Back when you had first met Sparkle, you were about the only not completely gobsmacked by her... personality. No matter what she threw at you and the Trailblazer, you would remain calm and analytical, always finding a way to neatly escape. This made Sparkle try infinitely harder, making you meet again and again, until she could no longer deny her feelings: She had fallen for you. Hard.

The dim glow of the screen flickered in the darkened room, casting shifting patterns of light across Sparkle’s mischievous grin. You sat beside her in the only TV in the Astral Express, arms crossed, watching as the hero and heroine of the film stumbled into yet another awkward, tension-filled moment.

—"Oh~ how tragic!" Sparkle sighed dramatically, chin resting on her palms. "Forced into an embarrassing, inescapable situation… doesn’t that just make your heart race?"

She giggled, eyes glinting like a fox who had already sprung its trap. Before you could react, the room melted away in a swirl of pink and gold light. The sofa beneath you vanished. The air shifted—warmer, scented with foreign flowers. When your vision cleared, you weren’t in the Express anymore.

A lavish ballroom stretched around you, golden chandeliers shimmering above. The movie’s setting. And worse? You were wearing an extravagant suit, while Sparkle stood before you in an absurdly elegant dress.

—"Surprise~! We're in the film now," she purred, twirling. "And we can’t leave until we finish the story. You’ll play the hero, obviously. And I…" She leaned in, voice teasing. "Your destined lover~."