Peace Porridge Hot

by Metool Bard

Prologue: Summon the Dragoons!

"That's right. Just cough it all up."

The two wealthy ponies looked nervously at each other as they placed all of their valuables in the burlap sack. The bulls surrounding their stagecoach held their horns close, ready to ram the ponies if they so much as made a move. Their ringleader laughed.

"You ponies are such easy targets," he scoffed. "I almost feel bad for robbing ya blind. Almost."

"Oh, you're gonna feel bad, alright."

The bulls perked up, trying to locate the source of the new voice. The ringleader scowled.

"Who said that?" he asked, snorting angrily and pawing the ground. "Show yourse—"

He was interrupted by a loud rasp piercing the canyon skies, followed by a large tremor beneath his hooves. Suddenly, a pair of insect mandibles sprang up from the sand, snagging one of the bulls and tossing him over the wild blue yonder.

"I-it's an antlion!" one of the bulls cried. "Boss, we should get out of here!"

"When I want your opinion, I'll give it to ya!" the ringleader barked. "The great Longhorn ain't afraid of no overgrown insect!"

"It's not Khamshin you should be worried about, ese."

Longhorn spun around again. This time, his eyes went wide with shock. Standing before him was the most terrifying-looking posse he had ever laid eyes on. Two of them were teenage dragons. One was short with black scales that shined like obsidian; the other a lankier fellow with grey scales and sharp eyes. The next was a black Diamond Dog with large, fierce-looking jowls. He wore a large sombrero and a braided poncho, and he held a large cannon that was pointed right at the bandits. On the Diamond Dog's shoulder was a small dragon with alabaster scales and a manic look in his piercing blue eyes.

But what frightened Longhorn most of all was their leader, a small yellow dragon with a mole on her cheek and a parasol in her claws. Floating next to her was a tiny amber flame with beady little eyes.

"No. I-it can't be," Longhorn sputtered. "There's no way!"

"Methinks our reputation precedes us, boys," said the yellow dragon. "Toro, don't let these guys out of your sight."

"Wasn't planning on it, Señorita Needles," said the Diamond Dog. "No one escapes the eye of Toro the Bulldog."

"Just say the word, and these guys are toast," said the black dragon, pounding his fist into his palm.

"Um, let's be wary of the civilians here, Flint," said the lanky dragon. "We're trying to help people, remember?"

"I know what I'm doing, Steel," Flint snarled.

"You two, cut the chatter before I have Khamshin knock some sense into you," Needles scolded.

Longhorn snorted, trying his best to save face. "Heh. Looks like you Dragoons are still the laughingstock of the Mild West. Always tryin' to do good, and always messin' up."

Needles narrowed her eyes and summoned a magical throwing star. "You wanna say that again, hombre?"

"No, Needles. Do not let him rile you up," said the fire elemental. "Remember, the path of violence is not the only one."

Needles closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I got this, Ocard. Just let me do my thing."

"You stop picking on Needles," the white dragon snapped. "Otherwise, I might just get a bit itchy and fire this cannon at you. Ehheh..."

"Trigger, let me handle this," Needles growled. "I can fight my own battles."

"I know, my dear desert blossom," said Trigger, wringing his claws. "But remember, you don't have to fight alone. We're all here for you."

Needles blushed. "Th-that ain't helpin', Trigger."

Longhorn laughed. "Well, ain't that sweet. I hate sweet! Go get 'em, boys!"

The bulls hesitated for but a moment before charging at the Dragoons. However, this soon turned out to be a mistake. Flint and Steel shot into the air, breathing their flame from above and singeing the stampede. Explosions erupted from Toro's cannon, sending bulls flying hither and thither. Even so, Longhorn would not be deterred.

"Flank 'em from the rear!" he ordered. "They ain't lookin' behind 'em!"

Needles deadpanned. "You know we can hear ya, right? Khamshin!"

She brought her fingers to her lips and let out a whistle. From behind, the antlion from before burst from the ground, blocking the bulls foolish enough to attack from behind. With a rasp, he breathed out a dusty smog, bathing the bandits. When the smog cleared, they were petrified.

"Good boy," said Needles with a smirk. "Ready to pack it in, Longhorn?"

Longhorn smirked in return. "I still ain't afraid of you, Dragon Mage. I know your weakness."

He let out a whistle of his own. From the depths of his posse, one bull stood up on its hind legs and revealed muscular arms where its front legs used to be. Needles gasped as she recognized the monstrous minotaur. His burly black biceps; his cow skull helmet; even his sinister red eyes sent chills up her spine. The minotaur grinned.

"Long time no see, Needles," he said.

"Asterius," Needles sputtered, almost choking on her own words. "You've got a lot of gall causing trouble on my watch."

"Really now? What about you?" Asterius asked, towering over Needles. "You ran away from your clan a long time ago, and I took you in. The Mild West was supposed to be under the rule of the Bull's Eye Gang, and you threw it all away 'cause you went soft."

"Or maybe I just realized what a jerk you are and how important my heritage is," Needles retorted. "We ain't your Bull's Eye Gang no more, Nasty-Asty. We're the Dragoons, and we keep this land safe."

"Do you now?" said Asterius, stroking his chin. "'Cause the way I heard it, Dragon Magi aren't supposed to be violent. Y'all are supposed to be noble and wise and guide people through life. How exactly are you accomplishing that by fighting against the likes of me?"

Needles's hands balled into fists. "You have no idea what I've been through to get to this point, Asty. And yeah, I still don't know everything there is to know about this Dragon Magi business. But it ain't from a lack of trying."

"Good, young Needles," said Ocard. "Assert your position without resorting to aggression. Don't let your anger get the better of you."

Asterius scoffed and drew his own miniature cannon. "Well, look at you, all high and mighty! You think you've grown beyond bein' an outlaw?! You think you can best me, the biggest and baddest bandit the Mild West has ever known?! You're nothin' but a disappointment to everyone around you!"

Needles flinched. "Th-that ain't true. My folks are kinda disappointed, yeah, but I've gotten better! And my friends are still there for me! 'Sides, I ain't looking for your approval!"

"You'd better, Needles," said Asterius in a dark tone. "'Cause by the time I'm done, I'm gonna be the only friend you've got left!"

His cannon erupted, and a loud rasp echoed behind Needles. She spun around to see what he hit, and her heart froze. The antlion, Khamshim, roared in pain as the cannon blast flipped him on his back. Before Needles could react, Asterius fired another shot. This one struck Flint and Steel, and the two dragons fell from the sky. Tears welled up in Needles's eyes.

"Stop it," she muttered, trembling all over as her chest felt hot. "Stop it, Asterius. Stop it, or you're gonna regret it!"

"Needles, relax," Ocard warned. "You're losing control."

"Relax? Relax?!" Needles bellowed, turning savagely towards Ocard. "The Dragoons are practically my second family, and he's mowing them down! How do you expect me to relax?! He's hurting my friends!"

Ocard sighed "I'm not saying you can't be empathetic, young Needles. That is a key teaching of the Dragon Magi," it said sagely. "But remember, your emotional state is linked to my power. When you lose control, I lose control. And the results of that won't benefit anyone."

"Then what the heck am I supposed to do?!"

"That I cannot tell you."

"What you mean is that you don't know!"

Ocard gave Needles a bemused look. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I was the mentoring fire elemental here. You know, the thing Dragon Magi assign to their children so they won't stray from the noble path? It's no wonder you took so long to summon me."

"Oh, don't you start, Ocard! Don't you dare star—"

Another cannon blast interrupted her train of thought. This one struck Trigger, knocking him clean off of Toro's shoulder. Needles's chest felt like it was about to explode, and she glared daggers at Asterius.

"That's it! You're goin' down!"

"Needles, no!"

But Needles did not hear Ocard. She bombarded Asterius with more energy stars than she knew she could wield. She belted out an amber flame, which took the form of a large, snakelike dragon. The flaming dragon roared and darted across the land, immolating everything in its path. The desert sand fused into glass, and everything else was reduced to ash. Before Needles could fully drink in the horror of what she had just done, she blacked out.

***

"Gah~!"

Needles awoke in the middle of the desert, sitting cross-legged on a massive boulder under the starry night sky. She panted heavily, taking stock of her surroundings. Khanshim sat next to her, snoring contently. She sighed and stroked the antlion's mane.

"Dang it. Failed again," she muttered.

"You are improving, young Needles. Do not get discouraged," said Ocard, floating next to her.

"I'm trying not to, Ocard. I really am," said Needles. "I-it's just so hard. I've lived most of my life fighting my way through everyone I didn't like, but you keep saying that's not how Dragon Magi do things. Maybe this isn't for me."

"I wouldn't give up so easily," said Ocard. "Clear your mind and let's try again. Oh, and do make an attempt to avoid insulting me. I don't take that kind of thing well."

Needles scowled. "Well maybe if you weren't such a jerk, I'd be inclined to—"

She suddenly felt a sharp, burning sensation in her scales. Looking down at her body, she was surprised to see it start to glow.

"Wh-what's goin' on?" she wondered.

"Ow~! Oof! Not again!"

"Seriously, Steel. Stop being such a wimp."

"Speak for yourself, Flint. I can never get used to this. Ehheh... Ehheh..."

Needles turned back towards the hideout. Flint, Steel, and Trigger emerged, all of them glowing just as she was.

"Okay, now I'm really confused," said Needles, scratching her head.

"Hmm. I suppose since I'm outside your body, I'm unable to block the summons," mused Ocard. "Intriguing."

"The summons? What're you talking about?" asked Needles.

"Guys!"

The Dragoons turned their eyes to the horizon, and they saw a familiar young buffalo galloping up to them.

"Little Strongheart. You're up rather late," said Steel. "Trouble with the buffalo tribe?"

"No, nothing like that," said Little Strongheart. "We just got an invitation for this year's Inter-Species Conference, and I thought you guys would be interested." She then noticed the dragons' glowing bodies. "Although from the looks of things, you already got the message."

Needles massages her temples. "Will someone please start explaining what the heck is going on?!"

"Long story short, you're being summoned by the Dragon Lord," said Ocard. "Dragon Magi usually don't answer to that particular hierarchy, as they've divorced themselves from their western cousins' barbarous ways. But this time seems to be an exception."

"Okay. But, why is the Dragon Lord summoning us?" asked Needles.

"I think it has to do with this year's Inter-Species Conference," said Little Strongheart, holding up her own invitation.

"And, what is this conference, Señorita Strongheart?" asked Toro.

"Princess Celestia meets with all of the different species who are allies or seek to be allies with Equestria," Little Strongheart explained. "Chief Thunderhooves is having me represent the buffalo this year."

"Great. Proud of you, Strongheart," said Needles, folding her arms. "Still doesn't explain what the Dragon Lord wants with us."

"Well, look at this."

Little Strongheart pointed to the invitation. There were a lot of names on it, most of them were people Needles didn't recognize. But one immediately caught the attention of Trigger.

"Dragon Lord Ember?"

Little Strongheart nodded. "You guys might not know this, but dragons have never attended the Inter-Speices Conference before."

"So, what? Lord Ember wants to mingle with ponies; big whoop," said Flint with a shrug. "What does that have to do with us?"

Needles shrugged. "Guess there's only one way to find out. Toro, watch after Khanshim. We've got a summons to answer."

"Of course, Señorita Needles," said Toro with a bow.

Needles sighed. "Alright, Dragoons. We're heading for..." She turned to Little Strongheart. "Where's this conference bein' held?"

"Canterlot."

"We're heading for Canterlot. Vamanos."

With that, she leapt onto Little Strongheart's back and pulled Trigger up with her. She then gave Toro and Khamshin one final wave goodbye before Little Strongheart galloped towards the Appleloosan train station, with Flint, Steel, and Ocard flying close behind. All the while, Needles couldn't help but wonder what fate had in store for them...

Author's Note:

Why is it that all of the entries to this particular series get stuck in some development purgatory? Seriously, this sequel was over a year in the making, but until Gauntlet of Fire aired, I didn't know how I was going to go about crafting this storyline. But with the world-building that episode provided, this is just the thing I need to get me out of my slump.

Just to be safe, it is recommended that you read the two stories leading up to this one. Y'know, just so that you aren't too lost.

Comments

[ARTL]

The title alone sends me into giggles, consarnit.

[Seether00]

In the pot. Nine days old.

[OmniFox]

To Canterlot!!!!

[redmar]

I like seeing the Dragoons again the 2 preceding stories to this one were good and I think this one will be as well.

[alluringming]

Yes i been looking for this fic forever. lol wanted to reread it and the prequal but life of me coudlnt remember the title and thought i saved it.