Hiring assistance (Day 1)
King Trotankhamun couldn’t help but marvel at trains. They were grand examples of what Equestrian ingenuity could accomplish. Unfortunately, he only had one track of railroad, which basically just linked Bridleton and the capital city, Cairo. It was fairly new, something he had insisted upon extensively. No doubt to Celestia’s great irritation with how much he pleaded for her to send some engineers. It wasn’t as if his own were incompetent. It’s just that…Most zebras stuck to the old ways. When he had asked his own people to build the railroad, most every metal worker and engineer in his kingdom turned up their noses at the request.
The young king sighed. ‘Progress is slow…But we shall have progress yet.’ Trains were much faster and efficient than anything the kingdom had to offer. It was only logical to make them.
“Whoa,” Lightning Dust said, standing at his side. The young king was a bit taken aback, for he didn’t know she was there. “That’s your train?”
King Trotankhamun nodded. “Yes it is. The only one in Zebrica in fact.”
“Why is it so thick looking?” Lightning couldn’t help but ask. The train was indeed far larger and bulkier than its Equestrian counterpart.
Trotankhamun frowned. “Mostly due to the violent sandstorms that crop up now and again. Can’t be too careful.”
“And what’s the other reasons?”
King Trotankhamun’s eyes widened a bit. “There aren’t any other reasons.”
“Oh?” Lightning raised an eyebrow. “Well, to me at least, this train looks more militaristic than the ones back home…Unless you’re talking about the trains of the Crystal Empire. Those are just awesome! I’ve got to ride one of those one day.”
King Trotankhamun sighed. “Well…the hyena dogs have been more troublesome as of late. Some of our smaller caravans have gone missing and…I just didn’t want to take any chances.”
“You really think they would have the balls to attack the king?” Lightning said.
“Anything is possible with the new Alpha,” the young king shrugged. “My kingdom has a pact of nonaggression with the dogs that stretches back centuries. Back to nearly eight hundred years ago.”
“Is this going to be a boring history lesson?” Lightning cringed.
“Does epic fights and shows of awe inspiring power count as ‘boring’ in Equestria?” The king smirked.
“Go on,” Lightning’s interest seemed to have peeked.
Chuckling, the young king continued. “Before then, the hyena dogs were divided. There’s not a lot of food and supplies in the Zebrican deserts, so packs tend to hoard and fight over watering holes. But one day, a single dog united them. He was the first Alpha, known as Moregutz Bakbreaka.”
“Okay,” Lightning couldn’t help but interrupt. “What’s with the Hyena Dogs and naming? They sound stupid.”
“Hyena dogs hate modern education,” King Trotankhamun clarified. “Actually, they more fear it. They think we’re trying to rule over them, to take away their way of life. I’m trying to help them as much as I can and some of the packs have listened, but we’re a long way from peace.”
“Oh,” Lightning scoffed the ground. “That sucks.”
“Yeah,” the young king sighed. There had been some success with integrating the hyena dogs into society. Schools had been set up to teach and build proper understanding between the races. “But anyways, Moregutz united the dogs through sheer brute force and marched on the rest of Zebrica.” The king shivered. “Those were some of the bloodiest days of my country. Nothing we could do could stop him and his rage. He was the mightiest of dogs, easily dwarfing them all. I dare say he was a giant, able to cleave a full grown dragon’s head off its shoulders. I don’t know if the stories are true or just exaggerated, but there’s a reason why Zebrica doesn’t have a dragon problem.”
Lightning’s jaw fell nearly to the ground.
“My kind was done for…That is until she arrived,” the young king smiled.
“Who?”
“Princess Celestia of course,” King Trotankhamun chirped happily. “She confronted Moregutz himself and challenged him for the position of Alpha.”
“No way,” Lightning said in disbelief. “I knew our princess was awesome, but taking on this guy?”
“Honestly, I don’t think he was the greatest challenge she’s faced,” the king mentioned. “Tirek, Nightmare Moon, Discord…”
“Yeah,” Lightning waved a hoof to quell his list. “But they all used magic. This Moregutz guy did everything with his bare hands. I’d think he was awesome, if he wasn’t such a psychopath.”
“True,” the king nodded. “Moregutz accepted her challenge in a heartbeat. Killing an actual goddess was too tempting to pass up. The two combatants faced off against one another.”
“Celestia’s got this in the bag,” Lightning snorted in amusement. “She’ll just magic his…”
“She promised not to use any magic in the fight,” King Trotankhamun pointed out.
“What?”
“This was a fight for the position of Alpha,” the young king explained. “Hyena dogs don’t like magic, so Celestia, even if she won, wouldn’t have won over the dogs like that. The fight raged on for several hours, neither of them getting the upper hand. That is, until Celestia was able to deal the final blow and vanquish the vile beast, sending his soul to rot in Tartarus. The hyena dogs thus named Celestia their new Alpha. As such, Celestia ordered them to live in peace with the zebras, us, and stop this mindless bloodshed. The dogs listened and ever since then, we’ve been in relative peace, minus the occasional raid. Of course, that’s more to do with some of the hyena dogs were starving so they got desperate.”
“Then what about now?” Lightning asked. “Why are they acting up? They made me a slave, for Celestia’s sake. I want to know what’s up.”
“Zebby Skulltaka,” the king snarled. “An annoying thorn in my side that just wants to dig itself deeper every day. He took up arms and is trying to unite the hyena dogs once more. He’s already got enough clans under his belt to make himself a very serious threat. He hasn’t done anything to menacing yet, but…I fear he may try and be another ‘Moregutz’.”
“Well if he does try,” Lightning flared her wings. “I’ll knock some sense into his thick skull.”
King Trotankhamun chuckled. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.” He looked around himself. “Where are those PLA chaps?”
“Oh they had to do something or another,” Lightning scratched her head. “Honestly, I have no idea. They’re so strange.”
“I know,” King Trotankhamun couldn’t help but mutter. ‘Too strange…I know I should give them the benefit of the doubt, but something about them worries me…Nah, it’s probably nothing.’ “The train doesn’t leave for a while, so they have time.”
________________________________________________________________________________
*Elsewhere, in the market place*
Lia hummed to herself a happy tune. She wasn’t with her older brother at the moment, since he seemed to preoccupied with plotting another ‘rule the world’ scheme with his generals, or what generals he had. She didn’t mind though. She loved him dearly, but it was relaxing to get out on her own. Sev had a habit of…scaring away potential friends. ‘And boyfriends.’
The little Kirlia couldn’t help but look over each and every one of the stalls. Everything was so new and special. Somehow, it felt like she was on another world. ‘But that’s just silly.’
The zebras and other market goers seemed hesitant of her, but they weren’t hostile. She could feel their thoughts and emotions. She wasn’t exactly reading them, that’d be rude, but letting her mind roam kept her at ease in this new environment.
Due to her paying too much attention to the stalls, she didn’t notice the Vespiqueen until she bumped into it. Falling on her rear, she squeaked in surprise.
“Watch where you’re going,” the Vespiqueen snarled, or at least attempted to through its buzzing.
“I’m sorry,” Lia stood up and brushed the dust off her uniform. “I was just looking at the stalls and I…”
“Yeah, yeah,” the Vespiqueen rudely interrupted her, before she got a good look at Lia. “Wait a minute, you’re one of those liberation nutjobs, aren’t you?”
Lia glared at her. While most Pokémon agreed with the PLA, at least the ones where she was from, there was the occasional wild Pokémon that disagree with her big brother and cohorts. Don’t even start on the human owned Pokémon. “We’re not nutjobs.”
The Vespiqueen snorted. “Keep telling yourself. Maybe you’ll believe it one day.”
“Alice!” Another voice called out. Looking over with a glance, Lia spied a Goodra come walk over. “Stop harassing her.”
“Oh if it isn’t goody two shoes Felicia,” Alice, the Vespiqueen groaned. “Why do you waste breathe defending her…Wait, I don’t need to answer it. You’re an idiot.”
“Oh you don’t mean that,” Felicia smiled. “You’re just grumpy because we’re lost.”
“WHO WOULDN”T BE GRUMPY?!!” Alice shouted in anger, causing some of the nearby natives to take off.
“Aww,” Felicia opened up her arms. “Sounds like someone needs a hug.”
Alice squealed in fright and flew behind Lia. “Hug her. HUG HER!”
“And who are you, sweetie?” Felicia smiled at her warmly.
“Lia,” the Kirlia bowed her head in respect. She then straightened herself up. “Second in command of the entirety of the Pokémon Liberation Army, answering only to our glorious commander. We fight for the freedom of Pokémon everywhere, from now and into the future. The human menace will kneel to our might, for we are blessed by our god. Hail lord Arceus!” This was the typical greeting/motto of the organization.
What the little Kirlia wasn’t expecting was for Felicia to pick her up and give her a gooey hug. “You are so cute!”
“Oh yes,” Alicia sneered. “Such a fanaticism is so charming.”
“Alicia,” Felicia chided, not letting go of Lia. “It’s not nice to judge others for their beliefs.”
Alicia just scoffed and looked away.
“Could you let me go?” Lia asked from within the slug dragon’s hold. “I’m not exactly trying to be mean, but I don’t like being slimed.”
“Sorry,” Felicia quickly let Lia down, blushing in embarrassment. “I’m a hugger.”
“I guessed that,” Lia giggled. All Goodra were huggers. They were a nice bunch though and Lia had a few friends that were Goodra. “So who are you?”
“Well, I’m Felicia,” Felicia pointed to herself and then at the Vespiqueen. “And she’s Alice, the grumpiest bug you’ll ever meet.”
“Not grumpy,” Alice muttered.
Felicia giggled. “We’re members of Checkmate, a mercenary group.”
“Oh yes,” Alice piped up, in an aggravated sarcastic manner. “Tell her we’re mercenaries. That’s a sure fire way to make friends.”
Felicia pouted. “It’s called being honest, Alice. Lying is a good way to lose a friend…Forever!” She said the last word in a rather dramatic way.
Lia couldn’t help but find the two odd. ‘They’d fit in with us.’ She pondered. Goodra were nice pokemon and she did want another female friend to talk to. ‘Maybe I should hire them. We’re not exactly doing well in the number department as of now.’
Before she could ask, her mind felt her brother approach. Slithering out of a nearby cross-section in the street, he narrowed his eyes at the two mercs. Commander Sev never did like anyone hanging out with his sister without his permission. He was overprotective, in Lia’s mind at least.
Quickly slithering over, with General Ag in toe, Sev hissed in agitation. “Who are they?”
“I’m Felicia,” the Goodra scooped up Sev in a hug, who hissed in anger. “It’s so great to meet you…Um…” Pulling him back, she squinted. “Let me guess, your name’s Sleeve.”
“It’s COMMANDER SEV,” he hollered his name in her face. “Remember it, for it has been blessed by Arceus himself.”
“That’s nice,” Felicia set him down.
Sev stared at him with his jaw agape. “That’s nice? That’s nice?!! It is more than just ‘nice’, you being of small brain. I am his chosen warrior. You should be bowing to me.”
“Yeah,” Alice scoffed. “Sorry, I only bow to people with money.”
“Money?” Sev seemed a little confused.
“They’re mercs, big brother,” Lia said.
“Mercs?!!” Ag growled. It was no secret that most of the army didn’t take kindly to ‘soldiers for hire’. She took an aggressive step forward.
“SEE!” Alice wildly gestured to the trio of PLA. “This is what happens when you just go blabbering out stuff like that.”
“But they’re our new friends,” Felicia whined and picked up Sev. “Just look at him. He likes me already.”
“I WILL HAVE YOU CARVED INTO PIECES AND FED TO SHARPEDOS!” Sev shouted in her ear.
“See,” Felicia proudly smiled an ear to ear grin. “Friends already.”
“Delusional idiot,” Alice said softly to herself, face-palming.
Lia giggled. “Can we hire them, big brother? Can we? Can we?”
“Can you? Can you?” Felicia chirped happily.
“Commander,” Ag growled, balling up her fists. “The king is waiting for us.”
Sev was finally able to squirm his way out of the Goodra’s hold. “Yes,” he hissed. “Of course he is waiting. He knows he can’t leave without the glorious Commander Sev!”
“Wait,” Alice spoke. “King? As in a rich, wealthy king?”
“Yes, yes,” Sev nodded, before his eyes widened. Lia could tell he was already thinking of hiring them, but she didn’t stop him. He smiled. “A wealthy king indeed. He is in need of protection and I so happen to be the one providing that. No doubt he will pay me handsomely.” He inspected his blade. “I wouldn’t know what to do with all that gold, honestly. Maybe give it to charity, or…”
“We could help,” Alice interrupted. “We’re good at protecting people. Isn’t that right, Felicia?”
“Hmmm,” Felicia rubbed her chin. “The chance for excitement, new friends, and maybe finding Weiss? I’m in.” She happily chirped.
“Good,” Sev chuckled. “Then…”
His words were cut off when Felicia hugged him again. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
“UNHAND ME, WRETCHED WORM BABY!”
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4991193 He'll be playing a big role in this story, so you'll see much more of the hunter.
(Glad you liked it. This story doesn't get that much attention...or comments really.
)
I'm hoping I can quickly catch up to everyone else. What day is everyone else on?
4991241
That depends. Zeus' latest chapter is on day 12
X'D worm baby. That is SO Zim!
4998379 Most likely for several reasons:
1: This is a crossover. Some people don't like them.
2: This is a side story to someone elses. Those rarely get popular or even noticed.
Other reasons, I have no idea. This is probably one of my more 'unappreciated' stories and I too wonder why its overlooked.
Are all Goodra like that? The response to everything is to hug it. Odd personality for a mercenary. It's like trying to imagine a Pinkie with even less sense of personal space.
Man. Checkmate is everywhere...
4998402 Another reason may be that they find some of the characters unlikeable
Oh dear. I so want to see a gathering off all the Pinkie Pie-like pokemon with her just to see what would happen. I think ii've seen almost a dozen now through the various New World stories.
meanwhile, a pink pony hiccuped
5648825 And a Shiny Eevee sneezed and shot a glare in the direction of a city.
Add that to the list of insults ive literally never heard before...also....
r/rareinsults