Good Will Hunter

by Marezinger Z


Chapter 1

After returning to the human world and reuniting with their friends, Hunter took a week to get his new life in Canterlot set up. Using his connections he was able to establish himself in the city with all the necessary identification and rented out an apartment on the cusp of the downtown area. With everything set, he invited Sunset and the girls over for a housewarming party. Carpooling downtown on a Saturday night, the girls headed up to the third floor of the building to apartment 9C.
“I wonder why he picked out such an… average place.” Rarity asked with as kind of a choice of words as possible.
“To keep a low profile.” Sunset answered as she knocked on the door. “Hunter wouldn’t do anything that would draw too much public attention.”
“You know him really well now, huh?” Pinkie asked.
“After what we went through in Equestria, yeah… I do.” She smiled as the door opened.
“Ah… seven high school girls?” Hunter eyed them with a bright smile. “That weird 45 year old in the apartment above me is going to be so jealous when I tell him about this.”
“Can’t just say howdy, can you?” Applejack asked.
“I’d like to think you expect more from me.” He stepped aside so they could enter.
“That was pretty much what I was expecting.” Sunset pulled him to the side and kissed him.
“Guess I need to try harder now.” He laughed as his arms wrapped around her waist. “So, what do you all think?”
“It’s great.” Pinkie beamed as she held up a portrait of an ice cream sundae. “I brought you this for your wall; I painted it myself in art class.”
“Aw, thanks Candy Warhol.” Hunter thanked with a wink.
“I brought you a starter house plant.” Fluttershy raised a small pot with some budding green.
“And I picked up this modest throw rug.” Rarity added. “It’s eggshell white which goes with anything, feel free to decorate around it.”
Twilight stepped closer and held out a small box. “I brought a carbon monoxide detector, few apartments come with these and approximately 500 people a year die from carbon monoxide poisoning.”
“That’s one less thing I have to worry about killing me.” Hunter noted as he accepted the gift.
Applejack and I were going to get something too.” Rainbow Dash came in. “But then we remembered it was you, so…” She trailed off with a grin.
“Ow.” Hunter smirked. “You’re lucky I deserve that more often than not.” He looked down at Sunset. “And what did you get me?”
“You’ll have to wait till later for it.” Sunset patted his chest.
“I’ll try.” He pecked her on the lips. “But thank you ladies for the gifts, this feels more like home already. Speaking of which, I packed the fridge for the evening’s festivities, so help yourselves.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Pinkie hurried into the corner kitchen and popped the fridge door, pulling out sandwich platters, potato salad, macaroni salad and 2 liters.
“So Hunter, are you going to come back to school?” Fluttershy asked as everyone migrated towards the food.
“As much as I miss pop quizzes and cafeteria food, no.” Hunter wandered over to the counter with them. “But I can come visit.” He hooked his arm around Sunset. “Honestly though, I just want to focus on Sunny and I.”
“Well, you two have certainly earned some reprieve.” Rarity noted.
“We know that we could have a month or just a day before Hunter gets called away again.” Sunset admitted. “I want to make sure the time we share is special.”
“Not to be pessimistic.” Twilight interjected. “But this all sounds quite serious considering you two have just started dating.”
“Maybe.” Sunset nodded. “But Hunter and I have… unique lives, and given his job it’s kind of all or nothing.”
“I’m in for ‘all’.” Hunter pulled her close.
“Hey.” Pinkie called their attention. “After everything, now isn’t the time to worry about later. We’re all here together now, so let’s have some fun!” She rallied with a wide smile.
“Good call.” Hunter looked to Rainbow Dash. “Hey Racing Stripes, mind hitting the stereo in the cabinet over there?”
“Sure.” Rainbow Dash headed towards the cabinet below the television. “Did you actually put in a decent system?” She opened the doors and her eyes widened. “Whoa!”
“Hey, I know where and where not to skimp.” Hunter smiled. “The other two cabinets are speakers.”
“Nice.” Rainbow Dash said approvingly as she dialed in her favorite station.
The next hours were wiled away with food, dancing, joking and laughing. It was an interesting experience for Sunset’s friends; they had watched her change so much since her time as their enemy and that night they noticed her change yet again now that she had Hunter. Hunter had changed just as much, the unpredictable and purposefully off-key soldier had a new found warmth to him when he was with Sunset; and as line pushing as his bizarre sense of humor was at times, they could see the genuine joy in his eyes when he was able to make Sunset laugh. As seven o’clock rolled around, Rarity rounded up the girls to head home so the new couple could have some personal time. As the apartment emptied, Hunter closed the door and returned to the couch to sit with Sunset.
“I’d say the new place is appropriately christened now.” He noted as he fell to her side.
“Definitely.” Sunset leaned into him. “I needed this, this felt so… normal.” She laughed.
“It’s as foreign to me as it is to you.” He put his arm around her.
“I know.” She nodded. “I think that’s why being with you feels so nice. I’ve had boyfriends before, but knowing what I was and having this unusual life always made it feel insincere and made me feel like I was just pretending to be something I wasn’t.” She smiled up at him. “But you get it. I’m a pony from another world who has magic friends and deals with supernatural problems… and you actually get it.” She sighed contently. “I feel like myself when I’m with you.”
Hunter set his nose to her hair and kissed her head. “I get that too.” He concurred.
Sunset leaned away from him with a smirk. “Wow, that was a heartwarming response. I’m proud of you.”
“Do I get a treat?” He asked with a laugh.
“I suppose you should.” Sunset tapped his nose.
Hunter slowly brought his lips to hers as her arms slid around his waist; as they kissed he gradually fell back and pulled her atop him while their heads rocked back and forth. “This is even better now that I have lips again.” Hunter noted.
“Speaking of which.” Sunset rested on her forearms and looked down at him. “Did you get condoms like I asked? You can actually get me pregnant in this world, you know.”
“It was the damnedest thing.” Hunter began with a wry smile. “I looked and looked but they just didn’t carry Hippogriff size.”
“Hunter.” Sunset eyed him with a raised brow.
“But.” He raised his hand in testimony. “I did get the appropriate human equivalent.”
“Ugh.” Sunset slid off of him and pulled him up from the couch. “Come on, let’s find something more productive for that mouth of yours.”
“I’m both excited and offended.” Hunter chuckled as he was happily pulled along towards the bedroom.


In the dead of night, a team of men worked in assembly line fashion to empty the reserve of Canterlot Credit Union. The twelve of them worked in unnatural concert, their faces blank save for the quiet smiles they bore which registered their pleasure at the sweet song that was in their ears. From hand to hand the stacks of bills were passed until they were stacked neatly in the trunk of a plate-less car in the rear lot. The work finished within the hour, after which the men stood at attention in the lobby as a pair of shadowed forms walked along their rank.
“Thank you.” A sweet voice said with sincere gratitude. “Now, one final favor if you would.” She gestured towards the open vault. “Seal yourselves inside for me.”
Without word, the men all turned and filed into the vault; the final entrant pulling the door shut behind them which engaged the locking mechanism. The shaded pair left and returned to the car, quickly driving off down the quiet avenue.


Sunday morning was easygoing for Hunter and Sunset who slept in, not rousing till near eleven o’clock. While Hunter showered, Sunset checked her phone to see if she had missed any activity. Discovering a lengthy message from Rarity, Sunset read through it and quickly gasped as she rapidly opened her banking app; finding that all activity had been suspended due to unavailable funds.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Sunset reflexively shouted.
The bathroom door popped open and Hunter stuck his head out. “What’s wrong, Sunny?”
“Apparently the Canterlot Credit Union was robbed last night.” She tossed her phone onto the sheets. “My account is with them and I’ve basically lost my money. Not just me either, Twilight and Rarity have their accounts there too.”
“Hold on a sec.” Hunter ducked back into the bathroom, wrapping up and getting dressed. He hurried out and checked his own phone for the local news, finding a preliminary briefing of the story. “Damn.” He looked over at his distraught girlfriend. “Well, bank money is insured with the FDIC so it should only be a temporary loss on your part.”
“Really?” Sunset asked with renewed hope.
“Yeah.” He sat beside her with calming smile. “Geez, don’t they teach you anything in economics class?”
“Bank robberies isn’t on the syllabus.” She laughed.
“Don’t worry, in the meantime I can help with anything you need.” He assured. “I always wanted to be a sugar daddy.”
“Don’t say it like that.” She refuted. “I’ll pay you back when this gets sorted out.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, Sunny.” He shook his head.
“I know, but I do anyway.” She admitted. “We’ve just starting dating, I don’t want to mooch off of you right off the bat.”
“It isn’t mooching.” He countered. “This isn’t your fault, shit like this happens.” He rose from the bed. “Besides, I’ve got more than I know what to do with anyway; not like it’s going to break me.”
Sunset raised her head in confusion. “I know this is a crappy question but… just how much money do you make?”
“Depends on the job.” Hunter explained. “But agents like me don’t just get paid minimum wage to risk our asses, there has to be some incentive to not run away the moment we get a chance.” He shrugged. “Last time I checked I was sitting on a little over 1.5 million in the bank.”
“1.5… million?” Sunset repeated in shock.
“Well, I’ve always been on the move and had to keep a low profile so I never spend much money on myself.” He elaborated. “This was my first time buying furniture… did a pretty good job if a I do say so myself.” He patted the dresser. “It matches and everything, take that male stereotypes.” He laughed but saw the confounded look in her eyes. “Me having money isn't a deal breaker is it? Cause if it is, that’s a weird one.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s just… I wasn’t expecting it. I keep thinking I’ve run out of surprises with you.”
“It’s never been a big deal to me.” Hunter said honestly. “It comes in handy, that’s about it; not really why I do the work.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get weird about it.” She went to him, taking his hands. “I appreciate the help, I’ll still try to keep it to a minimum though.”
“However you want to play it, Sunny.” He tipped forward and kissed her.
“Thanks.” She headed for the bathroom. “I’ll get my shower in and we can head out.”
“Sounds like a plan, let me know if you need help.” He offered with a sly grin.
The two of them spent the rest of the day together just doing normal things in their own abnormal way. It felt nice for both of them and after a successful date, Sunset returned home with the promise of school the next day. Canterlot High was abuzz as many students and faculty had been affected by the robbery on Saturday. As always, she met up with the others about an hour before class, finding Rarity the center of attention as she voiced her anger at recent events.
“Honestly.” Rarity huffed. “I wish robbers would be more considerate of how their actions affect others.”
“If they did they wouldn’t be criminals.” Applejack dryly pointed out.
“At least you're not the only one.” Sunset noted as she joined their circle.
“Ah, Sunset dear.” Rarity calmed and fixed her jostled hair. “You seem to be taking this well.”
“Hunter told me that it should only be a short time until our accounts get re-credited.” She detailed.
“That’s good.” Fluttershy said in relief.
Pinkie popped up behind Sunset with an inquisitive smile. “So, how’d things go with Hunter yesterday?”
“Great.” Sunset nodded. “Still learning new things.”
“Like what?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, turns out he’s loaded.” She said with a lingering tone of disbelief.
“Given his occupation, that doesn’t seem so surprising.” Twilight commented.
“How much are we talking about, darling?” Rarity further inquired.
“Over a million.”
“What!?” The girls shouted in unison.
“Keep it down.” Sunset instructed.
“Wowie.” Pinkie shook her from behind. “You know how much candy you could buy with that?”
“Well.” Twilight began. “Given that the average candy bar costs around $1.25 plus tax…”
“Twilight.” Applejack laid her hand on her shoulder. “You know a lot a words and I know one of them is rhetorical.”
“Oh, of course.” She blushed in embarrassment.
“He certainly doesn’t act like he’s rich.” Fluttershy noted. “It’s great that he’s so down to earth in spite of it.”
“I know.” Sunset nodded. “It just… feels kind of heavy, you know. Like I want to be happy about it but at the same time I’d feel lousy for being happy about something like that. I mean, I fell for him before I even knew so… it’s not a big deal, right?”
“Only if you make it one.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Sounds like your trying to tell yourself that more than any of us.”
“You’re right.” Sunset sighed. “I just know we already have some big parts of our lives that are going to rear their heads at some point, I don’t need any more points of contention.”
“You worry too much.” Pinkie assured as the thirty minute bell rang.
“I agree.” Rarity added. “But we can talk more at lunch.”
“Right.” Sunset went to her locker. “See you girls, later.”


When the lunch bell rang, the girls headed to the cafeteria and reassembled at one of the tables.
“Is it just me, or does today feel longer than usual.” Rainbow Dash groaned as she sat.
“You say that every Monday.” Applejack noted.
“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?” She asked.
“I think it’s just the mood.” Fluttershy offered. “Everyone is mad about the bank situation… especially Mr. Cranky Doodle.”
“He’s always mad.” Pinkie said as she dug in. “There isn't anything to do about it now, no point in worrying too much.”
“Actually, that might not be the case.” Twilight came in, claiming the table’s attention.
“Whatever are you talking about, dear?” Rarity asked.
“I heard some of the students talking about it; one of them has a brother who was involved in the case.” Twilight informed. “Apparently the bank was emptied out by a group led by one of the bank’s own employees. They were all found in the vault after they called for help with no memory of what happened. But the thing is, the brother told his family that the last thing he could recall was hearing a song that seemed to come from nowhere.”
“A song?” Sunset set her plastic fork down.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Twilight nodded. “Which is I found this so curious.” She held out her phone, displaying an advertisement for a series of performances by the Dazzlings.
“Them again?” Applejack balled her fist.
“That’s impossible.” Sunset shook her head. “They lost their power, I saw their gems myself when I got trapped in that time loop at the music festival.”
“Could they have repaired them?” Fluttershy suggested.
“I… I don’t know.” Sunset admitted. “I suppose it’s possible.”
“If there’s a chance that Equestrian magic is involved we need to look into this.” Rainbow Dash said excitedly.
“Rainbow, darling.” Rarity pulled her back down into her seat. “Sunset just got back from dealing with those awful escaped prisoners. The last thing she’d want is to be dragged into another matter, we should let the proper authorities handle things until more information comes out.”
“No, Rainbow Dash is right.” Sunset said surely. “The least we can do is investigate the Dazzlings and see if they really are involved or not. Right now, let’s just worry about school.” The girls quickly returned to eating, noticing they only had twenty minutes left before classes resumed.