G5 Adventures in Treasure Buddies

A lot has happened in the last chapter of our story, let me tell you.

Violette Rainbow and Mudbud managed to recruit all of Mudbud’s siblings and the Mane 6 to rescue Pete, Mariama, Skye and Thomas from the plan of Ubasti, the hairless sphinx cat of a very peculiar archeologist named Phillip Wellington.

They managed to hide in a crate full of explosives all the way to the town of Bastati, where they had to get out thanks to one of Budderball’s massive farts (which was caused by accidentally eating explosives that were in the crate)... and they were completely unaware that Ubasti had seen them, and she knew that somehow, someway, they were going to ruin her plan to make cats rule over all Earth's creatures.

Now, let's get back to the swing of things, so we can see how these events will fare for our heroes.

XXXXXXXX

As the Buddies and Violette ran ahead of them through the bazaar, the Mane 6 thought this might be a good idea to change into their archeology outfits, to kinda fit the mold of their environment.

• Sunny wore a short-sleeved shirt that was light pink, brown boots and her signature saddlebag.
• Izzy wore a a dark blue shirt with a white hat and brown boots as well.
• Hitch wore a teal long-sleeved shirt with a hat like Izzy's.
• Zipp wore a white and gray plaid shirt with a watch on her front left hoof.
• Pipp wore a light blue shirt with white polka dots and brown boots.
• Lastly, Misty wore brown boots as well, but her short-sleeved shirt was a color mix of dark purple and pink.

And not long after the group had gotten changed, they regrouped with the Buddies and Violette, catching their breath while Mudbud looked around for his human, but ultimately didn't see anything. “Where did Pete, Grandpa Thomas and the zebra family go?”

“I don’t know, Mudbud,” Zipp admitted. “I didn’t see them when we were running through here.”

“Okay, we've got a lot of ground to cover. Let's split into groups,” Rosebud suggested before splitting her brothers up. “B-Dawg, you go with Buddha, so we can keep you out of trouble. Budderball, you stick with Mudbud, and I'll go by myself. I know how you boys hate shopping anyways.”

“Good delegating, Rosebud,” Sunny praised before giving out her own group assignments. “Misty, Hitch? You two can go with Mudbud and Budderball. Izzy, Zipp? You guys go with Buddha and B-Dawg. The rest of us will go with Rosebud, and we’ll keep each other contacted with our phones if anything pops up.”

“Okay, guys,” Violette nodded. “Let’s go track them down.”

And with that, the groups split up in three different directions, hoping to find Pete, Thomas, Mariama and Skye before too much time had passed.

XXXXXXXX

Izzy, Zipp, Buddha and B-Dawg walked through the bazaar for a bit, with Zipp using her visor to keep an eye out for anything suspicious, and then, they saw a remarkable sight-- a man playing some sort of flute that made a hypnotic melody... a melody that Izzy was sure that Pipp would like.

And to be honest, B-Dawg liked the melody too. “Not bad. I could lay down some sick beats to this.”

“Yeah,” said Izzy, “but… why is he sitting in front of a pot and playing the music? Does the pot have ears?”

It was then that a cobra began to rise out of the pot, swaying to the music while hissing, and this freaked B-Dawg out entirely. “SNAKE!!!”

“Don’t worry, B-Dawg,” Buddha gently reassured his fearful brother. “The snake is in a trance. He's meditating to the music.”

“It’s called snake charming. A lot of people can do it,” Zipp admitted, “but I’ve never actually seen it happen in real life.”

“Pipp would love to see this!” said Izzy, pulling out her phone with excitement in her voice. “I’ll take a video and send it to her.”

XXXXXXXX

In another part of the bazaar, Pipp, Sunny and Violette walked with Rosebud past a few stalls, and when Rosebud passed one of the stalls, her eyes sparkled at the sight of a beautiful pink headdress that was sometimes worn by women in Egypt. “Wow, look at these colors!”

“You like it, Rosebud?” Violette asked, causing Rosebud to nod. “Well, let’s see if we can get it for you.”

That was when Sunny approached the woman operating the stall. “Excuse me, ma’am-- our little puppy friend likes that pink headdress you’ve got there. We were wondering how much it is.”

The woman looked over at the excited Rosebud and smiled. “If it’s for your little friend, then let me give it to you in trade.”

“Trade?” Violette tilted her head out of confusion. “Is that a thing?”

“A lot of people have different ways of exchanging for what they want or need,” Sunny explained. “We just need to find the right thing to trade to get Rosebud what she wants.”

Pipp then looked through her bag until she pulled out a fancy headband that she had made for anypony who wanted one at the Boardtrot. “Here you go-- a headpiece for a headdress!”

“Ahh, very good choice, my dear,” the woman took the headband and then handed the headdress to Sunny. “It is yours. Enjoy, girls.”

“Thank you!” Violette said to the woman with a warm smile. “Come on, Rosebud. Let’s put it on.”

With that, Violette put the headdress on Rosebud’s head, and while Sunny, Violette and Pipp cooed at how adorable it looked, Rosebud looked at herself in the mirror. “OMG,” she said. “This is SO to die for!”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, B-Dawg, Buddha, Izzy and Zipp were approaching a nearby auction, where a young camel was trying to be sold, but no one seemed interested with her, despite the auctioneer's best efforts. “Okay, next up we have beautiful animal. Very young, but will grow big and strong. Five hundred! Five hundred pounds!”

However, one look at the camel caused Izzy to frown out of sympathy. “She looks a little too young to be sold off, don’t you think so, Zipperdoodle?”

“Huh… now that you mention it, she’s a lot younger than other camels we’ve seen around here,” Zipp frowned. “And selling her off when she’s that young? It just doesn’t sound right.”

However, as the two ponies were focused on the camel, they heard a rustling noise from behind them, B-Dawg and Buddha, but when they turned, they didn't see anyone there.

Eventually, they shrugged it off, thinking it to be a rat or something that liked to scurry around the city looking for food.

But little did the four of them know that sooner or later, they would find that whatever they heard wasn't a rat at all.

XXXXXXXX

Around the same time, Misty, Hitch, Budderball and Mudbud were wandering through the bazaar past some food stalls, where a voice from a nearby grill caught their attention, and a heavenly smell caught Budderball by the nose. “Kebab! Hot kebab! Come get your chicken kebab!”

“Oh, sweet mama,” Budderball licked his chops. “Kebabs!”

“We’re kind of on a mission here, Budderball,” Misty said gently. “We don’t have time to stop for a snack if we wanna find Pete, Thomas and the zebras!”

“But I search much better on a full stomach,” Budderball tried to reason. “Besides, the best way to know a new culture is to sample its cuisine.”

“...he’s not wrong,” Hitch said uneasily before sighing. “Okay, Budderball, go up and get you a kebab, but make it quick.”

Budderball didn't need to be told twice-- he walked right over to the grill and began to whimper, waving his paw up in the air to get the shopkeeper's sympathy.

However, what Budderball wasn't aware of at the time was that Faith was perched up above the grill, ready to jump down and grab a kebab so she could take it back to Babi, since the two friends hadn't eaten in quite some time.

At the same time, the shopkeeper finished grilling Budderball’s kebab and was just now holding it out for the pup to take. “Okay, one kebab for you. Eat it.”

“Ha!” Faith howled as she leapt from the roof of the stall. “You snooze, you lose, big fella!”

And with that, she grabbed the kebab in her mouth and ran off, much to Budderball’s supreme frustration. “Hey, come back here!”

“Come on, guys!” Hitch cried as Budderball ran off, prompting the others to run after him as well. “We have to stop that thief!”

XXXXXXXX

B-Dawg easily heard Budderball crying out from halfway across the bazaar, and instantly turned his head to see where it was coming from. “Yo, dawg, did you hear that?”

“Yeah!” Zipp agreed. “It sounds like Budderball’s in trouble!”

“It came from over that way!” Izzy pointed down a specific pathway. “Come on, guys!”

And with that, the four of them ran off, following the sound of Budderball’s voice in the process.

XXXXXXXX

“Stop!” Budderball cried as he, his brothers and their friends rushed through the bazaar after a mischievously grinning Faith. “Somebody stop that kebab-a-robber!”

However, the others passed right by Pipp, Rosebud, Violette and Sunny, and as soon as Rosebud saw her brothers run past, she let out a sigh of frustration. “Boys…”

“Tell me about it, sister,” Pipp rolled her eyes. “Tell me ALL about it.”

“Come on!” Sunny shouted, already pursuing after the other Buddies and her remaining friends. “We can’t let them get too far ahead of us!”

“Wait for me, Sunny!” Violette called before pursuing after the alicorn/earth pony mare, causing Pipp and Rosebud to shrug at each other and immediately follow afterward.

XXXXXXXX

Faith panted tiredly as she continued to run through the market with the ponies and Buddies on her paws, and she knew it wouldn’t be too much further until she got to a place where she could lose them. But before she could get to this place…

…Hitch got out his truth-telling lasso that Mariama gave him and threw it, causing it to wrap around Faith, which caused Faith to yelp and fall to the ground, losing the kebab in the process. “Ow…”

Budderball growled angrily as he, his siblings and the ponies approached her. “Got you cornered, you chicken thief.”

“That’s what this is all about?” Zipp asked in surprise. “This fox stole your chicken?”

“That’s right,” Misty nodded. “Hitch, Mudbud and I saw it happen with our own eyes!”

“And she was just about to tell us WHY she did it,” Hitch said as he tightened the lasso around the fox pup. “Isn’t that right?”

“Uh… uh… yes!” the fox finally blurt out, forced to tell the truth while under the lasso's spell. “I’m sorry for taking it, I-I was just taking it to a friend!”

“A friend?” Sunny asked in surprise. “What friend?”

“Wait!”

“Huh?!” everyone turned at the sound of a new voice, and a monkey wearing a fez came out of hiding and began to untie Faith from the lasso’s grasp. “Please, don't hurt Faith and Babi. Faith and Babi are but a humble monkey and fox.”

“...is that true?” Violette asked the fox. “Did you really steal Budderball’s treat so you guys could eat?”

“Yeah… it’s been a few days since we’ve had full bellies,” admitted Faith with an uneasy shrug. “I didn’t wanna steal it, but sometimes… you don’t really have a choice.”

“Going hungry is one thing,” Budderball said, still a little ticked, “but you’re still no-good crooks.”

That was when Babi took off his hat, seemingly getting an idea. “Here,” he said right before he put the hat on Budderball’s head. “See, now I give you something in trade.”

However, Budderball wasn’t exactly sure about wearing a hat in this bustling Egyptian atmosphere. “I'm not much of a hat dog.”

“I don’t know,” Izzy said in thought. “It looks good on you. Besides… they do look kinda eager to make things right with you.”

“Come on, Budderball, give them a chance,” Misty said gently. “When the little fox said that she didn’t have much of a choice, I believe her.”

Budderball took a moment to consider this-- he and his siblings had been raised that stealing was not a good thing to do, but since Misty was the element of empathy, being able to understand people on a deeper level than most, he had a feeling that she might be on the right track. “Okay,” Budderball eventually shrugged, looking over at Babi and Faith. “We’ll call it even-steven.”

“I am Babi,” the monkey then said, “not Steven.”

“And I’m Faith,” Babi’s fox friend introduced herself. “The fastest fennec fox this side of the Nile!”

“I’m Budderball,” the oldest of the Buddies introduced. “And these are my brothers, Mudbud, Buddha, and B-Dawg, and our little sis, Rosebud.”

“And I’m Violette Rainbow,” Violette spoke up. “And this is Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, Misty, Izzy and Pipp, the protectors of the world of Equestria!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Faith said, tipping her head respectfully. “What brings you guys to Egypt?”

“Actually, we’re looking for two zebras, Skye and her mom Mariama, and Mudbud’s people,” Sunny explained. “His boy Peter and his grandpa, Thomas.”

“Yeah,” Mudbud confirmed with a nod. “They were last seen with a bad man and a creepy cat with no fur.”

“Ohh! I think we saw that cat today!” Babi recalled with a shudder. “Babi does not like cats.”

“Hold on a second,” Zipp held up a hoof in surprise. “You’ve seen her?”

“Only just a few hours ago,” Faith confirmed. “And the second she hissed, we ran.”

Mudbud was about to add onto this when he saw Pete’s compass dangling around Babi’s neck, his eyes widening in surprise. “Hey, that's Pete's compass, dude!”

“Babi see it fall out of boy's pocket,” Babi explained. “Yep-- first rule of our society,” said Faith, “is finders keepers, losers weepers.”

“So you’ve seen Pete too?!” Misty asked. “That compass is VERY important to him. We’d really like to have it back in order to find them.”

“Hmm… what do you think, Babi?” Faith asked, looking at her monkey companion. “Think we can turn the compass over?”

“Of course Babi can give you compass,” Babi confirmed. “Perhaps in trade…”

That’s when his eyes trailed over to the chain with the B on it that B-Dawg was wearing around his neck. “Babi likes shiny objects.”

“My bling?!” B-Dawg was immediately against the idea. “You've gots to be trippin'.”

“Faith and Babi will give you compass and help you with everything. Promise to get you to boy and friends,” Babi promised. “B for Babi look very nice on Babi's hairy chest.”

“Sorry, dawg, you can't have it,” B-Dawg immediately denied. “B-Dawg, please!” Violette pleaded, looking desperate. “They know where Pete, Grandpa Thomas and the zebras are! We need their help-- give Babi anything he wants.”

This genuinely surprised B-Dawg, as well as the others.

They had never seen Violette so desperate for help-- probably because Skye and her mother, as well as Pete and Grandpa Thomas, meant a lot to her, not just to them.

So, with as much reluctance as he had in him, B-Dawg handed his bling over to Babi, who took off Pete's compass and put it around Mudbud's neck, much to the others' happiness.

It sure was gonna be easier to find their friends with a little bit of help nearby.

That was when a strange, opera like call echoed through the bazaar, causing the Mane 6, the Buddies and Violette to look around, a bit bewildered. “Okay, I’m just gonna flat out ask this,” said Zipp. “What was that?”

“It's the Muslim call to prayer,” Buddha answered. “It is getting late,” Babi added. “Market not safe at night.”

“Babi and I can show you where you can sleep,” Faith offered. “And we’ll show you the way to your friends in the morning. Just follow us!”

However, as they were following behind Babi and Faith, B-Dawg couldn’t help but feel strange without his bling. “This is so not happening. I'm practically naked without my bling.”

“Suck it up, B-Dawg,” Pipp scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “I’m sure I can make you some temporary bling once I get the right material, but only if you stop whining.”

“This way, guys!” Faith said as she and Babi rounded a corner. “You guys can sleep in here for the night.”

Around the corner was a simple workshop that Faith managed to use her claws and pick the lock to, and once everyone was inside, they closed the door back so they wouldn't attract a lot of attention. “Wow, it sure is dark in here,” Sunny said as she used her phone flashlight to light up the place. “But there’s a lot of interesting stuff too!” Violette agreed. “Skye would totally love seeing something like this!”

That was when B-Dawg spotted a sarcophagus resting on the nearby table and another one standing right beside of it. “Yo, what's that, dawg?”

“It appears to be a sarcophagus, B-Dawg,” Buddha explained. “Where they put mummies in ancient Egypt.”

However, this little bit of information caused B-Dawg to tense. “M-M-Mummies?!”

“Relax,” Misty said gently. “We know for a fact since our last adventure that mummies don't really come to life.”

“Oh, yeah,” B-Dawg tried to stay calm. “I knew that, dawg.”

“So… Faith,” said Rosebud to the fennec fox, “do you and Babi not have a home?”

“Oh, well… we kinda sleep in different places,” Faith admitted. “You see, I was the runt of my litter, and I didn’t really have a place among my brothers and sisters, so… I started wandering Egypt for a new home. But when I came across Bastati and met Babi, I knew that I could use my desert smarts to get us some food and some cool stuff. We don’t steal because we like it… we do it cause it’s really the only way we get by.”

“Oh… I know how that is,” Misty said sympathetically. “I had to do a lot of things for an evil alicorn without much of a choice either… at least, until I met my friends. But… wanting to help us proves that you and Babi both have good hearts. Don’t ever forget that.”

Faith had never met anyone so understanding of her and Babi's situation before, and it honestly surprised her, but after a moment, Faith smiled at Misty with a look of gratitude in her eyes.

But after a few moments, Babi began to hear whistling getting closer and closer to the work shed, causing him to quickly shush the others and take action. “Quick, hide. Someone is coming.”

“Come on, Violette,” Izzy whispered, urging the filly closer before Izzy and Misty used their magic to summon the invisibility spell, making the ponies disappear from sight while the Buddies, Faith and Babi hid in all sorts of different places around the room.

The door to the work shed opened, and the auctioneer brought in the young camel that Izzy, Zipp and their group had seen earlier, and the young camel looked very unhappy. “Okay… okay, now tomorrow you must sell, or…” the auctioneer said before making a slicing motion across his neck. “Okay? Okay. Bye bye.”

And with that, the auctioneer left the shed, locking the door behind him, and once he had gone, the little camel began to sniffle sadly, feeling rather lost and alone.

Not wanting to see the little camel so sad, the Mane 6, Violette, Faith and the Buddies slowly crawled out of hiding, causing the camel to slowly cease her cries. “Hey…” Rosebud said sympathetically. “What’s wrong, little camel?”

“That mean human stole me from my mother,” the camel admitted, “and he's trying to sell me.”

Pipp gasped in sadness to this. “You were taken from your mother? That’s awful!”

“I must find her,” the little camel continued. “My tribe is on their way into the desert. If I don't catch up with them soon, I might never see her again.”

“Tribe?” B-Dawg questioned in confusion. “It is my family,” the little camel explained. “I belong with the Bedouin tribe. We are travelers.”

That seemingly put things into terms B-Dawg could understand. “I get it. Kinda like my posse. The name's B-Dawg.”

“My name is Cammy,” the camel introduced with a faint smile. “I’m Rosebud, and these are my friends and brothers,” Rosebud then introduced. “Maybe we could help.”

“Cammy?” whispered another young voice, seemingly a male. “Cammy, are you in here?”

Cammy seemed to recognize this voice immediately, perking up as she looked around to see where the voice was coming from. “Tikaro? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me!” the voice, now known as Tikaro, answered excitedly. “Stay in there, I’m coming!”

It was then that a young lion cub squeezed his way through some bars in a nearby window, causing the Mane 6 and Violette to gasp in surprise. This particular lion cub was moderately sized, albeit slightly thin and weakly built, not to mention he had a bleached grayish-tan coat, with a white muzzle and yellow eyes.

However, it was B-Dawg's first instinct to panic. “LION!!!”

“It’s okay, B-Dawg,” Cammy assured gently. “Tikaro is my lion friend from the Bedouin tribe!”

“Cammy, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Tikaro said as he rubbed up against the camel. “I’m so happy you’re okay!”

“I’m glad you’re okay too,” Cammy said to the lion cub. “Is your mom with you? Is she gonna get us out?”

Tikaro seemed to turn a bit bashful at this. “Well… the thing is… I actually came without my mom. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you behind, so… I kinda left to bring you back to the tribe on my own.”

“Wow… you’re brave for a cub your age,” Zipp commented before she frowned a bit. “But… it was dangerous for you to come and find Cammy without your tribe to help you.”

“I know…” Tikaro said softly, acknowledging his mistake before he looked up at Cammy with a smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll get back to the tribe together-- I promise.”

Suddenly, the lid on one of the sarcophaguses began to rise, freaking B-Dawg and Violette out. “Mummy!! AHHHHHH!!!”

However, the only thing rising up from the sarcophagus was a very cheeky monkey, who giggled nervously while B-Dawg and Violette glared at him slightly. “Babi!”

“Is coast clear?” Babi asked curiously, causing the Mane 6 to nod in confirmation. “Babi,” Faith took the opportunity to introduce her friend to their new friends, “this is Tirako and Cammy.”

This caused Babi to climb out of the sarcophagus to greet the young camel and lion cub duo. “As-salaam alaikum, little camel and lion.”

“As-salaam alaikum to you too, Mr. Babi,” Tirako said as he tipped his head in greeting. “Thanks for wanting to help us-- it’s a lot of pressure off my shoulders.”

“Hey, it’s no problem,” Pipp brushed it off with a smile, just as Mudbud began to paw the door and sniff at it, confirming his theories as he turned toward his siblings and friends. “Dudes, I hate to be a bummer, but the door is locked!”

“Oh no!” Sunny cried. “We’re stuck in here! At least until someone unlocks it tomorrow morning.”

“But Thomas, Pete, Mariama and Skye could already be long gone by then!” Hitch argued. “What are we gonna do?”

“Babi going to solve everyone's troubles,” Babi reassured. “You all sleep now. Babi will go see what he can find out.”

“Good luck, Babi! Be safe!” Faith wished her friend luck as he climbed out of the window into the marketplace, hoping to find the hotel room where the visitors were staying.

And once they had gone, Sunny sat down and faced the others. “So, I guess now’s a good time to tell you guys a story from one of our past Unity Quest adventures. And I have the perfect story to tell to get us sleepy.”

XXXXXXXX

Babi wandered through the empty bazaar, careful to watch out for any humans, when he got to the hotel where Pete, Thomas and the zebras were staying with Dr. Wellington and Ubasti, using his monkey skills to climb up to the balcony where he had a good look at them.

They were surrounding the table, with Thomas reading one of the clues on the Bronze of Bastet that will lead them to Cleocatra’s tomb. “It will lead you to the water's path.”

“Perhaps someone misinformed you. We're in the desert, there's no water,” Dr. Wellington said before pointing to another part of the disc. “We’re here.”

“Ah,” Thomas realized his mistake before reading again. “From the eye of the needle, take direction from Thoth.”

However, Pete and Skye both seemed a bit confused. “What do you think it means, Grandpa?” Pete finally asked. “Thoth, the moon god,” Thomas explained. “Take direction from the moon.”

“The moon, huh?” Skye muttered to herself. “Hmm…”

“Now, let me see…” Mariama’s eyes trailed back to the paper as Skye and Pete both looked out of the balcony, not seeing Babi spy on them. “From the eye of the needle, take direction from the moon. On the 12th day, the moon will light the way.”

“There’s a full moon tonight!” Thomas realized, just as Pete pointed up to the obelisk that he and Skye had been looking at. “That looks like a needle, and there's a half-moon carved in the top!”

Thomas and Mariama soon joined the kids at the window, realizing quickly that they were right. “The obelisk!” Mariama gasped in realization. “Kids, let’s go!”

“Wait for me, Mom!” Skye said quickly before darting after her mother, following her, Pete, Thomas and Dr. Wellington out of the hotel room, with Babi watching the entire thing from the balcony, going unnoticed.

They rushed to the side of the obelisk, where it looked like there was a place for the Bronze of Bastet in the middle of a drawing of the lunar cycle. “Call me crazy,” said Skye, “but I think the disc goes here!”

“I think you’re right, sweetheart,” Mariama nodded. “Dr. Wellington, your half of the disc, please.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Dr. Wellington handed it over, and once Thomas put it together, he put the disc in the slot and turned it slightly… just before something began to happen.

A mechanism began to activate, causing everyone to look up as gears began to turn somewhere from inside the obelisk, much to Thomas’ complete awe. “Incredible!”

As this seemed to get the attention of several passersby, the top of the obelisk began to rotate a full 360 degrees until the half-moon symbol at the top was now glowing with a blazing white light, which shot off a single beacon into the distance.

And once this had happened, Dr. Wellington turned back to Thomas. “What now?”

“Well, now,” said Thomas, trying to contain his excitement, “we need to calibrate the position of the beam and coordinate it on the map!”

XXXXXXXX

And that's exactly what Thomas and Mariama began to do when they got back to the hotel room, using some special gear as well as the map they had brought along with them. “Ah, given the height of the tower,” Thomas muttered, “60 feet…the light should be going…”

“...south by southeast, 86 miles,” Mariama concluded before heading over to the map and figuring out what was in that direction. “And leading us... to this oasis.”

“Oasis?” Skye tilted her head out of confusion and curiosity. “Isn’t that a place in the desert where there’s usually trees and water?”

“Often times, yes,” Mariama nodded. “And that’s exactly where we need to go to get the next clue.”

And this is exactly what Babi needed to hear. “They're heading to the oasis. I must tell the Buddies.”

XXXXXXXX

“...and so, right after we exposed the truth about Shannon and Aruna’s treachery,” Misty began to conclude the story, “they were taken to prison, leaving Umbra safe from her sister after a long time. Our new friends were going to take her sight seeing to get her back to being on Earth after so long, and then... we came back to Equestria.”

“Whoa, dawg,” B-Dawg finally commented in surprise after the story was concluded. “That’s some story.”

“Did you encounter Alterro any other times?” Rosebud asked. “No, just on the moon base and in Piqua, but… we have a feeling that Alterro has more agents of evil out there,” Sunny said with a shudder. “And I have a slight gut feeling Ubasti might be one of them.”

“Ubasti? I don’t know, Sunny,” Zipp frowned. “Sure, Ubasti is evil and ugly…”

“And don’t forget creepy!” Izzy chimed in. “Right, and creepy,” Zipp added, “but nothing about her strikes agent of evil. At least… not yet.”

“Buddies! Pony friends!”

That was when everyone turned to see Babi re-entering the shed, capturing Mudbud’s attention immediately. “What’s up?”

“Your people are leaving in the morning. They're on their way to oasis, deep in desert,” Babi explained. “Oasis?” Cammy questioned before smiling. “I've been there with my tribe before!”

“That could be where they’re heading too!” Tirako realized. “Cammy and I can show you the way.”

“And we,” added Rosebud, “can help you find your tribe.”

“Babi will hitch ride and slow them down,” Babi volunteered. “And I can go across the desert with you guys,” offered Faith, “so that way you really get the Egyptian experience.”

“Thank you… both of you,” Violette smiled gratefully. “We really appreciate this.”

“Hey, you can thank us later, when your friends are safe and sound,” Faith said before Babi left the room. “For right now… let’s just get some shuteye. We’re gonna need it if we’re gonna go after your group in the morning.”

However, as the group was retiring to sleep for the night, Violette found her mind wandering with all these questions about Skye and her mother's safety, as well as Pete and Thomas'.

She hoped that they were able to get to them in time... and they really hoped that Ubasti didn't find Cleocatra's collar before they did.

XXXXXXXX

Back in the hotel room, it was Pete and Skye's bedtime, so Thomas and Mariama went to tuck them in, with Thomas noticing the smile on his grandson's face. “What are you thinking?”

“How rad this is,” Pete said. “Oh, yeah,” Skye agreed. “Mudbud, Violette and the others would’ve loved this.”

Mariama giggled to this, a knowing smile on her face. “Knowing Mudbud and our new friends, they’re probably off on an adventure of their own.”

“...but it’s funny, Mom,” Skye said after a moment, turning to face her mother. “For some reason, they don’t really feel that far away.”

And little did anyone realize it at first, but our heroes weren't far away at all... and they would soon be reuniting further down the road.