Back at Buggy's base camp...
"Those three pirates and their bunch of ponies as well as that weird flying lizard are taking me lightly!" Buggy grumbled as the image of their faces burned into his mind with hatred as he kicked the rubble around him, having survived the destructive explosion. "This must be a joke! Without a doubt this is a declaration of war against me!"
With the help of Rarity, Zoro managed to move Luffy's cage out of Buggy's encampment and down some stairs unto a porch of a house on the side of the streets as he finally puts Luffy down and reclines his forearm by the cage. "Huff... Huff... Puff... That certainly wasn't so bad..." Zoro said as he wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Zoro then look over to Rarity before turning in the other direction and started to scratch one of his cheeks with a finger. "T... Thanks I guess..."
"Its always a pleasure to help a friend Zoro Dear." Rarity said with a chuckle as she tries to fix her frazzled mane, much to the surprise of her other friends who looked on with tired smiles.
Zoro then looked in front of him and saw a curious dog named Chouchou with his tounge out in front of a building which happens to be a pet shop.
"Huh? What's up with that dog?" Zoro asked his friends as he turned to look at the pooch.
"Eeeep! He's so cute!" Fluttershy squeaked with joy as she instantly galloped towards to pet him which the dog didn't seem to mind Fluttershy at all as he continue to sat there.
"A dog?!" Luffy asked as he excitedly rotated sideways inside his cage in order to get closer to Chouchou. Luffy then started stretching his rubber face in front of him but the dog gave him no reaction.
"Hey guys? This dog doesn't move at all" Luffy said with a confused look on his face.
"Who cares?" Zoro asked as he moves to sit by the porch of a townhouse.
"Wouldn't he be dead and gone then?" Luffy asked as he moves a hand and tries to poke Chouchou in the face.
"Actually I can his heartbeat, his inner emotions and..." Fluttershy tried to explain but she was quickly interrupted when the dog makes a move to viciously bite Luffy on the neck.
Everyone was frozen speechless as Luffy struggles to get the dog out of his face, squirming like a caught fish.
"Ahhh! Ahhh! Ouch! Ouch! Don't do that! Let me go!" Luffy yelled as he kept thrashing around and being jumpy inside his cage.
"We gotta help him girls! Come on!" Applejack called out as she hastily assembled Spike and the rest of the ponies for action.
"Wait girls! If we force him, he could end up causing more damage!" Twilight said trying to stop Applejack and the rest of the ponies except for Fluttershy who was more like a pacifist in this situation and trying to find a way to settle this peacefully.
"M... Mister Dog please stop! I beg you please!" Fluttershy called out to the pooch as she tries to convince Chouchou to let go of her friend and captain.
"Don't you see the situation that we are in?!" Zoro yelled angrily at Luffy before passing out on the pavement.
"Zoro!" Rarity quickly ran over to their Vice Captain and help out by examining his injuries much to her shock.
"Damn dog..." Luffy was breathing heavily from all the exhaustion of trying to get the canine off his neck.
"I have lost too much blood..." Zoro groaned as he lay down on the pavement but luckily he was patched up by Pinkie who had a roll of bandages from her mane. The pink party pony now wearing a nurse cap on her head.
"Darn! We shouldn't have let you lift that cage even with our help!" Rainbow Dash protested.
"Oh shut up already..." Zoro glared back at Rainbow who responded back with a huff and a cute pout. "Hmph!"
Luffy then spotted Nami coming and greets her. "Hey! Navigator!"
"Where did you go?" Spike asked.
Nami just smiled and looked at Luffy. "I suppose I should give you this for saving me earlier." Nami said as she tossed Luffy a key.
"Hey its the key to my cage! Did you get it just for me?" Luffy asked as he looked to his navigator with a surprised smile.
"Don't get me wrong. I just don't want to owe you guys anything" Nami smirked crossing her arms over her chest.
"Still. That's very kind of you." Fluttershy said.
"Yeah! You're actually pretty nice Nami!" Pinkie added.
"I'm saved..." Luffy breathe with a sigh of relief as he was about to get the key but then Chouchou quickly grabs the key from Luffy's hand and swallows it.
"Ehhh?!" Everyone looked at Chouchou with jaws dropped while Luffy was having none of it and starts to furiously strangle the dog with both hands while Fluttershy tried to separate the two and have them make up but with little to no success.
"YOU DAMN DAMN DOG! SPIT IT!! SPIT IT!! SPIT IT RIGHT NOW!! DON'T EAT IT!! ITS NOT FOOD DAMN IT!!"
"LUFFY PLEASE STOP!!" Fluttershy tried to calm down her captain but it was no use.
"Hey!!" Everyone suddenly heard someone shout and as they turned to the stranger and there was an aged man with puffy white hair and wearing a button checkered yellow shirt with short black pants, sandals, glasses and a curious set of brown armor. This is Boodle. The mayor of Orange Town.
"Stop molesting Chouchou you brats!"
"Chouchou?" Everyone asked as Luffy stopped strangling the dog that was grabbing unto the rubber kid via a bite on the neck.
Everything suddenly calmed down as Zoro approached Boodle with a question. "Hey old man who are you?"
"My name is Boodle and I'm the founder of this town 40 years go and... Oh Sonny that wound looks terrible!" The mayor exclaimed as took notice of Zoro's injury. "I see that you are one of those that attacked Buggy. You should go to the doctor immediately!"
Later...
The mayor exited a house nearby the building everyone was hanging around with and approached the group.
"How is Zoro?" Luffy asked.
"I let him sleep at my house since its just next door. Even though I told him that there's a doctor at the shelter." Mayor Boodle explained.
"I don't really see how that is supposed to work." Applejack raised an eyebrow and gave the mayor a skeptic look.
"Well at least he's recovering now. The poor thing must be exhausted" Rarity replied, feeling concerned for Zoro's condition.
Chouchou have Nami a yawn as the Cat Burglar walks over to him and pets the canine on the head but Chouchou just looked at her. Aside from that, the dog didn't do anything.
"So his name is Chouchou huh?" Nami asked while petting the dog with love, care and affection.
"He's just sitting there. What is he doing here?" Luffy asked curiously.
"He's guarding this store. I just came to give him some food..." Mayor Boodle said as he sets a bowl of dog food in front of Chouchou and the dog starts eating.
"Protecting the shop?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Aah! You're right. Now that I'm looking carefully. Its a store... I see its a petfood store." Nami exclaimed, putting a hand on her hip.
"D... Don't tell me that he..." Fluttershy trembled with hints of tears on her eyes but Nami went forward with her line of thought. "He was waiting for his owner to get back?" The navigator asked.
"That's what everyone think." Mayor Boodle said as he closed the shop and sat down to smoke his pipe. "But I don't think so. Chouchou is a really smart dog so he knows that his master is long dead."
"Then why is he guarding the shop?" Nami asked.
"Well for Chouchou this shop is a treasure. This is what his master left him and for that reason he is protecting it. I had tried to move him multiple times but he didn't want to leave this place.
As Mayor Boodle finished the tale, Chouchou had left the bowl and decided to resume his guarding duties when Fluttershy couldn't resist anymore and hugs Chouchou with tears running down freely from her eyes. Chouchou struggled at first but he quickly gives up and reluctantly wait until the butter yellow pegasus let him go while Nami and everyone else looked on with love and affection.
A few moments later after trying sympathize with Chouchou's situation and give all the love and affection they can to the dog, everyone was having a good time talking, laughing and even playing some games.
With Fluttershy...
"Oh who's a good dog? Who's a good dog? You are Chouchou! You are!" Fluttershy gives the dog a belly rub which Chouchou responded with a bark of joy as he rolled down on the floor with his tounge out in delight and clearly enjoying this while Fluttershy laughed from having her face slobbered with dog drool, but at the end of the day, coming from a heart and place of love nonetheless.
With Rainbow Dash...
"Hey Chouchou do you want a ride on fastest pegasus and greatest Wonderbolt alive?" Rainbow Dash asked as she held the pooch in her forehooves as Chouchou barked happily as Twilight and the rest of her friends rolled their eyes with a smile.
"Ruff!! Ruff!!" Chouchou responded as Rainbow Dash quickly put him on her mane as she starts to zoom around the air doing twist and turns including loop de loops and air dives, making the dog barked with joy and the sky be filled with rainbow colors much to the amazement of Nami and Luffy.
With Applejack...
"Come on boy! Do you want to take a ride down below with Applejack?" The apple farmer asked as ChouChou responded with a happy bark. "I may not exactly have them fancy wings like Rainbow Dash but I can assure you that Applejack can go just as fast Sugarcube." Applejack exclaimed as she starts running around the town center with the dog on her mane and getting comfortable on her Stetson hat.
"Woah! You're might strong there Sugarcube!" Applejack grinned as she took notice of how Chouchou was biting down and putting as much force as he can into their little tug of war using her lasso. "Alright! Alright Hun! You won this time." Applejack giggled as she let go of the rope and fell on her back while Chouchou jumps on top of her. Applejack carried the pooch on her forehooves with a teary smile by the way this canine reminds her of Winona whom she missed dearly.
With Pinkie Pie...
"Hehehe! Ooh your a good one! Do more tricks!" Everyone else can't help but smile as Pinkie keeps throwing hoops in the air and Chouchou jumping in the middle of them even though the pink mare had decided to light them on fire with Spike's help but with Chouchou's durability and speed, he passed Pinkie's obstacle course with no problem and with flying colors including getting shot out of her harmless party cannon and being juggled around along with a rubber balls, bowling pins and ball horns.
With Rarity...
"Ooh aren't you just so precious Darling? Now that Rarity's here, Your going to be all squeaky clean My Dear." Rarity said as she washed Chouchou down with water from a nearby faucet and scrubs soap all over him with help from Pinkie who provided the supplies as she decides to put a black bow on his neck much to her friend's delight.
"I didn't know that you could also be affectionate with animals Rarity" Rainbow exclaimed as she flies down in front of the unicorn fashionista.
"Well I am the Element of Generosity after all Rainbow Dash. Its only right that I put my utmost care into every animal or person that needs help even though they might not be able to repay that favor in time. Its not only you that" Rarity replied making Rainbow blush.
"And maybe My Dear Friend Fluttershy also taught me a thing or two about taking care of animals." Rarity said as the compliment made the butter yellow pegasus blush as well while Chouchou jumped into Rarity and Fluttershy's laps while wagging his tail in delight and everyone looking on with a satisfied smile.
TO BE CONTINUED...