Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

Author's Note: This is my 11th TBell story. I couldn't resist writing this up when it jumped into my head. Rated K+ for uncomfortable situations.

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Rosetta's Long Night - Chapter 1 - The Shame of It

"Ha-ha-ha! You really made Rumble laugh." Rumble held his stomach and slapped his thigh in joviality. "All that bumbling and stumbling, just so you wouldn't get dirty? Ha-ha-ha!"

Rosetta scowled at the arrogant storm-talent. She didn't need this right now. "Get lost, thunderhead!" she ordered as she marched past him, but Rumble wasn't finished.

"I mean, of all the garden fairy failures, this has got to be the most humiliating one of all time."

Rosetta turned to confront him. "What's yer point?"

"My point is," Rumble was ready with phony advice, "Garden fairies should just stick to being pretty. That's what you're good at. But hey, that's what you've been doing. Ha-ha-ha!" he turned and buzzed into the night.

Rosetta knew Rumble was right. She had cost the garden team their first place. She turned to her team-mate apologetically. "Oh Chloe, I just..."

"Don't blame yourself, Rosetta." Chloe was clearly upset, and wouldn't meet Rosetta's eyes. "You did everything you could."

"Well, I..." Rosetta couldn't think of anything to say that would make things better. The smaller stadium darkened as firefly spot-lights went to sleep.

"Guess I'll go get cleaned up for the final event tomorrow." Chloe's eyes were brimming with tears. "If we're gonna look bad, we don't wanna... look bad, you know?" She gave a heavy sigh and fluttered into the night.

"Oh..." Rosetta felt wretched. They were doing so well, but now they were in last place, sure to lose. She grew angry with herself. It was up to her to fix this, but how? There was only 1 event left: The Pixie Cart Derby. Rosetta decided she needed to know everything she could about the Derby, so she flew home for her Games Rule Book.

The Rule Book was just where she left it on her bedside table. After Chloe had given her the copy, Rosetta discovered it was a great way to put herself to sleep quickly, but now she needed to actually study it. She read through the Derby section, then the General Rules, then the Derby section again. Rosetta set the book down and stepped out into the night air to think.

There was nothing in the Rule Book that told her what to do, exactly. It only stated what she couldn't do. She had some ideas, but there was another factor: Rosetta herself. Being a competitor in the Pixie Hollow Games was new to her. She was too passive. She needed advice from a more experienced player. Rosetta went down a mental list of Games participants until she came to Vidia. Yes! After Rumble, Vidia was the hardest player she knew. Rosetta took to the air.

Vidia was not at home in her sour plum tree but Rosetta soon found her and Zephyr in Dulsie's tearoom, surrounded by rowdy fast-flyers. Rosetta squeezed her way up behind Vidia and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Vidia, could I speak with you for a minute?"

"Uh-h, sure Ro." Vidia was actually glad to be away from the crowd & noise as she followed Rosetta outside to the night.

Rosetta stared at the ground as she turned to Vidia. "I messed up pretty bad tonight."

"You sure did, honeydew." Vidia gave a small smile, but was not insensitive to Rosetta's pain.

Rosetta raised her eyes to Vidia's. "There's only one event left. I was just on my way to Tinker Bell, but I was wondering if you could give me some advice."

"Like what?"

"Like... how to win..."

Vidia folded her arms and smirked in amusement. "Rosetta, we're competitors."

"It's just that I let Chloe down so badly, and Rumble laughed at us."

"What?" Vidia unfolded her arms and leaned forward, suddenly serious.

"He said garden fairies should just stick to being pretty."

Vidia's eyes narrowed as she stewed on that a moment. "Who's building your derby cart?"

"Tinker Bell and 2 others."

"Let's talk to her." Vidia sprung into the air, followed by Rosetta and they flew for Tinker's Nook.

As all of the derby carts were now essentially finished, they found Tinker Bell in the main shop working on a personal project. "Hey, guys. What's up?" she greeted them.

"Rosetta needs to beat Rumble in tomorrow's race." Vidia came bluntly to the point.

"Hmm, yes." Tink tapped a finger on her chin. "She could use a little something extra. Let's have a look at your cart again."

Each Pixie Cart Derby racer was constructed secretly in private sheds. Only the associated team members and their tinkers were allowed into their shed. As the 3 fairies landed and walked up to the garden team shed, a scout-talent faced them.

"Vidia, this is the garden shed." the scout stood with his hand up.

"It's okay, she's with us." Rosetta assured him, and he hesitantly stepped aside. The 3 fairies entered the shed.

As the door closed behind Vidia, she got her first look at the garden team's derby cart and her mouth fell open in disbelief. "Flowers?" she thought. The front section was trimmed with small flowers, and each rear wheel was decorated with a large bloom. Vidia gave a single-snort laugh, but when Rosetta turned to see what the noise was, Vidia had her "serious" face on again.

"So." began Tinker Bell as they viewed the cart, "The starting order for tomorrow goes: Storm cart, Fast-flyer, " they glanced at Vidia, "Dust-keeper, and Garden cart."

"Since Rumble starts in front, he won't risk the short-cuts." Vidia commented. "He'll just run the course as fast as he can."

"That's right." confirmed Rosetta. "I really need one of the short-cuts. Will this cart make the Jump?"

"It takes more speed to do the Jump." Tink told Rosetta. Vidia made a mental note of that. "I could modify your cart, but the Jump may only put you ahead of the Dust-keeper cart."

"What about the Pond?"

"If anyone in front of you takes the Pond, it'll be out of action until the lily pad is towed back into place."

"Alright," Rosetta sighed "Mudslide Mountain. How do we get up it? The Rule Book says we can't fly, and can't use rockets, or ropes. Could we put cactus spines on the wheels?"

"That's not bad," suggested Tink "But there are better ways to get over mud."

Tink wandered the shed, looking at supplies and mumbling to herself. "Nut shells for paddles... smaller shells? No, no. Pine cones! One, maybe 2 more gear-works..." She picked up a bent stick from the floor, stuck a large red bead from a bin on the end of it, and walked around the garden derby cart with it. "One from here, one from the Light talent cart..." She turned to Rosetta with a beaming grin. "Yeah, it can work!"

"What can?" Rosetta was lost.

Tink dragged her over to a slate chalkboard and sketched a hump profile of Mudslide Mountain. "Your cart already has all-wheel-drive, over-sized rear wheels and the pusher-propeller, all of which are excellent for this, but I'm going to install some heavy modifications to get you through the mud." She held up the stick with the big red bead on it. "This will be your cart Mode lever. Your cart starts in Race mode. Just before the bottom of the Mountain, pull the lever." She pulled it back as demonstration. "The paddles will extend, and you're in Climb mode." Tink drew dots up the chalkboard drawing. "When you reach the top, push the lever, and you're in Slide mode." Tink pushed the stick forward and drew a line down the other side of her drawing. "When the hump at the bottom of the Mountain tosses you into the air, pull the lever and you're in Race mode again to finish the course!"

"Sounds like a plan." commented Vidia, thinking she wasn't really needed there any more.

"I'll collect the parts and get to work on it right away." Tink smiled at Rosetta.

"Great!" Rosetta sounded more confident. "I'd like to help."

Tink's smile faded slightly. "Uh-h, ye-a-ah..." Tink knew this was a big job to be done quickly; she'd be on it all night and didn't need a wanna-be tinker getting underfoot. "I can handle this. You should probably go home and rest up for tomorrow's big race."

"No, I'd like to help out, Tink."

Tinker Bell reluctantly went for a diversionary tactic: "You should get some relaxation time, this thing won't be built for joy-riding. It'll be throwing a lot of mud around, and some of it might get on you."

"Huh?" gasped Rosetta in alarm.

"Oh, yeah." Vidia was quick to catch on. "Lots of mud. On your wings, in your hair, on your face..."

"I'll have to make some goggles for you & Chloe." Tink added.

Rosetta turned pale and sunk to the floor. "What am I thinking?" she cried, "I can't do this!" she sobbed.

"Oh, Rosetta..." Tink knelt beside her and touched her arm. "Of course you can. You're stronger than you think." Rosetta continued to cry.

"She's never gonna make it over that Mountain." Vidia shook her head sadly.

Tink looked up at her and asked quietly "Can you help her?"

"Tinker Bell, she's a competitor." Vidia took a step back and put her hands on her hips. "I shouldn't even be in here." Tink and Rosetta both looked at her with big dewy eyes. "How am I supposed to help her?" Vidia raised her voice in protest.

"I don't know. Talk to her. Convince her that mud is nothing to be afraid of."

Vidia was just about ready to turn and walk out, when an idea popped into her head. A deliciously entertaining idea; certainly better than laying awake all night thinking about tomorrow's race. Her face betrayed nothing of her thoughts when she rolled her eyes, and sighed "Come on, Ro." Tink and Rosetta climbed to their feet. "I'll need a mouse and a small wagon."

"Oh. Take Scamper," Tink recommended, "He doesn't mind being out at night."

Rosetta followed Vidia to the door, but turned and asked "Tink? Can the goggles match our outfits?"

"Of course." Tink smiled reassuringly.

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