G5 Adventures in Air Buddies

Chapters

Operation Rescue, Phase One: The Drive-In Theater
Welcome, Violette Rainbow!
Arriving in Fernfield, Washington/Meeting the Buddies
The First Week/Violette and Puppy Mayhem
A Wicked Plan in Motion
Deciding on Potential Families/Bad Guys in Position
Retriever Runaways and Kidnapping Chaos
The Rescue Mission Begins
Operation Rescue, Phase Two: Old McRoberts' Farm
Operation Rescue, Phase Three: The Forest
Rescue at Innsfield (Part 1)
Rescue at Innsfield (Part 2)
One Day Later...

Operation Rescue, Phase One: The Drive-In Theater

The plan was currently in motion-- while Buddy and Molly were going to try and dig themselves out of the wine cellar, using the dirt walls around them, the Buddies, Violette Rainbow and the rest of the Mane 6 were on their way to Innsfield to rescue them by themselves.

It was risky, for sure, but they had to at least try-- what else did they have to lose from this experience?

However, back in the main part of town, Noah’s family and Henry’s family were splitting up all over town calling for the lost dogs and the missing ponies.

However, while he and Henry were searching around the park, Noah suddenly found something to be rather suspicious. “I've been thinking about it. Sunny, all the ponies, Buddy and Molly helped us choose the right families, right?”

Henry nodded at this. “Right.”

“So why would they run away with the Buddies?”

Henry shrugged at this while Noah let out a worried sigh. “Something's up, Henry. Something's up.”

But what they had no idea about was how right they actually were... and how a bigger plot was coming into play.

XXXXXXXX

“Mom and Dad,” Rosebud declared happily into the wild blue yonder, “here we come!”

Currently, the Mane 6, Violette Rainbow and the Buddies were racing across a meadow just as the sun began to go down, the sounds of thundering hooves and paws making sure that they all stayed together on their long journey. “One thing’s for sure,” Violette told her friends, new and old, “these dognappers picked the wrong ponies and pups to mess with!”

“And,” Budderball agreed, “the sooner we rescue Mom and Dad, the sooner we get lunch, right, Sunny?”

“Right,” Sunny couldn’t help but giggle. “Now, come on-- I don’t think the drive-in is too far off now.”

“And after we get past the drive-in, whatever that is,” Izzy said, “we just have to get through the farm to get to Buddy and Molly! Oh, I know a song about a farm! Anypony wanna hear it?”

“Nope!”

“Not now, Iz!”

“Sort of in the middle of something here!”

Izzy shrugged at these immediate answers. “All right then… suit yourselves!”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Denning and Grim had snuck back to the Buddies' house while their family was not home, and while Grim stayed behind to watch the car, Denning snuck all the way around the house to see if the puppies were there.

However, stumbling through the darkness looking for them was not easy, especially when he couldn't find a safe way inside and he couldn't see a thing, causing him to accidentally trip over a cat.

Upon realizing that the puppies weren't there, he returned to the truck. “What took you so long?” Grim asked, scared to death by all the noises in the darkness. “They're not here,” Denning sighed, “and I looked everywhere.”

That left the two dognappers with only one question left to answer… what to do next?

XXXXXXXX

A little while later, the sun had finally set, letting the moon and stars rise fully into the sky... and Violette, the Mane 6 and the Buddies were still walking, trying to find either Innsfield, the drive-in theater or the old McRoberts farm.

However, they weren't having much luck, and they were getting pretty tired. “Dudes,” Mudbud groaned, “we've been walking all day. I don't see any wine country.”

“This pup's run out of pep,” Rosebud groaned tiredly. “And, it isn’t getting much lighter out,” Hitch pointed out. “Even our cutie mark light can only do so much. I say we find some place to rest and keep going in the morning.”

“But, Hitch, if we don’t get there soon,” Violette tried to reason, “something bad could happen to Buddy and Molly! And… I don’t wanna feel anymore guilt than I already do…”

Just before he could comfort the downtrodden unicorn, a familiar smell hit Budderball's nose dead on. “Wait. Do you guys smell that? I must be smellucinating.”

Suddenly, Zipp sniffed the air, suddenly smelling the same thing Budderball was. “He’s not wrong!” she said as they broke through the bushes and trees. “I smell that too!”

Once they had gotten out of the forest line, the pups and ponies saw the drive-in theater down below, and they appeared to be hosting a movie called 101 Dalmatians. Once they saw that they were at the drive in, Izzy sniffed the air and hummed in thought. “I'm no Sniffer, but I'm pretty sure it's coming from over there.”

“Where there's popcorn, there's Budderball,” Budderball said, and the group discreetly walked down the hill toward the theater, hoping to sneak past without much notice.

XXXXXXXX

As it turns out, Grim and Denning were here as well, watching the movie. Well... Grim was the only one really watching the movie, and when he saw Denning's worried and upset face, he decided to explain his reasoning. “My uncle always says know your animal, do your research. 99 puppies. Ha! How's that for research?”

“The more time we waste sitting here,” Denning growled, “the more hungry that tiger's gonna get!”

And Denning wasn’t sure about Grim’s line of thinking, but he for one did NOT want to be tiger food.

XXXXXXXX

“Dude!” Mudbud exclaimed as they entered the theater, sparing a look at the screen. “This is totally my favorite movie!”

“Mine too!” Pipp said as she stopped to look at the screen. “Can we stop and watch for a minute?”

“No time, Pipp,” Sunny said while pulling her away, much to Pipp's disappointment. “We’re on a deadline!”

XXXXXXXX

As the movie’s villain, Cruella de Vil, appeared on the screen, Grim let out a scream and jumped straight into Denning’s arms, causing Denning to immediately try and push him off. “Get off me!”

XXXXXXXX

“Oh, sweet mama,” Budderball said in anticipation as the group continued to work their way around the theater. “I can almost taste it.”

“Budderball, in my personal opinion,” said Zipp in a quiet tone of voice, “I think we should be more concerned with finding our way around this place so we’re out of sight, and not attracting more attention to ourselves by finding the snack bar.”

“But we are getting kind of hungry, Zipp,” Misty pointed out. “We never had the chance to eat anything before we left town, so maybe we can find the snack bar, stay there for a few minutes and then we can get moving again.”

“Well, okay,” Zipp relented after a few moments, “but we can’t stay long, so we just get snacks and get out of here without another moment of hesitation.”

“That’s the spirit, sis!” Pipp nudged her sister with a smile before Violette pointed toward a door nearby. “Come on!” the vitiligo-colored unicorn said. “It’s through here!”

Everyone discreetly followed her right through the projection booth at the very back of the theater, and when they finally got there, the man in charge of the projection was fast asleep. Luckily, Budderball had a plan-- more or less, his nose had a plan. “Follow me. My nose knows the way.”

“We’ll sneak around behind him and meet you guys on the other side,” Sunny told the Buddies before she and the ponies got on their knees and crawled past the sleeping man… while the Buddies got in front of the projector and walked behind the screen… unaware that the Buddies’ shadows were shining right through it during the middle of the movie.

XXXXXXXX

As B-Dawg and Mudbud began to tussle behind the screen during one of the climactic scenes of the movie, Grim stopped being so afraid as he pointed this out to Denning. “I don't remember this part-- giant puppies attack Cruela De Vil? Oh, my goodness… go, giant puppies!!”

“Those puppies aren't in the movie!” Denning yelled. “Those are our puppies!!”

And that being said, he and Grim immediately got out of their truck and began to run toward the projection booth to nab the Buddies and bring them back to Selkirk.

XXXXXXXX

“Mudbud, B-Dawg, stop fighting already!” Misty said quietly to avoid waking the man sleeping nearby and used her magic to pull the two pups down to the ground. “Come on, we’re almost there-- we can sneak in, get you guys something to eat and then we can get going. Now stay close.”

“You’re right! Come on, dudes!” Mudbud said urgingly. “If we don't hurry, Budderball's gonna eat all the popcorn!”

The two pups followed Misty back to the others, and it was revealed that they had stopped at the entrance to the snack bar, which was full of hot dogs, popcorn, nachos, cotton candy… every kind of food that the Buddies could imagine.

And unfortunately, Budderball couldn’t help his stomach and barged forward. “Jackpot!!”

With the attendant distracted, the Buddies snuck by her and began to snack relentlessly on different varieties of food, all while the ponies watched on in worry. “Sunny, what do we do?!” Hitch asked. “They could get caught!”

“I know, but we can’t go back there and get them, or else we’ll attract attention!” Sunny pointed out. “We’ll lay low here until they get done. Then, we’ll grab ‘em and get out of here. I just hope this situation doesn’t escalate into something worse…”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Denning and Grim burst into the projection booth in search of the puppies, waking the attendant in the process. “We’re lookin’ for five puppies,” Denning told the attendant and causing Grim to nod quickly. “They’re not real, pal,” the attendant told him, thinking Denning was talking about the puppies on the screen. “They're in the movie!”

Suddenly, Grim pulled open the flap on the projector, causing a bright light to suddenly blind him and Denning. “Denning… I see a bright light,” Grim said, dazed and blinded. “Are we dead?”

XXXXXXXX

As the ponies waited for the Buddies to get done with their midnight feast, a woman came in to buy some popcorn for her family and turned to the girl behind the counter. “One superjumbo, family-size tub of popcorn, please.”

“Sure,” the attendant nodded and grabbed a tub full of popcorn. However, before the woman could pay… Budderball burst out from the container, causing the woman to shriek in panic. “Oh! Puppy! Puppy!”

The ponies’ heads snapped up at this, and their eyes widened in panic. “Uh-oh!”

XXXXXXXX

In the projection booth, Denning heard the woman's shrieks and immediately realized that the Buddies were somewhere close by. “Puppies!” he cried. “Over here!”

Still blinded by the bright light, Denning and Grim staggered through the projection booth in the direction of the shrieks.

XXXXXXXX

The woman was still in disgust over a puppy being in the popcorn bucket, and couldn’t help but groan. “That is so unsanitary!”

“I think he’s cute,” the attendant said lovingly, causing the woman to gag and run off, just before Zipp chuckled nervously and scooped Budderball up. “I’m so sorry about this, ma’am-- my dog just got away from us,” Zipp said nervously, taking Budderball back to the others before scolding him. “Budderball, what did you think you were doing?! You nearly gave us away!”

“Hey, it’s no biggie, Zipp,” Budderball reassured her. “At least no one more dangerous saw us.”

But at that moment, Denning and Grim staggered into the snack bar, but ended up slipping and sliding on the wet floor, falling onto their backs in a daze. “We’ve got company!” Pipp shrieked to the other Buddies. “9-1-1!”

“Anybody got a doggie bag?” Budderball asked as Zipp set him down, and the Buddies and ponies immediately bolted before the bad guys could get back on their feet. “Hey, just a question,” said Izzy as they escaped. “Why don’t we use our magic on these creepies to make sure they don’t follow us?!”

“They don’t have magic, and we do!” Sunny pointed out. “We would have a seriously unfair advantage and they could use that against us!”

“So in other words,” Violette clarified, “all we have to do for right now is RUN!!!”

The Buddies and their pony pals burst out of the snack bar in an attempt to keep as far away from the bad guys as they could, and eventually ran into a group of cheerful bikers watching the movie from the grass.

“Hey. Check it out. Puppies!”

“Just like in the movie!”

“Aw, they're so cute. Hello, man!”

“I love puppies almost as much as my wheels.”

“Uh, sorry to steal these guys away from you, boys,” Misty said, taking Buddha from one of the bikers, “but we’ve kinda got trouble on our tails!”

At that moment, Denning and Grim came out of the snack bar after the group, causing the ponies to scoop the Buddies up and take cover behind the bikes for now. “Denning,” Grim was saying, “just remember my uncle put me in charge.”

“Watch out, Grim!”

Grim, still dazed by the light, slammed right into the biker’s bikes, toppling them over and causing the ponies to move the Buddies backwards to safety.

However... the bikers appeared to be angry from the fact that their bikes got knocked over, even as Grim stumbled around to try and find Denning. “Denning, where are you? Denning, where are you? Denning. Denning. Denning?”

He eventually grabbed one of the bikers’ beards, causing the biker to growl as Grim felt his face. “Denning, I don't remember authorizing you to grow a beard.”

“I'm not taking orders from you,” Denning growled. “When I get my hands on them, I'm gonna wring their double-crossing necks.”

But at that moment, Denning's vision returned, and he immediately saw the trouble that he and Grim landed themselves in. “Let me at those punks. Hold me back, hold me back!” B-Dawg growled, causing Zipp to grab the little pup in her hooves. At that moment, Grim's vision returned to, and he immediately saw that he had been messing with the wrong guy's face the whole time. “Hi, fella. You haven't seen some puppies, have you?”

“Let’s go, Grim,” Denning advised quietly. “Now.”

That’s when one of the bikers suddenly stopped them in their tracks. “Were you trying to hurt these puppies and their pony friends?”

“N-No way!” Denning stammered. However... the bikers were not convinced of the statement. “GET EM!!!”

In an instant, the bikers grabbed Denning and Grim and began to hoist them away while Violette saw an opening to escape. “Guys! Let’s get out of here!”

“Right behind you, Violette! Ponies, let’s move!” Sunny cried out to the group, and they immediately ran after Violette and out of the theater. “I sure hope,” said Buddha, “we don't run into those guys in our next life.”

“Wait for me!” Izzy cried out as she trailed behind the group to make sure no puppy was left behind.

And the last thing that Denning and Grim remembered from that point on that night was getting pummeled by drinks and snacks in front of the giant movie screen.

Our heroes had lost the dognappers for now… but who knows for how long.

XXXXXXXX

Back at his house at the same time that this was happening, Noah was talking to Henry on his walkie talkie before bed. “Yours, too?”

“Yeah,” Henry nodded, referring to their parents indirectly. “They think we're overreacting.”

“Tomorrow,” Noah advised, “we go to Sheriff Bob.”

“Okay.”

But as he said this, Jackie passed by the door with laundry, and unexpectedly heard everything that had been said. “Rent incoming. Gotta go. Over and out,” Noah said quickly and disconnected the call just before Jackie came into the room. “Did I just hear something about Sheriff Bob?”

“...you think I’m wrong,” Noah assumed with a heavy heart. “Well, no. No, honey,” Jackie said, sitting on her son’s bed. “I just don't want you to worry. We might as well cover all of our bases, and Sheriff Bob is one of them. I think it's a good plan.”

“You do?”

Jackie nodded and gently kissed her son on the forehead as a sign of comfort. “Good night, sweetie. And remember, no matter how far from home you may stray, the love we all share is here to stay.”

Noah nodded to this as his mom left the room and turned out the light. Then, he hoped and prayed that wherever the ponies were… and wherever the Buddies were…

…they would be able to stay safe until they could be returned home safe and sound.

Welcome, Violette Rainbow!

It was a few weeks after the very successful Maretime Bay Summer Solstice Festival with Spike and the rest of the dragons from the Isle of Scaly, and needless to say, the dragons couldn't wait to come back next year.

But only a week or two after the Mane 6 got back from their last Unity Quest, it was time for another mission… getting the Crystal Brighthouse ready for a very special guest of Izzy's, who was going to stay for an entire weekend for a special back-to-school sleepover.

And who was that special guest, you may wonder?

Violette Rainbow, Izzy Moonbow's personal crafting protégé.

When Izzy first met Violette, she was totally ashamed by her vitiligo colored coat… she thought that since it was different, ponies wouldn't like her, but it was actually the opposite-- ponies actually appreciated her for the sweet mare she was on the inside.

And now, she was going to make her mark on Maretime Bay as well.

XXXXXXXX

Violette was super excited as she trotted into Maretime Bay and toward the Crystal Brighthouse. The sleepover that she had been waiting for had finally arrived, and she couldn't wait for her moment to shine.

She waved to the ponies on the street (some of them she recognized from Bridlewood, and some of them brand-new to her), before continuing on her way toward the Brighthouse.

When she arrived, the first thing she saw was a bright colored banner that said 'Welcome, Violette Rainbow' in big, bright glittering letters, and the gesture warmed Violette's heart. “Aww, Izzy...” Violette smiled fondly. “They didn't have to make this much of a big deal for me...”

She trotted up to the door with her small bag behind her, and knocked on the door for only a few seconds before it opened, causing her to stumble inside and be met with an energetic and familiar face. “Welcome welcome welcome to the Crystal Brighthouse, Violette!” Izzy said cheerfully as she spun Violette around and set her down on the floor in front of the Mane 6. “We're so excited that you're gonna be staying with us for an entire weekend before you go to school on Monday!”

“Aww, thanks, Izzy!” giggled Violette. “My mom said to tell you guys hi, and thanks for looking after me while she went to Zephyr Heights for her business meeting.”

“Hey, happy to lend a helping wing,” Zipp told the unicorn filly. “So, what do you wanna do first? Do some high-octane stunts?”

“Zipp, don't be ridiculous!” Pipp scoffed. “She obviously wants a before-school makeover session!”

“Or we could give her a complete tour of Maretime Bay, just in case she were to get lost while running errands around here,” Hitch said, wrapping a hoof around Violette. “Hey, guys, listen,” Sunny said, getting in the middle of the group. “I know you guys are trying to be super helpful, but maybe we should let Violette decide what she wants to do first. You know... since she is the guest here for the weekend.”

“Ohhh... right. Sorry about that, Violette,” Misty said, a bit embarrassed by their behavior. “I guess we just got really excited.”

“Anypony would be excited with as much fun as we're going to have,” said Violette with a giggle before humming in thought. That's when she gasped, figuring out the perfect activity to do first with her mentor and her friends. “Izzy... do you still have that old tea set that you and I made together?”

“Sure I do! I'll go up and get it!” Izzy said before running up the stairs. “Sunny, do you have a recipe for mini cheesecakes and strawberry cookies?” Violette asked with a smile. “Sure! Misty and Pipp can totally help,” Sunny said, “but... what exactly do you want with them?”

Violette only giggled. “We're gonna do something I love to do in Bridlewood... a good old-fashioned unicorn tea party!”

XXXXXXXX

The ponies and Sparky got all dolled up for the special tea party right after Sunny got to cooking the mini cheesecakes and cookies, and currently, they were all sitting around the table, sharing stories and having laughs like they had known one another all their lives.

Violette stopped the laughter to ask a question. “Seriously? You ponies actually helped those three Warner siblings reclaim their birth rights?”

“Yep! We think about the Warners every chance we get,” Misty nodded as she took a sip of glimmerberry tea. “That's the Unity Quest that started it all for us... and helped me get on a much better path, since I was serving Opaline for a long time before these quests got started.”

“But I think we've told more than one Unity Quest story for one day,” Pipp said before turning to Violette again. “So... what are you most excited about when it comes to school next week?”

“Well... I heard that they have an arts and crafts club after school, so I'm pretty excited about joining that when I get the chance. Not to mention, I'll get some really nice teachers and maybe even make some new friends while I'm there,” Violette said. Suddenly... her smile slowly faded into a frown. “But... I guess that's what's worrying me too. What if... what if ponies don't like me?”

“Violette... there is no way that they won't like you,” Sunny said to the filly, trying to be comforting. “Your coat makes you extremely special, and as long as you don't forget that, you're gonna be just fine.”

“But... even if I know that my coat is special and you know that it's special, what if others don't?” asked Violette. “And what if I get homesick from my mom? Leaving her is something I'm not really used to on a daily basis. She usually does all of her stuff in Bridlewood, or Maretime Bay, where I'm comfortable. But... in school, it'll be totally new, and I don't exactly do good in new places.”

The Mane 6 knew exactly what Violette was going through... all of them had first day of school doubts at one point in time.

All they had to do was figure out how to work through them.

And if they could get through their first day of school doubts, then they were certain that Violette could too.

It was all a matter of when and how.

But before they could say anything else, they felt a familiar tingling, and they looked down to see their cutie marks glowing... and even Violette's cutie mark was glowing alongside theirs! “All right, this is perfect!” Zipp told the unicorn filly. “If you come with us and ace this Unity Quest, you'll be more than ready to conquer those doubts about school!”

“You really think that I'm ready for this whole... Unity Quest thing?” Violette asked, looking at the Mane 6 with a concerned look. “I mean... other worlds are a long ways away, and I'm just worried I'm gonna mess up.”

“That's exactly why this is gonna be a fun adventure! Trust me, V,” Izzy reassured her protégé. “This is gonna be fun! We can take our sleepover on the road!”

“Well... okay. If you guys are sure about this,” Violette said before becoming a bit more confident, “then... I'm in!”

“Everypony go and pack your stuff!” Sunny exclaimed. “Next stop, wherever the Unity Crystals take us!”

Arriving in Fernfield, Washington/Meeting the Buddies

It was finally time for Violette Rainbow's very first Unity Quest with the Mane 6, and while she was nervous, she was honestly very excited.

The thoughts of traveling to a brand new world was an intriguing thought… plus, maybe her friends and her mentor were right.

Maybe this would help her get ready to tackle her first day of school jitters.

As she was thinking all these thoughts, she gathered her things and met the Mane 6 up in the Crystal Room as the Unity Crystals glowed with a bright light that got brighter… and brighter… and brighter until…

…they vanished, and this only means that the Unity Crystals sent out heroes off on their next big adventure.

XXXXXXXX

When the portal on the other side finally opened, the Mane 6 stepped out rather smoothly onto a patch of grass, while Violette… well, she tumbled out and landed on her stomach, a little dazed from the landing. “Whoa… is it like this every time for you guys?”

“Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't,” Hitch said as he brushed himself off. “I guess you caught our landing on a good day.”

“Wow… look at this place!” Sunny said as she looked around the small community around them. “It seems so peaceful!”

“But is it too peaceful?” Zipp asked with a suspicious look. “That's what we really have to figure out... and we have to find the rest of those star shards before Allura does.”

“According to local satellite reports,” Pipp said, typing on her phone vigorously, “it looks like we landed in a small town known as Fernfield, Washington… home to somebody by the name of Air Bud.”

“Air Bud?” Zipp raised her eyebrow as Misty got a newspaper and began glancing through it. “What kind of human beings name their kid Air Bud?”

“Maybe that's cause he's not a human being… he's a Golden Retriever!” Misty said, smiling as she looked at the newspaper in front of her. “You guys, check it out!”

The others huddled around the newspaper and discovered that Air Bud was a Golden Retriever… a Golden Retriever who could play football, baseball, soccer, volleyball and, his best sport, basketball, just like a human being! “Whoa… check out all these scores over the past three games!” Sunny said, pointing to the scores on one section of the paper. “Air Bud is really a dog in his prime!”

“Hey… do you think Air Bud is the one we're supposed to help on this mission?” Violette asked. “Or somepony who's close to Air Bud?”

“That's a good thought,” Sunny told the unicorn filly. “We'll check into it, but we better ask someone where he lives, just to make sure where we're going.”

“Hey, maybe I can ask that old bloodhound sleeping over there,” Hitch said as he pointed over to the sleeping bloodhound right in front of the Fernfield sheriff office. “He might know this place like the back of his hoof… er, paw, so to speak.”

“It's worth a shot,” Zipp nodded in agreement. “Let's get going.”

They quietly approached the sleeping bloodhound, where Violette softly touched his shoulder and shook him lightly. “Excuse me?”

The bloodhound continued to snore loudly, causing Violette to clear her throat and speak up again. “Excuse me!”

The bloodhound suddenly woke up and sat up at this, looking at all the ponies around him. “Oh, hello there, young horsies,” he greeted in a deep southern accent. “Name's Deputy Sniffer. Haven't seen you kids around these parts before-- are you new or are ya lost?”

“Well, new and lost, really,” Hitch said before turning to the others. “He said his name is--”

“Uh... Hitch? We all understood him,” Misty spoke up. “Must be the Unity Crystals watching out for us again.”

“Sorry if we woke you up with a startle, deputy,” Sunny apologized, “but we were wondering if we could get your help with a question.”

“We're trying to find the house where Air Bud lives, cause... well, we honestly wanna see a dog who can play basketball,” Pipp said honestly with a chuckle, “and we were wondering... do you think you can give us directions to where he and his owners might live?”

“Oh, well... sure. You young'uns seem nice enough, and I think Air Bud and the missus would be happy to meet some horse fans of theirs,” Deputy Sniffer told the group. “Now let's see... you need to head down Main Street for a little ways, and then take a left and then three rights, and Air Bud's house should be the fifth one on the left.”

“Uh...” Violette blinked in confusion about the bloodhound's directions. “Did anypony else get all of what he just said?”

“I did!” Pipp said cheerfully, holding her phone up in the air. “I put all those directions in to my GPS, global pony system, and it's showing us the exact directions we need to get to where we're going.”

“Good going, Pipp! Let's get going! Thanks for all your help, deputy!” Misty thanked the bloodhound before the ponies all galloped off in the direction that Pipp's phone was leading them. After they had left, Deputy Sniffer yawned and laid his head down for another nap. “Nice kids... hope we see more of them around here...”

XXXXXXXX

“Okay. According to Deputy Sniffer and his directions... and as well as my phone,” Pipp said said as she guided the group down another street, “Air Bud's house should be right on the other side of this street.”

“Hey... maybe those puppies coming up the street will know which house it is!” Izzy said, pointing to the sidewalk nearby. “They sure do look like Air Bud!”

That's when the others turned to see a young boy, at least 11 years old, walking a herd of five Golden Retriever pups down the sidewalk, and they all seemed different in the way they looked:

The biggest puppy of the litter had black markings under his eyes, almost looking like an rough and tough football player.
One of the puppies wore a silver chain with a matching charm of the letter B.
Another one of the puppies had a dark blue bandana around his neck and was a lot messier than his siblings.
The fourth puppy wore a Buddhist collar made out of beads.
Finally, the last puppy, coincidentally the only female, wore a pink bow on the side of her ear.

And needless to say... they were giving the 11 year old boy one heck of a time. “Whoa, B-Dawg! Mudbud! Budderball! Slow down!”

“Uh-oh! We better go give that kid a hand!” Zipp told her friends. “Five puppies pulling you everywhere can't be good on your balance or your muscles.”

The ponies then took the chance to run over to the boy and the puppies, stopping in front of them and letting the pups climb all over the ponies, causing them to laugh. “Aw, they’re so sweet!” Violette giggled. “And they’re friendly!”

“Hey, thanks for stopping the Buddies,” the boy then told the ponies. “They can be… a little hyper sometimes.”

“The Buddies? So that’s who these guys are,” Sunny said with a giggle as the largest puppy licked her face. “And who are you?”

“I’m Noah-- Noah Sullivan,” the boy said, shaking Sunny’s hoof. “Are you guys new to Fernfield? I’ve never seen you around here before.”

“We’re sort of passing through on an assignment,” Hitch explained. “We were actually hoping to meet the legendary Air Bud, and we were told his house is on this street.”

“Oh, well… these are actually his pups, and I’m actually Buddy’s owner,” Noah explained. “No way!” Zipp exclaimed. “Wow, this times out perfectly! So, run us through the pups one by one... ha ha ha! And you can start with the one climbing all over me!”

The pup in the silver chain was indeed climbing on Zipp’s back and tussling with her mane, causing Noah to pluck the pup right off. “Well, this is B-Dawg, who’s a natural at basketball.”

Pipp was currently playing with the only girl of the bunch. “That’s Rosebud,” Noah pointed her out. “Don’t let her cuteness fool ya-- she can be pretty feisty sometimes. The big dog playing with the purple unicorn’s tail is Budderball, the big fella of the litter.”

“Big and full of love!” Izzy giggled. “The one letting the younger unicorn pet him is Buddha-- he’s more of the calm kind,” Noah said, gesturing to the pup Violette was petting before moving onto the last one. “And that over there is Mudbud-- he’ll take mud over a bone any chance he can get.”

“Well, it’s great to meet everyone,” Misty smiled. “Hey, Noah… you wouldn’t happen to know of any place for a couple of tired ponies to spend the night, would ya?”

“Yeah,” Violette nodded. “We just got into town, and we’re getting a little tired.”

“Well, I have school during the week,” Noah said, “but you guys are welcome to come stay at our house. We have plenty of room, and we need some help looking after these guys for a while.”

“Hey, if it provides us with room and board for a little while,” said Hitch with a grateful grin, “we’re more than happy to do whatever it takes.”

“Lead the way, Noah,” Sunny smiled, and let the boy and the five pups take the lead while the rest of the ponies followed behind.

XXXXXXXX

Surely enough, Noah’s mom and dad, Patrick and Jackie, were more than welcome to let the ponies stay for a little while, until their assignment was finished and they could go home.

And thankfully, Buddy and Molly, the Buddies’ parents, were more than happy to let the ponies help look after their pups while Noah and Molly’s human Henry were at school.

Later that night, after dinner, Jackie and Patrick wanted to get to know the ponies a little bit better while Violette played with the Buddies upstairs. “So,” said Patrick, “you travel around helping people with their problems?”

“Essentially, yeah. And we look super fab doing it too!” Pipp said as she took a selfie of herself. “And Patrick, you’re a veterinarian? That sounds like an interesting job.”

“It definitely has its ups and downs,” Patrick chuckled. “And what about your little friend? What’s she like?”

“Violette? Oh, she is the absolute sweetest filly in the world,” Izzy bragged. “I’ve taught her everything I know about crafting!”

“It’s her first assignment with us and she’s pretty nervous,” Sunny added, “but the dogs are making her feel really at home.”

“Aw, we’re so glad,” Jackie smiled sweetly. “She really seems to connect with the pups on a personal level.”

“That does happen with younger kids and animals,” Zipp pointed out. “I read that in a research article somewhere.”

“Well, while we’re here, let’s let them all have some fun,” Sunny told her friends. “I mean, how much trouble can one unicorn and five pups get into?”

XXXXXXXX

In the guest bedroom where the ponies would be sleeping, the Buddies and Violette were happily wrestling and playing tug-of-war with one another when Buddy stepped into the room, chuckling lightly. “All right, you little rascals. It’ll be your bedtime soon and we want to make sure our guests get plenty of rest.”

“Aw, Dad! You’re totally messing up our playtime vibe,” B-Dawg pouted. “Can’t we just have five more minutes?” Rosebud asked. “Please?”

Violette let out a tired yawn. “I’m actually kinda tired too, puppies. Maybe we can all bunk together tonight. I can tell you one of the amazing stories that Izzy told me about her and her friends’ amazing adventures!”

“Do we get popcorn with this story?” asked Budderball curiously. “If so, make mine with extra kibble crunchies.”

“No popcorn, but it’ll be a story for the ages!” Violette told the pups as she nudged them off to their own room. “Hey, Violette?” Buddy called to her before she could leave. “Thanks. I usually never get the pups off to bed so easily.”

“Just doing my best, Mr. Air Bud, sir,” Violette said respectfully. “My mom always bribes me with a story before I go to sleep, so I knew it would probably work on the pups.”

“I gotta remember that trick for next time. And… it’s just Buddy.”

“Oh, right… sorry,” Violette said nervously. “I’ve never been around celebrities except for the ponies before… it’s kinda nerve-wracking when you think about it.”

Buddy chuckled at the unicorn’s enthusiasm before he followed Violette to the Buddies’ room to let the sleepytime stories begin.

XXXXXXXX

“Night, Jackie! Night, Noah! Night, Patrick!” Misty called to the Sullivans as the ponies headed up to their guest room. “See you tomorrow at breakfast!”

The ponies had enjoyed a lively evening talking to their new friends while Violette and the pups played upstairs, but now they were all tired out, and they were heading up to fetch Violette before they retired off to bed for the evening.

But as they neared the Buddies’ room, Buddy met them at the door and gestured for them to be quiet… and they could see why.

Violette had told the Buddies a story that Izzy had told her, and now, everyone was fast asleep… even Violette herself.

Sunny couldn’t help but smile at this heartwarming sight and turned to her friends. “I think we should let her sleep with the Buddies while we’re here… she really seems attached to them.”

“Good thinking,” Izzy whispered back. “I mean… they look really happy.”

“I’ll walk you guys to your room,” Buddy whispered back, “but we better be quiet so we don’t wake them.”

“Good idea,” Misty nodded. “Thanks.”

And so, Buddy led the ponies off to their guest room for the night ahead… but no one was aware of the adventures that would shortly come to pass.

The First Week/Violette and Puppy Mayhem

Over the course of that next week, the ponies had spent a lot of time with their newfound friends, and discovered a lot of different things.

For example, before he was adopted by Noah’s older brother Josh, Buddy once belonged to a rude, grumpy, alcoholic party clown named Norm Snively. Buddy was shown to have an uncanny ability to play every sport, including basketball, and helped the Fernfield Wolverines win the most important matches of their careers… and Buddy found his way into a loving family that he would cherish forever.

After a while, Buddy met Molly, another Golden Retriever who lived across the street from Noah's house, and immediately fell in love with her. Only a few short months later, people on that street heard the patter of little paws, and the Buddies were born.

Once they had gotten Buddy's origin story out of the way, and discovered how the Buddies came into the world, it was time to dive more into the Buddies and their respective personalities.

XXXXXXXX

Surprisingly, Hitch found himself growing close to the biggest pup of the litter, Budderball, who had an appetite a lot like a little dragon he knew back in Equestria, and he was always getting into mischief.

Like this one day, Budderball was playing with one of Patrick's shoes and Hitch was reading a book next to him when Patrick trudged through the house with only one shoe on. “Honey, I can't find a matching shoe.”

Hitch and Budderball’s heads snapped up at this, but when they looked at each other, Hitch couldn’t help but laugh.

XXXXXXXX

Zipp found herself growing closest with B-Dawg, since he was all about the action and the sports, especially basketball. Even the little pup surprised Zipp on how uncanny good he was at the sport-- just like his father.

He even dunked Noah's trashed pieces of paper into the waste basket like a pro!

XXXXXXXX

Izzy and Sunny found themselves growing closer to Buddha, the most mellow of all the pups, and they loved to do meditation with Buddha and Jackie of the mornings before anyone else woke up.

XXXXXXXX

Misty, strangely enough, was growing closest to little Mudbud, who was playful and energetic, and taught Misty a lot about letting loose and not worrying so much...

...especially when that came to rolling around in the dirt outside-- one of Mudbud's favorite past times.

XXXXXXXX

And last, but not least, Pipp found herself growing closer to someone who may have been a bigger diva than her-- Rosebud, the only girl of the litter.

They both loved pink, sparkly things, and they hated getting dirty-- in fact, Zipp thought that Pipp and Rosebud got along so well, they may have had the same soul in two separate bodies.

XXXXXXXX

Violette couldn’t decide which puppy she liked best, so she played with all of them in the backyard whenever she could, and the ponies made sure to keep a watchful eye on all of them.

The little Buddies were growing up fast, and (needless to say) becoming quite the handful-- not that the ponies minded.

All kids needed chances to live, learn and grow to become satisfied with their own lives.

Now, there comes a time in every pup's life when he must say goodbye to the home he once knew and say hello to a new one...

...and that's when our story truly begins.

XXXXXXXX

“Guys, we have to be ready in just a few minutes!” Sunny called to her friends in their guest room. “Noah’s game starts in 30!”

“We’re almost ready, Sunny!” Pipp called back. “Just gotta make sure we have everything!”

The Mane 6 had been invited to come to one of Noah's most high-stake basketball games of the season, and they couldn't more honored or thrilled to be invited to attend.

However... the Buddies weren't going to be allowed to come since they were still so young, and Violette didn't want to go without them, so Patrick called the babysitter he had for Noah and his friend Henry when they were little, Mrs. Niggles, to come and watch them while they were at the game.

Finally, the ponies were ready, and headed downstairs to join up with Noah’s parents, who were waiting for their son to get ready in his room. “Noah!” Jackie called. “Come on! We've gotta go now!”

“We're gonna be late for the game!” Patrick called up in agreement as Noah finished putting on his shoes. “Coming!” Noah called back before turning to Buddy. “You go downstairs. I'll be right there.”

Buddy panted as Noah rubbed on his head before going downstairs where the Mane 6 were waiting for Noah and Buddy to come downstairs. “This is gonna be so fun!” Misty told her friends. “I’ve always wanted to be the guests of honor at a real basketball game!”

“And I’ve never known that I wanted to be the guest of honor at a basketball game where a dog is playing!” Pipp said with a giggle. “These missions are sure filled with unexpected surprises, huh?”

“Focus, guys. We still don’t know EXACTLY why we’re needed in Fernfield,” Zipp reminded her friends quietly, “so we still need to keep somewhat of a low profile.”

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Patrick answered it just as Buddy came downstairs. “Oh, good. The sitter’s here!”

That’s when Mrs. Niggles, an older woman with a posh accent, came through the front door with a pie in her reach. “I prefer the professional distinction of ‘nanny’, if you don’t mind.”

That’s when Buddy let out a bark as a greeting. “Hello, Buddy!” Mrs. Niggles greeted politely. “Hi, Mrs. Niggles,” Jackie smiled. “Oh, have you met Sunny and her friends from out of town? They’ve been staying with us while they’re on an assignment.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Niggles,” Sunny said politely, shaking her hand. “Thanks again for agreeing to watch Violette as well as the Buddies-- we just wanna make sure they have the best care possible while we’re gone.”

“Oh, it isn’t a problem,” Mrs. Niggles said with a smile. “I’m sure she’ll be a little darling just like those pups.”

“Speaking of darling,” Zipp checked her phone, “Noah should be coming down with Violette already… where are they?”

XXXXXXXX

“I'm serious. You guys need to chill,” Noah told the Buddies as they sat in their bed. “I’ll be back soon, okay? Come on, Violette-- the others wanna say bye to you before we leave.”

“Sure thing. I’ll be right back,” Violette told the Buddies before following Noah out of the room… unaware that the Buddies were getting out of bed and following them to the edge of the stairs.

XXXXXXXX

Violette stood by Noah as he was stopped by his mother at the top of the stairs. “Sorry,” Noah apologized for being late. “I had to say goodbye.”

“I think the Buddies are a little bummed that they can’t come,” Violette agreed with a sad nod, unaware that the Buddies were listening to everything. “Oh,” Jackie said sympathetically. “Well, I’m sure you guys are gonna have fun nonetheless,” Pipp told Violette with a gentle smile. “Now, you two go say hi.”

Violette nodded and moved with Noah down the stairs, stopping before the older woman. “Hi, Mrs. Niggles,” Noah greeted. “This is Violette Rainbow.”

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” Violette said politely. “I worked all day on this little piece of perfection,” Mrs. Niggles said, gesturing to the pie on the counter before pinching Noah’s cheek. “Blueberry pie, just for my favorite little boy.”

Suddenly, Budderball perked up when he heard two of one of his many favorite food words. “Did somebody say ‘Blueberry pie’?!”

“Budderball! Put a muzzle on it!” scolded Rosebud. “They’ll hear us!”

“Dudes,” Mudbud whispered to his siblings, “if we wanna go to the game, we're gonna have to get by Niggles.”

“Words of wisdom, Mudbud,” Buddha said calmly. “This game's gonna be off-the-chain insane!” B-Dawg agreed. “And maybe we can drag Violette into coming with us!”

“For sure,” Rosebud whispered back, “but not if we get caught!”

“Where are the little darlings?” Mrs. Niggles asked, looking around for the Buddies. “They’re up in their room, playing,” Violette responded. “They’ll probably be down in a little while.”

“Well, this has been great,” Hitch said rather politely, “but we have to get going. Violette, you and the Buddies be good for Mrs. Niggles, and we’ll be back in a few hours.”

“You don’t have to worry about us,” Violette told the sheriff with a grin. “The Buddies and I will be the best we can be-- promise.”

“Bye, Buddies!” Jackie called upstairs while Buddy let out a bark. “Have fun!” Mrs. Niggles bid them farewell before they left out the door. And once they had disappeared, Budderball immediately took the lead of his siblings. “Come on, guys! Follow me!”

The puppies barked and bolted down the stairs toward the doggy door, only for Mrs. Niggles to stop them, getting in their path with a reluctant Violette and clearing her throat. “And where might you think you're going?”

Each puppy held a different ball in their mouth (Budderball held a football, Rosebud a soccer ball, etc), which honestly looked very cute in Violette’s opinion and knew exactly what they wanted.

Mrs. Niggles, however, had a different idea. “Oh! I know what you little Buddies want. Bath time it is!”

Violette and the Buddies’ jaws dropped, letting the balls bounce onto the floor and causing Violette to sigh. “Sorry, guys… you and I both kinda walked into that one. Come on… we better go and get this over with before the others get home.”

XXXXXXXX

Outside, the Mane 6, Noah, his parents and Buddy were meeting with their next door neighbors Henry, his parents and Molly to ride together to the big basketball game. As they were exchanging greetings, Henry wanted to ask a question. “How are the Buddies and Violette doing today?”

“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Patrick reassured. “Yeah! They’re with Mrs. Niggles having the time of their lives!” Pipp giggled. “Come on! I wanna get an interview with the team before the game starts!”

As everyone else got into the vehicle, Noah approached Henry with the roll of his eyes. “That's what they thought when Miss Niggles baby-sat us when we were little. She always made us take naps.”

Henry agreed with this, nodding. “And don’t forget baths.”

Noah couldn’t help but shudder. “What was it she used to say?”

XXXXXXXX

“Cleanliness is next to godliness.”

Violette groaned to herself as Mrs. Niggles scrubbed her and the Buddies (all except Mudbud) down in the bathtub, not planning to have a bath today, but… you know how fate works in mysterious ways sometimes.

But as she was scrubbing, Mrs. Niggles counted the puppies and discovered that something seemed a bit off. “Hmm... one, two, three, four. Somebody's missing.”

That’s when she noticed Mudbud hiding in the corner, sighed and walked over to him. “Come here, you mucky pup!”

“See, Mudbud? I told you that you weren’t gonna be able to hide over there for long,” Violette whispered before moving to the other Buddies. “Man, he really DOESN’T like baths, does he?”

“Not if you count a mud bath,” Buddha whispered back to her, but to Mrs. Niggles, it just sounded like whimpering. Soon, Mudbud was placed in the tub with his siblings and Violette, much to his chagrin, and Mrs. Niggles began to scrub them all down. “Oh, bath time is so much fun. Rub-a-dub-dub, one pony and five pups in a tub.”

Violette couldn’t believe that this was happening… she was being treated by a total baby!

But… a bath was nice, so she wasn’t complaining about that part.

XXXXXXXX

What she WAS complaining about, however, was the fact that the Buddies and herself were being forced to take a nap in their bedroom after their bath. “Have a nice nap,” Mrs. Niggles said sophisticatedly. “Now, you behave. I'll be back in an hour.”

And just like that, she pulled the door closed and left the room without another word, leaving Violette and the ponies to themselves. “Nobody tells B-Dawg he's gotta take a nap,” B-Dawg muttered to his siblings. “For once, B-Dawg? I have to agree with you,” Violette kicked off the covers of the bed and hopped down to the floor. “Everypony, follow me quietly. We don’t want Mrs. Niggles to know we’re sneaking out of our room when we're SUPPOSED to be taking a nap.”

“You’re gonna disobey a grown-up?” Buddha asked the filly in surprise. “Wow, Violette-- that’s a surprising twist.”

“Naps are kind of overrated in Equestria... especially when you’re not a newborn foal,” Violette rolled her eyes. “Come on… let’s see what she’s up to.”

The Buddies followed their new unicorn pal out of the bedroom, silently pushing the door open and looking down at Mrs. Niggles from the top floor, and Mrs. Niggles appeared to be knitting quietly while they supposedly took their nap. “Well, guys? What’s our next move?” Violette asked her puppy friends. “How are we gonna get past Mrs. Niggles? The game is halfway over by now!”

“We’re just gonna have to improvise, dawg,” B-Dawg told her. “That’s what the B-Dawg is all about.”

“Hey, look!” Rosebud looked down at the many yarn balls Mrs. Niggles had in her basket. “She’s got a ball!”

“If the Buddies can't go to the game,” B-Dawg said to his siblings and Violette, forming a plan, “the game will come to the Buddies.”

Buddha immediately silenced his brother before looking down at the second level again. “Mrs. Niggles is finding her inner peace. She's falling asleep. We can go make our move then.”

“I don't know about inner peace,” Budderball shook his head while keeping his eye on the pie on the counter, “but I want a piece of that pie.”

Slowly, but surely, Mrs. Niggles began to nod off, and Violette and the Buddies didn’t fail to notice this.

“She’s going…”

“Going…”

“Going!”

“And she’s…” Violette finished by the time Mrs. Niggles had finally went to sleep, “...gone!”

“I’m goin’ in,” B-Dawg told his siblings. “Yeah,” Rosebud nodded, “let’s do it!”

“Okay,” Violette told the Buddies, “but we still have to be quiet! Last thing we want is for her to wake up and catch us!”

So, the vitiligo covered unicorn filly followed her golden four-legged friends down the stairs into the living room, where the Buddies grabbed the yarn balls from Mrs. Niggles basket and began playing with them, causing yarn to go all the way across the room and around Mrs. Niggles.

Rosebud was the one who carried the black and white patched yarn ball, which almost looked like a soccer ball, and stood right in front of Budderball, who acted out as the goalie for their game. “Superstar Rosebud has stolen the ball!”

Then, with superstar precision, she kicked the yarn ball behind Budderball, who groaned to himself out of frustration, and Rosebud howled as she slid across the living room floor. “GOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!”

“B-Dawg shoots…!” B-Dawg took the orange yarn ball and knocked it into the nearby trash can next to Mrs. Niggles. “Oh!” Violette exclaimed, not believing such a lucky shot. “Nothing but net!”

“If Mudbud gets this point,” Mudbud said to himself while holding a white yarn ball at his paws, “the Beach Volleyball World Championship is his!”

Buddha, on the other paw, used his dad's baseball bat to knock a white yarn ball into Mrs. Niggles' head, surprisingly not waking her up, much to Violette's relief. “Be one with the ball.”

Finally, Budderball managed to get his ball of yarn all the way to the other side of the kitchen and past Violette and his siblings, letting the imaginary crowd in his head cheer for his success. “Budderball wins the Super Bowl! And now for a little postgame celebration.”

That's when the plump little pup began to climb the chair and countertop to get closer to the pie, which B-Dawg immediately noticed. “Check it out. Budderball's going for the pie!”

Violette immediately froze at this, realizing that this was going a bit too far, but the Buddies seemed a bit too eager in cheering for their brother to notice her worry.

“You can do it, Budderball!”

“You can do it!”

“Come on...!!”

And finally, with a little bit of encouragement from his siblings, Budderball finally made it up onto the countertop and to the pie. “Touchdown! Hoo hoo hoo!”

“Budderball, have I told you lately you're my main pup?” B-Dawg asked his brother with a smirk. “Guys, maybe this is going just a little too far,” Violette tried to warn the Buddies. “I mean... trying to take a bite out of the pie that clearly isn't meant for us? That seems a little too crazy, even for me to handle.”

“Suit yourself, dudette,” Mudbud shrugged. “More pie for us.”

Budderball gently nudged the pie from the countertop onto the floor, allowing the contents of it to fall onto the floor.

However, this crash caused Mrs. Niggles to wake up and immediately realize what had just happened. “Oh! Oh, my goodness!”

“Uh-oh!” Violette yelped and hid behind the counter. “We woke up Mrs. Niggles!”

“No worries, dudes. She's stuck,” Mudbud told the group as she struggled in her yarn-made binds. “And that means we can eat all the pie we want!”

However, Violette didn't dare to make a move to the pie, while the Buddies did, loving every single bite. “Ooh, you rascals are in big trouble! Help! Help!” Mrs. Niggles called out before looking at the Buddies and her pie being devoured. “Oh, my beautiful pie! How could you?”

XXXXXXXX

The basketball game had been a huge success, and the Mane 6 were currently riding with Jackie and Patrick, along with Noah and the Buddies' parents, back to their house to celebrate. “I hope the puppies are behaving,” Jackie said worriedly as she looked out the window. “They're getting to be a handful.”

“Violette will make sure that the puppies behave, trust me,” Sunny told Noah’s parents with a smile. “She would never let immature actions go too far, especially from pups she's becoming really close with.”

XXXXXXXX

Mudbud groaned, completely full from the blueberry pie that the Buddies had just got done devouring. “So stuffed...”

Suddenly, a car was heard pulling in outside, and Mrs. Niggles immediately recognized it as the Sullivans’ SUV. “Your parents are home!”

Violette and B-Dawg looked nervous at this. “Uh-oh…”

“You're in big trouble now!”

Mudbud looked outside to see that Mrs. Niggles was right-- their parents were coming, as well as their humans and the rest of the Mane 6.

“Come on. Everybody out.”

“Great job, guys!”

“That was pony-tastic!”

“WHOO!!”

“Uh…” Mudbud looked panicked as he turned back to the others. “Dude! Rents, incoming!”

“We are so getting a yellow card for this one!” Rosebud yelped in panic. “Come on!” Violette called to the puppies. “We can hide upstairs and hope they won’t find us!”

“Where are you going?!” Mrs. Niggles called to them as they ran up the stairs. “Time to face the music!”

Then, as the door opened, Mrs. Niggles began to shriek again. “HELP!!! HELP!!! I’m all tied up here!”

Zipp, Hitch and Patrick were the first to dive headfirst into the yarn to try and get her free, but ended up creating a bigger mess than there already was… even knocking over some of the house plants.

Once all the dust was settled, Jackie sighed reluctantly. “I think it might be time.”

“You guys probably better deal with this mess,” Zipp told the Sullivans, a stern and irritated expression on her face. “We’ll find the pups and Violette and get Violette to share THEIR side of the story. And it better be a good one.”

Violette gulped nervously when she heard this, turning her head to look back at the Buddies in their room.

One thing was for sure… she and her new friends were in SO much trouble.

A Wicked Plan in Motion

Needless to say, no one was all too thrilled with the fact that Violette and the Buddies made such a huge mess of the house while the Mane 6 were with the Sullivans and Air Bud at the basketball game.

Violette never felt more ashamed of anything in her entire life… and she kept her head down the entire time while Zipp and Hitch did the scolding.

Sunny and Izzy tried to help Pipp and Misty calm their friends, but… that didn’t really do a lot of good.

And now… there was talk that the Sullivans were going to send the Buddies off to different families!

That was the last thing that the Buddies or Violette ever wanted to hear, especially it seemed that this was all their fault this was happening.

And now... Violette tried to figure out how to get the Buddies out of this mess before more trouble occurred.

XXXXXXXX

Noah was particularly quiet that night at dinner, and when he was being tucked up into bed, Patrick decided to have a one-on-one conversation with him about the topic. “You know, we've... we always knew this day would come. Doesn't make it any easier, huh?”

“...are we really getting rid of them, Dad?” Noah muttered sadly, causing Patrick to shake his head. “We're not getting rid of them. Did we get rid of Josh and Andrea?”

“No…” Noah shook his head. “They went to college.”

“Exactly,” Patrick confirmed. “They went away so that they could learn, so they could grow.”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in the next room over, the Mane 6, Buddy and Molly were trying to convince Violette and the Buddies of that exact same thing. “This time is always hard for puppies,” Buddy told his pups. “It was hard for me when I was your age.”

“Your dad’s right, guys,” Misty told the Buddies with a smile. “It may seem hard now, but it’ll be worth it in the future, even if you don’t think that it will.”

“If you stayed here forever,” Molly added on, “you'd miss out on so much, like taking care of people of your own.”

“But,” B-Dawg protested softly, “I already got mad love for my peeps right here.”

“Okay,” Molly nodded in understanding, “but you're gonna have more peeps, which means more of that mad love, dear.”

“...wow. Surprisingly that made a lot more sense coming from Molly than it did from B-Dawg,” Pipp whispered to Zipp, who shushed her. “...I’m just sorry I couldn’t stop the Buddies before they ate that pie,” Violette admitted. “I mean, I wanted to stop them, but… I guess that I didn’t wanna get in trouble or lose my new friends…”

“Violette, we know you were just having fun and being a filly, like we’re all supposed to do when we’re young,” Hitch said comfortingly. “But, there’s a difference between having fun and being responsible during fun.”

“Maybe Hitch and I were a little too harsh on you guys before,” Zipp said with a frown, “and we’re sorry. But you’ll see… this is gonna be the best thing for you. Just wait and see.”

XXXXXXXX

In the next room over, Patrick was kissing Noah on the head good night and prepared to leave the room when Noah called out to stop him. “Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we choose where the puppies go, like Josh and Andrea chose their colleges?”

“You betcha,” Patrick nodded, liking the idea, but then, Noah’s face fell again. “It's gonna be weird not seeing them every day.”

Patrick nodded solemnly at this. “I know, kiddo… but they’re not moving far away from us. And they’ll always be a family, no matter how far away they are.”

XXXXXXXX

By this point, the Mane 6 were tucking Violette into her bed right near the Buddies, each whispering soft wishes of good dreams to her before they stepped out of the room, saying good night to Buddy and Molly in the process, heading to their own room for the night. “I sure hope the Buddies will be okay in their new homes,” Misty whispered as they entered their room. “It isn’t easy leaving your home after so long of living there. Remember how long it took me to get used to the Brighthouse after I left Opaline?”

“We remember that,” Zipp nodded. “But we knew that we had to give you the time and space you needed to get used to it on your own terms.”

“The Buddies are going to be fine, cause we’re gonna help them learn to adjust in their new homes,” Hitch said. “No matter how long it takes.”

XXXXXXXX

Back in the pups' and Violette's room, Molly realized how late it was getting, and that she needed to get back to Henry right away. So, she licked Buddy on the cheek before climbing on the desk to reach the open window. “Good night, everyone.”

“Sweet dreams, Molly,” Buddy whispered as his mate scaled the roof, climbed down the car and went across the street to Henry’s house while Buddy made sure Violette and the ponies were tucked in.

After tucking them in, Molly barked to Buddy from her house, and Buddy barked right back at her before they went their separate ways.

Noah was actually getting ready to fall asleep when Buddy came up and laid in bed with him, causing Noah to pet the Golden Retriever, still a little bit down. “Hey, Buddy. I'm gonna miss them, too.”

But what they had no idea about was that a plan… an evil one, at that, was forming not too far away.

XXXXXXXX

At a nearby grape plantation known as Innsfield, where they made some of the best wine in Washington, there lived a greedy old man by the name of Selkirk Tander, who was about ready to make a deal with one of his biggest clients ever-- Mr. Livingstone, one of the richest and busiest men in the entire area, who wanted a very expensive birthday present for his spoiled son Bartleby, who was very lonely despite having everything he could ever want.

On this same night, Mr. Livingstone and Bartleby were making a visit to Selkirk at his plantation, and Selkirk immediately shook his new client's hand. “Mr. Livingstone, it is a pleasure to see you,” he said, causing Bartleby to sigh and roll his eyes while standing up. “And you, too, Mr. Bartleby. Wait till you see what I got you.”

Pressing a button on the nearby wall, a part of the wall opened up to reveal a huge cage. And in that cage was a glorious tiger, growling and snarling, completely angered that it was being contained in such a vile place. “Ah. Isn't she a beauty?” Selkirk asked, completely entranced. “What do you think, Bartleby?” Mr. Livingstone asked his son. “What a great birthday present, huh?”

Bartleby instead tossed the ball he was holding at the tiger’s cage, hitting the side of it and causing the tiger to snarl. “But I wanted an animal that I could play with, that plays sports,” Bartleby protested. “ I want Air Bud. He can play basketball, football and soccer!”

Mr. Livingstone sighed in frustration before turning to Selkirk. “How much would that cost?”

“Oh. Well, there's one and only one Air Bud,” Selkirk explained. “The price would be very high.”

“I'll give you $500,000,” Mr. Livingstone told the man. “Just get the Air Bud so my son will be happy for once.”

Immediately, Bartleby became excited about the idea. “You really think we can get him?”

“Bartleby!”

And just like that, Mr. Livingstone left the office with his son, just as Selkirk’s head henchman, a creep named Denning, and Sekirk’s dimwitted nephew Grim, came into the room. “Shall I prepare the tiger for delivery, sir?” Denning asked respectfully. “They don’t want the tiger,” Selkirk growled. “They want Air Bud.”

“The dog?” Denning asked in surprise. “They want a domesticated mutt over this exotic beauty?”

“So it seems,” Selkirk nodded stiffly. “Now get out there and get that dog. Now! And take my idiot nephew with you.”

Grim, who had been playing with an animal skull nearby, turned surprised at this. “Moi?”

“Grim, sir?” Denning asked, just as surprised. “I'd love to, but, uh, I'm swamped,” Grim made up an excuse as Denning left the room. “You know, video games to play, a nap scheduled for, uh…”

“I'm optimistic you can summon the brainpower to pick up the poop,” Selkirk said before smacking his nephew upside the head. “Get going!”

And so, Grim immediately ran after Denning, ready to go out and get Air Bud for his uncle…

…unaware that there would be a certain batch of young ponies and golden pups out to foil their plans.

Deciding on Potential Families/Bad Guys in Position

It was the next morning after Selkirk sent his nephew and henchman Denning to out and kidnap Air Bud for Mr. Livingstone’s son, and no one was aware of their plans… at least, for now.

It was rather early that morning when the Buddies woke up, cause it was almost time for them to do what they loved best-- going out to get the paper for Patrick.

The second they heard the newspaper plop against the pavement, the Buddies were sitting up in bed, despite Violette still being asleep next to them. “You’re about to get a lesson in girl power,” Rosebud told her four brothers. “Girl power, schmirl power,” B-Dawg scoffed. “If you'll excuse me while I represent.”

“Wait for the whistle…”

At that moment, the paper boy whistled, and the puppies burst from their bed and out the door, causing Violette to wake up immediately. “Huh?! Who’s there?!”

She immediately saw the Buddies racing out the door, and kicked the covers off the bed before following them. “Hey, guys! Wait for me!”

The Mane 6 heard this commotion from their room down the hall and looked out of it, confused beyond measure. “What’s up with the Buddies and Violette?” Zipp asked in confusion. “You’d think they caught a whiff of something.”

“Well, Rosebud told me Budderball’s farts are pretty bad,” Izzy shrugged, “so that might be it.”

“I don’t think it is,” Sunny shook her head before gesturing for her friends to follow her. “Come on!”

The ponies galloped down the hall after their friends, unaware that Buddy was wide awake too, and followed right behind the Mane 6 to go after the puppies and the young unicorn.

XXXXXXXX

The Buddies and Violette raced out the back door and around the house, where B-Dawg immediately took the lead. “If I was any faster, I'd get tomorrow's paper!”

The hip-hoppin’ pup immediately grabbed the paper in his mouth, but he had no idea that the other Buddies each had one idea on their minds. “Puppy pile B-Dawg!!”

“Hey!” B-Dawg shouted to his siblings in frustration. “Give me my paper!”

“Guys!” Violette shouted over the barking. “Stop fighting! You can all get the paper if you just calm down a minute!”

Not too far away, Buddy and the Mane 6 finally caught up to the pups (who were STILL fighting over the newspaper) and Violette, and Buddy sighed and looked at his pups with slight disappointment. “Now, what did I teach you pups about teamwork?”

“Come on, guys, knock it off,” Zipp said, nudging the puppies away so she could grab the badly torn newspaper. “Let’s take… well, what’s left of the paper to Patrick. Maybe there’s still some of it that he can salvage.”

XXXXXXXX

“And I tried to pull them apart,” Violette finished her explaination to Patrick as the entire Sullivan family waited for them on the front porch, “but… they kinda demolished most of it before I could get my hooves away from their teeth and paws of fury.”

“We can totally vouch for it,” Pipp nodded. “We’re lucky Zipp was able to get the newspaper away from them before the Buddies accidentally hurt one another.”

Patrick believed their story, of course, but sighed and turned to Buddy with an exasperated look. “I know you're trying to train them, but couldn't you bring me the Sunday paper?”

Jackie shook her head sadly. “Sure are gonna miss 'em.”

“That’s the understatement of the year,” Hitch sighed as they watched the puppies and Violette play together on the driveway. “We all will. But don’t worry… we’re getting together with Molly, Henry and Henry’s parents later on this week. We’ll find them all good homes.”

Misty sighed as she watched the down expression on Violette’s face when she heard this. “I just hope Violette takes it okay… not JUST the Buddies.”

XXXXXXXX

During lunch on Monday morning, Noah and Henry got all of their classmates that wanted to adopt one of the Buddies together, and they all filled out applications to make them feel like the perfect fit.

Even Sunny and the rest of the Mane 6 showed up to help and to make sure the applications were being filled out properly.

About five minutes before lunch ended, Henry called out to the other students, “That’s time!”

One by one, the students filed up and gave the ponies their applications before heading out. “We'll contact you for an interview,” Noah told the other kids, “if you have what the puppies are looking for.”

XXXXXXXX

Later on that night, the two families decided to get together with Buddy and Molly, along with the Mane 6 to discuss the applications when Patrick found one that deemed pretty interesting. “He's a math teacher, and he loves doing math equations for fun.”

“Oh…” Jackie looked to Noah and Henry, who violently shook their heads at this until Sunny pulled another one out of the pile. “What about this one, Patrick?”

“Let me see…” Patrick looked over the application. “Well, these guys have a son who's five... and he loves baseball. These guys look great!”

Sunny looked over at Buddy and shot him a little wink-- she and him, along with Izzy would take Buddha out to check on this boy tomorrow.

XXXXXXXX

The next morning, Buddy and Izzy and Sunny took Buddha out to observe the boy, Sam, at his t-ball game at Fernfield Park. However, poor Sam kept missing the ball, and the umpire was forced to keep calling out to him. “Strike two! Strike three! You’re out!”

However, Sam was so frustrated, he ended up gripping his bat and chasing the umpire around and around the ball field. “Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa! Wait, buddy!”

“Ooof… if he gets hit,” Izzy whispered, “it’s not gonna look pretty.”

“Chasing someone with a stick. That's not baseball. That's hockey,” Buddha said rhetorically. “Just think of the positive influence you'd be on that boy, Buddha,” Buddy told his son as they watched, but on the other paw… Buddha wasn’t exactly on board.

On the next night, the two groups sat around while Patrick read off another application they had gotten in the mail. “All right, well, the father is an artist, they have a four-year-old daughter and they love having picnics in the park!”

“Sounds perfect for Budderball, all right,” Hitch whispered to the Mane 6. “Buddy and I will take him to the park to meet this family in the morning.”

XXXXXXXX

And that’s just what they did-- Hitch seemed satisfied that the family was so into the outdoors, and Budderball seemed pretty willing to give this family a chance… until he saw what they were serving on the grill. “They're barbecuing zucchini? Yuck! Where’s the beef?!”

The family gathered around the picnic table for lunch, causing Hitch to sigh and take Budderball onto his back to head home. “We better keep looking.”

XXXXXXXX

That same night, the families and the Mane 6 joined up once again to discuss where Rosebud was going to go, and Zipp soon found the perfect human that she was sure that Rosebud would love. “Here are the Finches!” she said. “They have a little girl, and she loves soccer.”

Molly barked and Noah and Henry nodded in agreement alongside Pipp-- now it was her turn to accompany Rosebud and Molly on their own search.

XXXXXXXX

Luckily for them, Alice had a soccer game in Fernfield Park the next day, and it was revealed that she was the only girl on the soccer team, reminding Pipp that she was a lot like Rosebud in a variety of aspects.

Alice quickly shot a goal into the other team's net and went sliding across the grass in happiness. “Gooooooooall!!!!!!”

“She's a bit of a showoff,” Rosebud said, not all that impressed. “Well, Rosebud, as an artist, I know that she’s just trying to prove herself,” Pipp said, and Molly nodded in agreement. “It's hard when you're the only girl.”

But… Rosebud still seemed pretty unconvinced.

XXXXXXXX

That same Thursday night, it was time to discuss where Mudbud would go when Patrick seemed to find another promising application. “These guys have an 11-year-old son. His favorite activity is playing video games.”

“Hmm… not sure what Mudbud will think about that,” Misty whispered, “but Buddy and I can take him to find this boy tomorrow-- just to see how they might fit.”

XXXXXXXX

Buddy and Misty took Mudbud out the next morning to find the 11 year old named Pete, who seemed to be too much into his video games and hated getting dirty…

…which was something Mudbud enjoyed, and Mudbud seemed really unsure of where this was going. “The dude's gotta loosen up a bit.”

“He needs to learn that playing and actually getting dirty is a lot of fun,” Buddy told his son, causing Misty to nod. “And you’re so laid back,” she added, “this kid would be perfect for you! Trust me on that.”

However, Mudbud still remained unsure as he watched Pete brush the dirt off himself and off of his console.

That meant it was back to the convincing board.

XXXXXXXX

Finally, later that night, Noah and Henry happily slurped on lollipops while Patrick read one of the standout applications to the groups. “Well, these guys look perfect. They have two kids. Parents are both dentists.”

Noah and Henry immediately stopped, and even the ponies shook their heads at that.

Luckily… Zipp had another boy in mind that B-Dawg would fall in love with.

XXXXXXXX

That next afternoon, Buddy and Zipp took B-Dawg out to the basketball courts to observe a boy named Billy playing basketball with his friends.

However, Billy was the shortest and youngest of the group, and he couldn't make a single basket, discouraging him.

Unfortunately, B-Dawg was unmoved from witnessing this. “You gots to be in it to win it,” B-Dawg told his father and pegasus friend. “His coach should tell him that.”

“Well, in my experience,” Zipp said with a shrug, “I think he'd be more confident if he had a best friend to help him out.”

B-Dawg tried to consider this, but… like his siblings, he wasn’t all that sure about these decisions… especially with the boy that couldn’t shoot a single basket.

XXXXXXXX

Later on that evening, the parents sent out calls to the adopters, who would gladly take the puppies, and Patrick finally turned to the others, satisfied with what they had done. “Well, that's it, then. It's unanimous, finally. We'll call the families tomorrow.”

Noah’s heart seemed to sink at this. “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Jackie nodded, causing Noah and Henry to sigh. “Hey, guys… it’ll be okay. The Buddies will be just fine, trust me,” Sunny tried to reassure... even though she and her friends seemed a little worried about how the Buddies, and Violette, no less, would take this bit of news.

Unfortunately, Mudbud was listening to the entire thing, but as soon as Molly spotted him, he gasped and ran back toward his room to alert his siblings and Violette.

XXXXXXXX

Rosebud was happily lounging on her soccer ball chair while Budderball and Violette played tug-of-war, B-Dawg played with his basketball, and Buddha laid on his back on the floor… at least, they were all doing this until Mudbud ran in. “Dudes, Mom saw me, so I had to hightail it out of there.”

“What's the 4-1-1?” B-Dawg asked as they approached the panicked pup, who finally worked up the nerve to say what he had learned. “They finished drafting us to different families!”

“Already?!” Violette asked in surprise. “Man… I had no idea that it would take them this short amount of time…”

“I bet there was a bidding war for me,” B-Dawg voiced his opinions before Buddha spoke up. “Did they consider astrological compatibilities?”

“Okay,” Rosebud said, already thinking up a plan, “we'll totally behave, and then we'll look super cute, and then, um... Well, then... then they'll change their minds.”

“It’s too late, dudes,” Mudbud hated to tell them this. “They're taking us to our new homes tomorrow!”

“TOMORROW?!” Violette and the rest of the Buddies shrieked. “But tomorrow is taco night!” Budderball argued, getting looks from Violette and the other pups.

Violette realized then how serious the situation was… she had to figure out a way to keep the Buddies together…

…and she had to do it fast.

XXXXXXXX

Denning drove the huge black hummer that belonged to Selkirk down the road and right past the Fernfield welcome sign, a pleasant grin coming on his face. “Fernfield... right on schedule.”

Denning turned to see if Grim was awake or not, but instead, he found Grim panting, with his head outside the window and his tongue sticking out, causing Denning to groan and pull Grim back in. “Do you mind not violating Highway Code 401?!”

Grim winced from all the yelling before shrugging to give an answer. “Just wanna see why dogs like it.”

Now all they had to do was get into town, find Air Bud, bag him and get him back to Selkirk before it was too late.

XXXXXXXX

Later on that night, Jackie was tucking Noah into bed and Misty, being the sympathetic one, wanted to come in and see how Noah was handling all these changes. “You okay?”

Noah only gave a slight shrug as a response, causing Jackie to smile gently. “We found them all really good families.”

“I know,” Noah sighed, “but do they have to go tomorrow?”

“It's not gonna get any easier if we wait,” Jackie shook her head gently. “Try to get a good night's sleep now, okay?”

And with that, she kissed Noah gently on the head before she and Misty left the room.

XXXXXXXX

Sunny stood with Buddy and Molly, watching over Violette and the Buddies as they slept, with Buddy sighing with a frown. “Letting go of the Buddies is gonna be harder than we thought.”

“Do you think they're ready?” Molly asked in a whisper. “And is Violette ready to see them go off to different homes?”

“...I'm not sure myself, Molly,” sighed Sunny with the shake of her head. “They're taking it pretty hard. But... if I know Violette, she'll find a way to work her way through it.”

Buddy and Molly nodded, enjoying watching their pups sleep cozily in their bed...

...unaware that Violette was laying in her bed, listening to everything with tears in her eyes.

Then, in that moment... she knew what had to he done.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Denning pulled up to that same street that our heroes were on, turning off the car and sitting there patiently. “This is the location.”

“What do we do now?” Grim wondered curiously. “We wait,” Denning explained, getting ready to doze off to sleep. “We work surveillance until an opportunity to strike arises. You're on first watch.”

Grim continued to watch and wait for a few moments... that is, until he saw Molly running across the street, but he mistook her for Buddy by mistake. “There he is, there he is!”

Denning immediately woke up as he saw Molly scale the side of her house. “You better not be dreaming...”

“I spy with my little eye something that is furry.”

Suddenly, with his binoculars, Grim spotted Molly barking to Buddy from Henry’s bedroom window... and Buddy barking to Molly from the Buddies' room. “There's two! Which one's Air Bud?”

Denning immediately pulled out the newspaper clipping he had found and inspected it before looking at the two dogs barking to one another. “They both resemble the dog in the photo...”

But as they looked at the two dogs, Grim and Denning both realized the same thing...

...this job was gonna be a lot harder than they thought.

Retriever Runaways and Kidnapping Chaos

All throughout the night, Violette was tossing and turning in bed, thinking and pondering about what to do to ensure the Buddies staying together.

But the only question was… was her idea really the best choice?

She needed a second opinion.

That's why, when one of the Buddies woke up the next morning, she would confide in them… just to see what they thought.

I mean… it was all worth a try, right?

XXXXXXXX

Mudbud felt the warm of the sun as it was just beginning to rise in the morning sky, the clouds filled with hues of pinks and purples over the town of Fernfield. He yawned and stretched carefully, not wanting to wake his siblings before stepping out of bed, his paws touching the carpet.

But… he wasn't going to be alone for long.

“Psst… Mudbud. Is that you?”

Mudbud turned his head to see Violette looking down at him from her bed, and Mudbud hopped up next to her. “What's up, dudette? You usually a 'get up at the crack of dawn' pony?”

“Not usually… but I needed to talk to someone about this idea that I had during the night,” Violette whispered. “I mean… it might help you and your brothers and sister stay together and not be separated to different homes.”

Mudbud's interest was immediately caught by this piece of information, and considered this carefully. Sure, they only knew the ponies for about two weeks now, but he and his siblings had become close to the young unicorn… almost like she was another sister to them or something.

And if she knew a way to keep the Buddies all together, he had to trust the filly and her instinct.

So, Mudbud turned back to her and nodded. “What were you thinking?”

“All right, just lean in close,” whispered Violette, “and listen to my idea. This has to work, because if it doesn't? Well... I don't really have anything else.”

XXXXXXXX

Mudbud liked the thoughts of Violette’s intricately thought-out plan, and as the sun rose higher into the sky, they knew that time was of the essence if they wanted the plan to succeed.

And the first part of the plan was waking the rest of the Buddies without waking anypony else. “You guys awake?”

However, the Buddies did not stir, making Mudbud realize he needed to try something a little… louder. “You dudes awake?!”

The loud whisper caused the Buddies to finally wake up, with Rosebud stirring and looking up at Violette and Mudbud with tired eyes. “We are now…”

“Shush. Let sleeping dogs lie…” Buddha muttered while B-Dawg yawned again. “Is the paper here?”

“Guys, Mudbud and I have been talking about this all morning,” Violette said in a stern voice, “and… I'm pretty sure we need to run away.”

This caused the rest of the Buddies to sit up with confusion and surprise.

“Huh?”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

However, Buddha frowned at this idea, not liking it in the slightest. “Running away from our troubles won't solve our problems.”

“But,” Budderball pointed out, “at least we'll all be able to stay together.”

“That's an astute observation,” Buddha then said, realizing his brother had a point. “And this is the perfect time to do it too,” Violette said, “especially since your new owners are going to be here to pick you up within a matter of hours. If we don't go now, we won't have a chance to help you stay together.”

“You're gonna run away with us?” Rosebud asked in surprise. “Why? You seem to have the perfect life.”

“I know that,” Violette admitted, “but… my life is changing in relation to school, and this is way way WAY different than that. If I can help make sure you guys stay together, that would be worth it to me. So… all those in favor, say 'Aye'!”

And needless to say, none of the other Buddies were hesitant about the decision.

“Aye!”

“Then it's settled. We need to get moving before anyone else wakes up,” Violette encouraged her new friends. “Come on!”

So, the bold little unicorn led her friends up onto the desk and out the open window, but as they were all walking along the roof, they heard one particular pup calling to them from behind. “Help! Help!”

“We're short a Budderball!” Rosebud called out, running back to see her older brother struggling to get up onto the desk. That's when she, to the others' chagrin, grabbed his paw in her mouth while her other brothers and Violette tried to stop her. “Don’t pull his paw!!”

However… Rosebud pulled his paw anyway, and Budderball let out a gigantic fart, much to his embarrassment. “...oops.”

“Dawg, that's disgusting.”

“Eww…!!”

“Hurry up! Let's go!”

Once all the Buddies had safely followed her onto the roof, Violette led the ponies to the rain gutter on the other side and slid down the outside of it while watching the puppies slide down the gutter from the inside.

“Wheeee!!”

“Whoaoaoaoa!!!”

“Wheeeeeeee!!! Whoo-hoo!”

But as Budderball prepared to follow Buddha, Mudbud and Rosebud down the gutter, he stopped before he could fit himself inside fully. “Wha... wait a minute. We forgot to pack a lunch!”

“What's the holdup up there?” Mudbud asked his remaining brothers while B-Dawg pushed Budderball down the gutter with his own front paws. “I'm gonna pounce on that butt if you don't move it!”

“Whoa whoa whoa!!” Budderball yelped as he tumbled down the gutter with B-Dawg, finally landing on the ground with his siblings and Violette, who immediately took charge. “Come on!”

That's when the Buddies followed her down the driveway, not planning on stopping anytime soon…

…or that's what they originally had thought.

XXXXXXXX

However, they had no idea that Grim was awake and watching the group run across the street, and he immediately shook Denning's arm to wake him up. “The dogs!” he cried. “They shrunk! And mutilplied? And who's that little unicorn they're running around with?”

“I don't know about her,” said Denning, a wicked smirk coming onto his face, “but that must have been Air Bud and his missus we saw before. And those must be their puppies. And where the puppies lead, Mommy and Dad are sure to follow.”

And so, Denning immediately started the truck back up and slowly drove after the Buddies and Violette down the road.

XXXXXXXX

Violette had never felt so free as she did in that moment, running after the Buddies as quick as the wind blew through her mane. Her hooves moved across the grass and pavement as fast as they could go, and she even took a few bounding leaps every now and then. “Come on! This way, guys!”

“Wait up!” Rosebud barked as she trailed her brothers and Violette past the sheriff's office and further into town.

XXXXXXXX

“Maybe we should get the pups instead of the adults,” Grim said as he and Denning slowly went after the Buddies and Violette from their car. “They sure are cuter.”

“That was not the assignment, Grim,” Denning said, getting another idea in his head, “but a good employee does know when to improvise, and they will serve well as bait.”

And knowing that there was a donut shop around the corner, Denning knew just where to set their trap for the innocent pups and their pony pal.

XXXXXXXX

Violette and the Buddies ran past that very same donut shop, and upon passing it, Budderball couldn't help but stop and stare at all the delicious donuts in the windowsill. “Oh, sweet mama!” he said with excitement. “Mmm... donuts...”

Denning and Grim peeked around the corner to see that, indeed, one of the puppies had fallen into their trap. “There he is.”

Now all they had to do was lure him to them with a bait that this plump pup couldn't resist.

Grim cast the fishing rod with the donut on the end of the line out toward Budderball, catching the pup offguard. Budderball's mouth began to water and evidently, he couldn't resist and immediately began to knaw on the donut, completely content.

However, Grim began to reel the line back, and as Budderball began to fight back, Denning took control of the rod while Grim swept up Budderball in the net.

One puppy down, four more pups and one unicorn to go.

XXXXXXXX

Upon reaching the toy store not too far away from the donut shop, Violette looked around, realizing that there was one member of their team that was missing... and there was yelping coming from the nearby alley. “Wait. Did you guys hear that? Where's Budderball?”

“Dudes, the donut shop! That's where we last saw him!” Mudbud said, and everyone except B-Dawg immediately ran toward the alley to take a shortcut. “Maybe I should hang back and, you know, keep it real,” B-Dawg said, trying to hide the fact that he was terrified out of his mind, “and...”

Suddenly, before he could finish, the yelps of his siblings, Violette’s screaming and Denning and Grim's cackling caused him to immediately change his mind. “I might need a pooper-scooper. Guys, wait up!”

But as he ran through the alley, he had no idea that he was about to fall in that very same trap.

XXXXXXXX

Sunny's emerald green eyes slowly fluttered open as the sunlight came onto her face, and this caused her to immediately yawn. “Ponies? Are you guys awake? We gotta get Violette and the Buddies up for the big day.”

Hitch yawned and stretched a bit as the ponies gathered themselves to attention. “Let's at least let them get the paper one last time... they really seemed to enjoy that last week.”

“Good idea,” Zipp said as she checked her FlyPad. “It should be about time for the paper boy to make his rounds, so the Buddies and Violette should be up and at them right about now.”

Suddenly, the whistle of the paper boy came from outside, and the ponies listened for the patter of small paws and hooves.

However... they never came.

This caused Izzy to blink in surprise. “Wow, they got really good at being quite of the mornings, didn't they?”

“I don't think anypony can be THAT quiet. And if what I think happened... well, happened, we might be in big trouble,” Zipp said with a worried frown. “Come on-- we better go check on them.”

The Mane 6 then climbed out of bed and exited their room, just as Buddy came out of Noah’s room. “Morning, kids,” Buddy said quietly. “You didn't hear the Buddies and Violette come downstairs, did you?”

“No... and if you didn't hear it, and we didn't hear it,” Zipp frowned in worry, “then... I think my hunch is about to come true.”

The group then entered the Buddies' and Violette’s room to find no one in there... and the window was wide open.

The ponies immediately went into panic mode at this. “Oh no... I had a feeling something like this might happen!” Sunny said in panic. “Come on, we have to get out there and find them before they get into any trouble!”

Buddy and the Mane 6 followed each other out onto the roof, and once there, Buddy barked to get Molly's attention, and she poked her head out of a sleeping Henry’s window. “Buddy? Ponies? What's wrong?”

“It's Violette! And the pups!” Misty cried out in worry. “They're gone!”

“We'll start our search for them downtown,” Sunny spoke up, “and hopefully, we'll find them before they get too far!”

Zipp led the ponies to fly/leap down from the roof to the safety of the ground. Then, Buddy used the car to get down from the roof and Molly scaled the flower fence on the side of her house before they all ran in the same direction to follow the trail of their little friends.

Molly sighed worriedly as they ran/flew past the sheriff's office. “I had a feeling they weren't gonna react well!”

“Maybe Violette went after them to try and convince them that this was a really crazy idea!” Izzy offered an idea as they darted down the city streets. “Or maybe she just ran out to surprise everypony with breakfast...?! I'M WORRIED ABOUT HER, OKAY?!”

“Don't sweat it, Izzy! I'm sure we're gonna find them soon,” Pipp said reassuringly, “but we just need to find some sort of clue in order to help us figure out where they are or where they're going!”

Suddenly, Zipp saw something on the ground that made her freeze in her tracks. “Guys! I think I might have found something!”

She picked up a half-eaten donut and held it out for Buddy to sniff, and Buddy immediately recognized the pup who ate part of it. “Budderball!”

“Okay, so we know that they were here,” Sunny said, looking around, “but where exactly did they go after this?”

Suddenly, her question was answered by the sound of puppies yelping in the distance... sounds that Molly could recognize by heart. “The pups! I hear them!”

“And if the pups are nearby, then Violette must be with them!” Misty immediately realized. “Follow those yelping puppy sounds!”

And so, the group ran down the street and down the alley once again, in order to reach the pups and Violette and bring them back home before anymore bad things could happen.

XXXXXXXX

Violette struggled under the net that she and the Buddies were trying to find a way out of, all while Denning and Grim watched them from the top of the nearby tree. “Let us out of here!” Violette strained. “We didn't do anything wrong!”

“But you're gonna make sure that we get paid our share!” Denning called down mockingly as the group went back to struggling. “Now we just let the puppies do the work. That's it. Call your mommy and daddy.”

However, when he turned, he saw that Grim was on the phone with his own mother. “Mom, It's Grim. Hi.”

“Not you! The puppies!”

Suddenly, as Grim snapped his phone shut, the Mane 6, Buddy and Molly arrived to hear the Buddies and Violette shrieking and yelping for help at the top of their lungs.

“MOM!! DAD!!”

“WE'RE IN HERE!!”

“GET US OUT OF HERE!!”

“SUNNY, HELP US!!”

Izzy was about to rush forward and help them when Molly stopped her, sniffing the air suspiciously. “Wait-- I smell a trap!”

“And it's probably in the form of those two goons in that tree!” Pipp pointed to Denning and Grim keeping an eye on their captives. “Sunny, Zipp and I can distract them while you guys try and free the Buddies and Violette, but we can't do it for very long.”

“All right then... we're going in!” Sunny said as she shifted to her alicorn form. “Watch our backs! Go go go!!”

The ponies and the Buddies' parents immediately charged toward the net, and Sunny and the pegasus sisters began to fly around in circles around the dognappers, keeping them distracted while Hitch, Izzy and Mistu lifted the net to help the puppies and Violette go free. “Run, kids, run!” Molly cried out. “And hide!”

“You heard your mom! Everyone, go go go!” Hitch commanded, and everyone flew and ran into the nearby tall bushes for cover. But before Buddy could follow, Denning dropped a net over Buddy, trapping him! “Gotcha! And that's why I'm your uncle's successor!”

He dropped to the ground to get Buddy into the truck, but Molly leapt to attack, tearing his pant leg and causing Denning to scream before looking up at Grim. “Toss the net!”

Grim did as he asked, but the net fell on Denning instead of Molly. “Not on me, doofus!”

Denning ripped the net off of him and onto Molly, smiling in satisfaction as the two dogs struggled.

Now that their mission was done, it was time to head home.

XXXXXXXX

The Buddies and their pony friends panted tiredly as Izzy and Zipp checked Violette and all five pups over for injuries. “Are you guys okay?” Misty asked in concern. “You're not hurt or anything, right?”

“Nah, we're fine, dawg,” B-Dawg scoffed playfully. “I was about to let those two goons have it before you guys got there.”

“Well, we're so glad you were that brave,” Pipp rolled her eyes, preparing to scold them before glancing around. “Uh... guys? Where are Buddy and Molly?”

“I have a bad feeling that we're about to find out,” Sunny said nervously. “Everyone, follow my lead.”

XXXXXXXX

As he and Denning loaded Buddy and Molly into a cage on the back of their truck, Grim suddenly had a question about their assignment. “Shouldn't we catch the puppies?”

“What puppies?”

“The puppies with the ponies that were just here!”

“Our mission was simple and as follows: Capture Air Bud. Your uncle wanted one mutt, we got him two. Those puppies and horses did their job, and we did ours.”

Grim let out a laugh at this. “Yes, they did!”

“Now, hurry up,” Denning ordered. “We gotta get back to Innsfield.”

But what the bad guys weren’t aware of were the Buddies and ponies hiding in the tall grasses and out of sight. “Guys!” Misty cried out. “They’ve got the Buddies’ mom and dad!”

Listening to the Buddies whine for their parents, Zipp suddenly felt something snap within her. “Oh no they don’t! Come on, guys!” she said as they all broke out of hiding and charged right toward the truck. “Let’s get ‘em!”

But then, the truck began to barrel down the road, resulting in a chase that the ponies and pups were clearly losing.

“Mom! Dad!”

“Wait up, Mom!”

“Buddy!”

“Stop!”

“Dad?!”

“Mom, Dad!”

“Come back here!”

“Wait!”

“STOP!!!”

The ponies panted as they listened to their friends bark out to their captured parents, but it was too late… the truck was too fast for them, and soon, it was out of sight.

Violette was the first to speak after trying to catch her breath. “I can’t believe this… we let your mom and dad get dognapped!”

“I'll never eat another doughnut as long as I live…” Budderball groaned. “Guys, what were you thinking running away like that?” Hitch then scolded. “You know it isn’t the way to solve problems, and--”

“Don’t blame the Buddies for this,” Violette interrupted. “It’s all my fault… I was the one who suggested it anyway.”

“Violette? You suggested running away?” Sunny asked with wide eyes. “But… why?”

“Cause… cause I hate change!” Violette finally admitted. “That’s why I’m so worried about going to school! I don’t want anything changing! I thought if I could help the Buddies stay together, it might help me feel better! And now, the Buddies’ parents are gone and its all my fault!”

The poor filly broke down in sobs at this, and the Buddies whimpered and rubbed up against her in order to try and console her. “Violette… it’s okay to be scared of change,” Misty said gently. “We all get scared of it sometimes.”

“I agree,” Hitch nodded. “I’m normally not fond of things I can’t control either.”

“But sometimes,” Zipp said, “change is a good thing. And it brings out the best in us, if we open our hearts to it.”

Violette sighed sadly at this. “I guess… but what do we do now?”

“First things first,” Sunny said, “we’ve gotta come up with a plan to save the Buddies’ parents.”

“How do we know where they're going?” Budderball wondered when Rosebud suddenly came up with an idea. “Deputy Sniffer! He can help. He's the world's greatest tracker!”

“Great! And we know a fast way to get to him!” Zipp smiled. “Just follow us, guys, and we’ll have your parents back in no time!”

And wasting no time at all, the ponies and their puppy friends sped off to begin the rescue mission of a lifetime.

The Rescue Mission Begins

While the ponies and the Buddies were out running across Fernfield to reach Deputy Sniffer, Noah was still fast asleep in bed, oblivious to what had just occured at the park...

...that is, until he heard his walkie talkie next to his bed go off. “Noah?”

It was Henry, and he sounded worried. Noah grabbed the walkie talkie and pressed the button. “Hello…?”

“Molly didn’t come home,” Henry told his best friend. “I think she must've fallen asleep there last night.”

Noah looked around the bedroom, but didn’t see Buddy anywhere in sight, or Molly. “Okay,” he said to Henry, still a bit groggy. “I'll go look around.”

After setting his walkie talkie down on the table again, he got out of bed and went to the Buddies’ room, only to discover it was empty and the window was open.

That was odd.

But then he realized, when he had passed the Mane 6’s guest room, they weren’t in their room either.

Now he was starting to get worried, so as he made his way through the house, he started calling out names. “Buddy? Budderball? Rosebud?!”

Still nothing, so Noah decided to call out for the ponies too. “Sunny? Anypony?! Hello?!”

Still nothing. Now, Noah was starting to panic-- so much that he ran outside to see if the dogs and ponies were outside. “B-Dawg! Buddha! Mudbud?!”

They weren’t outside either? What was going on right then?

Fearing the worst, Noah ran back inside, hoping to figure out what was going on and quick. “Mom?! Dad!!”

XXXXXXXX

The gallop to the sheriff’s office seemed a lot slower than the ponies remembered it from just a few minutes ago, but maybe that had something to do with the panic of finding Violette and the pups and NOT with trying to get Sniffer to help with a rescue mission.

Nevertheless, our heroes would not easily be swayed from their mission.

Speaking of Sniffer, he was heavily asleep outside on the front porch of the office when the group arrived, and the Buddies began to pounce on him to try and get him up-- even Violette tried to help out.

“Deputy Sniffer!”

“Sniffer, wake up!”

“We need your help!”

“Rise and shine!”

“Wake up!”

“Sorry about this, fellow crime-fighter,” Hitch muttered to the bloodhound under his breath, “but I really have no choice!”

So, gently, Hitch grabbed Sniffer's tail in his teeth and yanked, causing Sniffer to yelp and instantly get up from his nap, still sort of groggy. “W-Wide awake. J-Just resting my head.”

“Sorry to wake you, deputy,” Violette said politely, “but this is a total emergency!”

“Five more minutes…”

And just like that, the bloodhound was fast asleep once again, causing Zipp to groan in frustration. “Man, the one time we need this dog and he’s fast asleep in the sunlight! How are we gonna get him up now?!”

“I have a plan for that,” Budderball told her, eyeing the silver cup up on the coffee table near the sleeping deputy. “The sheriff’s coffee will do the trick!”

“I’ll give you a lift, Budderball!” Misty offered her back to the pup, who climbed up on it just enough to reach the coffee and spill it onto the sheriff, who suddenly woke up after licking some of the leftover coffee up on the ground. That’s when he noticed the Buddies and their friends standing nearby. “Hey, Buddies. Funny, that. I was just dreaming about you pups and your friends.”

“...yeah. No kidding,” Pipp said. “Listen, we have a bit of a situation--”

Suddenly, all the Buddies began to talk over one another in panic.

“Mom, Dad, gone!”

“Black truck! With horns!”

“Bad guys… stole…”

“Whoa! Whoa! One at a time. You're making my head spin,” Deputy Sniffer said before turning to Rosebud. “You first, Budderrose.”

“They were dognapped by two dognapping dognappers!” Rosebud exclaimed, causing Sniffer to turn to B-Dawg next. “Where was the crime scene, B-Bud?”

“Uh, it went down at the park.”

“Any other leads, Mudderbudder?” Sniffer asked Mudbud, who nodded. “We heard them say something about Innsfield. Where is that, deputy dude?”

This immediately caused Sheriff Sniffer to stand up in complete recognition. “Innsfield? That's wine country-- I know it well. The sheriff here loves his merlot. I personally prefer toilet water.”

“Yeah, that’s great and everything, deputy,” Sunny said, “but we have no time to lose chatting up a storm!”

“Sunny’s right!” Zipp said. “We need you to help us track those dognappers down and save the Buddies’ parents!”

However, Deputy Sniffer’s face fell at that… if it couldn’t fall more already. “My sniffer isn't working like it used to,” he said sadly. “I couldn't even track a train. You'd be better off without me.”

And just like that, Deputy Sniffer went right back to sleep, causing Budderball to blink in surprise. “I guess the coffee wore off.”

“Sniffer?” Rosebud scoffed in total disbelief. “More like ‘Snorer’.”

“Pipp, do you and Zipp have any leads on how to find Innsfield from here?” Sunny asked, turning to the sisters. “I wish I could use my GPS to find out where it is,” Pipp said, shaking her phone, “but my phone is nearly dead!”

“My Flypad is too,” Zipp sighed, showing off the device before tucking it away. “I knew I should have charged it last night, but I didn’t stop to think. Any other ideas on navigation, you guys?”

Suddenly, Budderball hopped right off of Misty’s back and onto the ground, running in another direction. “Follow me! I’ve got an idea!”

“Wait for us, Budderball!” Violette called to the pup before they all ran off in pursuit.

XXXXXXXX

Buddy and Molly had been taken right back to Innsfield, hoping and praying that their new Equestrian friends were able to get their pups to safety after they had disappeared down the road.

On the other hand, Denning and Grim brought the two Golden Retrievers right to Selkirk just as Grim began to sing a little tune to mock them, going to the tune of 'K-I-S-S-I-N-G'.

Once this was finished, Denning cleared his throat with a big grin on his face. “Sir, due to their similar appearances, we've captured both Air Bud and his girlfriend.”

“Do you realize that if I keep these lovebirds together,” Selkirk told the duo after a moment, “ eventually I'll have Air Bud puppies that will be worth more than my entire collection combined. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

He then whacked his nephew, causing him to yell out in pain before he turned to Denning again. “I hope my nitwit nephew was learning a thing or two from you.”

“Well,” Grim said, despite Denning trying to shut him up, “ I learned that there already are Air Bud pups, and I even learned how to let them get away. Is that the kind of thing you mean?”

“...go on,” Selkirk said, his anger silently growing by the minute. “We had his five puppies and a little unicorn,” Grim added on, “but Denning let them get away.”

“Why,” Denning growled, “you little punk!”

Selkirk glared toward the other man in question. “Is this true, Denning?”

“Well,” Denning tried to explain, “I figured once we get our main objective secured, Air Bud, we'd go back and get the puppies.”

However, Selkirk wasn’t buying it, and stuck his cane right on Denning’s foot, causing him to groan in severe pain. “Do you realize why they are called golden retrievers, hmm? Because that's what they're worth-- gold!”

“That's what I said!” Grim said, but Selkirk paid no attention to his nephew’s attempts to speak and gestured to the imprisoned Buddy and Molly. “Now I suggest you take these two to the wine cellar and then go and get me my golden puppies. Livingston and his brat are due any day now.”

“I can't believe he let them get away,” Grim said with a scoff. “They’re gold, you know.”

“...neither can I,” Selkirk sneered and finally let his cane off of Denning’s foot. “That's why, Grim, you are now in charge of this mission.”

However, while Grim seemed ecstatic about the news, Denning seemed utterly in shock. “Whoa, whoa. What'd he say?”

“Denning cannot be trusted,” Selkirk went on. “If you don't find me those puppies, you will find yourselves being the tiger's lunch.”

The tiger let out some angry snarls while inside the cage, and this piece of news caused Denning and Grim to both become nervous-- they couldn't let Selkirk down... cause if they did... it would be the difference between life and death.

XXXXXXXX

Budderball had taken the group to the front of City Hall, where a small map was shown, showcasing the entire town of Fernfield. “The Fernfield town map! This was a great idea, Budderball!” Zipp said, rubbing the pup on the head. “Even without our tech, we can still find this place no problem!”

“Sniffer said wine country, right?” Rosebud asked, looking at the map. “Right,” Hitch nodded, making his own notes of the map to study later. “So we gotta go past the drive-in and old McRoberts' farm, and then it should be a clear path to Innsfield, where your parents are.”

“True north is the path we must follow,” Buddha said wisely as the group left the map and began running again. “Man,” Violette panted to Hitch and Budderball, “I'm glad you were paying attention when Noah did his geography homework.”

“Let’s shake a wing-feather, team!” Zipp shouted. “Who knows what Buddy and Molly are going through right about now!”

XXXXXXXX

Buddy and Molly barked and whimpered as they were wheeled through Innsfield's wine factory and toward the wine cellar, and once he and Denning let them out of the cage, Grim locked the door with the keys his uncle gave him before he and Denning set off to find the Buddies.

However, this gave Buddy and Molly the chance to look around the room for any kind of escape. Unfortunately, there was only dirt around them with no other escape routes. “We’ve got to get out,” Buddy declared. “But, Buddy,” Molly whimpered, “there is no way out!”

But as Buddy looked around at the dirt walls around them… he suddenly got an idea. “Unless... we dig our way out.”

It was worth a shot-- they had to do whatever it took to protect their pups from the dognappers.

However... the protecting role was given to the ponies for the time being-- at least until Buddy and Molly returned, which won't be too far ahead now.

Now... stay tuned to figure out how this story wraps up for our heroes.

Operation Rescue, Phase Two: Old McRoberts' Farm

Immediately after their escape from the drive-in theater during their second encounter with the dognappers Grim and Denning, the ponies and their puppy pals were beyond exhausted.

The day was over, and they needed some place to rest until they could continue their journey in the morning.

But the question was... where would they sleep on such a short notice?

Luckily, Zipp was able to find a huge tree for them to take shelter from, and they all settled down to sleep... well... all except Violette, that is.

No matter what the Mane 6 said to reassure her, Violette knew that the Buddies' mom and dad getting taken was her fault, and there was nothing that could be done about it except do her best to behave and try and make it right.

If she didn't, the Buddies may never forgive her, and the Mane 6 would probably disown her as their friend.

And she desperately didn't want that to happen.

“...Violette…?”

Violette gasped as her thoughts and tears were interrupted by a soft voice speaking from the darkness, and turned to see none other than Misty Brightdawn approaching her with her horn dimly lit. “Oh… hey, Misty. Sorry, did I wake you?”

“Nah, I was already awake,” Misty brushed off. “But then… I heard you crying and I wanted to come and check on you. What’s wrong?”

“I know that Buddy and Molly being taken was my fault,” Violette admitted. “I was the one who encouraged the Buddies to run away with me to begin with… even though I knew it was wrong. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, I swear!”

“I know that. The Buddies know that and we all know that too,” Misty said gently. “But sometimes… things just happen due to fate. We don’t have any kind of control over what happens when fate is involved.”

“I wish I had never come on this mission to begin with…” Violette then said out of sadness. “Maybe if I hadn’t the Buddies would be safe and sound with their parents, and these dognappers wouldn't be after them right now.”

“I know it’s hard to hear this, but… I think if we hadn’t stepped in to stay with the Buddies in the first place,” Misty said, “they still might have run away, even if you hadn't encouraged them in the first place. What I mean to say, Violette, is that everything happens for a reason. We have the chance to make this right now, and we're not gonna let Buddy and Molly down, now, are we?”

“...no, we aren’t,” Violette said, shaking her head. “I promised the Buddies and I would help them, and I’m gonna keep that promise, no matter what.”

“That’s the spirit,” Misty said, helping her to her hooves. “Let’s get some sleep. We have a long way to go tomorrow to get to Innsfield, and we can’t get there when we’re sleepy.”

“Right. Good night, Misty… and thanks.”

“Sweet dreams, Violette.”

And then, side by side, the two unicorns retreated off to sleep to prepare for the day ahead.

XXXXXXXX

“Om… om…”

The sound of Buddha making a strange noise just as the sun rose from the darkness caused the ponies to stir, and Sunny was the first to notice the pup. “Hey, Buddha… mind if I sit here with you for a moment?”

“Of course,” Buddha nodded as the earth pony mare sat beside of him calmly. “I could always use a meditation partner.”

“Sunny, whatever he’s doing, tell him to be quiet!” Rosebud said, peeking her head from the inside of the tree from where she and the other Buddies were sleeping. “A girl needs her beauty sleep. Who are you talking to, anyways?”

“I’m meditating,” Buddha responded to his younger sister calmly. “And absorbing positive energy. Om…”

“I'd positively like to observe a Pop-Tart,” Budderball said, crawling out of the tree and walking off with his siblings and friends, all while Buddha stayed behind to meditate some more. “Om…”

“Buddha, come on. Let's go,” Pipp said to the pup, who followed along behind as they continued on their way.

XXXXXXXX

Back at the drive-in theater, Grim and Denning were still tied up in front of the screen, having stayed there all night, and it was a very long drop from where they were hanging to the ground.

But, as Denning coughed out popcorn, Grim noticed the knot that held them up in the ropes. “I think I can undo it.”

“No!” Denning cried out to stop him. “NO!!”

But it was too late, the second Grim undid the knot, they were falling to the ground, landing smack on top of one another and groaning in pain.

XXXXXXXX

Back in Fernfield, Noah and Henry were holding some of the Buddies’ toys up to Sniffer’s nose, so he could sniff them and maybe track them down. But after a few minutes of this, Sniffer didn’t seem to be getting any scent, and Noah turned to Sheriff Bob with worry. “Doesn't seem to be getting anything.”

“He'll pick up on something,” Sheriff Bob assured him. “They don't call him the Million Dollar Muzzle for nothing. Come on, old boy. These young'uns need our help.”

Sniffer then sniffed the air for any trace of the Buddies, and then barked, running off in one direction and causing Noah and Henry to follow. “I knew old Sniffer would come through,” Sheriff Bob said, pleased as he followed the group away. “He can sniff out criminals before they even commit a crime!”

XXXXXXXX

Denning decided to call Mr. Selkirk and give him an update on their search for the puppies, and he sounded rather irritated when he finally answered the phone. “Yes?”

“Mr. Selkirk, we haven't captured the pups yet. We found ourselves in a bit of a sticky situation,” Denning said, putting the situation rather lightly. “But I remind you that Grim is in command.”

However, the news wasn't taken all that well by his employer. “I’ve captured panthers with my own hands! Have you ever seen the claws on a panther? Enough to take out an eye. And you can't bring in five puppies,” Selkirk sneered on the other end of the line. “There's someone here who wants to speak to you.”

Just then, the tiger was heard growling on the other end of the line, causing Denning to slightly wince. “She's very hungry.”

“I get the message, loud and clear, sir.”

“Get those puppies now!”

And even though Selkirk ended the conversation, Denning pretended to keep it going so he could be the leader again. “Yes, I will resume command. You're the best. You... you are. You are, sir. Over and out, sir.”

“Well, Denning?” Grim asked. “What did he say?”

“Party's over, Grim. I'm back in charge,” Denning lied right to Grim’s face. “Orders from the big boss.”

Annoyed by the fact that his uncle gave the leadership position back to Denning, Grim looked out the window with a frown, but it soon melted when he saw something out the window. “Oh, look-- how cute.”

Denning looked immensely confused to this. “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. Just a bunch of puppies and ponies playing in the field over there.”

Denning immediately stopped the truck in the middle of the road when he heard this, and the halt caused Grim to bang his head, causing him to groan in pain. “Ponies?! Puppies?!” Denning blurt out. “Where?!”

“Back there. The cutest little puppies playing with their pony friends.”

“Those are our puppies, and they aren't as cute as you are dumb!”

“They're pretty darn cute…”

Denning then backed up a bit, and then, to Grim's shock, they rammed right through the fence separating the road from the field and charged right after the ponies and their puppy pals...

...with no single intent of stopping!

XXXXXXXX

As the ponies and pups walked through that grassy field, Zipp’s ears suddenly twitched at the sound of something big and loud coming toward them. “Uh… guys? Does anypony else hear what I’m hearing?”

They looked back, and discovered that, to their shock, the dognappers and their truck were racing toward them fast, giving them only one option. “RUUUUUUUN!!!!”

Our heroes bolted off as fast as their legs could possibly carry them, trying to escape the large piece of machinery threatening to catch them.

Sunny panted heavily as she watched the truck begin to steadily gain on their hooves and paws. “Faster, guys! As fast as you can! They’re getting closer!”

“Hey, I’m trying!” Pipp panted as she ran beside of Rosebud. “It isn’t like running from monsters who are really just guys in masks!”

“Believe me,” Izzy said in agreement from running beside Buddha and B-Dawg, “we could outrun those meanies easily! But us running from machinery is a little harder!”

“Now that you mention it, didn't we ditch these guys?” B-Dawg asked as they continued to flee. “We did, but they’re back,” Violette said urgently, “so we have to hightail it!”

But as the ponies and the Buddies steadily began to pick up speed, the truck was falling behind, and for good reason-- it had completely run out of gas.

Denning groaned in frustration before turning to Grim with a growl, and Grim only shrugged. “Don't look at me. The thing's a gas guzzler. If we had a hybrid, this kind of thing wouldn't happen.”

Denning looked at him bewildered for a few moments before groaning again and unbuckling his seatbelt. “Get the net.”

XXXXXXXX

“Come on, guys! Come on. Hurry up! Come on!” Violette urged the other ponies and her dog friends as she saw Grim and Denning running after them with a large net. “They're gaining on us!”

“Wait up, Denning!” Grim panted as he tried to run after his collegue and hold onto the net. “Faster!” B-Dawg cried. “Faster!”

“I got an idea that can give us more time!” Hitch said before jumping up and stomping his hooves on the ground, causing a root to grow from the ground and trip Grim and Denning up, causing them to face-plant right onto the grass. “Oooh…” Mudbud groaned. “That’s gonna be hurting in the morning.”

“But they won’t stay down for long!” Misty said. “We need someplace to hide!”

That’s when Sunny looked and saw that they were getting close to a large farm with a white gate protecting it. “Old McRoberts’ Farm! That’s the second place we had to go through to get to Innsfield! Head for the gate! We’ll be safe on the other side!”
XXXXXXXX

Elsewhere, Deputy Sniffer thought he had led Noah, Henry and Sheriff Bob right to the Buddies out in the forest. However, what they really came upon was a not so nice skunk, and it sprayed them really good.

Nevertheless, they had to do and get tomato juice baths to cover up the stink.

And no one felt worser than old Deputy Sniffer himself.

Now where could those pups and ponies be?

XXXXXXXX

The group bolted for the gates leading to the Old McRoberts' farm, and while the ponies were able to fly/leap over it, the Buddies ended up crawling under it… at least, until Denning grabbed Budderball by the tail, having caught up to the group with Grim. “Gotcha!”

“Help! I'm stuck!!” Budderball yelped to his siblings. “He's got me by the tail!”

“Quit your wiggling!” Denning shouted from the other side of the gate. That’s when Pipp flew to Budderball and landed beside him, making a risky decision that could affect her badly or turn their fate around. “I never thought I'd say this, but let it rip!”

She grabbed Budderball by the paw and yanked as hard as she could, causing him to fart right on Denning, which caused Denning to cough and accidentally let Budderball go free. “Great thinking, sis!” Zipp smiled. “I never would have thought to use Budderball’s stink to drive ‘em off!”

“Eh, just my natural charm, I guess,” Pipp shrugged with a slight smirk. “Now, can we PLEASE get moving before those dognappers find us again?”

“Good thinking,” Sunny nodded. “Come on, I’m sure we can hide in that barn until they leave.”

But as they trotted toward the barn, a rough and tumble billy goat by the name of, well, Billy, stepped up and stood in their path. “Who goes there? Friend or foe?”

“Hold it,” Violette raised a hoof. “You speak dog and pony?”

“I'm fluent in Horse, Cow, Chicken, Pig and Rooster. I even know a little Mouse,” Billy bragged a bit. “Now, I said, ‘Who goes there? Friend or foe’?”

“We don't even know what "foe" means,” Rosebud argued politely. “Let us put it this way,” said Zipp, speaking up for the whole group. “I’m Zipp, those are my friends, and those are the Buddies, and we're being chased by crazies!”

“And speaking of crazies, here they come over the gate!” Hitch yelped in panic. “We gotta go! Now!”

“No one trespasses on Billy's property. I'll take care of them. You may paaass,” Billy said to the group kindly, watching as they started to head in that same direction. “Go to Belinda in the pigpen. She'll help you!”

“Thanks, Billy! We’ll see ya if we ever get out of this alive!” Izzy called cheerfully as the ponies and Buddies ran past him toward the pen, leaving Billy to angrily settle his gaze on the two intruders. “I'll show these bozos some country hospitality.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Grim was stuck on the gate because he was afraid of heights, leaving Denning right there below him on the ground. “Just jump!” said Denning. “I’ll catch you.”

“You promise?” Grim asked fearfully, causing Denning to nod. “Cross my heart.”

But as Grim prepared to jump down, Billy butted Denning right in the butt, causing him to fall over and Grim to crash on the ground.

This led Grim to think that Denning tricked him and the two began to tustle right in the dirt.

XXXXXXXX

Pipp gagged as soon as she and her friends approached the pig pen where Belinda and her young piglets were. “Whoa! Stinkaroo!”

“Focus, Pipp-- there’s not really much time for worrying about our looks,” Rosebud said. “As much as I hate to say it.”

“Billy sent us,” Sunny told the pigs. “We’re friends, not foes.”

However, Belinda began to speak in a strange way that even Hitch himself couldn’t understand. “Nyay riendfay ofay Illybay's isay a riendfay ofay inemay.”

“What is she talking about?!” Hitch asked with alarm, never hearing an animal speak that he couldn’t understand. “Oh, it’s Pig Latin,” Rosebud explained casually. “I’ll translate.”

“There they are!”

Violette gasped and turned to see Denning and Grim getting up from their tustle and running their way. “They’ve spotted us!”

That’s when Belinda chose to speak again. “Uickqay, isguiseday ourselvesyay asay igletspay.”

Luckily, Rosebud could translate quickly enough to understand. “She said, ‘Quickly, disguise yourselves as piglets’.”

“But us older ponies are a little too big to disguise ourselves as piglets!” Misty pointed out with a frown. “But,” Sunny reasoned, “it would make us a bit more slippery to catch! Everypony into the pigpen! Now!”

The Buddies and Violette slipped under the fence while the older ponies leapt over the fence and began to roll and pranced around in the mud, oinking like they didn't have a care in the world.

Grim seemed to believe their act as he and Denning approached the pigpen. “They're gone!”

“I never knew piglets had long, furry tails,” Denning pointed out, climbing over the fence to grab the Buddies one by one. “Grab one!”

“Scatter, guys! Scatter!” Violette said before Grim could grab her, the mud slowing her down just a bit. The piglets and Buddies scrambled around the pen with the other ponies keeping watch, but eventually, Pipp groaned and kicked Grim into Denning, causing both of them to fall face first into the mud itself.

That's when Billy called out to the group from the barn. “Ponies! Buddies! Into the barn, quick!”

“You heard the old goat!” Zipp said, shaking the mud from her coat as best she could before leaping out of the pigpen with the other members of the Mane 6. “Let's blow this pig stand!”

“Thanks, Belinda!” the Buddies and Violette called as they ran after their friends, to which Rosebud translated in Pig Latin for the pig to understand. “Anksthay, Elindabay.”

“Oycottbay aconbay.”

Denning coughed and wiped the mud out of his eyes, groaning in disgust. “This better be mud!”

XXXXXXXX

“Follow me, Buddies!” Billy called as he led the pups and their friends to the hayloft, but not before Izzy placed two rakes right beside each other. That's when Hitch let out a soft whisper to the others. “Nopony move a muscle.”

Once this had been said, Denning and Grim entered the barn and Grim gave the next set of instructions. “You go that way, and... I'll go that way.”

However, the two of them ended up going in the same direction and stepped on the rakes Izzy had planted, causing them to fly up, hit the two dognappers in the head and knock them onto the ground.

Up in the hay loft, the group tried to contain their laughter... that is, until Mudbud sneezd and sent a small bit of hay onto Denning's face, causing the muddy pup to tense up immediately. “...oops...”

Denning eventually figured out where the hay came from and looked to see the entire group hiding up in the loft. “There they are! In the hay loft!”

“Guys, we have to bolt!” Sunny cried out. “But where?!” Misty wondered in panic. “There's nowhere to go but down!”

“Quick, into the hay, dudes!” Mudbud cried as the Buddies and Violette quickly dove into the hay with the ponies in pursuit. “SCRAMBLE!!!”

“Quick! Quick! Hi-Hide! Into the hay!” Rosebud cried as the group eventually settled into the hay, freezing up and making sure that they don't move and give themselves away again.

Grim and Denning came up into the loft in search of the group, and as they scanned around, they saw some wagging puppy tails within the hay, and they each moved a little closer to the hay piles.

“Here, puppy puppy puppy...”

“Puppy puppy...”

Luckily, Sunny had a plan of her own to get these bad guys off their tails for a minute, if not more. “NOW!!!”

Izzy and Misty charged angrily toward Grim from where they were hiding, and Grim screamed and jumped jnto Denning's arms. But as the two began to back further into the loft, Zipp and Pipp rammed their heads into the duo, causing them to scream and fall back onto the hay piles at the bottom of the barn.

Now that the Buddies were safe for now, Violette knew it was time to make their escape for good this time. “Puppies, this way! Run for cover!”

The Buddies barked as they followed Billy and the ponies down the hayloft ramp, just as Denning and Grim began to try and get up from their harsh fall. “Come on,” Denning groaned, “they're getting away!”

“I have an idea,” Zipp whispered to the Mane 6 as they separated from Violette and the Buddies into another room. “Let's hide in here for a minute.”

XXXXXXXX

The Buddies and Violette immediately realized that the room they ran into was a dead end except for one tiny hole that was barely big enough for them to squeeze into, and to make matters worse, Grim and Denning blocked the door to prevent them from escaping. “Got 'em!”

“Uh-oh...” gulped Violette nervously, but the Buddies made sure to let Violette see their smiles, letting her know that they had a plan of their own. “You little peanut-brained puppies and horses think you're so smart!” Denning mocked rudely. “How you gonna get out of here, little geniuses?”

The Buddies barked before they and Violette quickly made their escape through that tiny hole in the side of the barn, but before Grim and Denning could make a move to follow them outside, Zipp put out the next stage of her plan. “Now!”

Izzy and Hitch kicked the door closed, and Sunny managed to use her earth pony powers to seal the door shut and trapping the dognappers inside that small room.

“It's stuck!”

“You gotta be kidding me!”

“No!”

“Come on, guys-- we gotta go catch up with the others,” Hitch told the other ponies before they ran outside, leading Billy to laugh mockingly at the bad guys, who glared at the goat with distaste. “What are you laughing at?!”

XXXXXXXX

Back outside, the ponies and Buddies cheered at their apparent success of trapping the dognappers in their attempt to trap the Buddies and Violette.

Even they had to admit... that felt good.

Billy soon opened the door to the barn and turned to the group in question. “That was a blaaast. That's the most fun I've had in years!” the old goat said before turning to the five Golden Retriever pups. “Now, you'd better go find your parents.”

“Thanks, Billy!”

“Bye!”

“Thanks a million for your help!”

“Let's go!”

As the group ran away from the barn, Buddha suddenly had a sudden thought. “I think that was Dalai the Ilama.”

“Buddha,” Zipp said, “I hate to break it to you, but that was a goat, not one of those llama things.”

XXXXXXXX

However, Denning was able to stick his head through the hole and called out to the group as they ran further and further away. “Why, you little puppies, when I get my hands on you... I'm ordering you little rat-brains and those idiotic horses to roll over, come here now!!!”

Billy bleated and rammed right into Denning's head, knocking Denning completely unconscious and causing Grim to wince in pain.

Once Denning regained consciousness, he would have to explain everything to Denning again...

...and this was not gonna be a pretty sight.

Operation Rescue, Phase Three: The Forest

The ponies and the Buddies, with the help of their new friends at the farm, were able to trap Denning and Grim in the barn so the ponies could keep leading the Buddies to Innsfield, where Buddy and Molly were being kept.

They were so close to rescuing the Buddies' parents, but they still had a long way to go before that happened.

All they could do now was hope that they make it before something drastic happened.

XXXXXXXX

Patrick arrived home from work one afternoon after a long day of worrying about the Buddies, the Mane 6 and Violette when he came upon a startling sight-- Noah and Henry were being drenched in tomato juice by their mothers, and Henry's mother shot Patrick a little smirk. “Thirsty?”

“Wowza,” Patrick commented. “What happened to you guys?”

“We thought we found them, but Sniffer led us straight to a skunk instead,” Noah said with a heavy frown. “Any news, Dad?”

“I've been in contact with all the vet clinics. No one's found them yet, so they're out there somewhere,” Patrick explained, and his heart sank when he saw the dejected look on Noah’s face.

But they were out there somewhere… they just had to keep looking.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Sheriff Bob was playing his harmonica for Sniffer, who seemed downtrodden that he hadn’t led Noah and Henry to the missing pups or their missing friends. “Hey, don't be so blue, old buddy. What you did was a dadgum, bona fide, honest mistake, that's all.”

As Sniffer tried to be more positive about the situation, he could have sworn his nose was picking up the smell of a hot dog that a teenager was eating a good couple of yard away, but then, shook his head to disregard the thought. “It couldn't be. My sniffer's probably just playing tricks on me again.”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the ponies and the Buddies proceeded to walk for a long time, still caked partially in mud from rolling around in it earlier. However, their muddy worries were soon ceased when they came to a small stream blocking their path. “Sunny and the pegasi could go over it,” Violette spoke, “but none of the rest of us could go around it.”

“Mudbud… I got bad news for you,” Zipp said with a sympathetic frown. “You're about to take a bath.”

“Dude, I’m already clean,” Mudbud stated, puffing his chest up with pride. “I just took a mud bath.”

“On the positive side,” Buddha pointed out to his muddy brother, “there’s no soap.”

“CANNONBALL!!!” the Buddies and Violette cried before charging head on into the stream, splashing around as they crossed and getting all the mud out of their fur. “Come on, Mudbud!” Misty called to the pup as the Mane 6 crossed the stream next. “We have to get across to find Buddy and Molly, remember?”

This statement caused Mudbud to sigh and eventually relent. “Okay, fine! Fine!”

He crossed the stream with the rest of his siblings and friends, and finally managed to join them on the other side. Then, after a bit more running and galloping, they came to the edge of a large forest. “According to the Fernfield town map,” said Sunny, “Innsfield is just on the other side of this forest.”

However, this forest and its spooky noises began to frighten B-Dawg a bit. “D-Do we really, really have to go in there?”

“Don’t tell me you’re a scaredy cat,” Rosebud teased. “Them is fighting words,” B-Dawg growled back. “I ain't no fur ball spitter.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Buddha pointed out. “We have to go through the forest to get to Mom and Dad.”

“Then into the forest we’ll go,” Zipp said as she fluttered above the group. “Follow us, Buddies, and stay close. This forest is way too big for you guys to get lost in.”

The Buddies followed Violette and the Mane 6 into the dark reaches of the forest before them… unaware that a figure that looked like a large dog was watching them.

But it wasn't a dog at all-- it was really a huge wolf! And since he had never seen these pups or ponies before, he decided to follow the Mane 6, Violette and their puppy pals to see where they were going.

However, the more into the forest they wandered, the more lost they seemed to become as Buddha took the lead and took them off in another direction. “I'm sensing this way is true north.”

“Then your compass is stone-cold busted, dawg,” B-Dawg snapped, “cause we just came from that way!”

“B-Dawg!” Sunny scolded. “No need to shout at Buddha when he’s just trying to help!”

“Hey, guys,” Budderball then spoke up after a little more walking, “should we stop for lunch?”

That’s when B-Dawg seemed to have enough of his brother’s food cravings and turned to him in anger. “Why don’t you stop thinking about your stomach for once?!”

“Dude!” Mudbud snapped right back. “Why don’t you stop thinking about yourself for once?!”

“I don’t know why I even bother with you guys!” B-Dawg told his brothers and sister as they began to tussle, with the Mane 6 trying to stop them. “Throw me a bone, will you?”

The only ones not involved in the tussling were Violette and Buddha, who both seemed to be thinking the same thing. “Listen up, pups! Quiet for a second!” Violette said as the Mane 6 tried to separate the pups. “Stop fighting!”

“The only way we're gonna find Mom and Dad,” Buddha continued as the fighting seemed to die down, “is if we work together like a team!”

“And we can’t work together like a team,” Zipp said, holding B-Dawg away from his siblings, “if we keep fighting like cats and dogs! So to speak.”

“Fighting just creates a sense of imbalance,” Sunny continued. “When we’re a team, all our strengths are present, and we’re much stronger than we were when we’re alone. So, what do you say we find our way out of this place and go find your mom and dad before it's too late?”

However, while Sunny was giving her speech, B-Dawg suddenly felt a change in the atmosphere and became quite nervous. “Guys, I feel like someone is watching me…”

“Dudes… dudes…!!” Mudbud whimpered as he saw a dark silhouette approach Sunny from the cover of the trees. “He’s right…!!”

Suddenly, a branch snapped behind Sunny, causing her to whip her head around and see what was approaching them-- a huge gray wolf, bearing its bangs and snarling!

This left the group with only one solution to turn to. “RUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!”

Immediately, the group bolted in another direction in an attempt to escape from the wolf, but they had no idea that the wolf knew this forest like the back of his paw, and was right behind them as they fled.

“Run, run!”

“Hurry up!”

“This way! Come on!”

“He’s right behind us!”

But at that moment, the wolf leapt out in front of the group, causing them to scream and screech to a halt as the wolf growled at them again.

B-Dawg gulped nervously as the Mane 6 stood in front of the Buddies and Violette, ready to take any action necessary to save their small friends. “Nobody moves unless we say so,” Zipp whispered. “Wolves can be very territorial, and we don’t want to make him think we’re the enemy here.”

Suddenly, Rosebud mustered up her courage and walked out in front of the group. “Rosebud!” Pipp yelped. “What are you doing?!”

However, Rosebud didn’t respond and merely stood in front of the wolf with a fierce expression. “I am puppy! Hear me roar! Roar!!”

The wolf tilted his head in surprise at this, just as Violette mustered up the same amount of courage and stepped up beside Rosebud. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t dare to hurt our friends and siblings!”

The rest of the Buddies and the Mane 6 looked at the scene with complete awe, and eventually, the wolf spoke to them, clearly impressed. “You are very brave, little ones.”

Rosebud and Violette smiled at him, then at each other just before B-Dawg spoke up, clearly relieved and impressed at the heroic feat. “I definitely take back what I said about girls. Girl power all the way!”

“It's not safe for you pups and your friends in the forest alone,” the wolf then spoke. “Follow me. I won’t harm you.”

“...what do you think, Sunny?” Hitch asked nervously. “Should we trust him?”

“Well… he did say he won’t harm us,” Sunny said in thought, “so… I guess we need to trust him. But everyone needs to stay close together.”

And so, the Buddies barked and yipped as they followed the wolf and their pony pals through the forest, even though they remained unsure as to where exactly they were going.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Buddy was currently in the middle of digging his and Molly’s escape tunnel in the wine cellar at Innsfield when Molly could here Selkirk coming with their daily dose of food. “Buddy!”

She barked to get his attention, causing Buddy to return to the wine cellar and block the tunnel he had made with a nearby cabinet.

At that moment, Selkirk opened the wine cellar and entered with the bowl of food, hitting his head on the doorway and making Buddy and Molly back up before he set the food bowl at their paws. “Tomorrow your new owner will be here to take you away.”

That's when he noticed all the filth and dust that had gotten on the cabinet behind them, thankfully not noticing the hole Buddy had dug. “Please try to contain your filth to yourselves,” he said to the dogs, trying not to get too angry. “The cabinet is 200 years old, and that's not dog years.”

And so, hitting his head on the doorway again. Selkirk left the room, locking the door once again, and causing Buddy to sigh in relief. “That was close.”

They had to get that tunnel done by tomorrow... otherwise, there would be a good chance they would never see those precious pups of theirs again!

XXXXXXXX

The wolf who had found them earlier had brought the Mane 6, Violette and the Buddies back to his spacious den, and they all laid down as day slowly turned into night. “Mr. Wolf? Sir?” Budderball cautiously spoke up. “You got any cheese snacks by any chance?”

“I’m afraid not, little one,” the wolf responded, causing Rosebud to speak up next. “How about some advice for five lost pups and their friends?”

“Where are your people?” the wolf then asked. “Well, that’s the thing,” Pipp explained with a frown. “The Buddies were being sent to our new homes and…”

“The Buddies and I ran away,” Violette interrupted, “cause they wanted to stay together.”

“We were scared of the unknown,” Buddha added with an ashamed look. “You know,” the wolf then spoke up, “as legend tells, one day, a small pup wandered away from its den and wound up lost far from home. He was rescued by a small boy, and when it was time to return, the pup did not wanna go home. He and the boy had formed a true bond. And from that day on, dogs chose to live amongst people to bring the love of animals to human families.”

At hearing this story, the group of pups, and Violette especially, knew for realsies that they had made the wrong choice in handling their problems. “We really messed up,” Buddha sighed. “We ran away from our troubles instead of facing them.”

“And,” B-Dawg added, “we got our ‘rents dognapped.”

“That’s why we were in the forest to begin with,” Misty then told the wolf. “We’re on our way to rescue them, since they're being held at Innsfield.”

The wolf nodded once Misty had said this. “I have heard your mother and father howling.”

“No way!” Mudbud exclaimed. “You know where they are?!”

“This is pony-tastic!” Izzy cheered. “You can help us get through the forest so we can make it to them, right?”

“I heard them too,” B-Dawg tried to act cool. “I was trying to tell everyone.”

“B-Dawg…” Zipp scolded. “What?” B-Dawg looked at her. “I did. Honest.”

“Rest now,” said the wolf, “and in the morning, I shall take you to them.”

“Sweet dreams, everybody,” Rosebud bid goodnight. “Nighty night, Mr. Wolf.”

And so, everyone retired off to sleep, ready for the day ahead to rescue the Buddies’ parents and set things straight so the ponies' mission could finally be complete.

Rescue at Innsfield (Part 1)

Our pony heroes along with their new friends, the Buddies, found themselves at peace for now, sleeping in the cave of a kind and gentle wolf.

In the morning, they would be led to the Buddies' captured parents, and everything would turn out to be all right for everyone. However... none of them had any idea of what might be waiting to happen that next day...

...both good things and bad.

XXXXXXXX

By the time the next morning had arrived, Sheriff Bob was already awake, cooking eggs and bacon for breakfast with Sniffer laying down on the kitchen floor, hoping a piece of bacon would drop.

Suddenly, a wonderful and familiar scent entered Sniffer’s nose... something had hadn't smelled in years. “I love the smell of bacon in the morning...” he said before immediately realizing what he just said and got up. “The smell of bacon?! I can smell bacon?!”

He began to bark and bark and bark excitedly to Sheriff Bob, who seemed very confused about the dog's reaction. “What's gotten into you, old boy, huh?”

Sniffer barked again before racing out the door to find that skunk... and find the missing ponies and pups before it was too late.

XXXXXXXX

As the sun peeked over the horizon of the forest, the Buddies and their pony friends woke up to a new day, and the wolf gazed over at them. “Your parents are waiting for you,” he told the Buddies with a smile. “All right! What are we waiting for?” Zipp said with a smile. “Let's go!”

“Mom! Dad! Here we come!” Mudbud exclaimed as he and his siblings followed the wolf and their pony pals through the forest to get to Innsfield.

XXXXXXXX

“Sniffer’s back!” Sniffer howled in happiness as he ran through the nearby field. “I can smell!”

His newfound sense of smell led him right to the skunk's burrow from yesterday, but before the skunk could spray him again, Sniffer stopped him. “Hold your fire! I just came to say thanks. It's been years since I smelled bacon frying. Your spray must've cleared my sinuses.”

“Good for you,” the skunk responded in a French accent before Sniffer cheered and ran off to go get Noah and Henry.

Since it was the weekend, they would be able to follow him on more of a free range.

But they had to get to where they were going fast-- Buddy and Molly could be sold soon and they would never be seen again!

XXXXXXXX

Noah was in his room, having a snack and doing some studying when he heard a familiar barking from outside that got his attention. “Sniffer?”

He went right over to the window and saw Sniffer excitedly barking from the ground level. Just then, he saw Henry speaking into his walkie talkie from across the street. “What's gotten into Sniffer?”

Noah shook his head, having no idea about the circumstances. “I've never seen him so excited. He wants us to follow. Grab your bike, tell your mom and meet me outside.”

And so, the boys did as they planned, telling their mothers where they were going and followed Sniffer on their bikes, following Sniffer through the town and in the direction of the drive in to find their missing pups and friends.

XXXXXXXX

Around the same time, the wolf was running through the open field with the Buddies, Violette and the Mane 6 right behind, honestly enjoying the fact that they were so close to their goals.

They were going to save the Buddies' parents, and everything was going to be all right in the end.

After a bit of running, the wolf finally stopped the group at some large wooden gates. “Beyond this fence lies the vineyards where your parents are being held. Now it's up to you to rescue them.”

“Why don't you stay with us forever so you're not all alone?” Rosebud asked in concern. “That's a really nice idea, Rosebud,” Sunny said softly, “but I don't think that will work out for anypony.”

“Your friend is right, little one,” the wolf clarified. “We wolves are needed in the forest as much as you are needed by people.”

“...do you ever get scared?” Violette asked, feeling a little embarrassed just by asking. “Sometimes,” the wolf said with a kind smile. “But that's why we howl, to let one another know that even though we may feel alone, we never really are.”

The Mane 6, Violette and the Buddies finally smiled at the words of the wolf... this was definitely something to consider, whatever the future would bring.

Then, it was time for the wolf to return to the forest where he belonged, but not before our heroes bid him farewell in their own unique way.

“Thanks, Mr. Wolf, dude!”

“Catch ya in the flippity flip!”

“Namaste!”

“We'll never forget you!”

“Bye! Thank you!”

Once the wolf had went back into the forest, Zipp focused on the task at hoof once more. “Come on!”

The ponies leapt over the gate while the Buddies went under it through a small hole, and encountered miles and miles of grape vines growing.

They were definitely in the right place. Now all they had to do was get to the factory and find Buddy and Molly before they could get sold.

XXXXXXXX

Around the same time, Sniffer was leading Noah and Henry straight to the McRoberts’ farm, still following the Buddies’ scent. “Sniffer,” Noah called out, “are you sure they came this way?”

Sniffer barked in confirmation before going around the gate, and encountering Billy on the other side. “Who goes there? Friend or…” Billy began to say before he saw who it was. “Oh. Excuse me, Deputy Sniffer.”

“We're investigating missing puppies and ponies,” the bloodhound then explained. “I can smell they've come this way.”

“Well, your nose isn’t lying,” Billy confirmed. “Those pups and their friends passed through here yesterday with trespassing dognappers hot on their tails.”

By the time they saw Noah and Henry coming around the gate, they were already barking and bleating at one another, causing the boys to shrug before Billy led them into the barn.

And low and behold, Denning and Grim were still trapped in that room as Noah and Henry ran in with the goat and bloodhound. “Kids, help!” Denning pleaded. “We're being held hostage by this crazy goat.”

“Have you seen five golden puppies?” Noah asked. “Along with three unicorns, two pegasi and two earth ponies?”

“...why, no,” Denning lied. “I can't say that I have.”

“Have you? Cause we could join forces and catch 'em together,” Grim then spoke up, only to get smacked in the head by Denning. “OW!!”

“Quiet, you imbecile!”

“We better let Sheriff Bob know about these guys,” Noah told Henry, but as he nudged the lock, Henry discovered that it was sealed shut by magic, causing him to look at Noah again. “Looks like they're not going anywhere.”

Then, with the bad guys blubbering at their feet (so to speak), the boys and Sniffer ran back out to continue their search, leaving Billy only to laugh for his own amusement.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Buddy finally managed to dig the escape tunnel all the way back up to the surface and barked to Molly down below, letting her know that it was safe to come through.

And once Molly came up to the surface and shook the dirt from her fur, Buddy became all too serious. “We’ve got to find the pups and their friends before they do.”

Without a second thought, the two Golden Retrievers sped off to find their kids and their friends before it was too late.

XXXXXXXX

“This is it, guys!” Sunny whispered to her friends and the pups as they reached the line of trees near the factory. “We made it!”

“And look!” Violette pointed to the man and young boy getting out of the nearby limousine. “Those must be the guys who wanna take Buddy and Molly!”

“Isn't it clear that I did not say 2.2. I said 1.7!” the man said on his phone harshly as the boy slammed his car door shut. “If he has trouble remembering, he can take it up with my lawyer!”

As soon as the two had disappeared inside, Zipp gave the next set of orders. “Okay, here’s my idea. Violette, you and the Buddies take the left side of the building and find a way in through there. We’ll take the right side, and hopefully, we’ll meet in the same place.”

“BREAK!!”

And just like that, the Mane 6 sped off in one direction, and Violette and the five puppies sped off in another. “There’s gotta be a way in somewhere,” B-Dawg told his siblings. “Quick!” Violette shouted to her friends. “Around back!”

But as they galloped around the left side of the building, Budderball stumbled upon a small hole dug in the ground (the same hole Buddy and Molly had escaped from) and stopped to look down in it. “Hey, check this thing…” he began to say before he fell into the hole, “....OOOUUUT!!!!”

Rosebud immediately halted upon realizing what happened. “We’re short of Budderball again!”

Budderball's screams could be heard all the way down the slide, making Violette sigh and turn to the Buddies. “I guess we found the way in!”

And so, one by one, they all took turns sliding down into the hole, unsure of what they would find on the other side.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Selkirk was leading Mr. Livingstone and Bartleby to the wine cellar where he THOUGHT that Buddy and Molly were. “You might want to consider doubling your price and taking both Air Bud and his girlfriend. Just think of the potential.”

He opened the door for his clients, and Bartleby practically flew into the room... only to find one escape tunnel and no Air Bud or his girlfriend in sight. “So where is he?”

Selkirk growled as soon as he saw the escape tunnel. “I knew those mutts were up to something…”

Mr. Livingstone was about to go off on Selkirk when all of a sudden, the Buddies and Violette came sliding right down the tunnel, causing Bartleby to gasp as soon as he saw them. “Puppies? And a unicorn?!”

“Oh no…” Violette muttered under her breath as the boy began to handle her and the Buddies as if they were some sort of stuffed toys. “Oh, my gosh, Selkirk!” Mr. Livingstone said, clearly impressed and pleased. “You've always had a flair for theatrics. You tricked us. Air Bud puppies and a little unicorn filly. What a surprise!”

Selkirk had no idea how his goons did it, but he chuckled happily and gladly took Mr. Livingstone's money. “Ta-da!”

“I love them!” Bartleby said, hugging the puppies and Violette close, making Violette internally pray that the ponies were able to get in there, rescue them and find Buddy and Molly before it was too late.

Rescue at Innsfield (Part 2)

The worst possible… well, the second possible event had occurred.

Buddy and Molly managed to escape the wine cellar through an escape tunnel, but as the Buddies and their friends arrived to rescue THEM, the Buddies and Violette slid right down the tunnel and into the arms of Bartleby Livingstone, who was going to take them ALL home, pony and puppy alike.

And the worst part was… the Mane 6 had no idea where they were.

Now they could only hope was they get rescued… and fast.

XXXXXXXX

Around the same time, Sniffer had led Noah and Henry right to the gates of Innsfield, and Noah sighed and looked over at Henry. “This must be it.”

“I'm plumb tuckered out,” Sniffer said, laying down as the boys climbed over the gate. “I'm just gonna stand guard here, maybe catch a few Z's.”

And so, Noah and Henry got over the gate and began to creep through the grape vines to find their way to get Buddy, Molly, the Buddies and the Mane 6 and Violette out of this creep-zone and back home before they were spotted.

XXXXXXXX

But not even five minutes later, Buddy and Molly came tearing through the fields and leapt right over the gate, not expecting to see a sleeping Sniffer on the other side. “Sniffer?” Buddy asked out of surprise. “What are you doing way out here?”

“Muddy, Bolly, you've been saved!” Sniffer said sleepily, not realizing that they had freed themselves. “Wow. Them boys work fast. But where are the puppies and their little friends?”

Buddy froze at that. “The puppies? And their pony friends? Is that who you mean?”

“I haven't seen them since they headed off to save you,” Sniffer clarified. “I'm pretty sure they've gone through this fence.”

“We've just come from there!” Buddy cried. “It’s not safe!”

“We’ve gotta hurry,” Molly told her mate, and they leapt right over the gate to the other side. “Hey, wait for me!” Sniffer cried, going after them. “Sniffer is hot on the trail!”

XXXXXXXX

“We’ve searched everywhere,” Misty said to her friends with a hopeless expression, “and there’s no sign of Violette, the Buddies or a way inside!”

Zipp suddenly gasped and pulled the ponies off to the side. “Guys, get down!”

“What?” Pipp blinked. “Why?”

“That’s why!”

The others looked and gasped, immediately ducking down when they saw Mr. Livingstone and Bartleby stuffing the Buddies and Violette into their limo, and the pups and the little unicorn looked incredibly frightened. “Oh, this is just great…” Hitch sighed. “What are we gonna do now?”

“We’ve got to get them out of that limo without being seen,” said Sunny, “but we’re gonna need a plan.”

Just then, a voice spoke up to them. “Then it’s a good thing we found you guys!”

“Noah! Henry!” Izzy cheered quietly as the two boys approached. “How did you guys get here?!”

“Sniffer led us here,” Henry explained. “Where are the dogs and Violette?”

“We think Buddy and Molly are inside the factory somewhere, but the Buddies and Violette are inside that limo,” Zipp pointed out. “We need to go over there and get them out, fast.”

“Then we need to get started before they come back,” Misty said. “Come on!”

They crept quietly over to the car and opened the limo door, listening to the Buddies whimpering, which caused Noah to shush them. “Don’t worry, we’re here to rescue you,” Sunny whispered. “Everyone, file out of the car, but quietly-- we don’t wanna give ourselves away.”

So, one by one, the Buddies and Violette began to file out of the limo and onto the pavement, but before Budderball could exit the vehicle…

…Bartleby had opened the other door, gasping at the fact that these ponies and kids were taking the puppies away.

That led the group to try and hurry.

“We gotta go!”

“Come on!”

“Hurry up, Noah!”

“DAAAAAAD!!!” Bartleby screamed as our heroes ran toward the factory. “The puppies are getting away!!!”

“I’ll call you back!” Mr. Livingstone told his client on the phone before he and Bartleby raced after the group, unaware that Selkirk was watching from the window. “These dogs are really starting to try my patience…”

XXXXXXXX

Once making it inside the factory, Zipp and Hitch led their friends in one direction off to the side, while Bartleby and his father ran in a complete different direction in search of the escaped dogs and the ponies.

But upon making it to the biggest part of the factory, our heroes found dozens of vats, filled to the brim with wine being made. “Whoa…” Violette said with wide eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like this before…”

“Which way do we go now?” Misty asked. “They could be after us in no time!”

Suddenly, a familiar scent hit Budderball’s nose. “I smell grape juice!”

“Grape juice? What?” Hitch wondered to himself just before Budderball ran off toward the vat at the end of the building, with the others in pursuit as Budderball began climbing up the steps to reach the liquid inside. “Oh, sweet mama!”

“Budderball!” Rosebud called out. “This is no time for games!”

“Budderball!” Noah cried. “Stop!”

Budderball didn’t listen, however, and leaned closer and closer toward the wine inside the vat. “One sip. Just one itty-bitty sip…”

However, Budderball screamed as he fell right into the wine with a huge splash. “Quick, dudes! He can't doggy paddle!” Mudbud cried out. “He’s too heavy!”

“We’re taking the fast way!” Zipp said as she and Pipp flew to the top of the vat while the others climbed the stairs, relieved to see that Budderball was swimming in the wine. “He’s floating!” Buddha exclaimed. “It’s a miracle.”

That’s when the others began to steadily coax him along… even when Budderball did fart right into the wine. “Come here, buddy, come here,” Hitch said, reaching down and grabbing the soggy pup in his hooves. “I got him! And he looks okay-- he just… smells funky.”

“All right,” Noah said, beginning to climb down the stairs with Henry. “Let’s go!”

However, as the Mane 6 followed the boys down the stairs, Violette stopped when she realized a horrible stench from Budderball was hitting her nose... and it wasn't anything gas related. “P-U! You stink!”

“That's the weirdestest grape juice ever…” Budderball said drunkenly before laughing and hiccuping, following the rest of the group down the stairs before Noah pointed off in one direction. “We’ll go this way.”

“If it’s in the opposite direction of those creeps,” said Pipp with a shudder, “I’m game for going just about anywhere.”

However, Budderball strayed from the group, still drunk from being in the wine. As he turned back to do a head count, Noah immediately saw that one pup was missing. “Wait. Budderball's not here.”

“We gotta find him!” Zipp cried. “Hurry!”

XXXXXXXX

Budderball stumbled around the factory, wondering where his siblings, Noah, Henry and the ponies went, still heavily drunk from his wine encounter. “Where oh where have my Buddies gone? Oh where oh where can they be…? Ha ha ha…”

XXXXXXXX

As the group looked for Budderball, they immediately saw Selkirk wandering through the factory, searching for the group on his own.

This led the ponies to either take a puppy or Violette and dive into hiding, leaving Noah and Henry to pair up and hide on their own in the same area.

Luckily for them, Selkirk didn't see them and continued on his way.

But our heroes knew that he would be back before long... so they had to find another way out before that happened.

Suddenly, they heard two figures zip past them, barking and causing the ponies to suddenly get an idea as to who was making these sounds.

When they came out of hiding and ran to where the figures were, Noah and Henry each gasped in delight at seeing who it was.

“Buddy?!”

“Molly?!”

Immediately, the remaining Buddies jumped up and licked their parents, nuzzling them as well.

“Mom! Dad!”

“Mom! Dad! You’re okay!”

“We found you, Buddy!”

“We’re so glad you guys are okay!”

The reunions lasted for a few more seconds with hugs, licks, barks of happiness and high-fiving one another on their success, right before Zipp saw some wine barrels not too far away and got an idea. “Guys… I have an idea that will make sure these dognappers never mess with our friends again, but it’ll take everyone here working together. Are you guys in?”

“We’re in,” Noah smirked. “Just tell us what to do.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Budderball was still wandering around the factory, the effects of the wine slowly beginning to wear off. But before he could locate his siblings, Bartleby burst out from behind some barrels and grabbed the little pup, causing him to whimper. “Gotcha! Ha ha…”

Bartleby soon left the factory with Budderball in his arms, but the second Sniffer (who had followed Buddy and Molly back to the factory) spotted Bartleby, he barked and chased after the boy. “Freeze!”

Bartleby screamed as Sniffer tackled him, taking him to the ground with Budderball still in his arms. He was not harmed, but… in an instant he knew that he was probably in trouble.

XXXXXXXX

The plan had been established-- the ponies, Noah, Molly, Buddy and Henry were going to use the wine barrels in the factory, with the Buddies and Violette inside them to chase Mr. Livingstone and Selkirk into the wine vats, where hopefully, they would be contained until the sheriff arrived.

Once the plan had been established, Noah looked to everyone in the circle. “So you know the plan?” he asked, causing the others to nod and Buddy to bark. “It'll only work if we work as a team.”

“And luckily,” said Izzy, “we know how to do that no problem!”

“BREAK!!”

Everyone split up to get themselves ready… and that included Violette and B-Dawg going out to lure Selkirk and Mr. Livingstone toward the barrels. “Sure, send B-Dawg and the youngest pony out as the decoys,” B-Dawg muttered audibly. “I don't remember drawing the shortest straw.”

“Come on, B-Dawg, this’ll be fun! In a way, at least,” Violette tried to remain optimistic. “Besides… we haven’t got any real quality time, you and me. It’ll be a… bonding experience! At least… I hope it will be.”

They rounded the corner and spotted Selkirk and Mr. Livingstone in a lively discussion.

“Any luck, Selkirk?”

“They're hiding around here somewhere.”

B-Dawg barked to get their attention, and Mr. Livingstone first made a break for the two of them as soon as he saw them. “After them!”

“I’ll get them, Mr. Livingstone!”

“Hurry, before they get away!”

“There they go!”

XXXXXXXX

As they saw B-Dawg and Violette rounding the corner, Noah turned to the other ponies, Noah and Buddy at the end of the barrels. “Ready, everybody?”

“We’ve been ready since these dognappers first messed with us,” smirked Zipp. “Let’s hurry up and do this!”

“There they go, quick!” Selkirk cried as B-Dawg and Violette entered the barrels. “We’ve got them cornered!”

That’s when Sunny initiated the plan. “PUSH!!!”

And heaving as one, the ponies and their newfound friends pushed the barrels out of place, with some of the Buddies and Violette pushing the barrels along with the older ponies galloping alongside.

Mr. Livingstone and Selkirk screamed and ran for their lives at the sight of the barrels going toward them, and Izzy and Misty took the lead. “Remember Zipp’s plan, guys!” Misty shouted. “Lead them toward the biggest vat in the factory! Then we settle all of this once and for all!”

The ponies and the barrels continuded to chase the villains all the way to the largest vat in the factory, and Mr. Livingstone and Selkirk climbed to the top to avoid a collision.

However, as the barrels slammed into the vat, they began to lose their balance and eventually fell in anyway, just as Noah, Henry and Buddy approached the group. “Is everyone all right?” Noah asked as Buddy checked over his pups. “We’re all safe, accounted for, and the bad guys are taking a grape bath!” Violette smirked. “Man, defeating villains sure is fun!”

Suddenly, due to the barrels crashing into it a moment before this, the vat began to crack and spill open. “Quick!” Hitch cried, leading everyone out of the factory before the vat could bust. “Let’s get out of here!”

Unfortunately, Selkirk and Mr. Livingstone were not as lucky to get out of the vat before it burst, causing the entire factory to flood with wine, spilling outwards toward the front door.

Luckily, our heroes managed to get out of the way just in time, resulting in everyone being safe... just as Sheriff Bob arrived with Denning and Grim in the backseat. “Good job, Sniffer,” the sheriff told his dog before turning to the kids and then pointing to Denning and Grim. “And, you kids, thanks for that call. Led me right to these nincompoops.”

“We couldn't have done it without Sniffer either,” Henry pointed out. “ I been telling everybody for years he's the best,” Sheriff Bob smiled before arresting Selkirk and Mr. Livingstone for their crimes. “When are you young'uns gonna learn that crime never pays?”

At that moment, Budderball burst from Bartleby’s arms and ran straight to his parents, overjoyed to see them. “Dad! Mom!”

“Budderball, you’re okay!” Violette hugged the pup happily, just as Bartleby sighed. “But I just want someone I can play with.”

Violette heard this and felt bad for Bartleby, but before she could say anything, Rosebud spoke up to her parents with relief in her voice. “You guys saved us!”

“We saved each other,” Buddy corrected, leading Molly to nod. “By working as a team.”

“We're really sorry we ran away,” Buddha then apologized. “We've learned our lesson.”

“We understand now,” B-Dawg then confirmed. “We're ready for our new peeps.”

“Actually,” said Violette, “I think Budderball already chose his perfect person. Right?”

“Yeah,” Budderball said, looking to Bartleby. “I know he's a brat, but that means he needs me even more, right?”

The pup ran over to Bartleby with a smile, causing the boy to laugh, overjoyed that he still got what he really needed… a friend.

Molly looked toward Buddy with a smile. “Now we know they’re ready.”

This led Buddy to nod. “Without a doubt.”

“Does this mean we’re going home now?” Violette asked, causing Sunny to hum in thought. “Not quite yet… I think we still have to make sure that the Buddies are satisfied with their new homes first. Then… it’s time for US to head back to OUR home.”

One Day Later...

The day after all the craziness finally ended with the dognappers, the Buddies were finally placed with their perfect people, and our pony heroes felt the need to make sure that the Buddies were going to be happy before they headed home themselves.

And that left them with only one thing to do.

Split up and cover more ground.

XXXXXXXX

Pipp and Violette soon arrived at the home of a girl named Alice, who was going to be the lucky owner of Rosebud.

They watched from the window as Alice’s mother brought the puppy into the living room to greet her daughter. “Honey? There's someone here to see you.”

Alice gasped as she took the puppy into her arms. “I’ve always wanted a sister.”

“You know what…?” Rosebud whispered. “So have I.”

She caught a glimpse of Pipp and Violette watching from the window and gave a little wink, causing them to wave goodbye before setting off back to the meeting point.

XXXXXXXX

Hitch was tasked with checking up on Budderball, and as it turns out, Budderball had been given a red football jersey by Bartleby, and the two happily played in the yard and had lunch together, confirming Hitch's theories that Bartleby was going to take great care of Budderball.

So, he waved to Budderball in secret before running off to meet up with his friends.

XXXXXXXX

Misty was tasked with making sure Pete was the right human for Mudbud, and as it turns out, Mudbud WAS just the puppy Pete needed to loosen up and have fun with.

Instead of playing video games, Pete was rolling around with Mudbud during the middle of a pop-up shower.

That gave Misty enough of a reason to smile and be on her way, bidding Mudbud a silent farewell until next time they met.

XXXXXXXX

Sunny and Izzy teamed up to go and check on Buddha, who acted as the umpire to his owner Sam at his t-ball game.

Sam realized he needed to become one with the ball after just looking at Buddha and managed to score a perfect home run in the process.

This gave the two mares a reason to smile at the fact Buddha was now where he needed to be.

XXXXXXXX

Lastly, Zipp checked up on B-Dawg, who was watching his new owner, Billy, struggle to make a basket, and B-Dawg merely smiled at the advice he was about to give. “It's not the size of the puppy in the game. It's the size of the game in the puppy.”

When Billy failed to make another basket, B-Dawg merely bumped the ball with his nose, scoring one instantly and causing Billy great shock before he hugged and nuzzled his new puppy.

That caused Zipp to smile and wink at B-Dawg in farewell before she flew off to join up with her friends again.

XXXXXXXX

“Well, guys, it’s official,” said Sunny with a smile. “The Buddies are all happy to be with their kids, and their kids are happy to be with their new pups. This mission is officially complete.”

“And now…” Zipp said as a portal began to form nearby, “...it’s time for us to head to OUR home too.”

“Hey, guys?” Violette said to her friends as they walked to the portal. “Thanks for bringing me along on this adventure-- it’s been really amazing.”

“And we’re glad you were here too,” Hitch told the filly. “You got to make as great friends out of the Buddies as we did.”

“So… you still worried about school?” Zipp asked with a smirk. “Are you kidding?” Violette asked as they entered the portal. “After escaping dognappers, school isn’t gonna be a problem, as long as I remember what I learned from this experience-- change may be hard, but in the end, the experience is something you’ll never forget.”

Andas the portal close behind them, our heroes realized that’s exactly what this adventure was-- an experience that they, along with their new friends, would never forget.