Hi.

I don't know if I'm gonna keep the cover. It was either this or a drawing of Willow done by a really talented artist on Instagram. If I could make one myself, it'd probably have Willow, Poppy, Branch, Flower, Ash, Barb, and the Sun and Moon thingy.

Enjoy the story!

Together again

Gee, it's good to be together again

I just can't imagine that you've ever gone

It's not starting over, it's just going on

Together again

Now, we're here and there's no need remembering when

'Cause no feeling feels like that feeling

Together a-

Together a-

Together a-

"Sorry, everyone!" Willow apologized to a group of children. "Stupid, cheap film projector!"

Together again!

"And there you have it, kids!" she announced, turning off the film as the credits rolled. "One of the greatest films of all time: Trollhattan Melodies, starring Hope Diamond!"

The young Troll turned to her class expecting applause, but found them either sleeping or just plain bored.

Willow cleared her throat nervously. "I said, Trollhattan Melodies! As in Hope flipping Diamond!"

"Daddy told me about her!" Tiny Diamond spoke up. "She's my great-great-grandma!"

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, Tiny," Willow said, catching the other kids' interest. "You're thinking 'I'm related to a movie star!' Well, did you also know that your great-great-grandma Hope was also the first glitter Troll to win the Golden Hair Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy?"

"And she's boring again," Coral Blush yawned.

"What do you mean by that?" Willow asked the Techno Troll.

"We wanna see you do magic!" a Rock kid shouted. "Blow something up, make a cool sculpture, read our minds!"

"But Lance, this is film class, not magic class," Willow pointed out. "I'm not a magician, I'm a filmmaker... with magic powers. But I can't read minds. That's a telepath, I'm an empath."

"You read Tiny Diamond's mind," a Classical child said.

"Actually, I was thinking about sprinkles," Tiny Diamond said.

"While talking about your famous family member?" Willow wondered. "You think you know a kid."

"Miss Duckweed, can I go to the bathroom?" a Funk Troll child asked.

"Don't worry, Moe," Willow reassured him. "Class ends in ten seconds, so I think your bladder has enough time to hear that Hope Diamond not only made history as the first glitter Troll to win the Golden Hair, but she won a total of seven! That's more than any other actress known to-"

"BUS!" a voice boomed. The kids rushed out of the fun dungeon.

"Snooze alert!" a Pop girl said.

"More like Trollhattan Deadbeats," Clampers muttered to Lance.

"Daddy, let's go to the park!" Tiny Diamond shouted.

"Known to Troll kind!" Willow finished. "Or Bergen kind, for that matter!"

Once Clampers slammed the door shut with her back hooves, Willow found the fun dungeon completely empty. She looked down at her hands in thought. Willow may have been free from the Darkness, but she still didn't like using her powers in front of everyone unless she had to.

Suddenly, she felt something pulling on one of her pant legs and noticed little Princess Flower was still with her.

"I wiked the movie, Wiwwow," she said sweetly.

"Thanks, kid," Willow replied, bending down to her level. "But you'd think those other kids would be a little more open minded. Especially since we learned the best way for us to get along is to listen to each other."

"Twue," Flower agreed. "I guess it just takes time."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Willow said. "But I wish they didn't like me just because I have magic. There's a saying from a popular movie: With great power comes great respiratory... No, that's not it. Uh, something you have to do with that power. And I'd rather be repulsive. No, that's wrong, too."

"It's responsibility," someone corrected. The pair turned around to find Branch, Flower's father and one of Willow's best friends.

"Hi, Daddy!" Flower said happily, running up to hug him. Branch scooped his daughter up into his arms and showered her with kisses.

"Yeah, hi, Daddy," Willow repeated, expecting a little love herself.

Branch rolled his eyes. "And they put birds in cuckoo clocks."

"I don't know why that is," Willow said. "Some of my best friends are birds."

"Exactly," Branch replied, putting Flower down. Suddenly, he smelled something burning and noticed his shorts were on fire!

"Stop, dwop, and woll!" Flower instructed as Branch began panicking. He did what she told him and the flames went out.

"See what happens when you eat too much spicy food, Flower?" Willow laughed. Flower giggled in response.

"Will," Branch said, "I came here to tell you something, but forget it."

"Oh, don't get sore at me, Branch!" Willow insisted. "Why don't you come over to my house, I'll pour you a nice, cool drink. What'll it be?"

Branch patted on his burnt shorts and answered, "Friendship on the rocks."

❤️☀️🧡🌙💛☀️💚🌙💙☀️💜🌙

"So, how are things between you and Poppy?" Willow asked Branch, pouring him a glass of stoutberry juice. Flower got hers in a sippy cup.

"Pretty good," he answered. "We kinda took our relationship to the next level."

Willow's eyes widened. "You don't mean...?"

Branch nodded, showing her a bracelet with pink heart-shaped beads. Making jewelry for each other was how a Troll couple showed their affection for one another in Pop Village.

"I'm surprised you and Ash don't have them yet," Branch said.

"Well, she was raised by Rockers, they probably do something different," Willow pointed out. "Plus, I kinda screwed things up with her."

"Screw up, how?" Branch wondered.

"Promise you won't tell anyone," Willow said, and Branch crossed his heart. "I invited her to my house, let her look around, and... she found an embarrassing picture from my childhood that I should've burned years ago. And then, I told her to leave."

"Really? Which picture?" Branch asked curiously. Willow looked away, her face turning red. "Willow, which picture?"

Groaning, Willow grabbed a photo album and pulled out a picture from when she was five years old.

"You wore glasses?" Branch asked.

"I know, I looked ridiculous," Willow said. "You know what they say, 'The ladies don't make passes at Trolls who wear glasses.' So after three years of being bullied by my mother, I decided to never wear glasses again. It took me eight years of making low-budget movies, barely making enough to pay off the theaters and studios, and saving whatever was left to buy super-size contact lenses."

"Will, your mother just wanted to hurt you, she tried to kill you," Branch pointed out. "Ash would never hurt you, she loves you."

"Yeah, I guess I did overreact," Willow admitted. "I should go to Volcano Rock City and apologize."

"Yeah, but we should make a quick stop first," Branch said. "Poppy and I were on a date today, and I saw something weird on the way back."

"What kind of weird?" Willow asked. "Good weird, bad weird, or just plain weird?"

"I don't know," Branch replied. "But I have a bad feeling."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Branch and Flower rode a pink and orange bug to a mountain range just north of Pop Village, with Willow flying by their side. They landed on the tallest peak where black, shimmering rocks stuck out of the snow in a circle like a ring of needles. A really tall one stood in the center.

"Told you it was weird," Branch said, climbing off the bug. "Flower, stay here."

"Pwetty!" Flower cooed, reaching out for the rocks. Branch decided to park the bug at a reasonable distance from the rocks.

"What are they?" Willow asked.

"I have no idea," Branch replied, pulling out a pickaxe and shovel. "I've never seen rocks like these before. I'm gonna take a sample back to Pop Village."

Branch attempted to break off a chunk of one of the rocks, but his metal pickaxe shattered on impact!

"What?! This is impossible!" Branch exclaimed. "Indestructable rocks?!"

"Daggers," Willow corrected, standing near the center of the circle. Branch raised an eyebrow. "They gotta have a name."

Suddenly, they all began glowing silver with blue and red veins. At that moment, Willow remembered something.

"I know this place," she gasped in realization. "This is where Ash told me she loved me and broke my curse last month."

"That's really romantic," Branch said, "but what's your point?"

Willow turned around to the tallest of the daggers at the center of the circle and slowly approached it. She reached out to touch it with the tip of her finger, letting out a powerful energy that had both Trolls blasted out of the rings!

"What the heck was that?!" Willow screeched.

"I don't know, but we better get out of here fast!" Branch replied as more daggers popped out of the ground, straight towards them. They ran as fast as they could to where Branch parked the bug, but their path was blocked in half a second. "Uh, back this way!"

No matter which direction they turned, Branch and Willow were trapped by the magical rocks. There was nowhere to go but up.

"Daddy!" Flower cried out as she watched the two grown ups get caught in the daggers.

At that moment, Branch made a decision. "Willow, fly out of here and get Flower back to Pop Village!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Willow protested. "If you die, I'll have no one to make fun of!"

"Just go!" Branch pleaded. But just as they were being squeezed by the daggers, Willow's eyes glowed white and she let out a powerful energy that forced them to point away from them!

Branch and Flower covered their eyes as Willow's entire body continued shining bright. Once the light faded away, Branch stared at her in shock. Willow glanced at him, then turned back to the daggers, which had stopped.

"You're right," Willow said. "This is definitely a bad weird."

Until next time. 🤘