Bounty Hunter Anon III

by Sunny Solaire

Epilogue

The boy falls onto his back again and lets out a frustrated growl. He's panting hard. Why wouldn't he be? The two of you have been at this all morning.

"Try again." You command. "If you're angry, use it to help you in battle. It gives you focus, as long as you keep it under control."

He groans and shakily stands up once again. He takes a few deep breaths and glares at you with a piercing gaze.

He shifts to the fighting stance you instructed him to adopt. He snarls slightly and shows his teeth. For a child, he looks absolutely ferocious. It makes you happy to see.

"Ready... Begin."

He growls again and charges at you. He attacks you with a series of punches, kicks, and strikes that are impressive, but rehearsed. You are able to dodge or block them with ease. He shows promise, but he still has much to learn.

His breaths are labored, but you can see that he's clearly trying to keep himself under control. He tries to land a good punch, but you block it and move to counter it. However, he anticipates that and immediately moves back out of the way, giving himself a clear window to attack you. It's an opportunity he fully takes advantage of.

He lands a second punch right on your abdomen, making you yell on impact. He backs away immediately and resumes his fighting stance. It came out of nowhere, you weren't ready for that.

It hurt, you aren't going to lie, but despite that, you laugh hard as you look back at the boy. He has a confident smirk on his face. He looks just like you.

"Ha! Nice work!"

He smiles wider and drops his stance. "Thanks, dad!" He pants. "Can we... Can we please be done now?"

You're about to answer when another voice speaks up to your right. "I'd say he's earned it after that."

The both of you look to the source of the voice. Your lovely wife Sunset stands there with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face.

The boy gets a hopeful smile on his face and turns to you again. "Please?"

You chuckle a little and sigh. "Alright fine, we can be done for the day. I agree, you have earned it."

He smiles wider and pumps his fist as he turns to run towards his mom. He's forgetting something though.

"Hey now. Wait a second. Come here." You snap.

He skids to a stop and turns to you again, with a look of happy reluctance on his face. He slows as he approaches you and you crouch down to his eye level, smiling at him.

"You did good today, kid. I'm proud of you." You say.

The boy smiles at you as you tell him that. "Thanks dad."

You hug each other tight for a few moments. You love this kid more than anything in the galaxy. He'll be a, excellent warrior someday.

The two of you release each other and he jogs off towards Sunset. You follow behind him.

She beams at him as he approaches her and hugs him as well. "I love watching my little Mandalorian kick his daddy's butt."

The boy giggles and you smile.

"Mom, did you see me?!" He asks excitedly.

"Yeah I did! You did great!" She says.

He goes on a little rant and explains what he did and what you taught him, like kids do. The three of you head back inside your home.

It's incredible that he's already seven. Seems like just yesterday that he was a baby. Now look at him. He's got Sunset's eyes and your smile.

The sun had finally risen enough to be late morning. Now it's time to get breakfast. As you all head inside, you're greeted by Rainbow Dash leaning against the doorway with her arms folded.

The boy's face lights up. "Rainbow!"

Rainbow smirks and gives the boy a fist bump. "Hey, kid! What's up?"

You smile at her. "Hey, Rainbow. You're here early."

She and Thunderlane are taking the boy flying today. They're going to show him the absolute basics. Rainbow and Sunset both insisted that flying was a skill to learn early on, like walking. Since they're the ace pilots, you won't question them on that.

Rainbow chuckles and looks at you again. "Yeah, I was able to get my stuff done quick, so I thought I'd swing by. Mind if I join you guys for breakfast? I brought some meloorums!"

"Of course, we don't mind!" Sunset says.

She smiles. "Great! Thanks!"

The four of you head inside to chitchat and prepare food. Rainbow has come a long way in her Mandalorian journey since you met her way back on that Republic prison. She's now the top pilot in the entire Mandalore system. In a dogfight, she's practically untouchable. It's actually pretty impressive to see. You appointed her and Thunderlane to patrol and oversee Mandalorian Space together and report their findings to you.

They work with Tempest sometimes, but mostly they stay local. Tempest works with the Republic on searching the rest of the galaxy for the Sith remnants. Together, with help from Rarity, you've found the remains of the Sith's fear virus and eradicated what remained of their reserves. Cerea, unfortunately, was unable to be saved. Many Cereans perished in Sombra's attack of the planet, and now they are endangered as a race. It was one of the many crimes Darth Sombra was charged with. He was sentenced to death by the Republic. You personally watched it happen on Coruscant.

After the whole debacle with Gilda, Rarity retired from the bounty hunting gig. She's a gossip though, so she still keeps tabs on things around the galaxy. You go to her if you have a question or two about something, but she isn't going after bounties anymore. You didn't blame her. A part of you was glad that she did. She was a valuable asset to your profession back then, but more than that, she was your friend. It made you furious that she was targeted in order to draw you out. You never want anything bad to happen to her again.

She had to dive into her savings, but she was eventually able to repair her building on Cato Neimoidia. Coco Pommel helped her every step of the way. Last you heard, she's working on her own line of clothing that's picking up speed along the Mid Rim. Rarity is still her boss, but she's a generous boss.

The four of you sit around the table in your kitchen, laughing and talking with each other while telling stories. Rainbow recounts a few of her favorites to the boy. Some of them are a bit exaggerated, but they're all in good fun.

A few minutes later, as you're finishing up eating, a knock at the front doorway gets your attention.

"Aww, I missed breakfast?!"

There, standing fully dressed in her Jedi Knight robes, is none other than Pinkie Pie herself.

"Pinkie!" The boy runs towards your zeltron friend with his arms wide open for a hug.

Pinkie smiles wide and wraps him up in a hug, picking him up and spinning him around. "How's it going, little dude?!"

"Good!" He says happily. "I beat dad in a sparring match today!"

Pinkie gasps. "You did?! That's awesome! I've seen your dad fight before! It's scary! You must be really, really tough!" The boy laughs and Pinkie sets him down before turning to you. "What's going on, Anon? Are you getting old, or are you just a great teacher?"

You chuckle as you approach. "I'd like to think I'm just a great teacher." You give her a hug. " Good to see you, Pinkie. I didn't know you were coming by. Usually someone contacts me if I have a visitor."

Pinkie beams. "I told Rainbow I was coming, but not to say anything because I wanted it to be a surprise!"

Rainbow sheepishly raises a hand. "Heh. Guilty as charged."

Pinkie laughs and you roll your eyes. "Plus, I wanted to see my favorite Mando!" She looks at the boy again. "What else is new with you?!"

He smiles again. "Rainbow's gonna take me flying today!"

She gasps again. "She is?! Wow! That's way cool!"

Sunset walks up behind him and puts her hands on his shoulders. "Yeah, but he's not going anywhere until he gets himself cleaned up first. Right?"

The boy looks up at Sunset and nods. "Yes, mom."

Pinkie smiles, leaning in close to the boy and whispers loudly. "Go fast! I wanna see you take off!"

"Okay!"

The boy takes off running back into your home and disappears behind a corner, leaving you adults alone.

You chuckle a little and turn back to Pinkie. "I'm surprised the Jedi let you take time off to visit."

She giggles. "They didn't. If I'm being honest, I'm actually here for something important. The Council wants me to investigate some activity going on around these parts."

Your smile fades. Activity you don't know about on your turf? Is it trouble?

"What kind of activity?" You ask.

"Nothing apocalyptic, I just want to get your opinion on something." She smiles. "I hope you guys aren't busy. I would love to have you and Sunset come with!"

You and Sunset shake your heads. "Not too busy, no. We have time."

"Yay! It'll be just like old times!" She wraps an arm around you and Sunset and brings you both in for a hug. "The three amigos together again! I'll see the kid off and then we can get going! It's nothing major, but the Jedi really want it done fast, and I don't wanna disappoint them."

You chuckle again. "I get it. Let me go get ready."

She smiles again and releases you to head back to your room to start getting your armor on.

Pinkie resumed her Jedi training under Grand Master Luna shortly after the whole Sombra incident. She wanted to honor Maud's wishes the best way she could, and she seems to have stuck with it. You're proud of her.

Despite working with the Republic, there is still a great animosity towards the Jedi as a whole among your people that is deeply rooted. Therefore, Jedi are not welcome on Mandalore unless specially authorized. However, because she helped you with stopping the Sith, you have commanded that Pinkie be an exception. The Mandalorian people decided that was a fair compromise. She can come and go as she pleases.

The Council seems to be fully using this to their advantage in bringing peace to your neck of the galaxy, but you don't mind. While most of your people will disagree, you don't think the Jedi are so bad. Pinkie comes by every so often. Sometimes, she brings Applejack and Fluttershy with her. Applejack retired from the Republic military about a year ago, and you heard she's looking into settling down into arms manufacturing. Anything to do with weapons is something you absolutely approve of.

Fluttershy is still moving forward with her Taris relief effort. Thanks to Senator Twilight Sparkle of Ryloth, her progress has sped up quite a bit during the past few years. While Taris likely won't recover completely during her lifetime, it will definitely receive a lot of help.

Speaking of, Twilight has fit right in to her role. You've visited Ryloth a couple times since she became a senator. It's doing well. You don't see each other in person often, since she's so busy, but you do talk occasionally. You are Mandalore after all, so if there is something of galactic importance afoot, she and sometimes even Chancellor Celestia will contact you for advice.

You gather your weapons and gear that you need before grabbing your helmet and heading back into the living area with Sunset, Pinkie, Rainbow, and the boy. Rainbow is talking with him.

"Alright kid, you ready to go?" She asks.

The boy nods. "Ready!"

Rainbow grins and looks up at you. "We'll bring him back later today."

You all head outside to see the Sonic Rainboom parked out front. Thunderlane is standing at the base of the landing pad and waiting for you.

"Don't do anything too reckless, Rainbow." Sunset says. "No flying the Kessel Run, no blowing up prisons, nothing like that."

"Hey, it's me!" Rainbow says.

"I know it's you." Sunset replies. "That's why I'm saying it."

Rainbow laughs and nods. "We'll be careful, don't worry."

Sunset's maternal instincts have been on point ever since the boy came into the picture. She would die for him, just like you would. You swear, seeing her be a mother has made you love her exponentially more than you ever did before he came around.

After you got married, Twilight once asked if that made Sunset the "queen" of Mandalore since you were the "king". One thing you and Sunset both have in common is that you hate royalty titles. They imply laziness and entitlement. You told her that, you may be the leader of all Mandalorians everywhere, but you are nothing more than a man. Mandalore is just your job, it doesn't define who you are.

Sunset is a strong, capable, dependable woman. She is full of empathy and love, but she's not afraid to get her hands dirty if the need arises. You may be the leader of your people, but at home, you answer to her. She knows more about raising a child naturally than you'll ever be able to learn. Which is good, because family is more important than anything else.

You and Sunset walk next to each other while the boy walks alongside Rainbow. Pinkie follows you all.

"Ooh, wait Rainbow! I forgot something!" The boy leaves Rainbow's side and runs back to you and Sunset. The two of you kneel down and the three of you hug each other tight. "Love you mom. Love you dad."

"Love you too, son."

"Love you, bud." Sunset echoes.

You smile and close your eyes as you feel the warmth from your little family. It's the greatest feeling in the galaxy. After a few moments, you all release each other and he goes back to Rainbow's side.

"Now go have an adventure!" You say.

"Be safe!" Sunset adds.

"We will!" Rainbow says.

Sunset chuckles and the boy waves back at you excitedly. He and Rainbow head to her ship. Thunderlane gives you all a little wave as well before he heads aboard. Rainbow and the boy follow soon after.

About half a minute later, the engine revs up and the ship takes off. You, Sunset, and Pinkie all wave one more time as the Sonic Rainboom changes direction in the air and blasts off into the atmosphere.

You and Sunset give each other one more happy look before turning to Pinkie. She's standing there with a smile on her face and giggles once more. "You guys are such a cute family."

"Thanks Pinkie." You say with a little laugh. "So how can we help?"

"I'll tell you on the way!"

She sets off towards her ship and you and Sunset don your helmets. The two of you look at each other one more time and nod before turning to Pinkie.

With your fingers interlocked between each other's, you follow the Jedi, and set off on another adventure together.

-The End-

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading! This story's end is a long time coming. It's been about nine years since I started this saga on 4chan. There has been ups and downs, life changes, a marriage, and the end of our beloved pony show during that time. However, I have never forgotten this story, and I've loved every moment of it.

From the bottom of my heart, to my few readers who stuck with me on this site and on others across the internet, thank you so much.

Comments

[Red nova]

That was an awesome and amazing story

[X 865]

It's been a joy to read these. Well done all around!!!