Eau de Pepper: The True Story

This is Nicholas, an employee from DHX Media Vancouver. To whom it may concern, I’m writing this in regards to an incident that occurred at the studio almost five years prior.

It ails me to think back to that fateful day; nonetheless, I’ll try to recollect the events that transpired that day.

The day that changed my perspective on Littlest Pet Shop — forever.

The year was Q1 2014. I was hired as an employee for DHX Media Vancouver, because from what the executives told me, the amount of employees was running short.

I had watched a few episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and tuned in to the premiere of Littlest Pet Shop back in 2012. I was truly impressed at how well those shows were put together, so I was more than happy to accept my position at the studio.

I was excited to learn about how much blood, sweat and tears was being put into both MLP and LPS. What intrigued me the most, however, was production on LPS.

Of course, most of you know the 2012 animated LPS series. The one that gave fans of LPS (and Hasbro as a whole) a fresh new take on the franchise.

Personally, my favourite character from the series was Penny Ling. Her kind-hearted nature was what made the character seem all the more adorable to me. The other characters were good too, especially Pepper Clark, but I liked Penny Ling best.

Now here's where my story gets interesting: sometime in May, I was about to leave the studio and go home when one of the employees ran up to me.

"Woah!" I exclaimed.

"Hey, uhm, can I talk to you?" asked the employee. Her voice stuttered and she looked as if she hadn’t slept for days. Still, she looked like she could do no wrong.

"Oh, I was just leaving, but sure! What’s on your mind, ma'am?"

"I was wondering if you were interested in attending an animatic test screening tomorrow morning for the latest Littlest Pet Shop short me and the others have been working on? It’s called "Eau de Pepper"."

I chuckled at the title: "Eau de Pepper". It was purely because Pepper was known for her variety of scents. Whenever nervous or scared, she'd release her natural musk, and whenever excited or very happy, she'd release a pleasant-smelling scent instead.

I was well aware that by the title alone, it was going to be a fun ride, so I agreed to the employee's offer.

"Sure. I don’t see why not."

The employee hugged me and ran off. The idea of attending an animatic test screening made sense, since employees were usually allowed to watch the episodes before they aired.

The next day, I drove to the studio and made my way to the screening room. There, the executives, focus groups and other employees were already seated.

I took my seat just in time as the animatic started playing. For obvious reasons, there was no title card. The original score by Daniel Ingram and Steffen Andrews was also absent.

It began with Blythe preparing the pets for the upcoming International Pet Fashion Expo. Pepper was a Queen’s Guard, Minka was a butterfly, Penny Ling was a Japanese/Chinese maid, Vinnie was a yodeller, Sunil was an Arab, Russell was a knight…

...and as for Zoe, I honestly couldn’t tell what the hell she was dressed up as, but she looked as fabulous as the other pets either way.

"You guys are gonna look great at the International Pet Fashion Expo," said Blythe, as she got Minka into her butterfly costume.

"We look great," said Pepper, "but how do we smell?"

Blythe became confused. "Smell?"

"Yeah!" Pepper responded optimistically. "I think we have to smell happy. If the judges smell happiness on us, it’ll seep into their subconscious and make them happy. And who doesn’t want a happy judge?"

"That makes sense," said Penny Ling, before Pepper shoved her tail into her mouth.

"Now all I have to do is capture my happiest of happy scents," said Pepper. "A delicate, peppermint-rosy, just-baked cupcake blend."

There was a lightning transition to an establishing shot of a castle atop a summit. Pepper and Penny Ling were in a lab of sorts, and Pepper stuck her tail in a tube to collect her scents.

"Ready, Penny Ling?" said Pepper.

Penny Ling was in a lab coat, her hair raised like a mad scientist's as she pulled down her goggles. She reminded me of Victor Frankenstein from the 1933 film Frankenstein.

"Ready!" exclaimed Penny Ling.

"Okay," said Pepper, "start showing me the pictures."

Penny Ling then flicked two switches and a TV screen came down, displaying Pepper's rubber chicken. Pepper laughed while producing a light yellow fume, which created a small explosion before dropping into Penny Ling’s test-tube.

Penny Ling took a whiff of the scent. "Mmm! Smells like vanilla!"

"Vanilla?" said Pepper. "That’s not right."

Penny Ling preserved the tube and pulled a level, changing the screen to a picture of Pepper’s arrow head-bow. Pepper laughed even more as she produced a pink fume.

"Blueberry with a hint of jasmine!" exclaimed Penny Ling.

“Nice,” said Pepper, "but still not right."

We were then treated to a montage of Pepper being shown a plethora of "funny pictures", if you prefer to call them that. I still remember them vaguely:


 * Old Bananas dancing while holding bananas, an orange fume.
 * Blythe making a silly face, a cyan fume.
 * Groucho glasses, a white fume.
 * Chittering fake teeth, a pink fume.
 * A singing fish, a green fume.
 * A punch-glove-in-a-box, a yellow fume.

As each picture was shown, Pepper laughed and laughed as she became more and more tired out. Before we knew it, Penny Ling was coughing uncontrollably as the lab was filled with fumes. I could tell she was desperately trying to spread the fumes away.

Pepper clearly looked exhausted on account of her bloodshot eyes, which turned to face Penny Ling. "Penny Ling, what’s going on back there?"

Penny Ling turned to Pepper, her eyes tearing up as she continued to cough. "All of your scents are mixing together! *cough cough* It’s too much!"

"I can’t stop until I find my happiest scent!" exclaimed Pepper. Cue lightning strike.

Penny Ling climbed back up to the machine as her eyes began to water. "But you’re exhausted... and the fumes! If you don’t stop soon, I’ll die!"

That very line of dialogue caught on to me the moment it was spoken. Did Penny Ling just say that she was going to die if Pepper didn't stop ASAP?!

Don’t get me wrong; the word 'die' has been used in the show before, but never in this type of context! The fact of the matter unnerved me to a great extent, but I kept my eyes on the screen, anxious to see what would happen next.

"Just... one... more!" exclaimed Pepper, prompting Penny Ling to pull a big double lever, starting a red alert and changing the screen to a picture of Captain Cuddles, the European polecat from the episode "Sweet Pepper".

Lovestruck, Pepper produced a bring pink fume that created a heart-shaped explosion the second it reached Penny Ling’s test-tube. From what I could tell, Penny Ling was weakened by the mix of fumes as she kept coughing whenever she spoke.

"Mmm! *cough cough* Smells like a *cough* peppermint-rosy *cough cough cough* cupcake!"

"Quick, Penny Ling! CAP IT!!"

Acting fast, in spite of her weakened state, Penny Ling ran towards a table and capped the tube with a wine-bottle cork.

Pepper sighed in relief and panted. "Success! I’ve finally found my happiest scent!"

The scene cut to a baggy-eyed Penny Ling, who placed a hand on her chest. The lab was clearly still filled with fumes, and she was continuously trying to spread them away.

"G-good for you, *cough cough* P-Pepper."

The camera zoomed into Penny Ling’s chest, then faded to the inside of her body. I don’t know about you, but something about the detail really put me off.

All of her organs were on show: her lungs, her pancreas, her liver, her spleen, her intestines, and especially her heart.

I just sat there, watching her heartbeat gradually and steadily slowing down — until it stopped completely. It then cut back to the lab, where Penny Ling clutched her chest and grunted in pain.

Me and the executives gasped in unison. Her facial expression made it seem as if her brain seized up. A sleep-deprived Pepper turned her head to face Penny Ling, who fell to the floor while letting out a guttural moan.

At the time of writing this, I recently viewed a clip of Penny Ling crying. Her crying sounded so realistic that it sounded as if her voice actress Jocelyne Loewen was actually crying, and that really gave me the chills.

Because it reminded me of the god forsaken animatic.

The moan Penny Ling let out sounded so bone-chillingly real that it made me shiver in fear, and that was mainly because Jocelyne was that good. The poor panda was obviously in intense pain.

Pepper gasped in shock and took her tail out of the tube before leaping off the table and making her way towards a coughing and wheezing Penny Ling, who was thriving on the floor in agony.

"Penny Ling!" exclaimed Pepper.

Going into cardiac arrest, Penny Ling slowly turned her head to face Pepper and flickered her bloodshot eyes open. Her voice sounded much weaker, as if she was about to die at any minute, and her cough now developed into a whooping cough.

"I... *cough cough* I t-told you it was... t-too… much! *cough cough cough*"

Penny Ling coughed out a few drops of what could be interpreted as blood. Feeling guilty over the current situation, Pepper began hyperventilating and crying at the same time, her tears staining her ruffled fur.

"Penny Ling, I’m sorry! I didn’t know this would happen! You were right; I was exhausted, and I didn’t know what I was—"

Before Pepper could say anything else, Penny Ling feebly put her left index finger on Pepper's lips and quietly shushed her.

"I-it’s okay, P-Pepper. *cough cough* I... *cough* forgive you."

I began to tear up at this point. I felt bad for both Penny Ling and Pepper, even though they’re technically cartoon characters.

I especially cried at the part where Penny Ling pulled Pepper in for a last minute hug. This all seemed so real to me. I don’t know why, it just did.

Shortly thereafter, Penny Ling cocked her head backwards and groaned. "Ack-cckkk...! I see... *cough* the light!"

Pepper started panicking. "Oh no... Penny Ling, whatever you do, don’t go into the light. Stay with me!"

Nearing death, Penny Ling started singing a creepy rendition of "Hush, Little Baby", complete with those disturbing coughing and wheezing noises.

It wasn’t just the coughs and wheezes that were hard to listen too, it was the lullaby itself! Penny Ling's voice changed to Laura Hastings, the character's singing voice, and Laura's voice sounded just as weak as Jocelyne's.

I’ll never be able to listen to that lullaby the same way again.

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word

Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird

And if that mockingbird don’t sing

Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring

As that creepy-ass lullaby ended, the scene changed — to a sort of flashback. It showed Penny Ling as a baby panda, taking her first steps.

This made me cry even harder. I always considered Penny Ling my favourite character, because she looked so cute. As a baby panda, she looked even cuter!

Her two cousins, Ling Jun and Jun Ling, entered the frame. Ling Jun picked her up and cuddled her as Jun Ling tickled her tummy.

Penny Ling giggled as Jun Ling kissed her on the cheek. I shrieked a little as Jun Ling began singing that goddamned lullaby.

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word

Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird

And if that mockingbird don’t sing

Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring

The flashback ended when the pair told Penny Ling: "We love you, Penny Ling. Always have, always will."

The scene changed back to the lab, where Penny Ling, taking her last dying breath, slumped over as her eyes rolled back into her head.

From what I could hear, a sound byte from the episode "Penny For Your Laughs" echoed in the background as Pepper stared at Penny Ling's body in shock and horror.

As far as I can remember, it was from the ending scene where Penny Ling tricks Pepper with a pistachio pudding pie.

Pepper continued to panic. "Oh, no. No!"

I shuddered as Pepper started shaking Penny Ling’s body in an attempt to wake her up. "Come on, Penny! Speak to me!"

Pepper then dropped her body and began doing chest compressions in the hope of restarting her heart. I stayed glued to my seat, watching Pepper trying to revive her panda friend. This went on for a few seconds, until she eventually gave up.

"No... Penny..."

Pepper kneeled over Penny Ling's body and mourned her deceased panda friend, crying and apologising softly as the camera slowly zoomed out.

Tabitha St. Germain's voice acting at this point was almost as good as Jocelyne's. I mean that too. It actually sounded as if she was truly mourning the loss of one of her loved ones.

The scene cut back to the day camp, now filled with the fume, where Blythe and the rest of the pets smelt the scent.

"Wow, Pepper!" exclaimed Blythe. "That smells fantastic!"

The smiles on Blythe and the pets' faces faded once they turned to face Pepper.

"Pepper?"

The camera panned to Pepper, who was rolling on the floor, moaning and weeping quietly. Zoe Trent walked up to her, curious as to what was going on.

"Oh, my. What’s wrong with Pepper?"

Blythe got up and walked over to Pepper, picking her up at her back. “I don’t know. Maybe I should schedule an appointment at the vet for her.”

"But wait," said Russell, "what about the International Pet Fashion Expo? I spent half-an-hour putting this costume together and everything!"

"Now hold your horses there," replied Blythe. "I’m sure we can figure something out. Just let me take care of Pepper first and we’ll see what happens next, alright?"

Blythe left with Pepper, who cried in her arms. The camera then panned to Minka walking towards Penny Ling, who was laying on the floor. She appeared to have been rendered unconscious as saliva drained from her mouth.

At which point Minka spoke the most spine-tingling phrase I could ever hear from any character in the show:

"Guys... is Penny Ling alright?"

The moment the animatic ended, I just sat there, utterly floored at what I had just seen. I couldn’t get my mind around it no matter how hard I tried.

One of my favourite LPS characters... just died before my very eyes.

How could this be? What kind of fucked-up shit did I just witness? The focus groups and other employees present were just as upset as I was.

Clearly, the executives were pissed to high heaven at this, demanding answers. One of them came up to me and asked, "what the hell just happened?!"

I responded with, "I have no idea. This nice employee just came up to me the other night and offered me the chance to attend this scree—"

It was then that the pieces all came together. The employee who came up to me the other night... her offer for me to attend the screening.

She said that she and other employees worked on the animatic together. There was only one logical explanation...

She was under so much stress and fatigue that she snapped from the pressure, so she persuaded the LPS writers and storyboard artists to take part in producing the animatic.

From what I could gather, she even convinced Tabitha and Jocelyne to record the dialogue as written in the script.

That was the best explanation I could come up with IMHO. Later that day, the executives assured me that they’d deal with her later. In the meantime, everyone was given the rest of the week off to clear their heads.

As I drove back home, I laid myself in bed and attempted to sleep off the trauma. I could never get over it; it was just too shocking.

Every day since the incident, I mainly stuck with MLP:FiM, since I believed production on that show would be more pure and wholesome than production on LPS.

Later that month, I was informed by the executives that the employee behind the animatic had been fired, and that the others involved were on paid leave. They called for "Eau de Pepper" to be rewritten to have a happier ending, resulting in the short you all may know today.

It would be quite some time before I got to watching LPS again. The show ended back in 2016, and as sad as I was to see it go, in my point of view, it was for the best. I didn’t want a similar incident to happen again.

As I write this, I hear rumors that a fully animated version of that twisted animatic is circulating on the internet somewhere as an .mp4 file. It used to be on Mediafire for a while before DHX Media filed a Content ID claim in order to hide their shame.

I hear that the file installs a virus onto the viewer’s PC, causing it to disappear immediately after being viewed. This has made me curious to track down a virus-free copy of the file for preservation purposes.

I don’t know how long it’ll take me to find it — but one thing is certain.

My perception on Littlest Pet Shop... will never be the same... again.