Hello! If you'd like check out my profile for a link to my petition to Give Forgotten Disney More Love (Including The Lion King 2 Simba's Pride, The Lion King 1 1\2, and the Timon and Pumbaa cartoon) as well as a link to my Tumblr listing my other projects and my indie games.
This is an AU I thought of randomly. What if instead of there being a group of lions fiercely loyal to Scar when Simba returned….there wasn't? Instead Simba decides to exile the other animals he blames for his father's death, the wildebeest.
Rain poured down as Simba made his way up Pride Rock. Down below the lionesses were gathered, watching as their rightful king took his place.
Timon stood beside his Ma and his Uncle Max, his heart swelling with pride that the lion cub he helped raise was fulfilling his destiny. Next to him, Pumbaa started sobbing loudly.
Simba paused at the tip of Pride Rock as a light shined through the clouds.
He could hear his father's voice in his head, like he had before. Remember…..
Simba smiled confidently before letting out a powerful roar, followed soon by the roars of The Pride…. His Pride.
He made his way back down, over to her mother Sarabi.
"Simba." She said, choking back tears of joy. "I've missed you so much!"
Simba smiled and gave her a gentle nuzzle. "I've missed you too."
"But, how did you survive?" She asked.
"Timon and Pumbaa." Simba said. "With a little help from an elephant shrew, an antelope, a a guinea fowl, a bushbaby…. A bat-eared fox…."
Ma's eyes lit up as she pulled Timon into a tight hug. "Oh Timmy! You didn't tell me you were a parent!"
"Ma…." Timon coughed. "Too...tight….Ma….stop…."
Sarabi smiled at the duo. "Thank you for taking care of my son. You don't understand how much that means to me…"
"It was no problem!" Pumbaa said. "He was such a good cub!"
Nala stepped beside Simba, nuzzling into his mane. "What do we do now?"
Simba sighed, looking at the land around them. Even with the rain drenching down, it was still obviously a dead wasteland. "We need to move somewhere else until the land heals."
"But where?" Nala asked.
Simba thought for a moment. "Hey, Timon? Pumbaa? Do you think The Pride could stay in the oasis for a while?"
"No problem!" Pumbaa said. "The more the merrier!"
"And we'll come with ya!" Timon added.
"But Timon, what about the colony?" Ma asked, sadly.
Timon sighed and grabbed his mother's hands. "Ma...I told you...I don't want to go back...I'm happy not having to dig tunnels!"
Ma looked away slightly. "I understand…"
Timon frowned, until a thought popped into his head. "Ma! I've got an idea! Why don't you and Uncle Max come with us!?"
"What?" Ma asked in surprise.
"What!?" Uncle Max screeched. "And leave the colony!?"
"Well...yeah...but…"
Ma sighed and stroked Timon's cheek. "Timon, sweetie….It's a very sweet offer, but...Uncle Max is right...we can't just abandon the others…"
"But…"
"I'm sorry Timmy…." She and Max turned away, starting their journey back to the other meerkats.
"...Wait!"
They turned around.
"Why don't they come with us too?" Timon asked.
"Timon…" Ma frowned.
"We can't just uproot the whole colony, Timon!" Uncle Max shouted. "We can't all just run away like you did!"
"I didn't run away!" Timon protested. "I went to find my own life, and I ended up finding a place that's safe for all of us! Please, just let me talk to the colony leader."
Uncle Max and Ma looked at each other for a moment. Max sighed and looked at him. "Fine…But don't think it's going to be easy."
Ma went over and hugged Timon again. "Oh Timmy, thank you!"
Timon patted her back gently. "Of course Ma."
Simba gathered the lionesses in front of him. "We'll be safe in The Oasis, but we need to set some ground rules. The Oasis itself is a neutral zone, we don't hunt the other animals there. We'll send out hunting parties from The Oasis to get food. Second, Pumbaa, Timon, and Timon's colony are under the protection of The Pride."
The lionesses agreed to follow their king.
"Uh….e-excuse me...your...your highness?"
Simba turned around to see Shenzi approaching them, Banzai and Ed close behind her.
Simba snarled slightly and the lionesses readied themselves to attack if needed.
"We were uh…" Shenzi let out an anxious laugh. "We were uh...wondering if we could...uh…..join your Pride…."
"No!" Simba roared.
Startled, Shenzi took a step back. "I..I know that we got off on the wrong foot, but uh…"
"Listen." Simba said firmly. "We're relocating for now. While we're gone, you and your clan should clear out. Got it?"
"O..oh of….course! Of course!" Shenzi said, her voice filled with fear.
"Yeah, yeah! We'll….We'll clear out real good, your highness!" Banzai added.
Ed nodded his head widely in agreement, letting out small whimpers in the process.
"Good." Simba snarled. "Now get out!"
"Of...of course!" Shenzi said.
"Uh, Adios!" Banzai said, before the trio ran off.
Simba exhaled before going to the front of the Pride. Nala took her rightful place next to Simba, along with Timon, Pumbaa, Ma and Uncle Max, as they started their journey into the desert.
"Oh Timmy, you're gonna have to tell me aaaalll about taking care of Simba!" Ma cooed.
"Ma." Timon groaned. "No one wants to hear about all that…"
"I do." Sarabi said, gently.
"You do?" Timon asked, surprised.
"Of course." Sarabi said.
"I...I guess I tell some stories." TImon said.
Sarabi leaned her head down, allowing Timon and Ma to climb onto her back.
"Uh let's see…." TImon thought for a moment. He decided it was best to avoid telling any stories where Simba was in any danger. "Oh! He always woke up before Pumbaa and I!"
"Simba always was an early riser." Sarabi chuckled.
"Timmy, always got up late." Ma said.
"Hey, digging's a tiring job!" Timon pouted.]
"Yeah, it is." Uncle Max added. "When you actually do the work!"
Timon rolled his eyes.
"Wait, Simba said there aren't any hunting grounds nearby, correct?" Sarabi asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"What did you feed him?" Sarabi asked, sounding a bit concerned.
Timon froze up for a second. He scratched the back of his head, "Oh uh….you...you know….the usual uh...things…" He coughed under his breath, 'Grubs.'
Sarabi blinked. "Grubs?"
Timon panicked a bit, and tried to cover. "Y...yeah! The crunchy ones are the best! They're uh, filled with nutrients and are uh….filling and healthy for a young growing lion!"
"Hmm….I see…"
Timon wasn't able to read Sarabi's tone, but at least she didn't seem angry.
"Why, what did you feed him?" Timon asked, trying to move the conversation along.
"Oh, Simba loved zebra." Sarabi said. "It was his absolute favorite!"
"Oh, Timon couldn't get enough of beetles!" Ma said excitedly.
Ma and Sarabi started excitedly talking about their sons, while Timon zoned out.
Hours later The Pride made their way to The Oasis.
"Well, this is it." Simba said.
The Pride looked around in wonder at the jungle paradise.
"Simba, this is beautiful!" Nala said in awe.
"I know, it's pretty great." Simba said, nuzzling her close.
"Oh, Timmy! I love it here!" Ma said, hugging him close. "This would be a wonderful place to live!"
"Yeah, only if he can convince our colony leader." Uncle Max reminded her.
The lionesses laid down, resting their aching paws.
"We can assemble a hunting party tomorrow." Simba said, joining the Pride. "For now we should rest."
Nala and Sarabi laid down by Simba.
"Are you okay?" Nala asked.
"Yeah...I'm fine…" Simba sighed.
Nala licked the small burn on Simba's face from the sparks Scar flung in his face. "Scar got you pretty badly…"
"I'll be okay…" Simba said, resting his head in Nala's neck.
Nala purred and nuzzled him close. "Just try to rest okay?"
Simba nodded, resting his head in Nala's paws before drifting off to sleep.
