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.