AN: So, this new chapter of Adventures of the Smiling Critters would focus on Picky Piggy! When the Smiling Critters realize that Picky is eating too much junk food, they decided that they should get her to eat healthier, but thanks to her love of junk food, the Smiling Critters would realize that it might not be as easy as they thought. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter 7

A Balanced Diet

The sun shined brightly in the sky with not a single cloud in sight. Today was the perfect day for the Smiling Critters to have a picnic day together. They all sat on a picnic blanket on the grass, each of them eating their favorite meals.

"What a wonderful day for a picnic!" DogDay exclaimed, chewing on a bone.

"I agree! I love how we get to spend time together, eating our favorite meals!" Bobby exclaimed before taking a bite out of a piece of toast with honey spread across.

The rest of the Smiling Critters began to enjoy their favorite snacks as well, whether it was Crafty eating cookies with colorful sprinkles on them, Hoppy eating from a basket of carrots, or Bubba eating broccoli as a healthy snack to increase his brain power.

As her friends enjoyed the picnic, Picky ate a plate of her favorite food, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. When they first arrived at the picnic, the Smiling Critters were surprised by the countless amount of sandwiches Picky brought, but they decided not to question it since she was allowed to bring whatever she wanted.

One by one, Picky began to devour the sandwiches with surprising speed. Only a couple of minutes went by before the dozens of sandwiches were gone from the plate.

Once she was done eating, Picky gave a burp before she said, "Ah! That meal was delicious! Now it's time for desert!"

It was at that moment when Picky took out a large cake, much to the surprise of her friends. It looked to be about the size of a cake that should be shared with others.

"Whoa, Picky! What's the occasion?" Kickin asked, surprised by the size of the cake.

Before Picky was able to take a bite of the cake, Picky turned to Kickin with a confused expression.

"The occasion?"

"Well, yeah! Do you see the size of that cake? It looks like something that would be served at a birthday party!" Hoppy pointed out.

"Oh, no! This is just an afternoon snack for me!" Picky replied.

"That's what you consider an afternoon snack?" Bubba asked, surprised. "That can't be too healthy."

"I kind of agree with Bubba. Are you sure you want to eat something that big by yourself?" Crafty asked.

"Absolutely! I have been waiting all day to eat the cake and I'm not waiting another minute!"

With that, Picky started to dig in as she ate her cake. Just like with the sandwiches, Picky quickly ate the cake, as if she hadn't eaten in days. It wasn't long before the cake was gone and not a single crumb was on the plate.

After everyone ate all of their meals, DogDay thought it would be a fun idea for everyone to play a game of tag. While everyone ran as fast as they could, Picky started to feel tired before she got a chance to run very far. After all the junk food she ate earlier, she just couldn't find the energy to keep up with the others.

In order to keep herself from getting tagged, all Picky could to was hide behind a tree as the game continued. It wasn't long before CatNap was it, so he looked around for someone to tag until he noticed Picky. Upon realizing that CatNap was chasing after her, Picky desperately tried to get away, but only ran a few feet before she was down on her knees, panting in exhaustion. She soon looked up to see CatNap staring down at her with his wide smile.

"S-Sorry, CatNap. I don't think I can run anymore." Picky panted. "You might as well just tag me."

CatNap gazed at Picky for a couple of moments in silence before he gave her a tap on the head.

It wasn't long before the game was over and everyone packed up their picnic supplies to return to their homes. As the Smiling Critters walked home, happily talking about the fun day they had, Picky struggled to even keep up with her friends as she started to feel more and more exhausted.

"I think today has been a pretty fun picnic day!" DogDay exclaimed.

"It sure was! Especially when I was able to outrun all of you just a few minutes ago!" Kickin bragged.

"Wait a minute." Bubba suddenly called out. "I think we're missing someone. Where's Picky?"

Surprised to find out that Picky was missing, the Smiling Critters looked around before noticing that Picky was far behind them. They all had so much fun today, they didn't even notice that Picky was exhausted from trying to keep up with them.

"D-Don't worry about me, guys!" Picky panted. "I'll catch up soon! I just need to-"

Before Picky could say another word, she stopped in her tracks before landing face first in the grass, passing out in exhaustion.

"Picky!"

The Smiling Critters rushed over to Picky to make sure she was okay. She thankfully wasn't hurt, but all the effort she spent trying to catch up to everyone overwhelmed her to the point where she didn't want to take another step. Everyone pondered what to do before Hoppy broke the silence.

"Uh, so, who's going to carry her back home?"

The sun soon started to set as everyone walked back home with Kickin carrying a passed out Picky on his back. After what had happened to Picky, the Smiling Critters gazed at their friend in concern. Picky was never this exhausted, so it was a surprise to them that she would pass out so suddenly.

"Everyone, I'm starting to worry about Picky." Crafty admitted.

"So am I." Bobby replied. "Do you think she passed out from all the junk food she ate?"

"It's possible. Eating food that unhealthy can make anyone slow down from exhaustion." Bubba pointed out.

"Then we'll need to figure out a way to get her to have a more balanced diet. Once she wakes up, we'll have to discuss this with her." DogDay explained.

"DogDay, can it wait until after we bring her home. Carrying her isn't exactly as easy as it looks." Kickin said as he started to feel exhausted from carrying Picky throughout the whole walk.

With that, the Smiling Critters hurried up to take Picky back to her barn. They laid Picky down on a couch so she could get some rest. A few minutes when by before Picky woke up with a yawn and a stretch. She looked around to see that she was in her living room, surrounded by her friends.

"Huh? What happened?" Picky looked around, confused.

"You kind of passed out in the middle of our walk back home." Hoppy pointed out.

Thinking back to what happened earlier today, Picky remembered how tired she felt on the way back home. "Oh, right! I guess I just wasn't feeling too energetic today!"

"I think it's more than that, Picky! All of the junk food you ate today caused you to pass out." Bubba explained. "I'm sorry to say this, but I think you might have to go on a diet and eat healthy meals."

"What? I don't need to go on a diet! I eat healthy meals all the time!" Picky defended.

"Then tell us, when was the last time you ate a healthy snack like an apple?" DogDay asked.

"Hmm. I believe it was yesterday when I- Wait that was a cookie I ate. Just last week I- No, that was a plate of brownies. I think last month I- Actually that was another large cake." Picky paused once she realized what her friends were trying to tell her. "Okay, I see your point!"

"Picky, we're all really worried about you. You really need to take better care of your body." Bobby said.

Picky sighed. "I know. You're right. But I don't even know where to start."

"Not to worry! We'll help you get the exercise and nutrition you need!" Hoppy assured.

"You really mean it?" Picky smiled.

"Of course! We're all your friends, after all!" Crafty said.

"I'm not going to lie though. This isn't going to be easy. You'll have to work to get back to a balanced diet." Kickin warned.

"Oh, I'm not worried." Picky waved a dismissive hoof. "How bad could it be?"

As confident as she was with herself, Picky would soon realize that getting into shape would be a lot tougher than she thought. She was woken up by Kickin and Hoppy early the next morning so they could get in as much training as possible for the day.

Picky soon found herself in a nearby grass field with Kickin and Hoppy as the morning sun slowly rose. Since Picky had to wake up early, she could barely keep her eyes open as she was blinded by the sunrise.

"Was it really necessary to get up this early? The sun is barely even up." Picky complained before letting out a yawn.

"Great! The means we have the whole day to help you with your exercises!" Hoppy exclaimed.

"Now, let's start you off with something easy!" Kickin placed a couple of weights on the ground. "Since you are just getting started you will start off with lifting these 5 pound weights! Sounds simple enough, right?"

"I guess so." Picky replied before walking up to the weights.

After taking a deep breath, Picky reached down and grabbed the weights. She struggled with all her might, but could barely even lift the weight off the ground. Seeing that Picky was struggling, Kickin and Hoppy decided to give her a break.

"Alright, don't hurt yourself." Kickin stopped Picky. "It's obvious that these aren't the weights for you."

"Luckily, Kickin and I came prepared! We brought lighter weights just in case something like this happened!" Hoppy explained before places lighter weights on the ground.

Just like with the last couple of weights, Picky grabbed them, but had just as much trouble lifting them up from the ground. Both, Kickin and Hoppy shared a couple of awkward glances with one another as they start to realize that Picky was having trouble with even the simplest exercises.

"Okay, even lighter than that! Got it!" Hoppy set down the lightest weights she could get.

Unfortunately for Picky, she got tired from attempting to lift the weights, so she ended up passing out before she even got a chance to try out the new weights.

"This is going to be tougher than I thought." Kickin sighed.

A couple of hours went by before Picky's exercise session came to an end. She returned home, wanting nothing more than to collapse on her bed and sleep the day away. Unfortunately for her, her friends came over to her house to discuss healthier food options.

To start off, Bubba made a list of meals that would be good for Picky. As for the rest of the Smiling Critters, they searched through Picky's refrigerator to see what kind of food she ate. All they could find was junk food like cake, brownies, and cupcakes, and not a single healthy snack in sight.

"Okay, according to my list, I feel that the best meals for Picky are apples, broccoli, and cabbages." Bubba looked over his list as he entered the kitchen. "How are the rest of you doing with sorting out the refrigerator?"

"Um, not so good." Crafty admitted. "Picky doesn't have a single healthy meal in here."

"Picky, was this really all that you have been eating for several days?" Bobby asked.

"Hey, I can't help it! The sugary taste of the cookies and the chocolate taste of the brownies are too delicious to resist!" Picky started to drool from the thought of the taste of the junk food.

"Sorry, Picky, but you need to eat something other than sweets for awhile. Everyone is working together to find something healthy for you to eat" DogDay explained. "We'll look over the list Bubba made and see if we can buy any of the food for you."

With that, the Smiling Critters did everything they could to help Picky as they replaced all the junk food in her refrigerator with healthy meals while Kickin and Hoppy continued to train Picky through their fitness exercises. It had been a tough few days for Picky as she did her best to keep a healthy diet.

Despite all of that, she didn't seem to be getting any healthier. In fact, she only seemed to get even more tired and unhealthy as the days went by. This confused the Smiling Critters because they knew that they were only bringing Picky healthy meals and Kickin and Hoppy have helped her out with her exercises every day. To figure out with the problem was, the Smiling Critters met up at Picky's house to discuss what was going on.

"I don't understand. You're new diet was supposed to help you out! How is it that you aren't getting any healthier?" Bubba wondered.

Picky simply shrugged in response. "Who knows? It is quite the mystery!"

Suddenly, Picky looked down at her cheek to see a tiny bit of frosting on it. She started to panic before licking it off her cheek and staring at everyone with a nervous smile. It was at that moment when her friends glared at her in suspicion.

"Wait, hold on! What was that that you just licked off your cheek?" Kickin asked in suspicion.

"I-It was nothing! Besides, whatever it was, it's gone forever!" Picky said

"There's still more on your other cheek." Bubba pointed out. He then wiped some of it off Picky's cheek before giving it a taste. "Frosting. Just as I thought. Picky, were you eating sweets behind our backs?"

"Wh-What? N-No! I was eating nothing but apples, broccoli, and cabbages like you wanted me to!" Picky lied.

Before Picky could say another word, Bobby got her friends attention.

"Everyone, you might want to take a look at this."

Bobby opened a hidden jar to reveal a bunch of cookies inside. Upon realizing that Picky was hiding junk food from them, the Smiling Critters searched around the house for more potential hiding spots. They found junk food hidden everywhere, whether it was cupcakes hidden at the bottom of kitchen drawers or candy hiding in the attic.

"How did you keep all this junk food a secret from us?" Hoppy couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Are there any other hiding spots we should know about?"

The Smiling Critters soon got their answer when CatNap opened a nearby closet, revealing countless pieces of cakes. This caused them all to topple over, burying the Smiling Critters in an endless supply of cakes. They all popped out of the cakes before giving annoyed glares at Picky.

"Picky, why do you have so much junk food? I thought your new diet was helping you." said Crafty.

"Okay, I lied!" Picky admitted. "I just can't go through with diet or exercises. The sweets are just too delicious to resist. They taste a lot better than the fruits and vegetables!"

DogDay sighed. "They may taste better, but they are not good for you! I'm sorry, but we'll have to get rid of all this junk food!"

"What? No! I won't let you! The sweets are coming with me!"

Before the Smiling Critters could react, Picky grabbed a nearby chocolate cake before running away with it.

"Hey! Don't let her get away!" Hoppy yelled.

It was at that moment when Picky ran out the house with her cake as her friends were giving chase. Picky ran as fast as she could, leading everyone straight into the village.

Throughout the chase, Picky clutched the cake close to her as her friends tried to get the cake away from her. This earned some weirded out glances from the citizens, each of them silently wondering what kind of shenanigans the Smiling Critters got themselves into this time.

The more Picky ran, the more exhausted she started to get to the point where she feels she would pass out any moment. She looked around to notice a pile of crates and barrels. This gave her an idea, so she knocked them over, blocking the Smiling Critters' path. She then ran further into town, leaving the Smiling Critters pondering what to do next.

"We'll never catch her this way! Okay, everyone! New plan! Let's each take a different route through town! One of us has to corner Picky eventually!" DogDay said.

Everyone nodded in agreement before running in various directions. It wasn't long before they were able to catch up with Picky once more. This time, they kept surprising her by jumping out from random corners to grab her. Each time that happened, Picky only barely managed to get away.

As she continued to get away, Picky took notice of a nearby alleyway. Taking her chance, Picky turned a corner and hid in the alleyway, not making a sound. She held her breath in anticipation as she peeked out a corner to see her friends searching for her. None of them could find her, so they decided to search somewhere else, much to Picky's relief.

"Phew, I lost them!" Picky gave a sigh of relief before holding her cake in front of her. "Well, cake, it's just you and me! Now nothing will ever bring us apart! You are almost too beautiful to eat! Well, almost!"

Without wasting another second, Picky began to dig in to the cake, happily enjoying the taste of her snack. However, she was only able to take a few bites when she sensed something behind her. With a nervous gulp, Picky slowly turned around to be greeted by a wide smile.

"Aaah!" Picky screamed, while also making sure not to drop her cake.

After recovering from her shock, Picky realized that it was only CatNap.

"C-CatNap?" Picky stuttered. "I-I don't know how you got here without me noticing, but you are not going to take this cake from me!" Picky turned to run only to feel tired. "Oh no. I can't go to sleep now. I-I"

After all she ate from the cake, Picky wasn't able to keep her energy up and started to feel drowsy. She wasn't able to walk a few steps before she passed out, leaving CatNap surprised that he didn't have to resort to exhaling the red smoke this time. With that, CatNap grabbed Picky with his long tail before he and the rest of his friends took Picky back home.

The next thing Picky knew, she woke up from her bed, looking around confused. After the intense chase, she could barely keep her eyes open. Despite that, she was just able to use what little strength she had left to get out of bed. She made her way to the door when she heard the voices of her friends.

Curious, Picky slowly opened the door and crept downstairs to hear what her friends were saying. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, Picky peeked into her living room to see the Smiling Critters having a conversation about what they should do.

Bubba paced the floor, thinking hard on how to get Picky back on her healthy diet. "I just don't know what to do anymore. Picky just refuses to eat anything healthy."

"And the exercises Hoppy and I are giving Picky aren't doing any good either." Kickin added.

"I wish Picky could see that we are only trying to help her." Bobby sighed. "I know that she loves the sweets, but she needs to understand that too many sweets is a bad thing and she should learn to take care of herself."

"I'm sure we can figure out a way to help her, Bobby." DogDay assured. "I know that she thinks that going through the diet and exercise is a pain to deal with, but hopefully she would understand that we are doing this for her own good because we care about her."

Upon overhearing what her friends were saying, Picky looked down in shame as she felt guilty for her actions. This whole time, her friends did everything they could to help her, and here she was making everything difficult for them. Knowing that she had to make up for this, Picky sneaked into the kitchen without anyone knowing.

"You know, Picky has been asleep for awhile." Hoppy noticed. "Hey, Crafty. Why don't you go upstairs and see how she's going."

"Okay." Crafty agreed before making her way upstairs.

A couple of minutes went by before Crafty ran back to the living room in a panic.

"Everyone, I can't find Picky anywhere! She's not in her bed!" Crafty yelled.

"What?!" The Smiling Critters gasped.

"This isn't good! We have to find Picky! Who knows what-"

DogDay wasn't able to finish his sentence before he and the rest of the Smiling Critters heard rummaging sounds coming from the kitchen. This worried them as they had a feeling that Picky was in the kitchen to eat junk food in secret.

They rushed into the kitchen and were all surprised by what they found. Instead of eating junk food like they were expecting, Picky was gathering ingredients in a bowl to make a salad. She just got finished making her meal when she noticed her friends and waved at them with a friendly smile.

"Hi, guys! Don't mind me! I just got hungry, and now I'm making some lunch for myself!"

It took a moment for DogDay to get over his shock before he said. "P-Picky, are you actually making a salad for yourself?"

Picky nodded. "That's right! I know that I haven't been making things easy for you lately, and I'm really sorry about that. I promise I won't fight you anymore. From now on, I'll follow my diet and even continue my exercises with Kickin and Hoppy!"

"Really? Oh, Picky! You have no idea how much this means to us!" Bobby exclaimed. "We're so happy that you are taking care of your body for a change!"

"Well, I would normally just relax and eat as much junk food as I can, but I now know how important this is for you, so I'm doing it for you guys!" Picky explained.

"Picky, you shouldn't do it for us. You should do it for yourself. After all, having a balanced diet is one of the most important ways to stay healthy." Bubba explained.

"You're right, Bubba! Don't worry guys! I promise I'll work harder than ever to stay healthy!" Picky promised.

For the past couple of weeks, Picky kept her promise as she ate healthy meals and trained with Kickin and Hoppy everyday. It was tough work for Picky at first. She ate fruits and vegetables while still craving her sweets, but pushed herself to continue eating healthy. As for her training with Kickin and Hoppy, Picky quickly got exhausted when she started out, so Kickin and Hoppy took it easy on her by giving her easy training exercises like stretches before gradually making it up to more challenging exercises like weightlifting.

Throughout the weeks, Picky was slowly but surely improving her health. With every passing day, Picky started to regain her energy and was even able to participate in fun outside games with her friends once again. This went on until the Smiling Critters went outside for a picnic. Just like the rest of her friends, Picky set out some healthy snacks on the picnic blanket. She also had a few cookies too, but she made sure it wasn't too much.

"I can't believe that it has already been 3 weeks since I got on my new diet." Picky commented before taking a bite of an apple.

"And you were amazing, Picky!" DogDay exclaimed. "You have improved a lot since then!"

"Not to mention that you even completed all of the exercises Hoppy and I gave you!" Kickin smiled.

"I'm so proud!" Hoppy brushed away a tear of joy from her eye.

"Thanks, everyone! I couldn't have done it without you!" Picky smiled.

"We were all happy to help! It's nice to see you taking care of yourself again!" Crafty smiled.

The hours went by before everyone finished their meals as they laid down on the picnic blanket, watching the clouds of the sunny day together. After a few moments of relaxation, Picky sat up from her long rest before she thought of an idea.

"Hey, what would you guys say to a game of tag?" Picky asked, now having enough energy to play outdoor games.

"Alright! Now you're talking!" Hoppy exclaimed, immediately standing up. "I'll be it first! Better hurry because I'm coming for you!"

With that, everyone participated in the game as they all ran in various directions. Throughout the game, everyone tagged one another as they all had fun, especially Picky. She forgot how much fun it was to engage in outdoor activities with her friends. If holding back on the junk food meant Picky could spent more happy moments with her friends, then it was all worth it in the end.