It was a sunny day outside and everyone was outside helping out in the front garden. The two humans and Plantar children were picking weeds out of Hop Pop's vegetable patch. Sprig looked up from his work and saw the cowtipillars grazing on some grass. He suddenly got an idea and rushed over to Hop Pop who was sitting in a chair overlooking them work.
Sprig: Hop Pop, Hop Pop, great idea! What if we trained the cowtipillars to eat these weeds? Then we wouldn't have t-
Hop Pop: Hup bup bup.
Hop Pop shushed Sprig and gestured towards a wooden barrel.
Hop Pop: Suggestion barrel's over there.
Sprig rushed over to it with a pen and paper in hand and he swallowed the flies that flew over the barrel.
Sprig: Suggestion 89 ...
The others walked over to him to check on him.
Anne: Hey, think he actually reads these?
Polly: Doubt it. I suggested a swimming pool months ago and that never happened.
Sprig: Oh, come on, guys. Have a little more faith in Hop Pop.
Y/N: Yeah! It's not like he's secretly burning all the suggestions whenever you put it in the barrel. See?
Y/N pushed over the barrel and there was a fire pit under it and the barrel had a hole in the bottom which would let the suggestions fall into the fire.
Y/N: I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong.
Polly: Huh? A fire pit? That's the opposite of a swimming pool.
Sprig: Why, Hop Pop? Why?
Hop Pop: Because your suggestions were ridiculous. You can't just dig swimming pools anywhere. It attracts pets. Running a farm ain't easy, kids.
Sprig: Maybe. But if I were in charge, I'd listen to other people's suggestions, not burn them.
Hop Pop: You? Run the farm? Ha! Run it into the ground maybe.
Hop Pop bumped Sprig with his throat and Sprig did the same as they croaked at each other.
Polly: Is that an official challenge?
Sprig gasps and runs over to a bell and hollers as he bashes it with a stick.
Polly: Sprig Plantar, you have rung the Plantar Family Challenge bell! What is your challenge?
Sprig: I want to replace Hop Pop and run the farm my way.
Polly: Hop Pop?
Hop Pop: I do formally accept this challenge.
Anne: I'm sure this will mane sense in a moment.
The scene cuts to Sprig and Hop Pop painting themselves in mud around a giant lilypad with Anne, Polly and Y/N watching.
Anne: Nevermind. What the heck's going on?
Hop Pop: The Plantar Family Challenge.
Sprig: An artful test of skill where the winner takes all!
Polly: They push each other until someone falls off a lily pad. It's dumb but fun to watch.
Y/N: Oh yeah! Some larger insects do that sometimes. I remember the first time Ant and Mantis took me to my first Alpha Challenging.
Y/N had a flashback to the moment. Mantis help Y/N ontop of his head and Ant sat next to them amongst the rows of insects watching the brawl.
Ant: Hey, do you think this'll effect Y/N in any way when he's older?
They looked at each other in though.
Both: Nahhh.
It cut back to the present.
Y/N: I still need to see about that therapy session.
Anne: Huh. Sounds dangerous. Has Sprig ever won?
Sprig: I've won in spirit.
Anne: So, no.
Polly: Enough chit chat. Let the challenge begin!
She struck the bell with her tail and the two competitors yelled as they went for eachother. Hop Pop managed to throw Sprig to the side of the lily pad and tried to push him in.
Hop Pop: Give it up, boy. I've got the experience and the upper body strength.
Sprig: Oh, yeah? Well I've got the moral high ground!
Hop Pop: What?
He yelled as Sprig kicked him over his body and he landed face first into the mud, losing the challenge as the spectators gasped.
Spectators: Sprig won?
Sprig: I won?
Anne: Nice work, dude.
She help Sprig up by the leg and he dangled in the air.
Sprig: I don't believe it. I'm head of the farm!
They all start cheering as Hop Pop looks up from the mud and sees them chanting.
Hop Pop: Huh?
All: Sprig's head of the farm! Sprig's head of the farm! Sprig's head of the farm!
They began walking away continuously cheering and they burst through the door and put Sprig on the table.
All: Sprig! Sprig! Sprig!
Sprig: All right, all right, that's enough.
Anne groaned in frustration.
Sprig: Ok, maybe a few more.
All: Sprig! Sprig! Sprig!
Sprig: Love it! First order of business. As long as I'm in charge, no suggestions are bad.
Polly: Swimming pools?
Sprig: You betcha.
Y/N: Fair pay for the insects?
Sprig: I'll start writing them their cheque.
Anne: Dance parties?
Sprig: Let's have one right now, baby.
Anne turned on her montage mix music on her phone and they started their awesome epic montage. Firstly they hung up a flag in the farm that read "A Farm that Listens" and they all saluted.
Then they began writing out suggestions and showing them to Sprig and he gives a thumbs up to all of them.
Next Sprig rerouted the water that would go into the farm to a pool that was dug for Polly as Anne ushered Bessie to help pull the mushroom that held the water.
Anne: Back it up, girl. There you go.
After that they were starting to put up banners for a new party patio. As Anne hammered a nail into the wall it collapsed and broke down. She shrugged and Polly happily came bouncing along with cold drinks. They clinked them together and drunk them.
Sprig's next move was to let the cowtipillars into the field to eat the weeds. He had some trouble though as they kept going after the vegetables.
Next they had hired a clown to perform for them. All except Polly enjoyed it and after a few moments she lunged at the clown and started attacking him.
Polly: Hey! Hey, clown!
Anne: Woah! Woah, woah! Polly!
Sprig: Woah! We paid him for this.
Y/N: Calm it down you murder sphere.
At the end of the day they stood and looked at the farm and saw how it had transformed into what looked like a fun paradise.
Sprig: Soak it in, gang. This is what good leadership looks like.
Anne: Uh, anybody worried about Hop Pop? I haven't seen him since we got back.
Sprig: He's probably off licking his wounds.
Y/N: Maybe we should go look for him. We don't want him to get lost when it gets dark.
Sprig: Oooooor we could go play in the pool.
The others cheered but Y/N looked back into the woods worried for Hop Pop. He shrugged it off, knowing Hop Pop could handle himself alone and joined the others by the pool.Polly was chilling in the pool whilst Sprig climbed up the slide and Anne lay next to the pool sunbathing. Y/N sat besides the pool watching them have their fun.
Sprig: Incoming!
Sprig quickly began sliding down the slide and splashed in the pool, causing Polly to fly over the water laughing. Anne looked towards them and her stomach began rumbling.
Anne: Is anyone else, like, starving?
Sprig: Dinner. Great suggestion.
They went inside the house and started looking through cabinets to find some food.
Anne: Huh. No food in here either.
Sprig: Guess today's the day Hop Pop goes to the grocery store.
Anne: What are we gonna do? I'm getting hangry!
Y/N: There's only one thing we can do.
Y/N grabs Polly by the tail.
Y/N: Oh my! Look at this delicious apple. Totally an apple.
Polly: Put me down, Y/N!
Y/N: Shhhhhh. Just be an apple.
Sprig: Or we could eat some taters?
Sprig came through the door holding a pile of raw and dirty potatoes and put them on the table.
Sprig: Fresh from mother nature's garden of delights. Dig in, everyone.
A centipede came screeching out of the pile as they screamed and ran away from it. It cornered them but Anne managed to cover it with a bucket.
Sprig: Whoops, didn't check for pests.
Anne: I'm beginning to think there's a few things we didn't know about running a farm.
Y/N: Like anything about an actual farm.
Sprig: We've got some kinks to work out, sure. But isn't it better to live in a place where you're listened to?
Anne: I guess so.
Polly: Yeah, it is.
Y/N: It does feel nice.
The centipede shrieked and threw over the bucket and started attacking Sprig.
Sprig: Don't let it touch me! Don't let it touch me!
Centipede: Oh I'll touch you alright. Then you'll know why some of our species are called earwigs.
Y/N immediately slashed it in half.
Y/N: I guess we'll never know.
Anne: Know what?
Y/N: I guess you'll never know.
They went to bed that night still shales. Sprig decided to sleep in Hop Pop's bed. The next morning Anne quickly awoke Y/N and Polly and they rushed to Hop Pop's bedroom where Sprig lay asleep in the bed.
Anne: Sprig, we have a situation!
Sprig: Situation?
They looked outside the building and saw the farm in shambles with pests everywhere and the vegetables rotten and ruined. They clenched their teeth and looked at each other and went to a chalk board for suggestions to help them.
Sprig: I've called this meeting today for obvious reasons.
Anne: The farm is ruined.
Polly: We have no food and we'll die.
Y/N: And Hop Pop still hasn't come back.
Sprig: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Luckily for us, we have power of great suggestions and management that listens. So have at it, guys. What should we do? Remember, there are no bad suggestions.
All: Let's find Hop Pop and put him back in charge.
Sprig's chalk scratched on the board and he looked back to them.
Sprig: Hopadiah Plantar was a tyrant!
Anne: A tyrant who knew how to run a farm.
Polly: And more importantly, cook.
Sprig: I will not go back to that life. Don't you like being listened to?
Anne: I don't exactly feel listened to right now.
Polly: Ditto. You're kinda freakin' me out, bro.
Sprig breathed heavily and took a deep breath to calm himself.
Sprig:Let's take 15 minute and start this meeting over. And next time, bring a good suggestion.
He walked away and the three look at each other.
Anne: You thinking what I'm thinking?
Polly: Oh yeah.
Y/N: Go find Hop Pop and convince him to come back to the farm and overthrow Sprig?
Anne: Thanks for the clarification that we totally needed.
Y/N: You're most welcome.
It took a long tome but eventually they found Hop Pop in the graveyard scavenging for mushrooms with a colony of beetles.
Polly: There he is! Hop Pop!
Anne: Dude, we've been looking all over for you.
Hop Pop: Hello, kids. You here to help us scavenge? It's gonna be a long, cold winter. More bodies means more warmth for everyone.
Anne: Uh, no. Sprig is ruining the farm. You've gotta come back.
Polly: We've been eating nothing but raw potatoes. Now I know how Y/N feels.
Y/N: Hey-!
Anne: Point is, we need you back running the farm.
The beetles around Hop Pop chirped and he sighed.
Hop Pop: Give me a minute, boys. I've grown since the last time you saw me. How long's it been now?
Polly: A day and a half.
Hop Pop: I've got me a new life among the beetles. They've taught me about community, equality, listening.
Y/N: Sprig sleeps in your bed now.
Hop Pop: He what?!
Hop Pop leapt through the sky and landed infront of Sprig at the house as the others raced to catch up with him.
Hop Pop: I have returned.
Sprig: I don't believe it. Backstabbers! Conspirators!
Anne: Sorry, dude. We had a good run, bug ambitions ...
Polly: But we didn't know what we were doing.
Y/N: But Hop Pop here does, and thats why we follow him now.
Sprig: We had a beautiful dream, but I guess I'm the only one willing to fight for it.
Hop Pop takes a bell from his rags and rings it.
Hop Pop: Sprig Plantar, I challenge you to a rematch. Winner gets control of the farm, forever!
Polly: Sprig, do you accept this challenge?
Anne: Please say yes.
Y/N: I mean, there's nothing we can really do about it if he says no.
Sprig: I accept.
They went back to the lily pad and the two frogs started covering themselves in mud.
Sprig: I beat you once, I can do it again. I'll prove that my way is right.
Hop Pop: We'll see.
Polly: Let the final challenge begin!
Y/N: Can I ring the bell this time?
Polly: No.
She rings the bell with her tail once more and Y/N looks disheartened. The frogs charge at each other and whip out their tongues at each other and hit the other away, sending them to an opposite side of the lily pad.
Hop Pop: They told me everything, Sprig.
Sprig: What?
Sprig went to get up but Hop Pop whacked him back down.
Hop Pop: You're destroying the farm. Don't you see? Even if it you win, you lose.
Sprig kicks Hop Pop in the face and stands back up.
Sprig: So I'm supposed to go back to the way things were? You never listened to us.
Hop Pop: And I was wrong.
He came up behind Sprig and held him in place.
Hop Pop: I know now that you can't work together unless everyone has a say. Jeremy taught me that.
Y/N: The beetle?
Anne: Who knows, dude.
Sprig: You ... you mean it? I have to admit, most of my ideas were pretty terrible. I think we even caused permanent damage to the ecosystem.
Hop Pop: Yeah, but some of your ideas could work. We'll never know unless we try. I promise from now on to actually read your suggestions.
The spectators gasp and Sprig looks hopeful.
Sprig: Promise?
Hop Pop: Promise.
Sprig looks happy and releases himself from Hop Pop's arms and falls into the mud, surrendering himself as Polly rings the bell.
Polly: And the winner is Hop Pop!
And just like that Hop Pop took back over the farm. The next day, Anne, Sprig and Y/N were shovelling dirt in the garden under the heat of the sun.
Anne: Phew. Think we could set up some shade out here, Hop Pop?
Hop Pop plucked a mushroom out the ground and moved it infront of the sun for them.
Hop Pop: Great suggestion, Anne.
Anne: Thanks, Hop Pop.
Hop Pop: And over there I kept a small version of your swimmin' hole.
A bug landed on the surface of the water and Polly emerged and ate it as the others laughed.
Hop Pop: Oh, and best of all, no more pit of fire.
Hop Pop lifted up the barrel and showed the stable ground underneath it. Sprig smiled with tears in his eyes and jumped over to Hop Pop.
Sprig: Thanks, Hop Pop.
And Hop Pop kept his promise to listen to everyone's suggestions. Well, except for Y/N's equal pay for insects which he somehow kept losing.
(39 more chapters left fellas until we meet Marcy fellas)