The Reluctant Gunman

(Vash's PoV:)

The trip out of the tunnels was surprisingly quick. With Twilight still a wreck, I opted to carry her. The little filly gladly accepted the gesture, clutching onto me like a drowning man to driftwood. My heart broke for these girls. No one should have to go through something like that, let alone ones so young.

My first goal was to find a guard and let them know about the unconscious and hogtied kidnappers. Given the circumstances, it wasn't hard to accomplish and I found a couple guards near a little cafe. The pair of guards regarded me oddly for a moment before realization dawned on them.

"Thank you for your help," the grey unicorn mare stated, adjusting her helmet. "We'll take them from here." She reached out to take Twilight from me only for the filly to whine and hold on tighter.

Patting Twilight's head, I gave the guards a weak grin. "She's been through a lot; I don't think she's gonna let go for a while. I'll get them back to the castle. I can give you directions to the eight kidnappers though."

Once I was done giving my explanation, the guards ran off to get some backup to properly arrest the perps. Cadance and Sunset took the lead on getting us back to the castle, using their knowledge of the city to take shortcuts.

When we passed through the palace gates a throng of guards escorted us to the throne room. Crossing through the grand doorway, we were instantly greeted by Tia and a quartet I assumed was Twilight’s family. Twilight squirmed out of my arms and settled into a tight embrace with her mother, the family sharing tear-filled cries as the filly tried to explain the events of the kidnapping.

Twilight’s parents were a fairly young mare and stallion with her mother being a light grey mare with a two toned purple and white mane with bangs hanging down just before her eyes, the rest of her mane started to curl when it reached her shoulders and her blue eyes shimmered with tears. Her father had blue fur with a darker blue mane styled in a professional updo and amber eyes. In his arms was a surprising sight, a purple dragon hatchling. The last figure was a teen mare I assumed was Gleaming based on the descriptions Tia had given me.

Celestia’s regal mask was gone, replaced with the choking sobs of a relieved mother. It did my heart good to see the situation resolved so tidily. I turned on a heel, ready to let them have their moment. Just as I was about to cross the doorway, a voice caught my attention.

“Sir, thank you so much,” Twilight’s mother said, holding the filly close to her chest.

“Yes, if there’s anything we can do to repay you just let us know,” Twilight’s father added, a tired smile on his face.

Waving a hand dismissively at him and flashed him a grin. “There’s no need for that. I just couldn’t ignore children in peril like that."

“We can’t just leave you with nothing,” Twilight’s mother argued, some cheer returning to her voice. “Can we at least have you over for dinner?”

I was going to try to politely decline but Twilight’s father cut in. “My wife makes a mean pesto.”

That last word struck a chord with me. It had been almost a millennia since I’d had a homemade pasta dish. My heritage would not let me deny such an invitation. “I guess I wouldn’t be opposed to a meal. Can my son Toya join me?”

"Of course, we've been meaning to have Gleaming's friends over. How does tomorrow sound?" He asked. "Given our nerves, I'm thinking this is going to be a take out night. I’m Night Light by the way, and this is my wife, Twilight Velvet."

“Vash, and tomorrow is fine.”

Twilight's mother and Gleaming nodded in tired agreement. The teen was trying to act tough, but her puffy eyes were a dead giveaway that she'd been crying just as much as her folks. I couldn't help but give a tender smile at the scene. This was clearly a loving family.

Celestia stood back up, but kept her arms around Sunset and Cadance. Clearing her throat, she addressed the Sparkle family. "I'm glad that this matter has been resolved. Some of my guards will escort you all home." The reunited family gave their thanks one more time and exited the throne room.

I made my own exit, deciding to hunker down in an actual bed after the events of the day. Sleep came easy, the aches and exhaustion of my nearly week long stupor finally rearing their ugly heads.

(Sunset's PoV:)

The morning after the incident came to a sputtering start. As tough of a front as I'd put on the day before, I was still shook up. I even kept the light on due to not wanting to be in the dark. Seemed that everything that had happened in the cave was going to live rent free in my mind for a while.

The only aspect of that I didn’t mind was the images of my rescue being replayed. I had to have imagined it at least a dozen times before I finally managed to get to bed. I don’t know what it was; maybe I was trying to figure out the secrets of Vash’s moves. Or maybe I was trying to wrap my head around his sudden change of mood. One moment he’d seemed ready to kill all those kidnappers and the next he was gently comforting Twilight.

That last thought made something stick out about the whole thing. Vash hadn’t killed a single one of the kidnappers. It was glaringly obvious. A detail that was right out in the open but lost in the shuffle of shock and thanking Faust to have made it out of the tunnels alive at all. Despite being outnumbered the way he was, all of the stallions involved were now awaiting trials in a Canterlot Jail. That settled it, I needed to have a talk with Vash and learn more about him.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. Cele- I mean Mom had even decided to make pancakes herself. For what was likely her first attempt, it wasn’t that bad. If it had been any other day, I might’ve said something about the fruit and whipped cream face that she had put on our stacks. But after everything, I appreciated the genuine effort. Mom came off as a bit clingy, hugging me or leaving a hand on my shoulder at just about any chance she got. Again, I found myself appreciating it more than getting irritated by the affection overload.

Vash and Morning had joined us for breakfast as well, the bipedal oddity making sure to ham up his praise for the culinary experiment. Thoughts swirled around my mind as we all ate, though I couldn’t act on them. If I was going to talk to Vash I'd have to wait until he was away from Mom and Morning.

The gears in my head continued to clang together, trying to align. With my lessons my window of opportunity was narrow. With what I almost swore there was an audible click as the gears finally started to turn. He'd be going to Twilight's for dinner that night. If I could get invited over then it'd be simple to get the gunslinger alone.

(Vash's PoV:)

The office of the Royal Acquisitions Officer was a stock standard affair of bureaucracy. Plain white walls filled the room, broken up only by Royal Guard recruitment posters filled with cheesy slogans. Separating me from the other being in the room was a long counter spanning from the left to right wall. Behind the young brown mare in the red dress uniform of the guard were rows upon rows of cubbies with stacks of paperwork nestled safely within them. Said mare was currently reviewing a requisition form that I’d just filled out.

“So you need a couple square feet of cragadile skin and a dozen bits of iron?” The mare asked, glancing over the pages at me. “Normal procedure requires I ask the reason behind the request, but the signature from the princess puts this at an automatic rush order status.” One of her hands disappeared below the counter and returned a second later with a rubber stamp that she firmly pressed onto the form.

“Thanks, Corporal,” I replied, making my exit while she filed the form. Being with Tia had its benefits. Even if it was just taking away the possibility to be told no when asking for materials to make new gloves.

I flexed the fingers on my mechanical arm at the thought of the new gloves. After almost a thousand years I’d become fairly comfortable with only having one real arm. ‘Comfortable’ might not be the right word, ‘accepted’ maybe? Whatever the term, even if I’d done so I still found myself missing having a left arm with nerve endings. Hugs are a lot less impactful with just one good arm.

Putting in the request was the only bit of business I had that day. Morning and Tia made it very clear that I was on a forced vacation for the next couple days. I wasn’t ready to test them on what they’d do if I went into my workshop. That left me to figure out what I was gonna do until I was supposed to go to the Sparkle home.

Without a goal in mind, I decided to go to the castle garden and laze about. At one point I decided to get a jog in around the hedge maze and at another I simply enjoyed the foliage and menagerie of animals. I must’ve drifted off to sleep at one point because I was nudged awake by a grey unicorn guard in freshly polished armor.

"Sir, the princess is almost done with her lessons for the day and figured you'd like some time to get ready."

Hopping to my feet, I nodded at the young guard. "Thank you, Private. I lost track of time." The young colt blinked, obviously wondering how I'd guessed his rank. Grinning, I patted his shoulder as I passed. "Your stance gives you away. Rigid, like you're second guessing even your posture."

"G-good eye sir," the colt relented, shoulders sagging. "I finished Basic a couple weeks ago. Got to pick my assignment by the skin of my teeth.”

I gave him a thumbs up and strode towards the castle proper. “Good luck, Private, I’m sure you’ll go places. What’s your name?”

“Silver Wind, sir!” he called back watching me go for a moment before he moved to return to his post.

The journey to my mares’ and I’s room was rather uneventful. After a quick shower I was left to give my clothes a quick cleaning. I really would need to get some other clothes. Something to talk with Morning and Tia about that.

Redressed and feeling as fresh as I could, I walked down the halls to grab Toya. I found him in his room, eyes downcast as he polished his short sword. Sitting on the edge, he looked up to the source of the disturbance.

"Hi Dad," he said, voice hollow as he returned to his task.

"Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, crossing one leg over the other. “You look like you’ve got a lot rattling around that noodle of yours.”

Sighing, he put down his rag and sword. “I can’t get yesterday out of my head.” Looking down again, he began to wring his hands. "I offered to go with Cadance but she said she wanted to do it on her own.”

“And now you’re wondering if you shouldn’t have tried harder to convince her,” I stated, a sense of knowing washing over me.

“Or even just tailed her to keep watch,” he pressed, gripping his hands tightly. “I made it back to the castle just when the guards started scrambling. When I found out what was going on I went out and started searching myself.” I wanted to say something but he looked up at me and pressed on. “How’d you do it? How’d you stay calm and find them so quickly when no one else could?”

“It was a mixture of good luck and prior experience," I told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I researched Canterlot's topography while making my new workshop. That led to me finding out about the caverns darting all through Canterlot Mountain. Plus, I’ve heard about Klugetown and its unsavory markets for a while. Reviewing the map confirmed what I thought. There was a cavern entrance near the park and one of the exits would put them on a direct course to that desert dung heap.” Giving his shoulder a squeeze, I continued, “But that’s not what’s important right now. Following Cadance would’ve betrayed her trust. You had no way of knowing that something like that was going to happen.”

“But it did and I could’ve stopped it!” he argued, shaking off my hand. “If wanting to keep an eye on my friend is wrong then fuck it, I’ll be wrong! If I was there those fuckers would’ve never laid a hand on the girls!”

I wanted to admonish him for his outburst, but that wasn’t the main issue. Beneath the anger there was something else in Toya’s eyes. Fear and insecurity. I knew those emotions well having experienced them countless times. Shifting on the bed, I pulled him into a hug. “You’re too strong for your own good. Fifteen years old and you’re putting the world upon your shoulders. Never beat yourself up for listening to your friends. You’re going to do great things, but even an immortal like you can’t do everything. The only time you should ever have regrets is if you give less than your best.” Rubbing his back I concluded with, “And that’s why you shouldn’t have any about this.”

Toya didn’t say anything for a while, staying stock still before slowly returning the hug. “Thanks Dad, I needed that.”

“I’m always here for you when you need to vent,” I assured him, ending the hug. “Now, we’ve got a dinner to attend. And I’m going to swing by the pantry so I can contribute something.”

“Whatcha gonna make?” he questioned, hopping onto his feet and grabbing his weapons. With practiced grace he returned them to their sheaths and let them hang at his waist.

“Something that has been passed down in our family for generations. I’ve even made this for you before.”

Giving him a quick wink, I led him down the halls and into the kitchen. I had Toya help me gather the ingredients and together we made short work of the task. Being the good son he is, he took the bag without complaint and we spent the walk to the meeting place in amicable silence. Bounty in tow, we entered the classroom Tia was using from the back. To my surprise, Twilight’s mother was already in the room sitting by her daughter. With the way the filly was leaning into the mare, it was obvious she was there for comfort.

Having an uninterrupted view of our arrival, Tia nodded at us. “Okay girls, that concludes our lesson for today. Be sure to read up on Grass Whistle’s Theorem on Ambient Aura Channeling and have some initial thoughts ready for tomorrow.”

Giving a quick affirmation, the two girls gathered their things and shuffled out of their seats. Twilight’s mother nodded at me and came up to Toya and I. “Mr. Vash, a pleasure. I hope you don’t mind, but dinner won’t be ready when we first get in the door.”

“Not a problem at all, a couple hours without food won’t kill me,” I assured her, flashing her a winning grin. If it wasn’t for the fact that she had such a terrible scare with her daughter the day prior, I might’ve been tempted to flirt just a little. The way her black jeans clung to her hips and her white blouse cut low enough to give just the most tasteful amount of cleavage did little to help my temptations. Even after nearly a millennia, Equus had no shortage of beauties.

“Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Vash.” Glancing at Toya, her gaze fell upon the bags he was holding. “Oh, and what do you have there?”

“Dad plans on making dessert tonight, I’m just the packmule,” Toya explained.

“You know how to bake?” Velvet questioned, a look of surprise and perhaps a little glint of being impressed was aimed towards me.

“Just the things Nonna taught me,” I said, dousing the fire of my ego before it could spread. “Still, I’m pretty confident in the family recipes.”

Nodding, Velvet indicated Sunset. “Oh, we’re going to be joined by Sunset here as well. She helped Twilight down in that cave.”

Twilight nodded eagerly, a weak smile on her face. “Yeah, Sunset was super brave. She headbutted one of those jerks and she shielded me.”

Giving a thumbs up to Sunset I said, “Very impressive. Can’t say I mind another pony joining us.”

“Have fun you two,” Tia chimed in, looking between Sunset and I. “Vash, make sure to bring back Sunset before it gets too late. Eleven is the curfew, okay?”

Saluting her, I went over and gave the solar princess a quick kiss. “Will do, boss lady."

With everything taken care of we headed out into the city proper towards the Sparkle home. I pretended not to notice as Sunset tried to bore holes into me from behind. There wasn’t any anger in what she was doing, but there was obviously something big on her mind. I figured that she’d bring it up on her own time and decided not to say anything.

It took a while to reach the residential area in the lower rung of the city, but we eventually stopped at one of the townhomes. It was purple, matching the general color scheme of the city and was framed by neatly trimmed hedges on either side of its front fence. Velvet approached the curved door and knocked. A few moments later and Night Light appeared with a tired smile.

“Thank goodness you’re back, Spike nearly set the curtains on fire twice today.” Giving his wife a quick peck on the cheek he ushered us inside.

The front door opened to a living room that was painted deep blue with carpeting to match. The sofa and plush chairs were purple to match the exterior. Gleaming was on the sofa, reclined comfortably while she flipped through a book. There was a cozy fireplace decorated with pictures of the happy family together and even some awards that the two girls must’ve won. Attached to the living room was a kitchen where sitting in a high chair was the baby drake I’d seen yesterday.

Having heard the problem I walked into the kitchen. “Do you mind if I pick him up?” I asked, looking between the two parents. Getting the go ahead I picked up the little bundle of scales and cradled him close. Spike babbled at me at what must’ve been an imitation of a greeting and showed off his developing teeth in the progress. Nodding to myself, I glanced back at Night Light. “Do you have any charcoal in the house?”

Giving me an odd look, Night Light moved to the back door and retrieved a bag of charcoal briquettes from the outdoor patio. Thanking him, I quickly fished out one of the lumps and presented it to the little drake. He squealed happily, grabbing at the charcoal and taking a big bite. The action caused a series of sparks to harmlessly flicker and snuff out in mid air. Once he was done with the charcoal, he cooed and released a ring of smoke from his lips.

"There you go," I said, grinning and handing him over to Velvet. "Give him a couple of those a day and his fiery outbursts should basically hit zero."

"That's amazing," Velvet breathed, looking down at the settled hatchling as he tried to doze off. "How'd you know how to settle his fire breath? We've been hunting for any info on hatchlings ever since we brought the little guy home. Equestrian knowledge on dragons is next to nonexistent.”

“Oh, I got caught up in the dragon migration a few decades back. They took me in and in exchange I watched their hatchlings for a few years.”

“You lived among dragons?” Twilight gasped, her eyes sparkling. “Can you teach me about them?”

Scratching my chin, I pretended to think it over. “Well, I guess there’s no harm in it. I might even have time for a story or two while dinner is being made.

We gathered in the living room while Velvet went into the kitchen and started prepping everything. Twilight sat right by me and pressed me for a story about dragons. I spun my yarn, going on about the more exciting aspects of their daily lives. Twilight and Sunset seemed to eat the story up, hanging on my every word. Toya and Gleaming meanwhile opted to have their own conversation, going on about weapons and other martial topics. Night Light took the time to just relax, nearly drifting off if not for the light comments he shared with his wife.

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly. Velvet’s pesto was pretty good; not as delicious as the family recipe but then again, what was? And for dessert I presented everyone with tiramisu. Basic Italian dish? Sure, but it still received praise from everyone at the table.

After the dessert things wound down to casual conversation. I learned that Velvet was a head editor of a Canterlot-based publishing house as well as an author herself. Night Light meanwhile was an Astronomer. If you ever wanted to see someone go on a twenty minute monologue about high-powered telescopes, he was your guy. The look on his face when I told him about the Hubble, you'd have thought I'd told him that joy had been turned into a donut flavor.

All good things must come to an end and the sun sank down below the horizon to be replaced by the moon. Standing up, I told Toya and Sunset that it was time to return to the castle. As we were going to the door, Twilight wrapped Sunset in a hug.

"Thanks for coming, Sunny!" The lavender filly chirped, giving the fiery maned girl a squeeze. "Next time you should come see my room."

Blinking owlishly, Sunset gave the younger filly a pat on the back. "You really want me to come back over?"

"Of course!" Twilight answered as if it were obvious and ended the hug. "You protected me, that makes us friends, right?”

There was a moment of hesitation from the tween, her muzzle scrunching up. Putting a hand on Twilight’s shoulder, she nodded. “Yeah, friends.”

This satisfied the tiny unicorn, as she said her final goodbye and let us get on our way to the castle. Toya chatted with me, doing his best to involve Sunset. She’d answer when talked to but kept it to one word responses if she could help it. Keen observation wasn’t required to see that she was conflicted about something. Given how reluctant she already was to talk trying to force the matter. Conversation petered out after passing through the main gates. With our rooms in separate wings, Toya split off from us and bid us both a good night.

Once Toya was out of sight, Sunset’s face lit up just a little. Taking a deep, steadying breath she put herself in front of me. “Mr. Vash, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you.”

Putting on a strong poker face, I said, “Is that right? Well, I’m all ears.”

“Seeing you in action yesterday made me realize something about myself,” she began, looking down at her hooves. “Without my horn, I’m absolutely helpless when it comes to defending myself. I hate that feeling. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to avoid it. So that’s why I want you to teach me how to use a gun and fight like you do.” Lifting her head once more, she locked her eyes to mine. “Please Mr. Vash, I promise I’ll hang on your every word and listen without question.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I mulled the request over. Sunset trembled, eyes threatening to water as I stood in silence. “Your first lesson begins tomorrow. Only if Tia agrees too.”

Her attitude did a complete one-eighty, a wild grin breaking out over her muzzle and she gave me a tight hug that lasted just a second. “Thank you, Mr. Vash! I promise you won’t regret this!”

She broke off into a run, disappearing up the stairs to leave me alone in the hallway with my thoughts. It seemed as though I’d earned myself an apprentice of my own.