Chapter 28: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Applejack had just gotten back from a long day in the orchard. After wheeling the wagon into the barn, the apple mare wiped the sweat off her brow and started towards the house. Along the way, she took notice of something odd laying on the ground near the chicken coops.
Going closer to investigate, Applejack was shocked at what she discovered. "Horseapples! That boy's gonna get it this time!" Carefully picking it up in her mouth, Applejack continued making her way towards the house.
When she finally reached the house, she found Bryce playing with both Dinky and Apple Bloom as well as Corn and Winona. Rushing up towards the human, she dropped the object that was in her mouth at Bryce's feet. "Bleh! Care ta explain what this is?"
Bryce was confused at what she meant. "Uh, what is that?"
"What the hay do yuh mean 'what is it'?"
"It looks like a dead chicken... What does this have to do with me?"
She pointed an accusatory hoof at Corn. "That mutt of yours killed it!"
This brought offense to Bryce. "What are you implying?"
"What do yuh think? That mutt's a chicken killer."
Bryce crossed his arms. "My dog ain't a chicken killer. I made sure of that after the first time. How do you know it wasn't 'your' dog?"
"Oh no, she's not like that. 'Ah' made sure of that!"
"Well prove it was him then."
"Ah don't need proof. Now you better pin that dog of yours up somewhere or Ah'll... Where'd he go?!"
Bryce and both of the fillies began to look around. The German Shepherd was nowhere in sight. "Happy now, you scared him off."
"Ah didn't do-" Just then, something began to bark out. It originated from the direction of the chicken coops.
"Damn! Dinky, Apple Bloom, both of you stay here!" Applejack and Bryce ran towards the coops. When they both got there, they found Corn turned away from them both. The dog was growling while he stood over a second bloody hen. "Corn, what-"
"Yuh see, there's your proof!" Applejack glared up at Bryce. "That mutt's a chicken killer. Now you can either pin'em up, or get rid of him."
Bryce attempted to take control of the situation. "Look, he didn't do this. I'm sure there's a reasonable-"
"Ah'll tell yuh what'd be reasonable. You can pin that dog up in the barn, or Ah'm gonna have ta take care of him myself!"
Bryce wanted to fight with her; he really did. But he knew that there would be no reasoning with the apple mare. He wasn't dumb, he could see where Corn stood. There was nothing in sight to the contrary that his dog, who had loyally stood by him for years, was innocent. He had to relent. "Okay, I'll lock him in the barn." Bryce moved to Corn. "But know this. He didn't do this, and I'm going to prove it somehow. You're only putting this on him to try and get to me. Dont deny it."
Applejack could only glare at the human. She had no nice words to say to him at the moment.
Bryce looked down at Corn and said, "Come on, boy. Let's get you set up in the barn."
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That night, Bryce entered the barn one last time. He had meant what he said about proving Corn's innocence. Whatever had killed both of those hens was being greedy. It wasn't satisfied that the first one had been taken from it. It had to come back and try and retrieve a second one, until Corn had intervened. If Bryce guessed right, it would come back again to try its luck a third time.
Entering the barn, he found Corn curled up on a pile of hay. "Hey, Corn, brought you some food."
Corn stood up and began to limp over.
"What's the matter? Are you hurt?"
Corn let out a low whine.
Bryce placed Corn's food pan down and inspected his hurt leg. "Well I didn't see that before. What happened?" Further inspecting the wound, Bryce pulled out something long and thin. "What is this?" He held it up to his nose and took a whiff. "Is this a wood splinter? How'd this get in your leg?"
The dog could only stare back.
Bryce scratched him behind the ear. "Don't worry, boy. This'll only be for the night. By tomorrow morning we'll be back sleeping in my bed. Now eat up and try to recover." He kissed his dog once on the head before leaving the barn and closing it up behind him. As he was leaving, he picked up the shovel he'd left propped against the side of the barn.
Making his way back, he found himself a tree to hide in that gave him a clear view of each of the coops. Once he was up in the branches, the only thing left to do was to sit back and play the waiting game.
After a few minutes, Applejack and Apple Bloom came trotting up. "Bryce, are yuh out here?"
Bryce was quick to answer. "Keep it down, I'm trying to stay hidden up here."
Applejack was dumbfounded to see he was actually going through with his crazy scheme. "Are yuh seriously gonna do this? You have chores to do in the morning. The only thing you're gonna do is get yourself tired and logy."
"That depends, are you ready to admit Corn didn't do this?''
"Of course Ah'm not. That mutt of yours just better be in the barn. If Ah even see him outside for a second he's-"
"He's in there. If you don't believe me then go check."
Applejack had clearly heard what Bryce had said, but still went to go and check anyway.
Apple Bloom yelled up into the tree, "Are yuh really gonna stay out here all night?"
"If I have to, Sprout."
"Do you think Corn really didn't kill both of those chickens?"
"I know he didn't. And I'm going to be out here every night until I find what did."
"Can Ah stay out here ta keep yuh company at least."
"No. Whatever got those chickens could probably just as easily get you too. It'd be safer if you stayed inside. Besides, I have Jack to help me keep a lookout. Now go on back inside and get to bed."
"Okay... Bryce, don't get yourself hurt. It makes me upset whenever yuh get hurt." Apple Bloom left him having said that and trotted back towards the house.
Now Bryce was left alone with his thoughts; his only other companionship coming from the regular reports from Jack. The pale light of the moon only just gave off enough illumination for him to see what went about down on the ground. In the few hours he'd been up in the tree, not a single creature stirred or crept in or out of the coops. Sitting up in that tree had proved boring. He'd had many an experience with waiting and boredom, but now this felt antagonizing. Every few minutes he had to balance the shovel he kept in his grasp, trying to remain quiet and sit himself up properly in the tree.
Eventually, his eyes began to droop as he drifted off to sleep.
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Bryce was being dragged along the ground, the two armed guards on either side of him had their arms looped through his own as they took him to their leader, Gabriel. The man that had kept him and everyone else had looked up to in these hard times.
Eventually they came to Gabriel's tent and forced him through. The man Bryce had been dragged to see stood at his desk facing away from them all. When he took notice of his soldier's approach, he turned his attention to them. "Gentlemen, thank you both for bringing him to me, after what happened it's best we all clear the air. Please, release him."
The two guards loosened their hold on Bryce letting him fall onto the floor on his hands and knees.
"Now, gentlemen, no need to be so rough with him. From what I've heard my brother deserved it."
The first guard said, "Yeah, but it's best to not take any chances with... his kind."
The second included, "You're right about that. He's unpredictable. There's no telling what he can do to us."
"Of this you are correct. But if he had wanted to harm either of you he could have easily done so in a moments notice. If you're so concerned of what he could have done you should have put a LID on him." Both guards looked away as they shifted in place. "Now, if you would both be so nice, leave us alone for a while."
The first guard protested, "But sir-"
"Leave us alone, gentlemen!"
Both guards did as they were told, looking down at Bryce before exiting Gabriel's tent. With his guards out of the way, Gabriel came over to Bryce. "Stand up, you will find no enemies here."
Bryce did so. This was the first time he had been this close to the man everyone called their leader. He was a hispanic man with a thin frame with an intellectual look on his face, like he could know every little thing about you from just a sideways glance of a person. At the same time he looked scrawny, like he hadn't eaten in days, or as the rumors went.
"Now then, what is your name?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"It would be rude of me to address you as boy now wouldn't it? Now please, tell me your name."
Bryce simple said, "Bryce."
"That is not all, tell me your full name."
Bryce crossed his arms in front of him. "Bryce Smales."
"So is 'Bryce' your first name?"
"It's my middle name."
"Then stop wasting our time and tell me your full name."
"It starts with a J."
"What is the J short for?"
"I don't want to say, it's the name of someone who betrayed my family."
"Is that so. Well then, Bryce... Smiles?"
"Smales. There's no 'I'."
"Well, Bryce Smales, you know why you are here?"
"Because I came close to killing your brother."
Gabriel smirked at his last comment. "So you did. Miguel is a little tempered, I will admit, but you are only telling me what happened. What were the means?"
Bryce stood there, trying to avoid answering him. "We both know what the 'means' were. Why are you wasting our time?"
Gabriel continued to smirk. "I am fully aware of the conflict between you both. Can I ask what set off this incident?"
"He... was after Sidney, again."
"Is that so? And Sidney is-"
Bryce quickly cut Gabriel off. "A friend... Just... a friend."
Gabriel walked back over to his desk and gazed at its contents. "Now then... Sidney... Poitier?"
"Yes... Not the actor director."
"Of course... Why are you both so interested in Sidney?"
"I like Sidney for platonic reasons. Your brother for more amorous reasons."
"It appears that you may also have such feelings for-"
"Sidney's gay; we're only friends."
Gabriel turned back to Bryce. "Is that so? I suppose it is hard to say which... field some prefer to play on. Is that the proper term? But all of this is beside the point." He made his way back towards Bryce. "How long?"
"How long what?"
"How long have you had your abilities?"
Bryce turned around so he wasn't facing Gabriel. It was all a mistake.
Come now, can you really deny what was seen? Your very thoughts are no mystery to me, as I can imagine mine are not to you.
Bryce sighed. "Yeah, I guess they aren't... Don't touch me."
Gabriel stepped back. "My apologies. I was not aware. The reason I had you brought here, however, was not to question you on what happened, or what you can do."
"Then why did you?"
"You tell me."
Bryce stopped for a second. "You want to teach me how to better control myself."
Gabriel smiled. "Precisely, but I only offer this to you. I give you the final decision. I will say this though: What happened today was only a mistake. The next time you could do something that you regret. Possibly even bring harm to someone you care for. It could be Sidney or one of your... nephews? That is the proper word for one's sibling's children?"
Bryce crossed his arms in front of his chest again. "I need time to consider the matter."
"Of course, take all the time you need. But please, do be quick about it." Gabriel turned back to his work. "One more thing, Bryce Smales. What it your first name?"
"Joachim... It was my father's name."
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Bryce awoke with a start, nearly making himself fall off the tree limb he was haphazardly sitting on. When he had gotten his bearings, he realized what had woken him. There was a frenzied barking coming from one of the chicken coops. Looking over, he spotted what looked like the back end of a wolf sticking out from one of the hen houses.
Pushing himself off the branch, Bryce ran over, the shovel held at the ready. When he reached the wolf, he saw that it had gotten its head lodged inside the hen house, and was having a hard time getting itself out. Well, this'll be easier than I could've hoped for.
Turning the shovel's head downwards, he brought it down with full forces at the base of the wolf's neck. The blade went through with ease.
After pulling the shovel back up to stab the beast a second time, the part of it that was sticking out crumbled and fell apart at his feet. Bryce stepped back, expecting the pieces to all form back together and attack him. When this didn't come to pass he moved to the side of the coop and pulled up the hinged roof.
Inside, at the chicken's entrance, was what looked like a mishapen stump. Poking at it with the shovel it rolled to the side, unmoving. Bryce stuck his hand in and picked up this 'stump'. In the dim moonlight it looked exactly like a wolf, like he'd thought. What was different about it was that the entirety of the beast was made of wood.
Holding the head up to his eye level, Bryce knew exactly what he could do with it.
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The next morning, Applejack was the first pony to wake up before the break of dawn, even before Granny Smith. After she'd finished her morning routine in the bathroom, the apple mare walked downstairs and into the kitchen.
Once she entered the kitchen she immediately took notice of something laying on the table. Stepping closer, she instantly jumped back after realizing what it was. Running back upstairs she started banging on Big Macintosh's bedroom door. "BIG MAC, GET UP! THERE'S A TIMBER WOLF IN THE HOUSE!!!"
Big Mac was slow to get up. Opening his door, he was smacked a few times by his eldest sister. "Ahh, what's going on with you?!"
"Ah'm sorry, Big Mac, but there's a timber wolf in the kitchen!"
"WHAT!!!" Big Mac ran downstairs, almost stomping on Applejack.
When Applejack had caught up to the stallion, she was surprised to find her brother standing in the archway to the kitchen. "What's the matter, is it still in there?"
The red stallion was trying hard to keep a straight face. "Eeyep, it's still here, but there something funny about it."
Applejack tiptoed forward. "What's so funny about it?"
"It's dead."
"Beg pardon?" Applejack snaked her way past the large stallion to see that Big Mac was correct. In fact, it was only the head of a timber wolf. Trotting forward ever so carefully, the orange mare noticed a rolled up parchment stick out of its mouth. Pulling the parchment out and unrolling it, she saw that somepony had written her a note in very scribblish handwriting.
Dear Applejack,
Ha ha, told you Corn didn't do it. Found this thing with its head caught in one of the coops. Not sure what the H it really is, but you probably do. I guess the saying is true: Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. Well, this hog got slaughtered alright. Maybe next time you could listen to what someone has to say before putting the blame on someone that doesn't deserve it.
XOXO, Bryce
P.S. Don't throw this away, I'm keeping it. If you throw it out I'll bring it back in.
At the bottom was what looked like a doodle of herself caught under a pile of rocks and a huge timber wolf bearing down on her.
"Well, what's it say?"
"Ah think it's saying he found this thing in one of the hen houses, but the words are nothing but scribbles."
"Well, AJ, it looks like you owe him an apology."
"For what?!"
"You were the one that blamed his dog."
"Yeah, well, he... Ugh, Ah don't know."
"Yuh see, Ah told yuh he was a good guy. Ah really don't understand what yuh have against'em. If it weren't for him all our chickens coulda gotten eaten."
"Maybe so, but he..." Applejack couldn't think of a single thing to hold against him after seeing her big brother's mute stare. "Ah still don't like him. If he weren't helping out so much around here there's no way I'd let him stay." Applejack walked back upstairs in a huff to clean herself up.