//------------------------------// // Chapter 22: A Dog, A Cave and an Orange. // Story: A Walking Chestnut // by Netap //------------------------------// Walking down the streets of Dimondia, heading to the castle of Jennino Lanternlight, I take a minute to ponder what I've been going through for the past month. I was sent to another world as a cartoon animal, I made friends with a bunny rabbit, a giant lake octopus and a squid, I saw a cartoon villain from a thousand year old prophecy return in order to take over the land, I saw the heroes that will stop the villain meet and become the protagonists of this Cartoon-like world, I started working out again, I met two other humans that were brought here under similar circumstances as I, And now here I am. On a whole other continent, acting as a translator for other humans. How am I a good translator? I just write on a paper note. Wouldn't the other Human be able to do that too? And why do the ponies understand what William is saying? Why am I trying to wrap my head around all these questions, it'll just make me stress more. I want to go home. I want to see my Dad, at the very least tell him that I'm fine. That he shouldn't worry, I'll be back soon. Only around two and a half more years and I'll be back home. I'll forget this entire experience ever happened, I'll finish my military service, Go to college, Get a degree, find a job, get a girlfriend, get married, have kids, grow old and then die at the age of 85. Just as a Human should. Deep underneath the castle of Queen Katherina Proudpaws, the group known commonly as the D3U is holding a very important hostage. "You won't be getting away with this" A purple Diamond Dog growls out as she locks eyes with her captor. Princess Moonbeam Twinkletail has seen better days, the studious princess of Caninia, the one who built schools and libraries so her nation could enjoy the same education as the richest of Dogs. Now she is nothing more than a Hostage, a Prop in a Madman's plan to get rid of the elite of Caninia, bringing his so called Freedom to the masses. The same Madman that is currently peeling oranges on the other side of the dark cavern she's being held in, the only source of illumination around being the lantern in the center of the room. The Lycanroc peels off the last of the rind and chucks the now unpeeled Orange at the wall of the cave, letting it splatter, leaving a strong smell of citrus to float in the small cave deep below the castle. "Why are you doing this" Moonbeam tried to ask, "Why are you holding me here? Do the people really mean that much to you? Or do you simply want to rule this kingdom." She said, hoping to at the very least get a reaction from the Human turned Pokemon. Instead of answering the Princess's questions, The Lycanroc simply starts peeling another orange. "Why do you keep ignoring me? Don't you have to give me a monologue, like all you criminals try to do?" She pushed once more, hoping for a reaction. And she got it. For the first time since stepping foot into the chamber of the cave holding Princess Moonbeam captive, he opened his mouth to speak. "I never wanted to kill anybody" He said, Silencing any words that would have come out of Moonbeam's mouth, "But I wanted to be paid like a living person, not a slave" His Accent was weird to her. A Mixture of south Equestria and North Griffonstone, A peculiar accent she only ever heard from the old Dogs that she met back when her Grandmother was still Queen. "And we were so close to getting our jobs back," He continued, gaining a faraway look in his eyes as he stared at the ceiling of the cave, "When news arrived that the national guard was coming, I hoped that meant that the fight would be over. Why wouldn't I? I was young and Naive and believed the President cared about us." In a swift move, he crushed the orange in his paw. The pulp and juices dripping down his soaked fingers reminded Moonbeam flesh and blood, dripping down a hungry bear's claws as he mauls at his prey. "They tried to stop us as well. We who had nothing more than old muskets and a dream, against the entire country. I fought so I would be treated like a human being, and instead I got killed by those bastards" He turned to look at Moonbeam, His face set in a scowl as he continued talking. "I died, and as if a blessing from above, I returned. I returned to life, in a place where workers still get treated unfairly, still the owners of the mines treat their workers like slaves, Still the ruling class turn a blind eye to the hardship of the common folk." He walks closer to Moonbeam before leaning down and placing his Paw on her shoulder before his claws pierce into her and he starts squeezing hard enough to draw blood. "Still I need to fight for my freedom." And he lets go of the princess, her left shoulder now covered in orange juice and dripping blood. Lycanroc, The Human Coal Miner turned Pokemon leaves the cavern holding Princess Moonbeam Twinkletail. Leaving her alone with a slowly dying kerosene lamp and the smell of Citrus. The walk from The Old castle to the New Castle must have been my longest walk yet. The Distance wasn't that far, Climbing the Mountain to speak with Antonio and Razer is still a longer walk, But for that I can use Rollout and speed up the process. I can't use Rollout while I'm wearing the suit Blueblood's weird puppet maids made for me, It'll ruin the only article of clothing I own. But I made it, I am now in one of the guest rooms in Jenn's castle, Soon Blueblood and Cadance will be back and we can talk about what to do next. It's fair to say that the mission of stopping a Civil War from starting went down the drain pretty much as soon as we set foot in this country. But, If Civil war does start, and Katherina, Jenn and Lycanroc will be fighting for control over the land. I hope Jenn will win. Katherina was such a terrible ruler her own sisters left her and started their own rule over the land, one which has Cheap and affordable Education and an open Job market. And from the few things I know of President Lycanroc, not many of them are good. He's charismatic, sure, you don't gain such a huge following by not giving inspiring speeches or whatever. But he's also a Terrorist, which is universally agreed to be not a good thing. *Knock knock knock* I mean, Terrorist will try to call themselves Freedom Fighters in order to not need to acknowledge the fact that they are terrorists. *Knock Knock Knock* But what they fail to realize is that your not Freedom Fighters until you win and actually bring freedom. And If your act of terrorism is Religious in nature as opposed to Political, then you aren't a freedom fighter at all, unless you mean the freedom of the soul, which usually means killing people of a different religious belief than you. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* I mean, He started off as a workers Union, and if the note I got about this mission are to be believed, the D3U used to be a respected group when it first came around. Actually managing to gain the support if smaller towns far from the Capital of Dimondia. "Just gas his room, he's a rat, what's he going to do" If only the people outside my door could be quieter, I could have a few minutes to relax from this stressful job. Good, They left. Now where was I? Oh yes, Thinking about what I would do if this country did enter a civil war. Wait a minute, What's that smell? When Jennino Lanternlight returned to her castle with Princess Muffinsbuns and the Equestrian Delegation, she was surprised to see the guards of her castle sleeping on the ground, the doors to her castle wide open, and most importantly. An Equestrian Diplomat was missing.