Chapter 8
It had been about a week since Braeburn and Cherry Jubilee became a couple, and so far they had a good relationship. Yeah, that’s not very long, so there wasn’t much to go on, but hey, they were happy.
Braeburn was out, walking back to the orchard after making deliveries of chocolate-covered cherries. He passed by a scrawny orange minotaur who looked kinda paranoid.
“Howdy Copper, is something wrong?” Braeburn asked.
“Vell maybe. You zee I got a letter in ze mail from my cousin, Steel Chair, that some zort of outlaw passed by his town. Which isn’t far from here, so I’m kinda worried. To make it worse he said that it could be Quick Draw, but who knowz. Anyvay I’m going to go back to mein house and grab mein homemade bombs. If he comes by I’ll throw ze bucking things out ze window.” The minotaur explained before he went into his home, a small one-floored house with a flagpole outside, on which hung a light blue flag that had a white silhouette of a minotaur’s head and some white text that was in a language that Braeburn didn’t recognize. He made a mental note to ask Copper about it sometime later.
Braeburn continued on his way back to the ranch thinking about what Copper Wire said, ‘Ah wonder if Ah should be worried about that. Ah mean what if this Quick Draw guy is supposedly in this area, should Ah do something to make sure Cherry is safe? Yet, what are the odds that out of all the places in Dodge Junction to rob he’d go to Cherry Hill Ranch?’
Braeburn got back to the Ranch. As he walked through the gate, he spotted a reddish-brown unicorn stallion with a silver mane. For a cutie mark he had what appeared to be a bag of bits. What caught his attention instantly was the crossbow that was being held in a dark purple aura, and it also was pointing at Cherry.
The unicorn turned around to look at Braeburn, giving him a glare through a pair of yellow eyes. “What the tartarus is this? Your knight in shining armor?” He then let out a small chuckle. “So what your name, shiny?”
“Um... Braeburn.” The cyborg pony responded.
“Name’s Quick Draw. You may have heard of me. I’m kinda a big deal, but I don’t have time to talk about myself.” He then pulled a bag seemingly out of nowhere that made a clinking sound. “My business is done here, so I’ll be on my way.”
Quick Draw was about walk out, but was stopped by Braeburns foreleg.
“Now hold on on gosh darn second.” Braeburn said, “Do y’all really think y’all can rob mah marefriend and just walk away?”
“If you want me not to put an arrow through her skull, then yes.” The unicorn said, pointing the crossbow back at Cherry Jubilee.
Braeburn looked at Cherry, seeing the worry in her eyes before putting his foreleg down.
“That’s what I thought.” Quick Draw said, walking past Braeburn.
As Quick Draw was about 5 yards away, Braeburn quickly turned around, set his mechanical front left hoof to the built in grappling hook, and shoot it at Quick Draw. The rope of the grappling hook wrapped around one of the pony outlaw’s leg and Braeburn pulled back, making Quick Draw fall flat on his face.
The rope untangled and retracted back into Braeburn’s hoof as Quick Draw stood back up.
“Ow, now I have a sore horn.” He said turning to face Braeburn, “So that scrap metal isn’t just a stupid costume huh?”
“N’nope, mechanical replacements thanks to a certain insane stallion from Ponyville.”
Quick Draw burst into laughter, “So instead of a cosplayer, I’m being stared down by a souped up version of the Tin Mare . Wait, you said that chick back there was you marefriend, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, toots does he have a vibrate setting?” He called out to Cherry, who was watching from a distance, before he started laughing even louder.
Braeburn turned red in a mix of embarrassment and anger, and he started running at Quick Draw, but was stopped when he felt himself being lifted off the ground.
Quick Draw, holding Braeburn in his magical grasp, examined the mostly metal pony.
“Hmmm... Well I can see that basically anything that’ll be a killshot is covered, so congratulations, you won’t get death by arrows. What to do with you?” Quick Draw looked away for a few seconds.
In those few seconds Braeburn pointed his left hoof at Quick Draw, and brought out another gadget that Valiant installed, that he hadn’t used used yet, the gun. The barrel extended out of his hoof, as Quick Draw turned his head back. Braeburn then tried to fire the weapon, but nothing happened.
“Were you trying to do something or wh...” The unicorn began to say before Braeburns hoof combusted into a small fire ball, shrapnel flying every which way. One chunk of metal flew right into Quick Draw’s right eye. Which made him cancel his magic, dropping Braeburn onto the sandy ground, and as one would expect scream in pain.
“AHHHHH! BY CELESTIA’S GIANT FLANK THAT HURTS LIKE A BITCH!” The now cycloped unicorn shouted.
Braeburn got up the best he could with only three hooves, not too hard, but he fell the second he tried to run at Quick Draw.
“Screw this I’m out of here!” The Outlaw shouted before running off.
“Braeburn are you okay?” Cherry Jubilee asked rushing over to the cyborg.
“Yeah, Ah’m fine dear. What about you? Did he harm you in any way?”
“No, he just took the money.” Cherry then walked over a few feet to pick up a bag that Quick Draw had dropped. “And it seems that he failed at that.”
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A few days later Braeburn was walking in from a day’s work on the cherry ranch, with his new hoof that Copper wire made for him. Granted it was just a hunk of metal that was welded onto where the old one was. It also didn’t have any fancy gadgets like the one Valiant made, but Braeburn really didn’t care that much. If he could walk on it with no problems it was good enough for him.
Braeburn walked up to Cherry Jubilee, who was going through the mail, and gave her a peck on the cheek before resting his head on her shoulder.
“So anything for me?” He asked.
“Actually yes.” Cherry responded hoofing over a tan colored letter.
Braeburn opened it with his teeth and read it.
“So what is it?” Cherry asked.
“It’s an invitation to mah family reunion. Can’t believe it’s coming up again.”
“So are you going to go?”
Braeburn smiled at his marefriend and said, “Only as long as you go with me.”
“Go with you? Are you sure?”
“Of course, other members of mah family have brought dates before, and besides...” Braeburn then gave her another quick kiss, “Ah love you.”
Cherry blushed, as did Braeburn, realizing that was the first time he said that.
Cherry jumped onto Braeburn, giving him a long passionate kiss, when their lips parted she sighed and said, “I love you too.”
THE END