Edna found herself wishing for a little more excitement in her tedious daily routine. As a witch, she usually got her enjoyment out of creating new spells. Recently, however, her spells plotted against her. That used to be challenging and fun: once, an incantation turned her house upside down, and she had to spend the rest of the day reversing its effects.

Now, when a spell failed, nothing happened at all, like even magic couldn't be bothered to give her something to focus on.

So, yes, she did wish for more excitement. The Day of Giving was so far away, after all, and everything else paled in comparison.

She brushed aside a few cob webs as she left her cottage. A sigh on her lips, she followed the cobbled stone path downhill. Though just as she reached the bottom, to her shock, she tripped over a...

Edna picked up the box to examine it. The carvings looked professionally done, she was unsure what the symbols meant though. They looked similar to the carvings on codestones, but more intricate and detailed.

The box felt warm to the touch, it was almost as if it was vibrating slightly. It was very strange indeed.

Edna carefully unlatched the latch from the side of the box and opened it slowly. The box started vibrating faster, causing Edna to drop it on the ground.

She gasped as she looked down and saw what had spilled out of the box...

Eager yet excited Edna picked up the spells, hoping now it would fill her boredom with a challenge that she craved. Yet, she didn’t know what spells these were, and usually she would be cautious.. but she needed something to spark up her routine.

She raises one hand, with a spell in the other and loudly speaks of the sheet. The rooms starts to rumble and shake, the spells she holds starts to crumble away in her hands. Worried now, Edna begins to look vigorously around and notices that...

The sparkling green letters fell like water and climbed like a hothouse vine, creeping away from Edna and unfurling themselves in all directions--back behind her, toward the cottage, which quaked in response, but also out in front of her, toward the rest of the Haunted Woods.

This was not the excitement she had in mind! Edna grasped at the letters and then at the unused spells, still sparkling temptingly, menacingly.

She rifled through them for something, anything, just when she started to feel...

The Haunted Woods was hastily losing its spooky appearance. Edna watched in wonderment but realized she must do something quickly or this could mean dire consequences for all that lived within the Haunted Woods.

For once Edna did not know what to do, she stood very still. What if the spell did not just stop at the Haunted Woods boundaries but engulfed all of Neopia?

Twigs snapped behind her, Edna whirled around to find...

Edna had seen enough. She readied her stance and began hurling every stopping spell she could think of in all directions. To her surprise, the offending greenery slowed to a crawl. She continued her attack until every bit of foliage had had sputtered to a stop.

Exhausted, Edna collapsed to the ground to catch her breath. The Haunted Woods had been transformed into a tie dye mismatch of spring and autumn. As she sat taking in this bizarre scene, her peace was broken by a loud...

How will this story end...

"Oh, my heavens!" came the female voice. The figure had her hand clutched to her chest and, as she got closer, Edna recognized her as Sophie the Swamp Witch. But she had been missing for ages after the whole kerfuffle around her brother Bruno and the Tale of Woe! The two used to be inseparable when they were younger, always brandishing their wands around the Haunted Woods, causing mischief and having fun while also slowly becoming two of the most powerful witches of Neopia. After Neovia was free from curses, Edna knew Sophie had retreated in live in solitary and respected her space. She was surprised to see her childhood friend now.

"Sophie?" Edna called out, still sitting on her knees on the ground. "Could that really be you?"

Sophie peered down and finally noticed the green Zafara. "Edna!" she exclaimed, wrapping her old friend in a hug. "I should have known you were behind all this!" She gestured dramatically around them.

"Well," Edna replied with a smile, "we were never the well-behaved students at the magic academy, were we?" She gave a small chuckle before remembering that they were covered by a strange conglomerate of the Haunted Woods- it was still plagued by both falling, dead leaves and budding trees. "How did you know where to find me?"

Sophie smiled. "Well, I just followed the growth patterns through the Woods! It's quite the scene there, the Brain Tree almost looks like the Money Tree with how many fresh leaves he's sprouted. As amusing as it is, we must revert everything quickly, before the damage is irreparable."

Edna nodded in agreement. "But how?" she asked. "This magic is far more fast and powerful than anything I've ever seen before. I found a box full of strange spells and this was one of them. I've never heard of this one, let alone any of the ones in that box! What do you suggest we do?“

Sophie looked away shyly. "Well..." she began, "Edna, don't be upset... but that was my box you found."

"What!" Edna shouted, with a sense of growing pride. "Sophie, you've become such a powerful witch during our time apart!"

"To be quite honest," Sophie said, "I've been developing more anti-curse spells in case anything like the Tale of Woe happens again. But to practice, I've also developed strong curses like the one you released!"

Edna stared at her, impressed. "So?" she asked. "Were you able to undo this one?"

Sophie frowned. "Unfortunately not yet..." she said sadly. "But! With your help, maybe we can undo this together! Are you ready, just like old times?"

"You know I am," Edna replied.

It had been so many years, so many moons since the two witches cast spells with each other. The two began to chant incantations, spells, and anti-curses together. Their flow was impeccable, almost like the space between them was not there at all. Along with their voices and witchery, the Haunted Woods began to go back to its initial state, the new vines and leaves shriveling back down; Edna's cottage even returned to the ground, surrounded by the usual foliage of the Haunted Woods.

When it was back to normal, the two witches burst out into laughter.

"Can you believe we just did that?" Edna asked, doubling up with laughs.

Sophie tried to catch her breath between giggles. "I've been working on a solution to that curse for so long! Who knew the key was an old friend?"

"Who are you calling old?" Edna joked, giving Sophie a slight punch on the shoulder.

After the two had settled down, they looked at each other. Sophie spoke first.

"Would you like to come see my humble abode in the swamp, Edna?" she asked. "I've always known going away was my best choice, but I never should have alienated you," Sophie admitted.

Edna smiled. "I'd like that, Sophie. When you left, my magic never had the same effect. I've been spending all our time apart asking Neopians to fetch me items for my spells when, really, all I needed was a friend."

The End.