

Poppy and Branch eventually took off in different directions, Poppy to get the punch made for the party, and Branch to make a bowl large enough that the Bergens could use it.

Branch couldn't walk into the kitchen for the entire day as Willow was busy preparing, drawing up plans, and baking. The one time he tried to go in there to make a sandwich for lunch, she threw a spoon at him. To make up for it, she brought him some lunch to his drawing room while some cakes were in the oven.

When Branch finished the bowl, he was outside watching Willow move the dessert pieces up out of the bunker. "You really should take a break," he said, leaning against the punch bowl. "You've been at this all day."

"And it's almost done," Willow said, setting a chocolate cake piece on a platform. "I just need to get all of these pieces to the party site and build it."

Branch raised an eyebrow at the various desserts on the giant platform. It was almost full and it was the second time she filled it. "And what is this supposed to be, exactly?"

Willow grinned and set two tubs of frosting on the platform. "It's a surprise. But it's going to be my biggest dessert yet." She looked at Branch. "And I have to finish it. If I don't, the bugs will eat it before anyone can see it."

Branch sighed and walked over to his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Fine, but I need you to promise me you're not going to stay up all night building this. You need sleep too."

Willow smiled softly. "I'll get some sleep," she promised. She pushed her brother down to the platform into their bunker. "Now go back inside. I want to finish this without anyone spoiling the surprise."

Branch smiled and rolled his eyes. "Alright." He looked at her. "I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"

"Yeah." Willow nodded and waved as her brother went down into the bunker. "Now to get this to the party site and start building," she said, getting the caterbus she borrowed to pull the wagon to the party site with the rest of the dessert pieces.

When morning came, Branch woke up to find himself alone in the bunker. Worried, he went to the top and found Poppy. She was busy having the punch bowl moved to a large platform so it could be moved to the party. "Have you seen Willow?" He asked. "She wasn't in the bunker."

Poppy shook her head, concerned. "I haven't seen her." She directed the punch be added to the bowl. "Maybe she's at the party area already. Let's go check."

The duo walked to the party area with the punch bowl. When they got there, they were greeted by a full-scale model of Bergen Town. "Wow," Branch muttered. "She wasn't kidding about this being her biggest dessert yet." He walked into the desert town. "Is that the Troll Tree?"

"The tree is pure chocolate and the pods are cupcakes," Willow said, yawning. "Bergen Town is made entirely of chocolate cake and fresh berries." She smiled sleepily. "Hey, guys. What are you doing here so late?"

"It's morning," Branch deadpanned. "Were you up all night?" He frowned when Willow stared at the sky confused. "Willow, you promised."

Willow grimaced. "Sorry, Branch. I lost track of time. Didn't realize the sun rose. I'll get some sleep after the party though," she swore. "I don't want to miss the party."

Branch sighed. "Fine. But after the party, you are going straight to bed."

The party was a big success. After Willow and Poppy made the first move of greeting the Bergens with open arms, King Gristle gave the Trolls a formal apology for what their people did to the Trolls in the past. Once that was over, the Trolls relaxed and they were able to enjoy the food, music, and games.

Branch sat to the side with Poppy. "Got to admit, that was a great thing you did," he said, smiling at Poppy.

Poppy smiled at Branch. "It's only great because everyone worked so hard to make it comfortable for everyone." She patted Branch on the shoulder. "Thanks for making that giant punch bowl." She gestured to where a Bergen was getting some punch to drink. "And everyone is enjoying the dessert Willow made."

Branch nodded and looked out to the party. "Where is she, anyway?" He asked, curious. "I would have thought she'd be enjoying the party."

Poppy looked around before laughing. "I think the all-nighter she pulled caught up to her," she said pointing to the base of one of the trees.

Branch looked to where she was pointing and started laughing. There was Willow, curled up into a ball, fast asleep.


This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Thank you all for reading and I can't wait to write more for you all.