"It's not fair," Silvamord complained. She and Woundwort were standing over the cage with Spike and the others still inside. "Nagru, Scar, and Gabool get to go look for the escaped mousemaid, and they just leave us here to guard the other captives. They won't let me do the important job."

"They probably don't value you because you're a female," Savannah sympathized from inside the cage. "That's not right."

Woundwort stuck a stick through the bars and poked her with it. "Quiet, prisoner!"

Silvamord placed a paw on the rabbit's shoulder to stop him. "Hold on. I want to hear what she has to say."

"It's totally not cool that they don't respect you, just because you're a girl," Savannah continued. "Imagine if people said that I shouldn't be the ruler of the Pride Lands, because I was a lioness and not a male lion? That would be wrong."

"Just like how some of the dragons in Equestria didn't want my friend Princess Ember to become the Dragon Lord, because she was a girl," Spike agreed. "But she proved she was just as capable as any male dragon."

Silvamord was clenching her fists. "And I'm just as capable as my husband and the rest of those idiots, if not more so!"

"You go, girl!" Joshy cheered. "Gender is just a social construct, an' males an' females should always be treated equally, wot."

General Woundwort jumped in. "Don't you see what they're trying to do, Silvamord? They're trying to turn us against each other. Now look. You say Scar and the others don't respect you because you're a female. But if that were true, it would mean they don't respect me either, because they left me behind too."

"They don't respect you, Woundwort. Nobeast does," said Silvamord.

"What?"

"You're not even a carnivore. You're just a scrawny little rabbit, full of unwarranted self-importance. I have no idea why they even let you into this horde! You might be a big shot among your own kind, but to us larger animals, you're nothing!"

Saba winked at Silvamord through the bars. "Oops! I think you just said the wrong thing."

Woundwort erupted. "I'm more than just a rabbit! I've killed weasels and stoats and even a dog! I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Whatever. I can't deal with you right now." The vixen turned on her heel and walked up to the cave on top of Pride Rock.

Now Woundwort was alone with the prisoners. "I say, I think I know how the rest of us can escape," Joshy whispered.

"How?" Savannah asked.

"Just watch." Joshy threw up his paws and loudly shouted "FRIED CHICKEN!"

Instantly a whole bunch of chicken appeared in the cage.

"Joshy, are you crazy? You can't do that in front of him, he'll see it!" Spike cried.

General Woundwort whirled around, noticing the food. "Where did you get that? I didn't give you permission to eat!"

"What are ya gonna do about it, Roundwart?" Saba taunted.

"THE NAME IS WOUNDWORT!" Woundwort shouted. And then he unlocked the cage door and threw it open. As soon as he did it, he realized it was a mistake. A paw of lion paws shot out and grabbed him, and the next thing he knew, he was locked inside the cage, and the four former prisoners were on the outside.

"Way to go, Joshy!" Savannah told. "Come on, let's get out of here!" They all took off running.

"Ta-ta! Olive oil! Goodbye!" Joshy called over his shoulder.

"ESCAPE! ESCAPE! THE PRISONERS HAVE ESCAPED!" Woundwort shouted.

But by the time Silvamord heard the noise and climbed back down the rock, they were nowhere to be seen.

"Get me out of this," the rabbit demanded.

Silvamord smirked. "I might just leave you there for a while. You're starting to get on my nerves."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gabool stood at the edge of a deep pit covered with palm leaves, holding a box. He pulled the leaves away and called down, "Skrabblag, matey, it's me, Gabool. Sing out- are y'there?"

A clicking sound issued from within the pit. Gabool chuckled. "I can hear you, you murderous villain. Hmm, mm, mm! How'd you like a little treat? Have you ever eaten a… mouse?"

A black scorpion came crawling up the wall and out of the pit. Gabool put his paws on his hips and raised one eyebrow. "Excellent! I'll just keep you in this little box on the journey. Don't want you stinging me by mistake! Hmm, mm, mm!"