Myra helped the three newbies navigate through the halls and understand the map of the three floors of the school so they could find their scheduled classes and the fastest ways to get from their lockers to each place.
"Oh, and it looks like you got literature class with Mr. Mandino. I had him last year, he's a great storyteller."
"Probably not as great as Grandpa Qui-Gon though." Omega said.
"Probably," chuckled Myra. "Anyway, let's find your lockers before homeroom starts."
Meanwhile, back on Naboo...
It was back to Windy Falls Academy, the very school where Goldie and the Jinn cousins first met last year.
"Have a good first day of school, girls." Padme said, giving each of the girls a kiss as they came to the second grade classroom.
"Remember girls, experience outweighs everything." Anakin said.
"But listen to your teacher, nonetheless."
"See you after school, Mom and Dad." Gabby said.
For a moment, as they let the girls go into the classroom, Anakin and Padme felt a little surprised. Gabby just called them Mom and Dad instead of 'Mommy' and 'Daddy' like she always did since she started talking.
"Did she just call us-?" Anakin asked his wife.
"I heard it too." Padme nodded. "Our little girl is growing up a lot faster than we thought."
The couple could hardly believe it. Now that Gabby was closer to tween years, it seemed she was starting to outgrow a lot of things, and not just her clothes. For one thing, she wasn't as into playing Ring Around the Rosie, and she started wanting to read more books that were mostly or all words.
Neither Padme nor Anakin could help feeling a sense of deja vu. You might've already guessed, but this wasn't the first time they'd realized their first biological daughter surprised them with her outgrowing certain things. First, it was graduating from sippy cups to lid-less cups and drinking from a straw, then being able to dress herself, and now she called her parents by less adorable sounding names. But, they knew they couldn't stop her from growing up. They could only enjoy her being young while it lasted.
Lamenta was growing and changing too. She'd started calling her parents Mom and Dad instead of Mommy and Daddy too, but more importantly, she'd really come out of her shell since meeting her long-lost relatives. She seemed more comfortable performing in front of people too.
Mariposa and Garrett also went on and on about how much Goldie was growing into a beautiful little lady, and now that she was getting to know more about her father's side of her heritage, she started wanting to learn how to surf more.
"Hey," said Anakin. "She's still our little girl, no matter how old she gets."
Anakin and Padme kissed each other for a bit, amid some kids 'eww-ing' at the sight of grownups kissing, and then they left their children to start the first day back at school.
Hunter, on the other hand, held Mona's hand as he walked her to the third grade classroom. Mona looked really nervous as she peered into the classroom full of strange kids, as well as a lot of things she'd never seen before like all those desks, the teacher's desk, and of course the teacher himself.
"Here it is, Mona. Third grade." Hunter said.
But, Mona held onto Hunter, not wanting him to go and leave her in this strange place.
"Mona, I know it's scary now. But school is meant to help you, not to hurt you." Hunter told Mona. "You'll get used to it eventually. And I do need to leave now, but I will come back for you later. That's how it works. For now, your teachers will take care of you."
The bell soon came to ring, and that was Hunter's cue to go.
"Good luck on your first day, kid." Hunter said, ruffling Mona's hair.
Mona was reluctant as she watched Hunter leave; she worried about what might happen if she tried running after him, remembering all the terrifying things Marvierde and her cronies would do any time she tried to run away from her prison. She couldn't explain why, but Mona somehow knew she couldn't stay there and had to escape somehow, but she was helpless against her mother's power, especially since she had even less practice using her powers than her cousin.
"Good morning, everyone." said the human teacher, Mr. Tenzin. "I hope you all had a great summer."
Mona looked uncertain as the other kids were taking their seats. This the teacher noticed.
"Hello, little lady." Mr. Tenzin greeted. "What's your name?"
"Mona."
"That's a lovely name. Do you need help finding your seat?"
Mona nodded silently, and her teacher helped her find a place to sit.
"There we are. This'll be your special place to learn everyday in school."
Mr. Tenzin was a new teacher in this school, apparently, as he told the class that he heard there were many new faces to the school this year as well. He assured the class that he knew and understood it was normal to feel scared, and that coming to a new school for the first time could be nerve racking, but if they just ask for help, they're sure to find their way sooner or later.
Mona raised her hand and said, "What if you've never been to a real school before?"
"Were you home schooled?"
"If that's what you'd call it." Mona shrugged nervously.
Mr. Tenzin definitely held a look of concern. He thought maybe he should keep an eye on this Mona girl for a bit.
Comedia opened her new locker for the first time and put the stuff she didn't need into it. She also got right to decorating it with pictures of her families and a mirror to make sure her hat was straight.
"Looking good, Comedia." the alicorn told her reflection.
Time to head to her first class. Algebra.
Comedia walked to the assigned classroom where she saw some of her new classmates walking in. But when she walked in, everyone including the teacher suddenly looked at her.
"Um... hi." Comedia greeted with a smile.
"Who let a horse into the school?" one girl whispered to her friend.
"Is there a cowboy or royal person missing their horse or something?" said one boy.
"Actually, I'm a student here." Comedia said, approaching the teacher. "I'm Comedia Mundi."
The teacher checked the attendance sheet and found Comedia's name on it.
"Oh, of course! One of our royal students. Please, accept my apologies, Princess." said the teacher. "Sit anywhere you like."
Comedia looked at the desks. Horses didn't usually sit at desks, so sitting was a little tricky for her. But, she managed to sit herself down. Except, most of the students probably didn't know or even care that she could hear them whispering about her. She ignored it though.
The teacher began with their first lesson, which involved percentages. After a while, the teacher asked for a volunteer to solve a problem on the board. Of course, not a lot of students looked willing. But, Comedia raised her hoof, so the teacher let her step up.
"Since when can horses do math?"
"Since I learned how to count." Comedia said, using her magic horn to pick up the marker and write her work on the board.
"Mrs. Sulvan! She's cheating!" said one boy. "She's using magic."
"I'm only using it to pick up the marker. In case you didn't learn in this in zoology or mythology class, horses typically don't have hands, not unless they're a centaur, which is half human. Besides, I don't know intelligence enhancing spells. Most of those have been banned in schools in Enchantra to prevent cheating on entrance exams, not to mention most of my power resides in comedy based spells."
And then, Comedia finished the problem, which surprised Mrs. Sulvan, and the rest of the class when she announced it was correct.
"Where did you learn mathematical formulas?" said the teacher.
"Books? I'm not exactly an ordinary horse," said Comedia.
"That's for sure." another student laughed.
Comedia snorted at that, which seemed to startle a couple of her classmates at least.
Meanwhile, Omega and Boba were separated for their first class. Omega had literature class first, and Boba had biology. But, they had a bit of an odd start of their own.
Omega felt like some of the other girls in her class were looking at her oddly, making comments about why she wasn't wearing any makeup, why her hair was so short, or why she was dressed in what they called 'boy clothes'.
Looking at some of the other girls, a lot of them were wearing dresses or skirts. And if any of them did wear pants or shorts instead, they wore designer jeans, whereas Omega's were more combat than designer.
"Isn't that Princess Omega?" said one girl.
"Why isn't she dressed more... princess-like?" said another.
"Maybe her gowns had to be altered or something." one boy said.
"I'm dressed like this because it's what I like." Omega said. "Not all princesses dress fancy all the time."
The three kids Omega overheard seemed to freeze though for a bit. A human girl, a Pantoran male, and a red-skinned togruta girl. Their names were Katie, Oli, and Vina.
"Oh! We didn't mean to offend you, Princess." said Vina. "We just thought that..."
"That because I'm part of a royal family I'm supposed to be snotty, demanding, and dress like I'm some kind of goddess?"
"Are you a mind reader?" asked Oli.
"Nope. Just seen a lot of people make assumptions."
"We're sorry, Princess-" Katie began.
"Call me Omega, please."
"Okay. Omega. We didn't mean to offend you."
"It's okay. But, maybe next time, try getting to know a new person before making assumptions?"
So, Omega decided maybe they should start over and just introduce themselves, and Vina asked if Omega would like to sit with them at lunch later, and the princess agreed.
Boba, on the other hand, was finally able to locate his biology class, where some of the students were chatting or arm wrestling while they waited for the teacher to arrive.
"I heard a prince is coming to our school," said a boy in a football jersey. "You think he'll try out for the team."
"He'd be crazy not to." said another boy. "Just think of the publicity we'd get for the team, and more importantly, the ladies will see us in a whole new light with our being worthy of a royal on our team."
The teacher soon did arrive, and so did Boba.
"Ah, Prince Boba. We heard you were coming." said the teacher. "Take a seat over here, please."
"That's the prince?" said one of the football players. "What's with the blue hair?"
"Relax, it's cool." said a human and the brawniest of the boys.
"I hear he's a mermaid. What if he goes for the swim team instead?"
"Relax, guys. With my natural charm, Prince Charming will be on our team faster than you say touchdown."
Not surprisingly, some of the girls looked at Boba and fluttered their lashes, hoping he might pick one of them as his date to an upcoming fall formal dance. But he said, "I already have a girlfriend."
"Why settle for one, am I right?" said the football captain.
Boba scrunched his nose at the guy's comment.
"Vince Hall, captain of the football team." said the new guy, offering his hand to the prince.
"Boba Skywalker." said Boba, albeit uncomfortably.
"You know, here at Walker Prep, we got the finest sports teams on Coruscant. Thinkin' you'll try for a team?"
"Yes, actually. I am trying out for a team."
"Good for you, my good man. Maybe I'll see you there. We only take the best in our group."
The teacher called for everyone to get back to their seats, and they did.
Classes went on as scheduled, and the twins, Comedia, and Myra ran into each other in line.
"How was your first half of the day?" Myra asked.
"Well, I was approached by some football player... Vince I think was his name." Boba said.
"Ah, Vince Hall." Myra said. "A real pain in the... everything. He's a real player, and I don't mean sports. He hits on every girl who comes in here, including me, even though I've made it clear I can pound him if he doesn't back off."
"On the bright side, now that your dad's back in your life, you could always use his lightsaber or the Force."
"Please, I'm no damsel in distress. If anything, my future husband, if I ever have one, will be the one who needs rescuing more than I do."
"I don't doubt that," said Comedia. "At least people aren't judging you for being a horse."
"They're pretty stupid, in that case. You're literally an award winning alicorn, and the first horse to start Jedi training."
"I guess that's true. Too bad Remix isn't coming to school here too. Or I'd be more comfortable."
"I still can't believe he's been dating you, and didn't tell me." Boba said.
"I thought guys didn't talk about feelings." Omega said.
"Not a lot you've met. Remix is more sensitive than you might think."
"That's one reason we got together."
"How'd it happen, anyway?" Myra asked.
"Well, it's kind of a funny story." Comedia said.
Months earlier...
"I can't believe you stole my pranks for such a nasty prank." Comedia said, putting what she could salvage back into her box of pranks.
"This coming from the mare who pranked her older sister a bunch of times?" Remix retorted.
"Don't you try to turn this on me. You lied to me, and nearly got me in trouble! It's taken me forever to gain anyone's trust since the Silly Filly incident!"
Remix could see Comedia was clearly upset with him. Some said girls overreacted to the littlest things, but Remix had seen and felt a lot of expression in music to understand that was an unfair assumption. With a sigh, he knew he had to make things right with Comedia.
"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I guess I was so cross with Magenta's attitude that I didn't think about how I was hurting anyone else while trying to get rid of the problem."
"Yeah, well that's the thing about family, so-called, it's not so easy to get rid of them. If it were, I would've been rid of my parents years ago. Believe it or not, I used to be close to my sister, but then she turned on me in favor of being like our posh parents."
"I'm sorry. I had no idea."
"Why would you? I'm supposed to be this royal horse with a perfect lifestyle I'm apparently such an ingrate about." Comedia said. "What good is a luxury household if you live with folks who treat you like garbage? At least your dad still cared about you after your sister abandoned you. All my dad sees me as is one big joke or a virus or something."
"That can't be true."
"It is. He didn't even want to name me when I was born. I know because Cousin Reigna told me that when she first met me, she'd asked my parents for my name, then before they could answer, I showed signs of being a comedian, and then they just blurted out my name was Comedia. So, technically, my cousin named me."
"Well, she chose well in that case. My dad couldn't decide what to name me when I was born. Well, in part because my mom had just died. But, my dad always said that when she was expecting me, she wanted to name the new foal something musical. So, when I started walking and playing with a vinyl, he came up with the name Remix."
"Yeah, that's nice."
Remix realized Comedia was not looking much happier.
"Look, Comedia. I get it. My family might not be an abusive bunch like yours was, but I've faced my share of bullies in my colt days. I know it's no fun, and it's even worse when no one will help you. And it only hurts more when that hurt comes from your own flesh and blood."
"Don't I know it."
"And I really messed up when I tricked you into giving me prank supplies. How can I make it up to you?"
"I'm need new supplies to remake that stink bomb you used."
"You made that? How?"
"A little chemistry and every stinky item I could find. Believe it or not, being a prankster takes real brains and research. Pranks are meant for humor, not anything lethal or fatal."
"That... actually is very smart. Now I'm starting to think people should take you a little more seriously."
"Finally, someone gets it."
Present day...
"Sometime after that, Remix and I went to gather supplies, then there were these street dancers, and Remix started showing off his skills. Next thing I know, our muzzles touch, then it was awkward, but then Remix asked me out." Comedia said. "On thing led to another, and then Valentine's Day, he presented me with some of the prettiest violets I'd ever seen. But, I planted them in the garden so my dad wouldn't find out."
"And then along came Mariverde," said Boba.
"Bingo!"
"I'm surprised he hasn't done anything yet."
"Oh, believe me. He's still on my tail about Remix, more than ever now. He was fine with him before, but as soon as he finds out he's my boyfriend, he's suddenly bad news."
"You should've seen my dad when I just spent time with a friend who was a boy." Omega said. "Oh! There's my friends."
Omega went to sit with her new friends, and Comedia went to sit with Myra and her friends.
"Don't worry, girl." Myra said, patting Comedia's muzzle. "It'll get better."
"Hey, where'd you get that sweater, Comedia?" asked a nautolan, whose name was Lyra.
"My dad made it for me." Comedia said.
"Didn't know your dad could make clothes."
"Well, given that he needs custom clothing, it's kinda not surprising he learned how, but still."
"Ha! Some father." said a familiar voice.
"Oh no..." groaned Comedia and Myra.
"That's not even cashmere." said the voice again.
"What do you want, Brittney?" Myra said.
"Just thought I'd make sure a certain barn animal isn't gonna ruin more for me than she already has." said the bratty blonde.
"Uh, I never asked for you to approach me, Brit. I don't wanna be in the same school with you either, so why don't we just not talk to each other so we're both happy?" Comedia said.
"You ruined my life!"
"Look, I apologized to your parents for that disaster years ago, and I apologized a million times to you too, and I meant it."
"That's not what I'm talking about. After that incident with your sister, now my parents are making me come to this low-grade school because they say it's gonna help me 'learn respect'."
"That's something you do need to learn, Brit." Myra said. "And this school is a very hard one to get into."
"Maybe for lowlifes like you."
"Excuse me?!"
"This school doesn't even have a four piece orchestra in this cafeteria."
"Your old school had an orchestra?" Comedia asked.
"Jealous?"
"No. Sounds more like a place to sleep than eat."
"At least I got taste unlike some clowns playing dress up." Brittney said, pulling a loose thread on Comedia's sweater.
"Hey!" Comedia backed up, only for it to unravel more.
Brittney started to pull more, but Myra grabbed her and pushed her away, and other students started chanting, "Fight, fight, fight!"
"Leave her alone!" Myra said, starting to wrestle with Brittney some, only for Comedia to literally come between them and push them apart.
"Hey, out of the way, Curly." Brittney said, grabbing the sleeve of Comedia's sweater, only for Comedia to whinny loudly and stand up on her back legs, spreading out her large wings, making her look more menacing, it being a natural defense mechanism for alicorns. But, it also led to the sleeve of the sweater being ripped.
"Now look what you've done!" Comedia said. "Do you have any idea how hard my dad worked to make this for me?"
"Last time I checked, your dad didn't want you."
Comedia snorted at that.
"I mean my real dad."
"What, that big headed geezer of a Jedi? He's just some weirdo if he calls you his-"
Brittney then screamed as Comedia did something that shocked everyone: she bit Brittney right on her arm! And then she Force pushed her to the floor and stood on her hind legs again, looking Brittney straight in the eye menacingly.
"If you value your life, don't ever talk about my father that way."
Unfortunately, that was when the teachers came in, and when they saw Comedia snorting so angrily, someone decided to call animal control, and another got a rope to restrain her. But Comedia fought back.
Myra tried to jump in and help her friend, but she was held back. So, Boba jumped in and touched Comedia's muzzle.
"Easy, Comedia." Boba said, petting Comedia's muzzle. "Settle down."
Comedia initially snorted at Boba like an angry bull, but he kept petting her, and she slowly stopped snorting
A few hours later...
Mr. Brenden, the principal, heard a knock at the door.
"Come in."
Masters Windu and Mundi stepped in, but both were surprised to see Comedia and Myra in there. The former had tears in her eyes, and her new sweater was a mess.
"Please tell me I'm here because Comedia has proven academically excellent." he practically begged.
"I'm afraid that's not the case, Mr. Mundi."
"Myra?" Mace said.
"'Fraid not, Pops." Myra sighed. "We're being unfairly punished for something that bitch Brittney did."
"Myra! Language!" Mace scolded.
"It wasn't our fault!" Comedia said. "Brittney was the one who started it!"
Both girls started talking at once and then Mr. Brenden whistled loudly to get them to quiet down.
"Look, no one is being punished yet. I simply need to speak with your parents first. Then, we can discuss what happened."
There was another knock too. And in came Emeraldi.
"Comedia, are you alright?!" asked the pegasus.
"Excuse me, Miss. Who are you?" asked Mr. Brenden.
"Emeraldi Evermare. I'm Comedia's older sister. She called me and said, 'I'm being called to the principal's office. Please come help.'"
"I was worried you wouldn't make it out with how fast I was talking."
"I grew up with you, remember?"
Mr. Brenden asked Comedia to step out and wait so he could speak with her guardians privately.
Of course, Comedia had a sense of what was going to go out, and not just from the Force. But she obeyed.
Ki-Adi and Emeraldi sat as Mr. Brended explained the cafeteria incident, and who was injured in the process.
"Fortunately, another student calmed her down." Mr. Brenden said.
"Hold on! Did you say it was Brittney Parisia she was fighting with?" Emeraldi asked. "That brat has a history of abusing horses! I should know. And I'm not her only victim. Comedia was abused too. She's even been banned from owning a horse."
"Does Comedia not have a history of vandalism, and Myra as well?"
"She was under Mariverde's influence at the time," said Ki-Adi. "She wouldn't have pranked the entire city on her own. Not willingly."
"And Myra was mad at me, which placed her under the influence." Mace said.
"Nevertheless, a fight did occur, and-" Mr. Brenden was interrupted as another knock came to the door.
Emeraldi and the two Jedi thought maybe Queen Reigna had also been called, but it wasn't her. It was a woman from Child Protection. That didn't look good. The principal said they were required by law to contact the service because although Comedia was a horse, when students acted out, their first suspicion was problems at home.
"It's come to my attention that the child in question attacked another child." said the woman, Ms. Greystone, eyeing Ki-Adi's lightsaber on his belt. "I can only suspect problems at home, Master Jedi?"
"Of course not! Comedia is very much loved at home." Ki-Adi said. "More than she ever was with her biological parents, who did abuse both her and Emeraldi."
"I can vouch for Master Mundi." Mace said. "He is an excellent father, and Comedia is very well behaved most of the time."
"It's true." Emeraldi said. "Our cousin, Queen Reigna, wouldn't have allowed him to adopt her if she didn't believe he would be a good guardian."
"Queen Reigna is a very wise mare, and her book is never wrong. She was matched with me, and I earned the right to be her parent."
"And Child Protection can take that away if we find that she is not under good care."
"Comedia would never attack anyone unless provoked! It is common knowledge that if a horse is provoked, they bite or kick."
"And clearly, you didn't see the footage of what damage she left on me before," said Emeraldi.
But Ms. Greystone said she and some other social workers would need to conduct a little inspection of their own to see if they were telling the truth.
"You're all free to go."
Master Mundi hugged himself, feeling worried as he and Mace watched each of their daughters walk back into the office. Was this really happening? Was is really possible that Child Protection would take Comedia away? What would that mean for her? She obviously couldn't go back to her biological parents, even if they did have a change of heart and want her back. But even if Emeraldi and/or Queen Reigna were allowed to take her in, would Ki-Adi even be allowed to at least visit her?
Mace told Ki-Adi not to worry, though.
"No one can take your daughter away from you. Queen Reigna wouldn't allow it, and more importantly, neither should you. You've fought for her before, you can do it again."
Eventually, Comedia and Myra were let out of the principal's office to be taken home.
"I'm sorry, Daddy!" Comedia cried quietly with a sniffle. "I didn't- I wasn't-"
"Hush, Comedia." Ki-Adi said, petting Comedia's ear and wiping away a tear. "We'll talk more when we get home. And fix this poor sweater."
Meanwhile, it was time for sports tryouts at school, and you might expect to see in some movies, the football captain and his cronies were eager to watch the wannabe cheerleaders either look hot or humiliate themselves.
"What's with all the guy cheerleaders here?" Vince huffed.
"No idea," said one of his friends.
"Alright, next up..." said the coach. "Boba Skywalker.
"What?!" the football players gasped.
Boba stepped up in his cheerleading outfit, ready to go.
"I understand you were the captain in your last school, right?" said the coach.
"Yes, Sir!" smiled Boba.
"Show me watch you got."
So, Boba positioned nodded to Remix, who came to help with music, and the musicorn turned the tables to start some upbeat music for Boba. And Boba started out great... until Vince got a little miscievous.
"Hey, guys. Check this out." Vince said, taking a football out from his backpack.
Vince aimed as Boba was warming up and getting ready for the complicated part of his routine, and then threw the ball right at him just as he was jumping into a cartwheel. It hit the poor boy right in the gut and made him fall down roughly.
"Boba!" Remix and Omega exclaimed in unison.
"Boba, are you okay?!" Omega said.
"No." Boba groaned.
The coach immediately told someone to get the first aid kit. But the football players only laughed at Boba.
"This is the kid who used to be a bounty hunter?" Vince mocked, approaching Boba.
"Stay away from my brother." Omega demanded.
"Move aside, Blondie," Vince said, but then Remix came up with a snort.
"You heard the princess! Back off!" Remix said.
But Vince and his two friend only continued to mock Boba even more as tears fell from his eyes as he was in pain.
"Prince Charming, more like King of losers." Vince mocked. "What else do you expect from a guy who needed a little girl to save him?"
That really steamed Boba, and Omega too.
"Leave Gabby out of this!" Boba said.
"Why? You gonna send her to tickle us to death?"
Boba started to pick himself up and clutch his pom poms really tight. This was not what he expected to face when starting school.
"I said leave my brother alone!" Omega said angrily.
"You think we're afraid of a pretty girl with a sunflower in her hair?" Vince mocked, looking at the sunflower hair clip in Omega's hair.
Omega got so mad she wanted to scream.
Mariverde, of course, chuckled when she spotted the twins in her magic mirror.
"A pair of twins mocked for their differences in hobbies, so much anger, a desire for revenge I see. Perfect feeding grounds for my babies."
Mariverde made not one, but three mariclavas and sent them right to the twins.
"If you don't back off right now," said Omega. "It's really gonna get ugly in here!"
"Too bad, 'cause a hot princess like yourself should be at the side of a good-lookin' guy... like me."
"Not even in your dreams!" Omega said.
Unfortunately, that was when the three mariclavas got there, and one landed on Omega's hair clip, the other two on each of Boba's pom poms!
"Oh no!" Remix gasped.
The twins quickly saw Mariverde and heard her speak to them.
"Perhaps not in their dreams, but in their nightmares, you can give them something they will never forget." Mariverde sneered.
But the twins both held their heads and tried to fight Mariverde's grasp.
"Remix... get help!" Boba managed to get out before Mariverde strengthened her spell and had him and Omega hypnotized.
"Fear Leader, you have been told your cheering is meaningless, and thus I grant your words the power to bring down your enemies in any manner you choose through your chants. Solar Flare, I give you the power to heat things up. These monsters wanted hot? You will bring the heat they so desire to the point they cannot face their own fears. But in return, you must bring me the crown jewels of the royal family. Do we have a deal?"
Under the influence of the strong spell, the twins had no choice but to give in!
Meanwhile, in the Senate building, Anakin was joining his wife in her office, where they were working together on an important project that would help the galaxy fight Mariverde... once the two of them finally took a break from making out anyway.
With so many clavatizations over the summer, and many escaped prisoners still on the prowl, the galaxy just wasn't proving safe for anyone, especially when anyone faced strong negative emotions. People were advised to seek any help they could and practice any methods they could learn to keep their emotions in check. Enrolling in art classes, taking yoga or dance classes, breathing exercises, anything. But, not everyone found it easy to control their emotions, especially those with bad tempers or who were traumatized at a young age. Even the most level-headed people had their limits to their emotional control, that being proven after Master Mundi became one of Mariverde's victims.
Even with emotional control and anger management methods, there were all kinds of things that could cause negative emotions strong enough to attract Mariverde's attention. Bullies, road rage, insensitivity to others' feelings, inconsiderate neighbors, grieving over a loss, political tensions, even being upset over losing a contest or a kid throwing a tantrum were just some of the possibilities.
At the moment, Padme and Anakin hoped their children at least would be fine at school. They all seemed so happy to finally have the chance to attend real school with other kids, and they would hate to have to pull them out of that because of some crazy moth controlling gypsy reeking havoc on everyone. Anakin had never been to high school himself, but from what he'd heard and seen in some movies, it could be brutal. For his twins, if it wasn't puberty that would make their first year difficult, it would be the different social cliques and potentially what everyone would expect of them given their backgrounds and who their family was.
"You think the kids are doing okay at school?" Anakin wondered out loud.
"We can only hope right now, Ani. But I do know our children are each smart in their own rights, and we chose good places to send them to learn." Padme said, typing on her computer, and glancing at a couple of photos she had of the kids on her desk.
"True," said Anakin. He looked at a picture of Gabby and Boba from shortly after the latter got adopted, and then a recent family photo with all the kids in it. "They grow up so fast."
Anakin then looked at the time.
"Speaking of time, looks like it's almost time to pick up Omega and Boba."
Suddenly, Anakin felt it getting warmer inside, and took off his jacket.
"Phew! Is it getting warm in here, or is it just me?"
Padme started to fan herself.
"No, it does feel a little warmer in here." Padme sighed. "I hope Jar Jar didn't fall onto the thermostat again."
Padme walked out of the office, and lots of other people were getting hot too. People had to take off their jackets and layers of clothing or put a wet towel around their necks to cool off, only for the towels to heat up very quickly.
But when Padme checked the thermostat.
"That's odd. It's normal." Padme tapped the device to see if it was malfunctioning. Nothing. She turned the temperature down, and some air came through the vents, but then it heated up again. "This thing must be broken."
"I don't think so," said a very sweaty Sapphire, entering, panting. "I was just outside, and it is sweltering outside!"
"I don't remember the weather forecast calling for intense heat today."
Padme took out her phone to check the weather outside, when she found a news alert that showed her something that gave her a heart attack!
Back at the Jedi Temple, Comedia got to cleaning her room while her father was working on fixing her sweater. The social workers were going to arrive tomorrow for an inspection to see if Master Mundi was as good a guardian as he claimed to be, and they had to make sure nothing was out of place.
The rest of the Jedi Council told Ki-Adi he had nothing to worry about, but that didn't stop him from urging himself and his daughter to clean their apartment from top to bottom; he was not willing to gamble with the possibilities of where Comedia would be placed if the social workers deemed him unfit. When Carmine shared his story of his time in foster care, he couldn't imagine how it would be for Comedia. The chance of her getting into Melody Academy and becoming a big pop star like he did was slim to none, even though she did ring whenever she brought herself to sing.
"Is all this really necessary, Dad?" Comedia asked, placing her panda on her now made bed. "If social workers are really smart about kids, most of them don't usually have perfect bedrooms."
"No, but the state of our home carries a large percentage of whether you get to stay here." Ki-Adi said. "Not everyone will give in to what you say simply because you come from royalty."
Comedia looked down; she couldn't imagine not being allowed to stay with Ki-Adi. She began to wonder now. Should she have just let Brittney have the fight? If she had, maybe the social workers wouldn't be questioning her adoptive father's suitability as her guardian. On the other hand, Brittney might have done something far worse to her or someone else, though she couldn't imagine anything worse than being told you might be taken away from your family just because you were trying to defend yourself and take down a bully.
"How could they think you had anything to do with this? I'm the one who bit Brittney, and she was the one who attacked me and Myra first." Comedia said. "Do they think you told me to or something?"
"I don't think it's like that, Dear." Ki-Adi said. "However, they tend to believe first that wherever any child learned to behave a certain way, they learned from their parents."
"Then they should look at my birth parents. They're the abusive ones. They're in jail, for Pete's sake!" Comedia said.
"And that is why we must do everything we can to prove you have a good home."
Suddenly, Comedia started to sweat.
"Phew! I must be more nervous than I thought." Comedia said, fanning herself with her wings, making the propeller on her hat spin.
"Actually, I'm getting warm as well." Ki-Adi said.
But it wasn't just him or Comedia.
In the Windu family's apartment, Myra started to get sweaty while she was doing her math homework, and not because she was dealing with a bunch of different formulas.
"Mommy! It's really hot in here!" Kade whined.
"Mace, is the temperature system on the fritz again?" Brenda asked.
"Nope. It's normal." Mace said, when his phone rang. "Hello?"
"Mace?" Strawberry said over the phone. "Is it hot at your end? Everything here is overheating at the bakery! And not just inside. It's hot outside too!"
Meanwhile, Ahsoka and Fiesta were out for a ride, when they felt the heat too!
"Why is it so caliente out here?" Fiesta said, fanning herself and her rider with her wings.
Ahsoka suddenly sensed something off.
"Think you can manage to fly and spot something?" Ahsoka asked.
"Si."
Fiesta flew up high and looked around, and she and Ahsoka couldn't believe their eyes when they saw what looked like a bunch of giant magnifying glasses over the city, making the sun hit the area more directly, thus heating up the entire city!
"Where did that magnifying glass come from?" asked Ahsoka.
"Maybe from her?" Fiesta motioned with her hoof. And in the distance, they saw what looked like a young girl in a flame patterned jumpsuit and red sporty sunglasses, and she had flames coming from her hands, which she used to make more magnifying glasses, as well as mirrors that made the heat reach into the lower levels of Coruscant, and spread across the city.
"Is that...?" Ahsoka gasped.
"We have to get help inmediatamente!" Fiesta said.
"Master Qui-Gon asked us to pick up the twins today." Ahsoka said. "Let's go see if Boba is okay."
So, Ahsoka had Fiesta rush as fast as she could to get to Walker Prep High School, where they saw many students running out, screaming from a bunch of different things. Big spiders, rats, bats, cockroaches, and... scary clowns?
"What's going on here?" Ahsoka said, rushing into the school.
She called for Boba, but got no response. Except, Ahsoka looked at her wrist and noticed her clava detector starting to glow.
"Oh no. I hope it's not what I think it is."
Ahsoka was about to rush to the gym, when someone rushed right past her and pushed her out of the way.
"Move it, lady!" Vince screamed, looking terrified for what seemed like the first time in his life.
"Learn some manners, cretino!" Fiesta yelled angrily.
"Okay, what was that about?" Ahsoka wondered out loud.
Fiesta looked at something down the hall with wide eyes then, and got Ahsoka to look too. Neither of them could believe their eyes when they saw...
"Boba?!" Ahsoka and Fiesta gasped.
There, in the hall stood none other than young Boba. His eyes were red, his hair changed to black with red streaks, and he was dressed in what looked like a black and red cheer uniform with a big symbol of a scared face emoji on the jersey, and he carried two pom poms, one red, the other black.
"Boba, what are you doing?!" Ahsoka exclaimed.
"I am not Boba anymore," said the boy. "Give me and F, give me and E, give me an A-R-L-E-A-D-E-R! What's it spell! Fear Leader!"
"Boba, please calm down." Ahsoka said. "This isn't you. Think of what happened when you were in league with Aurra Sing. Mariverde is no better than she. In fact, she's worse."
But instead of listening, Boba, or rather Fear Leader, responded with...
"Two, four, six, eight, wanna live? Get out my way!"
Boba clapped his pom poms and shot out a powerful force field that threw the Jedi and alicorn across the hall. Luckily, Ahsoka landed on her feet and Fiesta managed to start flapping in time. But, the young prince made his way out the doors with a few flips.
"V-I-N-C-E, all cheerleaders follow me! Go fear! Go fear!" Boba cheered.
And all of a sudden, all the school's cheerleaders' eyes turned red, and their clothes changed to match Fear Leader's uniform, and they were soon following him down the street, unfazed by the heat outside.
"On my count, team!" Fear Leader cheered.
"V-I-N-C-E, we're gonna make him real sorry! Go fear! Go fear!"
Now there was a whole army of cheerleaders gathering. Ahsoka had seen movies with evil cheerleaders in them, but not like this.
"I think we're going to need some help." Ahsoka said.
"I agree." Fiesta said.
Anakin tried flying beside Sapphire, who was carrying Padme on her back, but when they got to certain parts of the city, it felt so hot, Anakin had to change himself and his wife's clothes to beach clothing just to stay cool.
"Omega! Boba!" Anakin called. "Where are you two?!"
"You're sure they were clavatized?" Sapphire said.
"I'm positive!" Padme said.
"If she got to Boba too... I don't know what to expect."
"Look out!"
Sapphire and Anakin split as they were nearly hit by a ball of fire, and they looked to see Omega, or rather Solar Flare, right there in front of them.
"Omega!" Anakin scolded. "How dare you?!"
"I'm not Omega." said the villain. "I am Solar Flare, and things are about to get hot!"
Omega raised her hands and made the sun shine even hotter on the city. Vehicles were overheating, frozen treats melted the second people holding them stepped outside, and the ground got so hot people were screaming in pain as it burned their feet.
"Omega, whatever it is that's got you upset, we can work it out." Anakin said.
"How about you get out of the way so I don't have to fry you!" Omega threatened.
"Omega Arla Skywalker-Jinn!" Padme scolded. "If you don't stop this right now, you are grounded!"
"Do I look like I care?" Omega nearly hit her mother again before leaving, but not without one last word. "If you'll excuse me, I've got a football jerk to cook."
And Omega flew off to go find her target.
"What did she mean by that exactly?" Anakin said.
"I have a feeling..." Padme said. "Ani, go get help."
"Padme, these are clavatized villains, and you don't have any powers to protect yourself."
"Maybe not, but that is our daughter. She needs me, and Boba probably does too. I don't need magic to be a mother."
Anakin was hesitant at first, but he knew his wife was right. If the kids were in need, their mother would know how to help them. Being an inspirational woman and a loving mother, that was Padme's superpower. You've probably heard of stay-at-home moms, maybe even soccer moms
"At least stay close to Sapphire, and call at the first sign of trouble."
So, the team split up to deal with this clavatization.
Vince continued to run for his life as fast as he could until he reached an alley.
"Geez! What girls won't overreact these days." Vince panted. "You compliment them, they get all upset."
Suddenly, a certain blonde he'd hit on earlier landed right between him and the dead end of the alley.
"You think making fun of my brother and hair accessories is complimenting me?" Omega growled.
"Look, Princess. We can work this out." Vince said nervously, backing away. "That's actually a really pretty clip and-"
Vince froze in his tracks as he backed into someone else, and he screamed when he looked behind him.
"Going somewhere, Vince?" Boba said.
"What the heck happened to you? You get some new eye infection or something?"
Boba said nothing. He just clapped his pom poms together and cheered.
"Five, six, seven, eight, say sorry now, it is too late, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, you brought all this on yourself. Fear Leaders! Grab him!"
The other fear leaders all rushed up and grabbed Vince by his arms and legs, yanking him painfully as they carried him away.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"What's the matter, Vince?" Omega teased. "We thought you found hurting other people fun!"
"You've spent a lot of your time making others fear for their lives," said Fear Leader. "Now we're gonna show you what you're afraid of most of all."
Vince suddenly started to breathe heavily, and it didn't help when Solar Flare literally turned up the heat on him every time he struggled.
"Let me go, you crazy bitch!" Vince demanded. "Let me go now!"
"I dare you to try something funny." Omega growled again, flames appearing on her hands this time.
Meanwhile, Remix began to literally feel the heat, and rushed as quickly as he could to the palace and managed to find the one person he believed would be the one to help Boba and Omega.
Whoever it was sat at a table with a pink pencil in their hand, working on something while Remix quickly explained what went down at the high school and how Mariverde placed one mariclava on one victim, and two on the other, and just before they were engulfed in dark magic, the latter begged Remix to get help.
"You're the bravest one I know. I wasn't there to see it, but I believe it when I'm told that you weren't afraid to face a giant monster single-handedly, and that was before the bounty hunters." Remix said. "You're our only hope. Will you do it?"
The hand with the pink pencil put down the writing utensil, slipped on her sparkly pink sneakers, and grabbed a brown teddy bear from her bed.
"If I don't come back, tell Luke and Leia their big sister loves them." Gabby said. "I've got bigger siblings to save."
"I'm coming too." Remix said.
"Fine by me. But we might need a little more help."
"I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this," said Constantine. "But if you're going up against two clavatized enchanteds, there's a chance you may need some power ups."
Constantine summoned two white butterflies to his hand and placed his other hand over them, turning them blue, and he had one land on Gabby's teddy bear, and the other on Remix's headphones.
"I am Constantine Morphina. I give you each a power to use for the greater good. Gabriella Skywalker, you shall have immunity to the heat as the hero Snowflake. Remix Mareheart, you shall also have immunity to heat as well as a boost in strength added to your already amazing power to use your music to reach into the hearts of your foes and free them from the darkness. Do you both accept these powers for the greater good?"
"We do." said the princess and the unicorn.
"When your mission is complete, you will return the power-flies to me." Constantine said. "Do you understand?"
"We understand." Gabby said.
"Yes, Sir." Remix said.
And thus, both friends were surrounded as the two butterflies flew around them and sprinkled blue sparkles on the two of them to transform them into two heroes to face the villains.