Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was amazing how quickly a normal day could take a serious left turn. The main thing that differed each time was how early or late in the day that turn came. It could happen anywhere between right after midnight ended the previous day to right before midnight started the next. You never knew, not until it suddenly hit you.

Inside the bone-themed doghouse, though, as the alarm clock reached 6:15 AM and began to ring, one dog’s morning seemed to be starting off just fine. An orange paw and arm immediately shot out from the bed, silencing the clock with a loud smack before the spaniel attached to the arm sat up. Throwing his blanket off, DogDay leapt upright onto his feet, stretched, then was out of his bedroom in two long strides. A smile on his face, he started humming a song that he remembered hearing on the radio as he went to his bathroom and turned on his shower, his tail wagging to the beat.

Testing the temperature and finding it perfect, he climbed in and stepped beneath the stream of water, squeezing a large amount of shampoo from a bottle into his paw before beginning to lather himself up from head to foot. As he did, he suddenly realized how dark it seemed in the bathroom. He chuckled, realizing that he’d forgotten to turn on the light when he entered the room, distracted as he was with the song.

Oh well. Doesn’t matter. He thought, poking his head out from the curtain and glancing out the bathroom window. Outside, the little bit of sky that he could see was steadily growing from an indigo to a much brighter bluish-yellow shade. No clouds were in sight. By the time he was done there, the natural light was probably going to be bright enough to light up his whole house.

Once he was done rinsing the soap off, DogDay shook himself roughly before exiting the bathtub and grabbing a towel to finish the job of drying himself off. As he did, he briefly wondered if any of his friends were awake yet like he was.

CatNap? He snorted, shaking his head, Nope! Not even a possibility. Maybe Hoppy…? It WAS summer, after all. After being forced to be cooped up for extended periods during the winter, the bunny liked to take advantage of the longer days as much as she could, which included morning jogs around the valley. Actually, a jog sounded pretty nice right about then. The spaniel wondered if she’d like some company.

Might as well head out and look for her. But first… He licked his lips, breakfast!

The spaniel was walking to his kitchen when he felt an itch on his neck. He raised his paw to scratch it, only to stop dead in his tracks, “Ugh, almost forgot…”

With a sigh, he quickly spun on his heel and returned to his bedroom, snatching up his sun pendant from the nightstand, “I really need to put this somewhere better…”

First the lights and now his pendant? Okay, that did it. Slipping the string over his head, DogDay opened the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a notepad and pen, “Ask…Bubba…for a checkup…” Tearing the page from the notepad and returning the items to his nightstand, he took the note and entered the kitchen, slapping it on the kitchen counter for later. If there was one thing the dog definitely didn’t want, it was unchecked brain fog.

A minor issue, but nothing that would ruin his morning. After all, it wasn’t like he’d forgotten anything important.

…Right?

The spaniel racked his brain for a second, then groaned in frustration, Oh great…I did, didn’t I…?

Welp, whatever it was, DogDay knew he had a failsafe- and that meant whatever else he forgot could at least wait until after breakfast. With that, he walked around and pulled out some cereal, milk, and a bowl. As he set the bowl on the counter and poured the milk, the spaniel’s black eyes wandered towards the nearby calendar on the wall, thinking about the checkup he’d have to talk to his elephant friend about, I wonder when he’s free to-

DogDay’s eyes suddenly widened. With a thunk and a loud splash, the milk jug hit the kitchen floor.

…………

Hoppy Hopscotch usually prided herself on being the fastest and most athletic of their octet, but being the critter known for constantly moving had its drawbacks. One of those drawbacks was, of course, sometimes letting her impatience cause her to skip breakfast. She couldn’t help it, of course. After all, who wouldn’t want to get outside into that beautiful summer weather and just be active in some way?

That being said, whatever energy boost that had been with the green rabbit from the moment she woke up to the moment she left her carrot house had vanished. Her legs quickly began to feel wobbly and her head light, and all-too soon she had to force herself to stop before she collapsed. Normally, she only got to that state after an intense workout, one that left her lungs burning for air and both her running gear and her fur drenched in sweat.

Darnit… She sat down on the grass, ears drooping down her back. She felt the fur on her arms and chest and, sure enough, it was still relatively cool and dry- which was not at all what she wanted to feel. She wanted to feel sweat! She wanted to feel like she was pushing her true limits to the breaking point! Darnit, darnit, darnit! She pounded the grass with a fist, “Come on, Hopscotch, you know you can do better than this…”

Her body disagreed, and it voiced its refusal with a low rumbling from her stomach.

“Oh come on!” She groaned, “It was just one meal! Besides, fasted workouts are a thing!”

“Not really YOUR thing, though.”

Hoppy froze, Oh no…

She slowly turned her head to see not only PickyPiggy’s barn a short distance away, but also the pig herself leaning casually against it, dressed in a set of dirt-covered overalls and munching on a particularly-large carrot as she observed her friend’s predicament.

“Uh…Picky!” Hoppy shot to her feet, ignoring the slight dizziness that the action caused, and trying and failing to keep her face from turning red, “What a surprise! H-How long have you been there?”

”Well, I live here,” The pig’s grin widened, gently patting the barn wall behind her, “AND I had some late-night weeding and pest control to do, so…”

“The whole time?” Hoppy squeaked.

“The whole time.” Picky nodded.

A pause.

“…Not MY thing?” The rabbit asked quietly.

“Nope. Where do I even begin…?” Picky took another bite of her carrot, finishing the vegetable before pushing off the barn and walking towards her, “I guess, summing it up, your workout routines are too intense for that.”

“It’s only my morning jog!” Hoppy protested.

“Uh-huh, and it’s a jog that usually takes you a lot more than an hour AND sometimes takes you to the edge of the valley and back.” Picky rolled her eyes before grabbing Hoppy’s paw and starting to pull her towards her home, “Seriously, Hoppy, I know it’s summer and you want to maximize your time outside, but you need to at least start carrying a breakfast bar or something on you if you’re not going to sit down and eat properly.”

“So says you.” The rabbit muttered in defeat, feeling a bit offended by the lecture as she let herself be led, “You probably eat three times your body weight DAILY.”

Picky looked back at her, smirking, “I beg your pardon? First of all, I’ve gotten it down to EQUAL to my body weight, thank you very much.”

Hoppy snorted.

“Second of all-“

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!”

Both girls practically jumped out of their skin.

“W-What the heck was that!?” Hoppy yelped.

“I don’t know!” Picky looked around before her eyes landed on the distant house that lay just past CatNap’s tower, “Wait, was that DogDay!?”

“Oh snap, I think it was!” Hoppy wasted no time and immediately started booking it for the spaniel’s house, her fatigue replaced by adrenaline, “Let’s go! Come on!”

“Hoppy, wai-! Aaaand you’re already gone.” The pig groaned before starting to run at a much slower pace after her, concern etched across her features, Hang in there, DogDay. Help is coming…

Chapter Text

“DogDay!? DogDay!” Reaching the doghouse, Hoppy pounded on the door, then tried the knob on instinct before realizing what she was doing, Of COURSE it’s locked, you dumdum…

Thinking quickly, the rabbit raced around to the living room window and peered in. Seeing nobody there and nothing amiss, she ran around to the other side and tried looking through the kitchen window, where she almost immediately caught sight of that familiar orange fur and a pair of floppy ears, Jackpot!

Her spaniel friend was kneeling down on the kitchen floor in a large puddle of spilled milk, head pressed to the floor and his paws pressed against his ears like he was trying to block out a painfully-loud noise. His tail, usually wagging like crazy, had folded itself between his legs.

“DogDay!” Hoppy called, knocking on the glass, “DogDay, can you hear me!?”

His ears twitched, acknowledging that her voice was reaching them, but DogDay didn’t seem to actually be listening. Instead, he stayed where he was, and she could see that he was visibly trembling. Was he in pain? Did someone- or something- scare him?

Growling with frustration, the rabbit immediately started rushing around to the living room window again, fully intent on grabbing a rock or something and breaking in there to get to her friend. Whatever was wrong, she wasn’t going to stand by and do nothing.

She was gonna act!

She was gonna defend!

She was gonna turn the corner and run headlong into a familiar purple cat.

CatNap and Hoppy both grunted as her momentum sent them both tumbling into the grass next to the house in a tangled heap. He had been crouched and looking around for where DogDay might’ve hidden his spare house key. The next thing he knew, despite feeling the grass beneath him, his vision was suddenly filled with green. There were then two spots of black with two white dots which widened after a sec.

CatNap’s own eyes widened too. The strong, close-quarters scents of peppermint and lavender floated between them, but it wasn’t necessary in order for the two critters to realize they had ended up nose-to-nose with each other.

Hoppy let out a shrill cry and immediately launched herself backwards, scooting away from him as her face once again turned crimson like it had earlier with Picky, “S-Sorry! I’m so, SO sorry CatNap, I-“

“G…Guys…!” Both of them looked to see a very out-of-breath Picky finally arriving. Hooves on her knees, she stopped and took a few breaths before glancing up at them, “Are…Are you two…okay?”

CatNap and Hoppy shared a look before nodding, the rabbit responding, “Y-Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Completely fine.” CatNap signed, though the pointed look he gave Hoppy said a lot more, namely along the lines of, “We shall never speak of this again.”

She nodded quickly. Message received.

“What about DogDay?” Picky asked, pointing to the house.

“He’s in the kitchen.” Hoppy stood, then quickly explained the details of what she saw, “He didn’t answer when I called out to him- hey!”

As she had been speaking, CatNap had gotten up and continued his mission of looking for the spare key. It was then that he noticed the stepping stone that Hoppy was standing on seemed a bit too loose. Nudging her off of it, much to her displeasure, he lifted the stone and grinned as he snatched up the key from the small hole underneath it. Holding it up proudly, he brought it over to the door and unlocked it, allowing the three of them to rush inside to where the canine was.

Entering the kitchen, CatNap was the first by DogDay’s side, kneeling next to him and shaking him gently. The dog jolted, looking up to see his best buddy looking at him with concern, “CatNap-?”

“DogDay!” Hoppy appeared in front of him, nearly slipping on the milk, “What happened?”

“What…?”

“You screamed so loud that we heard it from my place.” Picky told him, crouching by him with a hoof on his other shoulder, “Are you okay, pup?”

“Are you hurt!? Is there an intruder in here!?” Hoppy grabbed the dog’s face and looked him dead in the eye, “Blink twice if you’re being held hostage!”

“That’s not how that works…” CatNap signed, deadpan.

“Yes it does! Or…it can!”

“Not when we’re already right here in front of him.”

“Oh really?” She stood and faced him, paws on her hips, “And how would you know when someone might or might not need to silently communicate that they’re in trouble?”

And thus, the most epic feline facepalm in history occurred, right in that very room.

“Guys.” Picky got their attention before redirecting hers back to the friend they’d come for, “What happened, DogDay?”

“I…It’s nothing.” DogDay shakily stood up, his face burning hot from embarrassment. Despite the torrential downpour of thoughts still going through his head, the fact that he had actually gotten his friends worried about him in the process made him feel like a real clown, “I-I’m sorry, guys. I didn’t-“

“Nono, none of that, do you understand?” Picky scolded, turning him around to face her, “Day, it doesn’t matter what it is, minor or major.“

“Well-” CatNap shrugged, but lowered his paws as Picky shot him a look.

“The point is that if something- anything- caused you to yell out like that, then that means there’s something really wrong and we WANT to help you fix it.”

“Picky’s right.” Hoppy wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling the spaniel into a side-hug, “So spill it, Day: What’s up?”

DogDay looked around at all three of them before swallowing nervously and muttering, “I…I forgot.”

“Don’t try to pull that one on us, DogDay. We really wanna help.”

“No, Hoppy, I didn’t forget what the problem is. The problem is…I forgot…”

CatNap tapped his other shoulder, earning his friend’s gaze, “You forgot…what, exactly?”

DogDay opened his mouth to answer, but the words just wouldn’t come. Instead, looking down at his feet, the canine slowly lifted his paw and pointed behind them with a thumb. The three turned, eyes immediately locking on the calendar on the far wall. Picky walked around the other side of the kitchen island to get a closer look at it, followed by CatNap. Hoppy hesitated, glancing at DogDay before she joined them.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary for that month, she crossed her arms, tapping her foot, “I…don’t get it. It doesn’t look like you missed anything important this week. Heck, the month’s almost over, anyway.” She gestured to all of the red X’s that covered all but four spaces.

“The next page…” DogDay mumbled.

CatNap shared a look with the girls before reaching out and removing the calendar from the wall. Extending a claw, he then lightly flipped to the page for the coming month.

Oh. He grimaced, as did the girls.

While it was by no means the only pre-planned event listed, the space marking the third day of the month had text written in bold letters, marked at least twice over with a ballpoint pen. As if that still hadn’t been enough, the square had been highlighted in yellow AND traced with a scarlet marker to beat into the observer’s head just how important it was.

The bold letters formed two words: Crafty’s Birthday.

”Okay, yep,” Hoppy’s ears drooped, “I get it now.”
.......
Twenty minutes later, the four of them gathered around the spaniel’s table. CatNap had silently guided the spaniel to sit, sitting next to him and rubbing his back comfortingly as Hoppy mopped up the mess and Picky took to cooking everyone a proper breakfast. Throughout it all, DogDay held his head in his paws, mumbling under his breath every so often.

Once she was done and had put the mop away, Hoppy’s adrenaline rush finally ran out and she all but collapsed in the chair to DogDay’s left. Picky eventually brought plates over, settling the ones heaped with scrambled eggs and bacon in front of the boys. Hoppy, on the other hand, found herself looking down at a bowl of oatmeal with bananas.

The rabbit gagged, “Come on, Picky, not oatmeal…”

“You will eat it,” The pig told her as she sat down across from DogDay, setting a simple cheese omelette in front of herself, “and you will enjoy it.”

“But-“

“No buts. You were already tired before rushing over here. Both the oats and the bananas have carbs in them. If you want to run at any point later today, you need those.”

“You know oatmeal is too filling for me!” Her friend whined, “If I eat any right now, I’ll feel too stuffed to even jog for the next hour, and by then I’ll have to join Kickin for soccer practice. That’s an entire morning workout I’ll have missed!”

Picky stared at her. Hoppy tried to counter it, but slowly wilted beneath her pink friend’s gaze. After a good ten seconds of futile resistance, she gave in, slowly picking up her spoon and beginning to eat. The delicious taste of the pig’s cooking easily won the battle against her desire to wholly fulfill her usual exercise routine. As DogDay finally looked up, he could’ve sworn he saw a tear in her eye.

Relatable. He thought, having been in the rabbit’s position before. In fact, they all had, at one point or another. The thought would’ve normally caused him to crack an amused smile, but the fact that the three other critters- particularly CatNap- were all there with him so early in the morning was a clear reminder of the elephant in the room- the figurative elephant, he hoped, Speaking of which…

“Did…?” DogDay hesitated, “Was it just you guys who heard?”

“If we weren’t, your kitchen would be more crowded right now.” Picky pointed out, “Besides, if it’s Crafty you’re worried about specifically, then I think you can relax, pup: She’s like Bubba, always staying up as long as her body lets her so that she can work on something.”

“And she WAS working, for most of last night.” CatNap added, “The light in her castle was on when I passed by it during my midnight stroll- both times.”

“Plus, said castle is even closer to your house than mine is, so if she’d somehow been awake enough at this hour to hear you scream your head off, that likely would’ve been two critters Hoppy would’ve knocked down and touched noses with.”

Hoppy and CatNap both went red and glared at her, which she promptly ignored.

“Yeah. You’re right.” DogDay rubbed his temple, “It’s just…I didn’t mean to sound like I was in danger or anything. I just noticed it was the last week of the month and…I…panicked…“ He blinked, “Wait, what was that last par-?”

“Anyway!” Hoppy practically yelled, causing the others to flinch. She cleared her throat, toning it down, “You were saying?”

“Oh. Right.” CatNap was just barely able to scoot his pal’s breakfast out of the way before DogDay promptly face-planted into the table, letting out a sigh, “How? How did I forget!? How COULD I forget!?

The other three shared a grim look, not really sure what to say. Everyone who knew him knew that DogDay had a simple philosophy he always tried his best to live by: Regardless of the weather, regardless of the circumstance, he devoted himself to making sure all the critters he knew and met were aware that someone was thinking about them, that they mattered, and that same someone wanted them to be as happy as possible in life. If for some reason he couldn’t accomplish that himself, he would find someone who could. No dog was an island, after all. Life wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but one great day could make all the difference for a person, and he wanted that day- at least in their hearts- to be the brightest and sunniest day ever.

What better time to do that for anyone than on one of their most special days, the anniversary of when their life began?

When it came to his seven closest friends, though, DogDay’s devotion became stronger, almost a vow. CatNap had been the first to learn it, all the way back when they’d first met as a young kitten and puppy. The others had been quick to learn the same lesson, whether they lived in the valley before the spaniel’s arrival or moved in afterwards: They were his family, the group of critters he wanted to make and keep happy the most. Needless to say, when it came to THEIR birthdays, the canine would make actual holidays take a step back.

“Maybe you’ve just been distracted?” CatNap offered.

“I usually don’t sleep on something THIS big, though.” DogDay pointed out, “On top of that, Crafty’s birthday is one month before mine.”

“True…”

“Well, no matter how this happened, we still have…” Hoppy counted on her fingers, “…seven days! Yeah, it’s more short-notice than what you’re probably used to, Day, but you’ve got your friends on your side!” She grinned, “What’s stopping us from getting Bubs, Bobs, and Kicks in on this and throwing Crafty a killer birthday party?”

“Aside from the fact that I had meant to set aside this entire MONTH to prepare for it?” DogDay admired Hoppy’s semper paratus attitude, but right now he felt like things were pretty hopeless, “You really think we can gather everything together, make this as perfect as I intended it to be, in less than a WEEK?”

“Obviousl- wait.” Hoppy tilted her head, “You set aside an entire month…why, exactly?”

“Hoppy, this is Crafty’s first birthday living in the valley with us.”

“Wasn’t that last year?”

“She wasn’t LIVING in the valley last year, Hoppy.” Picky reminded her, “She was still staying in the village. We celebrated here, but her place wasn’t finished yet. That day was when Bobby invited her to stay at her house until she was fully settled, remember?”

“Oh. Whoops.” She nodded, “Yeah, I guess that makes sense, then, making her first birthday after moving in extra special.” The rabbit frowned, “Still, doesn’t an entire month of planning for it seem…excessive?”

”You have NO right to criticize excessiveness, Miss ‘I will either jump to the moon or die of exhaustion, whichever comes first.’” CatNap smirked.

”Oh, don’t even go there.” Hoppy huffed, “Besides, you can’t talk either, Mister ‘Watch and learn, Rip Van Winkle.’”

“I don’t sleep THAT much!” CatNap scowled, “Also, I’m sitting here, wide awake, RIGHT THIS SECOND.”

“Eh,” The rabbit leaned back in her seat, twirling her lightning bolt, “I think my point still stands.”

“No, it doesn-“

“Ahem!” Picky glared, silencing the two before looking back at DogDay, “Hoppy has a point. Why DID you need an entire month to plan Crafty’s birthday party, DogDay? As far as I know, we don’t need to get too much together. I know what kind of cake and snacks she likes, and Bobby or Bubba can easily distract her so the surprise isn’t spoiled. I really don’t see how we can’t make her first real birthday with us absolutely perfect like you were hoping for.”

”That’s because it’s not the party that’s the problem, Picky. It’s…” DogDay stood up with a sigh, “Wait here a sec.”

It was time to bring out his failsafe.

The canine jogged out of the kitchen and to his bedroom, where he immediately went for his dresser and opened the bottom drawer, rifling around inside it. His paw quickly found what he was looking for, pulling out a thick brown book with his name on the cover. Shutting the drawer with his foot, he turned and rushed back to the kitchen, tossing it on the table for the others to see as he slid back into his chair.

“Whenever I forget something, go through some kind of brain fog, I always get the feeling that I am. Sometimes I realize what it is sooner and sometimes it’s later like now.” He explained as he opened the book, revealing pages of his handwriting that he started searching through, “And when I get that feeling, I either ask someone who knows or look for something to jog my memory. That’s why I jot down everything important that I absolutely CANNOT afford to forget right here in my journal, so every trigger is right here in one place, easily accessible.”

“Huh. Smart thinking.” Hoppy nodded.

“You should probably still talk to Bubba sometime, thou-“ Picky stopped when DogDay pointed at the note on the counter, “Nevermind.”

“Come on…where are you…? Ah-ha!” Finding the right page, DogDay turned his journal for the other three to see. All of them leaned forward, looking at what was written.

Or rather, drawn.

“Woah…” Hoppy’s eyes widened, as did CatNap’s and Picky’s.

One of the two pages was covered with scribbled notes in messy handwriting, hard for them to decipher since DogDay never usually wrote in the journal for anyone but himself anyway. Those notes were meaningless compared to the other page, though, which bore an elaborate pencil sketch of all eight of the critters together.

The amount of detail put into it was nothing less than stunning, almost photographic. Picky, Hoppy, and CatNap could all immediately recognize the scenery being the meadow close to their group’s favorite picnic spot. The huge shade tree could even be seen in the background. Wildflowers bloomed throughout, but they didn’t at all distract from the much larger flower that the octet was forming in the image, their faces looking towards the viewer like they were posed for a photograph. Picky and CatNap lay reclined the grass, closer together. Bobby Bearhug and DogDay knelt down behind them respectively, a bit further apart. Bubba Bubbaphant and KickinChicken stood, their heads parallel to Picky’s and CatNap’s. Hoppy, her ears splayed out, was positioned mid-jump at the top of the formation, her paws on Kickin and Bubba’s shoulders for leverage. Finally, right in the center and surrounded by all of them, was CraftyCorn, her hooves on Bobby and DogDay’s shoulders while Bubba and Kickin had their hands on her shoulders. The critters were all smiling happily, huge toothy grins on their faces.

Picky snorted, covering her mouth with a hoof.

“What?” DogDay asked, defensive.

“Nothing!” She answered in a definitely too quick and giggly sort of way.

“Picky…”

“This is awesome!” Hoppy picked up the journal, getting a closer look, “DogDay, did you actually draw this?”

“Yep!” The spaniel nodded, “It took a bit more effort than I’m usually used to for a drawing, but-“

“Used to?” Hoppy looked at him with disbelief, “You draw REGULARLY?”

“Yes?”

“Why am I only finding out about this NOW!?” The rabbit asked, incredulously, “You’ve never once shown us you had this kind of talent!”

“CatNap, did you know?” Picky asked the feline.

CatNap nodded, grinning, “It all started when DogDay began to write some reminders down as pictures instead of words. From there, he just kept practicing and practicing until eventually…” He gestured to the sketch.

DogDay smiled sheepishly, “Oh come on, Nap, I’m not THAT good. It’s not even my main talent anyway.”

“That didn’t stop you from never going below a seventy-five in art class because you kept scoring so high on the different pencil sketches we had to do.” CatNap pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but those were obviously going to look as good as they did because I had time to do them. The warm-up and timed sketches were a COMPLETELY different story.” DogDay reasoned, “I only got this one the way it is with a lot of effort and A LOT of patience. Overall, It took me…” He counted on his fingers, “about a week and two pencils.” His look turned sheepish, “Compared to what Crafty can do, though, I didn’t really think it was anything to brag about…”

“Crafty would definitely beg to differ.” Hoppy snickered.

“DogDay, I guarantee the very SECOND she finds out you can do this, it’s all over for you.” Picky laughed, “She will constantly be looking for any excuse she can to convince you to draw something. Believe me, when she found out I could bake just pretty well, I ended up practically perfecting all of the recipes she kept asking me to make.”

“If it’s something artistic, then even if it’s not one of your main talents now, she will make sure it becomes one.” CatNap added.

Picky glanced at the spaniel’s drawing again, still grinning with amusement, “Speaking of artistic, I gotta say I really like how you have me and CatNap posed like we’re beach models.”

CatNap snorted, just then realizing that himself.

“Oh, uh…” DogDay flushed, “Is that…bad?”

“Not one bit. I like it a lot, actually. Nap?”

“I like it too.” The cat signed with approval.

“Okay…that’s good.” The canine sighed with relief, chuckling, “I gotta admit, I was having some trouble figuring out who should go where. The only obvious ones were Hoppy and Crafty.”

“Yeah, about that…” Hoppy pointed at Crafty’s image, “Why exactly is Crafty in the middle?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Picky told her, then smiled at DogDay, “You were planning on giving her this sketch as her birthday gift, weren’t you?”

The spaniel shook his head, “No.”

“No?”

“I drew this in my journal as a visual aid. I mean, TECHNICALLY yes, I wanted to give her this specific picture,” He gestured to his creation, “but this isn’t how I want to give it to her.”

“I mean, I still don’t see why you think you needed a month. If it only took you a week to get this one done, I’m sure you can recreate it on another piece of paper by the time you need to give it to her.” Picky reasoned.

“No, Picky, that’s not it. I didn’t want to give Crafty a sketch at all. I wanted to…” He paused, looking at his calendar where the page was still flipped to show Crafty’s marked birthday, “I wanted to give her a painting.”

“A painting?” Hoppy asked.

DogDay leaned his head on his hands, “Art is Crafty’s passion, in any form it takes. Like you pointed out, Picky, she’s always encouraging us to use those right sides of our brains in whatever ways we can.”

“True…” The pig agreed, thinking, “She’s also very smart in her own right.” She looked at Hoppy, “Was anyone ever really able to hold a long, drawn-out conversation with Bubba before she showed up.”

“You mean about all the topics he's studied, or the random or useless facts he’s researched?” The rabbit shook her head, “Nope. Even Bobby could only last fifteen minutes talking to him about certain things.” She smirked, “And before you ask: Yes, we timed it.”

“Is intelligence really a factor in that, though?” CatNap raised an eyebrow, “Or is it more because Crafty- exactly like Bubba- can be very chatty once you get her started?”

“Both.” Came the immediate answer from the other three.

“The point is…with how much color she and her art have added to our lives…” DogDay looked around at the others, “…don’t you guys think she deserves to get at least something of that same magnitude in return? A painted piece on her wall that someone else made for her?”

“Is that even a question?” Hoppy pounded her fist on the table, “She absolutely does!” She frowned, “But…”

“But…?” DogDay blinked.

“DogDay, I know you wanted Crafty’s gift to be perfect- and believe us, a painted version of this,” Picky lightly tapped the sketch, “would make her the happiest pony in the world, but…we only have seven days and…you’re not as skilled with a paint brush as you are with a pencil, I’m guessing?”

DogDay shook his head, “No. That’s why I needed a month. To learn, at least well enough so that it would look nice.”

CatNap patted his shoulder, then signed, “DogDay, I hate to say it, but…this might not be a problem you can work around, not in the way you want it to. Your brain really sabotaged you this time.”

“He’s right, pup.” Picky sighed, “You might need to lower the bar a little bit, and just give Crafty a remade version of the sketch. She’ll appreciate it just as much.”

“Or you could give the painting of it to her as a LATE birthday present.” Hoppy offered.

DogDay considered his friends’ words, looking at the sketch. It was true: If they were amazed by the sketch- both for the pic itself and the fact that he drew it- then Crafty would be overjoyed receiving it as a gift.

At the same time, though…

“No.”

“What?” They all looked at him in shock.

“No.” He looked around at them firmly, “I planned to give Crafty a painting for her birthday, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“DogDay-“

“I mean it, Picky.” He stood, beginning to pace, “I already should have the supplies stored up. An easel, a canvas…If I start today and really work hard- maybe stopping only for meals or something- I might still be able to do it in seven days.”

“Or you could waste all the time you have that you could INSTEAD use in a way you know how to!” Hoppy protested.

“Well…” DogDay hesitated, then crossed his arms, “I’m still going to take that risk.”

Picky still seemed unsure, but she could quickly see that no amount of persuasion was gonna work. Finally, she sighed and stood, going over to lay a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, “Are you really sure about this, DogDay?”

“I-“

“No. Think for a second.” She looked at him firmly, “Are. You. Sure. With a deadline like this, you really might be setting yourself up for a fall here, especially if you’re not that good at painting.”

DogDay bit his lip. Deep down, he knew she was right, but even so… “Picky, I can’t explain it in a way you guys will understand, but…I just wouldn’t feel right simply giving Crafty a sketch.”

She searched his eyes for a second before sighing. Behind them, Hoppy sat down again with a defeated expression, “Alright. Let’s at least finish breakfast, then we’ll leave and let you get started.” She looked at the journal, “You’re gonna need every spare second…”

The rest of the meal passed by in silence after that, fueled by the tension in the room that had formed following the end of the conversation. Once everyone was finished, Picky brought the dishes over to the sink to be washed and Hoppy excused herself to the living room, likely to sit and digest the filling meal for a few minutes, but also to calm down from how annoyed she probably was with DogDay at that moment. The spaniel understood all-too well how she felt, but he knew his decision was final.

As he stared at the task before him, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked to see CatNap staring at him with a concerned expression, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I hope so too.” DogDay admitted, “But…I really think it’ll work out.”

“I guess we’ll just have to see?”

“Yeah.” The canine nodded, “We’ll just have to see.”