Madagascar and OC!: Merry Madagascar

Analogous

Ayana walked closer to the zoo, her friends gazing where she, Marty, Melman, Gloria, and Alex's enclosures came to meet at a light post. All was quiet.

Alex, Gloria, Melman, and Ayana had thrown a surprise party for their zebra friend for his 10th birthday. Gloria had gotten the penguins to track down a cake and everything, and then Marty sprang a surprise of his own – he wanted to run away to the wild.

Best night of her life- despite it being Marty's birthday.

The gifts-all of them- had been delivered for their beloved city, and they wanted to see the zoo before leaving. Ayana didn't want to seem like a pest. But the sooner they leave, the sooner they come back. They had 151 more cities left.

151 more cities left to stare at the night sky, 151 more cities to dream, 151 more cities left to think-

Ayana couldn't take it anymore. It seems like most of her thoughts seem to stroll back to Alex, and the zoo isn't helping one bit! A giant reminder of how they met, how she spent her days with him and their friends as they laughed, talked, and load the entire day away.

So, maybe she didn't like the zoo. But she stayed for as long as she could- mostly because three of her friends didn't want to leave, and wanted to stay put.

At first, Alex seemed to be this showboating, selfish, and bratty lion that would've offended the leopard with his romantic attention. Obviously, a train wreck.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The leopard paced on all fours in front of the gate. She drew a deep breath and hoped her friends didn't catch her tone.

"C'mon Ayana, can't you just relax and enjoy the scenery of the zoo-" Alex turned back to the leopard but was interrupted by a snarl. Alex winced, turning back to the zoo, and grew forlornly. It's kinds of fun.....waking up every morning to see the ones she cared about right next door.

Most ponies tend to forget she exists, and she's fine with that, really, but it's nice to be noticed. Heck, it still feels like that- she's the final member of their group, the added on, the extra- since Marty had Alex and Gloria had Melman.

Alex wasn't starved for attention and companionship like she was, and the fact their enclosures were secured by one lamppost kinda become an excuse to keep spending time together.

He knew her so well, it was almost disconcerting. Though on the outside, she appeared as steady as a stone, as he searched her beautiful brown eyes for a promise that everything would be okay, he found exactly what he had guess: only anger dancing in her eyes.

When he first met Ayana, she was this antisocial, athletic, and wild animal that continued to walk on all fours all the time that obviously didn't match his celebrity personality at times. Girl would've crashed and burned.

Now here he was, standing near the bell of his beloved zoo as he watched many animals stir in their sleep.

"You know you could just admit your feelings," Marty suggested when he finally got near where Alex stood, as though reading his thoughts, and Alex muttered a low growl that was supposed to signal "no way", in contrast of what he actually wanted, but instead his friend which had brought up the idea kept talking.

"Don't be such a sour puss," Melman commented. Alex's eyes snapped up and he did a double-take as he recognized the undeniable silhouette of Gloria and Melman standing next to him. His heart did a little something as he swung his head around to look past Gloria's body to see if Ayana had joined them, only for the said heart to break when he saw that one of his best friends still stood on the cold ground on all fours.