Sunny is old.
So far, it was shaping up to be a day like any other day in Neopia Central. The sun peeked over the horizon to the usual chorus of twittering Beekadoodles and singing Pteris. Fields bursting with Rude Daffodils and Drabby Roses swayed blissfully in the cool morning breeze as they felt the gentle light touch their leaves. The magnificent colors of this scene seemed to be enhanced, as if someone had increased the saturation of this world by 50% in Adobe Photoshop. All in all, it was another perfect summer day. But there was something special about this day. Something magical.
Our story takes us to one specific home in this idyllic setting: a modest pink and yellow cottage covered in hand painted citrus fruits and fluffy puupies located at the address 130242 Soup Alley Lane. The owner of this home was named Sunny. Sunny was a cheerful young woman whom, despite harboring obsessions for all things lemon and sniggly, everyone in the neighborhood adored.
She surrounded herself with her favorite companions of all shapes, sizes, and origin. Always by her side was Pebbles the Kacheek, who loved her master more than anything else in the world. Never too far behind (usually choosing to roll along in Sunny’s wake because of her stubby Jubjub legs) was Poofer the coconut. Poofer was quite well mannered and playful as far as coconuts go, but Sunny always had a sneaking suspicion that there was an ulterior motive lurking behind her huge innocent eyes… Rounding out her Neopets trio was always-the-butt-of-family-jokes Rorgile. This poor soul had the misfortune of being Sunny’s lab rat, and was consequently often very confused about his/her identity. At least all of Sunny’s other companions had permanent genders while Rorgile’s was officially classified as a mess of interrobangs.
Another presence in the household that couldn’t be missed was Wilbur, a large golden pig whose interests included oinking loudly at varying intervals throughout the day to remind Sunny that his hunger level had fallen below 50, showing off his mesar rolling skills to any passers-by, and adorning himself with large red bows. Wilbur’s unlikely best friend was actually a Coco Kitty named James, who was rarely seen outside of Sunny’s loving clutches. Sunny had many more best friends that lived with her in their lovely home, but they’re really not relevant to the story, and it would drag on and on if I introduced all of them. This isn’t Twilight, people. Back to the plot.
It was this fateful morning that the Neomail man stopped by Sunny’s cottage and handed her a large manila envelope. Slightly bemused, Sunny ripped it open and pulled out a single sheet of paper.
Intrigued by this cryptic message, Sunny declared, “Come, my friends! We must investigate this mysterious missive!” She quickly gathered a day’s worth of rations and some Neopoints in a bag, swooped James up into her arms, and flew out the door with the rest of her pets in tow.
Being as intelligent as she was, Sunny had already figured out that the riddle was referring to the Fungus Cave on Krawk Island. She swiftly purchased tickets for a ferry ride to the island and boarded the ship. The ride itself was rather uneventful except for a box magically appearing out of thin air in the cabin halfway through the journey and a tense moment when Sunny noticed that a couple of shady looking pirates kept eying Wilbur. She shuffled him behind Rorgile, who was currently in the form of a massive Red Elefatty, and kept glancing over her shoulder nervously for the rest of the trip.
The ship pulled into the Krawk Island dock before they knew it, and they were off again, glad to be free from the creepy pirates. A short traipse into the inland part of the island past all of the angry “THE CUP WAS OURS!!!” signs and the sobbing pirates that were collapsed among heaps of frisbees with a dozen different logos on them brought Sunny and company to the opening of the Fungus Cave. It was dank, dark, and generally cavey.
“I wonder what we’re supposed to be looking for,” pondered Pebbles. After a few moments of scanning the scenery and several blank looks, Sunny exclaimed, “Look over there! It’s a peg leg!” She scrambled forward to retrieve it, hoping it would be the next clue on her quest. “Look, there are a bunch of letters scratched into it,” observed Poofer.
USATUQIBUEE
After everyone stared at this jumbled mess for a few seconds, Rorgile, who was always dressed in the height of Neopian fashion, suddenly trumpeted, “I know what it says! If you unscramble the letters, you can spell Subeautique, which is a high fashion couture shop in Subeta!” There was a murmur of agreement amongst the group as they all mentally rearranged the letters themselves and came to the same conclusion. “We have no other choice then. We must travel to Centropolis,” declared Sunny.
And suddenly, through methods unbeknownst to your humble narrator (they’ve told me it may or may not have involved a bridge of magical hope and wonder), Sunny and her pets arrived on the doorstep of Subeautique. They cautiously made their way inside. A woman who was wearing a dress much too low cut for her age glanced at them from behind a glass counter.
“Erm, hello,” Sunny started, “I was wondering if you would be able to help me, Miss…”
“Esmerelda, dahling,” she replied with gusto (though it faltered a little when she got a glimpse of Rorgile’s ensemble). “How may I assist you?” She eyed the large bag of sP Sunny was toting around after trading in some of her NP. The exchange rate really favored Neopians. "Perhaps this exquisite Rainyday Frost Headpiece tickles your fancy?"
“Uh, no I'm not here to shop. I was wondering if anyone left some sort of message for me? My name is Sunny.” At the mention of her name, Esmerelda looked slightly disappointed and spun around. After shuffling through a large stack of papers on the desk behind her, she finally extracted one slip of paper neatly folded in half and handed it over. The outside was addressed to Sunny in a small fancy script. She flipped it open and saw that the inside was filled with intricate patterns of colorful dots and squares. It’s a magic eye!
10 minutes of eye crossing later…
“I’m telling you, it’s a plane!” “No, it’s obviously a squirrel being punched.” “Guys, I can see it right now. It’s a sideways picture of Max in a dress and bonnet holding a bottle of Windex!”
“Mew.” Everyone stared at James, who was still nestled safely in the crook of Sunny’s arm. “Mew mew meow mew.” He gestured with his tiny paw.
Sunny said, “James is right, everyone. They’re supposed to be words! I can barely make it out now. It says… ‘Go home, Sunny’.”
This time, your humble narrator is certain the next leg of our intrepid heroes’ journey involved some sort of People Moving and large waterfalls, although I am not sure exactly how the combination of the two can bring them back to the land of Neopia. Oh well, I suppose some things are better left to the imagination.
Meanwhile, Sunny and company have safely arrived back in their quaint home town of Coeur d’C-I mean Neopia Central. By now, the sun was already hanging low in the sky, bathing everything in a crimson red light. Sunny dug around in her pockets for her key while tiptoeing towards the front door of her cottage. She peeked in the window. Everything that wasn’t obscured by her Lemon Gnorby print curtains appeared normal inside.
Sunny carefully slid the key into the lock and turned while all her companions stood back and watched. She pulled open the door. A moment of silence passed before…
“SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUNNY!!”
Jumping out from behind various pieces of furniture were all of Sunny’s closest friends and Max! She couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear as she stepped through the doorway to join the party. From there, there was much hugging, cake consuming, present opening, and general merriment. With her cottage swathed in a magical atmosphere of well wishes and hopes for a great year ahead, Sunny couldn’t help but think that tonight was perhaps the start of her happily ever after.
THE END
P.S. The Mole was Vicki.