//------------------------------// // Episode 11: Kupatana Celebration // Story: The Pony Guard (Season 1) // by MXCDarkHorse2020 //------------------------------// Episode 11: Kupatana Celebration In Mizimu Grove, Zazu was conducting a group of animals who were singing for the Kupatana Celebration. Our Kuptana Community Up to 0:25 Then Mbuni, the giraffe started singing in a different language as Zazu winced and stopped everyone so he can correct that. "Oh! Mbuni, it's ma-un-de-lay-e-oh, ya uhhi. Remember that for tonight!" Mbuni nodded, "Mmm-hmm." and the animals began singing again. Music plays from 0:25 to 0:30 throughout the rest of the scene in the background. A distance away from Mizimu groove, Simba, Celestia, the Mane Six and Lion Guard were watching and listening. Simba turned to Beshte. "Your dad is sounding good, Beshte." He complimented. “Indeed, a very harmonious voice.” Celestia added as she smiled. "Thanks, Your Majesties." Beshte thanked. "He's been practicing. It's not every day you get to be a part of the Kupatana celebration." Beshte then added with a smile. "Well, considering Kupatana only happens once a year..." Ono noted. "And I can't wait! It's the biggest party in the Pride Lands!" Bunga said with joy. "It's not just a party, Bunga." Kion recalled. "Yes. Kupatana is the one day all the animals in the Pride Lands gather side-by-side, to celebrate the Circle of Life in peace." Simba explained. “Wow, sounds very peaceful.” Twilight said. “And very calming.” Fluttershy added. Fuli sighed, laying down, "Yeah. It's the most peaceful day of the year!" Suddenly, they heard distance yipping and hyena laughing. "I spoke too soon." Fuli grumbled in annoyance. Ono flew into the air and saw a small jackal pup and a peach-colored lioness cub being chased by Janja and his hyenas. "Yep. It's Janja and his hyenas. They're chasing a little jackal pup and a lioness cub though the Outlands." “A lioness cub? What’s she doing in the Outlands?” Besthe wondered. Kion sighed seeing that their paws are tied here, "The Outlands. I wish the Lion Guard defended the Circle of Life out there, too. But we don't..." "Kion, today is Kupatana. And not just here in the Pride Lands. The spirit of Kupatana extends to all the animals in the Circle of Life. Even those in the Outlands." Simba said to his son to encourage him otherwise. “Of course. You're right, Dad! Lion Guard, let's go! We're gonna save that pup!" Kion said turning to the guard. "You got it, Kion!" Beshte said. "Zuka Zama!" Bunga added. “Come on girls, let’s go!” Twilight added. "Till the Equestria and the Pridelands’ end..." Kion and Twilight started as they started running. "Pony and Lion Guard defend!" the others said. In the Outlands, the Jackal pup and lioness cub were panting from all the running while Janja and his clan were closing in, There they go! Come on, fellas!" The hyenas laughed but the pup and cub jumped over a rock and the hyenas skidded to a stop and crashed into the rock. The lioness cub growled seeing a dead end while the Jackal Pup laughed as the hyena leader has some words to say to them. "Oh, you jackals are so annoying! We just chased ya out of our den yesterday. And now you're back? Guess I need to make an example of ya! And I thought I got rid of you, you disabled lioness! Guess it’ll have to make an example of you too!" The lioness cub snarled at the hyena clan extending her claws. "Not today, Janja!" Kion and Twilight came and bashed Janja away. Janja grunted and Kion growled at him. "Hey! Hey! Easy on the fur!" Janja growled, "What're you doing in the Outlands, anyway?" "Making sure you let that pup and cub go!" Kion replied. "Yeah! Don't you know today's Kupatana?" Bunga asked the hyena leader. "Ku... Ku... Kupatana?" Janja laughed seeing a perfect opportunity for them on the spot, "Okay, Kion. You want the jackal? He's all yours!" "Uh, okay." Kion said, confused. "C'mon fellas. The Lion Guard's doin' us a favor today!" Janja laughed as he left with his clan, "Merry Kupatana!" The Lion Guard and the others were confused as well, "That was different." Ono said. “That was too weird...” Rainbow pondered of his true motives for being willing to easily back away from pursing the jackal pup. "Yeah. You think Janja celebrates Kupatana, too?" Beshte asked. "I seriously doubt it." Fuli replied while trying to think of exactly why he did what he did while Applejack wonders the same question too. "Thanks, you guys! You were awesome! You were like, "Let the jackal go!" And they did!" The jackal pup said happily. "Yeah. But why?" Fuli wondered. "Well, I'm glad we could help, um..." Kion started. "I'm Dogo. And you guys must be the Lion Guard! You're the coolest! You just looked at the hyenas and they ran away!" Dogo said. "Yeah. We have that effect on no-goods." Bunga said confidently. “And what about you lioness, aren’t you gonna thank us too?” The lioness just gave Bunga an annoyed look and turned her head, “Hey! Rude much!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I could have handled them myself…” the lioness stated as everyone got a good look at her. The lioness had peach colored fur with a cream underbelly and swirls underneath her eyes with crystal blue eyes and ears tipped with white fur along with the tuft of fur on her tail. “Yeah, five hyenas, versus one lioness, do you really wanna take those odds?” Twilight pondered. “Twilight’s right darling, those ruffians would have seriously harmed you.” Rarity added, which only annoyed the lioness some more. “Look, I don’t need any help from any creature.” she said sharply in a threatening tone. “Then why do you have what looks like a blanket made from leaves around your body?” Ono asked. He was right, the lioness did have a blanket made from leaves around her body, specifically her right front leg, back and an eye patch. “That’s none of your business…” the lioness growled before she walked off in a huge huff. “Ugh, well that was rude.” Rainbow Dash growled not taking kindly to her attitude. “We saved her life and we don’t even get a thank you.” “Eh, I’d say leave her alone.” Fuli said not to worried about it. "You're safe now, Dogo. But I'd stay away from Janja's territory if I were you." Kion advised. "Are you guys going back to the Pride Lands? I know I'd be safe there!" Dogo brought up. "Don’t you need to get back to your family, Dogo?" Beshte asked and Dogo sighed sadly, "I'm all by myself. But I know there are lots of friendly animals in the Pride Lands! Can I please come with you?" he gave them the big puppy dog eyes and everyone went "Aw." "Well, it is Kupatana. Okay, Dogo. You can come." Kion said. “What about the lioness cub, Kion?” Bunga asked. “Are we seriously gonna leave her out here in the Pridelands too?” “Bunga does have a point, what if she’s hiding some horrifying injury under those leaves! What if it's infected?!” Fluttershy said with worry over the lioness's well-being. “Easy Fluttershy, I’m sure the lioness will be fine on her own here. Like she said, she doesn’t need our help.” Rainbow scoffed in bitterness towards her cold attitude as Dogo yipped happily while Fluttershy still remains doubtful that she'll be fine on her own and is truly hiding something from them. A distance away was the jackal pup's mother, Reirei who gasped happily at what she was seeing, "That's the signal! He did it!” an adult female Jackal laughed, “The plan worked! The Lion Guard rescued Dogo. Just like I knew they would. We're getting into the Pride Lands just in time for Kupatana!"Goigoi, her mate, was sleeping nearby and Reirei hit him to wake him up, "Goigoi! Wake up!" Goigoi got up with a gasp, "Aw, I was sleeping!" "You're always sleeping. Listen! Dogo convinced the Lion Guard to invite him into the Pride Lands. And when you invite one jackal..." Reirei started. "You invite us all! I'll go round up the boys!" Goigoi finished. "All those animals coming together in "peace" for Kupatana." Reirei laughed, "They'll never know what hit them!" A distance away from the shadows, the lioness from before heard Dogo’s yelp. “Oh those idiots… sigh…obviously they don’t know what happens when you add a Jackal pup to your home…” she grumbled to herself. “Guess I have to go and get them out of this eventual jam.” Meanwhile, back in the Pridelands, Dogo, was walking through with the Guard. "You sure about this, Kion? It seemed like Janja couldn't wait to get rid of this jackal and that lioness!" Fuli asked, still suspicious. "It does seem odd." Ono agreed. “Well hyena’s are known to kill jackal pups and lioness cubs to eliminate further competition to food in the future. I wouldn’t deny that was Janja’s plan.” Twilight said knowingly. "Well, I think we should at least give Dogo a chance." Kion reassured as Applejack remained skeptical of the idea as something in his eyes don’t scream entirely innocent to her. "You picked a great day to get chased by hyenas, Dogo!" Beshte said to the Jackal pup. "I did?" Dogo asked. "Oh, yeah. Tonight, all of these baobab trees will bloom for the very first time." Beshte explained. "And all the animals in the Pride Lands come here to watch!" Bunga added. "It's what we call "Kupatana." "I've heard about Kupatana. But I've never seen it! I can't wait!" Dogo yipped happily. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You can't invite him to Kupatana. He's an Outlander." Fuli quickly rebutted. “Yeah, I agree with Fuli, no way are we inviting him to Kupatana for many reasons, starting with your dad.” Rainbow addedin agreement. "Outlanders never come to Kupatana. Right, Kion?" Ono said. "Well, we've never had a guest from the Outlands on Kupatana before." Kion said. "But Dogo's just one little jackal and It might be good for them to learn about Kupatana. Come on." Dogo followed Kion. The jackal pup continued to yip excitedly as he followed the Guard. "Here you go, Dogo." Kion led the pup to a spot on a small hill. "You can make yourselves at home on this hillside." "Thanks!" Dogo said, sitting down side by side on the hill. Kion smiled to the pup before turning to face the rest of the Guard. "Now, let's split up so we can finish our patrol in time for Kupatana. Fuli, Bunga, Beshte, head to the watering hole." he told the fastest, bravest, and strongest. "Ono, Twilight and Girls, you're with me." he glanced at the egret and the ponies beside him. "We'll meet up back at the lair once we're finished." The group split up into their respective teams. As Fuli, Bunga, and Beshte walked along the watering hole, Beshte wished a 'Happy Kupatana' to every animal he saw from Ma Tembo, the leader of the elephants, to Mbuni the ostrich leader. "Heya, Dogo." the hippo said as the trio walked past the sleeping pup. "Dogo?" Fuli repeated, the three of them looking back at the pup, who was snoring. "He's so cute." Bunga couldn't help but smile. Fuli rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but this is Muhanga the aardvark's den." she noted. "He can't stay here." Behste nudged the jackal pup awake, "You got your own spot on the hill, remember?" he reminded. Dogo smiled and padded away. "Poor little fella. Must've gone for a walk and gotten lost." The three walked on and spotted Dogo sleeping in another aardvark den. After waking him up and telling him to leave, they spotted him again. "Seriously?" Fuli groaned. "Hey!" she tapped the pup with her paw, only this pup's eyes were brown, not blue. "These are aardvarks' dens!" the cheetah informed. "You can't stay here!" Suddenly multiple jackal pups popped out of the other dens, all yipping. "Uh...you guys are seeing double too?" Beshte asked his two friends. "More like triple." Bunga corrected. "Seriously?" Fuli repeated. Muhanga and her mate Muhangus approached their dens and were angered by the sight of jackals in them. Fuli assured the aardvarks that the Lion Guard would handle the situation. "How are we going to handle this?" the cheetah asked the honey badger in a whisper. "Only one thing to do." the badger whispered back before he and Beshte shouted. "KION!" “TWILIGHT!” "Was that Beshte and Bunga?" Rarity asked. "Ono, what's wrong?" “Rainbow, take a look!” Twilight and Kion called up to the egret and pegasus. "Hapana! Kion, you better see this for yourself." Ono said. "Come on." Kion said and they all raced over to the area that held some aardvark dens and they saw a tons of jackal pups. "Hevi kabisa!" Kion gasped. “What in Equestria!” Twilight added. "That's a lot of jackals!" Fuli added. Kion approached the group and asked, "Where is Dogo?" "You looking for my boy?" a female adult jackal asked, appearing in front of Kion. "Who are you?" Kion asked. "Didn't mean to startle ya. I'm Reirei, Dogo's mom. And this..." Reirei turned and saw Goigoi in an aardvark den, "Goigoi, get out here!" Goigoi came out, with a fruit in his mouth, "...is Goigoi, Dogo's dad." "Hey! That's our den!" Muhangus said. "And our fruit!" Muhanga added, upset. "It's such a lovely den." Reirei said to the aardvarks." Goigoi slurped up the fruit in his mouth, "And the fruit's delicious!" "We didn't say you could eat it!" Muhangus growled. "You took our stuff without asking! You're thieves!" Muhanga said. Reirei chuckled, "Thieves? Us? Never!" "Enough! Which one of you is Dogo?" Kion asked. Dogo came up to him, "I'm right here, Kion." "Dogo, I thought you said you didn't have any family." Kion asked with suspicion. "Uh, no. I said I was all by myself." Dogo reminded. "Which he was, at the time! My son always tells the truth. But when he went into the Pride Lands, we had to follow him. You can't expect a little pup to live in a strange place without his mom and dad. Right, Goigoi?" Reirei asked, but Goigoi was fast asleep on his back. Reirei kicked him and he woke up, stammering, "Whatever you say, dear." "And we couldn't leave our other kids alone in the Outlands. What kind of parents would do that?" Reirei gave Kion the 'puppy dog eyes'. “Well…. That is a good point…” Twilight said unable to counter argue with that. "Okay, yeah. I can see that. But..." Kion started but a cry for help came, "Ah! Help!" "Kion! Mbeya the rhino... He's trapped in a mud pit. All the way over at Lake Matope." Ono called out. "We'll need to get moving." Beshte said. "Okay, Reirei. You and your family have to stay away from the aardvarks' dens. And food. Got it?" Kion ordered. "Oh, yes. And I'm so sorry for any misunderstanding." Reirei apologized. "Pony Guard and Lion Guard, follow me!" Kion ordered and the entire Guard went off. "Come on, kids! Let's leave these nice aardvarks to their business. We'll find someplace else to go." Reirei said. "Yeah, you do that." Muhangus called as the jackals all moved off. "You were right, Reirei. The Pride Lands is filled with great things to take." Goigoi said with glee. "Just wait for that big old Kupatana celebration." she gasped. "All the Pride Land’s animals in one place! Mmm-mmm. Now, let's help ourselves to more of the Pride Landers' generosity." "But, Mom, won't Kion and the Lion Guard get mad and kick us out?" Dogo asked. "Dogo, Dogo, Dogo. Today is the one day these silly Pride Landers will let us get away with anything. Right, Goigoi?" Reirei stated, turning to her mate. "Yup! Because it's Kupatana." Goigoi laughed. "We can do whatever we want. As long as we do it jackal style!" Reirei hissed and music began to play as Reirei and the Jackals sang while the others dance to the tune as she demonstrates her strategy of acting nice and polite while taking things from other animals along the way. Jackal Style When the song was done, the Jackals were surrounded by upset animals over the stolen goods they have collected. “Oh dear, has there been another misunderstanding…?” Reirei asked. “There is no misunderstanding….” a voice came and two elephants moved out of the way…. And the lioness from before approached the jackals. “Oh… you…. What are you doing here, Kyoga?” Reirei asked. “I saw your little trick on the Lion Guard and Pony Guard. I’m here to prevent you from disturbing the peace, by making you give these animals their food back…” “Hevi kabisa! What’s going on here?” Kion asked and the animals turned and saw him and the Guard all covered in mud. “These Jackals took out food and invaded our homes…” an Elephant stated. “Okay, Okay. Nothing to see here. Move along." Ono called as he moved the animals back. "I'm sorry, Kion. I just don't understand why everyone's so upset." Reirei said with an innocent look. "Yeah. We didn't take anything from the aardvarks." Goigoi said. "What about all these other animals?" Kion asked with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, them? Well..." Goigoi started but Dogo beat him to it, "It was just a misunderstanding." "A misunderstanding? Is that what they call stealing food and invading other animals' homes in the Outlands?" Fuli asked, upset. "Well, yes, it is. Things are so different out there. How could we possibly know what's acceptable in the Pride Lands?" Reirei asked, acting so innocent. Kyoga snarled at the female jackal. "Give me a break." Rainbow and Fuli grunted not buying their act for one second. "Kion, you don't know how hard it is to start over in a strange place. We just don’t know how to fit in. We do so want to be accepted as part of your community. Don't you Pride Landers have a word for that?" Reirei stated. "We do. It's Kupatana. We're actually gathering in Mizimu Grove tonight to celebrate Kupatana." Kion explained. "Kupatana. Ku-pa-tana. It sounds lovely. Do you think we jackals can be a part of your Kupatana?" Reirei asked. "Maybe, but only if you can treat everyone in the Pride Lands with respect. Can you and your family do that?" Kion offered. "Oh, yes." Reirei said but Goigoi was sleeping... again. "I think we understand now. Right, Goigoi? Goigoi!" Reirei kicked him and he woke up, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Huh? Uh, yeah, whatever you say, dear." “Anyway, what are you doing in the Pridelands, lioness?” Kion asked. “My name is Kyoga, lion cub.” Kyoga stated. “My name is Kion.” He returned. “Whatever, the reason as to why I’m here is none of your business. Now do me a favor and stay out of my way… and keep an eye out…” Kyoga said as she walked away. “Woah….. What did she mean by that…?” Bunga asked. “What the ‘Stay out of my way’ part? Cause that was obvious.” Rainbow said with her hooves crossed. “No sugarcube about the ‘keep an eye out’ part. Ya thinkin it might be a warnin’?” Applejack pondered. “If it is, it has something to do with the jackals…” Twilight said. “But we don’t know for sure…” "We’ll think about that later. Right now we should go. Hope we'll see you there." Kion said. "Oh, they'll see us there, all right. Won't they, Goigoi?" Reirei said with an evil smile. "Whatever you say, dear." Goigoi said with a laugh. Now it was dusk and all the animals were gathering in Mizimu Grove for the Kupatana Celebration. Our Kuptana Community Resume at 0:30 to the end The song fades out and Bunga asked, "Hey. Did Dogo and his family come?" "I don't see them." Ono replied before Fuli shushed them. "Shh. It's starting." Simba and his family came before everyone, "Thank you all for joining us. We're here not just the blooming of the baobab flowers, but to celebrate our community. Our Kupatana. And to honor all of our roles in the Circle of Life." The wind wooshed past everyone and Rafiki said, "It is time." The flowers on the trees bloomed showing they were pink and beautiful. All of the animals gasped in awe at their beauty. "Wow." Meanwhile, Reirei and her Jackals were nearby, Reirei sniffled, "This is so unexpected. I didn't think I'd be so moved." "What? By a bunch of flowers?" Goigoi asked. "No, by all the options. All these delicious little animals, all in one place. How will we ever know where to begin?" Reirei asked. "I don't know. Let's dig in." Goigoi said but, "I don't think so." Kyoga said as she came in front of the family. "W-What are you doing here?" Reirei asked. "Stopping you from harming the animals." Kyoga growled. "Wha? How did you know?" Reirei asked her in surprise. “I know deception, Reirei and you cannot fool this lioness with your ‘innocent’ act…’ And I won't let you harm them or any of the animals." Reirei lowered to the ground and growled, "Oh yeah?" she lunged at Kyoga and Kyoga rolled onto her back and kicked her into the air and she fell to the ground, surprising the other animals. "What is going on?" Simba asked. Reirei got up and tackled Kyoga and the two engaged in a fight. "Kyoga?" Kion asked. That’s when the Jackals seized their chance to attack the other animals. “Hevi Kabisa!” Kion gasped while Fuli growled. "I knew it." She said with her suspicions confirmed. "Those no good varmints." Applejack added. "Double-crossing no good animals." Rainbow also added. Reirei bit Kyoga on the nose but Kyoga slashed Reirei across the face in retaliation. "Sorry, Dad, Princess Celestia. This is my fault." Kion apologized. "But I know what to do." he ran forward to the edge of the stone pedestal to adress everyone. "Everyone! Don't be afraid! You can all help the Lion Guard by defending each other!" "Kion is right." Simba agreed, standing next to his son. "If we stand together, no Outlanders can defeat us." Celestia added with words of wisdom and encouragement as well. Kion approached his friends, “Okay everybody, we've gotta round up these jackals and send them back to the Outlands where they belong. Ono?" "Affirmative." the egret responded, taking to the sky. "Rainbow, Fuli! I see Goigoi! He's behind the elephants!" The fastest gave a nod and sped towards the elephants. "Pinkie Pie, Beshte! Jackal pups near the giraffe's!" The strongest and the party pony headed towards that direction. And saw the jackals nipping their teeth at the giraffes hooves but the giraffes knocked them away, “Enough with the nipping! Stop that!” Besthe and Pinkie hit the pups and they all fell into a pile… surrounded by angry Pridelanders. "Kion, Twilight, go help Kyoga!” Bunga exclaimed, seeing the lioness getting badly hurt by her fierce battle with Reirei. Reirei bit the leg that was underneath her leaf cloak, making her roar in extreme pain and she swatted Reirei back…. causing the leaf cloak to tear apart. Reirei got up and spit out the leaf cloak, “You days are over, Kyoga…” she snarled and Kyoga prepared to hit Reirei again when... "Back away from the cub." Kion growled, tackling the female jackal and snarled fiercely at her while Twilight narrowed her eyes at them. Reirei then acted innocent, "Why, Kion and Twilight. What's got you so upset?" she asked with a nervous laugh. "You lied to us, Reirei." Twilight grumbled in anger of their deception. "Oh, no. Did we make another mistake? These Pride Land rules..." Reirei said. "Save it. You're going back to the Outlands. All of you!" Kion stated having no more of her lies and attempts of acting innocent. "Just one more chance." Reirei begged with her family coming beside her, "That's all we..." she was cut when... "You heard my son." “You heard my prized student.” The animals made way for Princess Celestia and Simba as they came forth, "Leave. Now." "Oh, Simba and Celestia, I think there's been a misunderstanding." Reirei said but Simba roared at them, not buying it for a second while the alicorn simply glares at her with her wings spread out and horn's golden yellow aura glowing ready to advance on them forcing her to back off. "You know what they say, there's no place like home! Let's go, kids!" Reirei said in fear in the face of the two powerful royals and she and her Jackal family ran away yelping for their lives. "Whatever you say, dear!" Goigoi said in a panic. Kyoga panted as she fell on the ground. “Kyoga!” Kion gasped as the group rallied around her and gasped what they saw. “Hevi Kabisa..” “Oh my stars…!” “What in Equestria….” Rarity and Applejack added in shock. Kyoga’s right front leg…. was disabled…! It had three large claw marks in it and it looked very limp. Her back wasn’t much better with there being large healed punctures in her back. The battle with Reirei also forced the eyepatch she was wearing to come off… revealing a horrific diagonal scar over her right eye…! And those were in addition to the new scratches she got from the jackal. “I-I’m…. Fine….” Kyoga panted, dismissing their concern. “Kyoga, you’re badly hurt. You need medical attention now!” Fluttershy urgently spoke up. “Fluttershy’s right darling, you cannot go on like this. You need treatment.” Rarity added insisting that she accepts help. Kyoga huffed but saw the yellow pegasus’ worried look. “..... Fine…..” “Ono, go and get Rafiki, so he can help Fluttershy.” Simba said to Egret. “Affirmative, your majesty.” Ono saluted and flew off to get the mandrill. Soon, Kyoga was being treated by Rafiki and Fluttershy while Kion and Twilight went over to the royal family and Celestia to take responsibility for their mistake. “I’m sorry, Princess Celestia. “ "I'm sorry, Dad." The two apologized again. "Don't forget, Kion and Twilight. I encouraged you both to save that jackal pup this morning." Simba reminded them. "Yeah." Kion sighed. "But you didn't tell us to invite them into the Pride Lands." “You both made a mistake, but you made it in the spirit of Kupatana. You gave strangers a chance to fit in. And tonight we saw Kupatana in action. All the animals of the Pride Lands standing together as one." Celestia said, smiling down at the pair. Kion smiled, "Thank you, your majesty." "So, I guess this year's celebration's over." Rainbow sighed. "You kidding?" Bunga questioned, picking up a blossom from the ground. "Usually we just get to look at these things." he shoved the whole blossom in his mouth, chewing it before swallowing. "This is the best Kupatana ever." he picked up another flower and ate it. Ono picked up a blossom in his beak, swallowing it with a chuckle. "I have to admit, Bunga's right. These baobab blossoms are delicious." Rafiki smiled, looking down at both Twilight and Kion, "You see, young ones, everything has its place." he stated. "Yeah." Kion agreed with a smile. "It's the Circle of Life. Happy Kupatana, Dad.” “Happy Kupatana, Princess.” “Happy Kupatana, Twilight and Kion.” the royals said to the two. “So what should we do with Kyoga?” Pinkie Pie asked, suddenly appearing between the four. “I mean, yes she’s an Outlander, but then again she foiled Reirei and her family’s plan. It’s like she knew what they were planning all along!” “Yeah, Pinkie’s right… she must have known the Jackals were using their innocent act to fool us into letting them get away with what they were doing…” Twilight said after piecing together their act. “Guess…. we were too naive to realize what they were actually doing.” “It’s not your fault sugarcube.” Applejack reassured. “Yeah, it’s not your fault those Jackals’ fooled you.” Rainbow added holding nothing against her for not seeing it sooner. “Yes, but if it weren’t for Kyoga, who knows what animals could have been hurt.” Kion said, going over to Kyoga who was now asleep. “I can’t believe she could fight as well as she did with her disability.” “Yeah… I don’t think even I could pull something like that off.” Rainbow said while mildly impressed herself. “She’s got one strong spirit on her.” Applejack said. “Indeed she does.” Simba smiled, coming over with the royal family and Celestia. “And such actions do earn her a place to stay in the Pridelands.” “Uh…. are you sure…? She really doesn’t want anything to do with us?” Rainbow pointed out. “I’m sure that’s only because she’s traumatized by whatever horrific incident led to these scars.” Celestia said, pointing to her disabled leg, scarred back and scarred eye. “With time, she’ll begin to open up to you all and hopefully we’ll figure out what happened to her…” The group nodded, agreeing with the Princess while still looking at Kyoga who is still recovering from her injuries.