Chapter Text
Walking the dogs could wait.
Sure, it would be much more convenient to do it in the earlier parts of the day, but running into Target would be pretty awkward. Instead, he opted to cut the middleman and go straight to the construction site.
Ank had made incredible progress on the lighthouse. The only parts left to work on were the flooring, the interior, and the exterior paints. When Stampy arrived, Ank was lying asleep in a hammock tied between two trees.
To his surprise, Cal was present as well, turning wood into planks to use as floorboards. Cal waved when he noticed his feline friend, and Stampy waved back.
“How’s Crimcity been treating you?” asked Stampy.
“Oh, it’s wonderful,” marveled Cal, “and I’m not just saying that because Crimson’s around. Great food, unique architecture, and every 40 minutes I get to see the sunset! Truly a dream come true.”
Stampy gave him a little butterfly clap. “Lovely! I’m so glad to hear it!”
“Sorry I couldn’t make it for Christmas this year. Dan doesn’t celebrate, but I didn’t want him to be lonely, so we spent the day hopping around servers and playing games.”
“Games?”
There was a sparkle in Cal’s eyes.
“Oh, Stampy, you haven’t lived until you’ve had a go at server minigames. That’s like, the best part of being a vagabond, going down to the Hive, or Mineplex or Hypixel- there’s so many, I could just go on and on. They’re like giant arcades but you play the games for free in real life! Craig and I actually met on a game of Skywars, fun fact. It’s good. You should try it sometime. Ask him to take you to… to Live Arcade, that’s what I recommend.”
“Live Arcade?” repeated Stampy.
“Beautiful place, all the games are solid, and it’s not overly populated with players. Craig will know exactly what you’re talking about.”
“I’ll be sure to bring it up,” assured Stampy.
He felt something graze his shoulder. The orange cat turned around and saw his magical snowman behind him, holding a leash tied to his arm.
“Aw, Henry, you’re taking Benton out for a walk! How responsible!”
Henry nodded and began spinning in circles, leaving a trail of snow behind him.
“Hold on,” Stampy interjected. “I’ve got a spark, I need to go ask Ank some questions about those magical snow properties of yours.”
He ran over to Ank and, with some hesitation, woke him up.
“Five more minutes,” Ank muttered.
“You can head back to bed in a moment, there’s just a couple things I’ve been wondering, regarding my snowman and all.”
Ank mumbled something so quietly that Stampy couldn’t understand it.
“I know Henry doesn’t melt, but he’s been leaving snow trails behind. Do those melt?”
“None of Henry’s snow melts, it’s all… magic stuff, something.”
“And since he hasn’t gotten any smaller, I assume that he just produces that snow infinitely?”
“Yeah,” Ank yawned.
Stampy grinned. “Thank you, Ank, you can go back to sleep now.”
Ank was back asleep within seconds.
Filled with inspiration, Stampy took his shovel and began harvesting the snow that Henry had left behind. Henry continued his route in the opposite direction.
Standing at the bridge, Craig noticed Stampy drawing near.
“What’re you up to?” inquired Craig.
“I am going to build an emergency igloo with this unmeltable snow. I think it’d fit right in, seeing as spawn is so cold and snowy, and I’ll make a huge umbrella over top with pillars and cloth or something so it doesn’t get rained on.”
“Alright, you have fun with that.”
“Oh, and one more thing,” Stampy added. “Cal and I talked about those… game servers, I think they were called? He said there was this really cool one called Live Arcade, do you think you could try taking me over there tomorrow?”
Craig nodded. “That’s one of my favorites. They’re like, right at that sweet spot between a classic and unique game catalog. We could make a day out of it.”
“Sounds great!” Stampy beamed.
The cat continued en route to his house, picking up snow along the way, when he noticed an avian fellow in a frog hat cleaning up as well. Shoveling all the snow in the Love Garden and using it to build snow-robins, touching up the farms, sweeping the paths, all completely unprompted.
Stampy approached her, which she quickly took note of and responded with a wave. When he got there, he gave her his signature introduction.
“Hello, my name is Stampy, and welcome to Stampy’s Lovely World! What’s your name?”
“My name’s Froggy Robin. I hope you don’t mind me tidying up the place a little, I figured this house could use a touch up.”
Stampy laughed. “Not only do I not mind, I appreciate it! Thank you, Ms. Robin, I think you’ve earned yourself a spot in the Love Garden.”
“Really?” Froggy gasped.
“Mmhmm! Here, I’ll go get the sign ready.”
Soon enough, a sign was placed, and on it, Froggy Robin’s name was inscribed.
“Does that look right?” asked Stampy.
Froggy flapped her winged arms in excitement. “It looks great! I’m honored.”
“I do hope you like it here in this town, because I’d love to have you stick around here. You seem very nice.”
“As do you! I’ll be sure to talk about you to my friends. Actually, wait, you should meet them! I could introduce you, they’d love to have you.”
Stampy gasped. “Wow! Seems like today is just my day, I guess. I’ve already met you and someone else, and now we’re meeting even more people, that’ll be loads of fun! Is now a good time for you?”
“It’s a perfect time,” she chirped.
“Right then, let’s head off! Lead the way, Froggy Robin!”
Froggy flapped her arms even faster and began floating, much to Stampy’s surprise. Her blue jeans waved in the wind, and her green frog bucket hat was fastened on tightly. Though Stampy lacked her ability to take to the skies, he followed close behind on foot.
By the shore, a redstone powered wheelchair was parked. The whole thing was painted pink and blue, with wheels designed to look like buoys and starfish stickers all over. It was covered with glitter and seashells and pearls, and a giant iridescent shell decoration functioned as the chair’s back. The handlebars on the back looked like enchanted tridents, and red flowers on vines were tied around the armrests.
“We’re closeby!” announced Froggy.
The two of them descended into the water, though Stampy only went in after a bout of hesitation. The water was very cold, much to the cat’s dismay. Froggy didn’t seem to mind. A small chunk of ice began fading into view, and upon it sat a penguin in a sun hat wearing tan cargo pants.
Stampy squinted. “Is that one of your friends?”
“Yup! That’s Rosie Penguin. She’s one of the two rulers of the ocean. Well, sort of. They don’t hold any sort of executive power anymore because of, well, I think we all know what happened last year.”
Stampy floated in place. “What happened last year?”
Froggy turned his way with a chilling look on her face. “Doomsday.”
For a moment, there was a somber silence.
Froggy smiled. “But we all try to look on the bright side anyway! I suppose the good news is that Rosie and Amy Lee are both alive and well, as am I. The ocean’s full of delicious fish, and the land is filled with beautiful flowers!”
They swam up to the iceberg and mounted it. Rosie began tossing rose petals in celebration, her little orange beak forming a big smile. Froggy picked up the petals and began throwing them as well, the two giggling about it. Deciding that it looked like fun, Stampy joined in as well.
“Who’s your friend?” inquired Rosie.
“Oh, that’s Stampy! He built a great house and added my name on a sign in his backyard.”
Rosie squinted. “You mean the one with the waterfall?”
Froggy jumped up. “Mmhmm! I was just over there cleaning up, and he found me building snowbirds with the snow piles.”
“Whoa!” Rosie exclaimed. “I’m in the presence of a master architect.”
Stampy chuckled. “Well, I try my best.”
The ocean water sloshed a little bit, and then a sparkly purple tail flapped above the surface, before crashing back down, creating a little splash of water to go along with it.
Stampy shrieked. “What was that?!”
“That’s Amy! I think she might have gotten another fish,” explained Froggy.
The cat’s ears perked up. “Fish? I love fish, they’re such a delicacy.”
Rosie spun around in a circle. “Me too! We were going to have some fish for breakfast, you can join us if you’re up for that.”
Stampy agreed to their proposal, despite having already had a slice of that leftover Christmas cake.
The water bubbled and waved for a short while, and out emerged a fair-skinned mermaid with side swept hair as pink as bubble gum. It was tied with seaweed into a low ponytail, and atop her head was a pastel princess crown spangled with flowers. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were ocean blue. She held a cod high up in the air, grasping onto it tightly to make sure it can’t escape. Rosie and Froggy both cheered.
Amy turned to Stampy, then back to the others. “Is he a new friend?”
“Yeah,” Froggy replied. “His name’s Stampy, he’s the one who made that big house with the garden.”
“Aw, that’s like, totally mental! Loves it. Also, your house looks super cool.”
“Thank you!” Stampy mewed.
The cod in Amy’s hand stopped moving. Rosie grabbed it and took a large bite.
Stampy leaned toward Rosie. “You like your fish raw as well?”
Rosie nodded. “There’s nothing better than the classics. According to me, at least. Though I will admit, Froggy’s onto something with her choice of toppings.”
Froggy pulled out a cooked salmon, marinated with honey and topped with sunflower seeds and garnishes. She set plates down for Stampy and Amy, with Amy’s on the edge of the ice block. Rosie set a cod on Stampy’s plate, and Amy placed a pile of dried kelp on hers.
“Shall we dig in, my love?” Rosie asked Amy.
“Of course, darling!” Amy smiled, picking up a small portion of kelp.
They ate well that morning.
“We’re like sea hippies,” Stampy joked, “wearing frog hats and throwing around flower petals and eating fish and kelp for breakfast.”
Froggy nodded. “We’re living that good life!”
Stampy laughed. “Cheers to that, Froggy.”
And when the meal was done, they all followed him back to the construction site.
