(This is all Texas's POV)

The sunset stretches out for miles and miles. I reach towards the setting sun, and hold it firmly in my hand.

I've got you...

I lift it high up into the sky, showering the earth with light. I brush my hand over the coarse dirt. Flowers bloom, trees grow, humanity flourishes.

I'll save you...

I wave my hand in the air. Birds circle me, and I direct them away from the crops growing in a nearby farm.

Let me help you...

I hear a loud ringing in my ears, and all at once I wake up.

I groan and get out of bed. I really really want to go back to sleep, but Utah just sent out a call for us, and if Utah calls, you can't not answer.

I'm not being dramatic by the way, I'm barely in control of my movements at the moment.

I walk out of my room and see the other states begrudgingly walking out of theirs. Like I said, we have no choice. Stupid magic. And I was having a good dream.

We get to the dining hall, Utah standing on the stage near the far wall. He's standing next to New York. Figures. Nueva probably stayed up all night writing a speech. Tomorrow is Independence Day after all, and we're throwing a huge feast to honor not only America, but his deceased mother, Native... the woman who granted the states their miracles in the first place. I see Nueva- New York, sorry... eh whatever, I call him whatever the hell I want. Nueva hands Illinois a sheet of paper. He nods, and stands on stage. The other states sit down at the many tables. We would have assigned seats, but freedom is fun or something like that.

"Good morning everyone," Illinois said, heightening the volume of his voice so that all of us could hear. Florida, who seemed to still be half asleep, was startled by this. He jumped up and let out a loud roar. He looked around wildly at everyone's fearful faces and bared his sharp teeth. Maine bravely ran up to him, using her angelic voice to calm him. He took a deep breath, and sat down next to me. I grab his hand, and he rests his head on my shoulder.

"Illinois is a bit Ill-annoyin, ain't he?" I said softly. Florida let out a noise resembling a snicker, his tail flicking slightly. Illinois continued reciting Nuevas speech.

Blah blah blah on this day blah blah years ago blah blah defeated the brits and....

Blah blah blah....

"TEXAS!" I hear Illinois say. I guess I fell asleep. "" Illinois said calmly. I sigh.

"I care, I care, I just didn't get a lotta sleep... remember... I'm not... I'm not as powerful as all of you...," I say. I hate to admit that, but at least it gives me some slack. Suddenly, I feel an extreme energy burst. I look over at Nueva, who no doubt just gifted me some energy. Dammit, now I don't got an excuse to be asleep.

YEARS later, the painfully boring speech is now over. Basically, what I got from it, was we're throwing a party tomorrow so we should start prettying up the mansion today. Everyone seems to know their tasks, just to do what they do best. Pennsylvania is mostly working on decor, California making everything a pretty gold color, Minnesota multiplying herself to help everyone... New York was walking around, checking off stuff on his dumb little checklist he carries around to feel special.

"Connecticut, prepare the menu for tomorrow, Wisconsin, if you feel so inclined, I'll allow a cheese platter... but we're keeping it on a separate table," New York said. Wisconsin celebrated silently, he and Connecticut sharing a high-five.

Wisconsin's cheese is delicious, and can heal about any minor ailments (unfortunately it isn't too good at healing blindness, cancer, or other very major things). However, if you eat too much, you start to get used to it. It's like being addicted to pain meds in a way. The more you overdose, the more you have to take the next time to get the same effect. And eventually, you'll feel agonizing pain unless you can be eating his cheese 24/7. So I have a feeling people will literally be hurting themselves just to get a piece. I mean, it is some damn good cheese.

"Texas, Florida...," New York said. He just assigned everyone in the room a task... and now it's our turn.

"...lemme guess... play outside in the garden and let y'all do the heavy liftin?" I ask. New York sighed.

"If you don't want to be helpful, I guess," Nueva said. I smile tightly. Whenever I don't help, it's called 'being lazy and useless'. Whenever I do help, it's called 'being annoying and in the way'. Florida must've picked up on Nuevas a**holishness, because he bared his teeth and let out a low growl. The fear I see in Nuevas eyes is satisfying.

"Alrighty then, I guess me and Florida will be useless together outside!" I say, giving a salute and leading Florida outside. When we get into the warm sun, he stops for a second and happily basks in it. He must've been cold inside. Sometimes I wish I could talk with him, hear what's on his mind... but Florida can't communicate verbally and gets angry whenever we try to tech him sign language or writing, so we just have to guess. He's real close to Georgia because of that, who is one of the few states who isn't scared of him. Georgia always knows what people are feeling after all.

We walk through the garden, and I'm telling Florida about my dream.

"It was soooo cool! I've been having a lot of dreams like that recently, where I'm all powerful and stuff...what do you dream about?" I ask. Florida pretends to devour something. "A good meal eh? That's a good dream," I say. Suddenly, a raccoon scurries up to us. Florida let's out a scream and latches onto me. "Woah! Woah! It's ok, I won't let it touch you! Tennessee! Tennessee are you here?" I call. Tennessee strolls up to us with his banjo.

"You called?" Tennessee asked.

"Can you get rid of that pest? It's scaring Florida," I say. Tennessee nods and starts strumming his banjo, walking away. The raccoon follows him.

"See Florida? I told you it's alright, those trash pandas won't lay a finger on ya as long as I'm here," I say. Florida smiles and gives me a hug. I don't understand why people are scared of such an innocent guy. Sure, he may seem scary, but he doesn't mean any harm. Suddenly, we hear another call. Utah.

"Alright, let's go see what the man wants this time," I say. We go to the dining hall, and see New York holding up his checklist.

"I want to check in with you and see how you are all doing with your tasks," New York said. I roll my eyes. Why'd he call me and Florida in then?

He goes around asking the states how they're doing, all that boring stuff, and when he gets to me and Florida, he hands us a sheet of paper.

"Find these flowers in the garden. Make a bouquet. Might as well keep the two of you busy," New York said. I sigh.

"Of course, your highness," I say. Nueva glared at me, but whatever. We go back to the garden.

"So, before we start, you wanna go for a swim?" I ask, motioning to the crystal-clear pond in the middle of the garden. Florida gives me a look, that I can read despite not being magic.

I was waiting for you to say that!

(Yes, Florida is precious boi)