Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls. The song, being from the movie, is also not our property.
The party was everything Poppy promised it would be—big, loud, and crazy. It was the wildest celebration they'd ever had. It was amazingly fun, and Poppy even managed to forget her Branch woes for a bit. Creek solved the glitter shortage by asking some glitter trolls to help out—they had an abundance of glitter, after all. Everything was perfect.
Poppy interrupted the celebrations to give her father some praise—even though next week would be dedicated to telling him again how badly he'd messed up—and that was when everything went wrong.
It had been ten years since anybody had even mentioned the bergens outside of celebrations of freedom. Yet everyone recalled the days when they'd been regularly warned about what would happen if they weren't careful. Nobody had ever taken those warnings seriously.
Now Poppy wished she had. She looked around at the ruined village with horror as she came out of hiding. Most of her people were okay. Nine weren't—her closest friends, including her boyfriend. And the bergen had thanked her for throwing the biggest and loudest party ever. This was her fault.
Branch was right after all, she thought. Then, growling internally, she continued, Come on, Branch! Why did you always have to be right? I never should have disabled all those traps! But whatever! I'm sure Dad has some big, elaborate plan in mind to save everyone!
No troll left behind was her dad's motto, and Poppy had adopted it as her own. Unfortunately, as it turned out, King Peppy had changed his motto sometime in the last 20 years.
"We have to find another home! Everyone! Hurry! We have to leave before the bergens come back!" he said, letting her down for the second time in her life.
Poppy's eyes widened in horror. WHAT!? So first he chooses to banish Branch, and now he's abandoning all my friends? What in the name of all that is trolly is Dad thinking!? It was as if her father wanted her to be friendless. "We have to rescue them!" she protested. Come on, Dad! I know you know that! "No troll left behind!?" Even if you did abandon Branch.
Peppy turned to his daughter and corrected her, "No, Poppy! We have to run!" He turned back to the villagers and said, "Now let's go, everyone, hurry!"
Ugh! Not that I expect my dad to still care about this, but... She'd try it anyway. "What about 'no troll left behind?" Muttering, she added, "Minus Branch, that is..."
Looking uncomfortable, Peppy turned to her again. "I'm sorry, Poppy. That was a long time ago, and I'm not the king I once was."
Poppy rolled her eyes, annoyed. She knew that well, but it was refreshing to hear someone else say it. "Yeah, Dad. Thanks for finally noticing," she mumbled.
"What was that?"
Frantically, Poppy waved her arms in front of her. She'd never told her dad that to his face. In fact, she generally kept that thought to herself. "Nothing, Dad!" she answered quickly, feeling sheepish.
Peppy just stared at her, now a bit concerned.
"Anyway, if you can't do it, then I'll go. I'll go and save them," Poppy said.
"No, Poppy! It's too dangerous!"
"I have to at least try!"
"No! You can't go to Bergen Town by yourself. It's impossible."
She turned away, feeling miserable. Her friends were all going to die, and there wasn't anything she could do about it? If only Branch were still here... He knew more about bergens than anyone...
Peppy placed a hand on her shoulder, saying, "I'm so sorry, Poppy. But we can't lose heart over something we can't control. Let's go to a new, safer home where we can work on protecting the trolls we still have with us. That's what I had to do way back when I first escaped from the bergens."
Yeah, but he also hadn't left anyone he could save. The year before had been the last time anyone was lost to the horrible holiday of Trollstice. Still, Poppy turned to face her dad, nodding sadly, and he took the lead, evacuating Troll Village.
Following along, Poppy couldn't quite bring herself to let go. If only I knew where to find Branch... Then Guy Diamond, Satin, Chenille, DJ Suki, Smidge, Fuzzbert, Cooper, Biggie...and...Creek wouldn't be—
Her eyes widened as an idea came to her. That's it!
Suddenly filled with hope, the princess slipped out of the crowd and back to the village, unnoticed by the nervous trolls who all just assumed she was going back for the stragglers. In reality, she was packing for her coming trip.
"Let's see... I've got my scrapbook supplies, a couple party dresses, a very detailed apology card... Hmm... Am I missing something? Oh! Right! Cupcakes!" She hurried to the kitchen and grabbed as many as she could, packing them into a small travel bag, along with a few bottles of punch. "There we go! Wouldn't want to starve myself while out looking for Branch, now, would I? I mean, who knows how long this one's gonna take."
Now satisfied she was fully prepared, Poppy zipped up her bag and hurried off to find her flyer bug. As she slipped into the stable, she looked around, eyes stopping on the teal bug with the pretty purple stripes and magenta wings—her preferred ride.
Poppy smiled as she approach her flying friend. "Hey there, girl! I've got some super exciting news for you." She tied her bag to the back of the bug as she continued, "You and I are going on a little trip! We're gonna go see if we can't find the mysteriously lost gray troll! Aren't you excited!?"
The bug buzzed happily, bouncing a bit.
Poppy smiled at her, excited herself. "Me, too! And there's no time to waste, either! The others need our help!" She quickly mounted the bug's back, ready for takeoff. "Ready, girl? Let's do this!"
With that, she took off for parts unknown. By this time, the sun was rising.
Branch had been gone ten years. He could be just about anywhere by now. The one thing Poppy knew for sure was that he wasn't anywhere near Troll Village. Since she hadn't seen him off, she didn't even know which direction he'd gone. She didn't know how far he'd gone. She honestly didn't even know if he was alive, but, since this was Branch she was talking about, she was positive he was. He wouldn't let a little thing like banishment finish him off.
Unfortunately, as she saw how dark and spooky the woods could be and heard the sounds of potential predators out there, she started growing nervous. Branch might be able to survive out here, but she was another story.
To keep her spirits up, she sang, "I really hope I can do it. 'Cause they're all depending on me." She flew her flyer bug up, hoping to reach the sun. She figured it might be safer up higher, away from any grounded predators. "I know that I must leave the only home I've ever known and brave the dangers of the forest, saving them before they're eaten..."
As she rose above the treetops, the sight of the bright, blue sky and fluffy clouds immediately made her feel a lot better.
She continued, "I mean, how hard can that be?"
As if to answer her, an ugly one-eyed bird came flying at her, mouth wide open. Poppy jumped, startling her flyer bug. "Aah! Go, girl, go!" she cried, turning around to escape the creature coming toward her.
Holding tight to the antennae, she steered her bug as fast as she could, diving back into the relative safety of the forest. As she flew, she swerved between the trees and through a cluster of small critters, trying to lose the bird. The irony of the fact that a bird was chasing her while she was looking for Branch would have made her laugh if she wasn't currently worried about escaping with her life.
It was gaining on her, and there wasn't anyone around who could come to the rescue. Suddenly she noticed some branches that had grown so close together they basically created an oval-shaped loop too small for her pursuer. Poppy rode through, causing the bird to slam its beak into the hole and get stuck. Poppy looked back and saw this, then she let out a sign of relief. She could do this.
She looked up and sang, "Looking up at a sunny sky, so shiny and blue." A pretty butterfly flew over then, making her smile as she sang on. "And there's a butterfly. Well, isn't that a super fantastic sign."
Poppy flew right by a spider then, which, apparently, was of the hunter variety more than the webbing variety. At that instant, it snatched the butterfly right out of the air and ate it. Poppy's eyes widened in shock at the unknown variety of spider—she was pretty sure it was a spider. She'd almost been its meal. She gave a nervous grin as she flew on, uncomfortable, and resumed her song with unease, "...It's gonna be a fantastic day."
She had to get her mind off all the things that were trying to eat her. If Branch had been living out here, it suddenly made sense that he was so worried about everything. To distract herself from the fear, Poppy pulled out her scrapbook and started working on it. Her bug took over the steering, nervously, since neither of them were sure where they were going.
"Such marvelousness it's gonna bring," Poppy sang, scrapbooking. "Got a pocketful of songs that I'm gonna sing, and I'm ready to take on anything."
Finishing her scrapbook page at that time, she held it high over her head. The pop-up image showed her, a green troll (she recalled the gray troll had some color to him, and it always made him look green to her), and all of her friends. They were all safe and sound, with her and Branch side by side in a bush at the bottom of a tree. Fuzzbert was between them, Guy was beside Branch, Smidge on Guy's other side, Biggie behind Poppy with Mr. Dinkles in his arms, DJ crammed in next to him, and Cooper behind Branch. Cooper's hair was attached to a branch, upon which Satin, Chenille, and Creek were all perched. Creek was meditating in between the conjoined twins, whose hair was turned into a rainbow arch. The words "We did it!" were over the rainbow, the letters sitting atop it. Everyone looked, at the very least, remotely happy—she knew expecting Branch to ever look truly happy would be unrealistic.
The picture restored Poppy's confidence, and she cheered, "Hooray!" She flew very close to a tree branch then as she sang, "Some super fun surprise around each corner."
A red and orange snake poked out from upon the branch. It snapped at her, trying to catch its meal. Poppy's eyes widened as she maneuvered around, swerving to avoid the snake.
Hoping to stave off the growing fear, she kept singing, "Just riding on a rainbow. I'm gonna be okay."
The snake gave chase, tangling itself up some.
"Hey! I'm not giving up today. There's nothing getting in my way. And if you knock, knock me over..."
Just then the snake caught on its own coils, cleverly tied up with itself and the branches of the tree. Poppy sighed in relief then turned back to stick her tongue out at it.
Still making faces at the snake, she resumed her song, "I will get back up again."
Maybe watching where she was going would have been a better idea. However, since she wasn't, she had no way of avoiding the tree branch her bug flew under...the one that caught Poppy in the stomach and knocked her off her bug. Startled, Poppy started flailing around as she tried to grab onto a sturdy branch. The alternative was to go "splat" all over the forest floor far below.
"Oh, if something goes a little wrong," she sang, lashing out at a branch with her hair and pulling herself onto it, "well, you can go ahead and bring it on."
Her flyer bug flew up to her with a concerned look on her face. Poppy gave her a sheepish grin, then sighed in relief.
"'Cause if you knock, knock me over," she hopped back onto her bug, "I," she landed on her bug's back, taking hold of the steering antennae, "will," she flew off, "get back up again."
Things seemed to settle down some then, boosting her confidence. She smiled, barely watching where she was flying, and started doing some aerobatics like loop-the-loops and barrel rolls.
"Whoa, oh oh oh oh oh oh, get back up again. Whoa, oh oh oh oh oh oh."
She got a good lesson about paying attention at that moment—she flew right into a beehive, angering all the bees. Her eyes widened in shock as she steered her bug quickly in another direction, crying out, "Aaahh!"
After awhile, Poppy managed to lose the bees by flying into a river and waiting them out a bit. Once they left, she dried off her flyer bug and took off again, now covered in bee stings. As she flew along, she went through many different and abnormal terrains and weather patterns. It started raining, aggravating her bee stings a bit.
Still she sang on, "I'm flying along." Seeing a bush of some plant (she wasn't sure of the name) that Branch had once told her had medicinal properties, she stopped and used it to treat her injuries before flying on. "I've got confidence."
Suddenly it started snowing. Poppy shivered as her bug started losing her momentum. "I'm cooler than a pack of peppermints." When her bug landed, Poppy found herself carrying the flyer bug, trying to pull the poor thing through this frigid climate. Her bug's wings were coated in ice. Still she sang, "And I haven't been this excited since..."
Finally she got away from the snow. Her bug's wings thawed, and they started flying again, only to find unnaturally strong wings that blew them off course. Fighting through it was difficult, and she had to shout to hear herself sing, "...I can't remember when!"
Once they were through that area, everything calmed down again and Poppy started looking around for any signs of a troll. She figured she'd flown far enough by now to start searching. She put a hand over her forehead to block the sunlight and looked all around, her expression more serious than it usually was.
"I'm off on this remarkable adventure," she sang as she looked. "Just riding on a rainbow!"
She saw something, she was sure of it! She landed near what appeared to her to be signs of troll life—easy as can be. Unfortunately she landed right next to a predator. Oh, not a troll predator, per say, but it did eat flyer bugs. The creature's long snout enabled it to reach the bugs even if they hid in a tree. It was harmless to Poppy herself, but the creature eyed Poppy's bug hungrily.
Poppy jumped into the air, leaping from her bug to try to deal with the animal in question as it tried to eat her bug. She pulled out her mandolin and tried, nervously, to play the creature to sleep. Meanwhile, scared, her bug flew off and abandoned her.
"What if it's all a big mistake?" Poppy sang worriedly. The song seemed to be working, though, lulling the creature to sleep. "What if it's more than I can take?" As her nerves started overtaking her and the beast lay down to sleep, Poppy caught sight of her frantic bug flying away. She snapped her attention toward the bug, glaring at it in determination. "No!"
She ran off in pursuit of her bug, quickly putting her instrument away. "I can't think that way 'cause I know," she lashed out with her hair, grabbing her flyer bug, "that I'm really, really, really gonna be," she landed back on her bug and took control of the flight once more, "okay!"
Crisis averted. Who said she couldn't take care of herself?
"Hey! I'm not giving up today. There's nothing getting in my way. And if you knock, knock me over..."
As they put some distance between the bug and the predator, Poppy's flyer bug settled down a bit. Poppy then resumed her serious position, searching for Branch once more.
"I will get back up again."
A growlbeast spotted her then and looked at her hungrily. Poppy's eyes widened, and she veered off in another direction with the creature in pursuit. She kept trying to look for Branch, swerving around closer to the ground as she tried to lose her latest pursuer. The beast kept snapping and swatting at her, missing each time.
"Oh, if something goes a little wrong, well, you can go ahead and bring it on. 'Cause if you knock, knock me over," she sang, flying toward a cliff overlooking a flooded forest—growlbeasts aren't very good swimmers, and she knew it, "I..."
As Poppy flew over the flooded forest, the growlbeast skidded to a stop just before it went over the cliff. It then stood there, growling at her in frustration.
"...will," Poppy sang, looking back at the beat arrogantly, "get back up again."
She started making faces at the growlbeast, and her flyer bug took charge again. Fortunately this time, it was more aware of what it was doing, so Poppy's failure to learn from her mistakes didn't result in another mishap.
Poppy took over again as they left the flooded forest behind them, finding a lovely waterfall instead. She smiled, taking in the magnificent sight, as they flew by. "Whoa, oh oh oh oh oh oh, get back up again."
Her confidence swelling again, Poppy stopped paying attention to her flight path. Her focus went entirely to finding Branch. "Whoa, oh oh oh oh oh oh."
Distracted as she was, Poppy flew right into a tarantapuff's web, getting her bug stuck. The tarantapuff started toward them menacingly.
Panicked, Poppy pulled out her scissors and started trying to cut the web. "I'm okay!" she shouted. "Whoa, oh oh oh oh oh."
While she snipped away at the web, her bug tried to wiggle free. Once enough of the web was snapped, the bug finally succeeded. The tarantapuff wasn't happy about this, to say the least. It launched some webbing at Poppy and her bug as they flew away, but Poppy managed to dodge the first strike.
"Oh," she sang, dodging the second attack from the tarantapuff. "Oh."
Finally her bug flew clear of the tarantapuff, and Poppy sighed in relief. That was a close one! She wiped some sweat from her brow as she flew on.
"And if you knock, knock me over," she sang on, "you knock, knock me over, I will get back up again."
That was an eventful hour! Exhausted, Poppy pulled out one of her cupcakes and ate it both to alleviate her nerves and settle her hungry stomach.
This was only her first day searching. She hoped she'd find her target soon. This adventure was more than she had bargained for, and who knew what could happen if she didn't find Branch quickly. Beyond that, her friends' lives hung in the balance. Time was of the essence.
She couldn't afford to fail.