Looking After The Animals

by teamidris

Chapter Two - An Old Friend

"That critter’s past its best," called Applejack from the side of the meadow.

Big Mac had been scything off the worst of the weeds in a bid to give the grass a chance to grow in the dry summer air. He knew what was coming and sighed heavily.

"Yep."

It had been his job since he was young to sort out the animals that were really sick or injured. If he could fix them up, it was a feather in his personal cap. If he couldn't, then things weren't quite so rewarding. He followed AJ to the pig sty.

"That one thure, the old sow. I wouldn't ask, but..."

Between them they had split the work load up as best they could. Big jobs like planting new crops and harvesting were shared equally, but for other stuff they played to their strengths. As AJ was the chatty one, she ran the apple stand on market days, holidays, and special occasions. If there was a big cart load of apples to take any distance, it fell to Big Mac.

Applejack was right on this one though, even if he wished she wasn't. The old pig she pointed to was nearly off its feet and clearly in some considerable pain. It was hardly unreasonable given her age and the harsh winter they had all just endured.

The red stallion picked up a bucket of slop and led the hungry old sow toward the farm pond. He felt like he had known her all his life and it had certainly been for all of hers. She’d been the runt of the litter, and he’d been given her to look after when he was a foal. Maybe they thought it would be good practice, and if it didn't work out it, was no real loss.

Contrary to expectations, he had taken very good care of the piglet, staying up all that first night to feed it regularly and keep it warm. Maybe this was what brought on the special bond between them over the many years that followed. It wasn't unusual for the colt to come home from school and sneak her out of the pig pen before chores.

As he carried the bucket in his mouth, he thought back to the fun they’d had chasing each other around the orchard. But time had moved on, and the idle fun of youth had turned into a long list of farm work that left him with no free time.

Before he knew it, he was standing in the cool water, watched carefully by the aged sow. He knew it couldn't end any other way and if he didn't do it, then AJ would. Somehow that seemed wrong. He placed the bucket down and watched as the sow’s happy face disappeared into the bucket.

Positioning himself to the side, he drew in his back legs, lined himself up, and bucked as hard as he could. The sound of breaking bone sounded like a tree snapping. His large hooves caught her a mid-rift, collapsing her rib cage and knocking her into the water. She was made of stern stuff and a kick that would have killed a larger animal merely stunned her. Her labourer breaths came rapidly as her confused eyes looked up at her life-long friend for answers. He had none as he sat down next to her.

Reaching out a hoof, he stroked her head delicately in a bid to comfort her. This felt like the worst betrayal, but he couldn't let her suffer. The final act was simple enough as his eyes glazed over. Pressing her head into the soft mud, he pushed her snout under the water. She barely twitched as the bubbles became less frequent, until they finally stopped completely. Turning, he saw Applejack close by.

"I'll take it from here," she said.

Big Mac got up slowly, water and blood dripping from his coat. Giving a half-hearted shake, he wandered toward the orchard to ponder how simple life used to be.

Author's Note:

The chapter where this crazy story got going on Twitter in the first place.

Comments

[Gerbold]

I kinda wonder why you would ever kill a pig this way, especially if you didn't want it to suffer much
Blunt Trauma to the chest followed by slow drowning while litering the farm pond with blood doesn't seem like something that would ever be done.

[teamidris]

7883970
Kinda thinking the same and I wrote it? Tricky with hooves I guess?