Home Alone in Pure Heart Valley

Chapter 1: The Night Before

It was a snowy and windy night in Pure Heart Valley. Being that it was currently in the winter months, fields of white blanketed every part of the land. Apart from the whiteness, the currently snowed-on roofs of every building in the town areas, houses on the Ruby Pure Heart spire, the palace, and beyond were alit in many colors based on the strings of decorative lights hung up by the Sweetypies.

On a cliff a good distance away from the main town, the headquarters of the valley's Sheriff's Department was not only lit up, but reverberating with a number of voices crowded together from within. But that was white noise compared to what was actually happening inside.

"Wee! This is so comfortable!"

"Hey, Kevin! Sofia's for sitting, not jumping!"

Badgerclops had to hurriedly catch the little teal porcupine in the air as he bounced up and down the sofa, feeling a little miffed that the beloved piece of furniture was not being respected as it should. At the same time, Mao Mao was in the middle of giving a lecture to Ketchup and Chubbum about how to properly pack luggage while following them as they walked.

"No, you don't just jam clothes into a backpack like it's a pencil case! Why do you even need that many shoes and bows anyway?"

Neither one of them seemed to be aware of the sheriff's grouchy voice and related facepalming, as they were having too much fun packing to even think about doing it properly. But who could blame them? After all, it wasn't every day that the Sheriff's Department was taking the whole class on a holiday trip Lunarton City for Snowfest this year.

"My papa tells me it's important to prepare your feet in all kinds of winters," Chubbum answered the sheriff.

Likewise, Ketchup also gave Mao Mao her answer. "I wanna see what other people think of my pretty bows when they see me."

Mao Mao was nearly at a loss himself. "For the last time, you need to be wearing winter-appropriate clothes for your own protection! Actually, scratch that! Do you even wear clothes?"

At the same time, Adorabat was near the attic with Plippy and Lucky. All three of them were discussing the details of packing.

"What are you taking for the trip?" she was asking the two Sweetypies with her, apparently trying to follow Mao Mao's example of how to direct the others in proper packing. It wasn't like she didn't have it together. "You need to take the most important things." She noticed that neither one of them seemed to understand what she was saying to them, though they weren't simple-minded enough to not say anything back to her.

"I wanna take my pet spider with me," Lucky said innocently. In his hands was a little clear plastic tank containing a hairy spider that was a few inches long and fewer inches wide. Adorabat, unsurprisingly, wasn't alarmed by such a sight, though neither was Lucky, as he was the owner. Plippy, on the other hand, was less than pleased.

"Ew! Keep it away from me!" Plippy cried in disgusted fright. He ran away and got right behind Adorabat. "Take it away!" he demanded.

Lucky was just as displeased to hear such words being spoken by his fellow Sweetypie. "Hey! Don't talk like that about my spider! Don't touch my spider either, Adorabat!"

"I wasn't going to," Adorabat thought. While she liked bugs as much as Lucky did, even she didn't think it was safe to bring pet bugs on a winter vacation. It was just way too much trouble. But that didn't keep Lucky and Plippy from loudly arguing with each other with her in between them. Adorabat pressed her wings against her ears, trying to block out the pointless fighting.

Meanwhile, Badgerclops was having a harder time trying to get Kevin to cooperate. As soon as he within attaching distance of Mao Mao, he matched right over to him. "Mao! Is there any way we can change this trip?"