AN: So, this is going to be a very special chapter of Adventures of the Smiling Critters. Just like what I said all the way back in my Valentines Day chapter, I will be introducing Lily Fox, a Smiling Critters OC of my friend, megasuperstar360x! This will be my first time depicting someone else's OC in one of my stories, so I hope you like it!
Chapter 13
The Fox Critter
The wind blew through the grass and leaves as Kickin and Hoppy stood in the middle of an empty grass field. The two of them stared at one another intensely with neither one of them daring to break eye contact. This went on for what felt like hours before Kickin broke the silence.
"So, it is that time of year, isn't it?"
"Yeah! Hope your ready because I'm not holding anything back!" Hoppy replied, maintaining her intense stare.
Soon, the seemingly never ending stare off came to an abrupt end when Kickin and Hoppy turned away from each other and reached into a couple of bags by their sides. Here, they took out some water balloons, a couple of pies, some whoopie cushions, and a bunch of other pranking related items.
Once he took the last of his pranking supplies out, Kickin turned back to Hoppy and said, "You might as well give up now, Hoppy! I'm surely going to win our prank war this year!"
"In your dreams! Our prank war may have ended in a draw last year, but I know I will beat you this time!" Hoppy replied with a confident grin.
Before Kickin and Hoppy could start their prank war, they were able to hear Bubba's voice in the distance. "Kickin! Hoppy! Are you there?"
"Oh, shoot! It's Bubba! Quick, hide everything before he sees them!" Hoppy whispered.
With that, Kickin and Hoppy gathered all of their pranking supplies and put them right in the bags. It wasn't long before Bubba showed up to see Kickin and Hoppy hiding the bags behind their backs as they were both casually whistled, as if nothing was going on.
"Oh, there you are!" Bubba approached Kickin and Hoppy. "Listen, there is something important that I need to tell you!"
Bubba's sudden arrival gave Kickin and Hoppy an idea. The two friends gazed at one another before nodding in agreement as they knew what the other was thinking.
"Well, of course, Bubba! Kickin and I would be more than happy to listen!" Hoppy pretended to be genuine as she and Kickin led Bubba to a nearby bench.
"But you must be really tired from coming all the way here. Why don't you take a seat and rest for awhile?" Kickin asked.
Bubba thought about Kickin and Hoppy's offer before deciding that it might be nice to relax for awhile.
"You know, you're probably right. It did take me awhile to find you two. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a couple of moments to sit down." Bubba guessed.
As Kickin and Hoppy led Bubba to the bench, he sat down for a well earned rest. It was at that moment when a farting noise can be heard, causing Kickin and Hoppy to burst into laughter. This caused Bubba to let out an annoyed sigh as he just realized that he just got pranked. Reaching from under him, Bubba took out the whoopie cushion that he just sat on.
"Let me guess. It's Prank Day, isn't it?" Bubba guessed.
"Yeah! Sorry!" Hoppy apologized while still laughing. "You just happened to be here at the perfect time for us! Since it was my whoopie cushion, that means round one goes to me!"
"Fine! I'll let you have that one, but don't get too comfortable! I still have plenty more pranks planned!" Kickin replied.
Bubba rolled his eyes in response. "Anyway, I came here to tell you that Crafty is gathering all of our friends to meet her because she has an important announcement."
At the mention of Crafty gathering everyone together, Kickin and Hoppy immediately stopped laughing before staring at Bubba in confusion.
"Wait, hold on! Did you just say Crafty was the one who has an important announcement?" Kickin asked, surprised that Crafty was the one who set up this meeting.
"Don't you mean DogDay has an important announcement?" Hoppy asked as she was used to DogDay being the one who makes announcements.
"I'm just as surprised about this as you two are. If Crafty is going through all this trouble to talk to us, it must be important. Let's hurry. We don't want to keep everyone waiting." Bubba replied.
Knowing that they would have to put their prank war on hold for now, Kickin and Hoppy followed Bubba towards the meeting place. Here, everyone gathered around as DogDay stood in front of everyone with Crafty by his side.
"Thanks for coming, everyone! You are all probably wondering why you are here. Well, Crafty has something important that she would like to tell us." DogDay announced before turning to Crafty. "Well, go ahead, Crafty. You can make your announcement now."
"Thank you, DogDay." Crafty stepped forward before taking a deep breath. "Hello, everyone. I wanted to gather you all here to announce that Lily Fox is coming to pay us a visit."
Having never heard that name before, the Smiling Critters stared at one another in confusion.
"Who?" All of the Smiling Critters except for Bobby asked.
"Oh, right! Now I remember!" Bobby walked over to Crafty's side as she explained everything. "Lily Fox is Crafty's girlfriend. Do you remember when I tried to find Crafty a boyfriend on Valentines Day? Well, it turned out she already had Lily as a girlfriend." Bobby then turned to Crafty with an excited smile. "Crafty, this is wonderful! I can't wait to finally meet her!"
With a shy smile, Crafty replied, "I'm glad that you are excited. I just hope you would all like her."
"Why wouldn't we? If she's your girlfriend, I'm sure we would all enjoy her company!" Picky assured.
"Picky is right! I'm sure we'll get along well! When will we meet her, anyway?" Bubba asked.
"She said to meet her at a nearby bus stop." Crafty explained. "Her bus should be here in about 30 minutes."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go meet a new friend!" DogDay exclaimed.
With that, the Smiling Critters followed Crafty to the nearby bus stop Lily told her to meet her at. Even though they only had to wait for a couple of minutes, it felt like several hours for Crafty.
Throughout the wait, Crafty couldn't help but feel nervous as she looked down in silence. This didn't go unnoticed by CatNap though as he noticed that Crafty started to sweat a little at the idea of her friends meeting her girlfriend.
"Let me guess. You are nervous about introducing us to your girlfriend, are you?" CatNap guessed.
Crafty nodded. "Maybe a little."
"Hey, don't sweat it, Crafty! If this Lily person is your girlfriend, there is no reason why the rest of us can't get along with her!" Kickin assured.
Hearing this helped Crafty calm down as she took a deep breath. After a couple more minutes, the Smiling Critters were able to make out a bus in the distance. It was at that moment when Crafty realized that it won't be long before her friends would finally meet her girlfriend.
The bus came to a stop at the sign before the door opened. The Smiling Critters watched in anticipation as a fox critter stepped down from the steps. The fox had fur that was brown in color, along with pointy ears with a curly strand of hair in between. Just like the Smiling Critters, the fox wore a pendant around her neck, this one being a pendant of a yin yang symbol.
Once the fox got off the bus, she turned to the bus driver and waved goodbye with a friendly smile.
"Thanks for the ride!" The fox waved goodbye.
"Lily!"
Upon hearing a familiar voice, the fox let out an excited gasp as she was face to face with Crafty.
"Crafty!" Lily ran forward as she and Crafty embraced each other in a hug. "It's so wonderful to see you again! I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, Lily!" Crafty smiled.
As he saw the two friends hug, DogDay couldn't help but chuckle at this heartwarming moment. Since he was finally ready to meet Lily, he cleared his throat to get Crafty's attention.
"Oh, that's right!" Crafty took Lily's paw before introducing her to her friends. "Lily, I would like you to meet my friends, the Smiling Critters! There's DogDay, CatNap, Bubba Bubbaphant, Picky Piggy, Bobby BearHug, Hoppy Hopscotch, and Kickin Chicken!"
Happy that she finally got to meet Crafty's friends, Lily happily greeted them with a wave. "Hello, everyone! My name is Lily Fox! Crafty told me a lot about you!"
Before anyone could react, Bobby let out an excited squeal before giving Lily a tight hug.
"Oh, I'm so happy that Crafty has a girlfriend who makes her happy! It's so wonderful to finally meet you!"
"Uh, likewise!" Lily smiled in a strained voice from how unexpectedly tight Bobby's hug was.
It took a couple of moments for the Smiling Critters to eventually pry Bobby off of Lily. With everyone now introduced, DogDay decided to welcome Lily.
"Well Lily, we are all happy to finally meet you! Let me be the first to welcome you to our village!"
"Thank you! I look forward to getting to knowing all of you better!" Lily smiled.
As everyone got to know Lily better, Picky just realized something. "Hey, Crafty. I just realized that you never told us how you and Lily met in the first place."
"Oh, right!" Crafty remembered. "Well, it's kind of a long story. Lily and I met several months ago."
It then cuts to a flashback of the events from several months ago. Crafty was in town, buying art supplies for her latest painting. She was on her way home before a couple of critters stood in her way.
The two critters were a couple of bull critters. One of the bulls was short and dark-brown in color, while the other was taller and had a dark shade of blue. Seeing them caused Crafty to back away in fear as she knew exactly who they were.
"Oh no. Not Brock and Benny." Crafty trembled in fear.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't our favorite unicorn!" The smaller bull named, Benny taunted.
"What are you doing out here?" The bigger bull named, Brock asked. "Shouldn't you be inside, playing with your little dollies?"
Wanting nothing more than to get away from the two of them, Crafty replied. "I was just here to get some art supplies for my latest drawing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should get going."
Crafty was about to leave before the bulls blocked her path.
"Not so fast! You're not going anywhere!" Brock said with a sinister grin.
This caused Crafty to back away in fear. Right when she wasn't looking, Benny sneaked up behind her and held her back by forcing her hooves behind her back, causing her to drop all of her art supplies.
While Benny held Crafty back, Brock proceeded to kick a paint can down, splattering its contents all over the construction paper Crafty bought.
"No, don't!" Crafty yelled. "You are ruining everything!"
"Oh, we'll ruin a lot more than that! Let's see what else you have!" Brock looked through Crafty's bag before taking a small pink pen. "What do we have here?"
"Please, stop! That is my very first pen from my childhood! It means so much to me!" Crafty began to tear up.
"This dumb thing is special to you?" Brock laughed. "You need to stop playing with baby toys! I'm going to do you a favor by smashing it to pieces!"
At that moment, Brock threw the pen to the ground, much to Crafty's horror. She wanted to do anything to save her pen, but Benny tightened his grip on her hooves so she won't interfere. Brock was about to stomp on the pen when an angry voice could be heard.
"Hey!"
Everyone brought their attention to where the voice came from to see Lily Fox glaring at the two bulls.
"Leave her alone!" Lily demanded.
The two bulls simply laughed in response.
"Who is that little fox?" Benny asked, unable to control his laughter.
Brock then approached Lily, standing tall above her. "Care to repeat that?"
Lily's glare intensified as she started to lose her patience with the bull. "I think you already heard what I just said! Are you deaf, or just plain stupid?!"
Angered by Lily's insult, Brock began to growl. "Listen here, fox! I don't know who you are, but you'd better mind your own business, or that pen won't be the only thing I would break."
Unable to tolerate this bull any longer, Lily took Brock by surprise by grabbing him by the horns with surprising strength. She then pulled down, forcing Brock to look down at her eye level. Here, he was met by the furious gaze of Lily's eyes.
"Let me get one thing straight! I cannot stand bullies! Now, if I see either one of you bully this poor unicorn one more time, I promise I won't rest until I hunt both of you down! Do I make myself clear?" Lily yelled.
Lily's threat caused Brock to gulp as he was already frightened by this little fox. "Y-Y-Yes, crystal clear! Benny, let's get out of here!"
With that, Benny immediately let go of Crafty as he and Brock ran as far away from Lily as possible. Now that the two bullies were gone, Lily picked up Crafty's pen before approaching Crafty.
"Here you go!" Lily handed Crafty her pen with a friendly smile. "Sorry if I scared you with how I dealt with those jerks. I hope they didn't hurt you."
Crafty stared at Lily in stunned silence. She had only just met this fox, and she had already done so much for her. After getting over her surprise, Crafty grabbed the pen as she gave a grateful smile.
"Th-Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me!"
"It was no big deal! I just saw you in trouble and knew I have to do something! My name is Lily Fox, by the way! What's your name?" Lily asked.
"My name is CraftyCorn!"
It then jumps back to the present, where Crafty just got finished telling her story to her friends. By the time Crafty was done with her story, everyone was left surprised by how brave Lily was from standing up to an enormous bull.
"Lily and I have done a lot together since then, and I guess after a few months, we developed feelings for each other and asked each other out." Crafty said with a shy smile.
Hearing the story left Bobby in tears. "That was so beautiful! You two were made for each other!"
Hearing this caused Crafty and Lily to blush as they stared at each other with shy smiles. Once they were all introduced to Lily, Kickin decided that it was time to get back to the prank war.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Lily. We'd love to stay longer, but Hoppy and I have to get back to Prank Day. Let's go, Hoppy!" Kickin said as he and Hoppy got back to their prank war.
"Prank Day?" Lily turned to Crafty with a confused look.
Crafty nodded, "Yes, it's something Kickin and Hoppy like to do every year. Anyway, why don't we let my friends get to know you better? I'm sure they would be happy to learn more about you!"
Throughout the day, Lily spent time with Crafty's friends as she got to know them better. She had a fun time with the Smiling Critters, whether DogDay was showing her around town, Bubba showing Lily all of his books and inventions, or even Lily helping Picky bake snacks for the Smiling Critters.
While everyone was waiting for the snacks to cool down, Lily couldn't help but notice Kickin and Hoppy thinking of their next prank. That was when the fox realized that Kickin and Hoppy were Crafty's only friends that she hadn't gotten to know yet. She soon approached Kickin and Hoppy as she greeted them with a wave.
"Hello!"
At that moment, Kickin and Hoppy brought their attention to Lily before they waved back.
"Oh, hey, Lily!" Kickin greeted. "What's up?"
"Nothing much! Since I introduced myself to everyone else, I just thought I'd get to know you two better as well!" Lily replied.
"Well, we're flattered! Here's what you need to know about me and Kickin. We're two best buds who like to get competitive over every sport and play some pranks on others, like we're doing right now." Hoppy explained. "What about you, Lily? What are you like?"
"Hmm. Well, I enjoy having adventures with others, I defend everyone from bullies, and I'm fluent in French!" Lily listed off the things she is good at.
"Wow! That's impressive!" Hoppy complimented.
"Yeah! Is there anything you can't do?" Kickin asked.
"Only that I can't stay awake when watching a western movie!" Lily joked.
This earned a couple of laughs from Kickin and Hoppy. After speaking to Lily, they were starting to see why Crafty liked her so much.
"So, what are you two up to, anyway?" Lily asked.
"We're just trying to prank someone with this whoopie cushion." Hoppy showed Lily the whoopie cushion. "We're going to put it on a random seat, and whoever sits on it will be the latest victim of our newest prank!"
"It's going to be hilarious!" Kickin laughed. "Oh, by the way, Hoppy and I would really appreciate it if you don't tell anyone what we're up to."
In response, Lily made a zipping motion across her mouth. "My lips are sealed!"
"Great, thanks! Let's go, Hoppy!"
With that, Kickin and Hoppy left to put their prank into action. Little did they know that Lily had plans of her own as well. Right when Kickin and Hoppy placed the whoopie cushion on a seat, Lily swiped it right when they weren't looking. She then sneaked across the room and placed the whoopie cushion right on Kickin's seat.
Unaware of what Lily did, Kickin sat down in his chair, waiting for his prank to work. The moment he sat down, a farting noise can be heard as he fell victim to his own prank. Surprised by this, Kickin reached for the whoopie cushion under his seat, silently wondering what when wrong. Before long, Lily returned to her seat, right next to CraftyCorn.
"Oh, there you are, Lily! Where were you?" Crafty asked.
"Oh, you know! Just hanging out with Kickin and Hoppy! Maybe even messing with them a little!" Lily gave a vague answer.
Lily's stunt remained unnoticed by everyone, except for CatNap, who chuckled at what happened.
"That fox is so mischievous! I like the way she thinks!" CatNap said to himself.
After getting to know the Smiling Critters better, Lily decided to take a relaxing walk with Crafty. The fox looked around to see the sky all bright and sunny and critters happily spending time together. As she got to know more about this place, Lily could see why Crafty loved living her so much.
"So, what do you think of my friends, Lily?" Crafty asked.
"I think they are all great, Crafty!" Lily replied with a smile. "I can see why you are friends with them!"
"Yes, I'm so lucky to have friends like them!" Crafty stopped in her tracks when she saw Kickin and Hoppy hiding behind a bush. "Oh, look! There are Kickin and Hoppy! I wonder what they are up to now."
With that, Crafty took Lily's paw before leading her to her two friends. Kickin and Hoppy were so distracted that they didn't notice Crafty standing behind them. Curious with what they had planned, Crafty tapped Kickin and Hoppy on the shoulders, causing them both to jump in surprise. They both turned around to see that it was only Crafty.
"Oh, hey, Crafty!" Hoppy waved.
"Um, hi. What are you and Kickin doing?" Crafty raised a confused eyebrow.
"Oh, you two are going to love this! Hoppy and I are just about ready to pull off my best prank yet!" Kickin gloated.
Hoppy glared at Kickin at the mention of this being his prank. "What do you mean, your prank? It was my idea!"
"Well, I was the one who set it up!" Kickin argued. "Look, we'll discuss it later. In the meantime, why don't you two check it out?" Kickin motioned Crafty and Lily to step forward.
Curious, Crafty and Lily joined Kickin and Hoppy behind the bush as they got a closer look at the prank. Here, they were able to make out a rope with one end tied to a tree branch, and the other tied as a snare trap that anyone can step into.
"So, we're waiting for a critter to step into our trap. The moment they trigger the trap, the tree branch would launch them up in the air and into that lake over there! It would be hilarious!" Kickin laughed.
As funny as Kickin and Hoppy found the prank, Lily didn't feel the same way. Their previous prank seemed innocent enough, but she felt that someone could get seriously hurt with their latest prank.
"That doesn't sound like a prank to me. It sounds kind of mean." Lily pointed out.
Confused, Hoppy replied, "What? I don't see what the big deal is. The critter would only get soaking wet. It's supposed to be hilarious!"
"And would if that critter doesn't know how to swim. It wouldn't be hilarious if they drowned." Lily explained.
Both, Kickin and Hoppy stared at one another as they realized that they really didn't think this prank through.
"Okay, I see your point. Maybe we can wait for some fish critter to show up instead. I'm sure they can breathe underwater." Kickin replied.
Lily shook her head. "No, I'm not going to risk letting an innocent critter get hurt by your prank."
At that moment, Lily walked over to the rope, leaving Kickin and Hoppy silently wondering what she was planning. She then took the rope and pulled it, causing it to get untied from the tree.
"Oh, come on!" Hoppy complained. "I'm sure we could have found at least one fish critter to prank!"
Now more frustrated with Lily than ever, Kickin yelled, "What is your problem?! Do you have any idea how hard Hoppy and I worked on that prank? It was going to be funny!"
Lily rolled her eyes before she retorted, "Oh, sure! Because sending a critter to the hospital is so hilarious!"
"Hey, you just mind your own business, you dumb fox!" Kickin yelled.
Once she realized that things were starting to escalate between Kickin and Lily, Crafty stood between them to help them calm down.
"Okay, why don't we all take a moment to calm down?" Crafty suggested.
As Crafty said that, Lily took a deep breath as she started to relax. "You're right, Crafty. Sorry I almost got carried away."
"It's okay, Lily! Why don't I show you more of the town? I'm sure there are places you haven't seen yet!"
With that, Crafty and Lily walked away, leaving Kickin and Hoppy alone. Kickin walked over to where his trap was set up, still frustrated with what Lily had done.
"Well, that's a bummer. Maybe we can think of another prank." Hoppy suggested.
"Actually, I think I have a better idea. Let's change the rules! Whichever one of us is able to prank Lily is the winner of the prank war." Kickin suggested.
Surprised by Kickin's idea, Hoppy replied, "Kickin, are you sure? I don't think Crafty would like that."
"Relax! It's all in good fun! I'm sure even Crafty can find appreciation in a good prank."
"I suppose you're right." Hoppy agreed. "I'm in!"
Meanwhile, Crafty and Lily walked through town, holding each others paw as they admired the sights. While they were walking together, they began to catch up with each other by telling each other stories of what was going on in their lives.
While Lily told Crafty about all the time she spent in Foxville, Crafty told Lily about all of the adventures she had with her friends.
"And that's how we defeated the dragon and saved the kingdom!" Crafty finished one of her stories.
"Wow! That's amazing! You were so brave to stand up to that dragon!" Lily complimented.
Crafty couldn't help but blush with a shy smile. "We were just playing the board game, Wizards and Dragons, but thank you for the compliment! If you wanted to see something scary, you should have been there when we had that sleepover at DogDay's house."
Crafty was about to tell Lily about another story before Lily suddenly stopped and held up her paw.
"I'm so sorry for interrupting, Crafty. Can you excuse me for one second?"
Suddenly, a couple of water balloons were flying right towards Lily. Thankfully, she was ready for it as she easily caught them in her paws without even turning around. This left Kickin and Hoppy in stunned silence as Lily turned to them with a smirk.
"Nice try!"
"Aw, man! How did you know?" Hoppy asked after getting over her shock.
In response, Lily pointed towards her fox ears. "I heard you two coming a mile away! Better luck next time!"
As Lily continued her walk with Crafty, Kickin tried to comprehend what just happened. Even when he tried to sneak up on Lily, she still made him look like an idiot.
"Oh, you're not getting away that easily, Lily Fox! I'll make sure to wipe that smug look off your face." Kickin muttered under his breath.
Throughout the next couple of hours, Kickin and Hoppy did everything they could to hit Lily with at least one prank. Unfortunately for them, Lily was able to outsmart both of them at every turn. When Hoppy tried to throw a pie in Lily's face, Lily simply dodged out of the way with ease before the pie hit Kickin in the face instead. When Kickin attempted to pour a bag of itching power over Lily, she cut a small hole in the bag right when Kickin wasn't looking, causing the bag to tear open, dumping all of the itching power all over him.
Every prank that failed only made Kickin more and more desperate to prank Lily. This went on until it started to get on Lily's nerves. Seeing that Lily had enough of the pranks, Crafty decided that it was time to confront Kickin and Hoppy. She looked behind a nearby bush to see the two of them planning their next prank. At that moment, Crafty cleared her throat, startling Kickin and Hoppy.
"Oh, Crafty! What a coincidence seeing you here!" Kickin said with a nervous smile.
"Kickin and I are definitely not planning to prank Lily, if that's what your thinking!" Hoppy lied, feeling just as nervous as Kickin.
Crafty simply glared at them, not believing them for a second. "Kickin. Hoppy. I know that you have been spending all day trying to prank Lily. Can you please stop it? I haven't spent time with Lily in a long time and this day is really special to me."
It was at this point when Hoppy realized that Crafty was right. She couldn't help but feel guilty for pulling all those pranks when all Crafty wanted was to spend the day with her girlfriend.
"You're right, Crafty. Sorry for bothering you two." Hoppy apologized.
"Yeah, I promise Hoppy and I will leave you two alone." Kickin promised.
In response, Crafty gave a grateful smile. "Thank you! Maybe Lily and I can spend time with you later so you can officially be friends with her!"
At that moment, Crafty turned to leave with Lily once more. Once he was sure that Crafty, and especially Lily were out of earshot, Kickin whispered into Hoppy's ear.
"Okay, Hoppy. I think I have the perfect idea to prank Lily."
"Wh-What?!" Hoppy couldn't believe what she heard. "But Kickin, we promised to leave them alone."
"Look, I know what we said, but I'm sure that they would find our prank to be hilarious!" Kickin assured.
"I don't know."
"Don't worry about it, Hoppy. I promise this will be our last prank and we'll be done! Are you in?"
As much as Hoppy didn't like the sound of it, she supposed one last prank couldn't hurt. "I guess so."
Meanwhile, Crafty and Lily ended their walk in the woods as the two of them sat against a nearby tree. Tired from the long walk, Crafty decided to take a rest. She was so sleepy, she ended up leaning her head against Lily's shoulder, causing Lily to blush. Lily didn't mind though as she always felt that Crafty looked so cute when she was asleep.
Little did the two of them know that Kickin and Hoppy were sitting on a tree branch high above them, getting ready for their latest prank. The two of them were pulling on a rope that was tied to a large bucket of water until the bucket was hanging right above Lily.
"Are you sure you still want to do this Kickin? I really think they just want to be left alone." Hoppy pointed out.
As he gazed down at the adorable sight of Crafty leaning against Lily, even he was starting to have second thoughts on his plan. Despite that, he had gone too far to quit now.
"Uh, yeah! It's just a harmless prank!" Kickin said, even though deep down, he was wondering if he should still go through with this. "We're just, uh, waiting for the right moment, that's all!"
Lily was about to fall asleep herself before she began to feel Crafty shake. Concerned, Lily brought her attention over to Crafty to see that she was having a nightmare. A soft whimper escaped from Crafty as she was trembling in fear. It was at that moment when Lily tried to wake Crafty from her nightmare by gently rubbing her paw against Crafty's head.
The unicorn slowly opened her eyes before looking around, confused. The moment she stared into Lily's eyes, Crafty felt safe once again.
"Oh, hi, Lily. What happened?" Crafty asked, still feeling sleepy.
"It looked like you had a pretty bad nightmare. I had to wake you up." Lily explained.
"Oh, right." Crafty remembered. "Sorry if I scared you."
With a gentle smile, Lily brushed her paw across Crafty's mane. "You have nothing to apologize for. Would you like to talk about your nightmare?"
Touched by the offer, Crafty gave a grateful smile. She felt so lucky to have a wonderful girlfriend like Lily to listen to all of her worries.
"Well, do you remember when my friends and I went on that adventure in CatNap's dream? I kind of had a nightmare where I relived the moment where Alternate DogDay got killed." Crafty paused as memories of that horrific event came flooding back to her. "B-But it's okay. Alternate DogDay sacrificed himself to save us, and I'm sure he would have wanted us to be happy."
Even though Crafty did her best to stay strong, Lily could tell that she was doing her best not to cry. Lily had been Crafty's girlfriend long enough to know when she needed to let out her negative emotions.
Taking Crafty's hoof, Lily spoke to Crafty in a gentle tone. "Crafty, do you remember what we talked about?"
Crafty teared up before she replied, "I know. It's okay to cry. I just wish I could have saved Alternate DogDay. If I did, he could have been here with all of us."
It was at this point when Crafty was unable to hold back her tears. She then embraced Lily in a tight hug as she cried softly against Lily's chest. In response, Lily gave her a comforting hug and continued to brush her paw across Crafty's mane to make her feel better.
Back with Kickin and Hoppy, Kickin watched the touching moment between Crafty and Lily before he began to feel guilty. All Crafty and Lily want is to be alone together, and here he was ruining their day.
"You know what, Hoppy? You're right. I can't go through with this! Help me pull this bucket away from Lily!"
Happy that Kickin had a change of heart, she helped him pull the bucket back. Unfortunately, they ended up pulling the rope a little too hard, causing the bucket to swing out of control.
"What? No, stop!" Kickin yelled, trying to regain control over the bucket.
That only made things worse as the bucket smashed against the tree, breaking it into a bunch of wooden pieces. The remains of the bucket fell onto a bunch of tree branches down below, causing them to snap from the tree.
It wasn't long before Crafty and Lily were able to hear the commotion from above. They both looked up and were horrified to see countless planks of wood descending down on them. Thinking fast, Crafty pushed Lily out of the way. Unable to comprehend what just happened, all Lily could do was watch in horror as Crafty got buried under the planks of wood.
"CRAFTY!"
Without wasting a second, Lily ran towards the wood that Crafty was under. Her mind filled with fears and worries as she silently hoped that Crafty wasn't seriously hurt, or worse. One by one, Lily threw the planks of wood to the side until she was able to see Crafty. The impact of the wood caused Crafty to get covered in cuts and bruises. Sensing Lily's presence, Crafty slowly opened her eyes.
"L-Lily?"
Lily's eyes welled up with tears before she hugged Crafty tightly. "Crafty, you're okay!"
At that moment, Kickin and Hoppy climbed down the tree branches before rushing towards their friend. They both noticed that Crafty was in bad shape, but thankfully still alive.
"Crafty, we are so sorry! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Kickin kneeled down next to Crafty.
"It was just supposed to be a harmless prank!" Hoppy explained.
As she heard what Kickin and Hoppy said, Lily's relieved expression turned to a look of anger. "Wait, it was you two who did this to her?!"
"We didn't mean for it to happen. It was an accident." Kickin explained.
Despite how much her friends wanted to explain themselves, Crafty didn't want to hear it as she glared at them with a hurt and betrayed expression.
"I can't believe you two! All of wanted was for you to leave me and Lily alone so we can have a peaceful day together! You couldn't even let me have that! You care about your stupid prank war more than you care about me!" Crafty snapped.
"What?! Crafty, no! That's not true!" Hoppy assured.
"Here, let us help you back up." Kickin offered as he and Hoppy offered their hands.
Letting her anger get the better of her, Crafty slapped their hands away. "Get away from me!"
Despite her injuries, Crafty got up from the ground before running away in tears. As Crafty ran deeper into the woods, Lily reached a paw out for her, but she was already too far gone. Once Crafty left, Lily turned to Kickin and Hoppy with pure hatred. Before either of them could react, Lily ran towards them with blinding fast speed and pinned them both to a nearby tree.
It was at this point when Kickin and Hoppy were more terrified of Lily than ever. She was surprisingly a lot stronger than she looked as she maintained her tight grip on the two of them. Her white pupils shrunk down into a couple of vertical slits as she bared sharp teeth, as if she was getting ready to attack.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you two apart this very second!" Lily threatened as she was just one second away from going feral on Kickin and Hoppy.
Kickin and Hoppy stared at one another in terror as they knew that one wrong response could get them both mauled.
"L-Look. I get it. We messed up." Hoppy stuttered.
"It was an accident. It was just supposed to be a funny joke." Kickin defended.
This only caused Lily to tighten her grip on them. "Hurting Crafty is your sick idea of a funny joke?!"
"No, we only meant to cover you in water! Not this! Please don't hurt us!" Kickin shut his eyes tightly, now more terrified of Lily than ever.
Upon seeing how scared Kickin and Hoppy were, Lily's expression softened. As much as she wanted revenge for how they hurt Crafty, she knew it wouldn't fix anything.
With a frustrated sigh, Lily let Kickin and Hoppy go as she decided that they weren't worth it. Without another word, Lily turned around as she walked deeper in the woods.
"Wait, where are you going?" Hoppy called out for Lily.
"I'm going to find Crafty." Lily answered, without even turning to face Hoppy.
"Good idea! We'll help you find her!" Kickin offered.
Lily stopped in her tracks before turning to Kickin and Hoppy with a glare. "No! I'll find her myself!"
"What? Crafty is our friend too! You think you're the only one who cares about her?!" Hoppy argued.
"I clearly care about her more than you two do! Why Crafty chose you two to be her friends, I will never know!" Lily snapped before taking a moment to calm down. "You know, despite everything, I hoped we could have been friends, but after what you did to Crafty, I don't see that happening. You two are nothing more than a couple of bullies."
Not wanting to waste anymore time on Kickin and Hoppy, Lily began her trek through the woods alone. Throughout her walk, Lily called out for Crafty but didn't get a response. The deeper she traveled in the woods, the more worried she got for Crafty.
It got to a point where she didn't even know where she was anymore. She looked around, but there was nothing but trees everywhere. This caused Lily to get more and more stressed about her situation.
Before long, Lily began to panted heavily as she began to experience flashbacks of her traumatic childhood on the day she lost her parents. Shutting her eyes tightly, Lily tried to calm down by taking a couple of deep breaths.
"Just calm down, Lily. Don't forget that CraftyCorn needs you." Lily told herself. "Oh, Crafty. I should have been the one to push you out of the way."
After taking a moment to calm down, Lily looked around for any signs of Crafty. Unfortunately, every part of the woods looked the same. She was considering getting some help from the Smiling Critters before a long purple tail suddenly descended and wrapped itself around Lily.
"Huh? What the? Aaaah!"
Lily let out a scream when the tail lifted her up in the air. Here, she was face to face with CatNap, who was resting on a tree branch with a calm smile.
"Hello, Lily Fox." CatNap calmly greeted.
"Uh, hi." Lily replied, surprised by the presence of the purple cat. "Your name is CatNap, right?"
CatNap nodded. "That is correct. I have seen you wandering through these woods, and I thought we could have a chat."
With that, CatNap sat Lily next to him before he unwrapped his tail from her body.
"So, what brings you out here?" CatNap asked.
"I'm hear to find Crafty." Lily answered as her anger returned, thinking back to what happened. "She ran away in tears after Kickin and Hoppy went too far with their prank. Why are you and the others even friends with them? They come up with these mean pranks without thinking of the consequences."
CatNap gave an understanding nod. "Yes, I agree that their pranks can be a little annoying from time to time. There was this one time when I was sleeping peacefully and they decided to spray me with water." As CatNap told his story, he turned to Lily with a sly grin. "Can I tell you a secret? After they rudely woke me up from my nap, I may or may not have gotten a little payback on them by giving them nightmares. One where Hoppy had all of her soccer balls destroyed and another where Kickin broke his legs to where he would be unable to play sports for weeks."
Upon hearing this, Lily placed a paw over her mouth as she did her best not to laugh.
"Those dreams must have really terrified them!"
It wasn't long before CatNap dropped his smile as spoke in a more serious demeanor.
"Listen, Lily. I know that you are upset with Kickin and Hoppy for what they did to Crafty, but I'm sure they never meant to hurt her. You know that, right?" CatNap asked to which Lily gave a reluctant nod. "Just because they made a bad choice, that doesn't make them bad critters. It just makes them really, really, really stupid. When you find Crafty, perhaps you can go back to Kickin and Hoppy and try to see them the way the rest of us do. Do you think you can give them a second chance?"
Lily couldn't lie. She was still angry with Kickin and Hoppy for their actions, but if there was still a chance to be friends with them and make Crafty happy, she was willing to take it.
"I'll think about it."
Meanwhile, Crafty was alone in the woods, cleaning her wounds to the best of her ability. Once she was healed, Crafty looked around to realize how lost she was, so she let out a depressed sigh.
"I shouldn't have ran away like that." Crafty said to herself. "Lily must be really worried about me. I have to find her and apologize for worrying her."
With that, Crafty stood up and tried to retrace her steps in hopes of reuniting with Lily. She didn't get far before she heard rustling from nearby. Startled, she turned around, but couldn't see anything.
"L-Lily? Is that you?"
Instead of a reply, Crafty was met by the sounds of giant footsteps. The footsteps got closer and closer until Crafty was able to see a mysterious figure hiding in the shadows. She was unable to see what the mysterious figure looked like, apart from its white eyes and wide smile. Raising its paw, the figure got ready to slash at Crafty, causing her to let out a terrified scream.
The scream was so loud, Lily was able to hear it in the distance.
"Crafty?!"
It was at this point when Lily knew that Crafty was in danger, so she leaped down from the tree branch. Without even giving CatNap a chance to catch up, Lily ran deep into the woods, determined to save Crafty no matter what.
As she was being chased, Crafty ran as far as she can with the creature behind her, tearing down trees. The poor unicorn only got more and more frightened until she came across a dead end. As the creature got closer, Crafty shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the worst.
Just when the creature was close enough, things took an unexpected turn when it suddenly got hit by a rock. It turned around to see Lily, glaring at it in rage.
"Get away from her!"
As brave as she tried to be, all of Lily's courage went away the moment the creature charged at her at a blinding fast speed. Just when the creature was about to slash its claw at her, Hoppy showed up out of nowhere and tackled Lily to the ground, saving her from certain death.
"H-Hoppy?!" Lily was surprised that Hoppy saved her.
Hoppy smiled. "That's right! And I'm not alone!"
It was at that moment when Lily saw Kickin distracting the creature as he threw water balloons at it.
"You mess with my friends, you mess with me!" Kickin yelled.
Angered from the barrage of water balloons, the creature charged at Kickin, who jumped out of the way at the last moment. This caused the creature to smash into a bunch of trees, causing the branches to fall on top of it.
"Whew! That should distract it for awhile! Let's get out of here!" Kickin said as he ran away with his friends.
They didn't get far before the creature shook off the wood as it chased after everyone once more. As Lily held on to Crafty's hoof, she looked behind her to see the creature running straight after her.
"Wh-What is that thing?!" Lily yelled, slowly running out of breath.
"We don't know. We didn't get a good look at it." Hoppy replied before she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Here, everyone was shocked to see that they were standing at the edge of a cliff with a rapid river down below. There was nowhere left for them to run as the footsteps behind them got closer and closer. The Smiling Critters looked down the cliff and back at one another, each of them silently agreeing that they had no choice but to take a leap of faith.
Taking each others hands, the Smiling Critters jumped off the cliff right as the creature emerged from the woods. The creature watched as the Smiling Critters plummeted into the water before it crawled back into the woods. Right when they hit the water, the Smiling Critters swam up for air. It was impossible for them to swim around as they were constantly pushed forward. Soon, Lily took notice of a log nearby and thought of an idea.
"Everyone, quick! Swim towards that log!"
At Lily's command, everyone swam towards the log before holding onto it so they could stay afloat.
"W-We're safe!" Crafty breathed a sigh of relief.
"Meh, I wasn't worried at all!" Hoppy tried to play it cool.
"Sure you weren't!" Kickin rolled his eyes with an amused grin. "Let's just find some dry land so we can get out of here."
As the Smiling Critters were taken further down the river, Crafty couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right. "Um, is it just me, or does it feel like we are going faster?"
The rest of her friends began to feel the same way as the flow of the river slowly but surely got faster. Before long, they were all horrified to see that they were approaching the edge of a waterfall. It was at that moment when Lily felt her eye twitch in frustration before she broke the silence.
"Oh, son of a bi-"
Before Lily could finish her sentence, the group of friends fell off the edge. Right as they fell, Lily grabbed onto a nearby branch while holding on to Crafty's hoof. Crafty, in turn grabbed Hoppy's paw, while Hoppy held onto Kickin, leaving them all dangling from the branch. It was at that moment when they looked down to see sharp jagged rocks waiting for them at the bottom.
With a gulp, Lily desperately tried to hang on to the branch, but it didn't do any good as the branch began to collapse under the combined weight of her and her friends. Right when the branch was about to snap, a long purple tail wrapped itself around Lily's wrist before pulling her and the others to safety. Once they were finally on dry land, Lily looked up to see that CatNap was the one who saved her and her friends.
"CatNap!" Everyone exclaimed, happy to see him.
"Looks like I showed up just in time!" CatNap smiled. "Hope you're all okay!"
"We are thanks to you!" Lily breathed a sigh of relief. "We owe you our lives."
"Think nothing of it! I'm sure you would have done the same for me!" CatNap replied.
Lily nodded before turning to Kickin and Hoppy. "Kickin? Hoppy? I have to thank you for helping me save Crafty too! I'm sorry for calling you bullies earlier."
Kickin shook his head. "No, we're the ones who should apologize for what we did to you and Crafty."
"We're the jerks who went too far with our pranks." Hoppy explained before bringing her attention to Crafty. "Crafty, even if it was an accident, Kickin and I are so sorry we hurt you."
"We know that we can never apologize enough, but we hope you can forgive us, someday." Kickin looked down in shame.
Seeing that Kickin and Hoppy were truly sorry for what they had done, Crafty ran up to them and gave them a hug. "I already have."
After getting over their surprise, Kickin and Hoppy smiled before hugging Crafty back. Despite all that had happened today, Kickin and Hoppy were glad that they not only made up with Crafty, but made a new friend as well.
Throughout the rest of the day, Lily spent the next couple of hours spending time with Crafty's friends. She not only got to know the Smiling Critters better, but she also got to engage in fun activities with them, whether it was playing sports or laying down on the grass, watching the sky with them.
After a few hours, the sun began to set as it was time for Lily to return home. The Smiling Critters gathered at the bus stop to say goodbye to Lily. It had been an eventful day for her as she got to meet so many wonderful friends.
"We're all happy that we got to meet you, Lily!" DogDay smiled. "We hope to see you again real soon!"
"And I'm sure you will!" Lily assured. "I'm really glad I got to be friends with all of you, even if some friendships were more complicated than others." Lily explained, directing her attention to Kickin and Hoppy, who awkwardly looked away from her.
"You know, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I might actually miss you." Kickin admitted.
"I feel the same about you, Kickin." Lily replied. "Just make sure you and Hoppy don't go overboard with your pranks again, alright?"
"You got it! Let's agree to tone it down next year, alright, Kickin?" Hoppy told Kickin.
"I don't think we have a choice. I used up a lot of my water balloons this year, anyway!"
At that moment Kickin took a glance at his bag of pranking supplies before he looked at its contents in confusion.
"That's weird. I could have sworn I had a least one more water balloon in here."
"Looking for this?" Lily asked with a smirk as she revealed that she had been carrying the last water balloon with her tail the whole time.
Before Kickin could react, Lily threw the water balloon right at him, drenching him in water. After getting over his surprise, Kickin couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle.
"You sly fox! Enjoy your victory because I'll get you next time!" Kickin promised.
"Then I look forward to my next visit!" Lily chuckled.
It wasn't long before the bus showed up as it was time for Lily to leave. She said goodbye to everyone before approaching Crafty, who looked as though she was about to cry.
Concerned for her girlfriend, Lily asked, "Crafty, what's wrong?"
"I-I don't want you to go."
Truthfully, Lily didn't want to leave either. She had spent all this time away from Crafty and only got to be with her again for a single day. To make her feel better, Lily pressed her lips against Crafty's in a kiss, to which Crafty kissed Lily back with tears running down her eyes.
Seeing this beautiful moment caused Bobby to burst into tears as she hugged Hoppy tightly for comfort, which made Hoppy feel kind of awkward about the whole situation. It wasn't long before Crafty and Lily broke from the kiss as they stared into each others eyes.
"Don't be sad, Crafty! I promise will see each other again sooner than you think, and always remember, je t'aime!" Lily suddenly spoke to Crafty in French, leaving the Smiling Critters wondering what she just said.
It was at that moment when Crafty wiped the tears from her eyes before she gave Lily a smile. "I love you too, Lily!"
After saying one last goodbye, Lily boarded the bus before it drove down the road. The Smiling Critters soon waved goodbye to Lily as the bus disappeared in the distance. After everything that had happened today, the Smiling Critters were happy that they got to meet a new friend and looked forward to the day they would see her again.