Author's Note: This story takes place in "Mkuu Na Ombaomba" universe established in the story of the same name, and takes place shortly after it. If you don't want to read it, then suffice to say, Mzingo the vulture is now on mostly friendly terms with the Pridelanders and is no longer on Scar's side, but is still occasionally shady if it serves him.
As for why this story isn't labeled a crossover with MLP, it's because technically it's not a crossover between Lion Guard and MLP, it's a crossover between my Lion Guard universe and MLP, and basically intended for fans of the original Mkuu Na Ombaomba, who wouldn't find this story if I had labeled it a crossover.
Mzingo the vulture breathed in the fresh morning air as he flew high over the Pride Lands. It had been too long since he had tasted the nectar that was utter freedom. His ties to the Guard and the lion pride were cut, the Parliament was long gone and his enemies were vanquished. The vulture didn't doubt that eventually, he'd find another purpose, another cause to stand for and that was fine, but he also believed he'd earned a nice, long vacation.
A vacation that was doomed to end as soon as he glimpsed a blue flash in the midst of a field of reeds. It wasn't the telltale glint of a jewel in sunlight, it was an actual aggressive flash. Which left two possibilities - either it was some kind of advanced chemical explosion or worse... a practicioner of magic. Further investigation was required.
As the vulture descended upon the general area where he caught the flash, he noticed a gaudy wagon in the reeds and a four-legged animal of some sorts that fussed about with it. Employing stealth, Mzingo landed a few feet away from the wagon and poked his beak between the spiky leaves to get a good perspective. The owner seemed to be in the middle of camping, without a care in the world... and what an owner it was! Mzingo wasn't often impressed by physical appereances, but this creature would've put peacocks to shame.
The vulture's eyes followed a female pony with baby blue fur(what an idiosyncratic color... was it designed to frighten off predators?) and a silvery mane that must've taken hours to style properly. Not only that, but the animal's back was also covered in fabric resembling a starry sky and wore a pointed hat with the same style as the coat.
What a diva. Mzingo thought. But if her magical abilities are what I think they could be, she might very well be honest.
Deciding to settle the matter once and for all, Mzingo walked into the camping area and cleared his throat, immediately acquiring the pony's attention. "It is not good manners to enter a lady's private domicile without invitation!" She said haughtily. "Especially when that lady could turn you into an insect."
Mzingo raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I thought I saw some spellcasting going about here. I'd be careful about doing that stuff out in the open, the royal family who own these parts are not all too fond of magic."
The pony began to growl in frustration. "It would be my luck to end up with superstitious barb... I mean, disbelieving royalty." she hurriedly corrected herself just in case the "royal family" represented a potential threat to her. "You are a local, yes?" A dark grin formed on the pony's face. "You shall have the honor of guiding me through these wretched parts to a more agreeable audience."
"... I see. And just who will I be guiding?" Mzingo asked, exactly as the pony expected him to. Suddenly, fireworks blasted off on their own from the wagon and a magical reproduction of an aurora borealis briefly appeared over the pony. "Why, The Great And Powerful Trixie of course!" The blue pony smiled, basking in her own glory.
In spite of himself, Mzingo was taken offguard by the sudden, unexpected show of power and magical prowess, and fell on his backside. Trixie giggled and hopped closer. "The finest... entertainer, magician, card player, animal tamer and all-around expert in all the lands. And you are...?" the pony ended her question pointedly, knowing that whatever he was about to say could not possibly reach the zenith of experience and skill that made up the Great and Powerful Trixie.
"I'm Mzingo. I'm a vulture." he said innocently. "Oh Great and Powerful Trixie, tell me... why should I do anything to help you?" Before a clearly insulted Trixie could respond, he carried on. "I mean, if you were truly a brilliant entertainer, that'd be one thing... I'd help you out just from the sheer... awe... of seeing you perform on stage. But someone who's afraid to do their thing just because she can't use magic..." he tutted. "not the sign of a professional."
The showmare twitched, before nearly bursting Mzingo's eardrums with her shrieking: "TRIXIE DOES NOT NEED MAGIC TO BE THE BEST! And she can prove it with ease! You ugly old bloodsucker, you... you will take Trixie to your King immediately, and witness her dazzling majesty so that it may be burned into your teeny-tiny brain forever. Hmph!" With that, Trixie indicated the conversation was finished and focused her magic on her wagon, causing it to sparkle in a blue glow.
Mzingo raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said no magic. Better hire someone to drag your stuff around, unless of course you also have the greatest muscles in all the lands. I'll see you at Pride Rock. That way." He vaguely pointed left of Trixie with his wing and flew off, leaving the mare to shout unladylike obscenities behind him. He had no doubt that Trixie would indeed be persistent enough to make it to Pride Rock and looked forward to the occasion with great anticipation.
However, it was slightly tempered by a foreign feeling, one that told him he really shouldn't be baiting an innocent performer into an act that could end with disaster given Trixie's obvious reliance on magic. He shook the budding guilt off of him. I am Mzingo, I've done far worse than puncture some haughty mare's ego. I refuse to feel bad about this!
The performance at Pride Rock went far beyond what Mzingo had expected in his darkest thoughts. Whilst Trixie was still a capable physical performer and knew her card tricks from her hoof traps, she refused to be merely 'fun' as the audience put it and began to try wilder and wilder stunts in a vain attempt to capture her full glory whilst also pridefully refusing to employ magic.
As a result, when she finally fell off of Pride Rock, dangling on a vine and the little cubs decided to play 'whack-a-Trixie', the unicorn finally burst into tears and magically snapped the rope before galloping off, her wagon forgotten. Mzingo snapped his beak shut again and again, a nervous tick he'd developed. Even whilst committing his worst crimes, the vulture had never felt like a bully before - it was always for a reason, some clever scheme or a way to obtain food. But there was absolutely no profit in humiliating Trixie, and it nagged at him terribly.
I just had to meet Kion and Jasiri, yesss... I just had to develop a conscience, hmmm... the vulture's mind grumbled. Sighing, he stopped King Simba from pursuing the obviously distraught mare. "Sire, with your permission, I'd like to handle this. I brought her here, it's my fault. I'll see what I can do to make it up for her."
Simba raised an eyebrow. Mzingo was not known for his humility, and certainly not for compassion. But the King nodded, and Mzingo flew off. Finding Trixie was not difficult in the slightest: with her fancy wardrobe, she stood out like a sore thumb. However, when he landed, Mzingo was surprised to find merely a discarded pointy hat, with no sign of its owner.
His eyes squinted in thought. Either she was in trouble or was doing an exceptional job of hiding herself. But if that was the case, how to track- a-HA! The vulture's sharp eyes focused on a small, moving mound of dirt about 200 meters away. He flew to it and poked his beak into the dirt, pulling out a familiar, squirming hedgehog.
Containing the creature in his powerful talons, Mzingo said: "Good morning, Harry. I need a favor."
"I'm busy! Find someone else!" Harry squealed.
The vulture rolled his eyes. "Just help me track someone down with that mighty nose of yours and then you can get back to your existential crisis, alright?"
Harry considered the offer. "Promise you'll find out some information about porcupines? Maybe I really am one of them..."
I couldn't give a porcupine's ass what you are... "Yes-yes, I'll bring you along even, just take a sniff of this." He tossed Harry into Trixie's hat. The creature let loose a muffled cry. "Oh wow! I don't think I'll ever be able to smell again, thanks!"
Mzingo frowned. "What?"
"This lady of yours uses so much stuff in her mane that I think my nose just gave up and died on me. So... thanks." Harry grumbled and rubbed his little pink nose. The vulture glared at him. "Well then, a pity we can't find out what you are. Maybe you'll figure it out in my stomach." he growled and Harry yelped. "On second thought, this way!"
The scaredy cat had stayed true to his word and led Mzingo to a cave emanating sniffling sounds. "Right, this is it. Now scamper." He tossed the protesting hedgehog over his shoulder and missed the middle finger he got in return for it.
The cave was dark and it took Mzingo a few seconds to adjust his eyes, but then he saw the Great and Powerful Trixie curled up in a corner. She'd taken off her cloak and instead used it as a protective blanket over her hooves. When she noticed the vulture staring at her, she tossed the cloak off and levitated him in the air with her magic.
"You stupid, awful..." Trixie hissed, not even finding the words for how much hatred she felt for the old vulture at the moment. Ultimately, she gave up and instead focused on how exactly she would enact revenge on him. "I will pluck every single feather from your gnarly old body, cover you in honey and throw you at the biggest bee's nest I can find!"
"Sweet." Mzingo deadpanned. "But why are you upset?"
Trixie's breath hitched. "... why? WHY?! You made a mockery of me, the Great and... and... Powerful Trixie!" Mzingo winced as she heard the mare's voice crack. "Not only did you ruin my reputation in this kingdom for good, but you made me... you made me... give a bad performance!" Trixie cried.
"You told me you were just as good with magic as without." Mzingo said calmly. "That you didn't need to be the best."
"I DO NOT!" Trixie screamed, her eyes turning glazed as her mind began to block out the impossibility of her failure. "I-I was fatigued! I was in unfamiliar territory! Surrounded by toothy predators! I can give a better show! I will give a better show."
"No. You were just not using magic. You weren't being yourself."
Trixie nodded. "I wasn't being myself- wait, what?"
"Trixie, from what I could see, your entire show is built around you. You are a celebration of yourself. And you are a unicorn. A unicorn without a horn is not a unicorn, am I correct?" The mare tentatively agreed. "Well then the reason that you failed wasn't because you weren't giving the best show, it was because you were giving the wrong show, and that is my fault and I'm here to say I'm sorry."
The mare did not look entirely satisfied, but dropped Mzingo from her magical hold, who shook the dust off of himself. "If it makes you feel any better, I've been in your position."
Trixie cocked her head to the side, confused. Mzingo gulped as he began to relive his past: "I was once one of the most Machiavellian enemies of this kingdom. On my own, with nearly no help, I almost caused a civil war, employed necromancy to overthrow the King and made my race one of the most powerful forces in Africa. I could have been King with ease if I'd desired it. Now, my Parliament are rotting bones, the King is still the King and the war led to a happy marriage instead. And here I am, trying to cheer up an entertainer of all people."
"What went wrong?" Trixie asked quietly, curious now. She didn't really mind knowing he had a dark past as she herself had to sacrifice bits and pieces of her soul from time to time to stay Great and Powerful.
"People. They mess up your groove."
The mare snorted. "Trixie believes you are merely blaming others for your own personality flaws. Trixie thinks you should look at yourself first and accordingly correct your problems first before taking it out on the audience."
Mzingo's jaw dropped. Did that just happen?
Trixie carried on: "Of course, to a pony of my magnificent talent, it is painstakingly obvious what your problem is - you, Mzingo, are no performer."
"W-what?"
"You said... that you developed plans for the complete reshaping of this society for the benefit of your vulture species, correct? You were also able to manipulate a peaceful country to the brink of civil war. These are not the thoughts of the ordinary country bumpkin, they belong to an artist. Had you worked with someone who could match your intellectual talent with the required showmanship to precisely play the audience like a well-worn instrument, you might have succeeded."
For the first time in his life, Mzingo couldn't think of a thing to say. Somehow, this gaudy, egotistical, over-the-top showmare had hit the nail. The vulture had long thought that his failure resided in good's natural ability to outdo evil, but perhaps things weren't black and white. Perhaps, like Trixie, Mzingo had given it his all... but in the wrong way, by fighting his battles alone.
However... "It makes no difference now. I have nothing left. I'm old, my family have their own Parliaments, their own struggles, which I have no business in interfering with. I'm done."
Trixie waved her hoof dismissively. "Oh, in all my years, I've never heard such nonsense! An artist's work never ends! To that end, I intend to employ you as more than just my guide in these parts. You shall be the Great and Powerful Trixie's... Smart and Devious manager!"
"... and why would 'the Smart and Devious Mzingo' want to do that?" Mzingo deadpanned.
"Trixie would pay him handsomely! A twenty per cent share of all profits from her dazzling performances!"
The vulture rolled his eyes. "Okay, leaving aside the fact that that's far too little... money has yet to become a thing in the Pride Lands." Trixie's ears flopped against her head, and for a moment the mare appeared deflated. "No money? You mean Trixie travelled all this way to perform... for no money?!" She slammed her hoof against the floor. "This truly is a barbaric place!"
"... however, for a fifty per cent share, Mzingo could come up with an idea or two on how to introduce capitalism to the Pride Lands..." Mzingo said slowly, smiling. Oh, it had been far too long since he got to make some proper trouble! He knew Timon and Pumbaa would take to the idea like ducks to water. "Provided, of course, that the Great and Powerful Trixie could sell the idea."
Trixie smiled too, and used her magic to levitate her pointy showmare hat back onto her head where it belonged. "Say no more. Trixie has a degree in sales. But she will do it for no less than 35 per cent."
Mzingo would not be swayed. "50. Or we both get zero. Either way works for me."
Scowling, the showmare finally submitted. "50. The Smart and Devious Mzingo is a force to be reckoned with. But that is why Trixie hired him. However, should his plan not provide enough bits, his feathers will provide a comfortable pillow."
"Should Trixie's degree in sales be another, er, illusion trick, she'll make a very lovely snack to the carnivore vulture she's travelling with."
Trixie squinted her eyes dangerously, but then patted her new manager on the back as the two finally left the cave and into the sunlight.
"Touche, Mzingo, touche. Trixie has a feeling that this will be a most profitable partnership..."
THE END