In the end, Fiona was able to get Chloe down to just two pairs of shoes along with a matching outfit. It was weak of her, she knew, but Fiona would be lying if she didn't admit to ulterior motives, she had rather enjoyed the one-Chloe fashion show after all.

  After meeting up with the others and acquiring a new set of tank tops for Troy, the next battle became preventing the impending disaster that was Eleanor’s wardrobe choices. Fiona could respect understated fashion choices, but no self respecting friend would allow another to wear double denim.

  After wrangling Eleanor into a less repulsive outfit they had moved onto stage three of Chloe’s “plan”.

  The party.

  Fiona hadn't been sure what to expect. Probably some childish affair with paper plates and party hats, knowing Chloe. But, she had been pleasantly surprised.

  Okay, yes, there were party hats. Both Chloe and Troy had insisted on that, somehow even conning Star of all people into wearing one. But as for the actual gathering, well Fiona had been surprised. It had started with an outdoor meal at the local park where all of their Pokemon could participate, even Growly.

  After that they had moved onto the main event. Karaoke. It wasn’t an activity any of them had done before, but it was one they took to with extreme enthusiasm. It turned out that of the four of them, only Eleanor had any real ability to sing. Still, that didn't stop Chloe and Troy from belting out songs from their favourite animated musicals. Even Fiona had been roped in to participating, albeit reluctantly.

  In the end Fiona had to admit the truth. She was having fun. It was nice to simply relax and let go. She wouldn't admit it to the others, but she had been feeling the strain of their recent misadventures. It seemed like they couldn’t go five minutes without some kind of disaster. First Eterna, then Mount Coronet. Both times Fiona had been utterly helpless, and both times it had been Fiona's idea to go there in the first place.

  Then Eleanor had reminded her of her dad, and the whole Chloe situation…

  Yeah, Fiona had been a little on edge. So she had been a bitch, like usual. Only this time she hadn't driven anyone away. Instead they had dragged her off to a birthday party.

  Chloe plonked herself down next to Fiona, face flushed from the exertion of her singing.

  “So Fi, is this as awful as you expected?” Chloe asked, grabbing a chip from the bowl of snacks that sat before them.

  “Your singing? Yeah.”

  Chloe smacked her, “Don't be mean, you know what I meant.”

  Fiona sighed, “Okay fine. You got me. Thanks for setting this up.”

  Chloe nodded, satisfied, “You’re welcome. Now, was that so hard?”

  Fiona wrapped her arms around herself and mock shivered, “It was the worst. I feel dirty.”

  Chloe giggled, “Well then you’re going to feel extra dirty when we get to the presents.”

  “Presents?”

  Chloe nodded, “Well, more like present. The party was the main one, but we did get you something.”

  Chloe looked over at Eleanor, who was currently being badgered by Troy to take another turn, “El, you got the thing?”

  “Yeah, one moment,” Eleanor agreed, extracting herself from Troy to fish in her bag. She pulled out a small, black leather folder, handing it to Chloe.

  “Happy birthday!” Chloe said, presenting it to Fiona.

  Fiona took it, one eyebrow raised, before opening it and having a look.

  She wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting, but she was surprised regardless.

  It was a photo album.

  Pictures of her, pictures of the group together, shots of Star and Tank and Thistle. A collection of memories from their trip so far, all neatly arranged within the pages.

  Fiona looked up at Chloe, who was grinning.

  “Eleanor took the photos, of course,” Chloe explained, “But it was my idea. Well, mine and Troy's.”

  Troy nodded, “Shopping for a rich bitch is hard. You can afford anything we could get you.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “So we went with memories!” Chloe finished, “Do you like it?”

  Fiona stared at the photos, flipping through the pages. She came to one of her and Chloe, sitting together in the snow, watching the aurora.

  “Yeah,” she said slowly, “I really do.”

  Fiona looked up, making eye contact with Chloe.

  “I also like you.”

  Fiona froze. She hadn't meant to say that…

  “Awww, I like you too Fi! Besties forever!” Chloe said, wrapping Fiona in a big hug.

  Fiona looked at Eleanor. The girl shook her head, rolling her eyes for emphasis. Fiona sighed. Had she just been friend zoned?

  She looked to Troy, who just shrugged.

  Taking a deep breath, Fiona decided to worry about it later. For a girl who was so ridiculously open with her emotions, Chloe could be hard to read. It was all surface level with her.

  For now though, Fiona decided to just enjoy the moment with her friends.

  Fiona sat alone on the bench, snow falling around her. It was late, the festivities having wrapped up for the night, and the others having gone to bed. Fiona, though, couldn't sleep.

  “Fucking stupid,” she muttered. She had accidentally blurted out that shit to Chloe earlier. She had just been so caught up in enjoying herself. As much as she had protested the idea of a party, it was some of the most fun she could ever remember having.

  So she had let her guard down. What was even worse was that she had no idea if Chloe had been letting her down or if the blonde had simply missed the implications. It was infuriating. There was something there, Fiona was sure of it. But the other girl just didn't respond to the hints Fiona was putting down.

  She sighed. She was not used to this shit. She needed to talk to someone.

  Luckily she had someone to talk to. Unluckily, he was a gossipy bitch and judgy as hell.

  She released Star. Her best and oldest friend appeared, mane glittering in the moonlight. He took one look at her and rolled his eyes.

  “Fuck you,” Fiona told him, standing to bury her face in her judgy unicorn’s coat. He was right though.

  “I don't know what to do,” she told him, “I’ve never had this problem before.”

  Star snorted.

  “Don't you fucking dare. It's not her fault, it's me.”

  Fiona could always tell what her friend was saying. They had been together for as long as she could remember. She could rely on him for advice and company, no matter what. He was also a bit of a dick.

  “There's something there, I can tell,” Fiona explained, “I just can't tell what it is.”

  Star shook his mane.

  “Okay, gross. And no, it's more than that. I actually like her. I just… well. I don't know.”

  It was so frustrating. Fiona wanted to punch something. One moment they’re sharing a moment, the next, Chloe is declaring eternal friendship.

  “I just don't want to fuck it up.”

  Star snorted once more, shifting his head to look Fiona in the eye.

  She laughed.

  “That's terrible advice.”

  He stamped his hoof.

  “Talk to her? Hell no! Except… fuck, you’re right.”

  Fiona shook her head, doing her best to avoid her friend’s smug look.

  “Why are you always so fucking right about everything?” she demanded, Star letting out a whinny in response.

  “At least you're humble about it,” she muttered, ignoring his preening.

  Fiona sighed, rising to her feet

  “Fine, I’ll talk to her, but not yet.”

  Star glared.

  “It's not the right time, we have things to do.”

  He was sceptical. She could tell.

  “I’ll do it,” Fiona defended. “I said I would, so I’ll fucking do it. But after the gym.”

  Fiona broke into a wicked grin.

  “After all, it's time for us to make Candice cry.”

  Chloe lay on her bed, exhausted. Her feet hurt, her throat was sore and eyes were threatening to close at any moment. But she was satisfied. She hadn't wanted to admit to the others that she had no idea how to set up a birthday party. Hell, parties in general weren't something she had much experience with. But she felt like she had done a good job.

  Fiona had been adorably flustered by the whole affair, but she had clearly enjoyed herself and that was important. If there was one thing that Chloe refused to let happen, it was someone feeling lonely.

  She smiled as she remembered how awkwardly Fiona had admitted their friendship. Her friend really was a big softie. Now she was probably off arguing with Star about how she totally hated everything.

  “I still can't believe she didn't tell me it was her birthday,” Chloe told Mochi, who was dozing in the corner. Her Jigglypuff opened an eye to look at Chloe sceptically.

  “Okay fine,” Chloe admitted, “I can. But still, it's good that we fixed that.

  She yawned, stretched and reluctantly sat upright. As fun as the party had been, and as much as she wanted to just drift off, it was time to switch gears.

  Candice.

  She had a few days to prepare, and Chloe wanted to be ready. She was confident, especially after what Fiona had told her, but Chloe didn't want to just win.

  Her battle against Gardenia had been amazing, she couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun. The lights, the crowd, the spectacle. Combined with the needling from Fiona? Chloe had a new mission. She wasn't aiming for a victory. She was going to upstage Fiona. She also had no doubt that Fiona was thinking the same thing.

  Chloe lacked Fiona's talent and ability to just claim a space as hers, telling everyone else to fuck off in the process. Nor did she have Eleanor’s ability to analyse and strategise, or Troy’s natural comedic chops and physical presence. But Chloe had a strength of her own. Her girls.

  Mimi was a princess.

  Mochi was a star.

  Reinette was a queen.

  And Growly? Well, he was doing his best.

  Chloe didn't have brains, talent or charisma like the rest of them. But she had the best damn team anyone could ask for, all she needed to do was to give them a stage. She was good at that. She wasn't the star, she was the director, and she was determined to be the best in the business. She just needed ideas.

  She grabbed her phone and began to browse, slightly hampered by the size of the screen. She would need to invest in a laptop.

  Chloe considered what she wanted as she scrolled. What sort of show did she want? More importantly, what sort of image did she want to project? Chloe had almost forgotten what both Fiona and Calem had told her. She was ACE. She needed to build a brand and make her mark.

  Her battle against Gardenia had Mochi stealing the show. Reinette had missed out entirely, and she was not happy about that. Her Steenee would have to be the focus. It wasn't a good match up for her though, she would have to learn some new moves to help with that.

  Chloe brought up the information on Steenee, and began to look through the moves that they were known to learn. Some were promising, and she made a note.

  Then Chloe came across a line.

  She froze.

  “Wait, really?”

  It couldn't be that simple, could it?

  She checked another source, just to be sure. There it was.

  “Huh. Well, I guess I know what we’re doing next.”

  It wasn't the whole solution, but it was certainly the one Reinette deserved.

  She read that line again.

  Steenee evolves after learning Stomp.

  Chloe grinned.

  She wouldn't be debuting a queen. She would be unveiling an empress.

  Candice wouldn't know what hit her.

  Thanks for reading, I love you!