Good Will Hunter

by Marezinger Z

Chapter 5

Sunset and Hunter left the hotel and started back towards her place, along the way she gave Twilight a call to give her an update to pass along to the others.

“What’s that?” Sunset asked after she finished her information dump. “Oh… I completely forgot.” She paused. “Yeah, thank goodness for Pinkie; I think her memory is the best out of all of us. Alright, I’ll grab something… okay, bye.”

“What’s up?” Hunter glanced over as he drove along.

“Sandalwood’s birthday is tomorrow, there’s going to be a party in the park after school.” She eyed him sweetly. “Can we stop so I can pick up a gift?”

“Sure.” He altered his course to head for the mall.

“I know a birthday party doesn’t seem appropriate right here at the moment.” She sat back in the seat. “But I think we need it right now.”

“You’re absolutely right.” Hunter agreed. “No matter how much trouble is on the horizon, you can’t lose sight of what’s happening around you. Little things like that keep everyone positive and reminds them what they’re fighting for.”

“More soldier wisdom?” Her head rolled over to look at him.

“No way, that’s all Lilly.”

“You mentioned her before.” She recalled. “Who is she?”

“Lilly is… kind of the heart of our agency.” He smiled. “She used to be a public affairs officer in the Air Force until she was brought into our fold. She handles all the document manipulation, paperwork, identification and funds we need for our missions. She’s the one that got me into your school in the first place and played the part of my mom on the phone with Principal Celestia.” He paused as he pulled onto the freeway. “All that aside, she’s a master people reader and it’s impossible for all of us hardened soldiers and combat veterans to get anything by her.” He laughed. “She knows what we go through and where we came from; she always knows what to say and when we need to hear it.”

“She sounds great.”

“She is.” He quickly looked over at her. “She was the first one to congratulate me on staying with you.”

“Well, give her my thanks for the support.” Sunset requested.

They soon pulled into the mall parking lot and the pair wandered the shops looking for something nice for Sandalwood. Picking out a gift and a card, Hunter took Sunset back home and followed her up to the door.

“I’m going to head back tonight.”

“Oh, okay.” Sunset idled in the doorway.

“I’d stay, but now that we know what we’re up against I need to start gearing up.” He squeezed her hand. “But I’ll meet you at the park tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Sunset brought him in for a kiss. “Is there anything you want us to do?”

“Not yet.” He shook his head. “We still don’t know exactly what their plan is, we can talk about it tomorrow after the party.” He gave her another short kiss before jumping back in his car and heading home.

---

Normal life got the chance to rear its head as several dozen of the students gathered for Sandalwood’s party. The grassy field was busy with activity while Bulk used the park’s grill to maintain a steady stream of burgers and hot dogs to accompany the buffet of sides laid out across one of the inlaid metal tables. Sunset sat at a separate table with Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Wallflower, Flash, Micro Chips, Snips and the birthday boy himself. As they sat and talked, Wallflower noticed how drained Sunset appeared.

“Are you feeling okay, Sunset?” She asked. “You seem worn out.”

“Oh… I guess I am, a little.” Sunset sat upright and perked herself. “Sorry.”

“Burning the candle at both ends?” Sandalwood asked with a small laugh.

“You could say that.” Sunset nodded. “Last few days have been long, been out with Hunter mostly.”

“Things been going well with you two?” Flash inquired.

“Yeah, it has been.” She smiled.

“That’s good.” He admitted. “I’m happy for you.”

Sunset saw the earnestness in his eyes at the sentiment. “Thanks, that means a lot.”

“I still can’t believe you put up with that guy.” Snips said offhandedly.

“Yeah, we’re still working on that too.” Rainbow Dash chuckled.

“I’m used to his mouth by now.” Sunset confessed. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“Ah ahem!” Hunter appeared behind her and sat at her side.

"Of course." Sunset sighed.

“Hey everybody." He greeted cheerfully. "A question for you. Why are girlfriends like haunted houses?” He looked over the table. “When the interior walls start bleeding you get the hell out of there.” He turned to Sunset with a gimmicky grin.

“Wow.”Micro Chips shook his head as the table tried to process what they just heard.

Sunset looked down at her open palm, trying to decide whether slapping him was worth proving herself wrong.

“Please hit him, darling.” Rarity begged.

“Nope.” Sunset put on a smile. “Not going to give him the satisfaction.”

“Can I?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I can see my work here is done.” Hunter quickly stood. “I’m off.” He hurried away, heading towards the food.

“You must really like him.” Wallflower giggled.

“He’s completely endearing when it’s just the two of us.” Sunset swore.

“The dude has a completely different vibe now.” Sandalwood noted. “So much more positive than the first time around. Seems like you’ve caused a big change in him.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Sunset glanced over and saw Hunter messing with Trixie and Snails.

The party carried on until five when everyone began heading home. Once the park was quiet, Sunset and her friends gathered at a table to change their focus to more serious matters.

“Okay, all cleaned up.” Applejack noted as she dropped a giant bag of trash from the party at the table side.

“Hold on.” Pinkie hovered over the bag as she jammed the last bites of cake on her plate into her mouth. “Herr yu go.” She mumbled through her mouthful, tossing the plate and fork into the bag.

“That was a fun party.” Hunter sighed as he looked over the girls. “Guess we should make sure he gets one next year.”

“Right.” Sunset nodded.

“Do we have any kind of plan on how to handle this new siren?” Fluttershy asked.

“Not really.” Hunter said honestly. “We have an idea of what she wants to do but without any notion of how, we’re a little stuck.” He admitted. “I get stealing the Dazzlings' magic to make herself stronger, that’s bad guy 101; but why rob a bank?”

“Well, it’s not like either of them can just get normal jobs.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Probably just funding their lives.”

“As a siren, she can control people to do her bidding.” Rarity interjected. “Why bother with money when you can have everything given to you for free?”

“Anything she uses her powers for will be reported as a crime once the person wakes up.” Hunter fueled his theorizing with their comments. “If she needs money it’s because she wants to do something legally so that it won’t leave a trail.”

“I have a theory.” Twilight spoke up. “We know she wants to sing the song of death, which means she’s obviously going to be targeting either a specific person or a large group. If we assume the latter, it would make sense to find something that would allow her to impact the greatest number of people possible.”

“Someway to broadcast her song over the entire city.” Sunset arrived at Twilight’s conclusion.

“Yes.” Twilight nodded.

“That sounds like something out of a movie.” Applejack came in. “Besides, it isn’t like anyone really listens to radio anymore. Maybe if she got on T.V., but you can’t be on every station at once.”

“I’ll look into it.” Hunter noted. “That does give me some ideas.”

“And what about the Dazzling’s stalker?” Twilight continued.

“Yeah, in some respects he sounds scarier than the siren.” Fluttershy commented.

“I do have some news on that.” Sunset chimed in. “Princess Twilight was able to identify the artifact.” She opened her backpack to retrieve her magical book. “She got back to me sometime late last night.” Laying the book on the table, she opened up to the last page. “It’s called the Earthen Brace; it was created a long time ago by a Unicorn who lived in a small town with a community of Earth Ponies. The simple farming town was always under threat from creatures and bandits. Since they couldn’t fight, he made the brace to allow the head of the town to literally summon an army from the land they worked to defend them.”

“It sucks that something made to protect wound up in such rotten hands.” Pinkie laid her head on the table.

“It’s just a tool, Pinkie.” Applejack stated. “Tools just do what they're made for, it’s all about who picks the thing up. Something like that could do a lot of good.”

“Quite.” Rarity nodded. “Perhaps if we are able to get it off of him we could keep this artifact for a change.”

“Equestrian artifacts are too dangerous for this world.” Sunset refuted. “It needs to be destroyed.”

“This sounds like it’s going to be a dangerous fight.” Fluttershy sighed. “Shouldn’t we get the police involved?”

“Or the army?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“And tell them what?” Applejack asked. “That a nearly three thousand year old siren is plotting against the city?”

“She’s right.” Hunter laughed. “This is usually the type of thing that I’m called in for, fortunately I’m already here.” He rose from the table. “You gave me a few ideas, let me check some things out tonight.”

“Okay.” Sunset closed her book and returned it to her bag.

“Oh, and I finally got a hold of the stuff for your place.” He added. “I’ll install it tomorrow while you’re at school.”

“What stuff?” Pinkie asked.

“Hunter and I had a talk and he’s going to install a security system.” She looked up at him. “A reasonable one.”

“It is.” He vowed, leaning down to kiss her. “See you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Hunter.” She dragged her fingers along his arm as he walked off.

“I should be getting home too.” Fluttershy checked the time. “Don’t forget, we have a history test tomorrow.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Rainbow Dash groaned.

“I’ll toss this in the dumpster and head out myself.” Applejack hoisted her trash bag. “See you girls tomorrow.”

“Right.” Sunset took up her pack as they dispersed for the night.

---

Cobalt stood in the rear yard of an industrial building, a steady stream of men and women flowing in and out with electrical and construction equipment. He drowned out the noise of the labor as he focused solely on increasing his proficiency with the Earthen Brace. Over and over again he called forth his mindless servants, putting them through combat routines before returning them to the soil. In his mind, he could see the Dazzlings all too clearly; especially the looks of fear on their faces when he had them in his grasp. The knowledge that they were afraid of him brought a deep satisfaction that bordered on physical pleasure.

“Cobalt.” Melodiam approached him, snapping him out of his concentration.

“Yes, Ms. Melodiam.” He quickly turned to her.

“We have some heavier equipment that your golems are more suited to move.” She informed.

“Oh, of course.” He nodded as he held up his wrist. “I’m getting more and more control every time I use this.

“Well, you have been training with it virtually non-stop.” She commended. “That is of little surprise, although I am impressed how quickly you have adapted to it.”

“Thank you, Ms. Melodiam.” He smiled. “I’m still sorry I’ve been hogging it, considering it was supposed to be a gift for you.”

She laughed. “That is quite alright.” Her hand found his shoulder. “It suits you far better; besides, I have lived long enough to grow tired of baubles and jewels.” She looked up at the building behind them. “All I wish for now is a home so that I can end this nomadic existence and finally birth a new generation of my kind. A wish that I can now realize thanks to my encounter with you. Without you, I never would have known about those sirens and been able to take their magic; magic that will allow me the power to remove the male element of this city and put the females under my permanent control.” She laid her hand to her stomach. “My eggs will be ready soon and this time they will have a father to seed them.” She smiled down at Cobalt. “A father that can protect them with his own powerful army.”

Cobalt gently laid his hand atop hers. “It’ll be an honor, Ms. Melodiam. I owe you so much, you could have killed me for what I attempted but instead you showed me kindness and affection.”

“Your mind may have been broken, but I could see how strong your will was.” She lauded. “Once you’ve taken your revenge you will be free of your demons and will be whole again, and more than ready to stand at my side.” She gestured towards the street. “But first, we must complete our work here.”

“Right, just show me what you want done.” He obediently followed at her side as she led him out to the trucks that lined the street.

---

After a relatively quiet day, Sunset came home to find Hunter’s car at her curb. She found the door unlocked and went in to discover him putting in a keypad on the adjacent wall.

“Hey, Sunny.” He greeted.

“Hi.” She closed the door and dropped her backpack. “How’s it going?”

“Good, good.” He nodded. “Nearly done.”

“How long have you been at it?” She asked as she went into the kitchen.

“Couple hours, the instructions for these things are awful.” He tilted his head back over his shoulder. “Oh, and you’re good to go on your computer.”

“Thank you.” She called back.

“I changed your wallpaper too, that waterfall was just so bland.”

“If it’s something disgusting I’m going to beat your head in.” She went into her second bedroom office and clicked her mouse, her suspicious eyes softened when she saw a picture of the two of them together that he had taken. She laughed and returned to the living room. “Alright, bonus boyfriend points.”

“You need to give me more credit.” He smiled.

“You’ll do something sooner or later to lose it.” She chuckled.

“Yeah, probably.” He stepped back. “There, we should be good to go.”

“So how does it work?”

“Just enter the code to activate it after a ten minute delay and re-enter the code to disable it; you also have a key chain remote to deactivate it if you set it before you leave the house.”

“Cool.” She looked over the alpha-numeric pad. “What’s the code?”

“22266.” He recited.

“222…” She sighed and glanced back at him. “Really?”

“What, I wanted it to be something you’d never forget.” He grinned. “As far as your cameras go, I left a note next to your computer for an app that lets you watch the feed in real time. There is also a login which will let you set up the VPN on your phone.”

“Alright.” She palmed his cheek and kissed him. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Hunter hugged her. “Now, about your installation fee.” He smiled, working his eyebrows.

Sunset shook her head with a restrained smile. “But I don’t have any money to pay.” She said in poorly acted fashion. “Is there some other way I can pay you?”

“You’re terrible at this.” He started to laugh. “I hope you don’t give the pizza guy or the plumber this kind of lackluster effort.”

“Shut up.” She laughed. “Go sit down while you still have some points, I’ll order us dinner.”

“Deal.” He kissed the top of her head.

Author's Note:

In case you didn't check your phones, 22266 can be used to spell 'bacon' on an alpha-numeric keypad. If you're anything like Sunset, you probably look like right now, lol.

Comments

[TheHardie-Boy]

Just a tip, always write out numbers when writing, never just type the number itself. For instance, you should’ve written “two, two, two, six, six”

As for the story, I’m enjoying it, and eagerly awaiting for things to kick into action

[Speculore]

10168517
What's wrong with writing the number itself?

[Sollys]

10168946
More or less unprofessional, it's more of a writing thing.

[Marezinger Z]

10168517

10168946

10168984
There are different schools of thought on the matter, it's one of those things where either way is right or wrong depending on who you talk to. I was taught to spell out 'conversation' numbers, like "I would like to buy two shirts and one pair of pants."; and numerically type out sequential digits like codes, pin numbers and phone numbers. In real life we write numerically because people process the characters faster; but the rules vary for fiction and you can find a supported 'yea' or 'nay' for both options.