Merry Christmas Eve! I'm going to guess that a lot of you are on Christmas break so I hope you enjoy this as your Christmas gift. I know there are a lot of you that have been patiently anticipating for the arrival of the newest chapter of the Lion King saga, well here it is! The Pride Lands are once again at peace but that does not mean other lands are. Kopa as the new and old prince will have to face one of his most difficult challenges, facing his father's old foes. And what about our lovable Pumbaa, where does he fit into this picture and why has he been acting so strange? Will Timon admit his love to Tamina or will some other meerkat snatch her away. And what will Kovu do when he's left in charge of the great kingdom? All this will be revealed in Story of the Stars. Now, I've kept you all waiting long enough, here's how it all began.

-X-

The lands were almost completely bare. There were bones of various animals everywhere and numerous hyenas roaming these dead lands. If you're having trouble picturing it, just imagine it as a combination of the Outlands and Elephant Graveyard. However, even with these awful living conditions, everyone seemed pretty happy.

The matriarch watched as the hunting party came back from the hunt with fresh kill. It was being led by stupid looking hyena who met up with the matriarch. He cackled and somehow she understood him. She nodded to him in response and walked into the den.

"Sauda, our lunch is here, why don't you come out and join us?" asked the elderly matriarch. Her fur was graying and she was already very old.

"I'll be out in a sec mother. I'm just looking after little Jambo here" said a young female hyena. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was the matriarch's daughter.

The matriarch smiled lovingly as she watched a hyena pup who was most likely only a couple of days old tumble around. It was hard to believe how much time had gone by. Years ago she was bent on living in the luxurious Pride Lands, but now here she was living peacefully with her daughter, her grandson, and the rest of her family.

"Alright Jambo, it's time to go eat lunch" called the matriarch.

"Oh yay!" giggled the little pup. He hopped towards his grandmother and leaped into her arms.

"Oof! You're getting heavier aren't you little guy?" the matriarch chuckled.

"Mama says that's good, it means I'll grow up big and strong!" smiled Jambo.

"That's right my little pup, someday you might even lead the hunting party" said Sauda.

The pup gasped with glee as he looked up expectantly at his grandmother. "Oh, I can't promise you that" his grandmother chuckled. "But maybe your mother can, chances are, she'll be the matriarch of this pack very soon and she can promise you the role of lead hunter."

"Really, can you really do that mom?" asked the pup, turning his attention to his mother.

Before she could respond however, another voice interrupted them. It was a male hyena and like the matriarch, he had graying fur, a sign that he was around the same age as her. "Shenzi, you there?" called the old hyena.

"Father, is something wrong?" asked Sauda.

"No, nothing dear, I just have a message to pass to your mother" the hyena stated.

"A message, what message?" inquired the matriarch.

"A lion came…He says he wants to speak to you" replied the hyena.

"A lion, huh, I already told that king bordering our land that we wouldn't disturb him, he doesn't need to send a messenger to insure that" said the matriarch. "Go back to that lion and tell him to be on his way. His services are not required."

"He says that he isn't from any of the neighboring lands. He says he has some sort of business that concerns you, that concerns the entire pack as he put it" said the hyena.

The matriarch shrugged and decided to go meet with this mysterious lion. She walked back to the entrance of the den with her mate, her daughter, and her grandson following close behind her. When they reached the entrance, they saw a lion with lime green eyes and a dark brown mane.

"Who are you and what business do you have with my pack?" asked the matriarch with a demanding tone. She had full confidence and a very commanding stare even though she dwarfed in size in comparison to this behemoth of a lion.

"Hm…You are as threatening as they say" commented the lion. "And very lively for your age."

Jambo hid behind the legs of his mother. It was his first time ever seeing a lion up close but he's heard stories of lions fighting against his grandparents and he was afraid this was one of those lions that hated hyenas. Then again, almost every lion hated their kind.

"Just tell me your reason for being here" said the matriarch coolly.

"I have some valuable information for you. I have heard many stories of your struggles to reach such a high position in a hyena pack. Shenzi of the Pride Lands, am I correct? And your mate, Banzai, you two were both involved in the coup devised by Scar" said the lion.

"All of that is in the past. They mean nothing to us now. Now tell me who you are and your reason for being here or suffer the consequences for trespassing on our territory" said Shenzi as she released a low growl.

The lion was silent but he wasn't afraid of her. He just stared back at her indifferently. Finally, after what felt like a century, he cleared his throat. "You may be living peacefully with the lions now but I know you hold a personal grudge against them. You've been searching for a good reason to destroy their pride and now I have one" said the lion.

"You still haven't told me of your identity" snarled Shenzi. "If you cannot even divulge to me that, then we are done here."

"My name is Hasani…And I am here on a quest for unity" smiled the lion.

-X-

Months later…

The sun was just beginning to rise and all the animals heard a roar that told them to head in one specific direction. It was a very special day, a very special day indeed for the Pride Lands. Many of the animals followed the wind that was believed to be the spirit of King Mufasa.

Soon enough they had reached the kopje that was known as Pride Rock. All the animals gathered near the bottom and watched as a mandrill stood at the top calling them together. Soon he stopped with his hand movements and turned to something unseen to the below animals' eyes.

Rafiki smiled as he walked over to Kovu and Kiara who were sitting side by side. In the latter's arms were two little bundles of fur. They both giggled and attempted to touch the odd face of the elderly mandrill. Kovu and Kiara both smiled down at their greatest gifts given to them by the heavens.

The male, the firstborn was named Kito, he was prince Kito. The female was obviously the second and her name was Kioni, she was princess Kioni. Nearby, the current king and queen, Simba and Nala stood along with the aunt and uncle of these two bundles of joy, Kopa and Vitani.

"They are truly beautiful" said Rafiki. He rattled his staff with the strange fruits on them near their adorable faces. They both reached out trying to paw at them. He broke open one of the fruits and took the juice form it with his hand. He rubbed onto the older one's forehead and sprayed him with the 'sacred dirt'. This was his mark of the future ruler fo the Pride Lands. He then lifted him from Kiara's care.

The royal family watched as he walked all the way to the tip of Pride Rock and lifted up prince Kito high into the air, the new heir to the throne. The audience exploded with the loudest noise they could make. Whether it was roar, trumpet, or the beating of hooves upon the ground, it was just a chorus of unity among the animals.

Kito wasn't completely sure of what was going on but he smiled and giggled anyway. Up high in the sky, both his great grandfather, Mufasa, and great uncle, Taka smiled down at the sight. Finally, Rafiki brought him back to his own arms where his father met him with an affectionate nuzzle while Kiara held her daughter by the scruff of her neck.

The newborns were crowded by the royal family as they did some family bonding. A little ways away stood the other species of animals, in other words, a warthog and two meerkats of opposing genders on top of his head.

"Oh brother, not this again" groaned Timon.

"Odd, I thought you'd be happy for them" commented Tamina.

"I am, it's just that when there are cubs there are cub sitters. That means us! And I don't want to go through sleepless nights or a cub vanishing every few seconds" said Timon.

"Hey, was I that bad?" asked both Simba and Kiara at the same time.

"But totally worth it!" covered up Timon. And then he turned back to Tamina to continue his paranoid ranting. "And this time there are two of them! That's double the work! Do you know what that means?" exclaimed Timon in a the most insane manner.

"Uh…Double the stress?" said Tamina unsurely although she was pretty sure that she was right.

"Double the stress!" echoed Timon only louder.

"Hey, calm down, soon it'll be triple the stress" Kopa chuckled.

"Yup, I'm due in about a month" smiled his mate.

"I'm going to die aren't I?" groaned the male meerkat.

"Aw come on Timon, it'll be just fine as long as we go through it together" assured Pumbaa.

"Pumbaa's right, it's supposed to be a happy moment right now, so don't think about the bad, think about the good" added Nala.

"Guess you're right…Alright, I have the perfect party set up in my mind. If we get started now then I think we'll be able to get all the preparations set by midnight. By then the cubs should be asleep thus giving us a chance to celebrate this truly momentous occasion. Quickly, let's go dig up some grubs!" said Timon enthusiastically.

This caused everyone start laughing at Timon's sudden idea.

"Wow, you bounce back fast" commented Kovu.

"What can I say? I love parties" smiled Timon.

"Then how about a feast because I don't think the party you're thinking of is appropriate for the celebration of cubs" said Simba.

"I'm good with that, as long as we insectivores eat somewhere far from you carnivores" said Timon.

"Of course" laughed Simba.

"It's hard to believe everything's that's happened to us these past couple months" Vitani commented.

"And all of these things will only get better for all of us as well" smiled Kopa."These two are proof of that"

They all returned their attention to the cubs who were now trying to bat a butterfly. They all smiled down at them and knew that Kopa was right. Things in the Pride Lands are going to be peaceful for a long time.

-X-

In case you didn't know, this was set as a preview in my last story, Tale of Two Kings. So what did you guys think? Was it a good start to this story? Or was it bad one? I'd really appreciate some feedback. P.S. I know this is short but I can promise you that the actual chapters will be longer.