“So, this is where you’ve been?” Mena asked with wide eyes.

“After you passed out,” Straw-Woman said, removing her glasses to show her button eyes. “That wizard fellow who runs the school couldn’t decide what to do with me. But I annoyed him so much that he decided to hide me where no one else would be able to find me!”

Mena laughed. Not even Gemini could deal with the unbridled precociousness of Straw-Woman. “How did you find me?” Straw-Woman asked.

Mena proceeded to explain the Castle Alignment and Gaia’s plot to Straw-Woman, but she didn’t look interested at all. “If you don’t mind Mena, I’d like to get back to my tan with the Straw-Hunks. This is clearly what a fully liberated Straw-Woman does with her spare time.”

“You know that’s not a real sun, right?” Mena said with her eyes narrowed.

“We’re not alive so it doesn’t matter, nyah!” Straw-Woman said.

After bidding Straw-Woman farewell, Mena and Tal walked back to the dance together.

“Well, that was a bust,” Mena said, her expression aggravated. “But at least Gaia didn’t find the gilded door.”

“That’s an interesting pet you have,” Tal responded. “I used to have a pet raven but I don’t have him…anymore.”

“Don’t you mean, nevermore!” Mena responded, a smile returning to her face. Tal laughed too.

“I gotta hand it to you, Miss Shiny Grin,” he remarked. “You sure know how to brighten my dour mood.”

The two laughed together, before Mena took a deep breath and attempted to talk in a comely voice similar to Merlina from her books. “So Tal… would you like to dance with me?’

Tal’s face looked uneasy over her words; it resembling a cross between anticipation and constipation. Mena noticed he was still in his Fabias’ façade too. “Uh, let’s just see how everything is when we get back to the ballroom.”

“Well then,” Mena said, as she opened the towering double doors. “We’re here.”

The dance floor had cleared, leaving nothing but streamers and party favors lying in the dim lighting. Instead, everyone was lining up. A loud kissing sound suckled Mena’s ear and she turned aside to see Janus making out with the Horse Racing captain. As soon as she saw Mena, Janus pulled her nonexistent lips off the girl who hung from her arms in a daze.

“Is she okay?” Mena asked.

“Yep!” Janus responded. “Sometimes it takes people a bit to recover from a kiss of death.”

“Wow,” the girl said, her eyes coming back to life. “I saw my whole life flashing before my eyes.

“Wait a minute,” she exclaimed. “That was awful!” She broke free of Janus and walked away in a huff. “Easy come, easy go,” Janus remarked in her flighty voice. “I guess she’s not an adrenaline junkie. You’d think someone who races horses in outer space would…”

Mena quickly interrupted her, “Janus, did we miss the dance?”

Janus nodded. “Sadly, yes, Mena. But all is not lost. We still have the Unity Ceremony.”

“At least, I’ve got that!” Mena said, and she dragged a hapless Tal with her. “I’m at least getting that part of my homecoming!”

“The girls are lining up on the right side of the fountain!” Janus called out, “The boys on the left!”

Hearing Tal audibly swallow, Mena quickly directed him to the other side of the fountain before heading off to her own side. The Lollypop Equestrian Society were busy grooming the mares nearby and preparing them for takeoff. As Mena walked over, she bumped into Caligari whose face was mutilated by tears and running mascara. Mena screamed in horror, before realizing Caligari was simply crying.

“Professor, what happened to you?” Mena said, impressed that someone as balanced as Caligari could look like such a mess. (But it was homecoming night after all.)

“I was slow dancing with Gemini,” Caligari croaked “And I was about to tell him my true feelings when he saw Stellaris standing with an elderly woman. He stopped dancing with me to ask Stella who that woman was. Turns out Stellaris stood Gemini up so she could take her elderly mother to the 100th anniversary homecoming.”

Caligari sniffed loudly. “Gemini told me he felt he wasn’t worth Unicornea poop and said he didn’t feel like dancing with anyone anymore. He left me standing alone on the dance floor.”

“Wowie Zowie,” Mena exclaimed. “I knew Gemini had a lot on his plate, but I didn’t know he could be so cold. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll just be hiding in the shadows for the rest of the night if anyone needs me…” Caligari said, and her form sunk into the shadows.

“Poor girl,” Mena said, before she was interrupted by Electra who loudly clapped her large hands.

“Girls, it’s time to mount your Unicorneas,” she boomed. “You’re not going to disappoint me or my boys tonight!”

A Lollypop Equestrian member led Mena over to Iris whose rainbow mane had been neatly groomed. “Sorry about your fall,” the horse whinnied. “I hope you don’t sue-hoo-hoo me.”

“It’s no problem at all!” Mena said, “Besides, “I don’t think you can sue horses.”

“Good,” Iris responded. “Let’s get this over with so I can get some hay-hay-hay!”

The Lollypop members helped her into her saddle and lined her up with the other girls. May sat on the horse ahead of her and she waved happily. “Hey Mena,” she said. “How was your night?”

“Oh, just stopped a power mad professor from reaching the golden door. All in a night’s work. How was yours?”

May sighed. “Ashlan’s brother is a dream come true. He smooches like an animal!”

Mena frowned in the darkness. It seemed both of her friends had gotten to kiss someone tonight. It was only herself who was missing out. “That’s great, May,” she said in between a grimace.

“Are the horses ready for flight?” Electra inquired from the head of the Equestrian society.

He nodded politely and Electra ordered two more members with orange light-sticks to signal the takeoff for the mares. They waved them forward and Electra announced, “As they say in high class society, ladies’ first!”

The horses galloped forward, flapping their wings and took off towards the towering ceiling of the ballroom. The wind rushed through Mena’s hair as Iris swooped forward and glided skyward.

Mena gasped as the ballroom ceiling faded away and was replaced with a life-size solar system. Stars twinkled like diamonds on a black veil and colorful nebulas and planetoids shined colors of green, red and blue. The mares made their way in a parade through the cosmos, glowing bright white with rainbows trailing behind them. They were greeted by the boys riding jet black stallions who traveled in the opposite direction, leaving a trail of golden stardust. The stallions and mares spiraled around each other, orbiting like shooting stars. Electra and Gemini’s magnified voices echoed throughout space like they were the deities that had birthed the cosmos.

“Schools of Sunbeam and Nightdream, join hands in a Grand Ceremony of Unity!”

As the mares and stallions circled around each other, each met with a partner and came to a halt. May was parallel to Leo who gave a bold raise of his bushy eyebrows when his nose smelled the object of his affection. He bowed formally to May, who blushed and curtsied to him in her lilywhite dress. Janus’ mare was lined up with the horse captain’s mare, (one of the only pairings to parallel someone from the same school) who reluctantly bowed to her; the girl was clearly not over locking lips with the daughter of death himself.

Mena looked ahead of her. Two handsome bushy blond-haired twins in tuxedos, bowed to Marie and Laetitia, but much to Mena’s surprise, the two elves looked unnerved and a bit green. Marie went to curtsy, but a loud wind broke through the air. Laetitia gave a nervous laugh at her sister’s faux pas until she threw her head forward and puked. Mena was about to laugh but she saw Ashlan, clearly wishing she was anywhere else, bow her head to a bespectacled, freckled boy in a suit.

“You’re supposed to curtsy,” he said in creaky, puberty ridden voice.

“Oh, right,” Ashlan said and she curtsied with the least amount of grace Mena had ever seen.

“Hey, Miss Shiny Grin,” a boyish voice called to her left.

Mena turned her head and her jaw nearly dropped the bottomless length of the cosmos.

Across from her was a boy with shoulder length brunette hair, chocolate brown skin and an eye of green limestone. A pitch-black scar traveled from his nose up to his right eye, which he kept his hair parted over. His lips, though hardly the size of Fabias,’ were full and when he spoke, his voice finally matched his face. He was dressed in a dark ceremonial with silver astral signs and runes on it.

“Hubba hubba,” Mena said, a dash of red blush tinting her cheeks.

“Oh,” Tal said, a small smile creased his face. “I guess the lotion wore off. I’ll take your not-so-eloquent babbling as a good sign.”

Mena shook her dazed head and looked up at him. “For giving me a night like I’ve never had before,” Tal said. “I’d like to present you with two gifts. First: a poem.”

Tal produced a small sheet of paper from his robe and read it in a dramatic and slightly overwrought fashion:

“There are no trees.

In my Garden of Serenity.

There are no leaves.

In my Garden of Serenity.

There are no weeds.

In my Garden of Serenity.

There are no colors.

In my Garden of Serenity.

For there is only you and me.”

Mena was so dumbfounded by Tal’s true appearance that not even his strange poetry could wake her from her stupor.

“Er…” Tal said, bashfully putting his hand behind his head. “Perhaps I should give you my other gift.”

“What is it?” Mena mouthed.

Tal leaned forward on his horse and kissed Mena right on the lips, his firm mouth pressing tightly against her soft lips. It might have been because she was in outer space, but Mena’s brain felt like it was going to supernova from the fiery impact of their mouths. She staggered backwards, causing Iris to shriek loudly, snapping her back to reality.

“Uh…thank you,” Mena said, stupidly.

Tal spoke gallantly. “I hope that will give you something to remember me by when I head back to the Sunbeam Castle.”

Mena giggled and snorted loudly; she hid her face in embarrassment, but Tal simply laughed kindly. They bowed and curtsied before parting ways. The mares and stallions flew opposite ways, heading back towards the ground. Iris neighed in relief as she returned to the ballroom floor. “I remember my first love,” the horse said. “He was so huge-uge-uge!”

“Huh?” Mena said, her eyes not even blinking in sync. She had a first kiss worthy of the stars, and her mind had not yet returned from them.

Mena snapped to attention when she heard the boom of Electra’s voice from the stage. “And that concludes our Unity Ceremony! I hope you all had a glorious night of vivaciousness.”

“Did I ever!” Mena said, holding her hands to her cheeks and swooning.

Electra gestured to an exasperated Gemini. “I hope that Gemmy will be up for another fantabulous shindig next year,”

Gemini sighed. “Yes… it’s been fun. Well, goodnight everyone.”

“Gemini…Electra…” A deep voice bellowed, sounding like it came from the depths of Hell. “I’m ashamed of you.”

A dramatic violin arpeggio played, and suddenly, all the candles around the room were extinguished by a mighty wind. Frantic piccolos and flutes fluttered as everyone muttered nervously. The extinguished flames were then relit with blue fire. A loud crash of a timpani followed sending the Lollypop String Quartet members flying haplessly into the audience.

The baritone voice echoed around the room with a voice as furious as his instruments. “How dare you hire a low-budget string quartet for this party when you could have hired me, the Phantom Orchestrator!”