Pumpkin saluted, showing she understands.
"Great! See you." The princess then left and made her way out of the castle, where some of the other princesses were waiting.
Pumpkin watched them leave from the window, before making her way to where the other pets are.
At the couch, the other five, consisting of Beauty the kitten, Teacup the pup, Treasure the kitten, Meadow the skunk, and Page the lamb, were lying either on or around it.
Each of them were bored out of their minds.
"What do you think we should do?" asked Beauty wearily.
"A tea party." suggested Teacup.
"Overdone." moaned Treasure.
"Book eating?" said Page.
"That isn't fun. Besides, you do that all the time." Meadow deadpaned.
"I know!" exclaimed Pumpkin. "How about a bath?"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" the others screeched.
"Come on. You said I could make anything fun. And I can smell you guys from the window."
The others relented with a sigh.
"That's more like it. Stay put and I'll call you guys when things are ready."
=== UPSTAIRS ===
Pumpkin walked down the upstairs hall en route to the bathroom, when she suddenly stepped on a toy wand left carelessly on the floor, making her lose control. She goes off course and crashes into the very last door in the hall. Unlike the other doors, this one bears a "DO NOT ENTER, FOR PETE'S SAKE" label on it. Pumpkin, being at too low of level to even see it, opens the door, and what she sees amazes her.
"Forget the bathroom! We'll use these!" she proclaimed.
=== MEANWHILE ===
"What's taking her?" Page asked the others.
Just then, Pumpkin hollered "IT'S READY!"
The other girls made their way to where Pumpkin was. They were instantly thrown off.
"This isn't the bathroom." Beauty quipped. "It looks too unappealing."
"What kind of dust got in your nose, Pumpkin?" Meadow asked.
"No, guys. These giant cleaners are what we'll be using. It'll be quicker than a standard bath."
The others thought about it for a moment, until...
"You're right." said Beauty. "It does sound faster than that, let alone grooming myself."
"I'm in, too!" said Treasure.
"Me three!" chimed Teacup.
"Make that four!" announced Page.
"And add one more!" Meadow beamed.
"Alright, with that settled, let's get started!" Pumpkin said. "Pick your favorite washing station and hop inside."
Everyone goes into a random station, squeezing between the giant brushes.
"Alright, Pumpkin." said Treasure. "How do these things start?"
"I-I don't..."
"Wait a minute!" blurted Teacup. "Does everyone see a big green button to their side?"
The others checked, and indeed, each station had a green button on the right wall.
"Maybe that's the "on" button. Let's press it together."
The animals readied their paws/hoof.
"Three...two...one...NOW!"
They all pressed their buttons, and each of the showerheads inside turned on, instantly soaking the pets. The giant brushes also started advancing towards them.
"Uh, Pumpkin? Nobody said anything about the brushes cleaning us." Meadow called.
"No duh!"
"Then what if we're ticklish, which we all are!?"
"Oh, biscuits."
In no time, each set of brushes caught up to the pets and started cleaning their bodies, tickling them in the process. Everyone began laughing.
Pumpkin and Teacup popped their heads out of their respective brushes.
"I NEVAAHHHAHAH KNEW I WAS THIS SENSITIVE-HAHAHAHAHHA!" Teacup exclaimed.
"MEHEEHEHEHE NEITHER!" chortled Pumpkin.
By this point, everyone's heads popped out. Tears started streaming from their eyes at a heavy rate.
"HEY, BEAUTY-HI-HI!" called Treasure.
"WHA-HA-HA-T?!"
"I'M ACTUALLY HAVING LOADS OF...FU-HA-HA-HA-HAN!"
Meanwhile, Meadow was rolling around in laughter.
"NO, NOT THE LOWER LEG! NOT THE LOWER LEG-HAHAHAHA! IT'S TOO MUCH!" she screamed. "DON'T YOU THINK, PAGE!?"
Through her tear-filled eyes, she notices next to her that Page has gone mad from it, not responding to her question.
=== A FEW MINUTES LATER ===
"OKAY! I THINK WE'RE CLEANED ENOUGH! HAAHAH-IS THERE AN OFF SWITCH FOR THIS THING!" yelled Beauty.
"TR-HA. TRY USING YOUR TAILS TO RE-HEE-EECH THE BUTTON!" called Teacup.
With great difficulty, the animals (save Page, whose tail is so short, she has to use her leg) used their tails to press the button. It didn't work, to their surprise.
"THAT'S JUST GRE-EEH-EAT!" screamed Meadow.
"LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE! IT'LL ST-HA-HAP EVENTUALLY!" babbled Pumpkin.
=== EVENTUALLY ===
The girls were still stuck in continuous laughter.
A crazed Page begins kicking her back legs in a frenzy, until she manages to unintentionally squeeze herself out in the process, allowing her to catch her breath.
"HEY, DID YOU SEE-HEE-HEE THAT!?" said Treasure to her guffawing friends. "EVERYONE DO WHAT PAGE DID!"
They all do the kick action and are sent flying from the brushes. Unfortunately, Pumpkin is sent into a red button on the wall.
"Oh, no! What does that do?" she worriedly questioned.
Just then, a pair of robotic arms came from nowhere and held her up by her feet. A third arm comes from the top with a sponge and starts scrubbing her feet, making her squeal with laughter. Meanwhile, everyone else watches the scene helplessly. Everyone except Meadow, who simply walks over to the button to try it. It worked this time.
Just after freeing her, however, Meadow notices the sign on the door.
"Uh, girls. Look at that sign."
They looked at it, then frowned at Pumpkin, who could only smile sheepishly. Meadow pressed the button again. The robot arms came back and started tickling Pumpkin again.
"Did you know of that sign before you entered here?" questioned Meadow.
"AHHSAHAHAHAH! I SWEAR I DIDN'T KNOW!"
"Lies! No one is that stupid. Tell me the exact truth!"
"ALL OF THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE I WASN'T WATCHING WHERE I WAS GOING! I TRIPPED ON A WAND AND SLAMMED INTO THE DOOR! I GUESS I WAS TOO SHORT TO NOTICE ANY CLEAR LABELS, AND NOW LOOK WHAT I DID TO ALL OF YOU! WHAAAAA-HAH-HA-HAAAAAA!" By this point, Pumpkin was actually sobbing.
The others felt apologetic.
"Stop the tickling, now!" Teacup ordered Meadow. She did as she was told. The arms dart away, leaving Pumpkin to plop on the ground in saddened tears.
"We forgive you. Just be more on the lookout next time." Teacup said, giving her a hug.
"Yeah, we're still friends." Treasure said coming up to her, with Beauty beside her nodding.
Meadow came over and watched the scene with a smile. Page also trotted over and licked Pumpkin's cheek.
"Let's vow to never come in here again." announced Page.
"MOST CERTAINLY!" the others shouted.
With that, they walked out one by one to resume their fun.
