G5 Adventures in Treasure Buddies

Ubasti had just revealed her true motives to Mudbud and Violette, since the other humans, Skye and Mariama couldn’t understand her-- once they found the collar of Cleocatra, she was going to use it to make cats rulers of all earth’s creatures, including dogs, humans AND Equestrian creatures!

Violette and Mudbud knew they weren’t going to be able to pull this off on their own, so Mudbud howled for his fellow Buddies to join them, and hopefully, the Mane 6 would hear the call themselves.

And hopefully, they would be able to reach the airport before it was too late to hitch a ride to Egypt and stop this horrible plot.

XXXXXXXX

The Mane 6 had slept over at the museum that night, looking through any information that might lead them to the next piece of the map to Skyros, and unfortunately...

...they hadn't found anything.

Sunny had circles under her eyes by the time the sun rose that morning, completely drained and exhausted. “I can’t believe this is a museum and nopony has any information about alicorns in this world! Ohh… maybe this was a crazy idea.”

“Hey… Sunny, it was a good thought,” said Pipp gently, putting a hoof on Sunny’s shoulder. “We’re just gonna have to keep pressing forward.”

“And maybe,” Hitch said with a yawn, “Mariama and Skye will find something alicorn related that we missed in Egypt… even if the next piece of the map isn’t there.”

Suddenly, a howl rang out through the air, causing all the ponies to gasp and sit up. “Huh…” Izzy tilted her head. “Is it just me, or did that howl sound kinda… familiar?”

“It kinda sounded like it had Mudbud’s tone,” Zipp said, “but… why would he be howling for us?”

However, as Misty approached the window, she saw Violette and Mudbud zooming across the lawn outside. “I don’t know,” she said, “but Violette and Mudbud just ran past, and it looks like they’re heading for the airport outside town!”

“Okay, now I’m starting to get worried. If Violette was in trouble, she would have called and told us,” Hitch frowned. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Sunny said, “but I think we need to find out more before we jump to any conclusions. Come on!”

And with that, the Mane 6 ran out of the museum and tried to follow after Violette and Mudbud, with the other Buddies having heard the howl and were now heading in the same direction…

…though a lot of them had no idea what was going on.

XXXXXXXX

A few minutes later, at the airport, the SUV with Pete, Thomas, Mariama and Skye arrived as the group was getting out as the Buddies and the Mane Six arrived with Violette and Mudbud. “We heard your emergency howl,” Rosebud told Mudbud. “Is everything okay? Or was someone just trying to give you a bath?”

“It’s worse than that!” Violette argued. “Mariama, Skye, Pete and Grandpa Thomas are in trouble!”

“What?” Hitch repeated. “How do you know that?”

“Remember that collar that Sniffer told us about?” Mudbud asked. “The one that can be the end of all dogkind?”

“Yeah…?” Pipp nodded slowly. “What about it?”

“Well,” said Mudbud, glancing at Ubasti as the two zebras, Pete and Thomas got on the plane, “that creepy cat said she was gonna get the collar and use it to rule humans, Equestrians and dogs!”

“Oh no!” Izzy gasped in horror. “I don’t wanna be ruled over by a cat!”

“I hear you there, Izzy,” Misty nodded. “Ubasti could do so much damage with that kind of power!”

“Yo, ain't no one gonna rule the B-Dawg, no how, no way,” B-Dawg said defiantly. “That’s for shizzle!”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Zipp asked, her wings spread. “We have to find a way onto that plane!”

That was when Mudbud saw a crate nearby that they might be able to hide in so they wouldn’t be noticed. “Follow me!”

“Team Buddies and Ponies to the rescue!” Rosebud cheered as they headed to the crate. “I’ll use my magic to make the box bigger so we can all fit inside,” Misty said before lighting her horn, causing the box to expand so all of them could fit inside comfortably. “Good thinking, Misty,” Sunny praised with a smile. “All right, everyone inside!” Hitch said as he lifted Buddha into the crate. “Quick!”

The group all piled into the crate and managed to get in before some of the workers came over, not noticing a thing. But what the group didn’t realize, however, was that this wooden crate had explosives inside, and they were able to squeeze inside just before the crate was sealed and carried over to the cargo section of the plane.

However, as they were being carried to the plane, Pipp wondered one important thing. “So, what exactly is our plan here?”

Luckily, Mudbud already had a plan in mind. “We hitch a ride to Egypt and kick some serious kitty butt, dudes.”

Violette let out a sigh at this. “I just wish that I had seen the signs of Ubasti being evil sooner. Then maybe I could have pulled Skye and Pete out of this.”

“Violette, this isn’t on you,” Zipp said gently. “What matters now is saving all of human and dogkind, along with a lot of Equestrian creatures, Skye and Mariama included.”

“Besides,” said Sunny with a guilty look on her face, “we’re partly to blame too. If we hadn’t stayed so late looking for information on alicorns and Skyros, we would have met you at the house and made sure that they didn’t leave.”

“You guys shouldn’t blame yourselves either,” Buddha said to the ponies gently. “Like Zipp said, saving the day is all that matters right now.”

And so, the plane's propellors began to spin at a rapid speed before the plane slowly drove forward, lifting off of the concrete runway and into the sky, heading in the direction of Egypt.

The ride was a bit long, but it did give the older ponies a chance to catch up on sleep (and quite frankly, if you had seen them, you would have noticed they were really tired from their research the night before).

When the plane finally landed in Egpyt, the plane landed at its location and the boxes were slowly unloaded to be taken to the nearest village along with its guests. Dr. Wellington, Ubasti, Skye, Mariama and Pete got off the plane, only for two men (who were hired by Dr. Wellington, no less) greeted them in the Arabic language... a language that Pete and Skye couldn't understand. “That means ‘good morning’,” Thomas said to Skye and Pete as he and Mariama shook hands/hooves with the two men. “I’m Thomas Howard, and this is my colleague Mariama, her daughter Skye and my grandson Peter.”

“Hello, Mariama. Hello, children,” the first of the men greeted kindly. “My name is Seti. This is my cousin, Tarik.”

“Hello,” Skye said to Tarik and Seti politely. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Come on, kids. Let's get in the jeep,” Mariama said to the kids gently, guiding them toward the waiting jeep. “Seti and Tarik will get all the gear and bring it to town.”

And so, that’s just what they did-- Mariama and Thomas led the kids to the jeep, and they drove off toward the town of Bastati, which was only a few miles away.

As for Tarik and Seti, they tried to move the box of explosives that the Buddies, Violette and the Mane 6 were hiding in, but with Tarik using one hand to hold his lunch, it wasn’t easy, and this immediately got Seti aggravated. “What, you crazy? This is explosive! Put that down,” he said, and Tarik set his lunch on top of the crate. “What is wrong with you?”

XXXXXXXX

The Mane 6 slowly began to wake up from their nap after a long trip, but as Izzy slowly began to regain consciousness, a white, saucy substance dripped down onto her face, causing her to yelp in surprise. “I think a cloud just melted on my face!!”

Misty reached a hoof and wiped the substance off Izzy’s face, sniffing it. “I don’t think so, Izzy… this smells more like some sort of sauce.”

“Besides,” Buddha said, “clouds don’t melt.”

Budderball then licked Misty’s hoof to get a good taste, when more of the white sauce dripped down onto his own nose, causing him to lick it off. “Hey, you guys, we must've landed in Egypt. It's raining falafel sauce!”

“Mmm…” Misty reacted with delight as she tasted what the falafel sauce that was left on her hoof. “Not bad!”

“So, do we get out of the crate now, Sunny?” Rosebud asked. “Not yet,” Sunny advised. “We need to wait until we know EXACTLY where Pete, Thomas and the zebras are before we leap into action.”

“So I guess we just sit back,” said Hitch with a yawn, “and enjoy the ride until then.”

XXXXXXXX

As for Skye, Pete, Mariama and Thomas, the jeep slowly pulled into the town of Bastati, which had a huge, bustling marketplace with all sorts of people selling things, including food, animals, jewelry and much much more.

Skye and Pete stared at the scene with wide eyes as the jeep pulled up to the largest building in town, which also doubled as a hotel, and they climbed out first, followed by Thomas and Mariama. “Wow…!!”

“Egypt,” Thomas sighed happily. “I’ve missed this place.”

“Come on,” Mariama said to the kids. “Let’s get settled in our room for a bit.”

“You think we can explore the bazaar?” Skye asked her mother. “I wanna bring back a gift for Violette and the ponies.”

“That’s a nice thought,” Mariama said with a kind smile. “We’ll see what we can do.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, the truck that Tarik and Seti brought to load the supplies was now driving away from the plane that had brought them there began driving toward Bastati, and Tarik and Seti were completely unaware that the Buddies, the Mane 6 and Violette Rainbow were hiding in the back.

And while our heroes couldn't see out of that crate, Zipp felt the truck begin moving, and the crate shook a bit as it did so. “Hey, guys, I think we're on the road again.”

XXXXXXXX

Back in Bastati, after getting settled into their room, Thomas suggested they all enjoy the bazaar before they had to get back to business finding Cleocatra’s tomb, so Thomas and Mariama took Pete and Skye to explore on their own…

…completely unaware that they were being watched.

Not by anyone evil, of course, but… by a duo that were a bit… misguided.

It was a monkey named Babi, perched on a roof of one of the stalls, watching as Mariama, Thomas and the kids walked by. And there was someone watching the four go by from the ground… a young fennec fox named Faith, who had golden fur on her body, which has brown on the tips of her ears and on the tip of her tail, a brownish-black nose, creamish-colored fur on her chest, muzzle and paws and green eyes.

Faith's eyes lit up when she saw the compass that Pete was holding, her tail wagging eagerly at the sight of it. “Babi, I think we just found our next grab-- that compass looks like it would be worth something. All we have to go is get it from that young boy with his grandfather and those zebras.”

“All right,” Babi said to the fox eagerly. “Babi will follow Faith’s lead.”

Faith slunk away from the stall, and Babi soon climbed down after her, the two of them being very careful not to be caught.

Pete couldn’t help but look around in amazement, not sure exactly where to start their exploration of the bazaar. “This place is so cool.”

“Yeah!” Skye nodded. “Violette, Mudbud and the others would have loved it.”

“Let me show you something, kids,” Thomas said before approaching a vendor and speaking in a foreign language. And once the money had been given to the vendor, he handed them a bag of dried seeds, much to Skye’s confusion. “What are they?”

“They’re dried seeds, dear,” Mariama explained, getting some and putting some into Skye's hoof. “They’re a great snack for people here.”

Skye tried some of the seeds, and instantly, her eyes grew wide-- these were delicious! But as they snacked, Pete noticed something else that caught his attention… a young girl, dressed in traditional Egyptian clothing, and she appeared to be with her father.

Pete waved at the girl, and she timidly waved back just as Skye caught notice and waved as well.

However, while they weren’t looking, Babi ran over and grabbed Pete’s compass right out of his back pocket, chittering to himself before running back to Faith. “Aw, what a steal!” Faith pumped a paw. “Come on, let’s hide somewhere so we can put this on you.”

And with that, the two snuck away, and Mariama, Thomas and the kids went on their way, not noticing a single thing.

However, around the same time, Dr. Wellington was walking outside when Ubasti suddenly jumped out of his arms and ran into the market, much to Dr. Wellington’s concern. “No, no, Ubasti, come back. No, no, no. Don't go into that awful market.”

Of course, Ubasti wasn't one to follow orders. She was on her own mission, and no one was going to stop her.

At the same time, a market was going on, where there was a camel for sale, and the seller faced a crowd to see if anyone wanted to make a bid. “OK, let's go. Slightly used camel, low mileage, owned by little old lady. Do I hear 500 pounds? Five hundred? Sold! Okay. Let's have the money.”

XXXXXXXX

Dr. Wellington was now walking around the market looking for Ubasti, when Babi and Faith spotted him from the top of a nearby stall and noticed the gold watch in his pocket.

Another perfect steal.

Faith smiled before turning to Babi again. “Okay, I’ve got a plan. Once we jump down, I’ll hoist you up on my back so you can reach the watch, and I’ll keep a lookout for anyone who might try and take it back from us.”

Dr. Wellington then saw some jars and goblets nearby and went to look at them as Faith and Babi leapt down from their perch. However, they were unaware that Ubasti was coming around the corner, witnessing Babi getting on Faith’s back while she got up on a stool so Babi could reach the watch.

Faith giggled to herself. “With this watch, we might have enough to trade for some food that’ll last us a whole week! Just as long as no one...”

However, Faith stopped herself when she and Babi noticed Ubasti glaring menacingly at them, causing them to freeze in their tracks. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she warned the duo. “There's nothing I detest more than a petty, primate thief and a fickle fox.”

Faith growled at the insult, her ears lowering while she glared at Ubasti with her shimmering green eyes. “I’d watch what YOU say, cat. In this town, Babi and I do whatever we want, whenever we want. No rules, no problems.”

“But… Babi and Faith no steal,” Babi said innocently, putting the watch right back where he found it. “I was just admiring shiny object.”

However, despite Babi putting the watch back, Ubasti still wasn't having it, and hissed right at the duo to scare them off. “Beat it!”

“Sheesh, fine! We get it! You win!” Faith said, clearly alarmed by her hiss. “Come on, Babi, let’s split!”

And with that, she and Babi ran and fled while Dr. Wellington turned to find Ubasti standing right behind him, oblivious to what Babi and Faith tried to do. “Ubasti, there you are!”

And unluckily for her, Ubasti was swept up by her master and taken away from the scene, vowing to herself to do much worse to that fox and monkey if they ever tried to do that again.

XXXXXXXX

On the road to Bastati, Seti and Tarik were jamming to their favorite song in the Egyptian language, and Pipp honestly had to cover her ears from within the back of the truck, cause they sounded so bad. “Somepony SERIOUSLY needs to give them some singing lessons-- my ears are getting ready to fall off!”

“At least it’s better than dead silence,” Izzy said with a giggle. However, the more he looked around, Budderball saw strange items in the crate with them that looked a lot like one of his favorite foods from home. “Guys, I think this is cheese! I'm starving.”

“Cheese?” Sunny looked confused. “Are you sure, Budderball?”

Rosebud took a sniff of the air and immediately gagged at the scent. “Yuck. Sunny’s right, Budderball. That cheese smells funny.”

“This is stinky cheese!” Budderball said before gnawing on a piece, but after a few moments, paused and hummed in thought. “I guess stinky cheese is an acquired taste.”

“Well, if it is an acquired taste,” said Violette, pushing another piece of the so-called stinky cheese toward him, “maybe you better acquire some more.”

XXXXXXXX

Back in the bazaar, Skye was sorting through some necklaces to see if Violette might like one of them, and Pete stood beside her, watching when all of a sudden, the girl they saw earlier appeared beside of them.

Pete stood up instantly upon seeing her before trying to greet her in the Egyptian language. “As-salaam alaikum.”

The girl responded with more that Pete and Skye couldn’t understand, but Skye took this as a welcoming statement nonetheless. “My name’s Skye, and this is my friend Pete.”

However, the girl just looked at them, and Pete seemed to understand what was going on. “Oh! You don't speak English. Um…”

Pete tried to say something else in the native Egyptian language, but he seemed mildly uncomfortable. And after he got done speaking, the girl giggled slightly. “You said that I am a cucumber.”

“Oh!” Skye said in surprise. “You do speak English!”

“Yes, my father taught me,” the girl answered a bit bashfully. “My name is Farah. You are both American.”

“Yeah. We’re here with Skye’s mom, Mariama, and my grandpa. They’re both GREAT archeologists,” Pete said before leaning in to whisper. “We're going to discover Cleocatra's tomb.”

“Cleopatra’s tomb?” Farah repeated. “No,” Skye shook her head. “Not Cleopatra. Her cat, Cleocatra. If we find the tomb, it'll be the biggest find in history! And just maybe... it can save the Fernfield museum from going out of business.”

“Farah.”

It was then that the three of them turned to see Farah’s father calling her over, causing her to turn back to her new friends. “Oh, that is my father, I must go. It was very nice to meet you, Peter and Skye. As-salaam alaikum.”

“Bye,” Skye waved to Farah as she ran off to join her father, and they soon walked off, leaving her and Pete on their own once again.

XXXXXXXX

It was only a few minutes after this encounter that the truck that Seti and Tarik were driving arrived in the town of Bastati, and unknowingly, were bringing the Mane 6, Violette and the Buddies just where they needed to be.

However, after eating all of that so-called stinky cheese, Budderball was having the worst stomachache a pup could have. “Ugh… I don’t feel so good.”

Zipp then took out her visor to examine the stinky cheese Budderball had found, but when it showed her the results, she gasped. “Uh, Budderball… don’t panic, but that wasn’t stinky cheese you ate-- those were explosives!”

“Like dynamite?!” Hitch cried. “Budderball! You know your stomach can get you into situations like this!”

However, Budderball felt too bloated to even argue against this. “Oh, no… I’m… gonna explode!”

“Don’t you dare dutch oven us!” Rosebud threatened her oldest brother.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Tarik and Seti were getting the crate of explosives off the truck when Tarik started hearing the ponies’ hushed whispers and the Buddies barking, instantly becoming concerned. “Box making noises.”

“You're right, it is making noises,” Seti said as he and his cousin set the box down, and then he saw a couple of crowbars in the truck. “Hey... get the crowbar. I'll get this one.”

The cousins then began to use the crowbar to pry open the crate lid, and if they did this, they would uncover the Buddies and ponies, completely blowing their cover!

XXXXXXXX

Sunny immediately sensed that the box was going to be opened, and she knew there was one thing they could do to stay safe. “Budderball, I really never thought I would say this, but… let her rip!”

And that was when Budderball let forth the biggest and smelliest fart that he had ever unleashed, causing the others to cough, gag and react in complete disgust.

But hopefully, it would be enough to get Tarik and Seti to not notice them.

XXXXXXXX

As soon as he and Seti undid the crate lid, Tarik smelled a horrible stench coming from it and groaned in disgust. “That's not good!”

“Boom, boom?! RUN!!!” Seti screamed to his cousin as they ran for cover, causing others to do the same. “RUN!!! RUUUUUN!!!”

“Let me outta here, yo!” B-Dawg exclaimed once it was safe, and the others immediately followed suit. “Everyone, head into the bazaar!” Misty shouted. “That’s where the others would go once they got here!”

And that’s just where the group ran to… completely unaware that Ubasti was watching them. “It's Failette and Dirtbud and their team of putrid ponies and dim-witted wonder dogs,” she sneered. “How did they get here?”

However, as the group ran out of her sight, Ubasti ran off to find her master again, determined to figure out how the Mane 6, Violette and their friends got to Egypt and make sure that her plans weren't foiled.

She owed to her feline ancestors to make cats rule over all living creatures... and NOTHING was going to stop her once that happened.