Chapter Text
Poppy was still working on listening to others more. Trying to be a good queen and a better friend. Admittedly she'd been doing great at it. Her friendships were strong as ever and Trollstopia was a success, all different genres of trolls getting along and living together in harmony. Pop, country, funk, techno, classical, and of course rock.
Yep. Rock. The genre she'd been dwelling on for a while now. The rock trolls themselves were interesting and very different, but one hard rock troll in particular was stuck in her head like a catchy tune.
Queen Barb.
The troll who had tried to repeat the mistakes of Poppy's ancestors and destroy all but one genre of music. The troll who had very nearly succeeded in her plan.
However, the past is the past and all was forgiven, at least in Poppy’s eyes. Queen Barb and the hard rock trolls were no longer vying for world domination and Poppy found she rather enjoyed the rock trolls' company.
Maybe a little too much when it came to Barb. The truth is she liked her. A lot.
The biggest problem with that? Poppy was just about 100% sure that Queen Barb hated her.
Things were looking up right after Barb's world tour. She seemed to be excited at the prospect of being Poppy's friend and about having a girl group with her and Carol. However it only got worse from there. All the troll kings and queens gathered to discuss peace and relations and it seemed like each time they met Barb grew more and more distant from Poppy.
At first Barb would stutter every once in a while, or trip over her words. Poppy only noticed because it was so odd for the usually cool and confident queen of rock.
Then it got worse, it happened more often. Barb would try to speak and just end up growling in frustration by the end of it, face and ears red with what Poppy could only assume was anger. She also avoided being alone with Poppy at all costs and had even started to avoid talking with her, shutting down most unnecessary conversations quickly.
Barb wasn’t the most friendly with anyone, even the other leaders, but at least she could stand to talk to them.
Poppy thought for hours about what she could've possibly done to earn Barb's ire. Had she hugged too hard or too much? Had she been too clingy? Was Barb just still bitter about Poppy's opposition and trying to distance herself? That one was unlikely but it still crossed her mind.
Poppy just wanted to be closer to Barb but she wasn't making it easy, many other trolls would've given up completely at this point but Poppy still tried, even if Barb hated her maybe there was still a chance her feelings would be returned someday, even if it was simply friendship. Barb could certainly use a close friend. Most trolls had forgiven Barb but were still hesitant when it came to the queen of rock. Plus, despite what Barb said and how she acted, Poppy could tell in the few moments that Barb let her guard down that she was lonely, even though she was the one who tried to keep others at an arm's length away.
The question was how was she going to start getting closer to Barb? How was she going to help get Barb closer to everyone else?
Then it came to her.
Poppy jumped to her feet and immediately ran out of her house to look for Branch. Luckily it was short work as he was talking to a techno troll after his morning swim.
"Hey Branch!" She walked up to him excitedly, "Sorry to interrupt."
Branch smiled at her, "Don't worry, we were just finishing up." Branch waved at the techno troll as they went their separate ways, Poppy and Branch walking side by side "What's up, Poppy?"
"Well… I'm going to throw a huge party and I need your help!"
"Poppy, you know I like your parties but we have parties all the time, why do you need my help?"
"Because!" Poppy faced Branch and gestured wildly, "This is going to be different! One of the biggest, best parties ever thrown! It'll be half formal, half casual, all fun! And it'll be for every troll, not just those in Trollstopia and Pop Village! We'll invite everyone and if all goes according to plan all the leaders will be there and perform too! This party has to be perfect!"
"Are you sure this is really achievable? It's going to be a massive party which means lots of different trolls to feed and entertain."
"Trust me, Branch, together we can do this! We have to try!”
“So can I ask why we’re doing this all of a sudden?”
“Well, pfft, you know.” Poppy laughed nervously, “Just to help everyone come together and be friends!”
“Uh huh,” Branch looked at Poppy, obviously not buying it, “And it has nothing to do with Queen Barb?”
“Nooooo--”
Branch gave her an unamused look and Poppy broke.
“Okay fine, it does! How could you tell?”
“Well it’s not like you talk about her after every meeting, ‘oh Barb did this’ or ‘Barb said that’ or ‘I wish I was closer to Barb,’ maybe it’s best that we just let things happen naturally. Barb tried to destroy all our music and trolls aren’t just going to let that go because of one party.”
“Maybe you’re right, but we could at least try!” Poppy left out that at the very least her and Barb’s connection could grow stronger.
Branch sighed, “I don’t think it’s going to make a difference but I’ll help, Poppy.”
“Yay! Thank you, Branch!” Poppy pulled him in for a hug.
When she pulled back she didn’t notice the blush on Branch’s cheeks and the tips of his ears.
“Sure, no problem.” he said quickly.
A few days later, Barb was sitting in her room, bored, mind consumed by thoughts about a certain pink pop troll. Maybe she should send her a letter, ask to hang out.
A cruel little voice in her head didn’t like that, ‘What, so you can make a fool of yourself like you do at the conferences? Yeah right. Cause Poppy would definitely want to be with a pathetic rock troll who can’t even talk to her.’
Barb groaned. The little voice was right. It always was. Better to sit in a pit of self-loathing than make a fool of herself even more. How would she even begin telling Poppy how she felt about her anyway?
She started lazily playing her guitar, eventually playing the tune of Paint It Black. She started singing along slowly.
“I look inside myself and see my heart is black. I see my red door, I must have it painted black. Maybe then I’ll fade away and not have to face the facts. It’s not easy facing up when your whole world is--”
A knock at her door interrupted her. She groaned, dropping her guitar to the side and getting up to open the door.
Riff stood there, a letter in hand, “Mail for you, Your Rockness.”
She muttered a thanks and opened the letter with her teeth.
“Dear Queen Barb,” she read out loud, “I am hosting a party for all trolls here at Pop Village and Trollstopia in two weeks. All kings, queens, and their subjects are invited and I would love to have you perform and show off your genre of music. Please RSVP soon and dress formally. Love, Queen Poppy.”
“Wow,” Riff said, “Are you going? I definitely would, it would mean you get to see Queen Poppy again.”
Barb scowled, “What are you trying to say, Riff? I am not going to this thing.”
“Well,” Riff put his hands together, “I’m just saying I think she likes you, and admitting your feelings to someone in a big performance is very romantic.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Barb’s frown deepened but her heart beat nervously.
“I don’t know, just thought I would put that out there, Your Rockness.” Riff shrugged but his lips pulled into a smile.
“Whatever,” Barb scoffed, “Not going.” She shut the door before Riff could get another word out.
The rest of the day she couldn’t get Riff’s word’s or the invitation out of her head. Maybe she could use this to her advantage, to be more well liked, or to admit her feelings to Poppy. Before her mind could tell her differently she wrote out her RSVP, stating that yes, she would be there, and yes, she would perform.
After Barb sent the letter, the weight of what she had done washed over her.
“Oh shit.”