Is all Hope Lost?

Spike and Zecora wereexplaining to King Kwame Savimbi more and more about what has happened, and how they should stop Roseblood once and for all. Kwame was feeling a little u sure about this, but he knew that of Roseblood had taken over Equestria like this, Zebrica and other lands would be next on the list. He wanted to protect his beautiful home of Zebrica and it’s abundance and resources from this evil mare.

“We should give word to the elands, kudus, rhinos, and buffalo. Along with the other neighboring zebras that we have known for a long time.” Kwame suggested. “We might not get the support from them all, but we will try our best to persuade them.”

“Do they have their own kings and queens?” Spike Asked him curiously

“Yes, Spike. We all have our different forms of government. And we have relations with a number of groups consisting from buffalo to rhinos to hippos.”

“But wait, how would you feel or what would you if we got dragons to help us with the cause?” Discord Asked the king

The lord was a litttle surprised to hear that. “Dragons? I thought they were nothing but a bunch of greedy monsters who only care about their gems?” He looked at the baby dragon. “No offense, Spike.”

“This is different.” Said Zecora. “With dragons joining us. It will not be a disaster, for they have a new dragon lord named Ember.”

“And she is my closest friend who isn’t a pony.” Spike pointed out. “She’s mean, and she’s tough, but she can give us all the help we can get, and the changelings will help us, too.”

“Changelings?” Kwame Said in even more surprise. “Those evil, love-sucking parasites? Have you all gone mad?”

“Fear not, my king.” Zecora said calmly. “The Changelings Are no longer the most evil beings throughout the Lands, because they have a new benevolent leader named Thorax.”

“Also my friend. And Zecora’s right. They are all changed insect-like pony creatures now.”

“If what you say is true, than I do believe you.” Said Savimbi. “And I would like to meet them, and see them for myself.”

“First things first.” Discord remarked. “We will need the Help of the rhinos, elands, buffalo, hippos, and other zebras that can possibly help us all out.”

“Of course.” Said The king. “I will gather you as much of my army as I can possibly give you to stop Roseblood.” Zecora, Spike, and Discord made smiles of hope hearing that. They just all hoped that other talking beasts will be just as cooperative like King Kwame Savimbi is.

“Thank you, Kwame.” Zecora remarked with a smile. “You have made an excellent contribution for us, and all of Equestria today.”

“You are quite welcome, Zecora.” The king replied humbly. “If this support can help you win this fight against the evil engulfing Equestria, we possibly have a chance against it.”

“But, what if many of your soldiers die in the cause? I don’t want many zebras getting killed because of us.”

“It’s okay, Spike.” The king assured him. “Victory cannot be achieved without sacrifice first. We zebras know that better than any other creature in this world. If any of us go down, we will go down proudly in the art of battle.”

“Perfect.”

“Indeed. We have gain. More help my friends, but we still need to talk to the elands.” Zecora remarked. “And I know just where to find them. Their king is a proud leader, and you will like him.”

“I hope he’s as good as you say he is.” Said Discord.

“Oh, this is only the start, for Imari has a golden heart.” Zecora remarked. “Kwame, myold friend, I thank you again, for I am glad we can make an amend.”

The king smiled humbly. “And I am glad to have seen you once more, my dear dear Zecora.” He replied.

“Well come on, this Imari will want to hear this.” Spike Said. He followed behind Zecora and looked at his surroundings again. So far, everything was doing alright for him. They walked for about ten miles across the grasslands, and saw a settlement just right to the far north east of them.

“Ah. An eland village.” Zecora Said. “By the large size of it, they can certainly help us with the pillage.” They followed her, and honestly, Spike didn’t really know what an eland was, but when he saw them up close when they reached the village, he was rather amazed to see how gigantic these antelope were.

They were rather beautiful animals with a big, stocky body for the males, along with stripes on their back, probably up to ten, eleven, or twelve stripes on many, but not all of them ha stripes.

Some males were more colorful and had more visible stripes than other bulls would have on them. Their horns were. Long and black, not to mention sharp and shiny to go with it. Yes, those horns look like they can kill a full grown stallion, as a matter of fact, they were way bigger and taller than a pony would be.

Another distinguishing feature was that some of the eland living on this city had a long, flappy dewlap dangling from their long necks.

“Wow, look at them,” Spike Said. “They’re so big.”

“Indeed. Eland are opposites of tyrants. They are gentle giants.”

And the baby dragon followed Zecora with Discord next to him. Some of the eland folk were happy to see Zecora as well, possibly knowing her as well. Many bulls and eland cows looked at Spike in great curiosity. It was plain obvious they have never seen a baby dragon before either.

A small eland calf suddenly went up to the baby dragon to get a closer look at him to the point where he is invading his personal space. “Ummm, can I help you?” Spike Asked uncomfortably.

“Are you a baby dragon?” Asked the eland calf curiously.

“Tarvo!” His mother came up scolding him. “I am very sorry about my son, little one. He can have a big curiosity.”

“Yeah, I have never seen a baby dragon before.” The calf remarked.

“No, it’s okay.” Spike replied.

“And Zecora. Very nice to see you back in Zebrica again.” The cow laid her eyes on the zebra now.

“Tani, it is wonderful to see you again.” Zecora Said withna hug. “It has been far too long, my old friend.”

“What brings you back here?”

“We are in need of desperate help.” Discord Said. “We would like to speak with this king Imari we heard about.”

“The king?” Said a bull eland. “What help could you possibly seek from our ruler?”

Spike began to explain everything to many of the eland around him and his two friends. “Roseblood will stop at nothing until he has the whole world in her grasp. Any type of help counts in stopping her.”

Many of the large antelopes didn’t know what to think of this. “Why can’t princess Celestia and Luna put a stop to her?” Asked a female calf in confusion.

“Because unfortunately,” Said Discord gravely. “They have been brainwashed by a Roseblood, as well.”

“Just please.” Spike urged. “Please let us see the king and ask for his help.”

“I’ll notify the guards of your presence, old friend.” Said Tani. Zecora smiles gratefully at her for that and waited for a little while with Spike and Discord. Innthe mean time, they had a look around at the city, and got a look at the bazaars and food stalls around them. The fruits and vegetables, along with alfalfa grass and flowers to go with them looked really delicious and tasty.

Watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and other types of fruit looking quite ripe for eating. “Would you like a kiwano, little dragon?” A stall vendor asked kindly.mhe pulled out a yellow fruit or vegetable that had a few small spikes on them.

“A kiwano?” Spike Asked

“Oh yes. It is also known as the horn cucumber. Go ahead, try it.”

Spike was curious and the vendor cut it in half. “I eat the inside, right?”

“Yes.”

The baby dragon took a bite of the inside and the seeds and he didn’t honestly know what to say about it. The fruit tasted a little slimy, it the taste was alright, and decided to finish the rest of the inside since he had nothing to eat since breakfast.

“Hmm, not bad.” The. Baby dragon remarked.

“Do you like it?”

“It’s... Good.” Spike admitted. “How much are they?”

“Two coins per kiwano.” The vendor stated flatly.

“I would hate to bother this new mutual relation, but we need to put a stop to Roseblood and her continuously growing commotion.” Zecora reminded.

A pair of bull guards went up to her and the one on the left said “The king would like to see oh, Zecora.”

“Wonderful.” Said Discord. The three followed the guards to a palace for one mile and went inside. The interior of this palace was also beautiful with the decor, along with hanging spears and tribal shields.

The guards stopped in front of two large doors before the one on the right said. “Good luck, Zecora. Imari will be very happy to see you again.”

“Thank you.” She replied gratefully. The doors flew open and the baby Dragon in awe when he saw a large bull standing in front of them. He had a way more robust and muscular appearance and a larger dewlap dangling from his neck. He wore a golden necklace around his neck with three emeralds decorated on it. Imari was bigger than the other bulls in town, along with longer horns on his head.

“Zecora.” He said warmly in a low voice.

“Imari.” They were both chuckling and hugged one another.

“It is so wonderful to see you again, my old friend.” And he noticed the master of chaos with his smug look on his face. “You? What is he doing here?”

“Relax, your highness. I do not want to fight or cause trouble.” Said The master of chaos. 0we have come to ask for your help.”

“My help?”

“Uh-huh.” Spike Said.

“You see, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and everypony else in Equestria have been brainwashed by Roseblood. We have indeed come to ask for your aid and others we can find on Zebrican soil and mud.”

“What? But... that’s impossible.” The eland king remarked. “How can this happen? How can Celestia and Luna fall victim to a mare’s spell?”

“She.... May I ask permission to speak?” Spike Said

Imari made a humble laugh, and said. “Of course. And what is your name, little one?”

“Spike. My name is Spike.” He replied. “I live in Equestria, and almost all my friends have turned into evil skates to serve Roseblood and her wicked deeds. Your majesty, we need your help to put a stop to her. She’s more powerful than you know.”

The king of elands was silent for a moment, and said “If she did manage to twist Celestia and Luna into darkness, than I believe what you are saying.” and he looked away for a moment. "But it will take more than my whole army to aid you in your fight against this Roseblood."

"We know." Zecora remarked. "We are traveling to other settlements I have been to in this land to fund as much ekp as we can."

"Perfect."

"We already told king Kwame Savimbi, and he ultimately agreed to help us out with the cause."

"Wonderful. But we will need more and more help. For that, I owe my horns to you, Spike." And he bowed his head in respect to the baby dragon.

"Thanks, your majesty." Spike said gratefully."

"We are also in need of aid of buffalo and rhinos as well." Zecora added. "Although if they will truly cooperate or not, I cannot tell."

"King Silver Horn and Queen Lighthoof of the rhinos are very cooperative." Imari reminded. "You zebras and rhinoceros are closely related after all."

"That is true, but I am unsure what a little negotiation will even do."

"We will have to try." Said that eland king.

"What will they think of me?" Spike asked in a worried voice. "What if they think i'my a monster and gore me with their horns?"

"Nonsense, Spike." Imari doubted him. "Silver Horn and Lighthoof can sense good or evil within other creatures. And his people are a rather peaceful race despite their appearance." And he gently put a massive hoof on his shoulder. "They might lose their temper if provoked, but they will not see you as a monster. Besides, you are only a baby dragon."

"Right. Good point."

"In the meantime, why not help me tell the others the news and make some friends here while you are visiting."

"That sounds a little pointless," said Discord. "But, I suppose we could do that."

Meanwhile, at the castle in Canterlot, Roseblood was making herself comfortable on Celestia's throne and lounged on it.

Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart were by her side, smiling evil with their eyes still glowing red.

Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were standing in front of Roseblood and her evilness. "Mistress, we tried to get a friend of ours, but we failed." Twilight said. "Discord got away with him."

"Don't worry, Twilight." Roseblood remarked. "They cannot hide from us forever. Soon, all of this earth will be ours to have control over."

"The friend is named Spike. He's a baby dragon." Fluttershy noted.

"A baby dragon? Here in Equestria?" Said Roseblood in surprise. "Odd. I didn'the think there would be any in these parts. Hmm... interesting."

"Should we kill him, milady?" Said Rainbow Dash. "Just say really word and Spike is as good as dead."

"Oh ho no, Rainbow." The evil mare chuckled. "I have a much better idea in mind for this Spike. Bow, go ahead and find him. You can kill Discord for all I care, for I already have enough powerful allies with me already at the moment, but bring Spike to me, alive. Ubderstood, slaves?"

"Yes, mistress." Said the brainwashed Mane Six evilly with wicked smiles on their faces, and they all exited the room, now with Spike in their sights.

"Are you sure you want to kill Discord, my queen?" Asked Princess Celestia. "He could be a powerful ally for us.

"I am positive, Tia. I always vied the Master of Chaos as an irritating, obnoxious nuisance, anyway. Besides, he would just mess everything up, and he is not prone to my magic mist like ponies would be."

"That is true." Said Luna.

"What do you plan to do with young Spike?" Cadence asked her curiously. "Do you plan to execute him personally?"

"No, of course not, Cadence." Thinking in her head, Roseblood then said "I always wanted... a son. A child to raise on my own, and share power with. Or maybe a pet would be good too. Honestly, we'll just have to wait and see what happens next."

"Yes, mistress." They all said in unison, except Flurry, who babbled baby talk since she was only still an infant.