//------------------------------// // Chapter 27: Freedom Over Peace 1 // Story: A Walking Chestnut // by Netap //------------------------------// Moonbeam Twinkletail awoke to a rough tap on her side. Opening her eyes she spotted the green turtle creature that was in the cave-room with her, "What are you doing Mr Turtle?" She looked around for a bit, "And where's Mr Mouse?" The Turtle started walking towards one of the walls before looking behind it and signalling for her to follow with a wave of his head. "Picking herself up from the rough surface of the cave floor, her nostrils quickly assaulted by the smell of oranges once more, she followed after the Carbunkappa as it lead her to a hole in the wall of the cave that Moonbeam is sure wasn't there previously. "Is this what you wanted to show me?" She asked the turtle, It nodded and nudged her with its head to enter the hole. "calm down, calm down, I'm going, what's so special about this hole that you-" And then she saw it. The Light at the end of the tunnel. In the most literal sense. Before she knew it, she was crawling on all four of her paws towards the outside world. And as she popped her head out of the ground on the surface, she was greeted by a horrible sight. One Hour Earlier I was rolling as fats as I could towards the new castle, I was sweaty, tired and hungry but I had to pass off the location of the tunnel I dug to Jenn before the D3U notice it's there. Seeing the castle in the distance, I start rolling faster. The Green Spiked Ball that is my body catching speed before ramming into the castle doors and down the hallway, leaving a trail of dirt behind me. I roll by some startled servants before slamming through another door, accidentally toppling a flower pot over but I keep rolling until I reach a final set of doors. The two guards outside of the doors ready their spears at me but I pick up speed. "Floofy, I don't think I'm trained for this" One of the guard dogs whispers to the other. "Donald, Just protect the Que-" *CRASH* Finally stopping my roll on the foot of the staircase leading to the throne upon which sits Princess Jennino Lanterlight. "What is thi- Samuel?! Guards! Call for the ponies immediately, tell them that Sir Samuel has returned." She calls out to the pair of guards outside the now broken doors. They look at each other before quickly running off. I quickly take out a pen and paper from my Cartoon physics Pocket and write down what happened to me in since I was kidnapped. "Moonbeam is safe then, Thank goodness." Jennino leans back on the throne before speaking again, "Sam, Could you please show me on a map where the tunnel exit is? I also want to apologize for how horrible your mission has been so far." She soon gets a servant to roll a board with a map of Dimondia and its surrounding into the throne-room. I head closer to the map to try and pin-point where the tunnel was dug when Blueblood, Cadance and Ambrosia enter the room. "Mr Cohen, It's wonderful to see that you a-" Blueblood tried to say only to be interrupted by Cadance flying past him and into me, picking me up in a tight hug. "I'm Sorry i'msorryi'msorryi'msorry I Am So SO SORRY!" She cries as she hugs me tight to her chest. I understand that Ponies are more emotional than me, and with this world running off of cartoon logic that mean that two strangers that just met could become life-long best friend after an hour, but I really wouldn't consider Cadance a friend, at least not one that I would run to hug and cry into. Now that I think about it more, Do I even have friends? I was too busy with schoolwork and my service to have any friends back on earth, at least any friends after middle-school. Was Daniel my friend? He was my little brother, he was family, Does that make him my friend automatically? Would I consider Mom my friend? I'm not sure... She's my mom, she is my family, we played together when I was little... Does that technically make her my friend? Do friends need to play together? If so what about Dad? I love Dad, He's the only family I have and I need to get back to him no matter the cost. And yet, Do any of those circumstances make him my friend? Are Angel and Spike my friends? I'm not sure... Angel's a good kid, he tries to act mature for his age but he's still a child at the end of the day. And Spike? Spike is also a child, Sure he is definitely more mature than others his age, but I barely interact with him other than to translate what I'm saying, And I can just have Fluttershy do that for me instead... Do I have friends? I... I don't think I have any friends... Antonio and William aren't really friends, they're Acquaintances that are stuck in the same situation as me, that is being humans turned into Pokemon. Razer? I only really meet with him when I visit Antonio. He's a cool guy, maybe If I was around him more he could be my friend, but I'm also not sure. What was I thinking about before this? "I Promise you Chespin, As a Princess of Equestria, That you will be rewarded for your hard work! I'll never let those Dirty Dogs get anywhere near you ever again!" Oh yeah, Cadance is hugging me tightly. "Ahem" Ambrosia coughs into her balled paw, gaining a look from Cadance soon after before realization struch her. "... OH! Um, I was talking about the D3U, I meant no disrespect" Apperantly it's not a good thing to talk about "Those Dirty Dogs" when your in a castle ruled by one. I wiggled out of Cadance's grasp and went back towards the map, soon being joined by Jennino and Blueblood. The map itself is surprisingly detailed, with different coloring depicting where building and fields are. Luckily for me, My duty in the Army isn't so different from this, just replace this map with a satellite or drone image. Soon finding the field that I dug into, I tap on it with my hand. "So that's where the D3U are located, or at the very least where Princess Twinkletail is held. Blueblood, You know what to do" Jennino said, Blueblood quickly perked up and a smile spread across his face, not one of joy or happiness, but of excitment. "With Pleasure" He then quickly turned around and walked out of the room. What did I miss when I was gone? Jenn is now Queen, Blueblood is a temporary military and financial leader, The entirety of the Separatist army is staging a raid against the D3U who have been promoted from Political Activists to Active Terrorist Threat. So in short, not that much changed. Jennino is still a ruler, Blueblood is still trying to gain political power and the D3U are causing trouble. Right now half of the guards and soldiers that follow Jennino are walking with me towards the field where I dug the tunnel out of the cave, the other half are with Ambrosia and Blueblood walking towards an old mine that dug into a cave near where the tunnel was. Luckily all I need to do is show the Guards were I dug the tunnel and I can go back to the castle, Grab my stuff and join Cadance in heading back to that damned ship. I need to remind myself never to step on a boat after we're back in Equestria. Ambrosia felt her blood boil as her paws shivered. She didn't need to join Blueblood in monitoring the attack on the D3U, she could have sat back in the castle, had a chat with Cadance, helped Jenn with her now mountainous workload. But she had to be here. Not because it was her job, no, she had Guards and Officers for that, But because she wanted to see the face those two Barghest make when a sharp metal spear pierces THEIR CHEST! If Rex Rockefeller and President Lycanroc think they can just kidnap her Sister and get away with it without a little bit of blood being spilled, then they must be dumber than a box of kittens. And as Princess Ambrosia Muffinsbuns imagined all the way she could hurt the bastards that hurt her sister, A Diamond Dog in Silver and Yellow armor picked up a megaphone and started calling into the entrance of the mine where the D3U should be located. "To all the members of the Democratic Diamond Dog Union who are in this Mine and hear this call, We Have you surrounded! Come out with your paws up and empty, you are all under arrest for the kidnapping of Princess Twinkletail, Attempted Regicide, Destruction of Public Property, Trespassing on Private Property, Theft, Illegal Occupation of owned land and many more! Come out Peacefully or we will use force!" The Guard Captain shouted before he backed up a few steps in order to be in line with his fellow guards. A minute passed and nobody came out of the mine, Then two minutes passed and then Three, By the five minute mark the guards and even the two Royalty on the scene started to get nervous. Was there another entrance to the mine that they did not know about? Was this not even the correct mine? Did they already abandoned this mine and moved somewhere else before they could be caught? "Send a group in and have them return in ten minutes" Blueblood told one of the Guard Captains before he recieved a salute and the guard ran to inform one of the groups that were readied beforehand and what to do. "You're sending them in?" Ambrosia asked Blueblood. "Yes, If they don't return in ten minutes then we will move on to plan C" Blueblood replied. "And what is plan C?" "Plan C is we collapse the tunnel, trapping them all inside." He answered, no hesitation in his voice. Ambrosia turned to him instantly, "Plan C is WHAT?! No way am I letting that happen, My sister is still inside!" "She won't be injured or trapped, The Tunnel Collapse will only block the entrance. You're sister as we know from what Samuel told us is deeper in the cave and already has an escape route dug out for her, she will be uninjured from Plan C" Gritting her teeth, Ambrosia turned to look at the squad of five armored Diamond Dogs entering the Mine, "I don't like how you're doing this Platinum, But I'll let it slide as long as Moonbeam is unharmed." She growled out before soothing her features and and closing her eyes in order to calm down. Only for her to suddenly open them up as a loud explosion sounded up behind her, Looking back she saw the dark pillar of smoke coming out of the far side of Dimondia, where the castle of Katherina lies. "What? What's happening?" One of the guard asks as they watch the smoke float higher into the sky. "What's happening," One of the guards near her whispers before pulling out a sword "Is Revolution!" The Guard turned towards Ambrosia and shouted at the top of his lungs. "FREEDOM OVER PEACE!" The Guard dashed towards Ambrosia with his blade swinging towards her. Only for it to be caught in a golden telekinetic hold and thrust downwards into his own leg, toppling him onto the hard ground bleeding. He was then dog piled by nearby guards who quickly subdued him. "What the hell?!" One of the younger Dogs exclaimed, seeing one of her coworkers suddenly attack the princess. "Well them," Blueblood said as he grabbed the bleeding Dog with his hold and floated him closer, looking into his eyes. "It seems we have a traitor" As those words left Blueblood's lips, screams erupted from the guards farther away from the two royals. "It also seems we have more than one."