All the Smallest Things: Original Draft

While Izzy went into the basement to make some badges, everyone else spread out throughout the Brighthouse. Pipp, Zipp, and Arven stayed in the living room.

"I'm already getting tagged in Ponygram posts about Pokémon sightings!" Pipp exclaimed as she checked her phone on the couch. She sounded equal parts annoyed and excited. "Though I think this one is a blurry bunnysus..."

"Should we go investigate?" asked Zipp, who was half-watching a documentary about the Wonderbolts on the television.

"None of them seem urgent. And more importantly, I don't want to ruin my mane in this weather!" Then, Pipp's phone pinged again. "Ooh, another one!" She tapped a notification and gasped.

Zipp stood up in an instant. "What is it, sis?"

"Somepony says there's a big, brown dog on the outskirts of town! It's growling at anypony who tries to get past."

Arven sat up and looked at Pipp. "Can I have a look?"

She turned her phone around so he could see. His pupils widened in shock.

"I'll go," he said.

"And I'll show you the way!" exclaimed Zipp.

Arven's lunged ached as he followed Zipp through the streets. Despite feeling repulsed by the freezing rain on an instinctual level, despite the fact he kept overestimating his strides and falling face-first into puddles, he refused to stop and catch his breath.

Once they reached the street, he saw that the few ponies around were all carrying umbrellas. They stood in a semicircle around the "big brown dog", who was guarding an apartment building.

"We can't get into our homes!" one pony complained to Zipp. "Can you help us?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. "But he can!" She pointed at Arven.

"That's a Mabosstiff," he said. "They're very protective of their families, but they're big softies, really." He was expecting the ponies to gasp in shock, but they didn't. They must've seen the announcement.

He took a cautious step closer to the Mabosstiff. He flinched when it growled and let out two loud barks. He almost considered turning back... but he couldn't. As he approached it, he lowered his arms to show he wasn't a threat.

"My name's Arven," he said softly. "Remember?"

"Who are you?" the Mabosstiff snarled. She sounded female...

Oh. It wasn't his Mabosstiff. He'd come all this way for nothing.

No, I shouldn't think like that. I'm still doing these ponies a favour.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"My... puppies..." She turned around to face a litter of Maschiff who were huddled together underneath a balcony. Two were brown, and one had grey fur that seemed to sparkle. All three were asleep.

"I get that you love your puppies," he said, "But these ponies aren't gonna hurt them. They live here too, you know." He placed his hand close to the Mabosstiff's dewlap. Once she realised what he meant, he petted her under her chin. She leaned into it and tapped her back foot on the ground. "You remind me of an old friend..."

Zipp landed next to him. "So... what's the result?"

"She was just being protective of her puppies," he said.

Zipp looked around for a moment. "No offense, but I'm not sure this is the best place for her. There are always ponies going up and down this street."

"So where do you think she should go?"

"Hmm... there's a forest on the outskirts of town. Maybe we could show her the way?"

"Sound like a good idea," said Arven. Then, to the Mabosstiff: "I think there's a better place for you to live. Do you want to follow us?"

Arven helped the Mabosstiff carry her puppies, while Zipp flew ahead to guide them to the forest.

When Arven and Zipp returned to the Brighthouse, they were surprised to see everyone gathered in the entry hall.

"Uh... what did we miss?" asked Zipp.

"Loads!" exclaimed Izzy. "I finished making all our badges, and I was gonna hand them out, but Sunny said we should wait until you two come back!" Then, she levitated a collection of sashes in front of them. They were all different colours, but each one had a hoof-sized badge embroided with the letters "PET". There was one for each pony and Pokémon present.

Arven received a yellow one, and as soon as he put it on, it just felt right. It reminded him of a jacket he had back when he was human... back in his old life. At the very least, he wasn't naked anymore.

"Do you like it?" asked Izzy.

"Nah... I love it!"

Everyone spent the rest of the day planning how the Pokémon Emergency Taskforce would work. They decided to split the team into groups, each covering a different area. Sunny, Arven, Pawmot, and Hitch would cover Maretime Bay; Pipp, Zipp, Penny, and Leafeon would cover Zephyr Heights; and Izzy, Misty, and Nemona would cover Bridlewood. Tomorrow morning, after they'd read all the mail, the groups would split up and go to their respective locations.