DAY 3, JUNE 10

"We're sorry, Mayor Tiffany!"

Tiffany jumped, startled. "Uh… Apology…accepted?"

"Well, is it or isn't it accepted?" Laura demanded.

"Be nice," Rover reminded firmly.

"Um… Accepted, I guess," Tiffany replied, looking away.

"You guess?" Martin cried. "How can you guess it's accepted? You're the mayor!"

"Martin, down!" Rover snapped.

The Bidoof boy stepped back, head lowered in shame. Laura huddled close to him, eyes on the floor. Rover sighed, running a hand across his coin in frustration.

"My apologies for all the trouble, Tiffany. When I heard what happened, I couldn't stand by and let them get away with such a thing," he explained. "Thievery is one thing, but setting a pitfall trap for the mayor of a town? Unacceptable!"

"No, it's all right. I'm just glad everyone was okay in the end!" Tiffany yelped.

"Okay for the long-term. The short-term is a different matter," Isabelle huffed, limping to her desk to organize papers.

Over an hour ago, a train arrived in Chokewood Station. On board were Rover, Laura, and Martin. All three disembarked and headed for the town hall, Rover requesting a meeting with Tiffany. Upon her arrival, Rover had the pair publicly apologize before Isabelle and the rest of Chokewood's residents, who came to see what all the fuss was about. Once that was done, they made a more private apology before Tiffany herself.

"Everyone is okay. Nobody was seriously injured…I hope," Tiffany glanced at the two kids.

"Martin and Laura will be fine. I made sure they visited the hospitals in their respective towns last night when they returned home," Rover reassured. "Just bruises and scrapes. Nothing serious."

"Good," the Dedenne girl sighed. "I apologize for Blake's behavior. I'm not sure what got into him last night."

"No need for an apology. They likely provoked him by sending you into that pitfall trap," Rover shrugged. "Either way, what's done is done. Hopefully, there will be no hard feelings held between you."

"Yeah," Tiffany nodded.

"Whatever," Martin huffed, looking away.

"Laura, I believe you have something to give to Mayor Tiffany," Rover reminded, looking pointedly at the Marill girl.

Laura hesitantly stepped forward, holding out her satchel. Taking it, Tiffany emptied it onto the counter. A gem, some fossils, a shovel, and a bunch of apples scattered across the wooden surface. Isabelle gasped.

"You were the ones who stole that shovel from the Nooklings!" the Lillipup girl accused.

"Likely to replace Martin's shovel, which was on the verge of breaking from banging it against all those rocks," Rover added. "I had them return most of what they stole. I let them keep some of the apples, though. In exchange, I had them surrender a few pears from their towns. They are plentiful there and it will broaden the trees you have growing here in Chokewood. A good enough trade, do you think?"

"I guess, yeah," Tiffany nodded, handing the satchel back to Laura. "Thank you for this, Rover."

"I could not let them escape after harming you. Though I will say that I did not expect you to be mayor," the Meowth man chuckled.

"Sorry about that. I guess I forgot to mention it," Tiffany giggled. I didn't even know I was mayor until after I got off the train, Rover…

"That is bad if the mayor herself did not even know the name of her town had changed," Rover joked, smiling. "Martin, isn't there something you wish to tell the mayor?"

"Yeah… If you want to make a ton of money fast, trying doing this—dig two holes near a rock and then stab it with the shovel. If you're lucky, money will come out of the rock!" Martin explained. "It's really cool! Nobody knows why it happens, but I say it's buried treasure that got stuck in the rock from being buried for so long!"

"…That makes no sense, Martin. You know that, right?" Laura asked, staring at him.

"Who cares? It's a cool way to make lots of money really fast…if you can find one, of course," Martin smirked.

Tiffany stared at Rover in confusion. Isabelle sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I swear to you that what Martin says is indeed true, strangely enough. I've seen it. Such a rock, a money rock, does exist in Chokewood and other nearby towns. Martin and Laura have found it many times," Rover explained.

"Really?" Isabelle muttered, not believing it.

"Really," Rover promised.

"Thanks for telling me this," Tiffany said. A money rock, huh? If that's true… Maybe I'll check those rocks out a bit better sometime today.

"No problem. I am glad I could help," Rover replied. "I will take these two back to their towns and leave you to finish your work here, Mayor Tiffany."

"It was nice seeing you again," Tiffany admitted.

"Same," Rover nodded. "Though I wish it had been under better circumstances. Oh well, there is always next time."

"Yeah," Tiffany agreed. "Goodbye!"

"Bye!" Rover called.

The Meowth man headed out the door, keeping a firm grip on Laura and Martin's shoulders to discourage an escape. They left the town hall and headed north toward the train station. Soon enough, the train whistle signaled their departure.

"I'm glad that's over. I hope those two have learned their lesson this time!" Isabelle huffed, glaring at the door.

"At least they apologized," Tiffany added. Even if Rover had forced them to. "How's your foot doing?"

"Better than last night, but it still really hurts," the Lillipup girl complained. "How about your ankle?"

"Pretty much the same thing. Thankfully, it's not broken or anything," the Dedenne girl replied.

"That's good. I'd have hit those kids with the book if they'd have seriously hurt our new mayor!" Isabelle declared, lifting a heavy book over her head.

"Don't you think Blake did enough to them?" Tiffany yelped.

"Oh yeah… Well, I guess I wouldn't do that then." Isabelle set the book down and sighed. "Oh, yeah! Did you know that we have a new resident moving in?"

"Huh?" It took Tiffany a moment to remember the empty space she'd seen on reserve. "Oh yeah! I saw that! Someone named Amy, right?"

"Yep! They haven't really spoken with anyone yet, so I was thinking you could pop on over and give a nice welcome to them personally," Isabelle suggested cheerfully. "Since you're both new and all, you know?"

"…Yeah, I think I'll do that," the orange-haired girl decided. "I'll go do that right now. Thanks for reminding me about them."

"No problem, Mayor Tiffany. Good luck with that new resident!" Isabelle wished.

The Dedenne girl left the town hall, heading west and across the bridge until she spotted the reserved space. There was a small house already built on it, but the posts marking it as reserved were still in place.

Everyone seems to be able to pay off their house down payment but me, she thought in despair.

Knocking on the door, Tiffany jumped when she heard a loud crash from inside. Pushing the door open, she hurried in. Lying on the floor, a tipped over cardboard box in front of her, objects scattered across the floor, was a girl with long green hair and a giant green leaf extending from the top of her head.

"Are you okay?" she cried, dropping down to help the girl sit up.

"Uh… Ow…" The girl hunched over, clutching her head. "So much for that idea. I guess trying to unpack by myself was a bad idea. I guess I should've asked my brother to help out after all."

"Uh… Are you okay, miss?" Tiffany repeated nervously.

"Huh?" The girl looked up, ruby red eyes locking onto Tiffany. "…Oh! Crud! Are you a resident here? And here I thought I could surprise everyone by showing up dramatically or something. Awww!"

"Uh… I'm…sorry?" Tiffany squeaked, suddenly nervous.

"Nah! It's all good. Trying to move all this junk by myself, I was asking to get found early," the girl shrugged, brushing herself off as she stood.

Should I tell her that Isabelle and I already knew she was here? Tiffany wondered, getting to her feet.

"Well, guess I better introduce myself. The name's Amy! I just moved here today!" the girl declared, holding out a hand. "And you're…?"

"Tiffany," the Dedenne girl replied, shaking her hand. "You're a…Chikorita, right?"

"Yep! Did the leaf give it away?" Amy grinned, the leaf atop her head waving in response. "And you're a Dedenne. Man, you're so small!"

Tiffany felt like a boulder had dropped on her. It's…not my fault…that everyone is…bigger than me…

"Hey, wait… The mayor of this town is a Dedenne. Does that mean you're…?" Amy suddenly gasped. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to call you small, mayor!"

"It… It's okay… I understand…" Tiffany replied, head hung in shame. Why is everyone in the world bigger than me? I was barely bigger than those kids but once they grow up… Awwww! She tugged her hair in sorrow. Why must Dedenne be so tiny?!

"Uh… Mayor? Are you…okay?" Amy asked, watching the miserable display in confusion.

Tiffany froze before shaking those awful thoughts away, putting on a cheery smile. "I'm just fine. No worries here! I'm happy to welcome you to Chokewood, Amy."

"Nice to be here," the Chikorita girl smirked.

After a bit of chatting, Tiffany left Amy's home. As she walked, she dug through her pockets and froze as her fingers brushed over a squishy surface. Pulling the object out, she realized it was one of the pears that Rover had made the two kids give her.

"I had them surrender a few pears from their towns. They are plentiful there and it will broaden the trees you have growing here in Chokewood."

She paused, finding herself in an open space between the apple trees. Kneeling down, she dug a small hole in the ground. Dropping a pear into it, she covered it back up and moved onward. She repeated this process in different spots until she had planted four pears.

How long will it take them to grow? Probably a while, the Dedenne girl thought.

Most of the pears now planted, Tiffany then headed north to Main Street. She went toward the museum, curiosity getting the better of her. I wonder what's inside, Tiffany thought, looking up at the huge building. Only one way to find out…

She moved forward, pushing the massive doors open. Then she walked inside.

"Hoo! I welcome you to the Chokewood Museum!" a voice greeted.

Standing in the middle of the large room was a tall man with brown hair and a bushy cream-colored trident covering his forehead and eyebrows. He had red eyes hidden behind thick glasses. He was wearing a cream sweater with two rows of three dark brown upside-down triangles decorating it and brown pants. A pair of dark brown wings was folded behind his back and Tiffany could see a dark brown wedge-shaped tail twitching behind him.

"Um, hi," Tiffany squeaked, tail puffing up. It's a Noctowl! 'Predator' shot through her mind at a million miles a minute but she covered it with a nervous smile. "I'm Tiffany. I'm kind of—"

"Aren't you the new mayor of our town?" the Noctowl man interrupted. He smiled. "I'm Blathers, the director of this museum. It is my honor, entirely, to make your acquaintance."

"Um… Nice to make your acquaintance, too," Tiffany said quickly. "But how did you know I was the mayor?"

"Tom Nook told me. And the Nooklings, of course," Blathers replied. "It's nice to finally meet you, mayor."

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. I've been busy," Tiffany explained.

Blathers raised a hand. "No, no, it's perfectly okay. The mayor has a busy schedule. I can understand that. I'm just glad you chose to drop in at all, especially so soon. I almost wish you hadn't…"

"Huh?" Tiffany looked confused. "Why? Wouldn't you want me to come in?"

"Let me elaborate, yes? This museum exhibits the very best in archaeology, the natural sciences, and art—fine and otherwise," Blathers explained merrily. Then he froze before slapping a palm on his face. "Oh! There I go again! You'll find that whenever I open my mouth, ten words will fall out when just two will do. My apologies, mayor. I've been trying to fix that but when I get an idea, it just takes flight of its own accord!"

"No, it's okay! Really!" Tiffany yelped. Even if I didn't understand half of what you just said then…

"Never mind! Let me start over with fewer words," Blathers insisted. "This museum exhibits insects, fish, assessed fossils, and artwork. The reason? To make Chokewood as great as it can possibly be." The Noctowl man suddenly lowered his head, sighing. "But here is our problem. Due to past events, we're currently exhibiting very little. Almost nothing, really. What's being exhibited was found by yours truly…but it's not very much, I'm afraid. It's actually quite embarrassing."

"Oh!" Tiffany looked around and, in what little she could see of the four rooms surrounding the entry hall, there was indeed nearly no exhibits to be seen. Recent events… Could that be the taboo event from five years ago? Has this place been empty for nearly five years? "I… Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Anything you could do? Well…" Blathers tapped his chin in thought before smiling. "Actually, yes! Yes, there is! If you'd donate your precious finds to the museum, I would be eternally grateful…as would all of Chokewood."

"Precious finds?" Tiffany repeated.

"Insects, fish, fossils, and artwork of any kind!" Blathers explained, suddenly excited. "If this museum doesn't have it on display yet, I'll gladly accept it as a donation. Perhaps if there are enough exhibits on display, it will attract more people to Chokewood!"

"…Fossils?" Tiffany dug through her pockets. "Um… Will these work?"

She pulled out the four fossils that Laura and Martin had stolen. Eyes lighting up, Blathers picked one up and looked it over.

"Let me see here… Hmmm… Oh! This is a tricera skull! I don't have this yet in our collection," Blathers cried. "…Actually, I have no fossils in my collection. I'm not very good at digging, fishing, or catching bugs."

Looking over the remaining fossils, he identified them with the ease of a true fossil expert. Blathers' eyes were shining as he looked them over, awed by the fact he got to see them at all. He was on the verge of tears when Tiffany instantly declared she would donate them to the museum.

"If only we had the other pieces, these magnificent animals would be complete," Blathers said, looking down at the fossils he carried. "Thank you so much for your donations, mayor. I look forward to seeing you again soo—"

"Then we'll make them complete!"

Blathers blinked, confused. "…Huh?"

"We'll make those animals complete. I'll do whatever I can to help this place prosper as it once did!" Tiffany declared bravely. "If you can't dig, fish, or catch bugs very well, then I'll do my best to do all of that for you. I'll earn enough money to get those tools and help fill up this museum!"

"…Really?" Blathers asked, amazed. "You'd do all of that, mayor?"

"…I want to be the best mayor Chokewood has ever had," Tiffany admitted. "If that means greeting every new citizen, chasing thieves around at night, and working my tail off to fill up this museum…then I want to do it! I want Chokewood to prosper like the great town I know it once was!"

"The great town…it once was…?" Blathers repeated, baffled.

Mother said Ashwood was beautiful. There were so many people and so much nature. I want Chokewood to be the same, Tiffany thought. I want Chokewood to be Ashwood again. I don't know what happened back then…but I don't care! I'm the mayor here now…so I'll do all I can to make this place as great as Ashwood was! It deserves that after whatever happened back then…

"Blathers, will you help me?"

"Huh?" The Noctowl man snapped out of his thoughts, looking at the mayor. "Help you…?"

"Help me make Chokewood a great place, just like Ashwood was," Tiffany said.

"Ash…wood?" Blathers looked away.

"I don't know what happened back then. Nobody will tell me and even the previous mayor made sure nobody could hear of it with that taboo. I know Chokewood was once Ashwood…and I want it to go back to being the same place," Tiffany explained, head lowered, one hand on her chest. "My mother told me a lot about Ashwood, how beautiful it was. Whatever happened back then when Ashwood became Chokewood, it made this place dark and empty. I want to make it bright and beautiful again, just like Ashwood once was. Maybe I'm just clinging to this town's past…but it's all I know. I don't know Chokewood…and I'm not sure I even want to…but I want to help this place get better. I really do…"

A hand rested on her shoulder. Tiffany looked up at Blathers. The brunette gave a small smile.

"I get it. I want that, too. Ashwood was really beautiful…and it killed me to see it become this awful place. Everyone left and everything fell apart. All that remains are broken pieces…but maybe we can fix it, if only a little?" Blathers said, tears stinging his eyes. "I want Chokewood to prosper, too. It'll never be Ashwood, though. Ashwood is gone…but maybe Chokewood can become even greater than Ashwood was. How does that sound?"

"You're not gonna tell me to stop talking about the past? About Ashwood?" Tiffany asked, surprised.

Blathers shook his head. "I'd be a hypocrite if I did. I can't talk about the details thanks to that taboo…but I can work around it."

Tiffany smiled. Someone else misses Ashwood too!

"Again, thank you for the donations. I wish you luck in your hunt for cash to buy tools with. Hope to see you soon!" Blathers wished.

"No problem! I'll do my best to help you out here!" Tiffany promised.

The Noctowl man simply smiled as he watched the mayor dash back out the door. "What a brave young lady…"

.o.o.o.o.

600 bells and two bee chases later, Tiffany ran into a face she had yet to greet in Chokewood. It was the Bunnelby boy from her commemoration in the plaza. He was simply wandering around outside, enjoying the fresh air.

"Oh, mayor! Are you enjoying yourself here in Chokewood?" he asked.

"Yes, very much," Tiffany nodded.

"Your hair's a mess!" he suddenly commented.

"You try running from bees and keeping your hair neat and tidy. It isn't easy," the Dedenne girl scolded lightly.

"Bees? Ick!" The boy stuck out his tongue. "Oh yeah! I'm Percy. Nice to meet you, mayor!"

"Nice to meet you too, Percy," Tiffany greeted back with a smile.

"Hey, are you gonna participate in the Bug-Off this Saturday?" Percy asked.

"Bug…Off?" Tiffany tilted her head, confused.

"Yeah, the Bug-Off! Oh, I can't wait to catch some new ones!" Percy gushed, grinning. "My habitat jars and stuff are all ready for them. Maybe I'll find a new species this year!"

No one told me anything was happening this Saturday, Tiffany thought. "…Maybe I will participate. I'll see."

"Well, hope to see you there if you show!" Percy laughed, hopping away merrily.

He seems like a good kid, she thought, smiling. Now to see if I can find anymore bells around here.

.o.o.o.o.

"So yeah, can you find Blake for me? I really need to…chat…with him," Kirk requested.

Tiffany looked up from the hammock she was sitting in. Kirk's house was styled like the inside of a tree house would be, all wood and hammocks and fun stuff. He had a telescope by the window, jokingly declaring he used it to keep watch for cute girls or evil villains.

"Blake? What do you need to talk to him about?" Tiffany asked.

"It's something really important. Can you just find him for me? I gotta finish something here, but I need to see him within the next hour," the Gliscor boy explained, gesturing around his messy home. "So, can you find him for me, mayor? Pretty please with a Cheri Berry on top?"

"Sure! I think I know where he is," the Dedenne girl nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, mayor! You're a lifesaver!" Kirk cried, lunging forward and hugging her.

"Eep!" Tiffany's face got red instantly. "I'll, uh…find him…right away, yeah?"

Once Kirk let her go, she shot out of the house and bolted west across the bridge and through the trees. Spotting Percy, she went around him before hitting the cliff and the slope down to the beach. She circled back around, hunting near the cliff for Blake. She had seen him just as she'd left Percy earlier and prayed he was still in the same area.

"Blake!" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Blake! Where are you?"

"Tiff?"

"Blake!"

Tiffany dashed toward the voice, reaching the edge of the tree line to find Blake with his shovel in his hands. He had been digging a hole near one of the ponds, close to the cliff's edge. The Typhlosion man lowered his shovel, looking at her curiously.

"You needed me for something?" he asked.

"No, not me! Kirk needs to talk to you about something, so he had me come find you," Tiffany explained.

"He had you look for me? Lazy bum, making others do stuff he can do just fine," Blake snorted.

"He said he was tidying up his house. That's why he couldn't come get you himself," the Dedenne girl said.

"Tidying up? That's weird… Even weirder is why he'd need to see me so urgently that he sent you out to find me. I can't think of why he'd need to see me right now," Blake muttered, scratching his head. "…Eh, whatever. Let's just go see what he wants."

As they headed north toward the bridge, Blake paused briefly and bent down. Tiffany turned in time to see him rip something from the ground. He held it up, revealing it to be a weed. Flames suddenly sprung up from his hand, engulfing the weed and turning it to ash.

"I hate weeds," he said curtly.

"…Okay?" Tiffany squeaked, not sure whether to be surprised or scared.

Crossing the bridge, it didn't take long to get to Kirk's house. Darting inside, Tiffany flopped back onto the hammock. Kirk straightened from picking up clothes on the floor the moment Blake entered.

"Whoa! Talk about a quick trip! Glad to see you guys here so soon!" the Gliscor boy laughed.

"You needed me for something?" Blake prompted.

"Yeah…" Kirk dug through a drawer before holding out something. "I…decided it was time to give this back to you. I borrowed it a long time ago and just happened to find it while cleaning up."

The Typhlosion man held up the shirt, unfolding it. "…Oh! That bunny tee of mine! I wondered where that went!" he exclaimed. "I guess I must've borrowed it to you after all. I wasn't sure if I had or not. I was a bit too embarrassed to ask you."

Bunny…tee? Tiffany tried to picture the intimidating Blake wearing a t-shirt with a cute bunny on it. …Weird…

"You? Embarrassed? No way!" Kirk teased. "But yeah, no worries. It's yours once again!"

"Thanks! Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking this home," Blake declared, heading for the door. He suddenly paused before looking sternly at Tiffany. "You saw and heard nothing here."

"…I saw and heard nothing," she squeaked, petrified.

"…Good. Have a nice day." Blake headed out the door.

An awkward few moments passed before Kirk burst out laughing. "Hah! 'You saw and heard nothing', eh? Man, Blake! Still embarrassed about that tee, huh?"

"Well, it's certainly a…strange thing to picture him wearing," the Dedenne girl admitted, giggling.

"Not that he'll ever wear it in public, but he really adores that thing. I feel kind of bad that I had it for so long and forgot about it. Poor guy, probably panicked and thought he'd lost it or something," Kirk shrugged. "His sister made it for him, you know."

"…His sister?" Tiffany repeated.

"Yeah, his little sister," Kirk nodded. "She was a real sweet kid, you know. Always smiling and laughing and helping everyone. One of the brightest souls in this town."

"…You said 'was'," Tiffany commented. "Is she not here anymore?"

Kirk got real quiet. He didn't speak for a long time. When he finally did, his voice was shaking horribly.

"She… Oh god, don't tell Blake I told you. He will kill me!" he pleaded. "Look, I shouldn't tell you this but…the bunny tee thing won't make sense unless you know. She made that tee for him…a few days before she…disappeared."

"She's missing? Oh no!" Tiffany gasped.

"Yeah," Kirk nodded, looking away. "Blake's still really broken up about it. That tee is one of the few things he's got left of her. He doesn't talk about her anymore, so don't mention this to him. Actually, don't mention it period. To anyone. Ever."

"I…understand," Tiffany whimpered, ears folding back in sorrow. "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You didn't know. Not like you could've done anything about it, anyway," Kirk said. "Don't worry about. Just…don't treat Blake any different, okay? He hates that. He just wants to be treated like normal, so…keep up with the way you've been acting around him."

"…I will," she promised.

"…Anyhow, thanks for helping me out with that!" Kirk said, suddenly chipper. "I'll mail you your reward later."

"Reward? Oh no, I couldn't—"

"You can and you will accept it. I insist," Kirk declared.

"…Okay," Tiffany sighed. This mayor thing is harder than it seems. Everyone sure is pushy with giving me rewards and stuff. Should I just get used to this?

.o.o.o.o.

"Thank you kindly for your purchase, mayor. Enjoy!" Tommy wished, waving goodbye from Nookling Junction.

Tiffany smiled happily as she headed through Main Street. After shaking a few more trees and trading in a bunch of apples and a beehive—500 bells for one, holy cow!—she had successfully bought herself a shovel and a net. She had also gotten another fortune cookie, planning to munch both treats that night before bed.

Now I can start earning more money and get Blathers some more exhibits, she thought proudly.

Recalling how Laura and Martin had been digging near the event plaza, she headed there to test out her shovel. Searching around, she soon spotted a crack in the ground just south of the plaza. Stabbing her shovel into the ground, she dug a bit until she unearthed a chunk of rock with white bits in it.

"Ah! I found a fossil!" she realized, eyes sparkling. "I wonder what it is. Better take it to Blathers later and find out. Won't he be impressed, me getting him new exhibits just hours after making that vow of mine!"

…Her happy moment died when a mosquito promptly bit her on the cheek.

"Yow! Stupid mosquitoes!" she hissed, slapping her cheek only to watch as the insect escaped to the safety of the pond.

A yellow ball of light fluttered by her nose, making her jump back in fright. An idea hitting her, she grabbed her net and lunged after it. She missed a few times, trying to catch the insect, before finally slapping her net down over it.

"Aha! Gotcha!" she declared, grinning down at the firefly. "Maybe catching these things for Blathers won't be so hard after all!"

.o.o.o.o.

"My pockets are getting pretty full. Maybe I should go drop all this stuff off at the museum now," Tiffany muttered.

The waves lapped at her feet as she walked along the beach. Night had begun to fall, stars beginning to twinkle in the darkening sky above. Aside from picking up a few shells, she'd managed to net another firefly and an emperor butterfly. Her pockets were bulging with her prizes—apples, shells, fossils, glass jars with insects in them, etc.

Leaving the beach, Tiffany hurried north to Main Street and scurried into the museum. Blathers snapped to attention upon seeing her, looking surprised.

"Back already?" he asked.

"Got a shovel and a net," the Dedenne girl explained. "So I decided to get you some exhibits. Got some bugs and fossils for you!"

"Here, let me help! No need to pull them all out by yourself!" the Noctowl man yelped, taking the glass jars from her. "Ah! Insects! Just what I need!"

"Good," Tiffany smiled.

"I only need one of each exhibit, so you can keep the extra firefly," Blathers added, handing back a glass jar. "Maybe sell it at Re-Tail? It might fetch a good price."

"I'll keep that in mind," she promised, stowing the trapped bug away. "As for these fossils…"

"Let's see what we've got here!" Blathers said, taking the four hunks of rock from her. "…Ooh! These are all rare fossils that we don't have in our collection yet! You sure have a knack for finding these, don't you? I'm jealous…"

"It's easier now that I have a shovel to actually dig them up with," Tiffany admitted, blushing.

"So, do you want to donate them?"

"Of course! What else would I do with them?" Tiffany joked.

"Display them in your house somehow? I'm not sure. You'd probably think of something creative," Blathers chuckled. "Thank you so much, mayor. I believe Chokewood will thrive well under you now."

"I hope you're right," Tiffany admitted.

.o.o.o.o.

After stopping by Re-Tail to sell a bunch of apples, shells, and the extra firefly she had on her person, Tiffany headed back up to Main Street to another building she had yet to enter—the post office. It was right next door to Nook's Homes and wasn't very big at all. Entering it, she was surprised to see two young women behind the counter.

One was standing directly at the counter, a cheerful smile on her face. She had short white hair pulled back in a short ponytail, a thick blue blaze running along the top from her forehead to the back of her neck and going through her ponytail. She wore a yellow sundress with a small white jacket over it. Folded behind her back was a pair of large white bird wings, the ends having three finger-like digits that were blue in color. Her shoes were the same blue color as the wing's fingers were.

Directly behind her, snoozing in a chair, was another woman that looked nearly identical to the first. The blue was replaced with green, though. She snored away in the chair, deaf to the world.

"Oh, hello there! Welcome to the Chokewood post office!" the first woman greeted. "My name is Pelly and I'm watching over the desk at the moment. My sister, Phyllis, will be in charge in a few hours, though. How can I help you?"

Pelipper, Tiffany realized. Are those two twins? They sure look alike, aside from the differing colors…

"Um, ma'am? Do you need something?" Pelly asked, concerned.

"Oh! Sorry! Actually, yes, I do need something," Tiffany admitted. "I…want to send a letter to someone."

"Who would this letter be sent to?" Pelly questioned.

"Blake, a resident of Chokewood," Tiffany replied.

"Okay! Just drop anything you want to send into the red box!" Pelly instructed, indicating said box.

"Thank you," the Dedenne girl said.

She pulled a piece of folded bejeweled paper from her pocket. Unfolding it, she scanned over her writing. A small smile formed on her face as she reread the letter she had written earlier.

Dear Blake,

First of all, I want to thank you for the shirt you gave me. I love it very much. That gift made me feel so welcome in Chokewood. I'll treasure it forever.

Secondly, I don't blame you for what happened that night. I'm not sure why you did it, but I don't blame you. I'm just glad everything turned out okay. I think I can understand why you did it, but that doesn't mean I like that you did. When you feel like it, maybe we could talk it over?

Thirdly, I'm glad you're not as scary as I first thought you were. Had you not approached me that day with that gift, I might not have had the courage to get near you. I'm glad I can call you my friend.

Your mayor, Tiffany

P.S. I'll never breathe a word about you-know-what. J

Folding the letter up and putting it in an envelope, she dropped it into the red box. Pelly smiled, giggling behind a hand.

"All right! I'll send this mail off at once!" she promised. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No thank you. I'm good," the Dedenne girl replied.

"Thank you for choosing Chokewood post office!" Pelly said with a smile, waving as Tiffany headed out the door.

Tiffany shivered as a cool breeze hit her, cutting through her clothes. Night had officially set in. It was time for bed.

She paused briefly upon seeing a large rock nearby. Martin's talk of a money rock came to mind. Pulling out her shovel, she approached it. Digging two holes nearby, she pulled back the blade of her tool.

What are the chances that this is even it? I'm wasting my time. Just go home.

Tiffany sighed, frowning.

But if this is it, I could be that much closer to paying off the down payment for my house. I have to try…

She lunged forward with a cry, the blade of her shovel banging against the rock. She yelped, falling back. Her hands were tingling from the impact.

CRACK!

Tiffany jumped, eyes on the rock. Her mouth suddenly dropped open as the stone fell away, revealing glittering gold beneath. Crawling over, she dug through the gold until she'd emptied the rocky shell of coins. Aside from all the loose change, there were two fabric bags full of bells.

Tiffany gasped as she counted up all the bells from inside the rock. There were 1100 bells in coins and 3000 bells combined in the two money bags. Her jaw dropped at the amount.

…I'm rich. I just got 4100 bells from stabbing a rock, she realized. …I've almost got that down payment for my house…

Gathering up all the money, she shivered as another cold evening breeze struck her. It was getting darker and colder. Once she had retrieved every last coin, she staggered to her feet and headed south. Quickening her pace, she dashed home as the sky turned pitch black.

Reaching her home, she ate a quick apple dinner and munched on the two fortune cookies she had as desert. Then she changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed. If making money had been this easy back home, I'd have never moved at all.

Her eyes fell shut and she fell in sleep's sweet embrace.