"There is one thing I know, which is truth: that all us Trolls have a sweet tooth. But the tasty treat we hold most dear, the marshtato, comes but once a year. On the foggiest night, when there's no moon, a visitor flies through the gloom. On gossamer wings, light and airy, planting her sweets, it's the Marshtato Fairy! But she only visits Trolls with Marshtato Day spirit, so lift up your voice so the fairy can hear it!" Willow grinned from where she was sitting as she listened to her friend reading her poem to the younger children.

The little Trollings cheered loudly as Poppy closed the book. "Queen Poppy," Keith raised his hand. "Do you worry the fairy won't see our Marshtato Day spirit since she lives up on Hill Mountain?"

Poppy grinned at Keith after looking towards the mountain. "Nope." That seemed to be the right answer as Keith agreed. "And do you know why you shouldn't worry?" Poppy asked the Trollings.

"Because the rocks tell her," DJ Suki's niece CJ said, grinning. "They're the Marshtato Fairy's friends!"

"So we paint faces on them to remind us that they're watching," Priscella, the other Trolling of their group added as she pointed to a pile of rocks with faces.

"That's right," Poppy said, putting her scrapbook back in her hair. "Every Marshtato's Eve, the foggiest night of the year, we make sure the rocks see us participating in all the fun marshtato traditions, like decorating, burping the alphabet, and the fairy's favorite activity of all," Poppy stood on a plush stage. "Time for the Marshtato's Eve group hug, everyone! Everyone, in formation!"

Willow grinned as she joined the crowd. "This is my favorite activity," she told the Trollings. They smiled as they counted down. Poppy stopped as soon as Branch walked by with his wheelbarrow full of gardening tools.

"Branch?" Poppy asked, confused. "Uh, what are you doing? You should be joining the Marshtato's Eve group hug."

"I'm headed to the Marshtato Patch," Branch said, tugging one of the fake wings Poppy was wearing. "Figured I'd stake out my picking area before everyone else does." He looked at his sister. "Willow, you coming?"

Willow nodded. "I'll be there later. Wanna finish with the activities first."

Branch shrugged. "Suit yourself." He kicked up his rake and let it fall back into the wheelbarrow.

"Branch, come on!" Poppy stepped in front of him. "If the Marshtato Fairy doesn't think you have enough spirit, she might not come!"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Branch shrugged. "I'm confident she won't find out because she doesn't exist." Willow sighed as the rest of the Trolls gasped. Of course, he had to say that. "Oh please!" He said exasperated. "Marshtatoes are plants, people. On the foggiest night of the year, they grow out of the ground naturally. Everything else in this crazy holiday is just weird superstition."

Poppy grabbed Branch's ankle with her hair as he tried to walk away and pulled him down. "Super?" She asked, grinning. "Yes. Stition? No."

"Yeah," Smidge agreed from behind Poppy. "More like stish-fun!"

"Oh!" Guy Diamond appeared. "You just got served!"

"Let me go!" Branch said irritated at the pink hair around his ankle.

"Too slow!" Poppy wrapped him up in her hair. Branch started fighting the ball of hair he was wrapped up in.

Willow rolled her eyes and walked up behind Poppy. "Let him go, Poppy. If he doesn't want to be a part of the Marshtato Eve festivities, he shouldn't have to."

"But what about the Marshtato Fairy?" Poppy argued.

"Fine!" Branch huffed. "What if I prove the Marshtato Fairy doesn't exist? Then will you let me enjoy my marshtatoes without all the rigmarole?"

"Okay, first, great word," Poppy grinned. "I'm gonna use 'rigmarole' more often. Second, what do I get if you can't prove she's not real?"

"Then every year, from here on out," Branch began. "I'll lead the Marshtato Day hug myself." He held his hair out for Poppy to shake.

"You've got one rigmarole of a deal," Poppy smiled, shaking his hair.

"That's not how you use it," Branch denied.

Willow watched as the two walked away, amused. "Willow?" Keith walked up to the grown Troll concerned. "Is the Marshtato Fairy real?"

Willow looked down at Keith and his friends. They looked afraid of her answer. She kneeled in front of them. "You're really worried about what Branch said, aren't you?" she asked. When they nodded, she sat down on the grass and gestured for them to join her. "The Marshtato Fairy is real. I don't want you to worry about that, alright? I want you to think back to Marshtato Days in the past. If the marshtatoes were plants, don't you think they would pop up more than once a year?" She grinned at the Trollings. "We do the same activities every year, and every year we get Marshtatoes. That means we're doing something right. And don't worry about Branch not participating." She promised. "He hasn't the years before and we still got Marshtatoes."

Willow stood up. "So don't forget to show your Marshtato Day spirit, kids. We'll get lots of marshtatoes when we wake up in the morning." Willow grinned as she watched the Trollings cheer and run off to do their activities.

Willow walked over to the marshtato field to look for her brother and Poppy. They were supposed to be there. At least, that's what she thought, but she couldn't find them. "Branch?" She called. "I thought you guys were going to be here. Poppy?" She frowned and crossed her arms. "Where are they?" She gasped in surprise when something grabbed her arm and pulled her backward. She looked behind to see her brother and Poppy looking at her. "Oh, hey guys!" She grinned. She looked around. "Why are we hiding in Branch's hair?"

"We don't want the Marshtato Fairy to see us," Poppy said, grinning at her friend.

"That makes sense," Willow nodded. "She's very shy."

Branch rolled his eyes. "I swear you guys are making all of this up. Don't tell me you believe in the Marshtato Fairy, too." Willow shrugged. "Well, I'm going to prove she doesn't exist, so you can just stay with us while we wait."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Alright," She sat down on the floor beside her brother and Poppy. She closed her eyes. "Wake me up when you have proof."

Poppy and Branch looked at Willow amused as she got comfortable between the two and went to sleep. "She can sleep anywhere, can't she?" Poppy asked.

Branch nodded, chuckling. "It was pretty helpful when we were first building the bunker." He looked at his sister. "She would just lay down on the ground and sleep before we were able to get beds down there." He looked out to the marshtato field, remembering why they were there. "Now, to prove the Marshtato Fairy isn't real."

Poppy sighed and leaned forward to watch for the Marshtato Fairy with Branch. This was going to be a long night. When morning came, the trio woke to cheers in the distance. "I'm awake!" Branch shouted, lifting his hair from around the group.

The trio watched with mixed reactions as the Trolls gathered the freshly grown marshtatoes. Willow grinned and ran from Branch and Poppy and started grabbing marshtatoes. "This is the best day of the year!" She yelled, excited.

"We're going to the top of Hill Mountain so I can show you no one lives up there," Branch said. He looked at Willow. "Are you coming?"

Willow shook her head. "Nope." She placed her marshtatoes down and looked at Branch. "I don't think you should either, bro."

"But I can prove the Marshtato Fairy isn't real," he insisted. "I need to prove it."

"But why?" Willow asked, frustrated. "Who cares if the Marshtato Fairy is real or not?"

"I do!" Branch and Poppy shouted.

Willow raised her hands in a calming manner. She forgot how passionate the two could get. "Poppy, could I talk to my brother for a moment?" She pulled her brother away. "Look, I know you want to prove this," Willow said, looking at Branch. "But I need you to think about what you're trying to do. Who is it hurting that the Trolls around here believe in the Marshtato Fairy?"

"Do you believe in it?" Branch asked, curious.

"It doesn't matter what I believe in," Willow said, looking at the mountain her brother was determined to climb. "The Trolls of this village do and it gives them something to believe in." She grinned. "It's a lot of fun, too." She sighed when it looked like Branch wasn't going to change his mind. "Look, when you get up there and you learn whatever it is you're going to learn, can you lie if you don't find anything?" Branch looked like he was going to deny it, so she continued. "This is a fun holiday and the belief in a fairy is half the fun. And that's more important than being right. Please don't tell us if you don't find a fairy."

Branch scowled. "Being right is very important," Branch insisted. "I have to show everyone the Marshtato Fairy isn't real. It's just a fantasy."

Willow shrugged and nodded as she backed away. "Fine, but I'm still not going up there with you." She turned around and grabbed her marshtatoes. "I'll see you when you get back. Be careful."

After Willow put her marshtatoes in the bunker, she grabbed some more for Branch since he was likely going to be up on the mountain most of the day and would miss out. She groaned in frustration as she added more marshtatoes to their pile in the bunker. "Dang it, Branch. You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?"

Willow was frustrated with Branch. It didn't happen often, and she was always upset with herself when it did. He was her brother and they were supposed to be there for each other regardless. But he wasn't thinking clearly about the whole Marshtato Fairy thing and he wasn't listening to her.

Did she believe in the Marshtato Fairy? If she thought hard about it, probably not. It didn't make a lot of sense and she lived alone with Branch for twenty years. He didn't believe in stuff like that. But it was a fun thing the village did and she was happy to be a part of the celebration.

It was important for her that the spirit of the holiday be kept alive for the Trollings of the village. After all, they were the reason they had holidays, right? Tradition, fun, and family were what kept their village so bright and cheerful. If Branch destroyed the spirit of this holiday for the kids, what would they do?

Willow sighed and shook her head. "Nothing I can do about it now," She muttered going to the platform. "Branch is going to do whatever he does." She walked to the marshtato patch to relax and eat a marshtato with her friends.

Willow looked up when she heard CJ yell. "It's the Marshtato Fairy!" There in the sky, was a light pink, sparkly ball of light. She tilted her head, confused. The fairy was supposed to be shy, right? So why was she here?

She joined the crowd of Trolls that surrounded the light when a little fairy-like creature appeared out of the sparkles with a megaphone. "Hello, elves." The Trolls gasped. Willow raised an eyebrow. She preferred the shy fairy. This one was rude and offensive. "I understand you 've been looking for the Marshtato Fairy." The Trolls cheered in response. "Well, I'm here to tell you there is no fairy. There's just me, Marshtato Mary!" The newly named Mary threw the megaphone down and landed beside them. "And I don't come down to 'bless' you all with marshtatoes. I take them in the dead of night, all for myself." She took a marshtato from CJ's hands. "Which means your entire holiday is based on a lie!"

Willow walked over to CJ and handed her the marshtato she was holding. "I don't believe you," She said, looking at the fairy. "You can't be the Marshtato Fairy. You're just trying to ruin our holiday."

"There is no Marshtato Fairy!" The fairy laughed, clutching her marshtato.

"Liar!" Branch yelled. The other Trolls looked up to see Branch encased in a marshtato and standing on a mushroom. "Smidge?" Smidge began to eat her way through the marshtato to free him. When he was free, he thanked her with a smile. He gestured to Mary. "Mary here has told you one true thing. She is not the Marshtato Fairy." The Trolls gasped in shock. "She's the Marshtato Fairy's arch-enemy!" Willow smiled as the children's faces lit up at the declaration. Good job, bro. "She's been trying to trick you into not believing because she's jealous of how much we love the fairy."

Willow grinned and walked up beside her brother. "Well we can't have that, can we kids?"

Branch smiled at his sister. "Quick!" He jumped up. "There's only one way to defeat her!"

"Branch," Poppy walked closer. "Are you saying...?"

"Give her just as much love as you give the fairy!" He shouted. He stood on the platform someone brought to the marshtato patch. "Everyone in formation!" The Trolls got into a group hug formation. "Hug!" The Trolls joined together in a group hug surrounding Mary. The group hugged Mary until she burst out of the pile in a pink shower and flew back up the mountain.

The Trolls cheered and gathered around Branch. Poppy and Willow climbed up the platform to stand beside the victorious Troll. "So, Branch looks like you were wrong about the fairy," Poppy said, grinning. Branch simply grabbed a marshtato. "You said it yourself, she does exist."

"Well, marshtato, marshtah-to," Branch said, pulling the marshtato in half and giving Poppy the other half to enjoy.

When Branch and Willow left the celebration and made it back to the bunker, Willow looked at her brother. "So, did you find a fairy up on the mountain?" She asked, nervously. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she had to ask.

Branch looked at his sister, considering the question. He could tell her the truth, there was no Marshtato Fairy, and Marshtatoes actually grew year-round. She liked learning new things, and maybe she could handle the truth about one of her favorite holidays.

But then he thought about what she told him earlier. Who was it hurting if she believed in a fairy? And she had so much fun with the holiday. Could he take away something that brought his little sister so much joy? He couldn't, so he smiled and leaned back on his chair. "Yeah, she was sleeping, so she didn't notice I was there," he said. "Don't worry, the Marshtato Fairy should be back next year."

He grinned at the relieved look on Willow's face as she started talking about all the treats she was going to make with the marshtatoes she gathered. So the Marshtato Fairy wasn't real. It wasn't hurting anyone to believe. And after all, believing is half the fun, right?

Branch is so sweet to let Willow continue to believe in a fairy. Could she handle the truth of a fairy not being real? Probably, but it wouldn't be as fun anymore. After all, we all need a little whimsy in our lives, right? Thanks for reading everyone.