Preface: Hello, everyone! This story is one of my one-shots, and I kinda think of it as a spiritual successor to my Sonic one-shot, Design Dilemma. I call it that because, like that one, I had to rework it a little from my initial version in order to pass the rules. And so, I give you Pumpkin's take on the first episode of Whisker Haven Tales!
Welcome to Whisker Haven: The Pumpkin Cut
[Character Selected: Pumpkin]
[Current World: Whisker Planet]
[Current Location: Whisker Haven Pawlace, Pumpkin's Primp Zone]
From her desk in the Primp Zone, Pumpkin typed away on her typewriter. The memories of Treasure's first visit to Whisker Haven flew through her head as she typed. This was totally going to make this year's Royal Moon Farewell Celebration the best one yet!
"And...done!" she said, typing the last few details. She pulled the last page from the typewriter and added it to her pile. "I can't wait to tell the others." But then she had a thought. "Oh! I should have Treasure review it!"
As if summoned, the kitten walked into the Primp Zone. "Ahoy, Pumpkin!" she said, waving. She looked at the sheets of paper. "What's that?" she asked.
"Oh, this?" said Pumpkin, grabbing the pages. "This is a dramatic interpretation of your first visit to Whisker Haven! I'm going to read it at this year's Farewell Celebration!"
"What's the Farewell Celebration?"
"It's how we say goodbye to that planetoid that appears over the Lake of Wishes one month every year!" explained Pumpkin.
"Is it that Royal Moon I've heard about?" Treasure asked. "It looks so pretty! I wonder if we can actually...go onto it!"
Pumpkin giggled. "Well, maybe one day. But for now…" She held her story in front of her face. "I want you to listen to my story and review it!'
"Okie-dokie!" said Treasure, taking her seat. "Go ahead!" And so, Pumpkin cleared her throat and began to read.
[BGM: Welcome to Whisker Haven! BGM]
It began as an ordinary day for Treasure. Well, as ordinary as life had been since she had been adopted by Ariel. After a delicious breakfast, she walked out of the palace she had called home for quite some time.
The sea. The wind. The sand! It was all so beautiful. In her mouth, Treasure carried a toy ship she had found washed up the other day. Eager to play with it, she walked down to the edge of the beach, laid down on a rock, and dipped her paw in the water. Lifting it up and down, she watched as the small wave splashed the ship, making it appear as if it fell into the water.
Normally, Treasure would've liked to have done something more...exciting. But for the time being, she seemed to enjoy doing this rather simple task. Or so she thought…
[BGM: Pause]
Treasure scratched her ear. "Um, Pumpkin?" she said. "Not to be mean, but so far, this kinda sounds like an exact replica of my first visit."
Pumpkin smirked. "Right now, that is," she said. "But things will change soon, I guarantee it." She looked back at her story and continued to read.
[BGM: Resume]
Even while she wasn't doing this task, Treasure did not have many people to keep her company on the island. There was Ariel, of course, and her husband Prince Eric. And there was also the palace staff and Eric's pet puppy, Max. There was even Sebastian, King Triton, and everyone else down in Aquatica who came to visit every so often. But still, it wasn't enough.
And that was when Treasure realized something. I'm bored, she thought. And a little lonely. And boredom and loneliness is something up with which I will not put! If only there was something that could lead me to adventure...and maybe more friends…
And that was when the call came. Treasure turned around. Floating there was a small glowing ball. It kept getting bigger and bigger. Curiously, she closed her eyes and sniffed it...and when she opened them, staring back at her was a hummingbird, dressed as a fairy, glittering with magic. "Oh, thank goodness I found you!" the hummingbird said. In her shock, Treasure lost her footing and fell into the water, splashing the bird.
"Oh, my goodness! I am so sorry!" Treasure said, sheepishly. "But who are you?"
"Oh, there is no time for that!" said the hummingbird, doing a loop-de-loop back towards the palace. "Hurry! Pumpkin needs your help!"
Who is this Pumpkin? Treasure wondered. Oh, well! Adventure ahoy! She leapt out of the water and followed the hummingbird back into the palace. Through the open halls, she saw the bird set down upon the ground in front of a wall. Magic flew out of the bird's feathers, creating a picture of the most beautiful palace Treasure had ever seen. And When the hummingbird sang a merry tune, the picture became a magic portal to the palace.
"Hurry along, now!" said the hummingbird. "We have someone awaiting your arrival!" Treasure turned around, gave Ariel's palace one last look, and followed the hummingbird into the portal.
Down the kitten slid, through a magic gateway. "Meowsers! Where am I going?" she wondered aloud. Her question was soon answered as she popped out of the portal, landing face-first on the ground. Oof! That wasn't a stylish entrance, she thought, picking her head up. And that was when she got her first look at the beautiful spectacle before her. "Shimmering seashells!" she exclaimed.
"Welcome to Whisker Haven Pawlace!" the hummingbird declared. "There isn't much time to waste! I am Ms. Featherbon, and I am the gatekeeper of this magic realm!"
Treasure picked herself up from the ground and dusted herself off. "Well, this place is so beautiful!" she said. "My name is Treasure, but you probably knew that already. You said you needed my help?"
"Yes! We certainly do!" a voice said behind Treasure. Startled, the kitten shot up into the air before landing on her face again. "Oops! Sorry!" said the voice. Lifting her head up, she saw that the voice came from a golden pony with a long pink mane. "My name is Petite," said the pony, "and we need you to help Pumpkin!"
This was it. The opportunity for adventure, and more friendship! There was not a chance Treasure was not going to pass this up. "In that case, let's not waste another minute!" said the kitten. "But first, who is Pumpkin?"
Next thing Treasure knew, she was on a balcony, looking down at a ballroom. Or rather, what was left of it. A storm cloud was ravaging it, and the room was filling up with rainwater. Furniture was floating across the room as a white puppy used them to float along the water. "Cartwheeling catfish!" declared Treasure. "What happened here?"
"It's a tragic story," explained Petite. "You see, Pumpkin is the pet puppy of Princess Cinderella. She wanted there to be a light rain to help set the mood for the ball she was having today, but she also wanted to take a bubble bath so she would be refreshed."
"And so, she used some of my magic glitterbits to create a rain cloud from her bath," continued Ms. Featherbon. "But she put too much in, and now there is a storm in the middle of the ballroom!"
"And I can't swim, especially in these tough waters!" added Pumpkin, jumping onto a bar to avoid the waves. "Help me!"
[BGM: Pause]
"Whoa! Could you pause for a second?" said Treasure, putting her paws up. "I don't remember you creating a storm cloud! I thought you just put in too much bubble bath, that's all!"
Pumpkin chuckled. "Did you forget this is supposed to be a dramatic interpretation?" she said. "Of course there's going to be some differences, silly!"
"Oh, okay," said Treasure. "But I think it sounds more adventurous so far! Keep going, please!"
[BGM: Resume]
"Please, Treasure! Save our dear Pumpkin!" Ms. Featherbon begged. "I've asked a dog who masquerades as a human, a pharmacist-fighting platypus, a naked mole rat, and even an ordinary boy who enters bodies from other dimensions for help, and they couldn't do it! You are our last hope!"
Their last hope… Treasure thought. She gripped her paw in determination. "Yes. I can do this." She climbed up onto the banister, took a deep breath, and dove into the water., with Ms. Featherbon summoning an umbrella to avoid being splashed again. Swimming faster than she had ever swam before as she passed all kinds of furniture trapped in bubbles, Treasure began to search for a way to get the water out of the ballroom. Perhaps if she did, the storm cloud would clear up!
Finally, she managed to reach the door to the Pawlace. She gripped the handles and tugged with all her might. But she just could not open the door. And the lightning was making the water even worse! If she didn't do something soon, the whole Pawlace would be flooded!
That's when it happened. A leash floated by. Poking her paw through the bubble, Treasure grabbed the leash and held it. Maybe she needed help from one of her...friends? She didn't know if she could use the word yet, but either way, she couldn't do it alone. Treasure swam to the top of the water and grabbed her breath. "I know how we can solve this problem!" she shouted.
Petite looked over the banister. "How?"
Treasure tossed the leash up to the pony. "I'm going to tie this to the front door handles," she said. "If we can open the door and get this water out of here, the cloud may dissipate!"
"That might work!" said Ms. Featherbon. Another bolt of lightning flashed, causing Pumpkin to lose part of her grip. "But we have to hurry! The storm is getting worse!"
There was no time to waste. Petite gripped the leash in her mouth as Ms. Featherbon took hold of it with her feathers. Treasure swam back to the door, the rest of the leash in her paws. When she made it to the door handle, she tied the leash around it and began to pull. Petite felt the tugging sensation in her mouth, so she and Ms. Featherbon pulled as well. And just like that, the sea created by the storm cloud splashed all the way out onto the streets of Whisker Haven. Everyone watched with awe as water trickled out, and the furniture inside the ballroom was free from their bubbles.
Petite and Ms. Featherbon watched as the storm cloud brightened into a normal cloud and vanished into thin air. The hummingbird breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness that is over!" she said.
"Good, now can someone please catch me?" asked Pumpkin. Her grip was loosening from the bar.
"Oh, right!" Petite shouted. Hastily, she ran down to the bottom floor, stood under Pumpkin, and allowed the puppy to fall onto her back. "There you-wait, where's Treasure?"
"Over here!" the kitten shouted. She was the only one still stuck in a bubble. Flying over, Ms. Featherbon poked the bubble with her beak, causing it to pop. "Thank you for popping my bubble!" said Treasure, once again landing face-first on the ground.
"And thank you for saving me, Miss Treasure!" said Pumpkin, hopping off of Petite. She bent her head down in shame. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Featherbon. I just wanted to make Cinderella's ball better than ever." She looked around at the mess that remained. "And with this big a mess to clean up, I don't think I'll even make it to the ball!"
"No, you certainly aren't," said the fairy, crossing her feathers. She turned to Petite and Treasure. "Unless…"
"Well, I'm not so much a cleaner, either," said Treasure, "but I have a few ideas of how we can make it fun…"
And so, Treasure's last duty of the day was to help clean up the mess. Sliding across the floor with sponges, the three pets managed to get rid of Pumpkin's mess in no time. Before long, the entire ballroom was cleaner than when the whole mess had begun. "Well, that actually was fun!" said Pumpkin. "Thanks, you two. Now, I must get to the ball!"
"Yeah, I think I have to go, too," said Treasure. "Ariel is probably worried about me."
"Oh, don't worry about that, dear," said Ms. Featherbon, dressed in a raincoat. "Whenever a pet arrives in Whisker Haven, their princess never even notices they're gone!"
"So...I can stay as long as I like?" asked Treasure. It seemed like her problems were being solved.
"Absolutely!" said Petite. And so, the four new friends put their paws, hooves, and feathers together and chanted "Hearts, hooves, paws!" With that, Treasure had decided that she had finally made some new friends, and had plenty of more adventures to go on!
[BGM: End]
As soon as Pumpkin said, "The end," Treasure began to clap. "That was amazing!" she said. "I think that's even better than what actually happened!"
Pumpkin smile. "You really think so?" she asked.
"Of course!" said Treasure. Happily, the two friends hugged each other. "I'm so glad to have you as a friend."
"Me, too," said Pumpkin as the two pets' tails wagged. That was when Ms. Featherbon flew into the room. "Oh, hello, Ms. Featherbon!" said Pumpkin. "What brings you here?"
"A bulldog just appeared in the throne room!" answered the fairy. "I don't think he's a pet of a princess! What do you suppose we should do?"
Treasure released the hug and thought about it. "Let's make his first visit as great as mine," she suggested. "Who knows? Maybe it could make an amazing story some day…"
The End
Credits
Voices:
Bailey Gambertoglio - Pumpkin
Sanai Victoria - Treasure
Anne Halli - Ms. Featherbon
Natalie Coughlin - Petite
Music:
Disney Soundteam
Additional Music:
Whisker Haven Theme Instrumental Version (Credits)
Written by: Alfred von Any
Edits by: Jesus von Any
Original Work Written by: Shea Fontana
Postface: I'll be honest - I only wrote this story because I felt like I couldn't find a good idea for another Whisker Haven story. Thankfully, I had been thinking about a dramatic summary of the first Whisker Haven episode, so I decided "Ah, what the heck?". The original version of this story was basically a direct adaptation, even reusing basically all of the dialogue from either the original episode or its picture book adaptation. For this version, though, in order to make it past the rules, I decided to try doing a dramatic interpretation of it instead. An early idea I had was to have Scuttle the seagull from The Little Mermaid tell the story, since he's pretty dim-witted and makes up stuff about human things, but I think the final version that ties in with my first fic, Chaos Haven, was the best one to go with. So I decided to add that little "Pumpkin Cut" at the end in reference to the "Snyder Cut" of Justice League (or Zack Snyder's Justice League as HBO Max calls it).
That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all later! Stay diamond, everyone!
-Alfred
~The Palace Pets and everything related to them are properties of The Walt Disney Co. No copyright infringement with this company nor financial gain was intended in the making of this story. Any resemblance to real-world people or events are either coincidental or done fictitiously.~