Littlest Pet Shop (Fan Novelization)

by Kenny Rutter

A fan novelization of the television series, following the adventures of teenager Blythe Baxter after she discovers she has the ability to communicate with animals.

1. Blythe's Big Adventure

BLYTHE'S BIG ADVENTURE

LIFE IN THE SUBURBS WAS RATHER…MUNDANE, TO PUT IT INTO WORDS. EVERYONE knew each other, they all got their mail at the same time, mowed their grass on the same day, and were so friendly that at times it made sixteen-year-old Blythe Baxter wonder if she hadn't entered into one of those sitcoms her dad said played back before she was born.

Not that it bothered her, of course. No one bothered her outside of a friendly greeting, meaning she had enough time to sit by herself, under her favorite tree, engaging in her favorite pastime – drawing new fashion designs. She'd started doodling designs for clothes when she was younger, started after her mother passed away from a severe lung infection due to pneumonia. She began drawing to escape the pain, to give her something to take her mind off of not living with a mother anymore, and now, seven years after the fact, she'd moved on – as much as anyone could – but designing fashion was still her hobby.

Of course, it was still just a hobby and the most she did outside of drawing her designs was making them for her friends for when they attended a school function, like a dance. Or in a couple of years when they would attend the senior prom.

She never went anywhere without her sketchpad and a pencil. She was always looking for new inspiration, something to help get the creative juices flowing.

A Frisbee landed next to her, distracting her. She picked it up, just as a border collie came running over to her, his tongue hanging out, his tail happily wagging back and forth in excitement.

"Is this your toy, boy?" she asked playfully. The dog let out a happy yelp. "Here you go." She gave the Frisbee a light toss, sending it sailing back to its owner.

A squirrel sat next to her and let out a quick chatter. She chuckled. "I wish I knew what you were saying, little guy." She closed her sketch pad and placed it on her lap. "To talk to the animals….Wouldn't that be something?"

The sound of a car horn caught her attention; her father, Roger Baxter, honking at her from the curb. He climbed out of the blue hatchback and waved to her. Blythe stood up and waved back to him as she made her way over. He was dressed in his pilot uniform – her father was a pilot for a major airline, and as such, spent more time away than both he and Blythe would have liked. It was part of the reason Blythe was so used to being alone most of the time, because she usually was alone, unless she was at school with her friends.

"Nice flight, Dad?" she asked.

"Better than nice, it was great," Roger enthusiastically replied. "Hey, Blythe, I got good news and great news! Want the good news first?"

"Sure. Shoot."

"I got a promotion!"

"That's great, Dad! Speaking of which, what's the great news?"

"We're moving!"

Blythe felt her entire body go stiff. Her eye twitched. Her sketch pad fell from her hand. Moving? Now? She'd only just now started tenth grade. And now, because his job gave him a few extra bucks, she had to leave her friends and her home behind to go live somewhere else? Why hadn't he come to her before dropping this news into her lap? She would have liked to have some sort of say in the matter.

"What…the…WHAT?!"

"I know. I'm excited too. Well, we'd better get home and start packing, because we leave first thing tomorrow morning. Next stop: Downtown City."

##################################

It was an incredibly tearful farewell for everyone, even moreso since Blythe barely had any time to tell her friends that she was leaving. Oh sure, she would make sure to call them every now and then just to check in and let them know that she was doing okay, but that just wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't be the same without Madeline or Andrea, without the school and all her teachers – Mr. Tidwell, Mrs. Liddell, Coach Alten. She'd only had enough time to stop at the school, turn her books in, and have her name taken out of the roster before she and Roger made the nearly six hour drive to the big city.

Downtown City, often mistaken for Manhattan by tourists. Home to two million people. Two million and two, counting Blythe and Roger.

Blythe had spent the entire trip in silence, still a little bitter about the sudden move. She'd made it clear to Roger when they left that she would have liked to have been able to think about this move, not to just have it shoved upon her. But at the same time, she knew that she wouldn't really have any say for anything in her life until she was eighteen, which was still two long years away.

"Blythe, I'm sorry that I brought it up so suddenly," Roger said for the tenth time this trip. "But you have to understand – I only had your best interests in mind. I want you to have a better life than what we had before. It's….It's what Mom would have wanted."

Blythe felt her throat tighten. Over the years, she'd gotten proficient at not letting Roger know that she still cried for her mother.

There he goes again, she thought bitterly, trying to guilt trip me.

"Besides," Roger continued, "you can always think of this as a grand new adventure. Come on Blythe. Do it for me? Please?"

"Well…." She took a deep breath. "I guess I can give it a try."

"That's all I'm asking," Roger said. "How about we turn on the radio? See if we can get Queen here." He turned on the radio.

It wasn't Queen like he'd wanted, but it was hard rock. Unfortunately, Roger, hard rock, and a car were a terrible mix. Roger never kept his eyes on the road while listening to the music, preferring to rock out along with the music, which caused the car to swerve into the oncoming lane.

Blythe leaped up to the front seat, grabbing hold of the steering wheel and maneuvering them back into the proper lane, ignoring the shouts of the angry drivers. She struggled to keep the car steady, fighting against her father, who – with a hard right turn of the wheel – sent the car barreling down the stairs to the subway.

It was a miracle they made it across the tracks and up the opposite set of stairs without anyone getting hit. It was even more miraculous that they'd survived the trip themselves, ending up on the trailer of a car hauler, finally catching Roger's attention.

"Wow. Talk about making good time." He put the car in reverse and back up, putting the car back onto the pavement. "We're almost there, Blythe. Blythe?"

Blythe was sitting back against the seat, breathing heavily and sharply. She'd been with her father during one of these spells, but this one was the worst – she'd never been reduced to a hyperventilating mess like she was right now. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, trying to slow her heart rate, and wondered just where exactly her father learned how to drive. And this man was an airline pilot?

The car came to a stop near a tall blue apartment complex. "Here we are, Blythe."

Blythe looked out the car window. The first thing that caught her eye wasn't the apartment complex; it was the small shop right next to it. A glass window, displaying several accessories for various animals; a glass door leading inside, the blinds down; the little doggie door near the bottom of the wall, where the building met the sidewalk; the banner reading "Going Out Of Business"; and the sign above the glass window.

" 'Littlest Pet Shop'," she read. "Dad, you can't be serious about this. We're moving into a PET SHOP?"

"Littlest Pet Shop…." Roger mused. "Huh. Didn't see that before. Amazing what you'll see when you're not looking for it." He climbed out of the car and started to address the movers, who had arrived a few seconds after they did. "Hey boys! Apartment Number Nine! The one at the very top!"

Blythe climbed out of the car and narrowly avoided getting hit in the head by the couch. She dodged the massive piece of furniture, not noticing the two girls until she nearly ran into them.

"WHOA!" She instinctively put her sketch pad up, blocking her face. Slowly, she peeked out from behind her sketch pad to look at the girls, relaxing a little bit.

They looked so similar – same height, same eye color, similar clothes, with one wearing a dark magenta top, dark plaid skirt, and dark maroon leggings, the other wearing an outfit much lighter in color tone, minus the leggings; the only difference she could see between them was the color of their hair and how they wore it – one had black hair, with the bangs hanging down over her right eye, the other had white hair with the bangs hanging down over her left eye.

"Hi," the girl with the black hair said. "I'm, like, Whittany Biskit."

"And I'm, like, Brittany Biskit," the girl with the white hair added.

"We're twins," they said at the same time.

Well, that explains why they look so similar, Blythe thought. And why do they sound like that? They talk like stereotypical valley girls.

Brittany looked at the bright pink words on the cover of Blythe's sketch pad. " 'Blythe Style'? So, like, your name is Blythe?" she asked.

"Um, yes," Blythe answered. "My dad and I are just moving in."

"Well, I can see that," Whittany said. "Duh. So, like, we were about to go to the mall."

"Why don't you come with?" Brittany suggested. "We can get you an outfit better than what you've got now."

"Well, Whittany and Brittany, that's a very generous offer," Blythe said as she made her way to the front door. "But I just got here, and I've got a lot of other stuff to do right now, so I'm sorry, but the answer is no."

She turned to go inside, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "What did you say?" Brittany asked, her tone of voice suddenly changing.

"I think she, like, said no to us," Whittany said.

"Like, no one says no to US," Brittany hissed.

"Well, I just did," Blythe hissed back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get me and my father moved in to our –" She turned around to address her father, only to see him making silly faces to the little animals in the store window. "DAD!" She grabbed him by the back of the shirt. "Say bye to the animals, Dad. We've got work to do."

"You might want to say good bye to Littlest Pet Shop altogether, Blythe!" Whittany called to her as she and her father climbed the stairs. "Pretty soon it's going to have a new name – VACANT LOT!"

Just ignore them, Blythe silently muttered to herself. I don't get them, though – I decline their offer as politely as I can, and they turn into the Wicked Witches of the West on me. I can already tell I'm going to have a GREAT time here.

#######################################

"So, Blythe," Roger said as they unpacked the boxes for the kitchen. "Couldn't help but notice you talking to a couple of girls out there."

"The way you were glued to that window, I'm surprised you even saw the twins," Blythe said as she placed the pots and pans in the cabinet.

"Making friends already?"

"Doubt it, Dad," Blythe replied. "They were pretty rude."

"Well, I guess every town's got them," Roger said as he set the coffee pot and toaster on the counter.

"Twins?"

"Mean girls. Glad you're not one of them. Hey, I can handle things here. Why don't you go set up your room?"

"Sure, Dad." She made her way down the hall to one of the two bedrooms in the entire apartment. The walls were bright yellow and bland, save for one set of boards covering what looked like a window. The dull gray roof clashed with the colors of the walls, but that could be changed eventually.

Right now, she had to worry about just where she was going to put everything. She'd brought all of her art and sewing supplies, all thirty-five pairs of shoes, every single outfit – one for a different day of the month – makeup and other such accessories, and her guitar.

It had been years since she took lessons, and even then, she never seriously played. She would strum a tune from time to time, usually when bored or when she had to babysit her old neighbor's six year old son.

She strummed a few cords before stopping. "Yeesh. This room sure is stuffy. Better open a window." She moved to the boarded up window and tried to lift it, to no avail. It was just too heavy for her. It was like the thing was glued shut or something.

"What you need is a little leverage and some elbow grease," she said as she picked up her guitar. She wedged the head of her guitar – the part the strings attached to, allowing her to tune it as necessary – under the boards and pushed down as hard as she could.

Almost too hard; the boards shot up into the wall, but also shattered her guitar, breaking the neck in half.

"Wonderful," she grumbled. "Gonna have to get this fixed." She turned her attention to the window. "Wait a minute."

Instead of the outside world, she was looking at the inside of the walls. A rope was hanging within her reach, leading to a small box down at the bottom of the shaft.

This was no window, it was a dumbwaiter shaft.

"What the huh? Wasn't expecting this." She grabbed the rope and pulled, bring the box up to the hole. "I think I've seen these things in a bunch of older buildings. Wonder how old this place is?" The sound of music coming from the first floor reached her ears, enticing her. Slowly, she climbed into the box. Surprisingly, it managed to hold her weight. "Hey, this could be fun." She closed the cover – the boards she had thought were covering up a window – and began to slowly lower herself to the bottom floor, careful to keep at least one hand on the rope at all times, maintaining as tight a grip as she could, the music getting louder the closer she got to it. The last thing she wanted to do was fall to the bottom and break something besides the dumbwaiter box.

She coughed as dust sifted into her nose and mouth. "Yuck. Dusty."

Something crawled across her hand – a small, black spider. Blythe screamed, flinging the spider off of her hand, causing her to lose her grip on the rope.

"Uh oh."

The dumbwaiter fell, fast, to the very bottom floor, Blythe screaming the whole way. The box slammed into the bottom, rocking Blythe's body, her head smacking the back of the wooden box. She rolled out of the opening in the wall, her head hitting the hard floor as she collapsed, trying to catch her breath, trying to calm herself down.

"Ow. That hurt." She rubbed her head, trying to dull the pain.

And then she heard the voices.

"Who is she?" a male voiced asked.

"The girl who just fell out of the wall. Duh," a female voice answered.

Another female voice said: "I hope she's okay."

"Oh, I'm sure she is," a deeper male voice said.

The first male voice spoke up again. "I think her head broke her fall."

Another female voice spoke up. "Russell, go check up on her. You're the most experienced out of all of us."

"I do?"

"Just do it, please?" a fourth female voice pleaded.

"Okay, fine."

Blythe sat up on her knees. Her vision was blurry for a moment – the smoke and dust from the dumbwaiter crash wasn't helping much – but it slowly began to clear, showing her a room with a similar color scheme as her bedroom, but with flowers and animal paw prints painted on the walls and floor, clear plastic tubes running along the roof and the corners of the walls, one of the tubes coming from a plastic fire hydrant in the far corner. Soft round beds were placed here and there. She saw a food and water station as well as several squeaky toys scattered around.

Something came through the dust cloud, a small, brown, prickly ball that stood up into a porcupine-like creature. Blythe let out a small yelp in surprise.

"Seems fine to me."

That voice….It had come from the porcupine!

Blythe was so confused. All she could do was stare at the thing, and the other animals that appeared as the dust cleared – a purple Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a blue mongoose, a green gecko, a gray skunk, a pink monkey, and a blue and white panda cub.

"Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-you're a-a-a-a-a-a p-p-p-p-p-p-p-porcup-p-p-p-p-p-pine!"

"Hedgehog, actually. Everyone makes that mistake."

The monkey leaped onto her head. "Oh, good, she can sit up," she announced. "SHE'S FINE!"

"No no no no nononononono, talking monkey!" Blythe stuttered as the monkey jumped off of her. "What the heck is going on? I can…understand what the animals are saying?"

"Wait," the hedgehog said. "Did you say you can understand us?"

All the animals in the room let out a collective gasp.

The skunk pushed her way past the hedgehog. "Let me handle this." She climbed onto Blythe and put her face right up against hers. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH!" Blythe could only nod her head in reply.

"Wow," the animals all breathed.

"Finally, someone who understands us," the hedgehog said.

"So, quick question," the gecko said. "You got a name, Mystery Wall Girl?"

"Um, uh…." She couldn't get the words out. How could she? She was talking to animals; they shouldn't have been talking back! "B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-blythe."

"Hi, B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-blythe," the animals all said at once.

The dog stepped forward. "Well, we know your name, but you have no idea who we are. So I'd like to introduce you to everyone with a little number called, um…'Let Me Introduce You To Everyone'."

The monkey turned on a nearby boom box, playing an upbeat pop song, and the dog – THE DOG – began to sing.

I'm gonna tell you 'bout a few things

So just watch me go, steal the show, sit on back and try to follow

My name is Zoe Trent

And to the full extent I'm the big star here,

I sing the songs and represent

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yea-a-ah...

The skunk spoke up. "Uh, hi! Uh, I'm Pepper Clark. Actually, I'm a little of a star too, yeah. Uh... actually, uh, a bit more of a comedienne. I tell jokes and all that." She was interrupted by the dog's – Zoe's – song.

Pepper here is my good friend

Ask her any knock-knock jokes cause she's kind of a comedienne

And when she's happy, yeah, you can tell

Just stick your nose up and give the room a quick smell

The smell was not as pleasant as Zoe made it out to be. "Oops. Sorry about that," Pepper said sheepishly.

Zoe ignored the foul stench and continued her song, moving on to the gecko, who was now tap dancing.

Yeah, that's Vinnie Terrio on the floor

I'd like to say he's done but I'm sure he's gonna get back up and dance some more

But don't you worry

He's got a heart of gold

Not very bright, but he's one of us!

PETS: We're the Littlest Pet Shop pets

Yeah, the Littlest Pet Shop pets

We're the Littlest Pet Shop pets

Yeah, the littlest Littlest Pet Shop Pets

Zoe moved on to the monkey, who was currently finger painting – if it could even be called that; it looked more like she was just smacking her monkey paws against the canvas.

Minka Mark is a monkey artist

Talks a mile a minute so don't let her get started

She's gonna paint this

She's gonna paint that

Okay, she's disappeared, does anyone here know where she's at?

Minka was eyeballing the shiny gold, heart-shaped necklace Blythe was wearing. "Ooh! Shiny necklace! Can I have it? Can I? Can I? CAN I? Please please PLEEEEEEEEASE say yes!"

"Um..." was all Blythe could say.

The mongoose cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. He was now dressed in a magician's cloak, holding a black magic wand with a white tip and tapping it against a silk top hat. The wand exploded, covering the mongoose in soot and reducing the hat to ashes.

"Oh, dear," he coughed. His voice had a slight Indian accent to it. "Not again. Happens every time."

ZOE: This is Sunil Nevla, he's a mongoose

He's sort of a magician, but his magic is a little loose

Sure, he's a little glum

And likes to make a fuss

But we don't mind at all because he's one of us!

PETS: We're the Littlest Pet Shop pets

Yeah, the Littlest Pet Shop pets

We're the Littlest Pet Shop pets

Yeah, Littlest Pet Shop Pets

The gecko – Vinnie – accidentally smacked into the panda, who was busy dancing with a ribbon – Blythe guessed it was a traditional Chinese dance, though she didn't know for certain; she knew nothing of Chinese culture, so all she knew was the panda liked to dance with ribbons.

"Ah! Vinnie!" she screamed.

"Oops, sorry about that, Penny Ling," Vinnie said, rubbing the back of his head.

The hedgehog spoke up. "Um, Zoe? Maybe you should end the song soon. It looks like we're messing the place up."

ZOE: This is Russell, Russell Ferguson

He's a little uptight and wants to get the song done

Penny Ling, are you okay?

I think that's everybody, so what do you say?

PETS: We're the Littlest Pet Shop pets

Yeah, the Littlest Pet Shop pets

We're the Littlest Pet Shop pets

Yeah, the littlest Pet Shop Pets

We're the Littlest Pet Shop pets

Yeah, the Littlest Pet Shop pets

We're the Littlest Pet Shop pets

Yeah, the Littlest Pet Shop Pets

"O…kay," Blythe breathed. "I must have hit my head harder than I thought. Either that or I'm dreaming." She slapped herself in the face. "Wake up." She smacked her forehead against the wall. "Wake up, Blythe!" She turned to the seven pets. "I can still understand you, can't I?" They all just nodded. "Oh man. I have to get out of here!"

She turned to leave, only to run into someone – an older woman, late sixties or early seventies. Her steel gray hair was neatly brushed, stretching down to her shoulders. She wore a pair of gold rimmed half-moon glasses on her face and around her neck was a beaded black necklace; she wore something similar on her wrist, a bracelet. She was wearing a dark purple dress with gold flower patterns and there was a sort of softness to her that reminded Blythe of her grandmother, but at the moment, she was too terrified to think about that. She couldn't help but scream in shock when she saw the woman step out of the front room and into the room with her and the pets.

"Oh, hello dear," she said. "I didn't see you come in. I'm Anna Twombly, the owner of Littlest Pet Shop. Welcome to my own little slice of paradise."

"Um….Hello, Mrs. Twombly," Blythe said. "I'm Blythe Baxter. Uh, this might sound…crazy…but these animals are…they're singing and, and dancing and talking and all that."

Mrs. Twombly laughed. "Singing and dancing? My little sweeties?" She looked past Blythe to the pets, who were doing what they usually did – either lounging around on their beds, eating the kibble and drinking the water, or playing with the pet toys. She laughed again. "You kids and your imaginations. Singing and dancing; you're funny."

Blythe followed the older woman out onto the main shop floor. "They were talking to me too! Didn't you hear me say that?"

Mrs. Twombly laughed again. "Blythe Baxter, you are a hoot. Though I'll admit, they talk to me sometimes, too."

"They do? So, I'm not crazy?"

"Well, when they talk to me, all they seem to say is, 'Feed us, Mrs. Twombly! We're hungry! Throw a ball for me to fetch!' Can you believe it?"

"No, I mean yes, I mean –" Blythe took a breath before continuing. "I'm being serious. The pets talked to me. Zoe sang a song. I talked to them. I understood them, they understood me – I'm turning into Doctor Doolittle here!"

Mrs. Twombly made her way behind the front counter. "Dear, there are times when you have to turn off the imagination for a little bit. Though funny things do sometimes happen here."

No sooner had she finished her sentence did Blythe hear a loud, rumbling growl. "Is….Is the building growling?" She ran out the door, screaming.

Mrs. Twombly watched the young girl run down the street, her scream fading the further away she got.

"I really need to get that air conditioner fixed up."

#####################################

Blythe ran down the street, screaming, eliciting strange looks from everyone she bolted past. She stopped when she came across a man walking his Chihuahua.

Please don't talk, she silently prayed. Please don't talk, please don't talk, PLEASE DON'T TALK!

The Chihuahua spoke. "I like you. You're funny."

Blythe turned on her heels, running as fast as she could, past Littlest Pet Shop, up the stairs of the apartment complex, past her father – who had just finished arranging the living room – into her bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it, her breath coming in in short bursts as she tried to figure out just what the heck was going on.

##################################

The bell jingled as the front door opened. Anna turned to the customer, a tall woman of Korean descent, dressed in a gray business suit, talking rapidly on two cell phones at the same time.

"Okay. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yup. Yup. Thursday. Not now, I'm looking at possible shop locations. Okay, we'll talk then. Okay, gotta run. Bye." She turned off both phones and stuffed them into her purse. "I'm so sorry about that, ma'am. Where were we again?"

"You came in and I was just about to ask if I could help you with anything," Anna replied.

"Oh, yes, in a way," the woman said. "I saw your sign. Said you were closing up soon. I don't want to sound like I'm trying to force you out now, but how soon do you think this space will be available?"

"I honestly hadn't decided on that yet," Anna answered. "I was going to make a final decision tomorrow."

"I understand your hesitation. Well, I'm looking to open up a bakery in this part of town – I simply love this area." She pulled a business card out of one of her pockets and handed it to Anna. "Can you call me when the space is available?"

"Yes, I guess I could," Anna said as she took the card.

The woman put a reassuring hand on Anna's shoulder. "Trust me, I'm going to take good care of the place. You have my word, ma'am." One of her phones rang. "Oh. Need to take this. Thanks again." She flipped the phone open as she walked out the front door.

Anna stood in the middle of the shop floor, the weight of it all seeming to hit her all at once. Littlest Pet Shop had been her dream – well, her secondary dream, anyway, but the one she put the most pride and hard work into – and now that business was so bad that she had to even think about closing the doors for good….It weighed so heavily on her mind that until now, she tried not to think about it.

Littlest Pet Shop was one of two pet shops in town – not counting the brand names such as Petsmart and Petco – along with Fisher Biskit's Largest Ever Pet Shop. Littlest Pet Shop was advertised as catering to pets rather than selling them – Anna believed that no pet should ever be in a cage; pet carriers and cages were two different things – so why not have a store with all the amenities that a pet needed? Why not be part pet shop, part pet day care? The day camp in the back, where she had met that young girl, Blythe, less than an hour ago, was open to all customers, not just the regulars, and it was free of charge. Anna supplied the food, water, toys, and beds; the only things she ever charged for were the supplies out on the main floor – the toys, the pet food, the food and water bowls, the rodent cages, the pet beds, the litter boxes – everything that just about every pet, from dogs to cats, and even the more exotic pets such as Penny Ling and Minka, would ever need.

Unfortunately, Largest Ever Pet Shop threatened her, had been threatening her since it first opened its doors several years ago. No matter what she tried, Anna just couldn't keep up with Fisher Biskit. He was a businessman, and Anna – she was a retired quilter who decided to open up a pet shop. How could she ever hope to compete with a person of Fisher's standing?

"I'm really going to miss this place," she said as she wiped away the tears forming in her eyes.

###################################

The pets couldn't believe what they'd just heard! Littlest Pet Shop – closing?

"Say it ain't so, Zoe!" Pepper pleaded.

"I'm afraid it is, Pepper," Zoe said solemnly.

"I – I – I don't want Littlest Pet Shop to close," Penny Ling sobbed.

"Where would we go for Day Camp?" Minka asked.

Vinnie was clinging to the wall with his gecko feet, smacking his head against the wall. "If only there was someone who could help us! Someone we could talk to, someone who could understand and communicate with us! All we need is just one person!"

"We get it, Vinnie," Russell said flatly. "So, who would that one person be?"

"Blythe?" Penny Ling asked.

"Not now, Penny Ling," Russell said, ignoring her.

Penny Ling walked over to Pepper and Zoe, who were huddled next to the tree in the middle of the room. "We could ask Blythe."

"Penny Ling, can't you see the gravity of the situation?" Zoe barked.

"Wait a minute," Russell said. "That girl….She said she could understand us. What was her name again?"

"BLYTHE!" Penny Ling screamed. "HER NAME IS BLYTHE BAXTER!"

"Yes, that's it," Russell said. "Thank you, Penny Ling. But you know, you didn't have to shout."

If you'd only listened to the panda before, I wouldn't have had to shout, Penny Ling thought silently.

#########################################

Blythe's head was hurting. This was one serious migraine. She figured she should probably get some water when she woke up.

Which would be any minute now; she was starting her first day at her new school today, and she didn't want to oversleep, despite how tired she was from yesterday's trip.

"Wake up, Blythe."

"Good morning, Dad," Blythe yawned. "I had a crazy dream last night. I met a talking porcupine and a bunch of other talking animals in the pet shop down below."

"Actually, I'm a hedgehog."

Blythe's eyes snapped open. She sat up. Standing on the bed, right next to her, was Russell the Hedgehog.

"Morning."

Blythe screamed. "IT WASN'T A DREAM?!"

"Nope. Sorry. Also, don't worry about the whole 'hedgehog is a porcupine' thing. It's a common mistake."

"WHY!" Blythe shouted. "Why can I suddenly understand you guys? Or pets in general? I'm not Doctor Doolittle!"

"That's not the important thing, Blythe," Russell said. "The important thing is – hey, what's that sound?"

He turned around, Blythe looking over his furred, prickly shoulder, to see the other pets rummaging around her room, getting into her closet, her dressers, her art and makeup and sewing supplies.

"HOLD IT!" Blythe shouted, catching their attention. "You mind explaining just how in the world you got in here?"

"We took that moving elevator box thingamajig," Vinnie explained.

"You mean the dumbwaiter, right?" Pepper corrected him.

Vinnie glared at the skunk. "The heck'd you just call me?"

Blythe ignored the pets; she began to pick up her room, putting the clothes and shoes and all the art and sewing supplies back where they were supposed to go.

"Blythe, we need your help," Russell said. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't. And what we need your help with is keeping Littlest Pet Shop from going out of business."

"And just how in the world and I supposed to prevent that from happening?" Blythe asked. "I'm just one person, and do you really think people are going to start shopping at the place just because a teenager says so? I doubt it."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Zoe flipping through her sketch pad. "Hello, what have we here? This look just has 'Zoe' written all over it!" Zoe ripped the paper off the pad, leaving the human head on the rings, and held the part with the dress design up to her neck, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Hey, you know what?" Blythe asked. "That actually does look pretty good."

"It stinks," Sunil grumbled. He held one paw over his nose and pointed to Pepper with the other paw.

"Oops. Sorry," Pepper said as she curled up into a gray and white ball. "A little nervous I guess. I've never been anywhere but the Day Camp and my owners' place."

Blythe let out a frustrated sigh. "What in the world am I doing?" She took the design away from Zoe, just as her father's voice filtered in through the door.

"Blythe, you awake" he asked. "You don't want to be late for your first day of – YOW! What is that smell?"

"Get back in the dumbwaiter, you guys," Blythe silently hissed. "Go, go, go!" She ushered the seven pets back into the box.

"Blythe, are you feeling okay? Or did a skunk sneak into your room?"

"I feel fine, Dad," Blythe called out to him. She slapped a hand over Pepper's mouth, keeping her from speaking up, even though she knew Roger wouldn't hear her. "No skunks in here." She turned back to the pets. "Back to the pet shop with you."

"Wait, Blythe," Russell pleaded. "If you don't help us, LPS will close its doors for good, and we'll all have to go to Largest Ever Pet Shop."

"How's that any different?" Blythe wondered.

"It's the biggest, coldest, most unfriendly pet shop in all of Downtown City, if not the world," Russell said. "Everyone is kept in separate cages, so we can't play together. The snacks are bland and tasteless. And the squeaky toys aren't squeaky! It's a nightmare, Blythe! That's why we need your help!"

"But – but why me? Why not Mrs. Twombly? She owns LPS, doesn't she? Shouldn't she fight to keep her store open?"

"You'd think that," Russell replied. "But you're the only one who can understand us. That and you live right above the shop, whereas Mrs. Twombly lives all the way on the other side of town. You're the obvious choice."

"Please say you'll help!" Penny Ling pleaded. "Please please please PLEASE say you'll help!" She stared at Blythe, her eyes seeming to grow larger. The other pets joined in, all staring at her, all whimpering with sadness. Their big, puppy-dog like eyes seemed to bore their way into Blythe's soul, guilt tripping her the same way Roger would with her mom.

Blythe sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay. I'll help. I don't know what I'll do, but I've got all day to think of something, I guess."

"You'd better think fast," Russell said. "You have to save the shop by tomorrow."

"What..the…WHEN!"

###########################################

Blythe had no time to think about what Russell had just told her; if she didn't get dressed, she was going to be late for her first day of school, and Roger was going to be late for his flight. Not that they would leave without him; he was the pilot, he needed to be there.

So she quickly got dressed, swapping out her pajamas for a gray T-shirt and blue jacket, black shorts, pink knee-high boots, and braiding her hair into a ponytail, before rushing out the door, following her father to the car.

As she passed the pet shop window on her way to the car, she heard the pets cheering for her through the glass. She quickly climbed into the back seat and fastened her seatbelt.

"Blythe, do you hear that?" Roger asked. "What IS that noise?"

"Just construction," Blythe lied. "You know – big city stuff and all that." She looked back to the pet shop; the pets were still cheering for her.

I seriously can't believe I'm about to do this, she thought. She leaned up to the front seat, pulling Roger's hat down over his eyes. "Oops!"

"Hey!" Roger's foot hit the gas pedal, and they sped off down the street.

Roger pulled his hat up from his eyes. "Blythe, what was that all – OH MAN!" He quickly swerved to avoid an oncoming taxi. They heard the driver scream at them, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

Blythe sank back into her seat. Not your smartest move, she silently scolded herself.

A few minutes later, they'd pulled up to Downtown City High School. Blythe took in the sights of the two story building, the football field and track behind it, the students crowding the sidewalk, the picture of a big goofy looking hedgehog on the sign – Home to the Downtown City Hedgehogs. Go figure, she thought – and that was when the nervousness hit her like a freight train. She wasn't as nervous as she was whenever someone pointed a camera at her, but this was her first day in a new school, with people she didn't know.

That wasn't entirely true. She had a feeling that the twins, Whittany and Brittany, would be here. They had to be – they were the same age as Blythe, so it stood to reason that they would go to the same school. There was a good chance they even had the same classes together, which Blythe was beginning to dread already; she'd only met the twins yesterday, but she could tell that they were….She didn't want to say, or even think, that particular word, but that was how she felt about them. She didn't care for how rude they were. Blythe had declined their offer to go to the mall as politely as she could – she had had a lot of unpacking to do, and she was mentally exhausted from the trip on top of that; discovering later on that she could talk to animals didn't help much – and they had treated it like the most offensive thing ever. Blythe had heard of overreacting, but that was just insane.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "A new adventure for the both of us, I suppose."

"That's right, Blythe," Roger said. He patted her on the shoulder. "Now get in there, learn something, and make some new friends."

"I will, Dad," Blythe said as she slung her book bag over her shoulders. She leaned up to the front seat to give her father a hug. "Love you, Dad."

"I love you too, honey. My flight's all the way to London, so I won't be back until sometime tomorrow evening. But I know you can take care of yourself."

"I've managed this long," Blythe said as she climbed out of the car. "I'll see you when you get home." She shut the door, letting him drive off.

She never noticed the long, black limousine pulling up to the curb just as Roger pulled away.

#########################################

Whittany and Brittany Biskit rolled down the window of the limousine's door and glared at Blythe as she made her way to the doors to the school. After the way she'd insulted them yesterday by DARING to say no to them, they still hadn't forgiven her. How could they? No one had ever said no to the Biskit Twins before. They were too rich, too popular, for that sort of thing.

It helped that their father, Fisher Biskit, owned Largest Ever Pet Shop, the biggest pet shop in all of Downtown City. Two Petsmarts and a Petco had already been run out of business, and Littlest Pet Shop was next on the chopping block.

Their father was sitting directly across from them, his face hidden by the morning newspaper, one leg crossed over the other. The driver, the butler Francois, was already climbing out of the driver's seat and making his way to the back so he could let the twins out.

"Have a good day, girls," Fisher said, never lowering the newspaper from his face. "And try not to get expelled today," he added with an exasperated sigh.

"Sure thing, Dad," Whittany said as she climbed out of the car.

"We'll, like, give it our best shot," Brittany added as she followed her sister.

################################

Russell had gathered all the pets at Day Camp together to start a brainstorming session. They needed to come up with a way to save Littlest Pet Shop from being another victim of Largest Ever Pet Shop, and they needed an idea as soon as possible. There was less than twenty-four hours to go before Mrs. Twombly closed the doors for good. Most of the shelves were already barren, the supplies sold during last week's going out of business sale or thrown away by Mrs. Twombly herself.

It tore the seven of them up inside to see their beloved shop owner so downtrodden. They were so used to seeing her smiling and happy almost all the time, whether she was refilling the food and water dishes, cleaning the shop floor, talking with customers – when there still were customers to talk to – and spending play time with them and any other pets who may have come to visit the Day Camp while their owners were out for the day.

Even Minka, who was the happiest of the pets, her energy and excitement almost contagious, was in a sour mood over what was going on. She loved Mrs. Twombly as much as any of the other pets. She didn't want to leave Littlest Pet Shop. She dreaded having to go to Largest Ever Pet Shop – she'd heard the stories, heard how it was impossible for a pet to have a fun time there. It was like a nightmare come true.

"Okay, pets," Russell said when everyone had gathered around. "We need to figure out how Blythe can help us save Littlest Pet Shop."

Zoe stepped forward. "A benefit concert! Every musician and singer we can get! I, of course, would be the star attraction."

"Yeah, that ain't happening," Pepper said. She waddled over to her box of comedy props and pulled out a clown nose and a fake arrow – the nose went over her snout, the arrow over her head; it had a curve in it, allowing her to wear it like some sort of hat or other such accessory. "A comedy show. That's clearly the thing that'll bring in the crowd. I'd be the starting act, and then we bring in that guy with the dummies and maybe even Old Bananas himself!" The other pets shook their heads.

Pepper reached into her box again, this time pulling out a rubber chicken. "Why did the rubber chicken cross the road?" No one bothered to answer. "Because he wanted to STRETCH his legs! Get it?" No one laughed. "Wow. Tough crowd."

Vinnie pushed Pepper to the side. "Two words for you, Miss Clark – Dance-A-Thon!" He saw Russell glaring at him, but began a tap dance routine anyway – a routine that was ruined when he stepped on his tail, sending him crashing into the nearby toy box. "One word for you, fellow pets – ouch!"

Sunil stepped forward, now having donned his silk hat and magician's cloaks. "Maybe Blythe could simply make Mrs. Twombly's problems disappear?" he suggested. He dropped a smoke pellet, which exploded in his face, covering him with soot. "Never mind," he coughed.

Russell chattered in frustration. "You know, just once – JUST ONCE – I would like to get some input that didn't involve someone trying to one-up the other! Is that too much to ask?" The other pets just ignored him, doing their own thing – singing, dancing, painting, telling lame puns, twirling ribbons, pulling fake bunnies out of a silk hat. Russell let out an exasperated sigh, wondering why he was even bothering.

########################################

Blythe's first day had gone relatively smoothly so far. She'd met her teachers – the only one whose name she could remember at the moment was the most recent teacher she'd had, Mrs. Mondt, the math teacher – and had spoken with one of her fellow students, a dark skinned boy who had introduced himself as Jasper Jones, an aspiring filmmaker.

Now that the first few periods were over, it was time to swap her books.

If only she could get her locker to open. The thing was stuck so tight it wouldn't budge. She had had this problem earlier, but it had opened after she smacked it. She tried smacking it again, only succeeding in hurting her hand this time.

"Am I locker challenged or something?" she wondered out loud.

"Having trouble?"

That voice….It belonged to Jasper, who was joined by two girls – a pale skinned girl with bright red hair, wearing a bright yellow T-shirt and orange sweats, and a girl of Asian descent – possibly Korean, maybe Vietnamese – wearing a green T-shirt with a heart design on it, blue denim shorts and black spandex leggings.

"It's my locker," Blythe said. "Stupid thing's stuck. I got it earlier, but now it's being really stubborn."

"I had that locker last year," Jasper said as he walked up to it. There's a trick to it. You got the combination?" Blythe pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket. "We met in math class, didn't we?"

"Yeah. Jasper Jones, right?"

"Yup."

"Sue Patterson," the red-headed girl introduced herself.

"Youngmee Song," the Asian girl put in. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I'm Blythe Baxter." She looked over her shoulder as Jasper kicked the locker and pulled on it as hard as he could.

"You're new, aren't you?" Sue asked.

"Just got in yesterday," Blythe answered. "Me and my dad." She heard a loud CRASH; looked over her shoulder to see Jasper lying on the floor, the locker door wide open. "Let me guess – you pulled on it really hard?"

"After I gave it a good kick," Jasper said as he picked himself up.

"Where do you live?" Youngmee asked.

"Down on Oak Street," Blythe said as she walked back to her locker. "Right above that weird little pet shop."

"Littlest Pet Shop?" Jasper asked with excitement. "Oh man, I love that place!"

Blythe replaced her math and science books with her history and English books. "I guess you didn't love it enough. Mrs. Twombly's closing the doors for good soon."

"Yeah, I heard," Sue said. "Ever since Largest Ever Pet Shop came to town, it's stolen a lot of business away from LPS and a bunch of those chain stores as well. Petsmart and Petco have already closed a few stores in and around the city because of them."

"My Aunt Chrissie told me that Littlest is going to be closing within the next day or two," Youngmee said.

"I feel so bad for poor Mrs. Twombly," Jasper put in. "She's a sweet old lady."

"It's pretty depressing," Youngmee added.

"You want to know what's even more depressing than that?" Sue asked. "Largest Ever is owned by Fisher Biskit, the father of the local mean girls, Whittany and Brittany."

"The Biskit Twins," Jasper gagged. "More like the Biskit Bi –"

"Jasper, what did I tell you about that?" Sue snapped.

"Sorry."

"I know who you're talking about," Blythe said. She then added, with as best an imitation of the twins as she could: "We've, like, met already." They all shared a good laugh at Blythe's jab at the twins.

"Hey, you want to join us for lunch?" Sue offered.

"Sure," Blythe accepted. "It's better than standing in the middle of the room like a dork."

#####################################

Lunchtime had come faster than Blythe had expected. Her stomach was growling; she had no idea she was so hungry! And on today's menu: Fish fillet sandwiches, fruit salads, no-bake cookies – which Blythe didn't really care for – and a variety of fruit, including apples and bananas.

Youngmee was closely examining her sandwich. "Too much pepper. Not enough seasoning. Bun soggy as a wet sponge. How is it not illegal to call this a fish sandwich? McDonald's has better fish fillets than this!"

Jasper laughed, nearly spraying Sue with the food in his mouth. "It's funny because it's true."

"Say it, don't spray it, Jasper," Sue said as she guarded herself from Jasper's culinary onslaught.

"Sorry," Jasper said after swallowing. "What do you think, Blythe? Blythe?" He noticed Blythe staring off in the distance, one hand resting on her sketch pad. He'd seen her carrying it around all day, but hadn't asked what it was for. All he knew was that it was something called "Blythe Style", judging by the bright pink words on the cover.

"You say something, Jasper?" she asked. "Sorry. I was just thinking about Littlest Pet Shop again. I told Russell I'd help save the store, but I have no idea what to do."

"Russell? Who's that?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, just some guy I know," Blythe quickly said, instantly regretting having even brought up his name. "Short guy, spiky hair, definitely not a porcupine." She let out a nervous laugh as her three new friends just stared at her like she was the nine headed circus freak.

She was about to change the subject when Whittany snatched the sketch pad off of the table.

"Hello, Blythe," Whittany said snidely. She handed the sketch pad to Brittany. "So, like, why exactly are you carrying this thing around, anyway?"

"Unless you really want other people to see your designs, for whatever reason," Brittany said as she opened the pad.

The twins flipped through the pages, gagging and making sick faces at the images they saw.

"Yuck."

"Gross."

"Disgusting."

Brittany slammed the pad closed. "Blythe Style? More like Blech Style."

"Okay, Blythe," Whittany said. "Your little drawings aren't that good. But we'll give you one more chance. If you want to sit with us at our lunch table, you're more than welcome to."

"Gee, I'm so tempted," Blythe said. "But I'm sitting with my new friends. People who aren't jerks like you two, sorry to say. So again, no thanks."

The twins' eyes grew wide as saucers. "Did Blythe just say no to us two days in a row, Brittany?" Whittany asked.

"She, like, did," Brittany growled.

Whittany leaned down, pressing her face against Blythe's. "Look here, Blythe Baxter. By saying no to us –"

"For the second time!" Brittany added.

"You just got on our bad side," Whittany continued.

"And we overheard your little conversation about Littlest Pet Shop," Brittany said. "You may as well stick to your trashy designs."

"Yeah, because nothing you or your little friends do will save it from its fate," Whittany added. "Let's go, Brit." They turned to leave, Brittany throwing the sketch pad on the floor as they walked away.

"I think we need a new word for 'mean'," Jasper said when the twins were out of earshot.

Blythe picked her sketch pad up off the floor. She flipped through it, making sure the drawings weren't damaged in any way. As she looked at the drawing Zoe pulled out this morning, an idea came to her. She remembered the way Zoe looked with the drawing held up to her in the mirror, remembered how good it looked, how fitting it was.

The spark of creativity had just been ignited.

"You guys, the twins just gave me a killer idea of how to save Littlest Pet Shop!" Blythe announced.

########################################

The seven of them had spent the better part of the day imagining what tomorrow would be like. They imagined being dropped off at Littlest Pet Shop by their owners, only to find the store closed for good, and having to be moved to Largest Ever Pet Shop. They imagined being thrown into cold, metal cages against their will, bland water and tasteless kibble being the only things they would have to eat or drink. They imagined those horrible Biskit girls laughing at their misery, gleefully taking in the pets' agony and horror. And Mrs. Twombly would be unable to do anything about it.

The very idea of such a thing made them all scream.

They heard the door open; saw Blythe walk up to Mrs. Twombly, a sketch pad in her hand. The two humans began to talk, but the pets couldn't make out what they were saying, not through the glass.

"Blythe looks super excited about something," Minka pointed out. "Wish we could hear what they were saying."

Zoe cleared her throat and pointed to her ears. "Allow me. I can hear the mailman from five blocks away. Listening to a conversation through a pane of glass should be easy." She pressed her ear against the window. "Okay. It sounds like….Yes! I've got it! Blythe is sure to set fire to Littlest Pet Shop! Wait, that doesn't sound right." She pressed her ear against the glass again, listening closely, motioning for the other pets to be quiet.

#################################

"You have a way to save my shop?" Mrs. Twombly asked.

"I'm sure it sounds crazy," Blythe said. "And besides, I'm just one kid, but –"

"Don't forget, dear, I was just one kid a long time ago myself," Mrs. Twombly told her. "So, what's your idea?"

Blythe held up her sketch pad and opened it up. "Well, I love designing clothes, but I never figured I'd do anything with my hobby outside of it just being a hobby. But now I think I can design some clothes for pets. It's just the same thing, but on a smaller scale and a bit fuzzier. What do you think, Mrs. Twombly?"

"Well, pet clothes are pretty popular," Mrs. Twombly mused.

"The idea came to me today during lunch at school," Blythe continued. "I could make a few outfits for the pets in the Day Camp, and we could put on a fashion show. The pets would be the models. People would come, see the shop, and remember just how much they loved it."

"I'm already loving the idea," Mrs. Twombly said.

"And to help business boom again, LPS would be the only place in Downtown City where they could buy the clothes." Blythe handed the sketch pad to Mrs. Twombly, letting the older woman flip through its pages.

"Blythe, these outfits are simply adorable."

"It's worth a shot, Mrs. Twombly," Blythe assured her. "At the very least, if Littlest Pet Shop DOES end up having to close its doors, it won't be without a fight. Go down swinging, am I right?"

Mrs. Twombly slowly closed the sketch pad and handed it back to Blythe. "Let's do it."

The pets came rushing out of the Day Camp through the little pet door, leaping at Blythe's feet, yapping and chattering happily. Blythe couldn't help but laugh.

"Look at them. It's like they knew what we were talking about," Mrs. Twombly said.

"Yeah," Blythe said as she knelt down to pet the seven little animals. "How about that." She silently chuckled, knowing that Mrs. Twombly still thought that Blythe was making up the whole thing about being able to understand the pets.

##########################################

Blythe, with the help of the pets, spent the rest of the afternoon designing outfits for all seven of them. It was easy to figure out what design would work best for each pet – she'd seen their personalities yesterday, and they always said that the clothes matched the man. Or in this case, the animal.

It wasn't very easy, though – animals had less patience than humans, especially when one of the animals was a hyperactive monkey. Still, she managed to get her designs off of the page and under the needle, stitching them together based on the drawings. They even held a rehearsal for the walk down the runway – minus the outfits, as they were still unfinished at this point.

Blythe was impressed; rehearsal went well, save for when Vinnie tripped and hit Russell, who rolled into a ball and slammed into the other pets. They all glared at Vinnie for causing the mishap, before sharing a good laugh.

Even more impressive to Blythe was how she had gotten so used to this talking to animals thing. Yesterday, when the pets began talking to her, and she began talking to them, she had been a nervous wreck, but now it was like she'd always had the ability, like it was meant to be or something.

With the outfits finished and rehearsal wrapped up, it was time to hand out the flyers, which took a good three hours. Blythe had packed up her scooter with as many flyers as she could, stuffed the pets into the sidecar, and they started making their rounds, posting the flyers on every mailbox, telephone pole, and window they could.

Just out of spite, if nothing else, Blythe even stuck a few flyers on the windows of Largest Ever Pet Shop.

##############################################

The twins stared at the flyers all over the windows of their father's pet shop. Bright pink, dark purple, paw print designs, advertising a fashion show to save Littlest Pet Shop with pet clothes designed by –

"Blythe Baxter," Whittany hissed.

"Blythe Style," Brittany grumbled. "Yech." She ripped a flyer off of the glass. "Though I have to be honest – this is a pretty good idea."

"Too good," Whittany said. "We need to ruin it, and we need to ruin Blythe."

"Yeah. Like, forever." She ripped the flyer apart. "What's the plan, Whit?"

Whittany just smiled. Brittany knew that look, she'd seen it on her twin sister countless times throughout their lives.

Brittany had a wonderful idea.

An awful idea.

Brittany had a wonderful, awful idea.

And they only had tonight to put it into action.

#############################################

Anna couldn't believe the turnout they'd generated. There must have been at least five hundred people in the crowd out there, way more than she'd anticipated. She was expecting maybe one or two hundred, but not this many.

She slipped back behind the curtain of the stage they'd had put up and back into the pet shop, just as Blythe was finishing up putting the pets in their various outfits.

"Those flyers of yours really worked, Blythe," she said.

"Hey, the idea was to impress the people and draw them in, and from the sound of things out there, I'd say we succeeded."

Jasper, Sue, and Youngmee came through the door. "Blythe, I got a question," Jasper said. "Where exactly are you going to come up with all that free money you're advertising?"

"What are you talking about?" Blythe asked. "I'm not advertising any free money."

Jasper handed her a stack of flyers. "That's not what the paper says."

Blythe looked at the flyers. They were hers, alright – same design, same slogan, just with one difference.

At the bottom of the paper, written in dark red marker, was "Come get free money!"

Blythe nearly dropped the flyers, she was so shocked. "WHAT THE WHAT?! No no no, that's not right! Mrs. Twombly, I didn't do this! You know I didn't! You saw the original flyers! I have no idea how this happened! Who could have done this?"

"Good question," Sue said. "Sounds kind of mean if you ask me."

It suddenly hit Blythe who was responsible.

The Biskit Twins.

#############################################

"That was a good idea to write that on those flyers, Whittany," Brittany said. The twins were hiding from the crowd behind a nearby mailbox, both of them dressed up in cat costumes, hoping to blend in with all the pets that had been brought along.

"We needed to make sure there were enough people here to see Blythe make a complete fool of herself," Whittany said.

"Okay, but I've got just one question – why are we dressed up like kitty cats?"

"It's called being undercover. We need to blend in with all the other animals, remember? We've been over this, Brittany."

"Oh, that's right. But what's with the chocolate icing and kitty litter?"

"It's simple," Whittany said. "We'll climb up onto the catwalk and wait for Blythe to come out. When she does, we dump this all over her and those stupid pets of hers, embarrassing her and ruining her little fashion show, thus making one hundred percent certain that Littlest Pet Shop STAYS closed down."

"This is surprisingly well thought out of you," Brittany complimented her sister.

"I know. I know."

They waited until the coast was clear, before making their way to the stage.

#########################################

Mrs. Twombly sorted through her wallet, trying to ignore the crowd's chants for free money. She'd only come up with some pocket change and a one dollar bill.

"I think we're going to need a lot more money to satisfy everyone out there," she said.

"Forget the money, Mrs. Twombly," Blythe said. "I'll just have to go out there and let everyone know that there's been a big misunderstanding."

"Let me handle it, Blythe," Mrs. Twombly offered. "They can't be that angry. After all, they're about to see the best fashion show of their lives." With that, she headed out the door and to the stage.

Blythe rolled her eyes and held her head in her hands. "I did not need this right now. I'm already a nervous wreck."

"No, you're going to do great," Jasper assured her. Sue and Youngmee both nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Blythe said. "For a moment I thought I'd have to rely on the pets to talk me through this one."

Her three friends just stared at each other for a moment, before turning to Blythe, looks of confusion on their faces. "The pets?' Youngmee repeated.

"Oh, um….Metaphorically speaking," Blythe quickly said. "Oh, those pets. They're so cute and NON-VERBAL!" She began making animal noises, barking like a dog, chirping like a bird, meowing like a cat, hooting like a monkey.

"Yup, it's official," Jasper whispered. "The pressure's gotten to her. She's snapped."

Blythe pushed the three of them out the doors and back onto the sidewalk. "Okay, you three need to go mingle. I've got a lot of finishing up to do before the show starts. See you later!" She slammed the doors closed, leaving Jasper, Sue, and Youngmee incredibly confused.

###########################################

Anna stepped out onto the stage, a microphone in hand. She did her best to ignore the crowd chanting for the free money. She wanted to break the news of the mix-up to them, but she also didn't want them to be any angrier than some already were; they had been waiting for, to them, what must have felt like several hours, and if they weren't getting what they had been told they'd get….Anna had no idea how they would react.

But it must be done. She held the microphone up and began speaking into it.

"Hello, citizens of Downtown City, and welcome to the first ever Littlest Pet Shop Pet Fashion Show! Unfortunately, there has been a bit of a misunderstanding. Some of our advertisements were unintentionally altered, so there will be no free money." She was greeted by several annoyed groans, at least one "BOO!", and the crowd began to disperse. "But don't you worry! You're still going to see the show of a lifetime!" She lowered the microphone, mimicking her own downtrodden spirit. "Oh, Blythe, I hope this works." She stepped back behind the stage curtain.

The lights lowered, the music started up, and a large spotlight shone down onto the stage, catching everyone's attention. The people who had started to leave came back, intrigued, as Penny Ling made her way down the runway, wearing a traditional Chinese robe and twirling her ribbon.

Cameras flashed and shutters clicked as photos were taken of the small panda.

Next up was Minka, dressed as a French artist – blue and white striped shirt, black beret, carrying an art easel and a paint brush. She drew a brown moustache on a clean-shaven young man, eliciting laughter from the crowd before she turned to go backstage.

Pepper was next, dressed up as a rodeo clown. One onlooker in the crowd leaned in close to get a whiff of her flower she had pinned to her chest, only to get water sprayed in his face.

Vinnie came next, dressed up like the late Michael Jackson – white gloves, white jacket, white hat with a red strip; he even moonwalked out onto the stage. He did a quick twirl – again, just like the late pop star – before handing the stage over to an incredibly nervous Sunil, dressed in a blue and purple plaid raincoat with matching hat and umbrella.

In his nervousness, Sunil opened the umbrella, only to have it snap closed on him. Vinnie rushed to open the umbrella up again to free his mongoose friend.

To the crowd, Sunil had simply disappeared – another magic trick – but Vinnie knew the truth, as he was looking at Sunil clinging to the inside of the umbrella, his little paws holding on as tight as they could.

"It helps maintain the illusion," he whispered.

Vinnie carried the umbrella – and Sunil – backstage, allowing Zoe, dressed in an outfit befitting the current musicians – to strut out onto the runway as though she owned it. Having performed in many dog shows and beauty pageants, it was natural for Zoe to feel right at home, and in some ways, she was glad that she had been saved for last; she was what the show was building up to. Russell wasn't performing – he was staying backstage, making sure everything ran smoothly.

Russell watched from behind the curtain, watching the crowd gawk in awe and amazement at the various outfits on the other pets. Everything was going smoothly; Littlest Pet Shop was going to be saved!

Something fell from the sky, something gray and made up of tiny stones. He looked up at the catwalk above the stage, saw two girls dressed as cats standing above him, large metal buckets next to them.

He could only think of two people who it could be, but he needed to be sure. Besides, whoever it was, they were probably planning on sabotaging the show, and he couldn't have that, not after Blythe and Mrs. Twombly worked so hard to put it together.

He climbed the nearby ladder and spotted them, recognizing them instantly despite their makeup and their costumes.

Whittany and Brittany. In the buckets next to them was chocolate icing and cat litter. Russell figured they had planned to dump that on Blythe when she walked out on stage.

"Not if this hedgehog has anything to say about it," he muttered. He ran over to the twins, chattering wildly, catching their attention.

"AH! A porcupine!" Whittany screamed.

The girls fell over the railing, falling to the stage below. Russell grabbed the buckets, stopping the twins a few feet from the stage. The entire crowd just stared at them, Blythe, Mrs. Twombly, and the other pets joining in, not sure what to make of all of this.

"I! AM! A! HEDGE! HOG!" Russell yelled as he released the buckets, dropping the girls onto the stage. The buckets fell onto their heads, covering them in icing and cat litter.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before everyone – minus the twins, of course – broke out into uproarious laughter. They climbed to their feet and ran down the street, more humiliated than they had ever been in their entire lives.

#####################################

Littlest Pet Shop had never been this busy! Everyone who had attended the fashion show was now in the shop, buying whatever their budgets allowed – food, bowls, beds, toys, even some of the outfits Blythe had made earlier.

Anna wiped some sweat from her forehead. "Whew. Business is booming." She turned to Blythe, who was handing a customer a cute pink and white dress for her kitten. "Blythe, you really saved my bacon. I don't know how to thank you."

"No need, Mrs. Twombly," Blythe said. "Happy to help."

"Well, I have to do something to show my appreciation," Anna said. "With all these customers, I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up…unless you want to come work for me after school and on weekends?"

"Really?" Blythe asked. "I'd love to!" She turned to the seven pets, who were on the counter nearby. "Did you hear that? Sounds like you'll be seeing a lot more of me around here."

"Good thing you were able to fit into the dumbwaiter," Vinnie said, eliciting a glare from Pepper and Zoe. "What'd I say?"

Blythe laughed. "Yeah. If I were a little bigger, I never would have met you guys, and I never would have been able to help Mrs. Twombly save Littlest Pet Shop."

"Excuse me, young lady?" an older man holding a small dog asked. "Did I just hear you talking to your pets?"

"Yes. Yes you did. Don't you talk to your pet?" Blythe asked.

"All the time," the man answered, cuddling the dog and cooing in a high-pitched voice.

The dog just turned to Blythe. "Here he goes again with the baby talk," he whined. "I'm twenty-seven dog years old, for crying out loud!"

########################################

Roger had gotten back from his flight a little later than expected. He was expecting Blythe to race out the door to meet him, not the long line of people waiting to go into the pet shop. The line must have stretched all the way down the street and around the corner; Roger had never seen this many people outside of the airport.

"Did I miss something?" he asked himself as he climbed out of the car.

Blythe ran out of the shop and leaped into his arms. "Dad, you're home!"

"What's all this about?"

"Long story short, my designs helped Mrs. Twombly save Littlest Pet Shop."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." She looked up at the starry night sky. "Mom would have liked to see that."

"I'm sure she would have." He pulled Blythe in for a light hug. "Way to go, Blythe."

Blythe smiled and returned his hug, wondering if she should tell Roger about her new ability, about how she could talk to the animals, and how they could talk back to her.

No, that could wait for another time. Right now, she was just glad to have been able to help someone in need.

(*HI, FOLKS, KENNY HERE. WELL, I CAN UNDERSTAND IF SOME OF YOU ARE A LITTLE BURNED OUT FROM READING THIS, BUT LET ME JUST SAY THAT NOT EVERY CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE A MARATHON LIKE THIS ONE. I'M MAKING A NOVELIZATION OF A TELEVISION SERIES, MEANING THAT MULTI-PART EPISODES ARE GOING TO BE REALLY LONG CHAPTERS. WITH THAT SAID, I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS FAN NOVELIZATION OF LITTLEST PET SHOP!*)