The Final Crusade

by Enfield

Yet Another Home From Home

As Dave drove onward to the ranch, James started asking the Crusaders where they wanted to go. He mentioned all the places he had been to for the past three years; Deadwood, Keystone, the nuclear missile launch facility, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse memorial, and a couple of abandoned gold mines. As James had predicted, they wanted to go to each place mentioned.

“Are we able to?” James asked his mother.

“I think we can pull it off,” replied Katherine.

“We’re here,” said Dave.
They had finally arrived at the ranch, a large piece of land with several houses and a large barn sat ahead of them. Apple Bloom tried to get a better look out of the front if the car but was pushed back into her seat by James.

“Relax, we’ll get a better look at the place in a bit,” he said.

“This is our house,” said Katherine, she pointed out a large cabin in the middle of the line of homes. The cabin was the same one James’ family had used for the past three years, but before they could go inside they had to get the key from the ranch owners.

“So are these people nice?” Sweetie Bell asked as they made their way to the administration building.

“Nicest people I’ve ever met,” said James.

“Once we get the key we can unpack,” said Katherine.
As everyone went inside James pulled Apple Bloom aside.

“Listen,” he said, “The ranch owners are nice people but you can’t mention your home to them.”

“Why? We might get to know one another better,” said Apple Bloom.

“I don’t want our secret to be compromised,” said James, “Keep to yourself and don’t mention Ponyville. Also there is someone here who does look a lot like your sister so don’t blurt anything out.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Apple Bloom said, a little annoyed that James was trying to keep her safe, not because she was sick of it but because she thought James took protecting them too far. She was glad James was doing everything he could to keep her, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo safe but she wanted James to back down a little from time to time.
The owner of the ranch was already talking to Dave and Katherine. Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo had become a little shy but were happy to see James and Apple Bloom walking through the door.

“And here’s James now,” said Dave.

“Glad to see you’re still sticking around,” said the owner, “So, are you going to introduce me to your little friends?”

“This is Abigail,” James said pulling Apple Bloom closer to him, “And their names are Samantha and Susie.”

“Just so you know, I’m Samantha,” said Sweetie Bell.

“And I’m Susie,” said Scootaloo, “Hope that James didn’t confuse you.”

“None at all,” said the ranch owner, “Anyways, I’m Doc.”

Doc was a living example of what a ranch owner should look like; the typical rancher outfit, a large cowboy hat, beard and mustache combo, real cowboy boots and a holster at his side. James had always liked Doc, both he and Doc would scout out horse riding trails before the main group arrived to make sure it was safe. That task became more of a job after a bear somehow got past them two years ago, the near death experience led Dave to buy a Winchester repeater so James could at least some protection.

“This here’s the strangest bunch of kids I’ve ever seen,” Doc said looking at each one of the Crusaders, “Now from what your folks told me was that their families are on some sort of business trip and you’re taking care of them.”
James looked a little confused at first but then realized it was the perfect alibi.

“Yep, that’s right,” said James, “Little Abigail here lives on a farm herself.”

“Oh really?” said Doc, “What kind of farm?”

“Produce,” said James.

“And boy do we grow a lot of apples,” said Apple Bloom.

“Where’s your farm at?” asked Doc.

“Somewhere in New York,” said James.

“Good place,” said Doc, “Anyway, here’s the key to your cabin, it’s exactly the same as you left it.”

“Thank you Doc,” said Dave, “When is the next horse riding tour?”

“Some time next week,” said Doc, “A few fires happened last month and we’re helping the forest rangers clear up the place.”

“We’ve got enough places to go in order to kill time,” said James.
Doc waved to them as they left. While Dave and Katherine went to see the new stables James led the Crusaders to the horses.

“Here are the horses,” said James.

“Wow,” the Crusaders all breathed. Several large stallions and mares wandered around inside the pen, one brown and white horse trotted over to James.

“Hey there Remington,” James said. The horse responded with a small whinny.

“You know this horse?” Sweetie Bell asked.

“I’ve been riding Remington for the past three years,” James said as he stroked the horse, “He knows me and I know him. We’ve connected in a way.”

“He’s really nice,” said Apple Bloom.

“One of the best horses in the ranch,” said James, he turned around and saw his parents waking back to the car with one of the ranch hands “We’d best get back to the car now.”

Dave and Katherine took James and the Crusaders back to the cabin, once they got to it James jumped out of the car took the key and ran to the door.

“Are you coming to help?” Dave asked.

“Let’s get the door open first,” said James.

“I hope there are enough beds for us all,” said Apple Bloom.

“Not to worry,” said James, “It’ll most likely be the same setup as last year.”
James opened the door to the cabin and looked inside, the Crusaders were all behind him waiting to go inside.

“Welcome to our home from home,” said James.
The cabin was in perfect shape, two floors and three separate rooms. The upstairs floor only had two beds and a small TV, the bathroom was small but well equipped, both the kitchen and living room were combined and the first room James stepped into, he looked around and saw the same map of the state affixed to the wall. As James walked around the living room he examined every last picture and appliance.

“Yep,” he said, “Just like we remember.”

James went back to the SUV and helped his parents carry cases out and take them to the cabin while the Crusaders investigated the cabin for themselves. They looked in each room and upstairs as they decided on what to do during their vacation.

“First thing’s first,” said Apple Bloom, “Who gets what room?”

“I want to be upstairs,” said Sweetie Bell.

“Same here,” said Scootaloo, “I don’t like sleeping alone.”

“Fine then,” said Apple Bloom, “I’ll take that room there.”
Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo ran upstairs leaving Apple Bloom to see the room she had picked by herself. Apple Bloom walked into the bedroom and looked around, the bed was a decent size double bed, it seemed to take up most of the room however but that didn’t bother Apple Bloom. She pulled off her boots and climbed up on the bed, eager to test how soft it was. As Apple Bloom was jumping up and down on the bed the door opened and she dropped down to a sitting position.

“Alright, I’ll keep the gun in my room,” James’ voice was heard, Apple Bloom relaxed because she knew James wouldn’t mind her jumping on the bed. James entered the room with a rifle case in his hand, he stopped when he saw Apple Bloom sitting on the bed.

“What are you doing in here?” James asked.

“Just trying out the bed,” said Apple Bloom, “Why? What are you doing in here?”

“This is my bedroom,” James said with a slight laugh.

“Oh, really?” Apple Bloom said, she had no idea that this was James’ room.

“Nice in here isn’t it?” James said as he set down the rifle and sat on the bed next to her, “Same room I’ve used for the past three years.”

“The bed’s real soft,” said Apple Bloom, “I like this room.”

“Well this had been my favorite room for the past three years you know,” said James.

“Aww,” Apple Bloom moaned, “Can I be in here? Please?”
James looked at her and Apple Bloom responded with one of her classic cute looks. James tried to resist but couldn’t look away, Apple Bloom’s face was too cute looking to resist.

“Alright,” he sighed, “You can stay here.”

“Really?” Apple Bloom said.

“If you didn’t give me that look I would have had you sleep in the spare room but I couldn’t resist giving in,” James said.

“I can change anyone with that look,” said Apple Bloom. James chuckled and stood up.

“Like I said, you can stay in here,” he said taking the rifle as he left, “Just don’t try that look on me again.”

“No promises,” said Apple Bloom.

After every last case was unpacked and everyone settled into the cabin Dave and Katherine decided to go down to Hill City in order to stock up on food and to see if there was anywhere to eat later. Hill City was yet another adventure for the Crusaders, a place like this may have been new to the girls but for some reason they knew where to find certain stores even though they had never been in Hill City before. Once shopping was taken care of and another few hours had passed, the family found a nice place to eat at for the night.

“It’s really nice of you bringing us here,” Apple Bloom said to James’ parents.

“Well James insisted,” said Dave, “And we thought that you might like this place as well.”

“At least now if we have to fly anywhere you three are set,” said James, “Three passports in less than two days. How we pulled that off I’ll never know.”

“Considering that most of their personal information is wrong,” Katherine said in a whisper.

“I’m more impressed that the people didn’t ask us anything about the girls,” James said quietly.

“So where are we going tomorrow?” Sweetie Bell asked, the current conversation was making her uneasy.

“It’s your choice,” said James, he took a handful of brochures out of his mother’s bag and gave them to the Crusaders.

“You find a place and we’ll take you there tomorrow,” said Dave.
The Crusaders sifted through the pile of brochures and after what seemed like an hour, they found a place.

“Can we go here?” Apple Bloom asked handing James one brochure. James read it, it was a brochure for a goldmine museum, a one hundred twenty old mine with interactive exhibits and a gold panning area, best part was that it wasn’t far from the ranch. James gave the brochure to his parents and they nodded.

“Why not?” said Katherine, “Maybe you might get something to take home with you.”

“Like what?” asked Scootaloo.

“Real gold,” said James.