Deserts and Dragons

by Metool Bard

A Noble Bandit

Chapter 14:
A Noble Bandit

Babs Seed was awakened by what felt like a bucket of cold water being dumped on her head. She squirmed and sputtered as she recovered from the splash, but soon concluded that it was actually quite refreshing.

"Y'all are lucky I have standards," said a familiar voice. "If it wasn't for me, y'all would be on the buzzard's menu by now."

Babs blinked a few times and blew back her combover. When her vision had returned, she was quite perplexed by what she saw. Standing over her was an all-too-familiar yellow dragon.

"Hey, I know you," she said. "You're the bandit who helped us escape the hideout."

"So, you remember me. Can't say I'm all that flattered," said Needles with a chuckle. "After all, we only met like an hour or so ago." She then pulled out an apple and handed it to Babs. "You hungry?"

"Starvin'," said Babs, licking her lips. "But, what about...?"

"The others?" said Needles, finishing Babs's thought. "Don't worry, they're fine."

Babs slowly sat up and took a look around. Sure enough, the other Crusaders were awake and munching on apples.

"Hey, Babs," said Apple Bloom. "Needles here managed to recover our food an' followed us out here."

"Huh," said Babs, brushing the back of her head before turning to Needles. "Well, thanks."

"Don't mention it," said Needles, hiding her face with her parasol. "I'm jus' not comfortable leavin' a group of kids to die in the desert is all."

"Wow. You really must be a noble dragon," said Sweetie Belle. "But then, why are you with those bandits? Doesn't that go against your Dragon Code?"

"Dragon Code?" Needles parroted, blinking in confusion.

"Yeah, Spike told me about it," said Sweetie Belle. "Dragons have this code of honor and chivalry that they have to abide by, or else they can't be considered noble."

Needles stared blankly at Sweetie Belle for a few minutes before stifling a laugh. "Wh-who did ya hear that from again?"

"My friend Spike. He's a dragon, so he knows these kinds of things," said Sweetie Belle.

Needles found it harder to contain her laughter. "Th-that so?" she said, trying her hardest to keep a straight face.

"What's so funny?" asked Scootaloo.

"I, probably shouldn't tell ya," said Needles between chuckles. "All I'll say is that this is my first time hearin' 'bout this Dragon Code."

"Really?" said Sweetie Belle, tilting her head. "Spike says it's something all dragons have."

"Yeah, go tell that to Trigger," Needles scoffed. "He's as far from chivalrous as you can get."

"Well, he's probably just an exception," said Sweetie Belle with a shrug.

"Oh, I wish," Needles muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing," said Needles, clearing her throat and composing herself.

The other Crusaders paused for a moment and shared a collective shrug.

"So, anyway," said Scootaloo. "What's your deal with those bandits, huh? You don't seem to like them very much, so why do you hang out with 'em?"

"It's a long story," said Needles. "The basic gist is that Nasty-Asty wanted a gang, so he recruited me."

"Just like that?" asked Babs before biting into her apple.

"More or less," said Needles with a shrug. "He needed a pair of dragons to help operate those newfangled cannons he managed to get his mitts on."

"And you were okay with that?" inquired Scootaloo.

Needles smiled a coy smile. "When you breath fire an' your partner is carryin' a lot of gunpowder, it's easy to manipulate the situation," she said slyly. She then sighed. "That bein' said, Asterius still calls the shots. Y'all saw that squabble I had with him when he took my topaz."

"You shouldn't let that guy walk all over ya," said Babs, blowing back her combover.

Needles snickered. "I'm not. After all, I went outta my way to save you girls, didn't I? I'm pretty sure he didn't want me to do that."

"Aren't you afraid that he'll get mad when he finds out?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Let him," said Needles firmly. "I'm not exactly as noble as this Spike friend of yours, despite what you're sayin' to the contrary, but I draw the line at leaving a bunch of fillies to the buzzards. That jus' ain't right."

There was a pause as the Crusaders continued to eat their apples. Finally, Apple Bloom looked over at Needles.

"I overheard you talkin' to that Trigger guy about us bein' sent by the Dragon Magi," said she. "How'd ya know 'bout that?"

Needles sighed. "Alright, let me clear a few thing up for y'all, 'kay? First off, those dragons I mentioned aren't Dragon Magi. They're jus' a coupla bums that the Bull's Eye Gang kicked out so that we could convert their nest into a hideout."

"I knew it," Babs said bitterly. "They probably duped us into tryin' to get their nest back."

"Yeah, I reckon that's the case," said Needles. "Secondly, even if they were Dragon Magi, that doesn't mean they'd be able to help ya. There's a difference between wisdom an omniscience, y'know."

"Omnisci-what?" asked Scootaloo.

"She means that even though the Dragon Magi know a lot, they don't know everything," Sweetie Belle clarified.

"Well, that doesn't matter," said Babs. "We still gotta try. After all, we're the Cutie Mark Crusadas! An' we won't rest until we find our special talents!"

"So, you're so eager to find your special talents that you're willin' to run off into the desert chasin' something that might not exist," said Needles.

"Geeze. When you put it that way, you make us sound like a bunch of morons," said Scootaloo with a huff.

"Didn't mean to be insultin', hon," said Needles. "If anythin', I admire your guts. But really, y'all should probably get back to where ya came from."

"Yeah, that's not happin'," said Babs firmly. "We've come too far to give up now."

"I dunno, Babs," said Apple Bloom with a sigh. "Maybe she has a point."

"What? Cuz, c'mon. This isn't like you," said Babs. "You're not the kinda filly who throws in the towel just because things get rough."

"Babs, I want my Cutie Mark jus' as bad as everypony else here," said Apple Bloom as tears formed in her eyes. "But, I really think we're in over our heads this time. Cousin Braeburn is probably back in Appleloosa worried sick about us. An' now, I'm startin' to get worried sick about us. Wh-what if we're never heard from again?"

"Cuz, you can't be thinkin' like that," said Babs, walking over to Apple Bloom. "Listen, I'm scared, too. We all are. But my sis told me that bein' scared isn't a reason to throw up your hooves and quit."

"I-I know," said Apple Bloom with a sniffle. "I jus', I jus'..."

The rest of her statement was lost in sobs. Babs sighed, and put her foreleg around her cousin.

"It's okay, Cuz," she whispered. "We'll get through this, together. I promise."

Sweetie Belle became misty-eyed as well, while Scootaloo simply stared at the ground and flattened her ears. Needles bit her lip.

"C'mon, Needles. Pull it together," she mumbled to herself. "You shouldn't let a pity party shake ya. You're better than that."

She paused for a moment and looked back at the fillies. She sighed and shook her head.

"You did enough. Better you jus' let them be," she muttered.

"What do we do now?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I dunno," said Scootaloo with a sigh. "I think Apple Bloom has a good point, but I don't believe in giving up, either."

"Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing," said Sweetie Belle with a sniffle. "Oh, if only the Dragon Magi would show up. They could help us."

Needles scrunched her eyes shut and tightened the grip on her parasol. After a few seconds, she let out a sigh.

"The heck with it," she said before turning to the Crusaders. "Hey, y'all are lookin' for the Dragon Magi, right?"

"Well, yeah," said Scootaloo.

"I can help ya."

Apple Bloom looked up from her crying. "Y-ya can? But I thought you didn't believe in that."

"I never said I didn't believe it. I said it was a legend," said Needles. "But I know the legend's true."

"Really?" squeaked Sweetie Belle, her expression brightening. "Well, where are they?!"

"Hold your horses, gals," said Needles. "First, we gotta find you some water."

"Wait, didn't you use water to wake us up?" asked Scootaloo, raising an eyebrow.

"Th-that was all I brought with me," said Needles hastily. "Listen, the path to the Dragon Magi is a long one, so y'all need a lot of water. Trust me on this."

"Well, alright," said Babs. "But how are we gonna find it?"

Needles smirked. "Y'all don't think this here's jus' a parasol, do ya?" she said. "It actually doubles as a dowsing rod."

"A what?" asked Scootaloo.

"It's something that nomadic ponies use while traveling through the desert," explained Sweetie Belle. "I read about it in this, book..."

She trailed off as a big grin crossed her face.

"What's up, Sweetie Belle?" asked Babs.

"I just got a great idea!" said Sweetie Belle gleefully. "Needles, can we borrow your parasol?"

"Um, sure," said Needles. "But be careful with it, y'hear?"

"We Pinkie Promise," said Sweetie Belle. "Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eyes."

Babs grinned. "Oh. Now I get it," she said. "See, Cuz? We're back in business!"

Apple Bloom dried her eyes and smiled. "Yeah. It looks like we are. Sorry y'all had to see that."

"Eh, foggetaboutit," said Babs with a warm smile as she blew back her combover. "We all understand, Cuz. An' that's why we're not givin' up."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders then piled into the wagon while Scootaloo hitched up her scooter. Needles crawled in as well. When they were all settled, Sweetie Belle held Needles' parasol aloft with her magic.

"Ready, Scootaloo?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Ready!" said Scootaloo with a salute.

"Alright!" said Sweetie Belle. "Let's go! Cutie Mark Crusaders Water Hunters!"

"Yay!"

And with that, they were off like a shot. As they rode through the desert, only one thought passed through Needles's head:

What the heck did I jus' get myself into?

Comments

[ShadowLDrago]

What the heck did I jus' get myself into?

I have no clue.

[Dan]

Omniscience. Not Omnipotence.

[Metool Bard]

7377020 Ah, right. Really easy to get those two confused. Thanks for catching that, mate.