Episode Four

Episode 4: Outsider is the fourth episode of My Pride. It premiered worldwide on YouTube on May 31st, 2020.

Characters

 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Nothing Nothing]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Hover Hover]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Quickmane Quickmane]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Powerstrike Powerstrike]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Waterhunter Waterhunter]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Farleap Farleap]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Silentstalk Silentstalk]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Sister_1 Sister 1]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Sister_2 Sister 2]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Fire Fire]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Feather Feather]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Tangle Tangle]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Stub Stub]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Root Root]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Meadow Meadow]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Proud Proud]
 * [./https://my-pride-animation.fandom.com/wiki/Ghost Ghost]

Content warning

 * Ableism

Summary
An opening shot on the Sister's Steppe reveals Hover pacing in front of Nothing, fretting about having to have her Prideless name taken away from her during her upcoming Huntress evaluation. While soothing her nerves, Nothing explains that Pride lionesses are born nameless and called "sister" or "daughter" until their assessment, and that Pride lions are born with the first part of their name until they prove themselves by claiming or starting their own pride and becoming a "Mane". Hover exclaims that it is all mind games and that she hates it, and anxiously asks Nothing if she will be present at her Huntress evaluation. Nothing promises that she will be there and nuzzles Hover affectionately, before they are interrupted by the approach of Farleap and Silentstalk.

Farleap brags about her prowess as a Huntress and how well she did during her own ceremony, with Silentstalk backing her up by claiming that Sharptongue herself had never seen anything like it. Farleap offers Hover the option of training with herself and Silentstalk alongside a comment that their mother is a harsh critic, as Nothing well knows. Nothing initially rejects the offer for Hover, however the latter decides that it might be a good idea to get some training in before the ceremony to ease her nerves and accepts the opportunity. Nothing says she will see Hover later, and Hover cracks a joke about how she'll be named something totally crazy when she sees her next.

As Nothing watches Hover, Farleap, and Silentstalk leave, Quickmane calls out to her and approaches her from behind, Feather gently on the ground. He is accompanied Waterhunter and Powerstrike, each of which are carrying either Sister 1 and Sister 2. Quickmane says that the cubs require supervision and asks if Nothing can be trusted to take care of them without Sharptongue's help. Nothing sarcastically says that she can handle it and while Quickmane is quick to rise at her backtalk, he says that he, Powerstrike, and Waterhunter will be back for Nothing's "pet's" assessment later and reminds her to show up on time with the cubs.

After they leave, Nothing looks down at the cubs and is commenting that they are cute when they are sleeping when she hears Fire whispering to her from a pair of bushes nearby. When she asks what he's doing there, Fire tells her to meet him at the watering hole but when she protests due to her obligation to care for the cubs, he disappears. She tells the cubs not to move and hurries to meet Fire, after which Feather peeks out from under a leg and grins.

Nothing makes her way to the watering hole and calls out for Fire, who appears at the edge of the foliage. They run to greet one another but are interrupted by a rustling in the bushes nearby. Feather leaps out and accuses Fire of coming to take over the Pride, exclaiming that he must have been a No-mane that Quickmane had been sniffing. When questioned, he says that Silentstalk has been teaching him how to track and that he'd found them that way. Fire finds this amusing and reassures the cub that he isn't there to take over the Pride. Feather thinks a moment and excitedly accepts this answer.

After a short exchange between Fire and Feather (during which Feather says that he'll have a million Prides when he grows up), Nothing picks him up and says that it's time to take him back to the Sister's Steppe. Fire stops them and says that he was hoping that they'd be able to meet his friends, a band of No-Manes just outside the territory. He promises Nothing that Feather will be safe, and she tells him that they have to be back for a ceremony at Sunce's highest gaze. He says they'll have plenty of time and leads the way.

When they reach the part of the Stretch where the Bachelor's Group is, Fire introduces Nothing and Feather to Tangle, Proud, Root, Meadow, Stub, and Scruffy. Tangle expresses his sympathy for how she was named, but Proud comments that if she's not good at anything, it follows that her name in fact should be Nothing. Fire quickly says that Proud is teasing and tries to change the subject, and Tangle says that Proud doesn't know how to shut up. He looks back to Nothing and says that Fire talks about her a lot, and when Tangle and Proud hear the story about how she received her scars, Feather reveals that Nothing jumped on his Dad's face and ripped out his eye. Tangle wows at this and says he would have just accepted death. Proud's interest is piqued by Feather's mention of Quickmane's injury and reconfirms with Feather that his "Pa" only has one eye when Nothing suddenly realizes that they are missing Hover's naming ceremony. She and Feather say a quick goodbye and hurry off to return to the Sister's Steppe, leaving Fire to look confusedly over at Tangle and ask: "Who's Hover?"

Nothing and Feather rush back to the Sister's Steppe, but exhausted from the journey and the heat, Feather asks to stop for a drink of water. Nothing tells him to make it quick, and stands waiting until they both hear a noise in the bushes. Feather grows afraid and Nothing stands protectively in front of him as a wide-eyed Ghost exits the bushes. Nothing exclaims that she and Feather are under the protection of Quickmane and his Pride. Ghost announces that he is not there to harm them, but that something is shifting. He insists that it is time and that Nothing should follow him, but Nothing falls into a defensive stance and says that they are not going anywhere with him. Ghost says that it is not her decision. They fade out, and the credits fade in.

Trivia

 * The E04 thumbnail was created by @PixelBirb on Twitter, also found as @pixel_sparrow on Instagram.
 * Root, Stub, Meadow and Scruffy were winning entries for the No-Mane Design Contest hosted by the My Pride Series social media platforms from March 17th to March 28th, 2020. In the order the No-Manes are listed here, their artists are @patronust, @Lucler_lucifer, @silverkitsu, and @tacothechubbylizard from Twitter.