Ruby stopped her car as a train had to pass in the railroad crossing before she could drive on.
"What's with the giant udder?" Miley asked her maternal grandmother. "Now that's somethin' you don't see in Beverly Hills."
"Old Man Crowley died and left the town the meadows, pretty much everything you can see," Ruby informed. "But we don't exactly have enough for the taxes, so I've been organizing a fundraiser or two. It's just awful... Developers circling like vultures, talkin' about putting up apartment buildings, shoppin' malls..."
"A mall?" Miley asked out of excitement. "Really?"
"Who's in charge of the taxes?" Darla asked.
"Can't say I've heard of a young lady interested in taxes before." Ruby said to Darla.
"Just interested." Darla said.
"Well, there is a man I'm not particularly fond of named Mr. Bradley," Ruby informed. "He's a land developer and wants to build a mall on the towns' site."
"What's so wrong about a Mall?" Miley asked innocently.
"Nothing, except it means destroying more land." Atticus said.
Patch nodded silently in agreement as he listened to the others.
"Cherry told me about how evil humans can be, especially when she was in the rainforest that one time." Atticus memorized based on what Cherry told her about FernGully.
"Some humans can be so selfish." Darla frowned.
"You have no idea, youngin'..." Ruby nodded to Darla.
Soon enough, they stopped and came to the farmer's market to shop. Luckily for Atticus and Patch, Ruby allowed Patch to join them since it was outdoors, and where Patch was very helpful with the food. Darla giggled to him as he helped them shop.
"Clever pooch." Ruby commented.
Patch smiled at the comment. A white-haired man with glasses smiled as the people came to the market.
"Is that him?" Darla asked Ruby.
"Yup," Ruby nodded. "That's Mr. Bradley."
"I'm gonna go have a talk with him." Atticus said as he rolled up his sleeves.
Darla merely cupped her mouth and stood beside Miley and her grandmother.
Mr. Bradley smiled as he helped out those in need before looking to Atticus. "Ah, you're a strong young lad, aren'tcha?"
"Are you the man responsible for more land being destroyed to build this?" Atticus glared as he saw the model of what would be built.
"I beg your pardon?" Mr. Bradley replied. "Oh, you mean this? Beautiful, isn't it? I bet you'd like to visit the mall to buy a pretty necklace for your pretty lady friend."
"I'd rather make her a gift than buy one." Atticus said.
"Your loss." Mr. Bradley smiled as he handed brochures of the Mall for all of them.
Darla took hers and tossed it over her shoulder in disinterest.
"Would there be a Bloomie's?" Miley asked hopefully.
"Miley?!" Atticus and Darla gasped.
"We've got work to do." Ruby told her granddaughter.
"Sorry." Miley muttered.
"I swear, everythin' 'bout that man irks me." Ruby told the others about Mr. Bradley.
"And I can tell why, he reminds me of those eco villains." Atticus said.
"Mornin', Miss Ruby." A man greeted.
"Mornin'!" Ruby smiled back.
"See you got your granddaughter with ya and some guests," The man nodded once. "Ain't she grown some?"
Patch seemed a bit confused by that question.
"It's amazin' what a little food and water can do." Miley smiled weakly.
They then continued to go off together.
"When we finish, maybe you and I could do a little shoppin'?" Ruby suggested.
"Oh, I love shopping with my nana," Darla smiled. "We shop for some nice clothes and books, then get a meal, and if we have enough time, a movie... It's such a great bond."
"Yeah, whatya say, Miley?" Atticus added.
"In there?" Miley glanced to the marketplace. "No thanks, I'm good."
Atticus and Darla frowned as that seemed to be a rather selfish response.
"Look, Missy," Ruby warned her granddaughter. "You may be Hannah Montana back home, but here, we're britches and boots, and if that ain't good enough for you, maybe you should just pack up and git."
Miley could understand why her grandmother reacted like that.
"You might be foolin' yer daddy, but you sure as heck ain't foolin' me," Ruby told Miley. "Now... I'm sorry for fussin' at ya, but I just think you should consider yourself lucky that for the time bein', you have a place like this to call home."
"I do," Miley softly replied. "And I'm sorry."
Patch, Atticus, and Darla were happy that Miley wasn't totally selfish.
"I know you are," Ruby told Miley before collecting her things. "Come on!"
Miley nodded and then continued to follow her grandmother. Patch smiled as he looked up at the people as he stood close beside Atticus.
"So, what are we selling?" Darla asked.
"Watermelon samples." Ruby replied.
"Mm..." Darla smiled.
"I'm gonna take this mood of mine and put it into some good use..." Ruby glared toward Mr. Bradley.
"Free melon samples!" Darla called out as she took out a slice and put it up to her face to make it look like her smile. "Nothing makes me smile more than a good melon!"
A woman soon tried a melon sample.
"It's really good." Darla smiled.
"Oh, isn't she lovely?" The woman cooed to Darla. "You're so sweet like these melons."
"Thank you." Darla smiled.
The woman took the melon slice and soon ate it in delight. Darla smiled as she was a success so far, possibly due to her cuteness. She soon saw someone familiar in a bad way. Atticus took out some of the seeds of one watermelon and let Patch eat it. Patch smiled as he then ate the watermelon, being careful due to the rules of feeding a dog fruit like that.
"Guys, I see someone." Darla whispered nervously.
"Who?" Atticus and Patch asked.
"Oswald." Darla whispered.
"Ooh..." Atticus and Patch replied before they saw who she saw.
"I'll be right back." Miley told the customers as she also saw Oswald.
"Do you know this girl?" Oswald asked a sauce salesman as he held out a photograph.
"Sure, I do, it's Hannah Montana; I don't live under a rock." The sauce salesman said.
"No, obviously not..." Oswald chuckled bashfully.
"How do we get rid of this guy?" Darla whispered.
"Hmm..." Patch looked around before seeing the sauce samples. "How about a little switcheroo with the sauces?"
"Ooh, perfect." Atticus smirked.
Darla saw one sauce sample which said sweet and mild and switched it with a sauce label that said 'Devil Level Hot'.
Oswald looked around before taking a sauce sample, not knowing how really hot it was going to be and Darla hid away before he could see her. As soon as the man ate the sauce, he instantly felt like his mouth was on fire, and where this would be entertaining. A different dog was lapping up water from his dish before Oswald took it to cool himself down. Darla giggled as she watched this with Atticus and Patch.
"Hmm... I think this needs something else, but what?" Atticus pondered.
"A little dance?" Patch smirked.
"Yes, but how?" Atticus smirked back.
"Hey, guys," Darla told her big brother and dog. "There's a truck full of walnuts."
"I'm on it." Miley said.
"Miley? "The others looked to her.
Miley smirked and soon put down the trunk of the truck which sent the nuts falling to the ground which came toward Oswald. Oswald awkwardly danced which amused and amazed the crowd until he soon slipped and fell backwards onto Mr. Bradley's models for a future mall.
"Perfect." Atticus whispered.
Mr. Bradley tried to help Oswald up only to be pulled to the ground himself before another man helped them both up.
"I'm terribly, terribly sorry." Oswald told Ruby.
"Oh, don't be sorry." Ruby said.
"Oh, but really..." Oswald said before looking to Miley. "H-Hey, you're about the same age... Do you know this Hannah Montana?"
"Hannah Montana?" Miley replied, exaggerating her Southern accent. "Who don't know Hannah Montana? She's famous!"
"Yeah, she's amazing!" Darla added.
Patch even randomly barked to agree.
"I know she's in this little Patch of Nowhere, but no one's actually seen her." Oswald sulked.
"Oh, we've seen her." Darla said.
"Saw her... Seen her... Know her... Knew her..." Miley added randomly.
"You're the first ones?" Oswald asked.
"Oh, we know all of the Montanas." Atticus said.
"Where can I find her?" Oswald asked.
"Uh... Uh... Ya go about five miles at the first creek-" Ruby began.
"Then two miles at the second creek!" Miley quickly added.
"And you're there." Atticus concluded.
Oswald smiled as he thanked them, totally fooled by their sense of direction.
"Take care!" Ruby waved as he soon left them before high-fiving her granddaughter.
"Thanks, guys." Miley smiled to Darla and Atticus's help.
"No problem, Miley." Darla smiled back.
"Uh, where did we lead him anyway?" Atticus wondered.
"Aw, don't worry 'bout it none," Ruby chuckled. "He has a better chance of meeting the Country Bears than Hannah Montana from our help."
"So, what's next?" Darla asked.
"Let's get back to the farm, shall we?" Ruby suggested.
"Let's." Atticus agreed.
They soon went off to leave back at the farm.
"So, how was the market?" Cherry asked Atticus.
"Oh, it was all right, though we had a major annoyance." Atticus replied.
"What kind of annoyance?" Cherry asked.
"Oswald." Atticus replied.
"Oh... That..." Cherry now understood. "I was with that boy Travis a bit in the farm."
"Uh, is he still there?" Miley asked.
"Probably..." Cherry shrugged.
"Why?" Mo asked.
"Just curious..." Miley replied before going off.
Darla looked to her and looked back at the others. "I think she likes him."
"I think you might be right." Patch smiled.
"Does anyone want lemonade?" Cherry offered. "I made my own batch."
"Wow, Cherry, that's incredible," Atticus smiled. "I'll take some."
Cherry poured him a glass and handed it to him.
"Thank you." Atticus smiled.
Cherry nodded. Atticus drank the lemonade and smiled brightly before drinking a lot quicker and more as it was really good.
"Wow, Cherry, you're really good at making your own food and drinks," Patch said. "How do you do it?"
"Forte kinda taught me how to cook for when I'd be home alone so I wouldn't live off just cold sandwiches or microwave mac and cheese." Cherry admitted sheepishly.
"Nice." Patch said.
Mo soon came out to see the others in her own farming outfit. She wore her bandanna as a neckerchief, wore a pink and white plaid shirt with blue overalls, and had on her boots, and had on a cowboy had as she came out to see everyone with a small flirty smile to Atticus. "How do I look?"
"You look amazing." Atticus said.
"Really?" Mo asked.
"I never lie when it comes to your beauty..." Atticus smiled to her and the two soon blushed while Cherry gagged as she thought they would baby talk to each other like most annoying couples, but to her relief, they didn't.
"You seem to really be quite the farmer." Mo said to Atticus.
"Thanks," Atticus smiled. "It comes from living with Cinderella and visiting the Apple family."
"So I see..." Mo replied.
"Oh, Atticus, that reminds me," Cherry said to her best friend. "I talked with my parents, and Daddy said he could take us to his old farm ground where his dad taught him how to train horses, and Grandma sent me a special spell for you to recite so we can meet Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron."
"Awesome!" Atticus smiled.
"So, if you want, maybe after this, we could go." Cherry offered.
"Yeah, though this will be my first time riding a horse by myself." Atticus said.
"Better you than me..." Cherry muttered about horse riding as she wasn't a big fan of horses like her family was with her father as a trainer and her mother as a horse lover which introduced them to first meeting long before she was born.
"So, what now?" Patch asked.
"Hmm... What should we do now?" Atticus wondered.
"Besides drooling at Mo." Cherry teased.
"How about we go and see the horses?" Mo suggested.
"All right," Atticus replied. "Come on, Cherry."
"I think I'll just stay here." Cherry said anxiously as she didn't like horses that much.
"Oh, come on; you might like one of them." Patch said.
Cherry looked around until she soon found herself joining the others with the horses.