The Search for the Fiercest of the Guard

Humiliation.

Sadness.

Embarrassment.

Despair.

All of these emotions and more ran through Kion’s mind as the whole town was laughing their heads off and mocking him and his rainbow-mouthed friends. Even his own family were laughing at him. Soon the laughter began to die down as Twilight walked up to Bunga.

“You see, Bunga, pranking is a lot of fun when EVERYPONY is having a good time..." And then she went on to make a speech about humility and friendship but Kion’s mind wasn't taking any of it in. He was in a state of pure confusion. But then that confusion slowly began to turn into sadness and anger and as if his mood was manifesting, the clouds above began to turn black. Kion looked around to see Twilight still yammering on and the rest of his "friends" at the sight in front of them. This only served to fuel Kion’s humiliation even more and he soon came to one conclusion.

“You...lied to me." Kion finally said after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

This brought Twilight out of her rant long enough for her to turn to Kion and ask "What?" in a naive tone.

“Y-you lied to me," Kion repeated. "You went behind my back, brainwashed me against my will, and embarrassed me in front of the whole town!" the enraged lion continued in a much louder voice, tearing up all the while. Everypony, especially Twilight, was taken aback by all this.

"W-we were just tired of Bunga’s pranking." Mr. Cake defended.

“If it was bothering you so much why didn't you just say something?" the broken cub retorted.

"We didn't think he would listen," Thurston admitted. Twilight was trying her best to think of ways to calm the upset Kion down before things got out of hoof.

"Kion, you need to calm down. Celestia wouldn’t approve of this behavior and neither would I." Twilight firmly said, refusing to accept Kion’s behavior. “So you should just let this whole thing go and—“

“YOU WILL NEVER BE CELESTIA!!!” Kion shouted, completely heartbroken.

That did it. Twilight could only stand in frozen shock at what Kion had said, as the Pridelanders and ponies all gasped in shock and worry, utterly appalled by the words that came out of the cub’s mouth.

“Oh, dear.” Thurston silently whispered to Mbeya.

At this point, Kion was in complete shambles. His body shook violently as the tears streamed down his face.

The only thing he could say in his current state was "Why would you do this to me?"

Everypony was unsure how to feel about this. They only wanted to have a little nightly fun and put a stop to Bunga’s excessive pranking, but they ended up hurting the Leader of the Pony Guard. To Simba, that didn't matter right now. As far as he was concerned, he had a son of his standing there crying his eyes out. He stepped forward and tried to put a paw around the hurt lion in an attempt to comfort him but to the king’s surprise, Kion turned the other way and ran off as fast as he could. His only parting words were;

"Just leave me alone!"

The others stood there feeling worried and uncertain as well as a twinge of guilt, Twilight more than the rest of them since it was her idea. Fluttershy wasn't too far off from tears herself as she couldn't bear the idea that one of her best friends’ feelings were completely shattered. Pinkie Pie, noticing this, hugged the yellow pegasus. Partly to comfort her and partly because Pinkie needed a hug herself. Mtoto, Timon, and Pumbaa were also on the verge of tears as they gave Bunga and Beshte an apologetic hug and tearful 'sorries’, while Simba cursed under his breath, calling himself a sorry excuse for a father and a king.

“Well…” Makuu nervously said to his float. “That escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hoof fast.”

“It jumped up a notch.” Badili somberly added.

Soon, Ma Tembo brought it upon herself to try and ease the worrying crowd.

"M-maybe we just need to give him a little space for now. He’ll calm down soon enough." the matriarch tried to reassure them. But in all honesty, Ma Tembo wasn't even sure herself on when exactly Kion would calm down. Twilight was now too absorbed in her own guilt.

"What have I done…? What did I do…? What was I thinking…?" she eventually mumbled. Twilight just stood where she was as tears streamed down from her face. She felt like she had failed friendship.

As if to mimic the cub who had just left with a broken spirit, the clouds released their own tears in the form of rain.

"We… we should be headin' back," Timon suggested.

The group, now getting soaked, agreed and parted ways to get to their homes, unaware of what was to come the next day.

Hiding in his room at the Castle of Friendship, Kion never cried as hard as he did in his life until now. Hugging his pillow, he continued to sob into it as felt his heart shattered into pieces. His own friends, the ones he worked and fought with for years laughed and mocked him. They hate me. All of them.

It was better for everyone if he wasn't around. Removing his head from his tear-soaked pillow he glanced at a photo of him and his former friends. Who am I kidding? I'll never be a great king as Dad. I shouldn't even be in the Pony Guard in the first place.

Kion stood up and walked outside where he saw Ponyville, the town that had been his secondary home for months, first being the Pridelands. He had protected and helped so many lives here, but it looked like it was all over now. If my friends don't want me, then maybe I should live somewhere else. Some place they'll never find me.

He glanced over towards the nearby snowy mountains and with his mind set, Kion began to begin packing for his new life.

As the moonlight shined on Ponyville, Kion discreetly made his way to the outskirts of town, his belongings, food, and other supplies in tow. For a moment, he paused at the top of a hill to give Ponyville, the only two homes he’d ever known, a final look.

These lands, along with the Pridelands, had been such a great place to live, and being part of the Pony Guard was one of the best times of his life. Twilight was a great leader, like himself, and a good partner. Everyone else was like family to him, and he thought their days as friends would never end.

Until now.

"So long, Ponyville," sniffled Kion. “I’ll never forget you..."

At last, the little cub sorrowfully turned away from the town, before slowing and silently heading off following the light of Luna’s moon...