~Later On~

With Only Tomorrow For It To Be Valentine's Day

The Queen And The Villager Helped Prepare Some Items For Their Festival

Inside Poppy's Pod, Poppy And Branch Were Fixing Up Some Treats For The Valentine's Festival Tomorrow.

With Poppy Creating Heart Shaped Cookies In Pink Frosting, And Branch Mixing Up Some Chocolate Fondue With Strawberries In A Bowl.

But The Only Thing On The Villager's Mind, Was The Guilt He Felt From Ruining The Queen's Other Valentine's Days Long Ago

Branch Couldn't Concentrate On Preparing The Chocolate Fondue, As He Kept Looking Up At Poppy Constantly, Thinking Of What Happened In The Past With Her Risking Her Whole Valentine's Day Just To Make Him Happy.

"Little Of That! And Little Of This! Some Sprinkles Thereee! And TADAAAA! VALENTINE'S DAY SUGAR COOKIEESSS!"
Poppy Shouted As Finished Her Baked Sugar Cookies.

"How's It Comin' Over There Branchifer?"
Poppy Asked.

Branch Snapped Out Of It And Went Back To Cooking.
"Oh! Um Great! Just Mixing This Spoon With The Fondue! See!"

Branch Grabbed The Spoon And Ate A Spoon Full Of The Fondue.
"MMMMM! Good Stuff!"

Poppy Went Over To Him And Tilted Her Head Next To His.
"Okay, What's Bothering You?"

"Nothing. What Makes You Think There Is?"
Branch Questioned.

Poppy Used Her Finger And Wiped Some Chocolate Off His Face.
"You Have A Tell"

Branch Scoffed.
"Pfft- That's Ridiculous. I Don't Have A Tell"

Poppy Licked The Chocolate Off Her Finger.
"Mhmmmm"

"I Don't!"
Branch Said.

"Your Right Ear Twitches When You're Bothered By Something"
Poppy Gestured.

"Oh Really? I-I Haven't Noticed.."
Branch Said As His Right Ear Twitched.

"🤨"
Poppy Raised Her Eyebrow At Him.

Branch Grabbed His Right Ear.
"HEH HEH, HAS A MIND OF IT'S OWN"

Poppy Crossed Her Arms, And Tapped Her Foot, Waiting For An Answer From Branch.

Branch Sighed And Put Down The Bowl.
"Fineeee. Hhhh...I'm Still Thinking About What Happened To Your Other Valentine's Days. You Know, With You Not Enjoying Them Cause You Were Busy Making Me Happy"

"Braaanchhh, I Told You It's Fine! That's Back Then, We're In The Present Which Is Now. So Let's Focus On It"
Poppy Told Him.

"But It Still Rings In My Head! You Should Be Able To Have Fun On This Holiday And Not Worry About That Gray Bum Who Was Me"
Branch Said.

Poppy Grabbed Branch's Face.
"BRANCH! Look, Maybe Those Other Valentines Didn't Go As Planned. But What Matters Is, We Get To Spend This One Differently And Together"

Branch Frowned.
"Yeah But I-"

Poppy Put Her Finger On His Lips.
"After All We Been Through Together, We Deserve To Spend This Day Celebrating The Love We Share. Don't We?"

"I Guess.."
Branch Shrugged.

"Hey, C'mon. We're The New Era Of Poppy And Branch! We're More Closer And Our Love Is More Open Than Ever! Just Right Out That Door Where The Love Can Spread"
Poppy Gestured To The Door.

Branch Chuckles.
"You Really Find A Way With Words"

"Learned From The Best"
Poppy Nudged Branch's Elbow.

Branch Nudged Poppy Back As Both Giggled And Chuckled, Sharing A Gaze Into Each Other's Eyes.

"Okay, Can I Just Say Something Crazy?!"
Poppy Asked, Gripping Branch's Arm.

Branch Rolled His Eyes Playfully.
"You Say Nothing But Crazy"

Poppy Slid Her Way Into A Song.
🎵 All my life has been
a series of happiness- 🎵

🎵 And then suddenly
I bump into youuuu~ 🎵
Poppy Bumps Into Branch Playfully.

Branch Snickers.
"It's Funny You Should Say That, Cause Like-"

🎵 I've been searching
my whole life to find my own place 🎵
Branch Finished His Sentence By Starting To Sing.

🎵 And maybe it's the party talking,
or the chocolate fondue 🎵
Branch Gestured Over To The Chocolate Fondue Bowl.

Poppy Giggled And Stroked Her Hand On Branch's Neck.
🎵 But with youuuu! 🎵

🎵 But with youuuuu!
I found my placeeeee! 🎵
Branch Sung.

🎵 I see your face 🎵
Poppy Booped Branch's Nose.

🎵 And it's nothing like
I've ever known beforeeee! 🎵
Both Sang As They Ran Towards The Door.

Both Held Their Hands On The Doorknob.
🎵 Love is an open- 🎵

🎵 DOOOOOOR! 🎵

Poppy And Branch Opened The Door To Visualize Them Running Out Around Photographic Memories They Had Over The Years.

🎵 Love is
an open dooooor! 🎵

🎵 Doooooooor! 🎵
Branch Sung A High Note As He Ran Around With Poppy Next To The Memories.

🎵 Love is
an open door! 🎵

🎵 With you! 🎵
Poppy Tickled Branch's Stomach.

🎵 With you! 🎵
Branch Tickled Poppy's Side.

🎵 With you!
With you! With you! 🎵
Both Tickled Each Other Back To Back.

🎵 Love is an open dooooor~ 🎵
Both Sang A Soft High Note, Looking Up At A Photo Of Them.

"I Think It's Crazy"
Branch Said.

"What?"
Poppy Asked.

Branch Continued.
"That We Finish Each Others-"

"-Glittercakes!"
Poppy Ran Off.

"That's What I Was Gonna Say!"
Branch Followed After Her.

Both Continued Into Their Song.
🎵 I've never met someone
who thinks so much like me! 🎵

🎵 Jinx!
Jinx again!🎵
Both Pointed At Each Other And Locked Fingers.

🎵 Our mental synchronization can have but one explanation! 🎵
Both Did The Robot Dance For A Moment.

🎵 You and I
were just meant to beeee~ 🎵
Both Held Hands And Held Each Other Closely.

A Bright Light Shined On Poppy And Branch As They Danced Bridal Style, Showing Off Their Silhouettes.

🎵 Say goodbyeeeee! 🎵
Poppy Sang.

🎵 Say goodbyeeeee! 🎵
Branch Sung.

🎵 To the pain of the past! 🎵

🎵 We don't have to
feel it anymoreeee! 🎵

🎵 Love is
an open dooooor! 🎵

🎵 Love is an open- 🎵

🎵 DOOOOOOOOOOR! 🎵
Branch Sung A Loud High Note As He Twirled Poppy In The Air.

🎵 Life is just
so much more! 🎵

🎵 With you! 🎵
Poppy Booped Branch's Nose Again.

🎵 With you! 🎵
Branch Booped Poppy's Nose Back.

🎵 With you!
With you! With you! 🎵
Both Booped Each Others Noses Back To Back.

🎵 Love is
an opeeeeeen! 🎵

🎵 Love is
an opeeeeeen! 🎵

🎵 DOOOOOOOOOOOOR! 🎵
Poppy And Branch Finished Their Visualized Song, As They Hugged And Were Outside In Pop Village.

Poppy Parted Away From Branch.
"Okay?"

Branch Sighed, Starting To Grin.
"Okay"

"Good! Now Let's Focus On What's Happening Now And Stay In The Present! Imma Go Help Out With The Festival Decorations! Laterrrr!"
Poppy Hugged Branch Again And Skipped Off Happily.

Branch Smiled As He Watched Poppy Skip Away, But The Thought Of What Happend To Poppy's Past Valentine's Still Rung In His Head.

As The Villager Thought More About The Upcoming Holiday, Something The Queen Said Stood Out In His Head

Branch Suddenly Thought Of When Poppy Said The Word "Present", If That Can Give Him An Idea To Make Up For Past Times Of Valentine's Day For Poppy.

The Idea Of A Present For The Queen Swirled Around His Mind, Getting A Idea That Would Please The Queen's Holiday

"Present...Present.."
Branch Repeated To Himself, Getting An Idea Of What To Do.

~~~

~Over At King Peppy's Pod~

With The Idea Sharp In His Thoughts, The Villager Rushed Over To The Queen's Father For Some Advice

Branch Ran And Made His Way Over To King Peppy, Knocking On His Door Rapidly, Eager To Talk About His Idea For Poppy.

King Peppy Opened The Door With A Frying Pan.
"WHO IS IT?!?!"

"WHOA!"
Branch Flinched Back A Bit.

"Oh! Branch My Boy!"
King Peppy Grinned.

Branch Slowly Put Down The Frying Pan.
"Respect The Frying Pan Technique- But I Need Your Help King Peppy!"

"Sure! Come Right In. Me And King Thrash Were Just Getting Fuzzages"
King Peppy Moved Aside.

Branch Walked In To See Fuzzbert Giving King Thrash A Massage With His Hair.

"O-O-Oh Y-Y-Yeahhh..."
King Thrash Mumbled, Releasing The Tension From His Shoulder.

Fuzzbert Sighed In His Weird Noise, Regretting His Decision In Life.

"Okaaay, Not That Weirdest Thing I've Walked In On-"
Branch Said.

"So What's Up? Did You Come For A Fuzzage Too?"
Kinh Peppy Asked.

"Oh Gosh No, I Give Myself My Own Massages With My Toothpicks. I Just Came For Some Advice. It's About Poppy"
Branch Replied.

"POPPY!?!? What Did You Do To My Baby Girl -.-"
King Peppy Held Up The Frying Pan Again.

"O___O, Nothing! Trust Me. So Put The Frying Pan...Down...Sir"
Branch Lowered The Frying Pan.

"Oh- Then What About Poppy"
King Peppy Asked.

"Well I Wanna Give Her A Good Present For Valentine's Day-"
Branch Said.

"Aw How Thoughtful"
King Peppy Reacted.

"Yeah Buttttt, I'm A Terrible Gift Giver As You Could Tell From Last Time. So I Was Wondering If You Knew What Kind Of Gift Poppy Has Always Wanted Before?"
Branch Asked.

King Peppy Thought.
"Hmmm...Well, She's Always Wanted To Be Queen"

"Clearly"
Branch Replied.

"She's Always Wanted That One Special Flower She Saw At The Market"
Kinh Peppy Said.

"Already Given As A....Group Gift...Eehhh"
Branch Shivered.

"Oh! Annnnd!"
King Peppy Said.

"YES YES?!"
Branch Anticipated.

".....She's Always Wanted To Be Closer With You"
King Peppy Said.

"That's Already Happening! UGGGH! That Can't Be All!"
Branch Said.

"I'm Sorry But Poppy Just Wasn't That Type Of Troll To Want Something. She's Always Had What She Wanted Right In Front Of Her."
King Peppy Shrugged.

Branch Sighs Deeply.
"Hhhh...I Just Wish I Can Do Something Nice For Her. And Make Up For Lost Time.."

King Peppy Got An Idea From When Branch Said The Word "Wish", Stroking His Chin.

"Hmmm, Wish You Say Huh?"
King Peppy Said.

"Yeah, I Wish I Could....But Seems Like Theres No Way"
Branch Said.

"Or Maybe There Is"
King Peppy Bounced His Eyebrows.

"Huh?"
Branch Said Confused.

"Come With Me"
King Peppy Gestured.

Branch Followed After King Peppy Across His Pod, Making Their Way Over To The Book Shelf.

"Let's See Where Is Itttt...It's In One Of These Books Somewhere"
King Peppy Looked Around On His Book Shelf.

King Thrash Raised His Arm Slowly And Touched Branch's Hair.
"Ooooh, You Got A Nice Set Of Hair Young Lady"

Branch Turned To Thrash.
"I'm A Guy-"

"Wha-?"
King Thrash Looked Closely At Branch.

".___."
Branch Just Stood There.

"Oh Yeah"
King Thrash Said Annoyed And Disappointed.

"Ah! Here It Is!"
King Peppy Pulled Out A Book From His Shelf.

King Peppy Placed The Book On His Table, Titled: "The Legend Of Wonderous Wishstone". 📖

"The Legend Of The Wonderous Wishstone"
King Peppy Read Out Loud.

"The Wonderous Wishstone?"
Branch Raised His Eyebrow.

King Peppy Opened The Book.
"It's An Ancient Red Stone Founded By Our Ancestors, Who Held It Great Dearly To Them. They Found It Very Wonderous, Hence The Name"

"Why's That?"
Branch Crossed His Arms.

"You See Branch, The Wonderous Wishstone Can Grant Any Troll A Wish By Simply Rubbing The Stone For One's Wish To Come True"
King Peppy Explained.

"Whoa.."
Branch Looked Down At The Book, As It Displayed A Image Of The Glowing Red Wishstone.

The Wonderous Wishstone, A Stone That Grants Anyone A Wish With One Rub

As The Queen's Father Explained, The Villager Gazed At The Wishstone, As He Formed A More Grand Idea Of What To Do For The Queen

"If I Could Get That Stone...It Could Wish Something For Poppy! How Do I Get It?!?"
Branch Asked.

"Whoa Whoa There Branch, It's Not That Easy To Retrieve The Wishstone."
King Peppy Said.

"But It's Just A Small Stone. How Hard Can It Be?"
Branch Questioned.

King Peppy Gave A Doubtful Look.
"You'd Be Surprised. Back Then, Our Ancestors Found The Wishstone's Privilege To Grant Anyone A Wish Too Much Of An Advantage For Happiness To Be Given. They Wanted Happiness To Only Be A Feeling From Themselves And Not A Stone. So They Hid The Stone In A Cave Deep In The Forest, To Keep It Away From The Rest Of The Troll Kingdom"

"Ah, I See. But This Is For A Good Cause! I'm Giving Poppy The Valentine's Day She Never Gotten! Please King Peppy, How Can I Get To It??"
Branch Begged.

King Peppy Sighed.
"Well, Lucky For You, The Ancestors Crafted A Map That Leads To The Wishstone"

King Peppy Turned To The Back Of The Book Where A Sparkly Map Was Placed.

King Peppy Put Out The Map And Read It To Branch.
"To Get To The Wonderous Wishstone, First You'll Have To Go Through The Pocket Full Of Noisies 📣 🌷, Across The River Of Relation 💬 🌊, Skip Into The Field Of Sorrow 💔, Then You'll Make It To The Cave Of Desire ✨️ Where The Wishstone Is Held Inside.

"Hm, Seems Easy Enough"
Branch Shrugged.

King Peppy Shook His Head.
"Seems Easy But Who Knows Who'll Come Across In The Forest. The Wonderous Wishstone Has A Magnetic Pull That Will Make Anyone Have A Desire To Make A Wish To Grant Their GREATEST-"

Branch Was Already Gone With The Map And Out Of The Pod Before King Peppy Could Finish.

"Oh"
King Peppy Said.

King Thrash Smacked His Lips.
"It's Time For My Rectal Thermometer"

Fuzzbert Held Up The Thermometer And Looked At Thrash's Butt, Crying On The Inside.

~~~

Outside, Branch Was Walking Around As He Held The Map In His Hand And Examining It.

The Villager Had The History Of The Wonderous Wishstone In Mind, Along With The Map

But He Second Thought If This Would Actually Work For The Queen

Branch Thought To Himself As He Held The Map.
"These Locations Sound Pretty Usual And Risky, But That Wishstone Can Grant Poppy The Wish To Have The Best Valentine's Day She's Ever Had"

Knowing How Much The Queen Meant To The Villager, He Came With A Decision That Would Surely Make Things Right

The More Branch Exmained The Map And Looked At The Image Of The Wishstone, The More He Was On Board Of Getting The Wonderous Wishtone.

~~~

~Meanwhile~

Over In The Center Of Pop Village, Guy Diamond And Legsly Were Secretly Trying To Plan The Whole Valentine's Festival.

"You Sure We Should Be Doing This Guy? What If The Tribe Leaders Get Offended?"
Legsly Asked.

Guy Diamond Scoffed.
"Pfft- Why Would They Get Offended? If Anything We're Doing Them A Favor. Poppy Always Entrusts Us With Helping Plan The Valentine's Day Festival, Sooo Why Break The Tradition?"

"Mmm You Got A Point. Plus, Who Could Do It Better Than Us"
Legsly Said.

"Exactly!"
Guy Diamond Replied.

Nearby, Queen Barb, Delta Dawn, King Trollex, And Trollzart Came By To Help Poppy With The Valentine's Day Festival.

"YO! Glitter Dude And Stanky Legs!"
Barb Shouted Out.

"Oh! Hi Your Majesties 😁"
Legsly Bowed.

"What Brings You To Pop Village 😁"
Guy Diamond Asked.

"We've Been Here The Whole Day Dude"
Barb Said.

"We Wantes To Go Over A Few Things For The Festival Tomorrow Before We All Headed Back Home"
Trollex Said.

"So Where's Queen Poppy?"
Trollzart Asked.

"Uhhhhh.."
Guy Diamond And Legsly Looked At One Another.

"SCRAPBOOKING/SHAVING!"
Guy Diamond And Legsly Said Different Things.

"Alright Ya'll Where Is Poppy?"
Delta Questioned.

Guy Diamond Sighed.
"Well, I'm Gonna Lay Some Real Truth On You Guys....Poppy's Just Putting Us In Charge Of The Festival"

"WHAT?!?!"
Barb, Delta, Trollex, And Trollzart Say.

"Yeahhh, She Felt Our Vision Of The Festival. And Can You Blame Her?"
Guy Diamond Shrugged.

"Well That Hurt"
Trollex Frowned.

"Hm, Sounds Odd Of Poppy To Say Such A Thing"
Trollzart Said.

"Waaaittt A Second, Are You Two Just Saying That So YOU Can Plan The Festival Better Than Us?"
Barb Questioned.

"WHAAAAT? PFF NOOOO, OF COURSE NOT HEH HEH"
Legsly Said Loudly.

"NEVER CROSSED OUR MINDS"
Guy Diamond Added.

"Finished Daddy! All The Things For That Valentine's Festival Is Done And Noted! WE GONNA MAKE IT POPPPPP!!! My Puns Is A Tiny Original 😌"
Tiny Diamond Jumped Out His Father's Hair And Handed Him The List.

"So You Are Trying To Plan Without Us!"
Delta Said.

"Okay Maybe, But Only Because We've Been Planning This Festival For The Longest! We Have Our Own Vision"
Guy Diamond Said.

"We Have Visions Too! What? Just Cause We're From Different Tribes, Our Tradition Way Of Celebrating Will Interfere?"
Barb Glared Up In Their Faces.

"Uhhhh.."
Guy Diamond And Legsly's Hesitated To Respond.

"So That's How You Wanna Play It Huh -.-"
Barb Crossed Her Arms.

"Well We-"
Legsly Said.

Barb Interrupted And Walked Away Backwards.
"Nope! That's Fine. Have Your Festival Your Way. It's All Hard Rock To Me. I'm Good"

"But Queen Bar-"
Legsly Said.

"But Better Plan Fast. It's Almost Time For The Big Day Tomorrow. And It'll Be A Valentine's Day You Won't Forget."
Barb Added As She Kept Walking Backwards.

Guy Diamond And Legsly Gulped In Sync.
"😶😶"

"Wouldn't Want Your Guests To Miss Your Festival Would Ya? Time's A Tickin'. Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock..."
Barb Backed Away Into The Bushes As She Repeated Herself.

The Rest Of Them Just Watched Her Blankly.
"...."

Tiny Blinked Awkwardly.
"Whoaaa...She Backed Outta The Bushes.."

~~~

~During The Night~

Down In The Bunker, Branch Was Packing Up His Backpack With All The Things He Might Need On His Journey.

As The Night Dawned By, The Villager Prepared For His Journey With All His Gears And Weapons

Branch Finished Packing And Put His Backpack On, Looking At Himself In The Mirror.

Branch Inhaled And Exhaled.
"Alright, Let's Do This"

Branch Went Over To The Elevator And Pulled The Lever To Bring Himself Up To His Doormat Surface.

To Not Be Noticed, The Villager Sneaked Around His Home And Quietly Made His Way From The Sleeping Village

With Stealth, Branch Quietly Tip Toed Through Pop Village Without Being Seen By Anyone That He Was Leaving.

Branch Went Up On A Hill That Leads Into The Forest, But Before He Continued, He Turned To Look Afar From Poppy's Pod.

Branch Sighed As He Gazed At Her Pod.
"Don't Worry Poppy, I'll Be Back Before You Know It To Give You The Best Valentine's Day You Deserve"

Branch Turned Back Around And Moved Through Some Bushes To See Out The Distance Of The Forest.

Standing Up Straight And Ready To Go, Branch Began To Walk And Make His Way Through The Forest.

With The Right Amount Of Courage And Determination, The Villager Began His Quest!

Off To Find The Wonderous Wishstone For The Queen, Whom He Loved The Most.