The sun rose on a cold winter's morn and shone through partly cloudy skies over the vicinity of Downtown City—population: two million and two. What could be the reasoning behind the change in weather?

Simply put—Christmas season had already begun, and the city's residents were busy planning their Christmas shopping just weeks before the big day. The mindset of one particular resident, however, tells an entirely different tale.

As morning came, seventeen-year-old Blythe Baxter tossed and turned in her bed, struggling to sleep over the events that had transpired months prior. As her struggle persisted, she let out several familiar moans.

"No... Penny Ling... don't go..."

She abruptly woke up with a gasp, jolting her head and body upwards. As soon as she regained her composure, she immediately had no recognition of where she was. "Wh-where... am I?"

Her thoughts were quickly thrown off by her father, Roger Baxter, entering the room with a more resounding demeanor. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!" But Blythe was nowhere to be seen by the looks of it. "Blythe? Blythie?"

Blythe pulled herself up against the side of her bed, gently rubbing her forehead. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was a mess. "B-Blythie?"

Roger's smile returned. "Oh, there you are, Blythe! Now get up and get ready for school. Only two more weeks until Christmas break!"

Blythe addressed her father with a look of confusion. "Who is this... Blythe?"

Roger simply responded with a chuckle, thinking it was one of her jokes. "Come on, Blythe! You know who I'm referring to!"

"No, I'm serious," Blythe insisted. "Who is Blythe? Who are you? Why am I here?"

By this point, Roger began to show concern for his daughter. "Sweetie, don't be ridiculous! You're Blythe Baxter!

Blythe felt unmoved by her father's words. "Who's Blythe Baxter?"

It was then that Roger fully realised the severity of the situation. "Oh, my God! OH, MY GOD!"

Meanwhile, at the Biskit Mansion, the notorious Biskit twins, Brittany and Whittany, were standing outside their father's bedroom with their mother, Eliza, apparently waiting anxiously for their physician to come out.

Fisher Biskit had been diagnosed with terminal cancer barely four months prior. He hadn't long left to live after the diagnosis, and his condition only got progressively worse to the point where the twins became fiercely concerned.

And now, it would seem that his time on God's green earth was done. The doctor came out of the room after a ten-minute wait and looked rather morbid.

"He's weak," he stated. "Make him comfortable while you still can."

The twins were hesitant at first, but Eliza managed to walk them into the room. As the latter closed the door behind them, they took a long, hard look at the bed in front of them.

Fisher was hooked up to machines tracing his heart's diminishing activity, his hair had almost completely disappeared from the chemotherapy, and his skin was a chilling pale white. The twins winced at the very image of their father dying in bed alone, then plucked up the courage to face him one last time.

Fisher flickered his eyes open and spoke to the two girls. "Girls... this is it. My final chapter."

Brittany was inclined to agree with Fisher's grim comment. "Yeah, I can tell." Her dark-haired sister nodded solemnly.

"From the moment Littlest Pet Street had its grand opening," said Fisher, hoarsely, "I realised I wouldn't be around forever. I learnt a lifelong lesson from my experience running Largest Ever Pet Shop—nothing lasts forever. From then, I knew my time would come on this earth, and as long as I had my family by my side, I would stay strong until the end."

The twins felt unusually moved by their father's speech, but then Whittany felt it was her last chance to open up about her true feelings. "Okay, dad... that's great and all, but can we be honest with you for once?"

Fisher feebly agreed. "Sure, sure."

Brittany took a deep breath. "Okay. As much as we're, like, sad to see you go... well..."

Whittany finished her white-haired sister's sentence for her. "You never really cared for us."

"Right," said Brittany. "You never really, like, spent much time with us, y'know? You only ever cared about the money. You let the profit get to your head and you've been neglecting us for as long as we can remember."

"Exactly," Whittany agreed. "So if anything, we're actually kinda glad your time has come on this planet."

Fisher was surprised to learn of her two daughters' true feelings. At this point, he had already learnt from his lifetime of odious neglect. "I... understand. And for that, I want to offer my sincerest apologies. I'm sorry I was never there for you. I'm sorry I put the values of profit before you both. And I intend to make it up to you the only way I can—I'm handing the reins of Largest Ever Pet Shop over to you."

The twins gasped at the offer. Handing a major business like Largest Ever Pet Shop sounded like a huge responsibility for girls their age. But taking into account the time they lost that could've been used for family bonding, they ultimately decided it was worth it.

"Thanks, dad," the twins said in unison.

"I know you'll do what's right for the family business," said Fisher. "The Biskit legacy must live on."

As he took his final breath, his eyes rolled back into his head. His arms fell limp and the heart monitor began showing a flatline, the high-pitched sound of which would ring in the twins' ears for as long as they lived.

Having witnessed their own father die before their eyes, Brittany held Whittany in her arms as they began to leave the room. The latter began to weep softly as tears streamed down her face.

As soon as they walked back into the hallway, Eliza walked over to the two girls and pulled them in for a hug. She had overheard the flatline coming from Fisher's room, as well as his quiet conversation with the twins. She felt proud of her daughters for agreeing to run Largest Ever Pet Shop in accommodation of his wishes.

"Oh, my babies!" exclaimed Eliza, as she cried tears of both joy and sadness. "I can't believe you're both going to be the new owners! But how on earth are you...we going to pull it off?"

"I don't know," said Brittany, hugging her mother back. "This is gonna sound weird, but for the first time in my life... I'm scared."

At Littlest Pet Shop, things were awfully quiet around the store. Mrs. Twombly was busy cleaning the counter, still trying to get over her grief. She stopped and observed a photograph of Penny Ling which sat next to the cash register. She placed the photo back on the counter and sighed.

What was going on at the day camp wasn't much better. Laying on her back inside the hydrant hangout was Pepper Clark, staring up at the ceiling, wide-eyed and covering herself in her own tail. Even after six months of grieving, she still felt responsible for the death of her closest friend, Penny Ling.

She sighed as she turned her head to the other side of the hydrant, where Sugar Sprinkles was sitting, comforting a sleeping Buttercrean Sundae. She let out a sorrowful groan, wishing to be alone with her thoughts.

Minka Mark brought her head into the hydrant and saw the heavy-hearted skunk curling herself into a ball. "Hey, Zoe! She's in here!"

Zoe Trent leapt up to the entrance and walked towards Pepper with Minka by her side. "I just knew she'd be needing a moment to herself." She tapped Pepper on the head to grab her attention. "Hey, Pepper."

Pepper opened her eyes and saw Zoe smiling down upon her. "Oh." She feebly waved at the spaniel, barely managing to crack a smirk. "Hey, Zoe."

Minka walked up to Pepper next. "We were just wondering how you were feeling now."

Pepper sighed. "Pretty much the same. It's been hell since we lost Penny Ling. Somehow, I still feel it's all my fault."

"Aww, don't say that," said Zoe, gently stroking her tail. "Why feel as if you're to blame for the...recent loss?"

Pepper turned her head and peered at the outside—the boys were huddled up together in a corner, shivering in fear. They looked like they hadn't slept for days on account of their bloodshot eyes. They feared what happened to Penny Ling would eventually happen to them as well.

"The boys haven't approached me since the funeral," said Pepper, sombrely. "They won't even look at me, let alone talk to me. They're afraid I might end up killing them..." She began to tear up. "...just like how I killed Penny Ling. I bet Vinnie's itching to dance on my grave! Penny Ling and I were getting so close before she died! I'm a terrible friend! Littest Pet Shop would be better off if I died too!"

Zoe calmed Pepper down and comforted her in her arms. "You're not a terrible friend, Pepper. The boys don't know what they're talking about."

"Especially Russell," Minka added.

"I cannot stress this enough," said Zoe, "you most certainly aren't a murderer. You've managed to get through the first four stages of grief without issue. It's only a matter of time before you go through 'Acceptance'."

"You can put your trust in us girls to help you get through this," said Minka. "Until then, we can grieve together."

The three feminine pets all joined in for a group hug, with Pepper crying softly in Zoe and Minka's arms. She felt confident that they would help her through this painful time. Sugar Sprinkles turned her head towards the trio and let out a faint smile, knowing Pepper still had friends of her own.

As they sat down together for a brief period of mourning, Pepper managed another smirk as she heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks, ladies."

Later that night, at Downtown City Park, Shivers the squirrel was busy storing nuts in his home for the winter. He was dead set on finishing such a hefty task as quickly as possible before it was time for him to hibernate.

As he hastily stored more and more nuts into his home, a mysterious masked figure approached the timid squirrel, wielding a bladed weapon of unknown descent. As Shivers stopped outside the tree to rest, he noticed the sinister figure and yelped.

"Oh!" exclaimed Shivers, chuckling nervously. "Hey there! What are you doing at my residence?"

The figure began to speak in an ominous, low-pitched tone of voice. "I've been looking for you, Mr. Shivers."

Shivers' eyes widened as he gulped anxiously. "H-how do you know my n-name?"

"I know everything," the figure replied. "I've been watching your every move, anticipating my visit. And now, the time has come."

Shivers began to, well, shiver. "W-well, I appreciate the thought, but wh-what do you want from me?"

"You have indulged in several atrocious acts of compulsive hoarding," the figure stated. "The crimes you have committed against Littlest Pet Shop are abhorrent and, dare I say, unforgivable."

Shivers was confused as well as frightened. "What? That's what this is about? But it's all in the past now! Blythe and the pets have already forgiven me! You gotta understand, I'm their friend!"

"True, what you're saying is correct," the figure started off, "but your past transgressions cannot, in good conscience, go unpunished. You are hereby sentenced... to eternal hibernation."

The figure slowly approached the squirrel, ready to bring the freshly-sharpened blade of his weapon down upon him, in spite of his desperate pleas.

"No, please! Don't do this! Just let the past be the past, okay?! Please! I don't wanna die! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I'M SO SORRY! NOOOO!"

SLASH!