The sun shone high in the morning sky, bringing light to a beautiful day in the city of Vanhoover. The bustling city was alive with the clip clopping of hooves against pavement as everypony made their way to their various jobs. The only thing brighter than the sun above their heads was the happy go lucky attitude of one happy unicorn on his way to work. Whistling a jaunty tune while his orange mane bounced with each step of his hooves, Grand Adventure was a challenging contender for happiest pony in Equestria. As he approached his destination, he slowed down and gave a vibrant finish to his whistle symphony. Reaching into one of the many pockets on his jacket, he took out a pocket watch, checking the time as he stopped at the door. “Right on time as usual.” he said happily, looking up at the sign above the building.
Grand Adventures Creature Detainment Organization. Taking a soft sigh, he stepped inside. “Good morning Empathy.” he said to the mare behind the front desk. “Any calls?”
Animal Empathy, staring with boredom at the newspaper on the desk, looked up and adjusted her glasses. “Oh yeah,” she replied sarcastically. “Princess Celestia called and wanted to know how it went with that dragon slaying assignment.”
Grand retorted with an annoyed glare, trotting toward his office door. “Well let her know it would have gone better if my assistant wasn't making sarcastic remarks.”
“Well there isn't much else to do.” She replied, turning the page. “Another bill came in the mail today, third notice for the electricity. Should I feed Mr. Shreddy again?”
“Well he was looking hungry on the way in.” Grand laughed, opening the door to his office.
“This is serious Grand, it's been more than a month since we had a job. How do you intend to pay the bills?”
“We'll get by, we always do. We were in the same situation last year remember? And we took care of it.”
“Steel Defender asked his parents for a loan, which we've only half paid off by the way.”
“They said they didn't mind when we paid it off, just have some faith in fate. Where is Steel anyway?”
As if on cue, a midnight blue pegasus with a deep green mane stepped into the office. “What's up guys?”
“Oh, just the usual stuff.” Empathy told him. “Grand Adventure's avoiding the bills, the phone's gathering dust, Mr. Shreddy's getting breakfast and I'm starting to regret denying that job at the Vanhoover Zoo cleaning the bird sanctuary.”
“Oh, that reminds me. Grand, my parents wanted to know when the next payment is coming.”
Grand sighed, brushing his hair back. “Look guys, I know things haven't been great lately, but just keep your heads up. Remember the dream? We're gonna be the best, When they hear Grand Adventures Creature Detainment Organization they think of the best creature tamers this side of Canterlot. We're on our way, we just gotta make it through the rough patches.”
Steel and Empathy looked at each other for a moment, then sighed and smiled at their optimistic friend. “I'll head down to the police station and see what they've got for overflow.” Empathy told them, stepping out from behind the desk. “But we better get our flanks in gear if we're going to make rent.”
“I'll put up some more posters.” Steel said, picking up a stack. “Spread the word a bit, I'll be back soon.”
Grand smiled, watching his friends leave, and retired to his office. Sitting behind his desk, he looked over at the picture on the wall. It was a picture of the three in front of the building. A banner across the top of the doorway read “Grand Opening.” He sighed and wiped a hoof across his eyes. “I wonder how much longer I can keep this up.” he asked himself.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvv
As the clock approached noon, Steel and Grand found themselves playing cards while they were waiting for Empathy to return with the bounty sheets. Steel sported a goofy smile as he revealed his hand. “All evens. 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. Let's see you beat that.”
Grand gave him a disappointed look, setting down his full house hand. “How many more hands do we have to play before you admit you don't know how to play poker?”
Steel didn't get time to answer as the bell rung on the door, Empathy entering with a trio of papers in her bag. “Alright, I grabbed what I thought we could handle, and we've got three jobs in front of us.” she told them, laying the three papers out in front of them. “They're pretty decent pay, enough to at least get the collectors off our backs.”
Grand looked at the three a bit disappointingly. “That's it? that's all you thought we could handle?”
“Well when I got there Hunter and Trapper's crew were already leaving with a stack of papers. There was one other involving herding some bunnies, but I think we all remember what happened last time we tried that.”
Empathy glared at Steel, who took a step back at the accusation. “I'm telling you that bunny was out to get me!”
“It doesn't matter.” Grand told them, shuffling up the papers with his magic. “Let's get started guys. First up is....missing dog. Alright let's haul flank.”
Grand levitated a pair of saddlebags over and set them on his back, leading his partners out the door and onto the streets, heads held high.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvv
“Oh my poor little Agatha,” the sniffling mare began to lament, “She's been lost for nearly two weeks, I had begun to give up hope.”
“There there ma'am.” Grand said, comforting the old mare. “I'm sure it's hard for you, but could you lead us through the events of the day?”
The woman took a tissue, wiping away a tear. “I had woken up at 6:00 AM as I always did, the sun was just starting to rise. Agatha was hopping around my hooves like she usually did, waiting to be fed. I poured her food into the bowl. I don't recall why but I was particularly tired that morning, and I forgot to shut the door after retrieving the paper. It wasn't until an hour later that I realized, and my poor little baby was already gone.”
The mare made a dramatic twist of her head as she finished, causing Empathy to roll her eyes. “Can you tell us about some places that Agatha was attracted to when you walked her?”
The old mare thought for a moment and nodded. “She absolutely loved to run around in the park a couple of blocks east of here.”
“Then that's where we'll start.” Grand said, beginning toward the door. “Don't worry ma'am, you're in capable hooves. We'll keep you posted, we may be back for more questions.”
Shutting the door behind them, they made their way toward the elevator. “Alright Empathy, what do you know about dogs?” Grand asked.
“Let's see.” Empathy pondered, adjusting her glasses. “A typical domestic dog, Canis Familiaris. strong runner, typically diurnal, though some subspecies are known to have nocturnal characteristics. Diet includes canned foods made to mimic the flavors of typical meals, water, and dog treats. Behavior around ponies varies from subject to subject.”
By the time she had finished the three had left the elevator and were on their way out the door. “Alright, so we'll convene at the park.” Grand told them. “From there we'll-”
“Well look who it is.” came a voice from the left.
The three turned and caught sight of the last pair they wanted to see walking down the street. Two brown colts, one with a blue mane, the other green, stopped in front of the group. “How goes it guys?” the green haired one asked. “Keeping the world safe from dust mites?”
“Hello Hunter, Trapper. What are you guys up to?” Grand asked.
“Well if you must know,” The blue one said matter-of-factly, “Trapper and I have to go out of town for a little while. There's a pretty bad problem with a hydra that made it's layer outside of Las Pegasus. But such is the job. And what are the grand failures up to today? Have you started going door to door asking for money?”
“Actually we're on a hunting and trapping case in the local park.”
“Well, good luck with your pet finding operation.” Trapper told them, catching onto the ruse.
The pair laughed at the trio as they stepped past in the direction of the train station. Grand glared at them as they walked away. “Come on.” Empathy told him, patting his back. “Don't let those fools get to you.”
“Yeah,” Steel added in, smiling, “We've got a Canis something-or-other to track down. That old lady's counting on us right?”
Grand smiled, glad to see he had some die hard friends. “You're right, let's get to that park.”
vvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Starswirl park was bustling with the activity of young fillies and colts laughing and playing. The park was large, and partially covered by tree thickets. The trio looked high and low across the park, but after hours of searching the park, with the sun sitting low in the western sky. “No sign of the dog here.” Grand said with disappointment.
“So what now?” Steel asked.
“Well, I've been thinking.” Empathy said, adjusting her glasses. “I didn't want to say anything because I figured it was a little bit of a long shot, and I don't feel like staying up all night, but....It's entirely possible that Agatha doesn't like little colts and fillies, if they saw a dog they'd probably maul it with love and attention, scare her.”
“I know I wouldn't want a bunch of kids touching me.” Steel said with a smile.
Empathy raised an eyebrow at the statement, caught off guard. “Right. So anyway we could set out some dog treats or something and wait for the dog to show up.”
“An overnight stakeout.” Grand agreed. “That's brilliant! Empathy, I love that big, squishy brain of yours!”
“Uh...thanks?” Empathy asked, Grand hunting through his saddlebags.
He produced from his pack a bag of dog treats. Looking around, he decided the best spot was out in the open field of the park. “Alright,” he explained as he emptied the treats onto the ground, “Stakeout time. We'll go wait in a nearby bush and keep watch on the treats. When the dog shows up, we'll leash her and bring her back to her owner. Let's not turn this into another bunny incident.”
“I'm telling you the bunny was out for my head!” Steel protested, flying over to the bushes.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvv
The night had run late, the moon nearly in the center of the sky as the three sat in the bushes watching the bait. Grand was staring impatiently in the direction of the bait, while Empathy and Steel were doing their best to pass the time. Empathy had brought a book along to read, close to her face to read it in the light of the moon, while Steel was looking up at the stars. Grand was getting tired, beginning to doze off when his eyes suddenly went wide open. “Target sighted.” he whispered, hovering some binoculars to his face. “The subject has a collar, this is looking good.”
The three got together in a huddle. “Alright, here's the plan. Steel, you fly overhead, if the subject tries to run, you do a dive and catch the dog. Empathy and I will take the dog from two sides and try to leash her. Once we've got a look at the tag, we'll take her back to the client.”
the three nodded and began to get in position. Steel silently ascended up above the park. Looming over the dog. Empathy and Grand each took a side, Grand levitating a leash with his magic. The dog didn't pay much attention, enjoying the treats. “Now!” Grand yelled, and Empathy grabbed the dog, doing her best to keep the dog held while Grand leashed it.
Seeing that the dog was leashed, Steel hovered down to the ground. Grand checked the tag and nodded to the group. “We did it!” Steel cheered, raising his hooves in the air.
The group laughed and high hooved, congratulating each other on a job well done.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Stepping out of the apartment building, the group eyed the pouch of bits they had received. “Forty bits.” Grand said triumphantly.
Empathy took the bits and set them in her saddlebags. “I'll just head down to the bank and take care of some of those bills.”
“Sounds good.” Grand nodded. “Nice job today guys, we'll meet up tomorrow for the next job. For now, I think we've all earned a little sleep.”
Saying their goodbyes for the night, the three split up, headed their own separate ways. Grand smiled, happy to see the team coming together. He held his head higher than he had in a long time.