Chapter 18:
Showdown of Crossed Lines
"Let's at least try to be reasonable here, Asty," said Needles, standing her ground. "You didn't have Toro sniff me out an' chase me all across the desert jus' to kill me."
"You really wanna test me, doncha Needles?" Asterius snarled. "You knew jus' what you were gettin' into when ya joined the Bull's Eye Gang. Don't act so surprised."
"I have no clue what loco idea got into your head, Señorita Needles," Toro the Bulldog chimed in. "But whatever it is, you'd best forget these chicas. They're our prisoners."
"Sorry, Toro. Not happin'," said Needles, shaking her head. "These gals have nothing to do with us."
"Must you be so stubborn, Needles?" asked Trigger. "You're only making it worse for yourself. Ehheh..."
"An' that's supposed to scare me?" said Needles. "I ain't afraid of you, Asty. I never was."
Asterius leaned over and snorted right into Needles's face. "Well, ya should be, ya varmint. I'm the Terror of the Mild West, an' no one stands up to me."
Babs Seed bit her lips, her eyes still scrunched tight as tears began to seep through. Apple Bloom knew what her cousin was upset about and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
"Babs, don't," she said. "You could get hurt."
"I-I know," said Babs in a strained tone as she began taking shallow breaths.
"You ain't the boss of me, Asty," Needles spat.
"Keep diggin' that grave of yours, Needles," Asterius warned. "It's become apparent to me that you've got a death wish."
"Don't talk to her like that," Babs muttered, her shoulders becoming tense.
Sweetie Belle gulped. "I-I think we need to come up with a plan before Babs explodes."
"Yeah, but what?" said Scootaloo. "If we try to run away, they're gonna blow us up!"
"Well, we could try a distraction," said Sweetie Belle. "Hang on..."
Sweetie Belle then closed her eyes and focused on her magic. A green aura enveloped a small portion of sand, which began to levitate off the ground. Toro noticed this and pointed his cannon at the Crusaders.
"I see that!" he barked. "No sudden moves, chicas, or else."
"Y-yessir!" Sweetie Belle squeaked as she stopped her spell.
"So much for distractin' 'em," said Apple Bloom with a sigh.
"Boss, maybe we should rethink this," said Trigger nervously.
"Maybe you should shut your trap," Asterius growled. "It was your idea to hold the fillies for ransom in the first place, an' look where it got us."
"Don't go blamin' Trigger for havin' more brains than you," said Needles.
Asterius's eye twitched. "Say that again, Needles. I wanna make sure I heard it right so that I can chisel it on your tombstone!"
Right then and there, Babs snapped.
"Leave her alone, ya big bully!" she screamed. She ran out in front of Needles and took out her slingshot. Asterius looked down at her and sniggered.
"Well, would ya look at that? The bigmouth finally grew a backbone," he said mockingly.
"Shut up, punk! J-just shut up!" said Babs, intensity in her voice as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You think bein' bigger an' havin' that stupid cannon give ya the right to push everyone else around?! 'Cause it doesn't! Now, I'm not gonna lie; I'm very scared right now. But I will not stand here an' let you pick on my friends!"
Asterius scoffed. "You're serious about this, aren't ya? You really think you can take me on with that little slingshot?"
"What say we find out, busta?" said Babs, blowing back her combover.
Asterius snickered. "Alright, bigmouth. I'll play along. But it's your funeral."
"Babs, get back here!" Apple Bloom cried. "Ya don't need to do this!"
Babs shook her head. "No, Cuz. I do. I made a promise to myself to neva let my friends be bullied ever again, an' I intend to keep it."
Needles opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She simply stared at Babs in stunned silence.
"Let's get to it, then," said Asterius, mounting his cannon on his back. "We draw on three."
"I don't like this, Boss," said Trigger.
"Didn't ask for your opinion, Trigger," Asterius growled.
Babs's eyes narrowed. "You're treadin' on thin ice, buddy," she said darkly.
"Keep tellin' yourself that, bigmouth," said Asterius. "Now find some way to holster that there slingshot so we can start properly."
Babs snorted, and gripped the slingshot with her tail.
"Right then," said Asterius. "One."
Apple Bloom began chewing her hoof, her eyes glued on Babs.
Needles cast her eyes downward.
"I can't watch!" Sweetie Belle squeaked as she covered her eyes with her hooves.
"Two."
Scootaloo's wings flittered nervously.
Trigger began wringing his claws and muttering to himself.
Asterius snorted, and his hand twitched.
Beads of sweat formed on Babs's brow as she blew back her combover.
"Three!"
Asterius drew his cannon, and Babs scooped up her slingshot. Before Trigger could decide what to do, Babs let a rock fly and struck Asterius in the shin.
"GAH!" Asterius roared, dropping his cannon and gripping his shin while hopping up and down. Trigger fell off of the minotaur's back and landed on the ground with an unceremonious thud. Babs stared blankly at the spectacle, as did the other Crusaders.
"Okay, new rule. Don't make Babs mad," said Scootaloo.
"Agreed," said Sweetie Belle. "Think we should leave while he's distracted?"
"I wouldn't recommend that, potra," said Toro, still pointing his cannon at the Crusaders. "Nothing gets past Toro the Bulldog. Make one wrong move, and it's hasta luego."
"I have no idea what that means, but it can't be anything good," said Scootaloo with a swallow.
When Asterius recovered, he was absolutely livid. "Why didn't ya fire, ya varmint?! I said draw on three!"
"Th-the fillies are worth more alive, Boss," said Trigger sheepishly. "B-besides, we know somepony's looking for them. We can still hold them for ransom. Ehheh... Ehheh..."
"I don't care! She was askin' for it!" Asterius bellowed.
"B-but what about Needles?" asked Trigger. "If she got caught in the blast, it would've been tragic."
"Ya spineless salamander! You're gonna get it when this is all over!" snarled Asterius before turning menacingly to Babs. "As for you, you'd best say your prayers, bigmouth! 'Cause I'm gonna tear you apart with my bare hands!"
"Not on my watch, Asty!"
Asterius was about to charge at Babs when Needles suddenly blocked him off. To everyone's surprise, she was floating off the ground and cloaked in a powerful amber aura. She curled her claws into fists, and several small bits of energy shaped like stars appeared between her fingers. Her eyes then snapped open as she threw the stars at Asterius. Confused, Asterius took the full brunt of the attack and skidded back. The Crusaders' jaws dropped.
"N-Needles?" stammered Sweetie Belle. "You're one of the Dragon Magi?!"
"Surprised?" said Needles. "I was about to tell ya, but Asty here interrupted me. Unfortunately, that's jus' the good news."
"There's bad news?" inquired Scootaloo.
"'Fraid so," said Needles with a sigh. "Truth be told, I'm actually a Dragon Mage in trainin', an' I haven't honed my skills for a while. What I did jus' now is pretty much the extent of my power."
Apple Bloom blinked. "Seriously?"
"Hey, ya think I'm happy about it?" Needles growled. "An' before y'all ask, no, I can't answer your Cutie Mark question, neither."
She then turned back to Asterius. "But, that don't matter right now. What matters is that I'm gonna protect you gals no matter what. It's high time I stopped driftin' an' lived up to the proud name of my ancestors."
"I feel like we're missin' somethin' here," said Babs, rubbing her head.
Needles gave Babs a dry smirk. "I'll tell y'all the whole story later if we get through this."
Asterius shook himself and shot Needles a glare. "So not only do ya double-cross me, but you were also holdin' out on me? Oh, now I'm mad!"
"Good! 'Cause so am I!" Needles shot back, summoning more stars. "All these fillies ever did to ya was stumble into the hideout by accident. That's no reason to kill 'em!"
"Never knew you were so soft, Needles," said Asterius with a snort as he pawed the ground. "Those kids brought this upon themselves. It's their own fault for tryin' to mess with the Bull's Eye Gang."
With that, Asterius charged again, and Needles threw the stars at him. Asterius tried to slip out of the way, but they turned around mid-flight and hit their target. Asterius was pushed to the side while Needles shook her head.
"Anyone ever tell ya that you're a broken record?" said she. "'Sides, it ain't about the gang. It's all about you."
"An' what's wrong with that?" Asterius growled as he got to his feet. "I'm Asterius, the Terror of the Mild West. This land is my domain, an' my word is law."
"Well, I never voted for ya," said Needles. "An' if you want them fillies, you're gonna have to go through me."
"Ooh, Needles~! So feisty. So brave," said Trigger. "I think I like this new side of you. Ehheh..."
"Whose side are you on, ya varmint?!" Asterius barked. "When I'm through with Needles an' the fillies, you're next!"
"Hang on, ese."
Asterius's eyes went wild as he turned to see Toro pointing his cannon straight at him.
"What in tarnation is this?!" Asterius yelled.
"First you stiff me out of my haul, and now you plan to stiff me out of my partner?" Toro growled. "I told you before. No one stiffs Toro the Bulldog. Not even you."
"She double-crossed us, ya mangy mongrel!" Asterius roared. "She's not on our side!"
"Look, all I wanted was easy access to gems, ese. This wasn't part of the deal," said Toro.
"What deal?!" Asterius screamed. "There was no deal! I recruited you, so you have to do what I say!"
"Heh. Glad you admit it," said Needles, stifling a laugh. "You didn't want a gang. Ya jus' wanted some goons to do your dirty work. Well, beggin' your pardon, Asty, but none of us signed up for that. I do believe you're now outnumbered and outgunned. Still feel like testin' us?"
Asterius let out several powerful snorts and pawed the ground. "Don't act so smug, Needles. Ya never know what a cornered beast might do. You're all dead! Every last one of ya! I'll—!"
"Hey, ugly!"
Another voice made itself known. Asterius snarled and spun around, only to get hit in the face and knocked onto his back. Needles looked down at the unconscious minotaur and raised an eyebrow.
"W-wait a minute," she said, unable to believe her eyes. "I-is that an apple pie?"
"Apple pie?" parroted Apple Bloom, perking up. "Wait, then that must mean..."
Before she could finish her thought, the entire area was surrounded by buffalo. Braeburn emerged from the herd and dusted off his hind hooves.
"Alright, ya lousy bandits!" he called out. "We've got ya... Surrounded?"
An awkward silence hung over the air as a tumbleweed rolled by. Needles broke the silence with a suppressed snicker, which evolved into a fit of laughter. Trigger quickly joined in, and even Toro started chuckling after a while. The Cutie Mark Crusaders shared a bit of a laugh themselves as they ran up to Braeburn.
"That was awesome, Braeburn!" cheered Babs.
"We're sorry we worried ya, Cousin Braeburn," said Apple Bloom, giving Braeburn a hug. "We didn't mean to."
The other Crusaders joined in as Braeburn simply looked on in confusion.
"I'm sorry, did I miss somethin' here?" he asked.
Little Strongheart giggled. "I'm sure everything will be explained later, Braeburn," said she. "For now, just be glad that they're alright."