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Blue Pony shivered with apprehension as the former king, Flower Prince, handed the pride over to him.
He wasn't ready for this. He hadn't been trained for the role. It should have gone to his older brother, Prince.
Blue Pony's sisters agreed, he seemed to age at least a year that day.
The third king of his pride, Blue Pony vowed not to rule as his predecessors. Where they were womanizers, Blue Pony intended to retain a decent-sized harem.
Flower Prince left behind a legacy of exploring and socializing, and Blue Pony is eager to follow in his pawsteps.
The time came for the celestial lions to visit the earthly plains.
Blue Pony was in awe, as there was no previous record of his own pride interacting with the divine visitors.
His first contact was with their queen, Tefnut. His second, was with their king Apedemak.
While at first Blue Pony could resonate with the kings heavy responsibility, something did not sit right with him. Could it be that the Celestial King was beginning to become affected by the whispers of lions deceased? His soul corrupted by the vengeful dead, perhaps? Whatever it was, it was unsettling.
His opinion of the celestial pride changed, however, upon meeting their Princess Menhit. Her coat shimmered like the moon and stars, perfectly matching her soft soul and serene smile. How could someone like her possibly be matched with a brute like Apollyon?
Then he met the lion.
Apollyon was no brute. He was a warrior. Chosen by a god to protect the land and gifted with his fire.
That's when he understood.
Apedemak had been blinded by his ambition and detached from the living, a consequence of his work. Blue Pony realized, there was no way to deal in death without being negatively affected. In the Celestial Kings case, it came at the cost of his most beloved daughter.
Menhit, the perfect princess, was in love with the Warrior Apollyon.
Apollyon returned her affections with a blazing passion, while working to repair the approaching damage being caused by Apedemaks instability.
For the duration of their time on the earthly plain, Blue Pony would socialize closely with the young couple.
During their visit, Blue Pony often took quests from the princess Menhit. Caring for creatures, assisting where he otherwise might not, brought a strange sense of satisfaction.
Then everything went wrong.
Blue Pony approached the cave where Apedemak and his pride were staying. He hears a scream, then he smells blood.
Fearful, he enters the cave and is horrified at what he finds.
Apedemak is standing over his late queens body. His eyes are wide, pupils shrunken significantly. Blood drips from his muzzle, and Blue Pony realizes the Celestial King has at last gone too far.
Apedemak spots Blue Pony, and demands he bring him Menhit.
Blue Pony does so, but informs her of what she may find. Menhit asks no questions and seems to be aware of what has transpired.
Upon finding her mothers body, the princess falls and begins to wail, her grief palpable.
Apedemak, callous as ever, demanded Blue Pony assist him in extracting Teffnuts whisper.
Blue Pony defies the Celestial King, choosing instead to assist Menhit and Apollyon in burying the late queen, that her whisper may pass to the celestial lands before Apedemak could claim it.
Shortly after the Celestial Pride arrived, Blue Pony made a disturbing discovery. Several metal boxes had washed up on the coastal area of the territory. There was a faint smell of humans, so they were obviously long gone.
But there was one cage in particular. It smelled strongly of Big Cat, but not any that Blue Pony recognized. The cage was a mess of sand, straw and metal bars.
He followed the tracks as far as he could, but they soon disappeared, and he lost the scent trail.
Blue Pony knew there was at least one intruder in his territory. At only 5 years old, the territory spanned over 5 zones. It would take a long while to find this intruder.
Over the course of several weeks, Blue Pony tracked the Big Cat. They were definitely not shy, leaving their scent marks over his own. Wasteful, leaving half-eaten carcasses strewn about. And scratching spots? All the best had been destroyed by this intruder!
But finally, Blue Pony found their hideout. Conflicted as he was, Blue Pony was exhausted. He took note of the location and surroundings, intending to return the next day.
Upon returning to the sheltered cove, Blue Pony followed the scent toward the center. He found a large tree, filled with twisting branches. Upon inspection, there seemed to be a leopard in the branches.
Blue Pony approached, and the cat in the tree climbed down to a lower branch. This was no leopard! The scent was completely different, and though he also had spots, they were unique to his own species.
The cat introduced himself as Mateo, a Jaguar. He told a tale of being from a 'zoo,' and adored and fed by humans.
Blue Pony couldn't help but find this to be a pampered, lazy life to lead. Then again, perhaps he was born into it?
Then Mateo said something interesting.
He was being transported to a bigger, better zoo? With other Jaguars? Blue Pony did not like the sound of that.
After a lengthy discussion, the two cats came to an agreement. Blue Pony would direct Mateo's friends to him when he came across them, as well as giving the Jaguars gifts of food and materials. In return, Mateo would lead them to settle in their own territory far away.
As Blue Pony was fulfilling his end of the deal, he soon heard rumors. A new generation of hybris had been born to his neighbors prides, resembling the jaguars.
While he was glad the newcomers were socializing, he felt nervous that one of them would try his luck with one of his lionesses. But as the last of the Jaguars left, he breathed a sigh of relief as he realized no Jaguars had gotten lucky within his pride.
The Drought.
A dark time for the pride.
Blue Pony did all he could to ensure fairness among not only his pride, but to all creatures.
And it worked, for a while. He learned how to dig for water, appreciating the humans who brought water from their settlements.
Then the prey started to suffer. His lionesses began struggling to hunt, the heat affecting them.
Blue Pony couldn't bear it. He urged his submales to bring any carcasses they found on their patrols, and he also did the same.
It wasn't enough.
He started killing the cows thye humans used for food.
And then he started hunting the humans.
The guilt would plague him for the rest of his life, but at least he had fed his pride during the drought.
Blue Pony began aging.
The time came for the Shamans to visit, an event only once every few generations.
Despite his imminent retirement, Blue Pony was determined to reach the Water Hole.
His final act as King, was finding it. He would proceed to tell his pride stories about this place of peace for the rest of his natural life.
Having achieved his ultimate goal, he removed his royal attire.
He summoned the Pride, for one final ceremony.
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