Later that evening, Pepper was still fast asleep. She then flickered her eyes open and yawned, getting up on two of her feet. "Phew! What a day. Thanks, Sugar Sprinkles, I really needed that."

She turned to the opposite side of the table to find it was completely empty. "Sugar Sprinkles? Buttercream? Zoe? Minka? Penny Ling? Hellooo! Blythe? Blythe, are you still in the bathroom?" She looked around the empty exam room, and eventually caught a glance at Dr. Timpson, out of uniform, forcing a quick yelp out of her.

Timpson simply waved at the skunk. "Hey."

"Oh!" Pepper panted in relief. "It's you. You're the doctor, right?"

"Clever guess."

"Hey…" said Pepper, "where's Penny Ling? And Blythe? And Buttercream? And Sugar Sprinkles?"

"Gone out."

Pepper became shocked. "Gone out? Where?"

"Where else? The park. I was leaving the toilets and they made their way to the exit. Their eyes were pouring like the Beddington Park waterfalls, if you ask me."

Pepper's eyes widened as she finally got a clear idea of what was going on.

Outside, the sun had set and the sky was accompanied by dark grey clouds, making it look as if a storm was hovering above Downtown City. Blythe and the pets were at Downtown City Park, where a memorial service was being held in remembrance of Penny Ling. Timpson brought Pepper to the park's entrance and placed her on the sidewalk.

"Thanks for the lift," said Pepper.

"Don't mention it."

Pepper spotted Blythe, Zoe, Minka, Buttercream and Sugar Sprinkles on a hill, standing in front of a grave dug for Penny Ling. From the looks of it, she'd brought Mrs. Twombly, Russell, Sunil and Vinnie along to pay respect to the deceased panda. Youngmee Song, niece of Christie Song, was also present at the funeral, and was holding Blythe's hand sympathetically. Pepper immediately made her way towards them, and Blythe was the first to take notice.

"She's coming," said Blythe, watching Pepper rush towards the group.

Russell, Sunil and Vinnie all reacted with shocked expressions on their faces. They practically feared Pepper's presence, Russell in particular. He felt nothing but sheer dread as Pepper approached them, and his heart skipped a beat. After hearing what had happened at the pet shop, they feared that what happened to Penny Ling would end up happening to them as well. Their perception on Pepper would never be the same again.

Pepper finally made it and brushed Russell and Sugar Sprinkles aside, then stopped in front of Penny Ling's grave. Penny Ling was laid to rest on a bed composed entirely of bamboo, set down inside a shoebox, her hands positioned on top of her chest and enforcing a tight grip on her ribbons she would normally use for rhythmic ribbon dancing — something she would never be able to do again.

A tombstone was placed over the hole that was dug for her. It read:

Here lies

Penny Ling.

"I love you all.

Always have, always will."

Pepper simply stared at her body in utter disbelief. She took another step forward and kneeled at her grave. The only sound she could let out was a horrified squeak as her pupils widened, almost taking up the whites of her eyes. Her arm reached out for the body and began gently stroking her fur. Her eyes teared up, and she whimpered, her lips starting to quiver. She got up closer to Penny Ling's face and gave her a kiss on the forehead before pulling herself back.

Her voice broke as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Penny Ling."

All of those feelings of guilt and grief came flooding back to her, and she could bare it no longer, as she started bawling once again. Blythe walked towards her as tears ran down her cheeks. She kneeled down at the grief-stricken skunk and picked her up, bringing her in for a hug and allowing her to grieve.

Russell walked up to the grave and stared at Penny Ling. Pepper's words from that fateful day about 'smelling happy' echoed in his head, and that only fueled the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins. He then turned his eyes to Blythe holding a crying Pepper in her arms and whimpered before directing his attention back to Penny Ling. His eyes teared up, and a teardrop fell from his right eye and landed on her body, absorbing into her fur, where they would stay implanted for generations to come.

As he looked on at her grave, he finally managed to speak: "We love you, Penny Ling. Always have… always will."

The next day, Pepper was sleeping on her side, next to Penny Ling's grave. She had already been buried three feet deep in soil, and Pepper was one to realise this the moment she woke up. She got up on her feet and picked up a few specks of dirt before lightly tossing them on the soil. She gave off a weary sigh, still feeling guilty for the incident at the pet shop.

She turned her head to the tree Penny Ling was buried at, and found that it was the home of Shivers the squirrel. Pepper became mildly annoyed, remembering the day he first stepped foot in the day camp. Shivers himself stuck his head through the hole, and spotted Pepper laying against Penny Ling's grave.

The squirrel waved at the depressed skunk. "Hey, Pepper!"

"Hey, Shivers," replied Pepper, bitterly.

"I heard about what happened," said Shivers, "and I can't say I don't feel sorry for ya! Do you mind coming in for a minute so we can, uhm, talk it through?"

Despite holding a grudge against Shivers, even after helping him clear his home with Blythe some time ago, Pepper reluctantly agreed to his offer. She made herself comfortable on the floor and the pair sat down for a conversation.

"So tell me," said Shivers, as he held his tail, "why do you feel so glum?"

"Well," said Pepper, "I wanted everyone to smell happy for the International Pet Fashion Expo. And Penny Ling agreed to help. And…" She sniffled. "I took it a little too far…" She started tearing up. "And now… she's… gone! And it's all my fault!"

"Pepper…" awed Shivers, "why on Earth would it be your fault? Blythe told me what happened at the pet shop was an accident, so there's no need to blame yourself for it."

Pepper wiped the tears from her eyes and hung her head in self-shame. "Oh, what would you know? You never even knew her."

"Of course I did!" exclaimed Shivers. "I remember the first time I ever set foot in the playroom."

As Shivers rambled on, the memory of when Pepper first met him forced an uncontrollable bout of anger deep inside of her — of which she simply couldn't keep in any longer. She quickly turned to Shivers and glared at him.

"Oh, yeah. I remember that too. How you hogged all the food, took forever with the water, took our toothbrushes?! Yeah, I remember that vaguely. Penny Ling was my friend… and you treated her with nothing but disrespect."

As Pepper's maliceful commentary continued, her tail emitted her natural musk to express her feelings. Shivers knew it wasn't going to be pleasant, so he immediately held his nose whilst continuing to listen.

"You know, the first time I saw your smug, little face, I knew you were good for nothing. I could just smell trouble on you."

"Yeah," said Shivers, nasally, "I can tell."

Even with his nose clamped shut, he could tell the stench was getting stronger, so he took a deep breath and prepared to hold it for as long as Pepper continued ranting.

"We were better off without you. Penny Ling is dead, and all you care about is your so-called "gathering". You don't care for Penny Ling, not one bit! So do yourself a favor, and mind your OWN DAMN BUSINESS! AND THE SAME GOES FOR YOUR BEESWAX!"

Shivers immediately leaped out of the tree and laid himself on the floor, gasping for air. He quickly got himself back on his feet, panting heavily. "Alrighty then… I'll leave you for a few minutes to calm down." He ran down the hill and over to Blythe, who was sitting down on the park bench, being consoled by Youngmee.

"Hey, Shivers," said Blythe. "What was that I just heard up there?"

"Oh," said Shivers, still panting, "it's just Pepper. She's feeling a little tense right now over what happened at the pet shop."

"One of the five stages of grief," said Youngmee. "Also known as the Kübler-Ross Grief Cycle. I've read all about them: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally, Acceptance. Right now, she's in 'Anger'."

"In that case," said Blythe, "we'll just leave her be for now."

Youngmee sighed. "If I could only talk to her, I'd be able to help her through the pain."

And rightfully so. Inside the tree, Pepper remained on the floor of Shivers' home, instantly regretting lashing out at him. This was made evident by a tear from her right eye streaming down her face.

Later in the afternoon, Pepper laid on her back, speaking to herself. She had entered the 'Bargaining' stage. "If only I realised what I was doing sooner, Penny Ling would still be alive."

Unbeknownst to Pepper, Youngmee took a peek at her through the through-hole. On first sight, she could tell she was feeling incredibly forlorn. She took her eye out of the through-hole, her nose donning a clothespin, as being the soft-spoken, yet intelligent girl she was, she was well aware of a skunk's tendency to emit their strong, unpleasant stench.

"How's Pepper?" asked Blythe, as she walked up to Youngmee.

"She's gone into 'Bargaining'," said Youngmee. Her voice took on a hum-like tone thanks to the clothespin. "She's beginning to think if she had realised what she was doing, Penny Ling wouldn't have passed on."

Blythe felt bad for Pepper, having gone through a similar phase when her mother died. "Oh, it must be so difficult for her, having to mourn."

"I know," said Youngmee, who pulled Blythe in for a hug. "But you know what they say; time is of the essence."

"Indubitably," said Blythe.

Later on in the evening, Pepper stood in front of Penny Ling's grave, giving herself time to properly mourn. She was in the 'Depression' stage from this point forward, and the haunting memories of the incident still lingered with her.

Zoe and Minka walked up the hill to talk to her. Zoe was holding her dog bone chew toy in her mouth, then dropped it as she sat down next to Pepper, with Minka sitting next to her on the other side.

"Pepper?" said Zoe. Pepper turned her head to the pooch and simply uttered, "Hey."

"You still grieving?" asked Minka, who placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yep," replied Pepper.

"If I'm not mistaken," said Zoe, "you seem to be going through the five stages of grief."

"Clever guess," said Pepper.

"Blythe told us about them," said Minka. "She said she hated to see you go through all this emotional turmoil."

Pepper turned her head to Minka. "Oh, really?"

"Of course!" replied Minka. "And us too, especially since it wasn't your fault in the first place."

"Stop trying to make me feel better," said Pepper. "It's pointless. I let my selfishness get to my head. I've been a terrible friend to Penny Ling. She begged me to stop… but I wouldn't listen. She didn't deserve to die this way. She didn't even deserve a friend like me."

Zoe awed. "Don't say that. You've been a good enough friend to Penny Ling. Maybe not the best, but I just know you still cared for her, almost as much as we care for you. Believe me when I say this, we're just as distraught as you. But everyone has their own way of coping. Mine's my doggy bone." Zoe picked up her chew toy and hugged it.

"Mine's bananas," said Minka. "Blythe prefers to talk it through with her friends."

"How can I possibly cope?" said Pepper, still depressed. "If I hadn't been such a careless bitch, Penny Ling would still be with us. I don't deserve to be her friend."

Zoe, still hugging her chew toy, looked on at Pepper and felt sorry for her. It was then that she decided to drop the bone and wrap her arms around the poor skunk. Pepper quickly caught wind at Zoe's symbol of consolation and wrapped her arms around the spaniel in response.

"It's okay, Pepper," said Zoe. "You have us. We're right behind you all the way."

"We'll help you get over the pain sooner or later," said Minka, who joined in on the hug.

Pepper sniffled, and pushed herself to speak. "Promise you'll stay by my side."

"Always," said Zoe.

"To the bitter end," said Minka.

Pepper allowed tears to flow from her eyes once again, and as she continued hugging Zoe for as long as she hugged her back, she gave off a slight smile.

The trio then settled down and Pepper held Zoe and Minka close as they looked on at the grave of their fallen panda companion. It would be quite some time before Pepper would enter the 'Acceptance' stage, but simply put, she'd have to learn to cope.

T'was the only way.

Meanwhile, Buttercream and Sugar Sprinkles were sitting in front of the pond. Sugar Sprinkles was holding Buttercream, who softly cried on her lap. Sugar Sprinkles lightly stroked the fur of Buttercream's head in order to comfort her.

"It's okay, Buttercream," said Sugar Sprinkles, quietly shushing the poor rabbit. "Everything's going to be alright. Penny Ling's in a much better place now, looking down upon us from the skies."

"So…" a familiar voice uttered. Sugar Sprinkles turned her head and saw Timpson standing before them.

"You must be…"

"Sugar Sprinkles."

"And is that the 'Buttercream' I've been hearing about?"

"Obviously," replied Sugar Sprinkles. Buttercream solemnly lifted her head and saw the veterinarian for the first time in her life. Timpson made himself comfortable at the edge of the path with Buttercream and Sugar Sprinkles.

"Who might you be?" asked Sugar Sprinkles.

"Dr. Edmond Timpson, PhD in veterinary nursing. But you can call me… Ed."

"Well," said Sugar Sprinkles, "nice to meet you, Ed. This is Buttercream Sunday." Buttercream's head dropped back on Sugar Sprinkles' lap. "Don't mind her. She's so upset she doesn't feel up to talking at the moment."

"I see. I take it the panda's death has taken a toll on her?"

"Indeedy-Swedey," said Sugar Sprinkles, doing Buttercream's alliterate talking for her. Timpson chuckled at Sugar Sprinkles' comment.

"Good one." He paused. "You must be taking things real hard."

"Sure are," replied Sugar Sprinkles. "Pepper, most of all. She thinks she killed her, which I, personally, have to call bullshit on. I may not know Pepper as much as the other pets, but I know for a fact she wouldn't stoop down to such a level. She's as innocent and pure of heart as the rest of us."

"You have feelings for that… thing?"

"Of course," replied Sugar Sprinkles. "Not as laid back as I am, but sweet and kind-hearted all the same."

"Hm. Curious. I reckon things around here won't be the same without the panda."

"You got that right," replied Sugar Sprinkles, somberly.

"You know what…" Timpson turned his head to Blythe and Youngmee, who were sitting on the bench located next to the pond. "I think Ms. Baxter over there would be more than happy to babysit you both."

"Really?" said Sugar Sprinkles.

"Of course! From what I've been told, Buttercream likes to liven things up around that place she calls "Littlest Pet Shop"."

"And your assumptions would be correct," said Sugar Sprinkles. "She's usually very happy and bursting full of energy. At times like these, though, she's always downbeat and gloomy."

"Well, maybe the pets can keep her company for the time being. At least until the grey chick fully recovers."

Sugar Sprinkles smirked. "It's a date." Sugar Sprinkles and Timpson both shook hands as a sign of bonding.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go up to Ms Baxter over there, lift her spirits."

With that. Sugar Sprinkles got Buttercream back on her feet and accompanied her over to the bench Blythe and Youngmee were at. Timpson watched them walk off and grinned as he stayed up and watched the sunset.

As the evening approached, a familiar-looking spiky ball, whose color scheme was a mixture of light brown and dark brown, rolled up to him. He picked it up, and the ball stuck his face out, revealing himself as Russell, who was looking rather morbid.

"Ah!" He paused again. "And you must be…?"

Fin~