//------------------------------// // The Rescue Mission Begins // Story: G5 Adventures in Air Buddies // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// 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.