Rise of a Bounty Hunter

"I wasn't expecting you to come this early." Rex stated as he sat at his desk. I sat in one of the two other chairs across from him. "Where's Lightning?" I started messing with the nick nacks on his desk.

"She had a rough night, so I told her to just relax today." He has one of those birds that drink from the glass. "And besides, we never specified a time, so I figured I could hang with you until they get here." I picked up a Rubik's cube and began trying to solve it. "You also said that you wanted to talk." I leaned back in the chair, placing my feet on the desk. Rex leaned forward and pushed my feet off the desk.

"Yeah, I got to ask you two things." I nod whilst continuing to attempt to solve the puzzle. "First, did Woody surrender?" I pause, but never look up. "This isn't going into a report, but I saw the body, the gun, all of it. And the look on his face. Did he surrender, Rise?" I continue working the cube.

"Yeah." I said softly. Rex sighed, rubbed his face, and leaned back in his chair. He brought his chastising eyes back to me.

"You killed a man in cold blood, and all you can say is 'yeah'?" I finally take my eyes off the puzzle to meet Rex's gaze.

"Yeah, Rex. What do you want from me? Sorry I shot a guy who threatened not only the town, but the Elements of Harmony and a princess." I returned to the puzzle. "In my eyes, he was marked for death the moment he pointed his gun at a kid." I glanced back at Rex. He had an expression that screamed You're still wrong but I know you won't budge. "What was your other question?" He rested his arms on the desk, and adopted a softer expression.

"Why'd you suddenly move to Ponyville?" I shrug while twisting the puzzle. I've solved four sides now.

"Well, since you moved here, you said it was a nice place, with nice people. I figured that I might as well see if you were right, and the fact the Tavi lives here, too. I want to try and fix things."

"You know she isn't going to be as welcoming as I have, right?" I nodded.

"I know we can't have what we did again, but I want to try to be friends. Like we've always been." She was a friend long before we became more, and before I destroyed it all.

"You never answered the question." Rex stated. I scoffed.

"Of course I did." I added with a grin.

"You gave me reasons to move here, not why you moved here." The grin left my face as I placed the complete Rubik's cube on his desk. I sat there quietly staring at the puzzle. He was about to ask again, but I spoke.

"About four months." Rex closed his mouth in confusion. "I have about four months."

"For what?" He asked. I pulled the vial out of my coat pocket and placed it on the desk. I can see when it clicked by the widening of his eyes. "No. You can't be. Rise, tell me you're fucking with me." I shook my head. "But, that was supposed to help!" He shouted pointing at the vial.

"It does, it used to. It won't for much longer." He shot out of his chair.

"You can't die, Rise! This is bullshit!" He placed his hand on his face as the tears began to break through.

"This was going to happen, Rex. I knew it would, you knew it would. This doesn't stop it. It only prolongs the inevitable."

"You're my best friend! I can't lose you, too." The tears were now freely flowing. "Maker, Rise! I.." I grabbed his shoulder and pulled into hug.

"Shh. Don't cry for me. Not yet. I still got about four months, and there's a shit ton of things I still gotta do." I let him go and we sat back at our seats. After he recovered, he asked me another question.

"Does your mom know?"

"Yeah," I suddenly remembered something very important, "Shit!" Rex jumped in his seat at my outburst.

"What!"

"I forgot to call Mom!" Rex pointed at the door, chuckling.

"You can use the phones in the lobby." I shot up and sprinted to a phone. Hopefully she didn't watch the news this morning. They were pretty quick on the story about a whole town being held hostage. I put the phone to my ear and dialed the number. I was met by the aged rasp of my mother's voice.

"Hello?"

"Mom, It's me." The moment she heard me, she confirmed my fears.

"Rise! Are you okay?! Were you hurt?!" Her loud, caring voice swiftly changed to the drill sergeant tone she used back in her Wonderbolt years. "I DIDN'T PUSH YOU OUT OF MY VAGINA SO YOU COULD GO AND GET YOURSELF SHOT!"

"I know mom, but I'm fine."

Twilight and her friends arrived at the guard house in the late hours of the morning. They were about to question the town's newest resident, and subsequently it's newest bounty hunter. They had mostly mixed feelings about it, but they couldn't come to an actual opinion on the man they were about to meet. When they entered, they saw the man in question. Back turned to them, talking on the phone, and judging by how loud he was, he didn't notice them enter.

"No, I'm not wearing the sweater. Because it gets more air than a Wonderbolt. Yes! I know you made it, but you were trying out new things and, honestly, knitting isn't your thing. What do you mean what am I going to do with it?! No, I'm not going to throw it away. I don't know. Storage? What the fuck do you want me to do, frame it and put it on my wall?! THAT WAS A JOKE, MOM!" He rolled his eyes and accidentally slammed his head into the wall he was leaning on. He pulled back with a hiss, then sighed loudly. "Fine. No, I'm not seeing anyone." Rex had come out, and much like Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, was doing his best to hold in his laughter while the others had amused smiles. He motioned them into his office. The last thing they heard before the door closed was Rise shouting "I'M NOT GAY!"

"I'm sorry I don't have many seats in here." Rex apologized as he walked around his desk and sat down. Twilight and Rarity sat in the chairs in front of the desk, while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took the small couch by the door. Leaving Pinkie and Applejack to stand, or, in Applejack's case, leaning on the wall next to the door. Rex looked at the door. "His mother is a great woman, and they have a great relationship. They've been through a lot." His gaze returned to some paperwork. "It's best to let them talk. I interrupted one of their conversations before." He winced. "I'm not keen on doing that again." Rainbow chimed in.

"Afraid of what Rise would do?" Rex scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"His mother. That woman used to be Wonderbolt, and she still trains the newer members." Rainbows eyes widened

"No way! What's her name?!" She could barely hold in her excitement.

"Misty Snow." Rainbow gasped.

"His mom was the co-captain of the Wonderbolts? That's so cool!" Rex laughed.

"Don't tell Rise that. He's not a big fan of them." everyone else in the room had the same shocked expression as Rainbow, but Applejack was the only one to voice it.

"Why not?" Rex rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, His mom isn't the only Wonderbolt he's related to. His dad was the former captain Aerodynamic." This tidbit earned a gasp from Rainbow. "His uncle is Platinum 'Speedy' Autumn, which, of course, means that current captain, Spitfire, Is his first cousin." Rainbow was suddenly floating over Rex's desk, face inches from his.

"Why wouldn't he like the Wonderbolts?!" Rex placed a finger on her nose and gently pushed her back.

"What do these people have in common, other then they're Wonderbolts?" Rainbow shrugged.

"Wings!" Pinkie shouted while holding her hand up like she was in school. Rex smiled and pointed at her.

"Bingo! They have wings. What doesn't Rise have?" Twilight came to the realization first.

"He doesn't like the Wonderbolts because he doesn't have wings?" Rex nodded.

"Right. His parents were excited about having their first son. When it turned out he didn't have wings, they happily took less important positions in the Wonderbolts, so they could move to Canterlot. To make it worse on Rise, Their second son, Jet, Was born a pegasus. Just like everyone else around him." The mood changed in the room. "Rise doesn't hate them or anything. In fact, he loves his relatives more than anything, but, even though he would never admit it, he feels like he let them down by not having wings." Everyone went quiet when the doorknob turned.

The door opened and Rise stepped in. He looked around at everyone confused. Then he shrugged walked up and sat on top of Rex's desk, causing Rex to grunt in irritation.

"If I didn't want you to put your feet on my desk, you should know that your ass isn't allowed on the desk either." Rise shrugged.

"Deal with it. Now, I know you have ques-WHOA!" The last thing Rise was expecting, was for Rex to actually do something. As a certain guard's boot had been planted on Rise's back, and he was unceremoniously shoved off the desk. The silence was broken when Pinkie let out a snort and began laughing. The others, save Rex, who was reorganizing his paperwork, Laughed along with her. Rise stood and dusted himself off, before continuing. "Any questions?" Fluttershy saw the bandage on his ear, and floated over.

"Oh my, are you alright?" Rise followed her gaze. He couldn't cover the whole wound with the gauze. The cut was from the ear to mid cheek, and was clear that he was the one who stitched it closed.

"Yeah, I dabble in alchemy, so I was able to disinfect and clean it pretty well." He placed a hand on the bandage. "Almost lost the lobe, and I still need to work on my stitching." Fluttershy turned towards Rex.

"Um, do you have a first aid kit?" She then added shyly. "If you don't mind, that is." Rex grabbed the kit from under his desk and handed it to her. She removed the bandage and began doctoring the poorly doctored wound. Rise didn't stop her, but that didn't mean he wasn't stupefied by her kindness. Applejack stepped up and stood a foot away from him. Her eyes zeroed in on his, watching for any dishonesty from him.

"Why do ya do it?" He looked confused. "The bounty hunter thing?"

"Because, despite popular belief, bounty hunters can do a lot of good. Don't get me wrong, there are some bad seeds there, but a good many of us don't do it for the money. We track down and stop dangerous people who can hurt or kill."

"If'n you feel that way about it, why would ya hide it?" Rise winced as Fluttershy applied antiseptic, causing her to let out a cute "sorry."

"Did you see the mob in front of town hall yesterday?" Twilight sent him an apologetic look, he shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm used to it." Turning his attention back to Applejack, he continued. "An angry mob is deadlier than any bounty. I had a close friend whose wife and son were burned at the stake in front of him." That got a gasp out of everyone in the room. "Which is why I ask that you keep what I do a secret." Applejack nodded and stepped back.

"Ah'm convinced." She stated. Rainbow flew up to him, excitement radiating from her eyes. Fluttershy began restitching.

"You're kinda cool, y'know?" Rise shrugged, wincing as Fluttershy worked.

"I guess?"

"You were so quick when that guy tried to stab you! Then you took his knife and.."

"Rainbow!" Rarity interrupted. "I'm sure he doesn't want to talk about that mess, darling." waved

"Ask me anything, and I will answer. It's the least I can do since you're giving me the light of day." Rainbow suddenly had a realization.

"Wait, who was that other bounty hunter." Rise thought for a second

"Delta?" She nodded. Rise appeared to have inner conflict as his eyes darted in thought. Before he could reply Pinkie jumped in.

"Is it Lightning Dust?!" Rex spat out the coffee he was drinking. Rise's eyes widened.

"How?" Pinkie giggled.

"You just told me, silly." Rise proceeded to slam his palm into his fore head.

"Smooth, dumbass." Rex chimed in after wiping off his face.

"Hold still please." Fluttershy scolded, receiving a pain induced "sorry" in turn. Pinkie continued.

"You could tell, though. You two were hanging out when we found you, and she said she was staying with you while she was in Ponyville." Rainbow eyes were wide.

"That's so cool!" Applejack rolled her eyes. Fluttershy took a step back.

"I'm done." Rise felt the new bandage.

"Thank you." He looked over everyone else. "Any other questions?" Everybody shook their heads, but Rarity stood up and wrapped her arms around Rise, much to his surprise. He awkwardly returned the hug. Everyone in the room was smiling except Rainbow, who rolled her eyes and fake gagged, receiving an elbow from Applejack. After a couple of seconds Rarity spoke.

"I could never thank you enough for saving Sweetie Belle." She finally let go and took a step back to see Rise with a worried look on his face.

"How is she?"

"She's fine now, thanks to you, darling." Rise smiled and gave an appreciative nod.

Afterwards, everyone said their goodbyes and left, and only Rise and Rex remained. Rise looked up at the clock before turning towards Rex.

"Where does Tavi live now?"