You Are My Sunshine Chapter 1, a trolls fanfic

Greetings, Trolls Fandom.

Now that the third movie is being released, I've been sucked back into an obsession with the series. I came up with this after watching World Tour and discovering TrollsTopia (yeah, I'm late to the party).

Since one of the biggest things I like about Trolls is the music, each chapter in this story is going to feature at least one song. Hope you all enjoy!

…

"Branch, it still amazes me how much space you've got in here."

The other trolls who were within earshot nodded in agreement at their queen's words. By some miracle, there was enough room in Branch's bunker to cram in every citizen of TrollsTopia. As bad as the storm was raging outside, they needed as much protection as they could get.

"Okay, everybody," Poppy continued, addressing the crowd, "Hopefully, it won't be too long before this storm settles down, but until it does, we'll all be perfectly safe in here. Right, Branch?"

Branch took note of the nervous looks on some of the younger trolls' faces as he replied. "Of course. There's no need to worry about a thing. Remember, 'no troll left behind!'" He raised his fist in the air as he proclaimed the troll king's motto.

As the trolls did their best to occupy themselves—Biggie was cuddling Mr. Dinkles protectively, Cooper and Prince D were trying to engage some of the others in a dance-off, Smidge was hair-wrestling a country troll that was much bigger than her (and winning)—a new, alarming sound could suddenly be heard among everyone's reverie.

"Mama! Mama!"

Everyone turned to try to pinpoint the source of the voice, most of the rock trolls doing so with annoyed expressions on their faces.

"Alright, let's all make sure our children are accounted for," Poppy's father, King Peppy, announced.

The cries continued as the trolls glanced around at one another, Holly Darlin' muttering, "Poor thing," and Val Thundershock muttering, "Ugh, make it stop."

When the source still had not made itself known, Poppy suddenly looked up at the bunker's entrance as a horrifying realization dawned on her.

"Branch! I think that's coming from outside!"

Before Branch even had a chance to react to Poppy's exclamation, she was already heading towards the elevator. "Poppy, wait," he shouted, following after her, "this storm is way too intense right now. It's not safe to go outside yet."

"Branch," Poppy replied, placing her hands on his shoulders, "There's a child out there that needs help. Like you said, 'No troll left behind.'"

Branch heaved a defeated but understanding sigh as he pulled the lever on the elevator, much to the other trolls' shock and concern. Even if it weren't for his girlfriend's caring and compassionate nature, he knew that leaving anyone alone in a storm this bad, let alone a child, wouldn't sit right with him. Still, if Poppy insisted on leaving, he wasn't letting her go alone.

"Don't worry, everybody," he announced as they ascended, "We'll be back before you know it."

As they disappeared from everyone else's view, Peppy, the Snack Pack, and the TrollsTopia ambassadors all said to themselves, "Be careful, Poppy."

…

Outside, Mother Nature appeared to be throwing everything she had at the world. The rain and winds were raging so hard, it was a miracle none of the troll pods had been blown away. And nestled away in a cave nearby, a little yellow trolling with red hair was curled up in a ball on the ground, crying out for her mother.

"Mama," she continued to exclaim, jumping backwards when a flash of lightning shot through the sky. She desperately continued to cry out, each one louder than the last.

Lucky for her, her prayers were about to be answered.

"In there," she heard a feminine voice say, "hang on, little one. Help is on the way!"

"Mama?" she sobbed, a tinge of hope in her voice as the vines separating the cave from the outside parted to reveal two adult trolls, one pink and one blue, gazing at her with sympathy and relief. The little trolling tried to back herself further into the cave as they approached her.

"Hey, don't be afraid," Poppy reassured, opening her arms to the child, "we're here to help you." The child hesitated before slowly making her way towards the troll queen, who wasted no time in wrapping her in a tight hug. Branch joined in on their embrace and finally noticed just how bad of a state the child was in. She was shivering and soaking wet; who knew what would have happened had they not found her.

The little girl continued whimpering for her mama as Branch bundled her up in his hair, him and Poppy both shushing her soothingly. "You know where Mama is," she asked them.

Branch looked out at the storm still brewing outside. "We'll wait the rest of this storm out here, and then we'll get you somewhere safe. Your mama will hopefully be there too."

"Maybe we know her already," Poppy wondered, "do you know what her name is, sweetie?"

The little girl shook her head and mumbled a soft, "uh-uh."

"Well, what does she look like?"

She suddenly began sobbing a bit harder as she whined a distressed, I-I dunno."

The two adult trolls gave each other a confused glance. How could she not know what her mother looks like? Then Poppy came to a heartbreaking conclusion. She was so small, her speech was so limited, it could only mean one thing…

"Sweetie, were you just hatched today," she asked, to which the child sniffled and nodded.

"So you've never seen your mama before," added Branch, which was answered with another nod. She buried her face in his hair and continued to cry as the queen and her boyfriend looked at each other helplessly. A newborn trolling who was separated from her family and had no way of knowing or telling anyone who or where they are; it was clear that they wouldn't be reuniting anytime soon.

"Hey, hey, it'll be alright," Poppy said, caressing the child's shoulder, "I promise, I will do everything I can to help you find your mama. But until then…" She gave Branch a knowing smile as she continued…

"Branch and I will take care of you."

Of course, Branch had expected Poppy to make such a promise, but he stifled a surprised cough at the addition of his name. He knew that the job would be no problem for her, but he definitely wasn't qualified for something like this.

The rain outside had finally reduced a bit in intensity, so the two pop trolls deemed it safe enough to return to the bunker. On the way, Branch told Poppy how unsure he was with his ability to help with the baby.

"I've never been the best with kids," he said, "you know this, Poppy."

"Well, you seem to be doing a pretty good job so far," Poppy retorted, noting the child still swaddled in Branch's hair, "You'll do fine, Branch. And hey, it's not like you're going to have to do it alone." Taking his hand in hers, she added, "I know she's in capable hands.

Once all of the trolls had filed out of the bunker, they all went to check for any serious damages to their respective regions. Branch offered to join everyone, while Poppy would stay and help get the little trolling settled in.

"Come on, Holly," Gust Tumbleweed called out to the Country ambassador, who had gotten sidetracked gushing over the baby troll, "We gotta go make sure Country Corral is still standing."

"Sorry," Holly said, embarrassed, "I just love babies!" She tickled her cheek one more time before bidding a goodbye and good luck to Poppy.

"Say, 'bye bye,' sweetie," Poppy said to the baby, who waved goodbye to Holly.

Once they were back in the bunker, Poppy reassured the child that while it might seem scary, she will be safe. "Hey," she suddenly realized, "since you were just born recently, that means you don't have a name yet, right?" The child responded with a shake of her head.

Poppy thought long and hard about what would be the perfect name for this little troll, with her pale yellow skin and bright red hair.

Rainbow? No, too colorful.

Daisy? Not colorful enough.

Chrysanthemum? She'd never learn how to spell that!

Tapping her chin in wonder, a light bulb suddenly switched on in her mind. "How about Sunshine? And we can call you Sunny for short. Do you like that name?"

After a moment's hesitation, the baby troll nodded. "Wonderful," Poppy said, hugging her close, "I'm sure your mama will love it, too."

It was already nightfall by the time Branch returned. While TrollsTopia had sustained a fair deal of damage, nothing had been left irreparable. Rock Hollow had gotten the worst of it, but Val said it just made it look cooler. "Poppy, I'm back," he announced once his elevator reached the bottom.

Upon seeing her boyfriend, Poppy shushed him and pointed at a little pile of cushions and blankets she had fashioned into a temporary bed. "Shh, she's sleeping." Sure enough, the baby was snoring peacefully in her little nest, a far cry from the pitiful state she had been in hours before.

"Aww, she looks like a little angel."

Branch couldn't help but agree, but he was still apprehensive about having a child in his care. "Hey," Poppy assured him, squeezing his hand, "you can handle this. I know you can."

"I sure hope you're right, Poppy."

…

He had been sound asleep when he heard it.

It was about three o clock in the morning; Branch was sleeping in his bed, while Poppy had crashed in a nearby armchair. Despite her being closer to little Sunshine, it was Branch who had woken up first to the sound of her fretful whimpers.

He didn't know if it was his survivalist instincts kicking in or something beyond his own comprehension, but in a flash, he was by her side. Her eyes were shut tight, but she appeared to be reaching out for something with both hands, crying when she couldn't obtain it.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," Branch whispered, picking Sunshine up and rocking her slowly. Her whimpers slowed, but they did not cease. So he took a page out of the troll handbook, and pulled the first song he could think of out of his hair.

You are my sunshine

My only Sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are gray

You'll never know dear

How much I love you

Please don't take my Sunshine away

Before long, Sunshine was back to sleeping peacefully, sucking her thumb as Branch looked at her with a mix of astonishment and pride. He hadn't expected that to work as well as it did. Maybe he didn't have as much to worry about as he thought.

"And you said you're not good with kids."

Shocked at the sound of her voice, he turned to see Poppy wide awake and smiling at the sight of her boyfriend and the child in his arms.

"W-well," he stammered, slightly embarrassed, "I guess I meant that I'm just…inexperienced."

Poppy snickered and rolled her eyes as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Branch," she said, "You're a natural at this. It took me hours to get her to bed in the first place, but you calmed her down almost instantly."

"But that's—"

"It is absolutely the same thing," she interrupted, "stop second-guessing yourself. I told you that you could do this." Branch nodded at her in agreement as she continued, "Her mama's got nothing to worry about."

They both smiled down at little Sunny as Poppy caressed her cheek with her index finger. "Everything is going to be okay, Sunny," she whispered, "we promise."

Sunny began to stir a bit once again, so Branch decided to repeat her lullaby, Poppy harmonizing along with him.