Braeburn and Marble walked to some hills near where the doctor was. According to Braeburn this was the last place where the buffalo was seen. Marble kept her eyes opened, but there was something on her mind "Hey Braeburn. Sheriff said there were many other buffalo encounters..." Said Marble
"Eyup, some buffalos have been trying to steal stuff from the town. Some other just do damage to local stores and houses" Braeburn kept looking around for clues while answering.
"But, why?"
"Beats me. We actually have a deal with the old buffalo tribe. They let us use their sacred lands to live and raise the apple orchards in exchange of some of delicious apple products. But after a while the deal extended to let buffalo live among ponies. Chief Thunderhooves, leader of the buffalo tribe, said that some members of his tribe left after the deal was sealed, but he hasn't heard about them" Stated as he kept looking for clues.
They kept looking around. There weren't hoof prints or any kind of sign that a buffalo was there. After that, they started looking for gaps or holes he could have used to hide. Braeburn notice the situation was becoming more and more frustrating and tried to lighten up the conversation.
"So, why did you ladies came to Appleloosa?" He asked
"We made a delivery to the doctor" Quickly answered Marble
"Oh, and what kind of delivery?"
"Rocks. Our family runs a rock farm. We brought taphra for him, those are used to determine how old fossils are in a really tiresome process..." Marble tried to impress her partner, but felt her conversation was incredibly boring. However, he paid attention to every word she said.
Now it was Marble turn to shoot a question "And, what is it like to be a sheriff in Appleloosa?"
"It's pretty cool. Ah’ get to protect ponies and buffalos alike, and they always are grateful"
"Woow, it must be super cool. You are like a hero!"
"Ah’ can’t say I’m a hero, Ah’ don’t really have many days like this. Most of them are just patrolling the town. But there's always a downside..."
“Really? What is it?” Marble asked curiously
“Ah’ don’t get to see my family very often” Said Braeburn sadly.
Marble's expression changed. She suddenly felt bad about him. Then, there was a strong sound. Somepony shoot a flare. It was a blue flare "Something happened, we need to head back!" Ordered Braeburn.
They ran back to the town to the sheriff's office. Ponies from all around gathered, there were so many that some had to be outside. The sheriff came to the center for all of them could hear "Listen up, fellas. There was a threat made to the town. We received a letter saying that someone is going to rob the town's bank at 12 o'clock. We don't know if they are ponies or buffalo, but we can't let them do it! The teams will remain, I'll let you know where you will guard. In the case of seeing, hearing or suspecting anything suspicious you must inform me immediately" Braeburn and Marble were ordered to stay guard at the right side of the town. Limestone and Strongheart will be inside of the bank. Not much time passed until they had to split again, and once they arrived to their place they couldn’t leave until they hear otherwise.
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The sun sat and the night covered the sky. Braeburn and Marble guarded the town, keeping an eye on everything that moved. Marble wanted to create a conversation "Do you feel alone? I-I mean, because of your being away from your family?"
"Sometimes, but I don't mind" Said Braeburn very calmly.
"How?! Why?! It's your family?!" Marble couldn’t understand it.
Braeburn smiled cheerfully "Exactly! Family will always help and will always be in your side. They will support you, even if you are away. They'll know you gotta fight for your dreams, and be there to celebrate your success or give you a hoof in the case of failure"
Marble looked down, she thought of her sisters, and what she have thought "What's the matter?" Asked Braeburn
"I... I have two big sisters. They left the farm when they got their cutie marks, and I kinda thought they abandoned us. We are going to Ponyville to see our big sister, and I wasn't very sure how to react when I see her" Went to her shield mane on her face as she always do.
Braeburn smiled and took away Marble face from her face, he looked at her and said “Actually Ah’ have a couple some cousins on Ponyville too. As I said before I don’t get to see them very often, not to mention they are in Ponville. But whenever I see them I act like if not a single day have passed since the last time we saw each other. After that, we catch on, but what makes me feel really good it’s greeting them with a huge and see how much they missed me too. Maybe you should do the same”
Marble felt much more relaxed and happier "Thank you, Braeburn" Marble smiled
They looked at each others eyes. The silence of the night and the moon light set the mood. Suddenly sheriff Silverstar came from behind "Any sign of the bandits?!" He said with his strong voice.
"N-nope, sir. The area is clear!" Said Braeburn nervously.
"Good. Keep your eyes peeled" ordered the sheriff and moved on to the others team.
They kept guarding the zone, but they were less tense "So, Ponyville huh? Ya know, mah cousin Applejack and Ah’ almost messed the whole Apple Familly reunion when we were young” Said Braeburn
"Really?"
"Yup, Applejack and Ah’ were the only youngsters that year. BigMac was on a rodeo out of town and Applebloom was still very young. We saw a couple of barrels of cider and we thought we could take them for ourselves. But then..." Braeburn talked about his family and all the fun he had.
They shared stories about their families. They talked for hours but being together felt like seconds.
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Inside the bank's vault Limestone and Little Strongheart guarded the money. The room had many bags containing the whole town savings, thankfully they were not greedy and left the sacks untouched.
The empty room with only two ponie echoed every sound, making the simple act of breathing unbearable for Limestone. Trying to make a conversation Limestone asked "So... Being a sheriff, huh... Is the pay good"
"Not so much. It's more about the feeling of knowing that you make the difference between chaos and justice" The little buffalo responded strongly.
This wasn't going to be someone who would crack under any question, or that's what Limestone thought. She felt no limit on what she could ask "What about boys? I mean, you and Braeburn" and she winkes.
Finally strong heart showed another emotion, but this made the buffalo startled "What?! No no no, we are not a couple... He is like my brother... Or more like I see him as my big brother. After the deal with the ponies and buffalos was made we stuck together to enrich with the culture of one another. He decided to be a sheriff, he wanted to protect everypony and buffalo, and I wanted to be with him. He's been protecting me and teaching me many things. We are like a very small family"
Limestone eyes watered a little. The buffalo's response was so touching she could help herself. Then, Little Strongheart added one more thing to her statement "And... He's a pony, I'm a buffalo. That's something I think I have to mention"
The emotional speech suddenly felt less warming. But Limestone got what she wanted. Feeling the situation going very awkward they decided to remain silent and keep guarding the vault.
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The hour of the robbery, as stated in the letter, arrived. Every pony brace themselves for whatever could happened. But hour came and went and nothing happened, not a single sound. They remained vigilant for almost another hour, but the only thing they could see was the bright stars. The ponies were ordered to retreat, but some others were left to keep guarding the town.
Braeburn offered Marble and Limestone an apartment. It was for rent, so nopony was using it. It was small but enough for the both of them. They were going to spend the night and leave the next day. They lay upon the bed, exhausted and ready to sleep.
"Hey, how was your day?" Asked Marble.
"Good, I guess. Little Strongheart is nice, but she doesn't talk much. How about you?" Limestone had her eyes closed already, but answered anyways.
Marble sighted before answering "It was great, he's so nice, and funny, and smart.."
"What about the mission?" Limestone kept asking.
"What mission?" Marble also closed her eyes and cuddle on the pillow, only to remember what she was talking about "Oh right! The mission... Err the coast was clear all the time"
"Well, we better get some sleep. Got a big day tomorrow. Good night, sis" said Limestone before going to sleep.
"Good night" Replied Marble after blowing off a candle on the table at the side of the bed. She couldn't nor wanted to dream, she just wanted to keep thinking on him.