Deserts and Dragons

by Metool Bard

Loose End Roundup

Chapter 19:
Loose End Roundup

It took a while, but Braeburn eventually got over his confusion, and things started to settle down.

"I'm glad you're all okay, girls," he said, giving the Cutie Mark Crusaders a stern look. "But y'all still shouldn't have run off like that. I was worried sick about ya."

"We know," said Sweetie Belle with a sigh. "And we're sorry. We meant to leave you a note to tell you where we were going, but we kinda forgot."

Braeburn gave a sigh of his own. "Sweetie Belle, a note wouldn't have changed anythin'. Y'all were runnin' off into the desert chasin' some fairy tale. I still would've come after ya."

"Beggin' your pardon, sir, but I don't like bein' called a fairy tale."

Needles made her way into the conversation, her parasol once again in her claws. She seemed to be a bit uneasy.

"What do ya mean by that?" asked Braeburn.

"Needles here is actually one of the Dragon Magi," said Apple Bloom. "An' she knows where they live, too. She was gonna take us to her so that they could tell us how we can get our Cutie Marks."

Little Strongheart blinked. "I-is that true?" she asked.

"Yeah, the cat's outta the bag," said Needles. "I'm actually a Dragon Mage in trainin'. I know a few spells, but I haven't been able to understand the whole guidance thing. Actually, this was gonna be the first time I saw my folks in a while."

"Why's that?" asked Scootaloo.

Needles sighed. "'Cause I ran away, an' I shouldn't have. I dunno, I jus' couldn't handle the pressure. I thought that bein' a Dragon Mage meant that I had to have an answer for everythin', an' when I didn't, I got scared. So I ran away, an' the Bull's Eye Gang picked me up. That's when I started driftin'."

She then looked at the Crusaders and gave them a weak smile. "But that's changed now. You gals have showed me why the Dragon Magi insist on bein' helpful. It's 'cause, helpin' others feels good. I guess I kinda lost sight of that because I was so afraid of my responsibilities. Thanks."

"Aww, you're welcome, Needles," Sweetie Belle cooed cutely as she flashed Needles an adorable smile.

Needles blushed and hid her face behind her parasol. "W-would ya stop with that face?! You're embarrassin' me!" she said. When she composed herself, she turned to Braeburn. "Anyway, my point is that maybe these kids did get a wild idea in their heads and didn't think things through. But if it wasn't for them, I would've thrown away somethin' that was very important to me. So, for my sake, don't be too hard on 'em, yeah?"

Braeburn stroked his chin for a moment. "I'll, think about it," he said.

"That's all I ask," said Needles.

"So, what happens now?" asked Babs. "Are ya gonna go back to your parents?"

"I dunno," said Needles, fingering her parasol sheepishly. "I mean, knowin' what it means to be a Dragon Mage is a big first step. However, I still don't know how I'm supposed to go about it. I've got a good head on my shoulders, but I ain't wise. I don't think I can go back until I figure this out."

"But, where will you go then?" asked Little Strongheart, her voice reflecting concern. "The Bull's Eye Gang is finished."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Ehheh... Ehheh..."

Needles looked up as the familiar creepy laugh took her by surprise. Sure enough, there stood Trigger and Toro the Bulldog, holding a still-unconscious Asterius captive.

"Señor Asterius isn't the Bull's Eye Gang, Señorita Needles. We are," said Toro. "And as your partner, I have your back no matter what."

"That goes double for me," added Trigger. "Your story is quite interesting, and I realized something."

"Whazzat?" asked Needles.

"I want to help you."

Needles's eyes went wide. "Ya wanna what?"

"I want to help you figure things out, my dear Needles," said Trigger. "I may not know magic, but that doesn't matter. You're still very important to me, and I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy."

Needles blushed. "W-wow. Th-thanks. I guess I misjudged you, Trigger. You can be a gentleman when ya wanna be."

"Does that mean I get a kiss? Ehheh..."

Needles gave Trigger a bemused look. "Annnnnnd you're back to bein' a creep," she said, bopping him on the head with her parasol.

"I-it's a reflex! Ehheh..." said Trigger, rubbing his head. "I-I don't mean anything by it!"

Needles sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "The sad thing is that your creepy obsession with me really helped us out in dealin' with Asty. Ugh, jus' the thought of that makes me sick."

"Speaking of Señor Asterius, what do you think we should do with him?" asked Toro.

"I say we turn him in," suggested Trigger, wringing his claws. "The bounty on his head is probably a lot more than the ransom we would've gotten from the fillies. Ehheh... Ehheh..."

"Plus, our sisters probably wouldn't have paid the ransom, anyway," said Babs, blowing back her combover. "They probably would've beaten ya up instead."

"I know I would've," Braeburn chimed in.

Trigger rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "W-well, good thing we're all friends now, because holding these young girls hostage is exactly what we're not doing. Ehheh..."

Needles couldn't help but giggle. "Never let anyone call you an idiot, Trigger. 'Cause you're smarter than ya look," she said. "But yeah, I guess turnin' Nasty-Asty in is a good idea. We'll jus' have to make sure that they pay us in gems."

"Now that is something I can get behind," said Toro with a smirk. "So, are we still keeping our hideout?"

"If we are, we'll have to go some major redecoratin'," said Needles. "I dunno what is is with minotaurs an' mazes, but that stupid labyrinth needs to be overhauled."

"But, what about those dragons we stole it from?" asked Trigger. "They want it back, don't they?"

Little Strongheart paused for a moment, and her face suddenly lit up. "Actually, I have an idea," she said.

Needles gave Little Strongheart a curious look. "Ya do? Well, let's hear it, hon."

"Follow me," she said.

With that, she galloped off while everyone else quickly followed.

***

They didn't have to go far before Flint and Steel flew over to greet them.

"Hey, Little Strongheart! Great to see you!" said Steel. "How'd it go?"

"It went quite well," said Chief Thunderhooves. "The fillies are safe and sound."

"Speaking of the fillies, I think you owe them an apology," said Little Strongheart sternly.

"Oh, c'mon!" Flint griped. "Don't you think we've suffered enough, LS?!"

"Flint, don't be so foul," Steel scolded. "She has a point." He then turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Flint and I deeply apologize for lying to you and sending you into certain danger."

"Three hundred and seventy eight," Flint snarled.

"How exactly was that stupid?" asked Steel, placing his hands on his hips. "We're supposed to be making amends, remember?"

"He's right, you know," said Little Strongheart. "And speaking of making amends, I just thought of something else you two can do."

"Oh please, no more," groaned Flint.

"I think you two should rent out your nest to the Bull's Eye Gang."

Flint's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "WHAT?! LS, you have gone too far! They're the ones who kicked us out!"

"Asterius is the one who kick y'all out," Needles corrected. "We jus' followed his orders. Right now, we don't have any other place to go, so it would be noble of y'all to lend a claw an' give us some space. In fact, why don't you two join us?"

Steel blinked. "You want us, to join you?"

"It's the least we can do, ese," said Toro. "We split everything five ways, and we only work for gems."

"Well, that sounds fair," said Steel. "What do you think, Flint?"

"Three hundred and seventy nine. That's what I think," Flint growled. "I am not sharing my nest with a bunch of bandits that kicked us out."

"Flint, this is our chance to get back in the Chief's good graces," said Steel sternly. "You are not blowing this for me. Besides, noble dragons always help damsels in distress."

"If you're referrin' to me, I'm gonna make ya see stars," warned Needles. "I already have one dragon chasin' my tail. I don't need two."

"Duly noted," said Steel nervously.

Flint sighed. "Do you see what I have to deal with, LS? C'mon, give me a break here!"

"I suggest you take Little Strongheart up on her offer, Flint," said Chief Thunderhooves with a snort. "It is the only way to redeem yourself."

Flint growled in frustration and sighed. "Alright, I give up. You win, LS. I'm sorry about everything, and I'll rent out my nest. But I'd better get my fair share!"

"Well, of course ya will," said Needles. "Who do I look like, Asterius?"

The bandits all shared a bit of a chuckle while Steel nervously joined in. Flint merely snorted angrily.

"Oh, don't be such a sourpuss," said Steel. "This'll be great fun! But, we may want to try a different name."

"Different name?"

"Well, I don't really like the name Bull's Eye Gang," said Steel, nervously twiddling his fingers.

"I don't have a problem with it, ese," said Toro with a shrug.

"That's 'cause you're Toro the Bulldog," said Needles, rolling her eyes.

"Well, it's nothing to fight over," said Trigger. "We can think of a better name. How about the Gem Seekers?"

"Nah, not really intimidatin'," mused Needles.

"How's this for intimidating? You all clear out of our nest, or I'll roast the lot of ya," Flint snarled.

Steel sighed. "That's fifteen."

Flint blinked. "What?"

"Oh, I'm just counting the number of times you've been obnoxious for no good reason," said Steel. "I've just been keeping it in my head until now because I think saying it out loud is very rude."

Flint's eye twitched. "Wha—? Did you just...? How did...?"

Flint continued to sputter random, angry gibberish before simply giving a roar of frustration and flying off.

"I'm sure he'll get over it," said Steel. "He's just being a bit huffy."

Scootaloo grinned. "You mean like Huffy the Magic..."

"Don't say it," interrupted Needles with a groan. "Ugh, I hate that joke."

"Oh, right," said Scootaloo sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's fine," said Needles. "Say, y'all know how you're gettin' back? Toro can cut ya an underground path to Appleloosa in nothin' flat."

"Thanks, but I think we're covered," said Braeburn.

Toro raised an eyebrow. "You're not planning on traveling with those locos potros, are you?"

"Ah, good stallion! I take it things went well?"

As if on cue, the FlimFlam Brothers and Fiddlesticks arrived on the scene with the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. Apple Bloom's eyes went wide.

"What the—?! What are they doin' here?!" she exclaimed.

"You, know these guys, Apple Bloom?" asked Braeburn.

"'Course I know 'em! They tried to run Sweet Apple Acres outta business!"

Braeburn's eye twitched as he turned to the shady salesponies. "So that's why you two didn't wanna talk about Ponyville," he said darkly.

Flim gulped. "Th-that's all water under the bridge, good stallion. Nothing to do with this little rescue mission."

"B-besides, that wasn't our original intention," added Flam. "We wanted to be partners at first, but they refused."

"Applejack said if we agreed to your deal, we would've gone outta business, anyway!" said Apple Bloom with a snort.

"W-well, we've learned from that experience, I assure you," said Flim.

"My hoof you did!" growled Braeburn. "Y'all were pullin' the same shenanigans in Appleloosa when I first bumped into ya!"

Chief Thunderhooves's eyes narrowed. "Is that true, Little Strongheart?"

"Every word," said Little Strongheart with a nod.

Chief Thunderhooves snorted angrily. None of the other buffalo seemed happy about this, either.

"N-now look, we don't have any business with Appleloosa, so the point's moot," said Flam nervously. "We still have a deal, a-and we fully expect those five bushels of apples when we get back."

"Right, as if chargin' Braeburn for every minor incident wasn't enough," said Fiddlesticks sardonically.

"H-hey, those charges are legitimate!" protested Flim. "We provided a service, and we expect compensation!"

"Yeah, yeah. Ah heard it all before," said Fiddlesticks. "Several times, as a matter of fact. It's all you two ever talked about."

"Let me see if I have this straight," said Chief Thunderhooves. "Four fillies run into the desert, a pony asks you for your help, and you see this as an opportunity to profit?"

"Th-there's no right answer to that question," said Flim. "Um, on second though, good stallion, we'll just send you our invoice at a later date."

"And it'd better be reasonable," said Braeburn. "Otherwise, you two aren't gettin' a cent."

"Furthermore, I do not wish to see you in our land ever again," growled Chief Thunderhooves.

"Noted," said Flam with a sigh. "I suppose that's one more town we're not welcome in, brother."

"Yeah, you might as well throw out that minute piece of paper," said Fiddlesticks with a mocking smirk.

Flim was about to protest, but thought better of it. "L-let's just head back home, yes? And I promise, it'll be the last you see of us in Appleloosa."

"We're holdin' ya to that," said Braeburn, hopping up onto the transport.

"Y'know, my offer's still on the table," said Needles. "I don't trust these guys at all, and I'm supposed to be a bandit."

"I think they'll behave themselves now that they know the stakes," said Little Strongheart.

"Suit yourself," said Needles with a shrug. "I guess this is where we part ways then."

"Yeah, looks like it," said Braeburn. "Thanks for looking after the gals, Needles."

"My pleasure," said Needles. "An' gals, thanks again for settin' me straight."

"No problem," said Scootaloo. "Take care of yourself."

"Good luck, Needles!" said Sweetie Belle with a wave.

"Yeah, seeya," said Babs. "An' don't let anyone push ya around."

"Don't worry, I won't," said Needles with a smile. "Alright, Toro! Vamanos!"

Toro nodded and grinned before diving underground. Needles, Trigger, and Steel quickly followed, and the Bull's Eye Gang headed off to parts unknown.

"Well, we may not have gotten our Cutie Marks, but at least there's one thing I can say about this wild adventure," said Apple Bloom.

"What?" asked Braeburn.

Apple Bloom gave her older cousin a smirk. "We're gonna have a great story to tell Applejack when she comes in to pick us up," she said.

"We gotta make sure she listens to the whole story, though," said Babs. "That way, she'll understand."

"I was, actually hopin' that we could keep all of this a secret," said Braeburn.

"Applejack says it's always important to be honest," said Apple Bloom frankly.

"Besides, it might lead to a new Cutie Mark!" Sweetie Belle chirped.

Braeburn raised an eyebrow. "What Cutie Mark could possibly come from this?"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Storytellers! Yay!"

Braeburn stifled a laugh. "Aw, I can't stay mad at you girls."

"Fillies and gentlecolts, we've got a champion foalsitter right here!" said Fiddlesticks facetiously.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Fiddle," growled Braeburn. "Let's jus' go home."

"Alright, cool!" said Scootaloo, flapping her wings. "Race ya!"

"Wait, wha—?"

Before Braeburn could finish his thought, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were off like a shot. He smacked his head with his hoof.

"Those crazy girls a gonna be the death of me," he groaned. He then turned to Flim and Flam. "Well, don't jus' stand there! Go after 'em!"

"R-right, yes!" said Flam. "After them, Flim!"

"Right-o, Flam!"

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 whirred to life and chased after the Cutie Mark Crusaders as the buffalo herd brought up the rear. As they rode on back to Appleloosa, the sun had just begun to set behind them. Apple Bloom smiled whimsically as she looked on.

An' the best part is that despite everythin', we still managed to keep our Pinkie Promises, she thought. Well, kinda. Sorta. Maybe it's best if we don't talk to Pinkie for a coupla days...

The End

Author's Note:

What would Applejack think of this crazy tale? I'll leave that to your imagination, dear readers.

Comments

[Tachyon Xenophile]

Needigles is awesome.

[OmniFox]

Let's just say we're going to need a new bleeper machine for this.

[Metool Bard]

2952589 A new bleeper machine for what?

[OmniFox]

2952595 To block all the swearing when Applejack's going rant.

[Zaveryn]

Now this was a great story!

[Metool Bard]

2993880 Thanks. I'm really glad you enjoyed it.

[Themaskedferret]

*Applauds* Bravo! This was terrific! Everyone felt really well characterized and Flim and Flam never stopped cracking me up Really solid stuff, sorry it took me so long to finish it XD

[Metool Bard]

3016631 Honestly, my biggest fear while writing this was running out of material for Flim and Flam. I'm glad I was able to keep their banter humorous throughout. And I'm glad that you enjoyed the tale as a whole.

[Baree]

So Needles doesn't get to meet Spike? Awwww. Entertaining from start to end, even if the ending was still a tad to open for my tastes. Just a tad though, and of course my tastes say nothing about your writing abilities.

[NotAnElk]

Good story Kind of a shame how the rescue mission didn't end up helping much, since all that happened was Braeburn threw a pie at Asterius, then the CMC went back on their own and the Bull's Eye Gang went off on their own. Their chapters didn't end up being entirely helpful to the overall plot, though they were humorous

[Alpha Scorpii]

I'm not sure how Applejack will react, but I suspect Apple Bloom is going to be grounded for quite some time.

Anyway, I really liked this story! It was fun to read and I found the original characters to be very entertaining. Good job.

[Metool Bard]

3954378 Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[ShadowLDrago]

5536910

No problem, everyone makes mistakes, I just read the fic, enjoy it, and spot any errors I think there might be. Usually with grammar, because so far, everyone's in character, the OCs are good, a few continuity nods, I got nothing to complain about.

[Sobriquet]

I enjoyed this fic very much. I think Spike should've been in the story though. It would've been interesting to see his interactions with the dragons especially Needles.

[Metool Bard]

5561900 Well, actually, Spike is in the sequel to this tale, Trial by Kinship. So you can check that out if you want to see him interact with the other dragons.

[ShadowLDrago]

Needles's eyes went wide. "Ya wanna what?"

He wants to what?

"How exactly was that stupid?" asked Steel, placing his hands on his hips. "We're supposed to be making amends, remember?"

He makes a good point.

"Oh, I'm just counting the number of times you've been obnoxious for no good reason," said Steel. "I've just been keeping it in my head until now because I think saying it out loud is very rude."

Best dragon. That is all.

Scootaloo grinned. "You mean like Huffy the Magic..."

This is where I lost my sides.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Fiddle," growled Braeburn. "Let's jus' go home."

I like this, it shows that even ever chipper Braeburn has limits to his patience.

[Zaveryn]

7506630

It's okay. You just reminded me this fanfict exists and I've forgotten what it's about because I haven't bothered re-reading the description so I'm just going to read this fic again :P

[Page-Mistress]

Me: Weird, I know I read this before. Why do no chapters show that? Heck, how come I didn't save it as a favorite? I remember enjoying this.
(Two seconds later)
Me: [smacks self] Oh duh. I must not have read it while logged in! I must correct that!

[BirdsBooksBrownies]

8571465
Thank you, you sure know how to spin a real good yarn, I enjoyed every minute of it. By the way, I'm making a guess that AJ isn't going to be too tickled about their adventure, I see grounding in the CMC's future.

[blite]

"not talk to Pinkie" oh Applebloom don't you know she's already in town

[MixMassBasher]

This story is great little cmc style adventure.

The duo of dragons tricking the cmc reminds me of that one movie... The Road To El Dorado I think.

[L Drkheart]

A fantastic little tale with characters that you wouldn't have expected to be a team. I loved the story and I have to say it reminded me a lot of the kind of story the comics of mlp might take on. Well written and fun! A story that really deserves more praise!