Cad Bane lands in Equestria, awesomeness and hilarity ensues
After his ship is damaged from an unexpected meteor storm, notorious Bounty Hunter Cad Bane crash lands on a mysterious planet in the Outer Rim. With his Ship heavily damaged, Bane resolves to find a way to fix his ship, but he soon encounters a species that seems to value something other than credits; Friendship. Can the Duro Hunter survive such an encounter?
Alarms flashed red all over the console as Cad Bane tried to regain control of the ship as it was spinning out of control. The Duro bounty hunter had been having a bad day; first he was forced to kill his target when he would have been paid more if he were alive, then he was paid half of what he got promised if he brought him in dead, and then to top it all off, he had been pursued by a rival bounty hunter, forcing him to make an emergency jump in which he found himself in the midst of a meteor shower that heavily damaged his ship’s hyperdrive and its shield generator.
If I don’t find a planet soon I’m space dust Bane thought bitterly to himself as he scrambled to regain control of his ship. After half an hour he was able to regain control of the ship and got most of the alarms shut off finally I can hear myself think. Bane then looked on his holomap to try to ascertain where he was and where the nearest system lay. Unfortunately the Force seemed to conspire against Bane as his computer was mostly inoperable, leaving the Duro to having to eyeball where he could be.
Finally after two hours he spotted a planet, it was a sizable world that was colored like a rainbow. Bane steered the ship towards the planet’s atmosphere; since his computer was heavily damaged he couldn’t hail the local authorities for permission to land, but he figured if he landed and they saw his ship’s damage, surely they’d make an exception. and if they don’t… I think weapons systems are still operational. Bane made his descent, but unfortunately he was coming into the atmosphere too fast and try as he might the emergency landing gear wouldn’t work.
Bane decided the only thing To do was to steer as best he could away from a civilized place on the world, didn’t need to get in trouble for vehicular manslaughter in addition to his other deeds. Grabbing the controls and pulling with all his might, Bane could see a large forest as he entered the planet’s atmosphere. Seeing it as good a place as any to land, he managed to steer his ship towards the center of the forest.
The ship landed with a large crash as it slid several yards into the woods, knocking over trees and flinging dirt as it skidded across the floor. Finally the ship stopped when I hit a massive boulder,the force of the crash sent the Duro flying into the next room, fortunately he had left the door open when he had gone in, so he flew back and hit against the wall. After recovering from the crash, Bane walked out of the ship to see the damage. The whole front of his ship had been smashed up to the pilot seat and the meteor shower had done a number on his left wing.
“Great, just What I needed to cap off this perfect day.” Bane grumbled to himself, taking off his hat and dusting it, he went back inside to see what could be salvaged. In short, very little; a few packs of rations, several blaster cartridges, and a first aid kit. Bane sighed but he had worked with less and came out no worse for wear. Believing he had seen a town on his way in, Bane decided he would set out for it tomorrow as it was getting dark, and if there was one thing he always made a point of, it was never walk around on a planet you’ve never been before after dark.
Settling on finding a part of his ship that wasn’t wrecked, Bane walked in to get some shut eye. Unbeknownst to the bounty hunter, another pair of eyes was watching him from the bushes, a pair of eyes that were determined to find out more about this blue two legged creature the had disturbed the forest and its inhabitants.
The next morning Cad Bane woke up early, wanting to get a fresh start as he hoped to make it to the town before dark set in once more. Gathering his things he got ready to leave and ate a light breakfast before setting off. As he walked out of the ship he suddenly got a feeling, that feeling of danger, a feeling he had honed for many years. Bane wasn’t force sensitive mind you, he just had grown used to the paying attention to his surroundings even without thinking, it had saved his life many times and it had never been wrong before. Bane whipped out one of his LL-30 pistols and fired it in the direction he thought he heard movement.
“I don’t like being sneaked up on. Whoever you are, come out and show yourself!” Bane exclaimed as he turned around towards where he shot.
“There is no need for alarm!” The voice shouted back. “Put away your weapon I mean you no harm!”
“Prove it!” Bane called back. “Come out and show yourself, real slowly.”
The figure complied and slowly walked out of the forest, revealing a horse like creature with grey fur and black stripes, she was wearing several gold rings on her neck and legs. Bane slowly lowered his weapon and holstered it. He then walked up to the creature and stared down at her.
“Apologies if I startled you” the creature said. “Though to be fair you startled me too.”
Bane lightly scoffed. “Please I’ve seen far scarier things, in any case, why were you watching me?”
“I heard a massive crash on the forest floor, something that has rarely happened before. I decided to investigate the crash, I made sure to stay hidden and not be rash.”
“Well you’re a local here, maybe you can help me. Where am I and where’s the nearest civilized town?”
The creature pondered for a moment before pointing “Equestria is where your at, you aren’t from around here, that’s a fact. I can help you greatly on your quest, but first I have a small request”
Bane looked at her intently There’s always a catch. “Ok what’s your proposition?”
“I will help for a small fee, that is you come to my hut and have some tea.” The creature smiled friendly. Bane meanwhile was surprised bordering on annoyed. On one hand he was glad the creature hadn’t asked for money (since he currently didn’t have much), but was also annoyed that this creature was asking him to drink tea as payment. But then again it was better to indulge the local so as not to offend her. After all if he got her mad, she might lead him intentionally into danger.
“Fine” he finally said as he followed her to the bushes.
As the creature walked she turned her head “I am Zecora you see, and if I might be so bold, what might your name be?”
Bane was silent for a while before finally speaking “The name’s Cad Bane”.
At Zecora’s hut, the two drank their tea. Thankfully for Bane, the Pony didn’t ask a lot of questions, that was good enough for him, after all where he came from too many questions was a dangerous thing.
Finally after sipping the last of her tea Zecora spoke “ if repairs on ship is what you wish Mr. Bane, I’m afraid your journey might be in vain”
Bane looked up from his cup. “Oh? And why’s that?”
“I’m sorry to say we do not have a star map, between your technology and our technology there is quite the gap”Zecora said sadly.
Bane sighed in frustration, this was going to be harder than he thought “then what’s the point of helping me to town if I can’t repair the ship?”
“Because a safe haven is what I can give, after all, the Everfree forest is no place to live”
“I ain’t looking for a place to stay, I’m looking to repair my ship, and if what you said is true then we have nothing more to say to each other” Bane put down the tea and got up to leave and as he was turning Zecora held up her hoof.
“Wait, I understand your frustration and anger, but in Ponyville you’ll be in less danger, I know repairing your ship is your best bet, but if you go to Ponyville, you won’t regret.”
Bane stopped for a moment and turned slowly fixing Zecora with a stare that sent a shiver down her spine “why won’t I regret it?”
Zecora regained her composure “the gap between our technology is great, that much is true, but there is someone there who may help you”
Cad Bane raised his eyebrow “who would that be?”
“She’s an Alicorn who might help you with your plight, her name is Princess Twilight”.
Bane was skeptical, he had known his fair share of princesses (in more ways than one) and hardly any of them had a bit of knowledge in technology, how could this princess help him with his apparently highly advanced ship? But then again, he couldn’t stay here forever, if there was a chance that he could find a way to repair his ship, he needed to take it.
Bane let out a sigh “oh alright, I’ll go to this Ponyville and find your princess… “ he then glared at her “but if this turns out to be a wild Mynock chase, I’m coming back. And it won’t be for more tea” with that, he walked out of the door before stopping and turning around. “Which way?”
Zecora pointed westward “the journey will take you half a day, follow the path, it will show you the way.”
Bane then tipped his hat and walked outside and went on the path. As he walked through the forest he took the time to look around and found he rather admired the fierce beauty that was the Everfree Forest. With its dark areas contrasted with some deceivingly beautiful spots dotted here and there. As he walked two Timber Wolves jumped in the middle of the path and growled at him.
Bane Smirked as he looked at them both “your move” he simply said. After an intense moment, one of the Timber Wolves moved quickly and pounced before Bane quickly jumped out of the way.
“Wrong move” Bane said as he activated his flamethrower wrist gauntlet setting his wooden assailant on fire. The animal howled in pain as the fire consumed him, his comrade watched in horror. Soon the poor creature was a pile of ash and Bane turned to the other one. The second Timber Wolf ran away whimpering.
“Good move” Bane simply said as he continued walking.
After walking for about an hour with no further incident, Bane finally came upon the exit of the Everfree Forest. After walking out, Bane found himself on the outskirts of Ponyville. It was a modest sized town, Bane had seen bigger, but he’d also seen smaller.
“Alright, time to find this Twilight, wherever she is” Bane said to himself, and he strode into town. The place was filled with horse-like creatures of different colors and sizes. As he walked down the avenue, the bounty hunter began to notice that a lot of of the creatures in town were staring at him, giving him strange looks and some were whispering things behind his back.
They act like they’ve never seen a Duro before Bane thought as he continued walking. Then he remembered what Zecora said about the technology gap, these creatures probably haven’t developed space travel yet. In a rare instance of forgetfulness Bane felt him bump into something, looking down he saw a creature that was completely pink, with bushy hair and three small balloons on her flank.
Seeing this as good a time as any, Bane spoke up “I’m looking for a princess Twi-“ before he could finish the creature rose up in the air and gasped dramatically and ran off as fast as she could. Bane was a bit taken aback by this, he new he had a reputation, but he didn’t think it reached species that didn’t have space travel. Shrugging off the encounter and continued walking before he saw a large crystal castle in the center of town. I think I found it he thought sarcastically as he walked to the door.
Spike was busy organizing the books in the library while Twilight was cleaning the Dining area. If there was one time of the year Spike hated the most, it was Spring Cleaning Day. It was always this time of the year when Twilight was at her most strict; everything had to be in a certain way, books had to be put in alphabetical, numerical, and Chronological order. In addition, the shelves needed to be dusted, sanitized, and dusted again just in case.
“Twilight!” He called from the library “I’m done with the books! Can I nap now?!”
“Did you organize the books in alphabetical, numerical, and chronological order!?” She shouted from the dining room.
“Yep!”
“Did you dust and sanitize?!”
“Sure did!”
“Twice?!”
Spike stopped and after thinking for a moment, he sighed and went to get more cleaning materials. As he walked down the hallway he heard a knock on the door, stopping for a moment he heard the knocking again. Spike walked towards the door and opened it. He laid his eyes on a tall individual with a duster coat and a wide brimmed hat, on his hips the dragon saw holsters of two strange devices, but the most strange thing was the visitor himself, not only was he standing on two legs, he was also blue with blood red eyes. The way he was looking at him, Spike felt a bit of fear.
“I’ve come to see your princess on some important business little man” the creature finally spoke in a terse and business like tone.
“Hey Twilight! Some blue guy is asking to see you!” Spike called to the princess.
“Tell him he’s going to have to wait a little bit! I’m not finished cleaning yet!” Spike was about to repeat the message when the stranger pushed him aside and walked right in.
“Hey!” Spike exclaimed as he followed him down the hallway “you can’t just barge in! You need to wait!” He caught up with the stranger who turned around and faced him.
“I’m on important business.” He said tersely. As he turned and continued walking, Spike ran ahead of him and stood in his way again.
The stranger sighed. “Word of advice son; it’s not a good idea to keep me from what I want” He leaned down until he was at face level with the dragon. “People end up getting hurt that way”.
“I don’t care” said Spike defiantly. “You’re not seeing the princess until she’s ready to see you”. To his surprise the stranger chuckled.
“You got Spunk kid I’ll give you that, what’s your name?”
“Spike” he said bravely.
“Well Spike because I like you and I don’t want to unnecessarily waist ammo, I’ll let you live”. The stranger then stood up and continued walking “but me and your boss have things to discuss, so stay out of my way.”
Just then Twilight appeared out of the dining room. “Spike are you ok? I heard you shouting and I thought you were…oh”. Spike and the stranger looked at the Alicorn princess and the blue stranger walked up to her.
“Princess Twilight?” He asked.
“Yes that’s me” Twilight responded.“What can I do for you mr…”
“Bane. Cad Bane, you and I have business we need to discuss.”
Cad Bane knew about the art of waiting. In the thirty some years he spent as a bounty hunter, he had to wait for targets to come out of hiding, as well as wait for traps he’d lay out to spring. It wasn’t just bounties though, he had also had to wait to see employers, many of whom were very powerful and had other clients and people to see, it was also a negotiation tactic used to make a person uneasy.
The meeting with Princess Twilight had not begun to well. Apparently the princess took offense to him threatening her assistant and said she would have to gather her friends before she could discuss anything with him. That is how Bane ended up having to wait in the library while the princess gathered her allies.
While he was waiting, Bane figured he may as well read some books to get the lay of the world he was on. Looking around he spotted a book that could be useful A General Guide to Equestria and the Surrounding Lands. Bane took the book of the shelf, sat on the floor, and began to read.
He soon found out many things in the twenty minutes he spent reading; that Equestria wasn’t the planet’s name but that it was the largest country on the world. The dominant species appeared to be Ponies, those things that he had been talking to, but they weren’t the only species on the planet. He also learned that the Ponies themselves were subdivided into sub-species; Earth Ponies, the majority of the population of Equestria, Pegasi, winged ponies that controlled the weather, Unicorns, whose horns could use magic, And Alicorns, a mixture of Pegasus and Unicorn and the rarest breed whose magic abilities were unparalleled. As Bane kept reading he felt something behind him and immediately whipped out his LL-30 only to see Spike cringing at his sudden movement.
“Word of advice son” Bane said as he holstered his blaster. “Don’t sneak up on a man like me, it’s bad for your health.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Said Spike nervously. “I was just coming to tell you the Princess is ready to see you now.”
“Finally” Bane muttered. He got up from the floor and tossed the book only for Spike to catch it before it hit the ground and checking for tears or creases(Twilight would kill him if he put it away without checking).
Bane made his way to the main hall where he found himself at a great Crystal Table that had what looked like a holomap of Equestria and the surrounding lands. This baffled the Duro, after all Zecora said that none of the the species had that kind of tech. That Pony has a lot of explaining to do if I find her Bane thought to himself as he looked at the six Ponies around him.
On the far left was a blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane, she was looking at Bane suspiciously. Next to her was an orange Earth Pony with a blonde mane made in a ponytail, she was also wearing a hat, something Bane appreciated. Next to the hat wearing pony was a Unicorn whose fur was pure white and had a flowing purple mane, while Bane wasn’t attracted to her, he could definitely see why others would.
Skipping his eyes over the Princess, he laid eyes on the Yellow Pegasus sitting on the Alicorn’s right. She had pink hair and looked incredibly shy. The final Pony on the right was one that surprised Bane the most; it was that pink pony he had bumped into earlier, happy as can be and waving frantically at him as the bounty hunter tried to ignore it.
After a while Bane broke the silence. “The names Cad Bane, and as you may have guessed I’m not from around here. My ship was damaged and I was told you could help me princess.”
Twilight pondered for a while before answering “weeeeeeell, I mean I could take a look at it to see what kind of technology we’re dealing with, then I could see what I could do, but with the differences between our tech and yours it might be incredibly difficult.”
“But not impossible?” Bane asked slightly hopeful.
“No but it would mean we’d have to take a trip to Canterlot and consult with Princess Celestia.” Twilight finished.
Bane pondered for a moment, he wanted his ship repaired but he felt that the trip to this Cabterlot had something more to it. “What’s the Catch?” He finally asked.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “The…Catch?”
“That’s right” Bane “what makes you think I’d go with you to a city I’ve never heard of, on a planet I’ve never been to, with a species I know little about?”
“oh right I forgot my manners.” Twilight slapped her hoof on her head and pointed from left to right. “This is Rainbow Dash.”
At the mention of her name the blue pegasus flew up in the air and did a few tricks before sitting down. “I’m the fastest flyer in all of Equestria!” She said proudly.
The Showoff Bane thought to himself. The Pony next to Rainbow spoke next “Howdy the names Applejack, my family and I own Sweet Apple Acres outside of town.”
Bane nodded. “Nice hat.” It was a sincere compliment, whatever his faults, he knew good headwear when he saw it.
Twilight then pointed to the white Unicorn. “That’s Rarity, she owns a Botique in town.”
“Charmed” she said, though from the tone of her voice, Bane could tell she wasn’t at all charmed.
The yellow pegasus barley spoke above a whisper m. “I’m…um… I’m…um…Fluttershy. Bane leaned in closer to hear. “I’m Fluttershy” she repeated no louder than before.
Just as she was about to start again when Twilight stepped in. “She’s Fluttershy. As you can tell she’s, well, shy”
“Never would have guessed.” Bane said sarcastically. Suddenly a pink blur zoomed front of him.
“HI THERE I’M PINKIE PIE! I WE ALREADY MET, DON’T YOU REMEMBER BECAUSE I REMEMBER, I WAS LIKE GAAAAAAAAAASP AND YOU WERE LIKE SERIOUS AND I RAN AWAY, BUT IT WASN’T IN FEAR DON’T WORRY I WASN’T ALL THOUGH YOU ARE SCARY LOOKING SO I COULD HOW SOOOOOOME PEOPLE WOULD BE SCARED BUT…”
BZAAT
Silence filled the room as the barrel of Bane’s LL-30 was in the air smoking. He then leaned down to a frightened Pinkie Pie. “Get out of my face.” The pink pony immediately complied and zipped back to her chair.
“Hey!” Rainbow exclaimed. “What’s your problem? she was just saying hello!”
“I don’t want my personal space invaded.” Bane replied tersely “she’s lucky I just shot in the air.”
“I don’t think I like your attitude.” Rainbow said as she rose from her chair.
“And you’re a loudmouthed show off” Bane shot back.
“I’ll show you a show off you..” Just as Rainbow was about to attack when Applejack grabbed her tail.
“Whoa Nellie. Don’t do it Dash, he’s just trying to get a rise out of you” Applejack finally managed to get her to sit.
Bane chuckled. “You better listen to your girlfriend little lady, she may have just saved your life.”
Rainbow’s anger once again ignited “why I outta..”
“ENOUGH!” Twilight shouted. Everyone looked in her direction as she breathed out again. “Mr. Bane your comments and actions were uncalled for, apologize to Pinkie Pie or we won’t help.”
Bane grimaced. Deciding to bite the blaster bolt, he turned to Pinkie Pie “Apologies for scaring you little lady” tipping his hat for extra measure.
Pinkie immediately lit up “That’s ok! I already forgave you!” She bounced up and down before sitting back down.
Clearing her throat, Rarity spoke up “So tell us Mr. Bane, what is it exactly you do for a living?”
“I’m a bounty hunter” he simply stated. The different friends shared worried looks at each other before turning back to him.
“Oh” Rarity finally said in a shaky voice. “I see. And..uh have you ever..”
Bane knew what the question was. “On a few occasions, though I do get paid more if I bring em back alive.”
After a moment of silence passed, Twilight cleared her throat “Mr. Bane could you kindly wait outside, we have to talk amongst ourselves before we’ve made a firm decision”.
Bane simply tipped his hat and walked out of the room, the door closing behind him.
Once the door had closed, Twilight looked around the room. “Alright girls what do you think?”
“What I think is that guy is nothing but a jerkwad!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“You’re only saying that cus he got under your skin.” Applejack interjected.
“Yeah… Well… I still don’t like him!” Rainbow pouted, crossing her hooves across her chest as she sat back down.
“I’m with Rainbow Dash” Rarity said. “He’s rude, uncouth, and his outfit is ATROCIOUS! I mean that Duster with that hat!? Who dresses like..” She soon cut herself off mid-rant when she remembered who she was sitting by. “Oh hehe… of course you always look fabulous in that hat darling.”
“Thanks” Said Applejack unamused. “Fashion aside, that guy seems more shady than a used carriage sales-pony.”
“Well he was a bit of a meanie pants a while ago.” Pinkie Pie began. “Buuuuut he did say he was sorry so he can’t be all bad. Plus I haven’t thrown him his welcome party yet! I’ll be able to turn that frown upside down in no time!” She finished happily.
“I think we should help him.” Fluttershy said. The others turned to the yellow pegasus. “Honestly girls I’m surprised at you, sure he looks different from us, dresses strangely, and maybe he’s a little rude, but the poor thing crashed here, he’s probably homesick and missing his family, we have to help him.”
“What do you think Twi?” Applejack asked looking at her friend.
The Alicorn Princess thought for a moment before speaking “we should help him get home, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to repair his ship. We should take him to Princesses Celestia and Luna, they’ll know what to do.”
“Sounds like a plan” Applejack responded.
“I’m all for it as long as I get to throw him a party afterwards!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“If there’s a chance to help him we should take it.” Fluttershy confirmed.
“Well I still think his fashion sense is of poor taste” Rarity began. “But regardless it’s the right thing to do.”
“I’m for anything that’ll get him off this planet sooner.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Then it’s decided.” Twilight stated. “We’ll help him.”
Cad Bane and Spike sat in silence on the Library floor. The former was cleaning his blasters and the latter was looking up at him excitedly.
After a while Bane sighed. “You got something on your mind kid?”
“Is it true your a bounty hunter from space?” Spike asked excitedly.
“Yep”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Yep”
“I bet you have tons of cool stories”
“Yep”
“Could you tell me one?”
“Nope”
Spike’s face fell a little. “Ahhh come on why not?”
“Kid I’m not the story telling type.” Bane said as he finished cleaning his blasters. “If you wanna hear a story you should go to Bossk, that Nerf Herder’s always bragging about his kills.”
Spike didn’t know who this Bossk guy was, but he pressed on. “Well how come you don’t do that?”
Bane looked at him and smirked a bit. “The best bounty hunters don’t need to tell their stories, others do it for them.”
Before Spike could as what he meant by that, Twilight walked in and faced The Duro.
“Ok we’ll help you” Twilight said. “But first we need to take you to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, they might be able to help us better.”
“Fine” Bane said, getting up from the floor. “So long as I get help it makes no difference to me.”
“Excellent” Twilight finished. “We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning, Spike see Mr. Bane to his room.”
Spike got up and walked Bane down the corridors. After ten minutes of walking the baby dragon showed the Duro to the spare room.
“If you need anything I’ll be sleeping just down the hall” Spike said. He closed the door behind him.
Bane had had to sleep in many different places; Dirty motel rooms, Sink Holes, Caves, even inside a dead Wampa once. But this room was most definitely a step up, with a comfortable bed, actual running water, and even a functional bathroom.
Laying down on the bed, Bane began contemplating his current situation. They seem nice, even if we did get off on the wrong foot the bounty hunter mused. Then again they’ll probably be asking for a favor in return for assisting me, fair enough, pretty sure I can handle what comes my way. And with that the bounty hunter drifted into sleep.
The train ride to Canterlot the next day was largely uneventful. Aside from the awkward glance or two, most ponies paid Cad Bane no mind. The only thing that happened before the trip was Both Pinkie Pie and Spike bombarding him with questions.
Some of them were admittedly good, like asking how long he’s been a bounty hunter, and how blasters work both of which he answered. Then there were the confidential questions like who’s his best employer.
Then there were the completely nonsensical and ridiculous questions (mostly asked by Pinkie), like what’s’ his favorite color?, does he like parties?, Why does he always seem to have a perpetual frown?, does he like parties? that particular question came up frequently .Fortunately for Bane’s sanity and patience, Twilight finally told them to knock it off and went with Bane on the train. Thankfully, the trip itself was quiet.
After an hour the train stopped at Canterlot Station and the two got off. Bane noticed that security was tight, more than likely in response for his arrival.
As they walked on through the courtyard Twilight strode next to him. “Now Mr. Bane when you’re standing before the Princesses…”
“This ain’t the first time I’ve been near important people.” Bane cut in. “Lots of bowing and kneeling right?”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah that’s about it… Though something tells me you’re not the bowing type.”
“You got that right little lady, I don’t bow to anyone.” He then saw the purple Alicorn give him a look. “Don’t give me that. I’ll tip my hat or something if that makes it better.”
Twilight sighed. “I guess that’s the best I’ll get from you. In any case just try not to fire those things like yesterday.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“But did you mean it ?”
Bane remained silent and walked away from Twilight and into the castle. As the Duro looked around he couldn’t help but admire the artwork in the windows. He wasn’t an art guy, but he did admire the stain glass windows depicting the deeds of supposedly the rulers of the land, he had seen these types of art before, but something about these tapestries and stain glass work in particular that seemed almost humble.
Going to the main doors to the throne room, two armored unicorn guards stepped in front of him. “Sir we’re going to have to ask you to hand over any weapons you might have.” The first guard said.
“I ain’t going to assassinate your princess, she’s my ticket off this rock.” Bane replied.
“Sorry sir.” The second guard apologized. “It’s standard procedure.”
Sighing, Bane reluctantly pulled out both his LL-30’s and placed them beside the guards. He also pulled out a Vibro knife from his boot and put it with the blasters. Satisfied the guards stepped aside and let him through.
As he walked past them, Bane whispered to the first guard. “Anything happens to those things I’ll know who to blame”. He then walked into the throne room and the doors closed behind him.
In front of him sitting on two thrones were two Alicorns whom Bane presumed were the Princesses. The one on the left was pure white with a golden crown on her head, her mane different colors of purple, green and blue, flowing. The Alicorn on the right was black as space, with a mane of dark blue and what seemed like stars twinkling in it.
The white Alicorn spoke first. “Welcome Cad Bane to Equestria, I’m Princess Celestia, and this is my co-ruler Luna.”
“Ma’am.” Bane simply said as he tipped his hat at Luna who nodded to him.
“From what my Student has told me, you’re not of this planet,my sister and I find that… Fascinating.” Celestia continued. “She has also told me your ship troubles, and I assure you that we will do what we can to help you.”
“Well that’s pretty generous of you Princess.” Bane said. “What’s the catch?”
Luna was confused. “What do you mean what’s the catch? We’re helping you with your ship. There is no catch.”
“Sure there is.” Bane continued. “you really expect me to believe I’m just gonna get my ship repaired no strings attached?”
Luna was about to respond when Celestia raised her hoof. “ I don’t know where you come from Cad Bane, I don’t know your experiences or struggles, but on this world, and in Equestria in particular, we help those in need without thought of rewards.”
“How you gonna fix my ship with the Tech Gap in the way?” Bane asked
Celestia smiled knowingly. “Don’t worry Mr. Bane, we have our ways, but if you doubt our abilities, come with us and we’ll show you something.” The two princesses got up and motioned Bane to follow them, which he did. The three walked to a wall on the far side of the room and to a wall.
Celestia pressed one of the tiles and the wall opened like a door, showing a staircase that went downward. The three walked down the stairs until they reached a room at the bottom. Opening the door, Celestia and Luna led Bane inside and took him to a table.
Bane’s eyes went wide as he recognized several parts of a starship strewn about. Power cufflinks, shield generators, power cells, everything. All of it was there, and not just on the table they were at, but several others.
“Only my sister and I know of this.” Celestia finally spoke. “ A thousand years ago, a few months before my sisters’” she paused bed looking at Luna.
the black Alicorn smiled softly. “The past is done sister, go ahead.”
Nodding back Celestia continued. “A few months before my sisters’ Temporary banishment, another creature arrived from the sky. He was not of your race, but he did walk on two legs and had gone through a similar accident to get here.
“During his stay, he talked to me and my sister extensively about the galaxy, about how we were not the only life out in the universe, how there was technology greater than our own, and how he could help us advance. Eventually the stranger left and he gave us spare parts of his ship and some instructions to help us.”
Luna then spoke . “The project was put on hold after my… incident, but when I returned, we started up again. We haven’t told the wider public yet because we wish to be sure that we got everything right. As such we trust you not to tell a soul.”
“Makes no difference to me.” Bane replied. “As long as you can fix my Ship I’ll keep quiet about your project.”
“Good” Celestia said. “If word got out too early, everyone would rush too quickly and try to build their own ships without fully understanding it and that could lead to disastrous consequences.”
“Whatever” Bane said impatiently. “Can you fix my ship or can’t you?”
“We can.” Luna replied. “But it will take time.”
“Until then” Celestia finished. “Do you have a place to stay?”
Bane shook his head. “Not really, my ship’s a little too beaten to stay in.”
“Well you are more than welcome to remain in Ponyville until your ship is prepared.” Celestia smiled as they walked back into the throne room.
After arriving at the throne room, Celestia looked at Bane. “Now that we have that business out of the way, we have something else to ask you.” Bane looked at the two Alicorns with a look of interest.
“You’re a bounty hunter correct?” Luna asked.
“That’s the rumor.” Bane said.
“We’d like to hire you for a job.” Luna stated. “And we will reward you handsomely for your troubles.”
Bane perked up. Finally, someone was speaking his language. “What’s the job?”
“There’s an Outlaw in Appleooza who’s been stealing from the Orchards of the farmers, he’s called Wily Desperado, I’ve sent my guards, but many don’t come back” Celestia explained.
“Sounds like you need a professional.” Bane smiled. “But just so you know, my fees are high.”
“Money is of no issue.” Celestia continued. “Just capture him alive and we’ll pay you handsomely.”
Bane smiled. “You got yourself a deal, where’s Appelooza?”
“Take the train you came from and it’ll take you there.” Luna said.
Tipping his hat Bane walked out of the Throne room and picked up his weapons and headed out. Bane was a little relieved that his ship could be fixed, it’d take time, but the bounty hunter was a master in the art of waiting. For now he would head to Appleooza and find everything he could about this Desperado.
Walking in the Courtyard Bane went past Twilight who ran next to him. “So how’d it go?” She asked.
“Can’t talk now, gotta get to Appleooza.” Bane stated as he made his way to the train.
The Train trip to Appleooza was uneventful as always, Bane spent most of the time sleeping. When he arrived at the station and got off the train, he was met by a brown horse with a blue jacket and red bandanna on his neck, on his flank was a large silver star.
The Pony looked at the Duro Bounty Hunter with some nervousness and a little bit of suspicion. “So…uh… you the bounty hunter?”
“Who wants to know?” Bane replied.
“Um… I do.” The Pony said gaining a little more courage. “Name’s Silverstar, I’m the Sheriff of Appleooza, and as I’ve already told the Princess, I got it all under control.”
“Sure you do sure you do” Bane said sarcastically “I mean why else would the Princess send me to do your job if it’s obvious you got this.”
Silverstar was about to retort before Bane simply pushed him aside and walked towards the wall on the outside of the station. On it hung a poster of the pony he was looking for.
After snatching the poster Bane turned to Silverstar “where was this guy last seen?”
Silverstar replied “he’s been mostly hiding out in the mountainous area in the west, I’d go myself but I can’t get any volunteers to come with me, that Wily Desperado is a scary one.”
“You’ve seen him before” Bane asked.
“Once or twice” Silverstar said “and each time he stares at me with a scary look” the sheriff pony shivered at the notion.
Bane rolled his eyes “well you’re going to have to face it again, because I don’t know my way around here and I need a guide.”
Silverstar was a bit worried about going to the west mountains with a stranger he knew little about, but if it meant capturing Desperado then he’d do it.
“Ok” he finally said. “I’ll help, but let’s not go into town, someponies might get a little… upset if they saw you walking around.”
Bane acknowledged the point and the two set off, walking around the town and towards the west mountains. The trip, surprisingly, was a short one, only took an hour and a half to get to the western mountains. Bane stopped half a mile away from their destination and scoped the area out with his binoculars.
“Where’s he usually found?” Bane asked as he looked for all possible escape routes.
“Anywhere in the mountains, that place is a maze.” Silverstar replied. “He can come and go at anytime and from anywhere.”
“Then we’ll have to draw him out” Bane concluded. If years of hunting had taught him anything, it was that it was never a good idea to follow or pursue a target in a maze like area, there was just about as much chance of getting lost as there was in losing the target.
“How do you reckon we lure him out?” Silverstar asked. “Give him something to attack?”
“Not a bad idea” Bane mused as a plan formed. “Go back to town and gather as much supplies as you can then meet me back here.”
Silverstar was perplexed “What? But wh-“
“Just do it!” Bane interrupted harshly. The lawpony quickly went back to town. Three and a half hours later Silverstar came back dragging a large cart full of supplies.
“Huff. Huff. Still don’t see…huff…huff..why we need…huff huff.. all this stuff” Silverstar spoke between panting.
“Bait” Bane simply replied. “When it gets dark, take the cart and leave it close enough to the mountain entrance that he won’t suspect anything’s up, but far enough that we can grab him.”
“We?” Silverstar asked.
“Yes we, your the Sheriff aren’t you? That’s your job.” Bane replied.
“Well I mean yeah but…what if..” Silverstar paused for a minute. “What if he stares at me all scary like again?”
Bane rolled his eyes. “Just stare back at him, it works for me.” Seeing that the sheriff didn’t look convinced he sighed. “I’ll handle the capture, you stay here after you get those supplies moved.”
Silverstar sighed in relief, happy that he wasn’t going to be near Wily Desperado when he came. “What makes you think he’ll fall for this? It seems a little obvious.”
“Call it a hunch” Bane replied. “If he’s the kind of criminal I think he is, the chance of an easy score will be too tempting for him to pass up.”
It’d been several hours since the trap had been set. Bane was hiding behind a rock near the mountain that was close enough to the entrance for him to cover it.
As the hours ticked by, Bane sat behind the rock, watching for any sign of his target going through a back exit. No doubt my ‘partner’ fell asleep Bane thought bitterly. It was beings like Silverstar that reminded the Duros why he preferred going at it alone.
Sure he had worked with droids before(TODO could be helpful…sometimes), but that was usually for huge jobs like heists, and unless they were IG model Assassin droids, they never asked for rewards.
Organics on the other hand were unreliable and untrustworthy, and again, Bane only relied on them when huge jobs were needed.
The bounty hunter was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of small rocks tumbling from the entryway. Bane immediately got up and went into position, blaster drawn.
Out of the entryway came a large Black Stallion with a poncho and a large wide brim hat. On his flank was a red mask. The Pony inched his way towards the wagon and looked around to see if anyone was nearby.
“Hehehe” he chuckled in a deep and menacing voice “Wily Desperado you lucky stallion you, your gonna eat well tonight.”
Bane came out from behind the rock and drew his blaster. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you son.”
Desperado turned and jumped in shock as a two legged blue creature wearing a duster and wide brimmed hat as well holding a strange device stepped out from behind him. Desperado had never seen anything like that, but he was sure it was dangerous.
“You’re a surprisingly easy target to track down.” Bane said as clicked his blaster to set it to stun.
“Who are you?” Desperado managed to say.
“Names Cad Bane” Bane replied. “And you’ve got a large bounty with my name on it.”
“Bounty huh?” The outlaw asked, his expression changing from fear to smug joy “bout time that happened, I was beginning to think I was going unnoticed.”
Bane looked at him confusingly, he wanted a bounty on him? While it wasn’t unheard of for some criminals to be proud of the fact they had prices on their heads(some even got offended when the price wasn’t high enough), many didn’t find it something to be proud of since the higher the bounty, the more skilled hunters would come after you.
The Stallion laughed at his confusion “I can see I need to explain myself, you see growing up in Appleooza I was a nobody, but now that I’m a notorious outlaw I can finall-“
BZZAT
The light blue circle of a stun bolt slammed into Desperado’s face, knocking him out.
Bane just walked over to his unconscious target and shook his head “Why is it some of these slimos want to tell me their life stories?” He wondered out loud. He didn’t really care for how his target got to this point, after all that wasn’t his business.
Sheriff Silverstar came down the lookout hill and arrived next to the bounty hunter. “Whoo ee partner, we got him!” He exclaimed excitedly.
“We?” Bane asked skeptically.
“Yeah we” Silverstar replied. “I showed you the way to the mountains, I got the supplies and the bait, and you took him out, that there’s teamwork.”
Bane sighed irritably, he’d been in the business long enough to know what was coming next. “Alright let’s cut to it, how much?”
Silverstar looked confused. “How much what?”
“Don’t be coy with me!” Bane snapped. “How much of the reward for this ‘team effort’ do you want?Don’t expect fifty fifty!”
“I want none of it, you can have it.” Silverstar said simply.
The shock from that response nearly floored Bane. He had been a bounty hunter for years, and in all that time whenever he teamed up with someone, no one EVER insisted he keep the reward, it was one of the reasons he preferred either working with droids (who had no use for money) or working alone.
Once he regained his composure, Bane looked at his unconscious target then back to Silverstar “Tie him up. We’ll take him to the train station in the morning.” He ordered. The Law Pony obeyed and the two set up camp.
The night had been pretty uneventful, Aside from Desperado waking up (and promptly being put to sleep again). The next morning, the two made their way to the train station and Bane tossed his target in the train and got ready to leave.
One thing stuck in his mind, something he had to know. “Why?” Bane asked.
Silverstar took off his hat “look… I really love this town, I would do anything to protect it. The fact that a dangerous outlaw like him” he motioned towards Desperado “is out of this town and not hurting our community anymore, is good enough for me.”
Again Bane was surprised by this answer. Being a bounty hunter, he often rubbed elbows and fought with and against the very worst that society had to offer, especially with law enforcement officers who were just as bad as the people he brought in. But this guy sounded completely sincere in his explanation.
“Well I wasn’t gonna give you a large cut anyways” Bane said as gruffly as he could be. He got ready to go on the train when Silverstar called out to him.
“Hey Bane!” He shouted. The Duro Bounty hunter looked at him. Silverstar tipped his hat “thanks for the help.”
Bane looked at him for a while before tipping his hat and getting on the train. Taking a seat, he stared out the window as the train slowly pulled out of the station. This was indeed a strange planet, on most planets in the Outer Rim, the inhabitants were hostile and always ready to blast first and ask questions later, this place was different. Aside from some hostile moments here and there, on the whole , everyone was quite friendly. Hell, even the rulers were friendly enough to repair his ship and asking for little in return. It was an interesting change of pace.
But Bane knew he couldn’t stay here long, after all, he was a bounty hunter, he didn’t fit in with this kind of place. Bane put his hat over his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.
