Unconditional: A Broppy Story

Part III

Mister Bubbles wasn't big enough to carry more than one Troll on his back, so Poppy and Lavender decided to take the Caterbus Express to Ornery Grove. Riding with them were Barb, Val, and Holly while the rest of Poppy's friends were preparing for the Pop royal wedding.

"Ooh! I've never been on a Caterbus before!" Lavender said with excitement. "This is so much faster than a saddle spider!"

"And you can store your belongings up here," Holly said, opening a compartment above her seat. Inside was a gift basket filled with cookies, hair gel, fruits, chocolates, flowers, moisturizer, and scented candles. "Just a little somethin' for Poppy's groom-to-be."

"Wow!" Lavender exclaimed. "I would love it if someone gave me a gift like that! Or any gift at all, for that matter."

"Wait, no one has ever given you a gift?" Val wondered.

"Yeah, southern Pop Trolls aren't very affectionate," she admitted. "The only two exceptions I can think of are my mother and grandmother, but yeah. No one gives gifts to anyone. Not even for birthdays.

"That sounds really sad," Poppy sniffled.

"Oh, it's okay," Lavender assured her. "I can never think of anything I want and I already have everything I need. Except more food for the rest of Ornery Grove, but you can change that!"

"Speaking of which," Barb said, "tell us about your brother. With a sister like you, he must be a pretty sweet guy."

"Well, actually..."

"Welcome to Ornery Grove! Home of the rare silver-footed wasp beetle! Is it a wasp or is it a beetle? Or maybe a wasp-tle, if you will. Please don't stand until the bus has come to a complete stop."

"We're here!" Poppy gasped, feeling both excited and nervous. "I can't believe this is actually happening!"

"Relax, Popsqueak," Val replied, rubbing her shoulders. "I'm sure Branch is gonna love you. Maybe not enough to give you gifts, of course, but he'll think you're great."

Once the Caterbus stopped, the five Trolls stepped out of its mouth towards the gates of the southern Pop kingdom.

"Thank you again for choosing the Caterbus... EXPRESS... ess... ess... ess..."

💍💗💐🍾🥂🌹💍💗💐🍾🥂🌹

"Halt! Who goes there?!" shouted a guard at the top of the wall.

"Don't worry, Sal, it's just me!" Lavender answered. "And I brought some guests over!"

"Two of them are Hard Rock Trolls!" he pointed out.

"We're not here to rob you or destroy anyone's property!" Barb yelled.

"Yeah, what she said!" Lavender said.

"Very well," Sal replied, "but if I get reported, I'll be looking for you!"

Once the gates were opened, Poppy, Lavender, Barb, Holly, and Val made their way into the town where Pop Trolls were gathering wood, harvesting fruits and vegetables (or fighting over what was left of them), or selling and buying weapons and traps. Then, they all broke out into the weirdest song any of them heard.