"Okay, I did all of the calculations," Flower said as she added the final touches to her device. "By recalibrating the boiling unit and slightly slowing down the spinning mechanisms, I've managed to stabilize the machine, and..."

Flicking a switch, Flower activated the device. With the spin of a few gears and the bubbling of hot water, it released clouds... made of cotton candy! Her friends, Manta Rave and Dustin Bluegrass, stared in awe.

"Awesome!" Manta Rave said in excitement. "Can you make it rain chocolate milk?!"

To answer, Flower pushed a few buttons and the machine popped out another cloud that drizzled the sweet liquid.

"And for hail..." Flower said, turning a dial. The trip heard popping and the third cloud released had popcorn fall from it. "I thought about adding whipped cream as snow, but I don't want to overwork it."

"That's okay," Dustin insisted. "You really should take it easy."

Flower sighed sadly. "Tell that to my mom. She's been pushing me too much with these queen lessons. Especially since Grandpa died. But I can't be the type of ruler that she is."

"I think you'd be a great queen already," Dustin tried to reassure her. "You're compassionate, smart, loyal, brave, beautiful... Well, in-in general! Not like you're beautiful, beautiful! I didn't mean anything like that..."

"Dusty, we get it," Manta said flatly.

"Oh, thank you," he sighed. "Point is, you'd be amazing just the way you are."

"He's right," Manta agreed. "And Tiny would say that, too."

It had been a few months since Guy Diamond and Tiny Diamond went off to travel the world on a father-son adventure. Things wasn't quite the same without the trio's pint-sized friend, but their memories of him got them by.

"Flower!"

"Oh, crap! It's my mom!" Flower gasped in panic. "What do I do?!"

"Relax, girl," Manta assured her. "The big M-R has got this."

"Flower, I'm not kidding!" Poppy said angrily as she stormed her way through the forest. "If you don't come back, I'll... I'll... I'll ground you! Yeah. You won't have that big party we talked about for your eighteenth birthday!"

"Oh, how dreadful," Manta muttered sarcastically before jumping out of a bush. "Hey, Auntie P! What's happening? You are looking beautiful today! Did you change your hair? It looks totes faboo! Blech, I can't believe I just said that."

Poppy glared at the Techno princess and said, "Manta, where's Flower?"

Manta's giant pink eyes widened. "I, uh, haven't seen her all day."

"You can't lie to me," Poppy insisted. "You're her best friend. If you're here, she's here."

"Look, Aunt Poppy..."

"Flower! Come over here now!" Poppy shouted. Manta patted on her ear fin as if to get the sound out.

"Loud, loud, loud, loud..." Flower muttered repetitively, covering her ears. Dustin just gently rubbed her back to calm her down.

"Oh, there you are!" Poppy sighed in relief. "Where in Troll Kingdom have you been?"

"I, uh..."

"Ma'am, she's been here, making this candy weather machine," Dustin replied. "She's been working on it for three months."

"Yeah, I think I finally figured it all out," Flower added, pushing a few buttons so a cotton candy cloud would poof out. "See?"

"Wow, looks like fun!" Poppy admitted. "We should use it for your big birthday bash!"

"Actually, Mom-"

"Now, come on! Let's go back to Pop Village to finish your lesson," Poppy said, pulling her eldest daughter by the wrist. Flower just quietly waved goodbye to her friends.

"I can't believe Queen Poppy's doin' this to her," Dusty said sympathetically.

"I can't believe you still haven't told Flower how you feel about her," Manta pointed out. Dusty blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, don't give me that. We both know you've had a crush on her since we were little kids."

"What does it matter?" Dusty sighed, kicking the ground with his front hoof. "She's a genius and the princess of pop. I'm just a dumb ol' Country Troll."

"Well, I'm a princess, too," Manta pointed out. "So you listen to me when I say this. Dumb ol' Dustin Bluegrass is the best guy I know. Any princess would be more than lucky to have him."

"You think so?" Dustin asked.

"I know so," Manta replied. "So, if you really love this woman, then go get her before it's too late!"

"Okay, okay!" Dustin said. "I'll do it. I'll tell Flower I love her!"

🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋

"Flower, you know the first rule of being queen is no Troll left behind," Poppy explained, letting go of Flower's wrist. "So, when you abandon your lessons, you abandon your people. You can't just do that, no matter how hard it is emotionally. You just have to grin and... Flower, are you even listening to me?"

"I'm trying to remember what kind of flower this is," Flower said, observing a purple and white striped flower. "It's either the white-striped good luck flower that can be used in salads, or it's the purple-striped bad moon flower that sprays a deadly poison when disturbed."

"The only 'flower' I'm thinking about is you, princess," Poppy said, ushering her back into the village.

"Are you, though?"

"What are you talking about?" Poppy asked.

"Look, Mom, it's not that I don't want to be a good queen," Flower explained. "I just... don't see a reality where I can be you."

"What does that mean?"

"It means..." she continued, "... I'm not a crazy party animal. I hate loud noises, I need time to rest... I was burned out in less than an hour at the last three parties I went to. Excluding Grandpa's funeral."

"I know, I just..." Poppy said in frustration. "Forget the lesson. Let's just go home."

"Mom, I didn't-"

"You got what you wanted, okay?!"

So, yeah. Pops is hiding her feelings. She would've been more open if she knew what would happen next...