As the sun began to peek over the trees, and the light began to blanket the ground, Rainbow Dash lay on her back snoring. She twisted her arm and then turned to her side. Baagh Raaja lay with his paws under his chin. Suddenly, a loud roar filled the air, Rainbow Dash screamed and threw a punch.
“YEEEOOOWWWW!!!” Talamba screamed as he covered his eye.
Baagh Raaja swiftly lifted his head and groaned. Rainbow Dash was breathing heavily while getting up on her legs. “What the heck did you do that for!?” she yelled.
Talamba removed his paw. “I thought it would be funny to scare you to wake you up.”
Baagh Raaja walked in front of Talamba. “Then how about I show you something I think is funny,” he said as he unsheathed his claws and bared his teeth.
Talamba folded his ears and took a few steps back. Pinkie Pie ran up to Baagh Raaja. “Take it easy Raaja, it was just a prank.”
“Y-yeah...it was a prank...no-no need to g-get angry,” Talamba stuttered
Baagh Raaja retracted his claws. “Fine...don't ever disturb my beauty sleep again.”
Talamba was quivering. “Nope, w-will totally never do that again,” he muttered as Baagh Raaja looked into his eyes
Baagh Raaja then turned to Rainbow. “Speaking of which...why were you sleeping over here instead of the others, Rainbow?”
Rainbow scratched the back of her head. “I saw you were sleeping away from everyone else so I thought I’d sleep here so you weren’t here by yourself.”
Baagh Raaja moved his eyes away from her for a bit. “Uuhhhh...thanks...I guess,” he said before walking towards the others.
Rainbow began heading in the same direction. “-He guesses? What does he mean he guesses?” she thought to herself.
Rainbow and Pinkie followed Talamba and Baagh Raaja to the clearing. There they saw Sulu sitting on the big rock and the lionesses standing around it with Applejack. Talamba and Baagh Raaja stood next to each other, although Talamba took a few steps sideways. Rainbow and Pinkie stood next to Applejack. When they were all settled, a lioness spoke. “So...how are we going to find the danger beasts?” she asked
Baagh Raaja turned in the girls’ direction. “Rainbow Dash, fly up and see if you can spot them.”
Rainbow was about to touch her geode, but Sulu looked at her. “No, not yet.” he said, shaking his head.
Baagh Raaja looked at him. “What do you mean not yet!? We have to get to the stone before they do!”
Sulu stared back at him. “And in order to stop them we need to be able to fight them effectively. From the stories I’ve heard, a good number of this group are larger than a lioness, meaning we need more help.”
Applejack raised her hand. “How much more help exactly?” she asked
Sulu looked at her. “Much more, I’m afraid.”
“I get what you’re saying, but the way I see it, some of us can sneak in there and set their friends free. They couldn’t use the stone’s powers while my pride distracts them.” Talamba argued.
“We could but there’s just one thing. Getting more help to fight them and charging in will be easier than what you suggested. Even if we let them go, they’ll still keep causing havoc for the animals. More of them will die at their paws, more blood will be spilled. Is that what you really want?” Sulu responded.
Baagh Raaja looked down and unsheathed his claws. “No...it isn’t,” he hissed
Talamba took a few more steps sideways. “Yeesh..why do you have to be scary this morning?” he asked with widened eyes.
“But where are we gonna get this extra help?” Rainbow asked
Sulu stood up. “There will be two stops to get it, and the first one is the Akua Plain.”
Talamba perked up his ears. “The what now?”
“The Akua Plain.” Sulu replied
Talamba sprinted for the nearest tree. “OH HECK NO!!! NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE!!!” he yelled before climbing high up the tree and began shaking.
Applejack giggled. “Ah never thought Ah’d see a lion, the king of the beasts act like a big sissy,.” she whispered to Pinkie.
Talamba glowered down from above. “OH SHUT UP BLONDIE!!!”
Sulu jumped off the rock. “Come, we have to get moving. I’ll lead the way as I’ve had to travel across the land to teach others of our history.” Sulu took the lead with the lionesses following close behind. Baagh Raaja followed closely behind them.
The girls walked up to the tree. “Well come on Talamba, or do you want to be a big wimp?” Applejack asked
Talamba shook his head. “Nope. Nuh uh.”
“Or do you want to look like a wimp compared to your lionesses?” Pinkie asked
Talamba groaned. “F-Fine...I’m coming,” he said before making his descent down the tree.
As Talamba and the girls walked, Rainbow saw Baagh Raaja up ahead. She furrowed her brow and ran next to him. Looking at him she saw that his eyebrows were lower.
Rainbow got closer to him “Hey, is there something wrong?” she asked
Baagh Raaja raised his eyebrows and turned his head. “N-n-no...nothing’s wrong.”
Rainbow kept furrowing her brow “Are you sure? You seemed to get kind of tense when Sulu talked about the danger beasts.”
Baagh Raaja lowered his brow and turned to her. “I said nothing’s wrong. Leave it at that,” he said in a stern tone
Rainbow stood there as Baagh Raaja continued walking ahead of her. “-Baagh, clearly something’s bothering you. Why won’t you tell me?”
As Bladed Claw walked through the camp, he saw a man rolling up his tent rather slowly, he then walked to the man and slammed his paw to the ground. “Faster!” he yelled. The man immediately picked up the pace. Bladed Claw kept walking and saw all his men lined up. He saw two large branches going through the cage containing Twilight and Spike. He continued to the front but then he froze.
“You know you won’t win, Bladed Claw,” Twilight said.
Bladed Claw turned to her. “Oh, and why not?” he asked
Spike got up. “Because even though you guys are powerful, you don’t stand a chance against the magic of friendship,” he replied with a growl
Bladed Claw raised his eyebrow “Really? I myself have this “magic of friendship”, I have an entire gang who will do anything I tell them without questioning me,” he said before smirking
“That’s not friendship, that’s you being their boss,” Twilight refuted
Bladed Claw chuckled. “But...If I remember correctly from what I’ve heard about you girls, you can get together to create those...rainbow laser things correct?” he asked
“Yes.” Twilight answered
“And you need all of them together for it, correct?” Bladed Claw asked
Spike stepped forward “Yes.”
Bladed Claw smiled “And there’s seven of you right?” he asked
“Yes,” Spike answered before sitting down
Bladed Claw flicked his tail. “And last I checked, only five of you are here, and when two of you were out of your cages, you ran away rather than fought, so you don’t pose much of a threat at all,” he said with a smirk.
Twilight looked at him sternly. “And what about that Baagh Raaja guy? How do you know he won’t be able to get others on their side?” she asked
Bladed Claw paused, his eyes widened, and he stared blankly at the ground. He then closed his eyes and shook his head. “No matter, as long as we get to the stone first, there won’t be any problems,.” he responded before turning away from them.
He continued to walk to the front of the line. “Move out!” he ordered, and two men picked up the sticks and lifted the cage before they began walking.
As the pride walked through the Akua Plains, Talamba constantly turned his head as he walked quickly. Applejack walked next to him. “Are you gonna be alright Talamba?” she asked.
Talamba spun his head around. “Yeah..totally...I’ll be totally fine,” he answered while moving his eyes from side to side.
At the front, Sulu walked casually with his head high with Baagh Raaja and Rainbow Dash beside him, but when he reached the top of a hill he stopped. He then turned to the group. “Hey guys, there’s a waterhole up ahead, and look what’s at it,” he announced.
The group quickly trotted up the hill, and saw a vast, open scratch of grasses with a few scattered acacia bushes. In the middle of two bushes lay a watering hole and at it, a black rhinoceros with her calf that was laying down in the grass while she drank.
Talamba slowly crouched down. “Perfect, I’m starting to get hungry,” he said as he began stalking. However, Baagh Raaja turned his eyes to him and jumped in front of him.
Talamba got up. “What are you doing!?” he asked with his teeth clenched
Baagh Raaja unsheathed his claws. “What does it look like I’m doing?” he growled.
Talamba stepped forward. “Trying to keep me from hunting that calf for some reason. Can you please move?” he asked, slightly raising his voice.
Baagh Raaja walked even closer to him and looked deep into his eyes. “No...I won’t,” he said sternly.
Talamba took a step back and lowered his head and ears. “Fine, I’ll find something else to eat,” he said with his brow lowered. When Talamba looked back down at the watering hole, the rhino and her calf were trotting away from it. Baagh Raaja turned away from Talamba and walked down the hill with Sulu and the lionesses with him. Applejack and Pinkie followed suit and only then did Talamba make his way down.
Rainbow Dash however stood on the hill for a moment, staring at Baagh Raaja as he began drinking. She suddenly dashed down the hill and placed herself right next to him.“Baagh Raaja.” He lifted his head and looked at her.
Rainbow lifted her eyebrow. “Why did you keep Talama from hunting that rhino calf? Haven’t you tried doing that before?” she asked.
Baagh Raaja looked back down at the water. “No, I haven’t actually. I did that because rhinos make life out here easier,” he answered
Surprise crossed Rainbows face. “Uuuuhhhh...How...exactly?” she asked.
Baagh Raaja looked back at her. “Well you see, when rhinos wallow in the mud, they end up creating waterholes which are used by other animals, and I use them a lot during the dry season. Leaving them alone, and keeping Talamba from killing the calf, it’s my way of thanking them,” he answered with his paw in the water.
Talamba marched up to him. “That’s stupid, you can say wildebeests make you life easier yet you’ll hunt them!” he yelled with his ears folded.
Baagh Raaja started back at him. “The fact that wildebeests are a food source is how they make life easier. Big difference,” he responded.
“Uh y’all....you might wanna come look at this.,” Applejack called.
The group walked over to Applejack who was in front of a bush, but when they looked behind it, they saw the carcass of a white rhinoceros. Baagh Raaja walked up to it, he saw that the throat had two puncture holes, the flesh from the ribs and the internal organs were eaten, and one eye was missing, the tongue was gone, and the meat on the rump was missing.
Applejack turned to Pinkie. “W-what could’ve done this??” she stuttered
Talamba was shaking and turning his head. “Easy, the reason I didn’t want to come here.”
Pinkie gasped. “Remember when Sulu said this place is home to animals that didn’t live here before? It could be anything!” she yelled.
Rainbow Dash was starting to breathe heavily, but she suddenly began sniffing. As she smelled the air, Applejack and Pinkie gave her puzzled looks. “What...are you doing Rainbow?” Applejack asked.
Rainbow walked up to the carcass, she sniffed the inside of it as Baagh Raaja looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Why does this smell so good?” she asked.
Pinkie giggled. “Silly, that doesn’t smell good at all,” she said while pointing at her.
Rainbow turned to her. “Yeah it does, I swear!!” she said. Suddenly, a loud roar erupted and a massive force slammed against her and pinned her to the ground. When she looked up she saw a huge feline with white underbelly, brownish-gold fur, paws wider than her chest, and canines that extended past its jaw.
Baagh Raaja slammed into it, getting it on the ground, but he was pushed off with one of the paws. Getting up, Baagh Raaja could see that it had a short, bobbed tail as well. The gigantic feline lunged forward, Baagh Raaja leapt out of the way and struck its head with his paws, the sabertooth struck his shoulder, knocking him over.
Talamba spirited away “I’m out!!” The lionesses began charging at the sabertooth, until more roars arose, and the sight of other sabertooths charging at them at full speed came into view.
The lionesses began running the opposite direction. “So are we!!!” The sabertooths chased them for a short distance, and even Applejack and Pinkie booked for it. Rainbow Dash quickly got up, and she saw Baagh Raaja pinned on his back by nine hundred and sixty pounds of feline. The sabertooth placed one paw on his head, exposing his throat. Rainbow Dash touched her geode and dashed around the sabertooth The giant cat growled and looked around as he was surrounded by rainbow, but Sulu rushed to the trio and stopped.
Sulu froze “Partak!” he yelled. Rainbow upon hearing him, stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the Dinofelis. Baagh Raaja looked up at him.
The bigger sabertooth looked at Sulu. “Sulu, why have you brought intruders into our territory?” he asked.
Sulu walked closer to him. “Because we need your help, old friend.”
Partak pressed his paw harder against Baagh Raaja’s head. “Why would you need my help?” he asked.
“The Wild Hunt is going for the Mookarina Stone, and you know what will happen if they get it’s powers.” Sulu answered.
Parktak got off of Baagh Raaja. “Say no more,” he said.
Baagh Raaja got back up on his paws and looked at Partak as Rainbow walked up to him. “Well, looks like you met your match Raaja, one on one,” she said with a grin.
Baagh Raaja groaned. “Shut up.” He turned his head away from her.
Partak walked up to Baagh Raaja and Rainbow. “You are all free to eat our rhino kill, you must keep your strength up.”
He then turned to see Talamba, Applejack, and Pinkie shaking in a tree with the lionesses trying to hide behind a few bushes. “You lions can come, we will not attack you,” he said.
The lionesses slowly came out of their hiding places, while Pinkie leapt off the tree and landed on her feet. Applejack climbed back down at a relatively fast pace. Talamba began his descent, and he walked very slowly to the rhino carcass. “Well...this feels weird,” Talamba said.
Rainbow suddenly smelled something again, she turned to see a kudu, an antelope with long, spiraled horns, a gray pelt with white stripes on its back browsing on an acacia bush, although at a somewhat slower pace. Rainbow had a ting inside of her, something that was telling her something. “-Why...am I wanting to go to this antelope?” she thought. “Something’s wrong with that antelope,” she said, pointing at it.
Applejack looked at the kudu, and back at Rainbow. “What the hay are you talkin’ about? That thing looks perfectly healthy.”
Talamba turned to Applejack. “Actually, I can sense something’s wrong with it too. It’s sick, prey can hide sickness,” he responded.
Appejack’s face was once again filled with puzzlement. “Then how…?” she asked, with her hand on her head.
Rainbow looked back at the kudu. “I-I don’t know.” she answered.
Talamba turned to Baagh Raaja. “You aren’t gonna stop me from hunting the kudu are you?” he asked.
Baagh Raaja shook his head. “No,” he answered.
Talamba then crouched close to the ground and began stalking the kudu. Baagh Raaja turned to the rhino carcass and got between a pair of lionesses and started eating. As Applejack looked at her friend, Rainbow dashed back to the watering hole and looked at her reflection.
“-First I think a dead rhino smells good, now I could sense an antelope was sick? What the heck is going on with me!?”