It was a new day in Amphibia as the Plantars and the humans went out on a ride on Bessie.
Hop Pop: Ah, a leisurely outing with Bessie. Why, we could really go anywhere. Do anything.
Sprig: Ooh, ooh! Can we get Swamp Slushies? They have new flavours.
Hop Pop: Nope.
Polly: Can we go off-road? Do some crazy stunts?
Hop Pop: Double no.
Anne: Ooh, ooh! Can I drive?
Hop Pop: Sure.
Anne: Aw, come on, Hop Pop. Wait, really?
Hop Pop: Absolutely. I've been trying to teach this guy for years.
Hop Pop pointed to Sprig.
Sprig: It's true.
Anne: All right. Give me those reins. I'm ready to drive. Watch and learn Y/N, this could be you someday.
Y/N got up sleepily from the back of Bessie.
Y/N: What? Huh?
But Hop Pop didn't let Anne drive back. Instead once they got back he dropped a large book on a stump with the title "Bessie's History".
Hop Pop: Not before reading this, you ain't.
Anne: What?
Hop Pop: This is Bessie's History. Before touching a snail's reins, you gotta know them. Feel their heartbeat next to yours and become one.
Anne: Hop Pop, it's just a vehicle. We had a family car back home. It's no biggie.
Y/N: Anne, Bessie isn't just a vehicle, she's an actual living being not one of your silly "cars" or whatever they're called.
Hop Pop thrusted the large book into Anne's arms.
Hop Pop: Don't care. You can't drive Bessie unless you read this cover to cover. And that's final.
Anne: Are there pictures?
Hop Pop: There are diagrams.
Anne: Nooooooo!
Hop Pop: Dramatic much? Now if you'll excuse me, Polly's due for a wash.
He walked over to Polly who had been rolling around in a large patch of mud. He picked her up under his arm and carried her inside.
Polly: No, no. Wait. No! I'll just get dirty again. You can't stop me. I learned this from watching you, Anne.
Hop Pop closed the door behind them as they went inside.
Y/N: I'm not too sure you should be the godmother of my kids now ... anywho lets get reading.
Anne: I'll be old before I finish reading this thing.
Sprig: Yeah, page five is as far as I got. Too much description, not enough plot.
Anne: This is ridiculous. I don't need history. I need experience.
She put the book inside Bessie's satchel and hopped onto her saddle.
Anne: Heeeeey. What do you boys say we take a harmless test-drive? Prove to Hop Pop we're fast learners?
She reached her hand down to help Sprig up.
Sprig: Hmm. Do you get the feeling this is one of those decisions we'll look back on and say, "Ooh-boy, we probably shouldn't have done that"?
Anne: We'll get Swamp Slushies while we're out.
Sprig: No regrets!
Sprig jumped next to Anne and she looked over to Y/N.
Anne: You coming sleepyhead?
Y/N: My mind's telling me no. But my body's telling me yes.
Y/N tried to jump into the saddle but fell on his face.
Anne: Need a hand?
Y/N: No, no. I go this.
He grabbed the side of the saddle and pulled himself up.
Y/N: First try!
Anne: Sure buddy. Let's go!
She whipped Bessie's reins and she began to move out at they whooped and laughed. On their journey, they quickly sped past Mrs Croaker who was on her ladybug driving slowly down the road.
Mrs Croaker: Huh? What in tarnation?
As they sped by, it caused Mrs Croaker's ladybug to go into a dizzying spin as Sprig taunted her.
Mrs Croaker: Woah, woah, woah!
Sprig: Out of the way, slowpoke.
Mrs Croaker: Hooligans! Ruffians! Swamp suckers!
They quickly sped out of sight from Mrs Croaker.
Y/N: Well my vocabulary has certainly been widened.
Anne: Woah. What was that?
Sprig: I've always wanted to try road rage.
Anne: And the verdict?
Sprig: Exhilarating.
Anne: Live your truth! Yeah!
They laughed as they went to go get their Swamp Slushies. When they bought them they were given three cups of a foul green slime with some bugs sticking out of them.
Y/N: Why didn't I expect that?
Y/N threw his Swamp Slushie away after almost throwing up and got back on Bessie. They continued riding down the road some more.
Sprig: Man, you were right. We didn't need to read some silly book. You drive just fine.
Anne: Just fine? Pssh. Boy, I'm a natural. Ooh, ooh! Wanna take this baby off-road?
Sprig: Yup.
Anne sharply turned into a forest and they quickly sped through it laughing and clutching onto whatever they could. They drove off the edge of a cliff and smashed into the trees below and sped down a slope until they landed in a small clearing and came to a sudden stop.
Anne: So, off roading. Fun. But how about we go back to on-roading?
Sprig sat up from the saddle with a face full of leaves.
Sprig: Good, old reliable on-roading.
Y/N: Yes, please. That almost made me sick and I'm not sure how much more I can take.
Anne: Alright, Bessie. Let's move.
She whipped Bessie's reins but Bessie didn't move.
Anne: One more time. Let's move. Um, Bessie?
They looked down and saw Bessie cowering in her shell.
Sprig: You alright, girl?
Anne: Hey, what's going on here? Does it need fuel in the tank or something? Is the oil low?
Anne swiped a rotten leaf from the ground and dangled it infront of Bessie's shell.
Anne: Come get the tasty fuel, Bessie!
Sprig: Ew, Anne. These leaves are tastier.
Sprig held up a fresh clover and held it out to Bessie.
Sprig: Here, Bessie. I got dem good leaves, girl.
Bessie purred and slid further into her shell.
Anne: Hmm. Maybe we can push her. Give her a jump-start? I'm sure thats a thing?
Y/N: Worth a shot.
They all began pushing Bessie from behind but she didn't move and they all stopped with sweat dripping down their face. Well, except for Sprig cause frogs don't sweat.
Anne: Ok. She is way too heavy. Also, I'm crazy out of shape.
Y/N: Yeah, you got twigs for arms.
Sprig: What are we gonna do? We're stuck.
Anne: We have no choice. Y/N and I can stay here with Bessie while you hitch a ride back to the farm and ... ughhhhhhhh go get Hop Pop.
Sprig: Good idea. It's the right thing to do, even if we get an earful. Back in a flash.
Sprig jumped into the trees and hopped from branch to branch to get to the main road.
Y/N: Man, I remember when I used to do that.
They both stood in awkward silence for a few seconds.
Y/N: Sooo .... is your friend Marcy single?
Anne: This is boring! Wait, what?
Y/N: Nothing!
Minutes passed by with nothing happening until Anne decided to run a little experiment. She shower Y/N a picture of Marcy and the second he looked at it-
🎶 Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight 🎶
Anne: Where the hell is that music coming from?
She took away the picture and the music immediately stopped. She flashed it to Y/N and -
🎶 Oh I-🎶
Anne: Huh. Weird.
Y/N: What?
Anne put her phone back in her pocket and leant against Bessie's shell. There were a few minutes of silence before she shouted loudly.
Anne: Ah, this is so boring! Wish I had something to read.
Anne saw the satchel and the book peaked out of it.
Anne: Fine. But just to pass the time.
She took the book out of the satchel and dropped it onto the floor and opened the first page as dust clouds flew out of it.
Anne: Ok, let's see here. "It was an especially cold morning the day Bessie was brought into this world. The leaves had just changed colour, and now I shall describe those leaves to you in great detail-" Nope! Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.
She slammed the book shut and leant against Bessie's shell but her eyes were drawn back to it again. Sometime passed and the two had begun reading again while they snacked on leaves like popcorn.
Book: And it was at that moment I realised Bessie was no ordinary snail, but a kind, clear soul who would help others at a drop of a hat. I raised my bid to 400 copper pieces, winning the auction, and in the process, saving Bessie from the nefarious Jim Snapes.
Anne: Yes! In your fave, Snapes. Man. This is actually pretty good. And I need to stop eating leaves.
Y/N: Your stomach'll get used to it if you eat enough so don't worry. You may throw up in the early stages though so be warned.
They kept reading through the giant book excitedly.
Book: The snow swirled around us and I knew we were doomed. I could feel the strength leaving my body bit by bit. The sweet embrace of eternity crept closer and closer until I heard a sound pulling me back. Bessie ... Bessie was singing!
Anne stopped reading and put the book down as tears flooded her eyes and her nose ran.
Anne: You go, girl. You noble, noble creature.
She wiped her face on what she thought was a leaf.
Y/N: Dude! That's my wing! Ugh, gross!
Anne: Oh, man, this is messing me up. Now let's see. Where was I? "The reason Bessie had hidden in her shell was now very clear to me. A predator was close. And not just any predator. A natural enemy of snails."
A twig snapped in the trees surrounding them and the two looked up, startled.
Anne: Uh ... hello? Uh, anything in here about this predator? Oh, there we go.
Anne held up a picture of a cute little hedgehog.
Y/N: Aw, thats actually kinda cute.
She lowered the book and before them stood an ugly and hideous hedgehog that snarled at them as others surrounded them. They growled as Anne and Y/N climbed onto Bessie's shell to avoid their bites and Anne started flicking through the book.
Anne: Come on, come on. Yes! "When Bessie senses danger, you gotta sit on her shell and yell at the top of your lungs, Bessie, things are getting messy!"
Bessie quickly emerged from her shell and slid through the forest at a rapid past while they were pursued by the hedgehogs.
Anne: Yes! Eat our dust hedgehogs.
But the hedgehogs pursued and they had almost caught up to them and Anne returned back to the book.
Anne: "If you still haven't escaped, give Bessie some berries from the secret compartment in the front of her shell."
Y/N knocked on the front of Bessie's shell and it opened to reveal a bag of berries amongst throbbing organs.
Y/N: Now I'm actually gonna be sick.
Y/N took out the berried and held them out infront of Bessie.
Y/N: Come on, Bessie! Let's ride!
Bessie squawked and Y/N threw the berries into her mouth which made Bessie secrete a pink slime from her tail which caused the hedgehogs to slide and crash into a tree.
Anne: Way to go, Bessie! You are the queen of the road. Alright, let's go home.
They rid of slowly to go find Sprig and saw him in the back of Mrs Croaker's ladybug.
Anne: Hey, kid! Need a lift?
Bessie squawked as they pulled up beside them.
Sprig: Anne! Thank goodness. Ok, bye, Mrs Croaker. Thank you.
Mrs Croaker: Bye, darlin'. Next time, try to keep that road rage in check. Yee-haw!
Mrs Croaker whipped her reins and her ladybug went speeding by them.
Sprig: Pretty sure I just got played.
Anne: That woman is everything I want to be.
They returned home late into the night and parked outside the front.
Sprig: We made it! And it looks like Hop Pop's still washing Polly.
Polly: You'll never take me alive!
Hop Pop: Dang it, Polly. You're getting filth everywhere.
Sprig went to the front door and turned back to them.
Sprig: Hey. You coming?
Anne: I think we're gonna spend a little more time with old Bessie here.
Sprig: Suit yourself.
Sprig went into the house and left them alone outside.
Anne took out the book from Bessie's satchel and they began to read it under the light of the stars.
Anne: Now where were we?
The next morning they came into the house sleep deprived and threw the book onto Hop Pop's lap while he slept which suddenly woke him up.
Hop Pop: What the hey?
Anne: Good morning, Hopadiah.
Hop Pop: Anne? Y/N?
Anne: We did it.
Y/N: The whole thing. We read it. No sleep. One night.
Hop Pop: Impressive. Kinda scary. But impressive.
Anne fell into a chair and Y/N fell onto the floor.
Anne: I was wrong about Bessie. She's not just a vehicle. She's a noble, beautiful creature.
Hop Pop: And now that you've read this, all you need is experience.
The two started chuckling which turned into an evil cackle as they left Hop Pop's bedroom.
Hop Pop: I don't feel safe.
Y/N: You shouldn't! Come here Polly, lemme use you as a basketball.