Chapters An Unwelcoming Welcoming Party
I twiddled my thumbs as I looked around the train car. It looks nice-ish. It's clean, I'll give it that. Maker, I hate trains. We had cars, buses, cabs, hell, there are even a few planes we could have taken, but no, I had to be interrogated by the asshole sitting across from me, ON A TRAIN . I brought my gaze back to the bounty board official. He just stared back. Did I say I hate trains? I do, but I hate train rides with other people even more. By myself, I can tolerate it, but force me to ride with someone else, and I'll die. The silence is usually good for me, -gives time to think- but right now it is slowly killing me with a rusty spork.
"Can we get on with it Mr. Pen, please." I begged. He just stared at me with a smirk that begs me to beat it off his stupid, fucking face. He knows I'm uncomfortable, he knows I hate this moment happening right now, and he loves it. If I knew moving would run me into so much fucking tape that I have to cut through with dull safety scissors, I would have just shot myself and blow this migraine all over the people behind me.
"I guess we can," he states with an indifferent tone, bordering on self amusement, "well, I'm going to ask you a few questions to ensure your honesty and what not, then I'm going to..."
"Get on with it!" I interrupted impatiently. I swear I will choke him out right here in front of these other nice people. He just raised an eyebrow and peered over his glasses.
He sighed "Name?"
"Rise Aero."
"Date of birth?"
"December first, 979 BLR."
"Any medical conditions?"
"Acrylic Brush's disease or E.M.A. Type 1, which ever title fits your fancy." He puts the paper and pencil down and looks at me as if I just told him the clouds were raining skittles. Being that he is a doctor, I'm assuming he knows about the rare, and fatal , condition.
"How long have you had E.M.A.?" I thought back to when I was diagnosed when I was a teenager.
"Ten years or so." He didn't believe me, if that look at anything to say about.
"Do you mind if I do scan of you to prove that you're not bullshitting me right now?" I nodded. To be honest I should have expected this. He raised his hand as a light grey aura enveloped it and myself. It tingles. After a few minutes, his silver eyes went wide.
"How in Equestria are you still alive?" He said, clearly baffled. I just laughed.
"I won't be for too long now. It doesn't matter, let's continue." after a bit of arguing, we continued the interview until we stopped at the station in Ponyville. I got up, grabbed my luggage, shook his hand, and left. It was my stop. On the platform, guards were stopping people at a table and scanning them for illegal goods and all that business.
I took a seat at on of the benches and rubbed my temples. This migraine had worsened, and now every joint in my body ached as if I just attempted a body builders workout routine. I pulled a small black case out of my bag and opened it. Inside were sixty vials of a yellow orange liquid. I took one out and drank it. This is how I'm alive right now. Mr. Pen was right to be surprised. Most with E.M.A. don't make past four years after they are diagnosed with it.
Excessive magical absorption, or E.M.A., occurs when one's body absorbs more natural magic then it can hold. It can be caused by an outside source, type 2, or it could be purely genetic, type 1. As the magic piles up, it causes severe pain, stage one. After two years, your crippled, unable to move without being hit with white hot agony, stage two. within the next couple of years, your body just quits. Unable to deal with the extra magic, or the pain, no one has been able to figure it out.
But, here I am. Ten years and the worst I feel nowadays is a migraine because of this potion. An apothecary had a daughter with E.M.A., and he made it his life's work to create a potion to battle it. She died before he got it however. He didn't give up, though. He went to the hospital where they housing me to see if he can find anyone willing to test his newest batch. I was willing. The potion absorbs the extra magic in your system. At first, it worked for two months, but as time goes by, my body absorbs more and more, and today, I take one every two days.
I close the case and stand up. I go to walk around the table and hopefully avoid being frisked. I almost made it when I heard a sharp whistle. I turned toward the table and saw two guards, the one was waving me over.
"You have been chosen for a random search." They gotta know I'm a bounty hunter. Did the board send word ahead? One of the guards pulls out a small basket and places it on the table. "Please place any thing that might mess with the scan in this basket." Well, shit.
I pulled the revolver from under my coat and put it in the basket. They simultaneously raised an eyebrow. I then pulled the pistol from my side holster and placed it in the basket as well. Then I crouched down and pulled a smaller handgun from my boot. To say they were surprised would be an understatement. I pulled out two knifes from my other boot, and a pocket knife from my, well, my pocket. They just looked at the basket and back up at me.
"Do you have authorization to carry all of these armaments, son?" The closest guard finally asked. I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out my bounty hunter badge. His face went from confused to a grimace. "Oh, of course, we heard a bounty hunter was moving in." Why he was clenching his teeth, I don't know.
"Yeah, well I heard it's a nice town. Figured I could use the quiet." He held up a hand to interrupt my explanation of why I wanted to move in.
"Frankly, son, I don't give a shit why you want to live here. Your kind ain't welcome." Again, well, shit. He's one of those people who thinks all I do is kill people for money, and spend that money on drugs and prostitutes. Asshole. "I suggest you move back out as soon as you can, cause no one is going to want you here." At this point I've already put weapons back into their appropriate holsters. I grabbed my bags.
"Yeah, well, fuck you then." I walked of the platform and pulled out a map of the town. The house I'm moving into is just outside of the market close to where I am now. As I begin my walk, I here giggling behind me. I turned around, but I didn't see anyone. After looking around for a minute, I determined that the noise was in my head, and I needed a nap. When I turned around, I was assaulted by pink. The woman was wearing a pink and blue dress with an apron over it, and she just keeps staring. "Um.. hi?"
She gasped and ran off. I stood up and dusted off my ass, and walked to my new home. I opened the door a peered in. It wasn't too spacious. They had already moved the furniture in. I walked over to the fridge and opened it. It was empty. Yeah, I need to go shopping tomorrow after I meet with the guard captain here. I head up to the second floor. It only had two rooms up here. A bedroom and a bathroom. I stepped into the bedroom and made my way to the bedside stand and opened the drawers. Both were empty, so I put my vial case in the bottom and the smaller pistol in the top one. I then unpacked my clothes. It was dark out now. I stripped down to my boxers and laid down. I had a lot to do tomorrow, and I needed sleep. I reached over and turned the lamp off.
I awoke to strange sounds coming from downstairs. I checked my clock, 10:32 p.m. I left my room and walked over to the top of the stairs, baseball bat in hand. I saw some people snooping in the living room, hiding behind my couch. It looks like they're waiting for someone to come in through the front door. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I recognized one of the intruders to be the strange pink haired girl from earlier. She appears to have brought friends, about forty of them.
I walk down the stairs, bat at my side, and attempt to listen in on their conversation. She's talking to a girl with a blond ponytail and a stetson. I'm more of a fedora guy, but I'm just an asshole.
"Are ya sure he lives here, Pinkie?" Alright, process of elimination labels the pink one as Pinkie. Good going brain, you figured out her name. Now let's find why she's here.
"Well, duh. I talked to Mayor Mare, and she said a new resident just moved in today." Shit, she didn't tell her what I do for money, did she? I'm going talk to her in the morning. At this point, another woman entered the conversation. Her hair was every shade of the rainbow, and she had cyan wings. I admit, wings hurt my feelings, for reasons I will discuss later.
"Well if he doesn't show up soon, I'm drinking the cider." Oh shit, they brought party juice. I start to walk from the stairs to the group. Pinkie appeared to twitch, and everybody is now quiet and hiding like they are getting ready to jump someone. As I continued my walk, I noticed a table covered in food to my right, with a plate of apples on it, so I grabbed one. I saw a space between the rainbow and pink girls. I crouched behind the couch.
Rainbow girl seemed to have noticed me, but was adverting her gaze. She must be intimidated by my beauty and grace. I take a bite from the apple.
"So, what's going on?" I asked, chewing the bits of apple in my mouth. It was really good, best apple I've ever had.
"We're waiting for new guy to come home." Okay, she thinks I'm out on the town.
"How long have you been here?" I am genuinely curious.
"About an hour." Oh, she's stealthy.
"Why?"
"His surprise 'Welcome to Ponyville' party silly." How did forty people carrying party supplies into my living room not wake me? I'm a very light, and paranoid, sleeper. At this point most of the room has noticed me. I took another bite of the apple.
"Well, it's not much of a surprise now." I state. She turns to look at me.
"Wait, you've been home all along?" Her eyes widen.
"Yeah, I was sleeping." I motioned a thumb up the stairs. She appears to have deflated.
"Dude, cool scars." The rainbow haired pegasus commented. How did she know about my scars? They're all under my... shirt. Well shit. I'm in my boxers.
"um, they're mostly work accidents." Mostly true. I have been in more awkward situations.
"How'd you get that one? It's pretty gnarly." She pointed at a long scar that ran from just under my left pectoral, to my left side, just under my rib cage.
"I was helping someone replace a broken window, a shard glass got loose and cut me." I slammed his head into the window, shattering it. He grips a piece of the shattered glass and rams it into my side. Sharp pain pulses through my body as I push with all my strength. The last memory of him is his scream as he falls six stories. "Other then that, it was a pretty easy job." Aw, memories.
"Why do you have a bat?" The pink one spoke up.
"Sports." I cleverly answered.
"But, why do you have it now?" Shit.
"I was anticipating sports?" I responded. The rainbow haired woman then added her blunt, but accurate assumption.
"He probably thought we were intruders and was prepared to beat our brains in." She finished with a grin on her face.
"I'm going to go get dressed, and then party and alcohol." I said as I made way for the stairs. I swear I heard the pink one 'inflate' as I walked off.
After grabbing some clothes, I headed into the bathroom. I stepped up to the mirror, razor in hand. My hair is extends just past my ears. It is rather shaggy, I'm going to have to cut it soon. I shaved the 5 o'clock shadow within minutes, and comb the black mop that is my head. I got dressed in a white t-shirt and black cargo pants, and headed downstairs. I was somewhat surprised at the sight.
"Um... Hello?" It was empty, the party stuff was still here. but the large crowd was gone. Now it's pretty hard to hide forty people in a small living room like this. Especially since I am very minimalistic when it comes to furniture. I walk up to the couch and sat down. There was a light giggle. I shot back up and spun on my heels to face the couch.
"Surprise!" She came out from between the cushions. She was hiding in the couch. I was on the floor from a near heart attack as I tried to make sense of this situation.
"Did I get ya?" It was a small couch. It wasn't hollow, I checked. There is no possible way she could have been in my couch.
"Pinkie, I think you broke him." Stetson broke my train of thought. I realized that every one had come out of hiding and the room was crowded now. Pinkies group of friends had grown by two, there is now a women with a really pretty dress and, I daresay, amazing purple hair. The other wore only what I could describe as smart clothes, Her hair was also a shade of purple with a pink streak through it. She had lavender wings. Wait is there some one hiding behind the pretty one? There is. She had long pink hair, It was a lighter shade of pink then Pinkie.
"How?" I started, but the smart looking one put up a hand to stop me.
"It's better to just let it go." She said. I will take her advice and forget the couch thing ever happened. Pinkie stood next to me and threw an arm around me and pointed to her friends.
"This is Applejack," She motioned toward stetson.
"Howdy," she tipped her hat.
"This is Rainbow Dash."
"Sup," she nodded.
"This is Rarity."
"Afternoon, darling." She's got a Canterlot accent, interesting.
"This is Twilight Sparkle." I Recognized that name, she's one of the fucking princesses. Should I bow? She doesn't seem to care that I'm not bowing.
"Hi," she said. Bowing now would awkward. I offer to shake her hand, and she shook my hand. Damn, If I had a bucket list.
"And this is Fluttershy." She leans closer to me and lowers her voice. "She's a bit skittish.
"Um... hello." I noticed she has yellow wings. I slumped a bit, but not noticeably. I have nothing against pegasi, but wings make me sad. Both of my parents were pegasi. I'm reminded of my own problems, and that I should call mom.
"Hello, my name is Rise." I introduced myself.
"Let's party!" Pinkie practically yelled into my ear.
After breaking away from the girls, I walked over to the table that housed the alcohol. After pouring myself a glass of arguably the best tasting cider I've ever had, I looked at the individuals littered about my home.
"This really is a nice town." I mutter as I take another sip.
Old Friends, New Problems
I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock. After taking a shower, I headed downstairs. Several people were passed out on my floor and couch, so I started waking them up. Some awoke and left without so much as a 'good morning', some were very pleasant, and some I am pretty sure were in a coma. I stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge, and the emptiness reminded me of the things I needed to do.
After half an hour of pulling those who refused to wake up into my front yard, I threw on my dark blue trench coat and started towards the guardhouse. Ponyville is one of those towns that is small enough that there are no cars. You have to walk everywhere. Finally I arrived at the guardhouse, which was slightly smaller then my house.
I entered the lobby where a desk sat at the far end of the room. Chairs lined the room. A man wearing guard armor sat at the desk. He looked up at me and turned his attention back to the papers on his desk. I approached him.
"Morning, I'm Rise Aero. I'm here to talk to the captain." He looked at me with a surprised expression at the mention of my name.
"Yeah, just a moment." He quickly got up and walked over to a door behind the desk and knocked on it. "Sir, one of the bounty hunters are here!" I heard clattering, and after a few short moments, a man wearing silver guard armor emerged. Wait, one of the bounty hunters?
"Hello, I'm Captain Badge. You must be Rise, right?" He said gripping my hand and shaking it vigorously.
"Yes, is Rex here? He's an old friend of mine." I ask, Rex and I grew up together, and the paperwork said he was to be my handler in Ponyville.
"He'll be in shortly. Follow me into my office and we can begin the paperwork and what not." He motioned towards his office as I stepped in. He followed me in and closed the door behind us. "Take a seat and we can get started." He stated pointing at the chair in front of the desk.
After ten minutes of work, I asked the question that has been bugging me. "Who's the other bounty hunter? They told me I would be the only one in this area." I stated as I signed my name, again.
"I got the letter about her shortly after the one about you." He said as he signed his name, again.
"Well, less work for me then." The captain cleared his throat.
"Well, she is rather new, and is applying for a class 3 bounty license." I stopped my quill mid stroke and glanced up at the captain.
"So, there's a third bounty hunter coming then?" To go up in class, a bounty hunter must be able to handle the more dangerous bounties. To determine this, they send them to a bounty hunter that can already hunt those targets to be judged on whether or not they can handle it. She wants to be a Class 3 bounty hunter, which means she would be watched and judged by a Class 3 or higher.
"Not exactly." He quietly mutters while turning his gaze to the papers. He lifts one out of the pile and hands it to me. "You're her analyzer." I'm a class 4.
"No." I state calmly. He raises a finger. I raise my hand to stop him. "There are at least a hundred bounty hunters of Class 3 or higher in the Canterlot area. They don't need me to do it." I rested my case as I finished the last bit of penmanship.
"Yes, but your the only qualifying bounty hunter in the Cloudsdale area." I broke my quill. Shit, I forgot Ponyville is in both the Canterlot and Cloudsdale bounty zones.
"Damn, well who is she?" I said, giving up on getting out of it. He opened a drawer and reached into it, pulling out a letter.
"Her name is.." A knocking at the door interrupted him.
"Sir, the other bounty hunter is here!"
"Better introduce myself then." I sighed.
We stood up after filing the paperwork away and entered the lobby. I saw a few familiar faces, Rex and the guards that were at the train station. The older one leveled a glare at me. Rex has changed since the last time I've seen him. His hair is a darker blonde, and he finally managed to grow a beard. It was a short one, but it was there. He gave me a toothy grin and reached his hand out.
"Rex! You're still a goody two shoes." I grabbed his hand and pulled him into a brotherly hug.
"Well, you're still an ass. How've you been?" I took a step back and shrugged.
"Could be better, could be worse." He chuckled and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Remember when your parents told me that it was my job to make sure you didn't cause too much trouble." I nodded. "Finally, as your newly appointed handler, I'm getting paid for it." He struck a pose with his chest puffed out, and his fists resting on his hips.
"Yeah, but you always sucked at it." I stated, causing him to slump over. I noticed a bored pegasus woman standing of to the side wearing a Wonderbolt flight jacket. I grimaced at that fact, but I tried not to let my biases cause me to judge before I meet her. She had tangerine colored hair that made it look like she flies at high speeds everywhere she goes. Rex followed my gaze. He motioned for her to come over.
"Lightning, this is Rise Aero, Rise, this is Lightning Dust," he pointed at me, "he's your evaluator." She didn't look impressed.
"Shouldn't you be older?" Lightning asked. I blinked.
"What?" Both Rex and I said.
"I thought the judge guy was supposed to be.. I don't know more experienced." I held my tongue, but Rex didn't.
"Rise has the record for most confirmed bounties in the Canterlot Bounty Zone, forty seven." I raised an eyebrow in his direction. "They sent me your file."
"A lot of them didn't come in easy, I ended up killing thirty nine of those bounties." I threw my two cents in. Lightning raised her own eyebrow to this, and I heard a scoff behind me. We all turned to see the guard from the train station glaring at Lighting and myself.
"That's all you bounty hunters are, psychopaths with a license to kill." I narrowed my eyes.
"Hard Case, there is no need for that kind of attitude. I've looked into it, most of those kills were serial killers, rapists, and even enemies of the state." Rex defended me, but Hard Case had closed the distance between him and I to about two feet.
"Yeah, 'most'." He said through gritted teeth. I was ready to really grit his teeth.
"Case, Stand down!" Badge ordered. Case walked away grumbling to himself.
"Anyway," I turned towards my new 'protege',"We start tomorrow, I still got things to do before I get back to work, I'll see you around Rex." He waved as I left. I made twenty feet before realizing that I was being followed by Lightning Dust, so I stopped and looked at her.
"What?"
"Can I help you?"
"I don't have anywhere to stay." She looked off to the side. I raised an eyebrow.
"Rent a motel room?" I suggested. She scoffed and glared at me.
"Ponyville doesn't have any motels, and the inn is full." She stated in a tone that suggested that this was common information.
"Well, what do you want me to do about it? The Bounty Act states that if any bounty hunter in a designated zone needs a place to stay, they can be housed in the local guard house. They literally can't say no." It's a nice part of that piece of legislation that ensures a hunter gets a base of operations.
"And what? deal with the old corn dog in there?" I tilted my head.
"Corn dog?"
"Unimpressive phallic shaped object with a stick up its ass." She deadpanned
"That's good," I smirked, but it went away, "But you still didn't answer the question."
"Well, I was wondering if I could stay with you. Until the process to get my class 3 license is over." She suddenly adopted puppy eyes and a pout. It was cute, but it goes nowhere with me.
"I only have one bed." She shrugged.
"I can sleep on the couch." I shuddered at the memory of the Pinkie's boycott of physics last night.
"I have no food." I continued after collecting myself.
"I can pay for my own." Dammit. I couldn't think of any other excuse.
"Fine," She pumped her fist, "But we need to see the mayor first."
"Well lead the way teach." Shit, I hate nicknames.
It was a quiet morning. The cool Fall breeze and naked trees told of the coming winter. It was still early enough that only the stall owners were present. I recognized Applejack at one said stall with a younger girl, who had an adorable pink bow in her hair.
"So where do you live?" I sighed, it was a quiet morning. I pointed at my home down one of the roads leading from the market.
"Over there, towards the ominous forest." I walked over to the farmers stall. Applejack was too preoccupied setting up the produce to sell, but her young helper was not so indisposed.
"Hi there mister, wanna buy some apples." I do need to get some groceries.
"Sure," the little girl shot me an ear to ear grin before sticking her pinkie fingers in her mouth, turning to Applejack and letting loose a sharp whistle.
"Hey Applejack, we got a customer!" Applejack turned and looked our way.
"Howdy," I returned her wave and leaned against the side of the stall, "how's Ponyville treatin' ya?" I shrugged.
"It's still early, but it looks promising." At this, she smiled. I motioned to the produce on display. "How much?"
"One bit an apple." I pulled out 24 bits and placed them on the counter. Applejack counted them out, then handed me a bag of apples.
"Thanks, hey Lightning do you.." When I turned, I realized I was alone. "Where did she go?"
"Who ya talking to, sugarcube?" I shrugged.
"My new roommate," I looked over to see a mass of people crowding around a tall building, "Hey Applejack, can you point me to town hall?" She then pointed towards the gathering crowd. "Great, thanks." I marched off to the edge of the crowd, where I found Lightning floating away from them. "Hey, why'd you run of?"
"I saw these people gathering around the town hall. Figured I'd see why." She landed next to me and motioned at the crowd, "looks like a mob." They do look angry, so I got closer and started listening.
"We don't need no bounty hunters here!"
"Merciless killers is all they are!" Well that's not necessarily true.
"They'd only bring trouble!" After getting to the front of the crowd, I saw Twilight Sparkle talking to an older women with grey hair and half moon glasses. The princess turned to the crowd and raised a hand, motioning them to calm down.
"Everybody, please calm down, I'm sure whomever this bounty hunter is, they're not a danger to you or your loved ones." There were many, and I mean many, shouts from the crowd disagreeing with her. After half an hour the crowd finally cleared out. I saw lightning napping on a bench.
"Yo, get up, we need to talk to the mayor." After several prods, she got up and we made our way into the town hall. The lobby was warm and empty, only a receptionist sat at the front desk. She had baby blue hair in a pony tail. We got her attention when we approached the desk.
"If your here to complain about the bounty hunters, I'm afraid we can't do anything about it. Otherwise, how may I help you?" She had chipper tone. I pulled my license out of my coat and presented it to her. Her eyes widened in fear, and I swear I heard her gulp.
"We need to talk to the mayor, if she's available." I tried to use a softer tone as to avoid frightening her anymore. I have a feeling I will deal with this women quite a bit.
"I-I'll go get her." I nodded as she got up and nervously walked up the stairs. Lightning and I sat down in a couple of waiting chairs.
"So," I look over to see Lightning fidgeting in her seat, "The people here don't like us much, do they?" I shrugged and leaned in my chair.
"You won't find many who do outside of Canterlot and Cloudsdale."
"What makes them so special?"
"Well," I sit up, "the Pegasi were very militaristic way back when, in fact that's where the Equestrian Bounty Hunter's Coalition started."
"What about Canterlot?" That got a chuckle out of me.
"Shit, everyone in Canterlot wants someone dead, and besides, the ground based bounty hunters have to have a place to gather and call home without fear of fellow residents taking up arms. Where better to have those who'd shoot you in your face for money, then with those who'd stab you in the back for even more selfish reasons?" Her gaze shifted to the floor for a few seconds before she looked me in my eyes.
"why'd you join?" I sighed.
"I grew up in West Canterlot, and I saw so many criminals and monsters get away with theft, rape, and murder. I was just tired of it, so when I was old enough, I signed up." I stood up. "But, no matter what I did, or tried to do, someone somewhere got hurt." I sighed. "I joined because I wanted to make the world a better place for others." I was about to ask her the same question when I heard steps coming from behind me.
"Mr. Aero, I'm Mayor Mare, it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." The older woman, who was talking with the princess earlier, greeted me with an obvious nervousness, and offered me her hand. I smiled and shook it. "I'm terribly sorry about how the people of Ponyville have... reacted to your's and miss Dust's arrival."
"That's actually what we're here to talk about." Her expression became more worried. She opened her mouth to say something, but I interrupted her. "I need to request that our identities as bounty hunters be kept hidden. I'm not telling you to deny that we're here, just don't tell everyone our names, or show them our looks. For obvious reasons." She nodded.
"I think we can do that." I offered my hand along with my winning smile.
"Thank you very much, Mayor Mare." She let out a giggle.
"Please, just Mayor is fine." I nodded then motioned to Lightning that we were leaving. She then picked up a large duffle bag and followed me out. I, in turn, hefted my bag'o'apples over my shoulder.
We walked to my house in relative silence. Lightning looked to the ground like something was on her mind. I entered my house and shivered at the sight of my couch. After putting the apples away in the kitchen, I scanned my living room for the basement door. Upon seeing the door with a keypad next to it, I silently cheered to myself.
"Put your bag by the couch, and come over here." I said giddily, not even looking in Lightning's direction as I made beeline for the basement door.
"What's got you so cheery?" I scoffed as I put in the code. A hiss came from the locks behind the door. I opened the door and rushed down the stairs and turned on the lights. The walls were with lined gun racks and crates.
"This is the armory. If Rex is just as obsessed with being prepared now as he was ten years ago, there should be something here for you." She raised an eyebrow as I saw two crates that were about a foot taller then me.
"What would that be?" I moved my hands, presenting the crates in a flashy flourish.
"Your standard class 3 hunting armor." I grabbed a crowbar conveniently sitting on another crate.
"Wait, I get armor?" I began the process of opening the boxes.
"Class 1 and 2 bounties are considered so easy by the council, that the respective hunters are expected to supply their own arms and armor. Class 3 and 4, though, are considered dangerous enough that equipment is supplied." The first box opened to show the contents. A feminine shaped mannequin wearing in a dirt green jumpsuit with bits of off white armor covering it with a similar colored helmet. The helmet was simple. It had a wide, tinted visor that would allow excellent peripheral vision, along with face cover that altered the wearer's voice. I took it off and turned towards my protege. "When we're doing our business, wear this at all times to conceal our identity. I wish we didn't have to, but with the animosity that some of the people have to what we do, It's an unfortunate necessity. The visor and face mask are retractable." I demonstrated this by pushing a button on the side, causing the visor to slide up into the forehead, and the the mask to split vertically and recede into the cheeks.
"Neat." I nodded with a smile. I do really like the design of the armor. "Kinda wish it was a different color, though." My smile grew a bit.
"That's the best part," I used the crowbar to open the second crate, showing my armor, "Unlike the guards, we can customize to our hearts content." I admired my own armor. Like Lightning's, Mine was on a mannequin, but there are few other similarities. The jumpsuit was the same dirt green, but the armor plating was a dark blue. It was marked and scarred by five years of abuse. over top the armor was a black trench coat, unlike the one I'm wearing right now, this one was thick enough to offer minor protection from things such as light blunt weapons. It even once prevented a knife from reaching my heart. I could still see the stitches on the left breast.
"That's pretty cool." I turned to look at her.
"It is isn't it? We should head back into town, the only form of food in the house is apples." She when up the stairs, while I stayed just a little bit longer, looking at my armor. It has saved my life so many times before. It has stopped bullets, knifes, hammers, and even explosives from ending me prematurely. I placed a hand on the chest piece. The suit was like an old friend. I gazed at the scorch mark next to my hand. "We've been through a lot haven't we? It's been a good run." I shifted my eyes to visor and furrowed my brow. "But, we'll find him first. we'll stop Zee. Then I can die content." I turned and left, turning off the light as I went.
Lightning and I stepped out of the house. I patted the coin purse on my side. It was already nearly noon, so to cut down on time, we made a plan.
"We split up and grab the things we need for the next week, then meet here to put them up, and head to that cafe near sugarcube corner for lunch." I recapped while pointing at said cafe.
"I know the plan, teach." Lightning began walking towards the market.
"Don't call me that!" I yelled. She just waved it off and continued onward. I ran to catch up with her. We walked in relative silence until we got to the market, in which we split up to do our necessary shopping. As I perused around the stalls, I met some of the townsfolk. They're for most part nice people, though a few couldn't help complaining about the bounty hunters.
Hearing someone talk shit about you in front of you, even if they don't know it's you who they're talking about, is kinda off putting. I've been in many places like this in my gear. In those times people did not hesitate to tell me what they thought of me to my helmeted face. I just tune them out for the most part.
"So, what do you think of 'em?" I brought my gaze up to the older man selling cheese.
"Oh, sorry, zoned out for a moment there. What was the question?" The older gentleman chuckled.
"It's alright, happens to the best of us. I was asking what you think about the bounty hunters moving in."
"I think that people should get to know them before shouting at them for being what they are." The older fellow bowed is head in thought. He gaze shifted back to me. His expression was hard to read.
"I know a good many o'people who'd disagree with you. They would say that hunters are psychopaths and murderers." I nodded.
"Then maybe, they should find out why they do what they do, before judging them so harshly." He seemed to ponder what I said. I pointed at a wheel of mozzarella. "How much for two of those?"
"Twelve bits." I handed him the money as he handed me the bag with my cheese. He offered a hand. "what's your name, son?" I shook his hand.
"Rise." He nodded.
"Sharp Cheddar, Come again," I turned to walk away, but stopped when he finished his sentence, "bounty hunter." I turned to look at him.
"How did you know?" He smiled.
"You just told me." My hand connected with my forehead. "And I think your right, they should get to know ya before screaming your head off." I looked back at him. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me, you seem like a good kid." I smiled.
"Thanks Sharp, have a good day." He nodded, and I continued crossing things off of my list. Lightning and I had an agreement of taking turns making dinner, we flipped a coin. I make the din din tonight.
After picking up all the things I need, I went home and put up my groceries. I went to wait for Lightning on the couch, but as my ass made contact with the couch, the flashbacks hit me. I jumped and snatched the cushions off the piece of furniture. Not satisfied that the couch wasn't hiding anything, or anyone , I pushed it onto it's back to check the bottom. The sound of someone clearing their throat caught my attention. Looking up, I saw Lightning, arms full with bags of groceries, staring at me with a raised brow. I stood up and rubbed the back of my head.
"Is there a reason your tearing the couch apart?" I shifted my gaze between lightning couch several times, a heat finding its way to my face.
"Well... you see.. this girl....she.... I...uh.." I stuttered
"yeah?" She continued to stare at me as I tried to think of a way to explain this.
"She was in... but..." I dropped my arms limply at my side as my head fell and I sighed.
"you okay?" She asked setting the bags down. I pointed a finger at her and furrowed my brow.
"You weren't there!" I shouted. She lifted her hands up.
"Okay, jeez, calm down." I sighed, and proceeded to help her put up her things. After we were done, and I fixed the couch, we headed to the cafe. The walk was quiet. The cafe had an outside dining area where we sat at.
Our waiter came, took our orders, and left. I was staring at the table in though. Lightning was looking around at the surrounding environment. The silence was awkward. I needed to kill it with conversation.
"So, where are you from?" I asked. Lightning turned her attention to me.
"Cloudsdale." I nodded.
"Any family?" She winced.
"My parents still live in Cloudsdale. I have a brother in Baltimare." I was about to ask another question, but when I opened my mouth Lightning interrupted. "How about you, you told me you grew up in Canterlot, but what about your family?" I leaned back in my seat.
"My dad died about seven years ago, Mom still lives in upper Canterlot. I haven't a fucking clue where my brother went." I may have let a scowl slip onto my face on that last sentence, because Lightning adopted a worried look. "What did you do before becoming a bounty hunter?" I wanted to ease the tension a bit.
"I was on the weather team, I wanted to be a Wonderbolt." She had a look on her face, a look of regret. I know that look to well. "Could've been one, too, but I fucked it up." I was about to change the subject when I saw somebody waving at me from behind Lightning. It was Pinkie, and it looks like she has Applejack and Rainbow dash with her. They were all smiling at me as if they were ecstatic to see me. I smiled and waved back. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up.
"Sup Rise, great party last night, am I right?" Immediately, Lightning tensed up, her eyes shrank, and she looked ready to book it. "Hey who's that?" She began shaking her and mouthing the word 'don't' over and over.
"Hey, Lightning, what's wrong?" I put words to my concern. The three were standing behind Lightning. Rainbows face shifted from questioning, to recognition, then surprise.
"Wait, Lightning Dust?" They know each other? At this, Lightnings wings sprang out and she went to fly away over my head, but I happened to be a really quick and paranoid man. I reached up and grabbed her ankle. The momentum pulled me from my chair, and her from the air. We ended up tumbling a good ten feet back.
We both stood up at the same time. She stepped to the side to go around me, but I moved in front of her.
"Move." She scowled at me. I gave her a determined stare.
"No."
....
She launched a right hook at me. Time slowed down. My left hand shot out and caught her wrist. She tried to pull it free, but I had an iron grip. Her other fist went to to hit me in the stomach, but without letting go of her wrist, I stepped back, avoiding the punch, and grabbed her other wrist. I spun her around where she was facing the three spectators, and crossing both arms around her stomach. She had her wings flared, trying to escape my grip. One wing kept hitting me in the face. She then stomped on my foot, causing my to grunt in pain.
"AH, FUCK!" Then again, "STOP IT!" Then again, "LIGHTNING, I SWEAR OW .. ON CELESTIA'S SWEET ASS IF ..FUCK .. YOU DON'T STOP, I'LL BITE YOUR FUCKING WING!!" Then again. I warned her. I bit down on the feathery appendage. She let out a high pitched yelp. She stopped struggling and went limp. "You done?" I sounded like my dad whenever I threw a tantrum when I was little. She nodded, but I didn't let her go. I looked up at the rainbow and the others, who had looks of surprise on their faces. "Give us a minute ladies," I looked down at Lightning, who's gaze never left the ground, "We need to talk."
I walked her around the corner away from the others. I looked back at them to make sure they were out of earshot. They saw me, and I smiled back at them while lifting my right pointer finger. I turned back towards Lightning, who was avoiding eye contact, and rubbing her arm.
"What happened there?" She adopted an angry visage. and looked into my eyes.
"Why do you care?!" I replied with a glare that would make Sombra shit himself. She reeled back from it.
"Because, something happened between you two, and trust me when I say. Something like this hanging over you, even if it's in the furthest reaches of your mind, can cause some serious problems in heat of things." I softened my glare, "what happened?" She hesitated, but she explained how both her and Rainbow went to the Wonderbolt Academy. How her own recklessness and drive to push her limits nearly cost the lives of not only the other recruits, but Rainbow's friends as well.
"I was kicked out of the academy. I feel guilty about the whole thing." She sighed and stared at the ground.
"Have you apologized to Rainbow and her friends yet?" She shook her head. "Well, why not?"
"I just can't."
"Why can't you?" She looked into my eyes. "You need to do this now. It'll give you closure, and you might make some friends in the process."
"What if they don't accept my apology?"
"Then you still can say you tried. Either way you'll feel better not having to look back and ask yourself 'what if I did?'." I placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at me with uncertain eyes. "At least try." She nodded. I placed my hand on her back and directed her back to where the girls were. Upon turning the corner, I noticed our food had arrived. I pointed at the table. "I'll be just right there. Okay?" She took a deep breath and walked towards the girls.
I sat down at our table and started eating my sandwich. I didn't pay attention to their conversation, it was their business. Closure is an important thing to have. There are quite a few things I wish I had closure on. My thoughts brought back the questionnaire we had before Rainbow and her friends arrived. And thoughts of my brother flowed through my mind like river. I suddenly wasn't very hungry anymore. I was broken from depressing thoughts by laughter.
The four girls were laughing. Lightning had a genuine smile. She looked as if a heavy weight has been lifted from her shoulders. They said their goodbyes, and Lightning sat down at her plate with a noticeably happier vibe. We talked for a bit. Asking each other questions, and learning new and interesting things about one another. Like how Lightning's brother is a carpenter named Saw Dust. Really, who would have guessed. She had many questions about my life in West Canterlot. I answered most of them, and even told her a few stories from my youth.
"Then, when we saw the red and blue lights in the window, I stood up, chugged the rest of my beer, Raised the empty bottle high above my head, and smashed it on the ground screaming 'SCATTER!' " We laughed at the dumb moments in my life. I believe those are where you learn the best lessons.
"What happened afterwards?" Lightning asked, finally holding her laughter long enough to speak.
"Got busted trying to climb out of a window to small for me to fit through, then I got chewed out by the parents for being a reckless teenager." I got up to leave, and was about to tell Lightning the same, until I saw a group of armed individuals walking into the middle of the market. What really caught my attention, was that one was wearing bounty hunter class 3 armor. It was dark green with a hole the size of bit in the middle left of the chest plate. Lightning turned to see what my attention.
They immediately caught the attention of everyone in the area, but the man in the bounty get up lifted a pistol and fired into the air. He spoke with a heavy Trottingham accent.
"Afternoon gents and lasses! I am your new bounty hunter, and these," He performed a sweeping motion with his empty hand towards his crew of twenty, "are my friends! We expect to be treated right, or we'll break ya legs!" Lightning looked at me with a worried expression.
"What do we do?" My gaze never left the impostor.
"We start early."
We quickly returned home and made a bee line for the basement. We suited up and armed ourselves. I had a 45 semiautomatic pistol on my hip under the heavy, black coat. My revolver sat in a holster fitted in the coat, inside the right breast. Lightning was holding the same 45 pistol. She had told me that she used a gun before, but she never fired it at a person before. I put my helmet on and opened the face plate and visor.
"You nervous?" She chuckled nervously and rolled her eyes.
"Me? Nervous? pfft nah?" She ended with fake laugh. I stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Relax, you need to keep your head on straight, or the worst could happen." She looked up at me in uncertainty. "Breath in for four seconds, breath out for four." She followed my instructions and began to calm down. "We need the guards' help for this, so our first stop will be the guardhouse. From now until we take this armor off, do not use our real names. The people of Canterlot call me The Wraith, so that's what you'll call me. You will be Delta."
"Why Delta?" She questioned while holstering her gun.
"Every bounty hunter has a zone code that consists of a letter and five numbers. The letters represent the class of the hunter, and range from A to F. F being the lowest for class ones, and A for class fours." She began to look confused.
"Wait, so there's four classes?" I nod, "But there's six letters."
"D is a class two under analysis for a class three license, and similar to D, B is a transition from three to four. As such, your ZC is D-01144"
"What do the numbers mean?"
"The first two is the zone identification number, so, because Cloudsdale is the first official bounty zone, its designation is 01, I'm not entirely sure what the last three mean?" I finish rubbing smooth metal on the back of my helmet. "Either way, every class three applicant is called Delta in the field because of their designation. Hell, at one point it was my designation."
"So, what's your ZC?"
"A-02956," I motioned towards the back of the house, "now, let's get a move on."
"Okay," She placed her helmet on her head and spoke with a lower, distorted tone as the enchantment in the face plate took effect, "Let's do this." I nodded and pressed the button on mine, closing the front.
We left through the backdoor as the front door was in clear view of the market where the impersonator and his goons terrorized the town folk. The guardhouse, unfortunately, is on the other side of the market. We moved quietly behind the houses circling the area. As we were about to move to the next house, two thugs walked into our path. I pulled Lightning behind a dumpster, and observed them as one began to speak.
"Did you know there was princess here?" One spoke nervously as he leaned on the dumpster. He had a red bandanna around his neck, and didn't look a day over twenty. The other one turned toward him, causing me to fully conceal myself behind my cover, so I couldn't see him as he responded with a gruff voice.
"No one knew there was a princess here, rookie. Nor did we know the Elements of Harmony were here either, but that just means a bigger ransom." The gruff one ended on a chuckle. We saw that most of the people in the market were tied up. Was Princess Twilight with them, too?
"I don't think this is a good idea anymore." The young one stated, receiving a loud scoff out of gruffy.
"Have faith in the boss, kid. After Thermite and her crew deal with the guards, all we have to do is wait for the money." I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a small mirror the size of my palm. Slowly positioning it around the corner, I got a decent look at gruffy. He was bald and had a burn scar covering the left side of his face.
"It's just," the kid sighed, "what if, instead of sending the ransom money, they send an army, or bounty hunters?"
"They wouldn't risk their princess's life by sending an army, and boss can deal with any bounty hunters that come knocking. Hell, kid, you saw what he did to that Static guy right?" I couldn't see the front of the kid, but I did see him visibly cringe.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." The kid got off the dumpster and pulled a small revolver from the back of his pants.
"See, now," I heard the telltale sound of a sawn-off being loaded, "let's collect any townsfolk who weren't at the market." They began walking towards us. I threw arm out to keep lightning from moving as we flattened ourselves against the dirty wall of the dumpster. As they passed, I pointed at Lightning, pulling her attention from the two, and pointed two fingers at the kid. She nodded as we kept low and approached the unsuspecting thugs.
When we got into position, me behind gruffy and Lightning behind the kid, I stood up and tapped gruff stuff on the shoulder. He turned around and, after recognizing the armor, raised his sawn-off shotgun. I swiftly grabbed the barrel with my left hand and directed it away from me whilst bringing my right hand up in a palm strike connecting with his elbow, forcing him to let go of the gun. He let out a pained grunt that was echoed by his younger compatriot has he received a rather vicious headbutt.
Gruffy attempted a left hook, only for me to duck underneath it and counter with a kidney punch. He grabbed his side in pain, and I took the opportunity to slam the butt of his sawn-off into his temple, knocking him clean out. I tossed the weapon to the side as Lightning and I looked over the two men performing a very convincing imitation of a sack of potatoes.
"So what do we do with 'em?" Lightning inquired. I turned my gaze to the dumpster.
"We put them where we put all other trash."
We arrived at the guardhouse shortly after our confrontation. There was a rather eccentric woman yelling at the building as several men surrounded it with gas cans.
"Sit in there all day if'n you want, pigs, but Im'a warn ya. I feel like havin' bacon tonight!" The women, I'm assuming Thermite, shouted while stuffing a rag into a whiskey bottle. That's probably not whiskey though.
From here, I can see movement through the windows. I stand up, with a great, well thought out plan. It's a plan I've used many times before and hasn't failed me yet.
I'm gonna wing it.
I pull my 45 out and turn to Lightning, who, judging by the tilt of her head, is confused as to the reason I have stood out of cover. I point my gun at Thermite's leg. She pulls her gun and I speak.
"Let's make some noise." The bang echoes through the air as the bullet rips through Thermite's knee, causing her to yelp in pain and fall to the ground. "Aim for disabling shots." Thermite's crew drop their cans and run for cover, hiding behind building corners and the rare car.
Lightning and I follow suit, taking refuge behind a delivery truck. We take half of the thugs out pretty quickly with shots to the arms, knees, and the occasional shoulder. A couple of their bullets hit me, but they couldn't pierce my armor. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt like hell though. As I was about advance, the guardhouse doors opened. The captain and his men ran out of the guard house in full riot gear and joined the fire fight.
Their guns fired non-lethal rounds, so they didn't hold back at all in gunning the last few down. After securing the thugs, Captain Badge marched up to us with an outstretched hand, which we shook.
"Thank you for intervention, if you didn't show up when you did, we might not have had the time to get this gear on." He said adjusting his shoulders under the heavy protective vest. "Now we need a plan to apprehend their ring leader in the market." Rex came running up in his gear with a piece of paper in his hand.
"Wraith, I had enough time to look this up before they got here. You got your first official bounty in Ponyville." I looked over the bounty description, It had a picture of the Impersonator on it. "I recognized his face when I saw him. He's notorious for impersonating law enforcement and bounty hunters." I notice a line under the picture.
"He's a class four." Reading through it, I found that he usually kills those he imposters, and he taken the identity of enough bounty hunters to warrant a class four bounty sponsored by The Coalition. It's high pay, too. Twenty-five thousand bits. "He'll be a tough one." I was going to read more, until that familiar accent hit my ears.
"You're fuckin' right, laddy. Now turn around nice and slow."
Author's Note
I did it, finally.
McCree Is fucking cool.
Well, shit. The Impersonator stood there with a gun pressed against the head of a small girl in front of him. A quick survey of the area brought more light to a shitty situation. We were surrounded.
"Put your weapons on the dirt." The guards complied immediately. "Well, Lad, lass. clean the shit out ya ears and put your fuckin' guns down." I nodded and unloaded my pistol and placed it on the ground, raising my arms above my head on the way back up. Lightning took a double take.
"You're not serious are you?" I nodded at her and she did the same. I looked back at the Impersonator.
"What's your name?" He let out a chuckle.
"Ha, tell ya what, You can call me Woody." The thugs standing around him began to laugh along with him.
"Not you, her." I tilted my head towards the kid he's holding hostage. She was scared to tears.
"S-Sweetie Belle."
"That's a nice name." She was about respond until she was interrupted by the sound of Woody's gun cocking.
"Why don't we continue this.." He waved his free hand in thought, "Parlay, over in the town hall." He motioned at the guards, who were already tied up. "Put them with the others."
We were led to town hall, patted down, and tied to the chairs in Mayor Mare's office, Where the mayor, her secretary, and the Elements were tied up. Twilight, Rarity, and the secretary had metal bands on their heads preventing them from using magic. Woody and two of his henchmen stood over us. One of them was the older guy from earlier. He had bits of rotten food and other trash. There was a diaper on his shoulder.
"Wow, I can smell you through the helmet." I snickered out, I couldn't see the others -they were behind me- but I heard one of them whimper at the sound of my altered laugh. Gruffy's response was less tame.
"Shut up! If it were up to me, I'd have your body gutted and hanged in the street." Charming. Woody was sitting on the other side of the desk, writing a letter. The other henchman kept glancing at me with a thoughtful look. Woody scowled at the paper before crumpling it up and throwing it into basket filled with other wads of paper. He tapped the table in boredom. He cast a glance at Lightning and gave an evil smirk. Leaning forward on his elbows, he spoke.
"I'm willing to bet your a looker underneath that mask. Tell me, lass, what's ya name?" Lightning sat as straight in the chair as she could.
"Like hell I'm telling you!" If she were not wearing the helmet, I'm sure she would have spit at him. Woody stood up and walked around the desk. Stopping in front of me, he tapped the visor of my helmet.
"What about you? I gave you a name."
"Alpha-02956," His brow raised as he waved a hand, beckoning for something more. Before I could answer the other henchman stepped up.
"I think I know who he is, boss, and it ain't good." Woody looked at him, then turned back to me, motioning for him to continue. "Well, I had some buddies out Canterlot ways, and.. uh, well the keyword is had . We were doing some work for some big shot gangster, we were packing product into stuffed animals to send up to the Crystal Empire. This guy walked in wearing a coat, like his but without the armor." He pointed at me. "Says 'You got one chance to come quietly.' So we were about to take him out when he pulled a gun out shot everyone who had pulled theirs. He killed ten people with ten bullets. It was fast, like I coulda sworn he killed them in less then four seconds. The the big shot comes out and screams at 'em. The guy just shoots him, no warning, no hello. Just, bang." He physically shuddered. It was more like just over five seconds, but he was close. "There were just three of us left, and we thought we could rush him. But he pulled this black revolver from his coat and shot one of the others. I thought I was dead, but he just looked at me and the other guy with the most terrifying look I've ever seen and said 'Run.' And we did." I remember that bounty. It was one the smoothest ones I've carried out. Woody spoke without looking away from me.
"Do you think this is him." The henchman nodded. "You sure, laddy? I know we found a black revolver on him, but that isn't enough."
"If I see his face, I can confirm it." Woody nodded and approached me. Shit. The ropes tied around my right ankle and wrist were loose. I've been working them since I noticed it, but it's nowhere near loose enough. Time seemed to slow down.
Woody took a step closer as a began to work the ropes more noticeably.
He reached is arms out. Almost there.
He gripped the straps. Come on.
The clip was undone. There!
I managed to free my foot and kicked Woody in the gut, sending him over the desk. The chair tilted back as Gruffy rushed to me pulling his knife. I freed my hand and caught the wrist of his knife hand as his momentum sent the chair tumbling back. We hit the ground and Gruffy was sent rolling, and my helmet slipped off rolling with the older thug. I quickly began untying my other hand, and leaned up to untie my other foot when Gruffy kicked me in the face before stradling me and raising the knife with both hands.
I grabbed his arms as he thrust down, the blade hanging a mere inch above my nose. I redirected his arms so that he would stab the ground by my head, but judging by the hot pain in my ear, I miss calculated a bit. His arm was still front of my face, so I bit him hard enough to draw blood. He shouted and pulled back holding his hand. I grabbed his knife and slammed it into his thigh, grabbed his collar, and threw him off of me.
I sat up and cut my other foot loose and stood up. Woody ran out of the room as the other henchman pulled out his gun. I closed the distance,and grabbed his gun hand and pointed it to the ceiling as he let a round loose with a loud pop. Bringing the knife into his elbow, I wrestled his gun from his hand and shot him in the knee. I retrieved the knife and cut Lightning free. She stood up.
"Um, Wraith." I hand her the knife and pointed at the window.
"Go find and cut the guards loose while I... I." I spoke, in my normal tone, my plain unmasked voice. I turned my attention to the rooms other occupants, whose eyes were almost comically wide. "While I go after Woody." She flew out the window asI walked over and untied the secretary. "Untie the others." She nodded and began untying Rarity. "I have ask you to keep this to yourselves." I put my helmet back on and walked to the door before stopping and looking over my shoulder. "We'll talk about this later." My deepened voice spoke. I was about to leave when a desperate voice shouted.
"Wait!" Rarity had approached me with tears in her eyes, "He's got My sister."
"Sweetie Belle, was it?" She nodded. "That bastard won't hurt her if I have anything to say about it."
With that, I left.
Author's Note
I quit my job and it feels fucking fantastic
Just one more part to write.
As soon as we got home, we took off our armor and went to bed, or we tried. I stared at the ceiling for who knows how long.
What are you?
It was a bland ceiling.
The library! he's at the fucking library!
It was a shitty shade of beige.
You just killed him!
Maybe I should repaint it.
I warned him.
Maybe blue.
A little to the left, and I woulda gotya.
A dark color. To help me sleep maybe.
Now hold on laddy. There's no need for that, I'll come quietly.
I could put in a skylight.
And what about you! I saw what happened in town square! They had loved ones, too! Do you really think you have room to talk?! If I'm monster, what does that make you?!
The stars are pretty. I wouldn't mind watching them before going to sleep.
The worst kind of monster. POP!
I jolted up, and rubbed my face. I sighed when I saw the time.
1:46
"Fucking hell." I muttered throwing the blanket off my almost naked body. I walked downstairs to the kitchen, doing my best not to wake Lightning on the couch. Once I was in the kitchen I began opening the cabinets. "I know I put it here somewhere."
"Can't sleep either?" Startled, I spun on my heel to see Lightning, in a white tank top and Wonderbolt pajama bottoms, standing a few feet behind me. She looked me up and down, reminding me that I'm only in my boxers. I nodded and went back to searching the cabinet.
"I brought something from Canterlot. It's in here somewhere." I said as I was shifting stuff around. Letting out a loud Aha! I pulled out an old whiskey bottle. "Balefire Whiskey. Got it from a bounty that lived up in a mountain. He was a dragon." I began pouring a glass.
"Hey." I looked up to see Lightning sitting at the table with nervous look in her eye. "When you.. If.. I..."
"You killed someone." I stated, and she went quiet and her eyes never left the table.
"It was when I was untying the guards. One of the assholes was about to put a hole in Hard Case, so I.." I pulled another glass from the cabinet and filled it. I walked over and placed it in front of her before sitting down across from her. She didn't hesitate to empty it.
"It's really fucking easy to kill someone." I lifted my hand to the side with thumb and pointer extended. "Just the pull of the trigger." I brought my thumb down, imitating the hammer of a gun. "Or the push of a button." I wrapped my hand around my glass. "The hardest part," I brought it up to my lips and took sip. Letting the burning, amber liquid slide down my throat, I sighed. "Is living with it."
"How do you do it?" She looked up at me with a hopeful gaze.
"I don't." We sat there quietly for a while. I stood up and put the now half empty bottle back in the cabinet.
"We should get some sleep, we got a big day.." I glanced at the clock. "Today." Lightning nodded and we both went back to bed. I actually fell asleep this time. No dreams.
Just darkness.
"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?"
I stood across the street, my eyes shifting to the piece of paper in my hand. It had her address written on it. Looking back at the house, I confirmed that it was, indeed, the home of Octavia Melody and her roommate. Though, that hasn't stopped me rechecking incessantly to confirm it over and over again. Why the hell won't my legs just carry me over to the door. All I have to do is walk up, knock, and apologize.
"Hi Tavi." No, that's to informal for what I've done. "Greetings Octavia." No. Just no. "Maybe just 'hello'?" I asked myself. "Why is it that I can face the barrel of a gun just fine, but I can't work up the backbone to talk to my ex?" Looking both ways, I observed my surroundings. I was on a street closer to the edge of town. There were not many houses through here. Including Octavia's, maybe six. The traffic was light on this road, most people taking the day off after what happened yesterday. Hell, I would take the day off, too.
Shifting my weight to my other foot, I looked back down at the address. I looked back up, lifted my foot, and preceded to walk towards the market. How long was I standing there? It had to be at least forty minutes. Damn I must have looked creepy as fuck. Just standing there and staring at somebody's house for the better part of an hour.
As I got closer to the market, I began to hear something. It started as a quiet buzzing, but it escalated into the sound of roaring flames. Then the screams came. There were two people screaming. I saw the crowd, not the crowd in the market, but another crowd began to form in my vision. I could still see the market, but the image was still there, like it was burned into my eyes, much like a TV.
I ran up to the rear of the crowd. I could see the woman tied to the burning stake. She was begging them to stop. I pushed my way through the crowd. Their words turned on me, condemning me for being a bounty hunter. Rocks were thrown, but they bounced off my armor, none were big enough to be noticeable. I was getting close to the front of the crowd when I saw him. A boy, no older then nine, tied to the stake with his mother.
I stopped walking towards the market and promptly moved into a nearby alley. "No. No no no no." I grabbed both sides of my head as the images threatened to return. "NO!" I shouted as the second burning stake took form. I began trying to think of something else. Something happier. Something lighter. Anything. Anything but that. I dropped to my knees and closed my eyes.
I opened my eyes to the sight of a West Canterlot alley. It was dirty, but empty. I rose to my feet and dusted off my knees. I was wearing my black trench coat. I smiled as I adjusted the cuffs. It was a present from my girlfriend. She gave it to me when I joined the Coalition. Looking back up, I studied the alley.
"There's nothing here." I spoke as I turned to face my analyzer. He was a Zepharin man. His dark skin marked with faint black stripes tattooed over his body below his neck. The man's head was shaved, and his armor was a bright white. He never wears his helmet, despite the protection it provides.
"Sure there is." A deep, thick accent flowed from his lips. He raised a hand and motioned to the alley. "You only need to look."
I rolled my eyes and began looking around the alley. The only thing of note was a dumpster. "Oh hey!" I shouted excitedly as a ran up to oversized trash can. "Trash!" I exclaimed as I motioned at it like I was a game show host. The smile dropped off my face as I spoke again. "Literally, the only thing in this shit hole."
He shifted his eyes to the dumpster, then back at me. "Great start, now tell me what you know about the dumpster."
I sighed. "It holds garbage."
He smiled. "What else?"
"What do you mean 'what else?' It's a dumpster."
"Every detail, no matter how minute, can mean the difference between a lead, and a dead end." He walked over until he stood next to me, facing the dumpster. "Now, what else can you tell me about the dumpster?" His face held a calm about it, with a hint of a smile.
I began to scrutinize the trash receptacle. It was green, but the paint was peeling. Bits of rust dotted its surface. The inside held a few bags in it. The garbage must have ran a couple days ago. It sat on four, short legs. That's when I saw it. I thought it was rust at first, but looking closer at it, I can tell it was a dark liquid that had dried. Maybe blood. Taking a knee, I inspected the spot.
"Do you see now?" My analyzer spoke up.
"I mean, I see something, but it could be from anything. How are you so sure that this is connected to The Slasher?"
"You still aren't looking at this the right way. You saw the blood on the dumpster, but you are only seeing the blood on the dumpster." He pointed to the ground behind me. There sat a broken bottle, blood dried to the sharp edges.
I shrugged and faced the Zepharin. "Stabbings happen everyday in West Canterlot." I pointed at the bottle. "That could have nothing to do with our bounty."
He chuckled as he shook his head. "This was no ordinary stabbing, Rise. We looked through the guard reports. There haven't been any assaults in this area for the last week."
"It could still be an ordinary stabbing. Maker knows the guards around here couldn't give a shit." I crossed my arms.
"If it was, then where is the body? Where are the drag marks? These streets do not get cleaned very often. If a body were to be pulled through the dirt and grime, would it not leave a trail?"
I pointed at him triumphantly. "It couldn't be our Slasher, cause he kidnaps his victims. You just disproved it with that logic right there!"
He crossed his arms and smiled. "Look up."
As my gaze drifted up, my mouth opened. Bloody drag marks near the roof of the building. "He couldn't. He's an Earthbound. The only way he could have pulled the body up there is if he was a Pegasus."
"The bounty paper didn't have a picture. It was assumed he was an Earthbound, not confirmed."
"Zylus, I.." As my gaze shifted back down to Zylus, I was met with a burning stake. He wasn't my analyzer anymore, He was the closest friend I had in the Coalition. I pressed my way through the rest of the crowd. The woman and her child, Zylus's family, had stopped screaming. Zylus was burning, but I could still save him. I ran up the stake, climbed through the burning base, thankful for my armor, and pushed the pole holding my brother in arms over. When it landed, I ran up and cut Zylus from the pole. I heard the sounds of guards breaking up the crowd as I quickly put Zylus out with a spare blanket from my pack. A gun entered my peripheral. It fired into the blanket covering my friend. I jumped up and reached for my gun.
I patted where my revolver's holster is usually located, but I didn't bring it with me when I left this morning. I stumbled back until I hit the wall and slid to the ground. That hadn't happened in a long time. Standing up, I looked around the alley where I had my episode. Thankfully, it looks like nobody saw it.
Stepping out of the alley, I started my way toward my home. I had tried so hard to save them in time, but the crowd fought me every inch. They threw their words and their stones. The flashback was over, but I could still feel the heat of the flames. I could still hear their cries. They were people, too. You could say that day changed me. To be honest, that day changed everyone involved.
I entered my home, and a quick look around told me that Lightning had gone out. Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed what was left of the Balefire. Then, I climbed the stairs and entered my room. The top drawer of my bedside stand held two things. My revolver, and a smaller pistol. Grabbing the revolver, I left the room and went down the stairs.
The basement door opened with its telltale clicks. Every step echoed as I slowly descended the stairs. My feet carried me until I was facing my armor. Every near death experience told from the scars marring the surface of the metal and the thread of the cloth. I placed my bottle on a nearby crate. I could feel it.
The migraine.
The aches.
It wasn't just post battle pains. It wasn't just fatigue.
It was what was killing me. A promise, ten years in the making. I pulled out the vial. It could hold off the promise. It could keep me alive just a little longer.
But why? Why should I drink this? I tell myself everyday that there is still something to do. Something I need to do. Mend my relationship with Octavia. Find my brother. Hunt the man who taught me everything I know. Then I could die content.
Couldn't I?
I looked at my revolver. Wraith. I am the Wraith. A horror story to the criminals and gangsters in West Canterlot. If I walked into the street wearing my armor, it would clear in seconds. But only if they saw it.
My eyes slowly set their gaze on my armor. The helmet. On the spot where the bullet grazed me last night. When Woody almost killed me.
A pulse of pain resonated through my skull. I placed my gun and the vial on opposite sides of the bottle. I took a step back from it.
Every time I doubted myself, I would do this. Give myself a choice. To prolong the inevitable.
Or get it over with.
Is there a reason for me to keep it up. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. Then an image showed itself. A man was smiling at me. He was as tall as I am. His black hair had a touch of grey in it. He was aged, both his eyes and his face showed years of experience. Two, large white wings lay folded on his back.
"No matter what happens from here on out son, I'm proud of you. Of what you are. Of what you will be. Always." His last words echoed in my mind, much like the migraine.
I let out the breath that I had been holding.
I reached my hand out.
I had chosen.
Raising the object to my mouth, I opened the vial and downed the potion.
I grabbed the bottle and walked back to the base of the stairs whilst taking a swig of the amber liquid. When I got to the stairs, I paused and looked back at the revolver.
"Maybe someday," I stated to myself as I went upstairs, "not today."
Maybe there was something good on TV.
Author's Note
This was a long time in the making. This chapter marks the end of what I've been calling the "Welcome to Ponyville" chapter, or arc, or whatever this part should be called.
I hope you like it.
On the way out of town hall, I checked the gun I commandeered to find that it had seven rounds. I'll have to make each one count. One look out of the window confirmed that it was now night. The door was left ajar, so I peeked through the crack.
They know I'm loose. I took a deep breathe. I'm really do gotta make each shot count. Pressing myself to the side of the door, I shout through the crack.
"You have one chance to surrender!" I was answered by a hail of lead taking the door off its hinges. I had to drop to a crouch, though they seem to be focused on shooting into the door frame. After about half a minute of concussive thunder, all went quiet. It stayed that way until they started talking.
"Did we get 'em?" The thug's inquiry was answered by loud slapping noise.
"Go check, dumbass!" I recognize that voice. Thermite, I think. I shot her in the knee. Peeking out enough to see, but not enough to be seen, I saw her standing with a makeshift crutch and poorly bandaged leg.
I wait as I hear slow, cautious steps approach the door. A rifle poked through the door, bolt action. As soon as head entered vision, I jumped.
I grabbed his rifle with my free hand and angled it towards the floor as it went off. He tried to pull away, but I slammed the pistol into his forehead. Recoiling, he dropped the gun, and we were both out the door. The others saw us and raised their guns, including Thermite who held a familiar black revolver. In reaction, I grabbed the thug and used him as a human shield. He began to beg his comrades to hold their fire.
Each bullet that hit him caused his body to jerk. I raised my gun and fired, hitting one of the thugs between the eyes. Advancing with the meat shield, I fired and hit another in the forehead. Again, just above the left eye. And again, this shot removing most of the thug's upper cranium. I was close enough to throw the slab of meat into the second to last thug, who caught it with a look of fear on his face. He looked up in time to make eye contact with my bullet.
I turned towards the last thug, Thermite. She had a look of pure terror on her face as she hobbled back, tripping on a body. Pointing the revolver at me she tried to back even more desperately as I approached. The gun only clicked when she pulled the trigger. In response, she threw it at me. I caught it and looked at it. The silver writing on the ivory handle read 'Wraith'. I holstered it and pointed the other gun at Thermite, who's expression has only become more terrified.
"What are you?" I closed the distance before she could move any farther away, and placed a boot on her poorly bandaged knee.
"Where'd he go?" She shook her head.
"I don't kno-AGH! " I applied weight to her knee.
"Where did he go?" She was desperately clawing at my boot, but she was unable to move it.
"I can't, if I do Woody will- AGHH FUCK! " I began to grind my heel into her knee as I leveled the gun with her head.
"I'll do something much worse." I moved and pressed the gun against her other knee. "Where!" I demanded.
"The library! he's at the fucking library!"
"Who's with him?"
"He took the little brat and that's it! I swear!" I remove my foot from her leg, and put a round in her head. Looking around, I saw the townsfolk tied up in groups around the area, and they had a good view of town hall. Great first impression Rise.
"Wraith!" I turned to see Rex, Lightning, an the other guards approaching. They had a good number of thugs with them, all with hands tied behind their backs. "Where are the Elements?" Rex ran up to me.
"Town hall. Where's the Library?" I answered. The Princess had at some point come out of the building and is standing next to me.
"I can show you, I live there." She was noticeably trying to keep her gaze on me. The guards looked at the bodies in a multitude of expressions. Rex and the other guards began untying the people. I motioned Lightning over.
"Help Rex."
"But." I raised a hand to stop her.
"Woody's a class four bounty. He's too dangerous for a class three." She went to argue, but I pointed to the Guards. She relented and walked off. The Princess and I started towards the library.
When we got to the library, Woody was standing at the front door arguing with one of his thugs while holding Sweetie Belle by her arm. I motioned the Princess to stay behind me as I approached with my gun ready.
"Raise your gun, and you're dead!" I shouted. Woody immediately ran inside, dragging Sweetie along with him. The thug lifted the gun, but I put him down before he could really do anything. I tossed the now empty pistol away and grabbed the thugs gun. The Princess wore a shocked expression on her face.
"You just killed him!" I nodded and cocked the fully loaded weapon.
"I warned him." I entered the library only to her loud pops as Woody fired at me while dragging Sweetie Belle up the stairs.
After he made up the stairs, I followed with the Princess on my coat tails. I got to the top of the stairs in time to see a door close, and took cover next to it motioning for the princess.
When I opened the door and peeked in, I saw that it was a bedroom, and there was another door at the other side leading to a balcony, where Woody stood holding Sweetie in front of him while pointing his gun at me. He was wearing a helmet now, no doubt taken from the same bounty hunter as the rest of his armor.
"Well, laddy, I have a big fuckin' gun that can punch holes in armor like yours almost as if it were wet tissue paper." My eye was drawn to the hole in his chest piece. I raised my gun at him. He began to cackle. "But that little pee shooter you got there, can't." I reached up and pushed the button on my helmet to retract the visor, and took aim. The Princess saw this and protested from behind me.
"Rise! You can't! You might hit Sweetie Belle!" Without changing my gaze, I spoke.
"Sweetie Belle," She was terrified, "close your eyes."
"W-What?"
"Close your eyes." This time she complied. "No matter what, don't open them." She nodded. Woody leveled his larger than average pistol at me. My gun can't pierce that armor, but I'm a good shot.
POP! BOOM!
Woody stumbled back into the railing clutching at the hole on his chest piece. Blood oozed from it. Sweetie, noticing that Woody wasn't holding onto her anymore, ran forward, eyes closed, and ran into me. The moment she felt me, her arms wrapped around my waste. I placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her to the Princess, who stared at me in a mix of shock and irritation.
"You could have.." The glare I shot at her silenced her before I turned to the still alive Woody as he removed the helmet on his head. I began a slow walk towards him.
"I never miss." I spoke as I stood over Woody. He spat a gob of blood out before looking at me with a smirk on his face.
"A little to the left, and I woulda gotya." He let out a bloody cough. "So what now? You gonna arrest me, turn me in for a profit. Become the town hero." He chuckled before it turned into cough. "You do realize, that I've been captured before. They never could keep me in." I raised my gun and pointed at his head. His expression changed to fear instantly. "Now hold on laddy. There's no need for that, I'll come quietly."
"Alive or dead."
"What?"
"Bounty says: Alive or dead."
"Come on! Think about it, you'll get more if I'm alive! Please don't do this!" I lowered my gun.
"Did they beg?"
"Who?"
"The people you copy."
"What?" I pressed the gun against his forehead.
"Did Static beg for you to let him live?! Or did you just shoot him!" I shouted. He began mumble excuses. "Shut up! He had a wife and three kids. Parents who loved him. A sister who looked up to him. You're a monster." His expression changed to anger.
"And what about you! I saw what happened in town square! They had loved ones, too! Do you really think you have room to talk?! If I'm monster, what does that make you?!" I cocked gun.
"The worst kind of monster." POP!
Twilight Sparkle and Sweetie belle left after Rise and Woody started talking. Rex and the other bounty hunter ran up. Twilight smiled at Rex as ran up. He was the towns pseudo detective, and often had to stop by the library for research.
"Princess, are you okay? We came as soon as we heard the gunshots." Twilight nodded as the other elements turned the corner. When Rarity saw Sweetie Belle, she ran forward.
"Sweetie Belle!" Sweetie Belle met her half way, and they embraced.
"Are you okay, darling?"
"Yeah, thanks to Twilight and that scary guy." Twilight blushed at her inclusion.
"I didn't really do anything. It was Rise." Rex jolted and looked at the princess in surprise.
"You know?" They all nodded. He looked at Lightning."You?" She shook her head.
"They only took his helmet off."
"Well, um. Shit, I know there are lot things bounty hunters are infamous for, and there are awful stereotypes, but I swear on my duty and ability as a member of the royal guard, that Rise is a good guy." Before anyone could respond, loud shouting echoed in the night.
POP!
Everyone stood silently still for a few minutes. The door the library opened and a figure stood in the doorway. Clad in dark blue armor and a black trench coat, Rise stepped out gun in hand. He dropped the magazine out and emptied the chamber before handing it to Rex. He looked around, checking for anyone else, and reached up and undid the strap to his helmet. Taking it off revealed a head of medium length black hair matted to his head from the sweat. Sighing, he thumbed the newest scar on the right side of the helmet.
"A little to the left." He muttered before looking up to his audience. "I'm sorry." Looking at Rex he continued. "He's on the balcony." Rex nodded and went inside. Rise looked towards Lightning. "Good work." He turned his tired gaze to Sweetie Belle, "You alright, kiddo?" She nodded then Rarity stepped forward.
"Thank you." She walked up and wrapped her arms around him. He returned it with a surprised look on his face.
"That's new." She released him and took a step back with confused look on her face, a look copied by the others.
"What do you mean, darling?"
"Usually, I get paid, shouted at, and chased out of town when people know who and what I am. Never once have I been thanked." He shook his head. "I need some sleep, we can talk about," he motioned with his helmet, "this , tomorrow."
"You can do that at the guardhouse." Rex interrupted. "It's pretty empty most of the time." He looked at Rise with stern expression. "And we have a few things to talk about afterwards." Rise only smiled and nodded before putting his helmet back on.
"I'm going home then, I need the sleep." Rise said as he walked away, then he muttered something that the others almost couldn't hear. "If I can get it." Lightning flew off after him.
Rex took his own helmet off muttering to himself. "You're gonna tell me why you moved here Rise. Even if I gotta beat it out of you."
