Mal looked bored at the situation he found himself in. The parliament was opened by him. The members were approving trade agreement plans with the griffins. The deep rooted pain from the ponies didn't seem to go away so there were no plans to trade with them in the upcoming future. The fact that there beloved king had been imprisoned by ponies really didn’t help with their distrust. Mal still kicked himself for letting that little tidbit out. He finally sighed as he got up. Being a king was a lot of work. Though he had parliament do their job he made sure things were good, appeared in events even knighted heroes and allies. As he sat down he remembered his desire to explore the world. He looked up the map of the known world. He looked at the part that said Zebra Empire.... It was mostly unknown and their continent was totally unknown. He had a smile.

In a flash Discord appeared in the Northern Isles. He always liked the place. As he walked he found Mal. "So you called." He asked. Mal turned to Discord.

"Yeah, you know of any zebras?" The angel asked the god.

"Well, no not personally, but I do know of one." Discord replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I noticed that their continent is mostly unknown, but the most prominent thing on it is their kingdom. As king, I would like to set up a possible trade agreement, and other things."

"And what's your reason for all this?"

"I'm still having a hard time adapting to this king thing. Before I came to the Northern Isles my only plan was to explore the world and see what was out here. But then all that stuff with Prance happened and I've had to stay here. I mean, I don't regret coming here. I would've never met Chrissy otherwise. Not to mention all the good I've done for these people. But, I still want to travel and explore. So, I figured going from country to country and forming alliances and agreements would let me do that." Mal explained with a sigh.

Discord thought for a moment at this. "Well I remember there being a Zebra in Everfree forest the forest right next to Ponyville where Twilight’s little kingdom exists." Discord said. Mal raised an eyebrow at this.

"Ok two questions, one why is a zebra there, two Prance, the Crystal Empire and now Sparky’s got a kingdom?" Mal asked. Discord had a laugh.

"Yeah I once pointed it out.... They’ve gone with the Equestrian Alliance." Mal rolled his eyes.

-------------In Ponyville things were just getting normal again. For Twilight however she shortly learned that she should never tempt fate. As she walked out on a stroll near the Everfree a flash was seen and Discord appeared with Mal.

"Look, there’s Sparky." Mal said.

Twilight’s eyes twitched. She wanted to yell at whoever controlled fate, and curse every single god, primarily Discord.

"What insane thing are you two planning this time?" Twilight asked with a huff.

"Well, I think we talked about building a crossbow that fires sharks." Mal stated. Twilight smacked a hoof against her face.

"Really?" She asked.

"Look that's not why we're here." Mal said, getting back on track. "We were just looking for the zebra that lives in the Everfree forest."

"Zecora, why would you be looking for her?" Twilight asked, starting to panic a little. Mal rolled his eyes at Twilight. She always assumed he was out to do something stupid. He usually was, but after saving her life several times, he felt he'd earned the benefit of the doubt.

"I wanted to go and set up an alliance with the zebra continent, and I figured having a zebra intermediary would help my chances." Mal explained.

"That's it?" Twilight asked.

"Come on Sparky, I'm a king now. I have to be responsible every now and then." He said with a grin.

Twilight suddenly shuddered. "I just felt terror shoot through me when you said that." Twilight said. Discord got right next to her.

"Come on you have to see the Zebra Empire." In a flash he had two toys, one a Zebra the other a pony. "The Zebra Empire has had a long relationship with ponies one of indifference to almost war to just tolerating each other, Celestia herself isn't trusted by them. You owe the Equestrian Alliance to be a new face of friendship." He finished.

"I guess you have a point." Twilight replied, rubbing her chin in thought. "Alright, I'll see if we can convince Zecora to act as a sort of intermediary for us."

"Awesome, looks like the both of us are going on a diplomatic trip for our countries, Sparky." Mal said with a grin. "Ok I need to go get something." Mal said. In a flash Discord took him, and they were gone. Twilight herself sighed, wondering what she was getting herself into.

-----------Rainbow Dash was chilling out. Suddenly the sun was blocked out. "Sup, Rainbow." It was Gilda, princess of the Griffin Empire. Rainbow shot up. Right next to her was an older griffin.

"So this is your pony friend, sister?" The griffin prince asked.

"Rainbow, this is my older brother.... By two centuries, Caesar."

"Two centuries that's... pretty crazy." Rainbow said, not sure how to process that piece of information.

"Yes, well part of being in the prime of your life for all eternity is of course that certain... urges never quite go away."

"Bro, couldn't you have phrased that better?" Gilda asked, not wanting to think about their parents like that.

"I phrased it better than you would have." Caesar shot back.

"So, uh what brings you two to Ponyville?" Rainbow Dash asked, before the siblings could get in a fight.

"Oh, well my parents want me to start 'exercising my royal duties'." Gilda said with air quotes. "So they sent Caesar and me to attend diplomatic talks with Griffonia's allies. Ugh, I hate all this stuff though. I think I'd rather have all my feathers plucked out." Gilda groaned.

Caesar rolled his eyes. "You’re a princess you know." He said. He then turned to Rainbow Dash. "Guessing that you’re her friend that kicked her out of Ponyville? You know, I had to listen to her rant until I shut her up... I'm guessing you didn't have an understanding of griffin society like she did pony?" He asked. Rainbow Dash blushed in embarrassment. The griffin had a smile, one of understanding. "Don't worry, being over two hundred years old I've learned to understand others cultures I did serve as the ambassador for my nation to Equestria for over fifty years." The griffin prince said.

"Really, you spent that long, why?" Rainbow dash asked.

"I befriended a pegasus called Shadow Wind." Rainbow’s eyes widened, Shadow Wind was one of the best Wonderbolts in his time. A pegasus born in poverty who went on to rise up into the group.

"That's. So. Awesome!" Rainbow Dash squeed.

"I'm guessing that she's a fan of the Wonderbolts?" Caesar asked Gilda.

"More like borderline obsessed. She was like this back at Flight Camp, looks like it hasn't changed. Rainbow Dash got over her little moment and rubbed the back of her head.

"Sorry, so if you guys are in Equestria for diplomatic talks, why are you here?"

"Well, we were here to talk with Princess Twilight Sparkle, but she wasn't at her castle. Gilda suggested that you may know where she is."

"Uh, yeah I think I might know where she is. I'll take you two to her." Shortly after that the three found Twilight standing in the middle of the market. "Hey Twilight, why are you just standing there?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I agree, shouldn't she be doing her royal duties?" Caesar asked.

The princess turned to see Rainbow Dash with Gilda and prince Caesar. "Rainbow, Princess Gilda.... Who’s your friend?" She asked Gilda’s eyes rolled.

"I am Prince Caesar, Gilda’s older brother by two centuries." The Griffin said having a smile. Twilight blushed embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I didn't know." Twilight said. Gilda looked around.

"So why are you just standing here?" Gilda asked.

"I'm waiting for Zecora she’s in the market getting stuff then we are going to meet Malthael." Twilight finished.

"Who is Malthael?" Caesar asked.

"The Angel of Death, king of the Northern Isles, and Discord the God of Chaos is his best friend." Twilight answered

"Yeah, and get this, he apparently revived Nightmare Moon, reformed her, and now they're dating." Gilda continued.

"He also did the same to Celestia's dark half." Twilight explained. "She goes by Solar Flare, or just Solar. I'd be careful around her if you ever meet her. She has a bit of a short fuse, but if Malthael's with her he can usually calm her down."

"Wait, Mal's coming here, what for?" Rainbow asked.

"Apparently, he plans on setting up some sort of alliance with the Zebra kingdom, and Zecora's agreed to act as our intermediary."

"Sounds cool, I've been wanting to meet this Malthael guy, he sounds pretty cool. I think I might join you guys on your trip." Gilda stated.

"Sister, remember what our parents said." Caesar chastised.

"They said I had to start doing royal duties, going on a trip to the Zebra kingdom with another king sounds like that if you ask me." Gilda replied with a smirk on her beak.

"I'm right here." They turned to see Mal floating on his wings. "My new airship landed a while ago." He landed. "So Sparky, you got the zebra?" He asked her. Twilight’s eyes twitched.

"Are you always going to call me Sparky, even in front of foreign dignitaries?" She asked. Mal had a look of deep thought.

"You know you’re right." He said, Twilight suddenly had a bit of happiness at this. "I will always call you Sparky, no matter what." He said with a smile.

"Why?! Why do you do this to me?" Twilight screeched.

"Well, at first it was because I thought it would drive you crazy. But after a while it was because you are my friend, Sparky." Mal replied.

"Hey, if you were with Discord, why didn't you just have him teleport you to the Zebra kingdom?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Good question," Mal replied pointing a finger at the prismatic pegasus. "There's a few reasons really. One, given the distance we're travelling, and now the size of our group, teleporting can be extremely disorienting, especially if our zebra friend doesn't get teleported very often. Second, if I want to set up a trade agreement I have to show off some of my country's products. My airship is top of the line and was made by all four peoples of the UK working together." Mal explained.

Twilight gave him a confused look. "So is anyone else coming along? Like you Sparky and your Equestrian Alliance?" He asked. Gilda shot up.

"I'm coming."

Mal blinked. "Ok, and you are?"

Gilda rolled her eyes. "Princess Gilda of Griffonia." She said.

As they spoke, the door to a shop opened to see the Zebra that Discord told Mal about. "Hello there I'm Malthael you know the guy that wants to visit the Zebra Empire."

Zecora was shocked by what she was seeing. She had heard rumors about Malthael, but this was her first time seeing him. She managed to collect herself. "I must admit you're quite the sight. Your sudden appearance gave me quite the fright." Zecora said in rhyme like she usually did.

'I wonder if all zebra's do this, or if this is just a game to her,' Mal thought.

"Sorry, I tend to forget how different I look to folks around here. So, has Sparky asked you to be our guide to the Zebra kingdom, to assist us in case of any language and cultural barriers? I'd really appreciate the help."

"I have heard your tale, this is true. I will gladly show my homeland to you." Zecora replied with a nod and grin.

Author's Note

Today you get chapters three
Consider it a gift from me.
Writing in rhyme sucks a big ball
And I'm the one who had to do it all
----Thunderclap 2015