Story of Maverick

Story of Maverick- Chapter 2: A Kindled Home

“What were you thinking, Maverick? Trespassing? Stealing?”

Scarlet Plume closed the door and walked over to the “kitchen”.

“I had no idea where you were, son. I was worried sick about you and when I find you, this is what you were up to?”

Maverick rolled on the dirt floor, tuning his mother out. It was just part of the routine for him. He’d cause mischief, get in trouble, then get off with a slap on the ankle.

I’ve got it pretty good for the middle kid, he thought.

“Are you listening,” snapped Scarlet.

The young bat pony turned one ear towards his mother and started drawing in the dirt floor with a hoof. Scarlet Plume called his name six times before he answered her.

“I was havin’ fun, ma. Somethin’ else this dump needs.”

Scarlet stared at him with shock.

“Y-you think stealing is fun?!”

Maverick tried to hold back a grin and would have laughed after saying yes. As much as he liked teasing and infuriating ponies, his mother was off-limits.

With a straight face, Maverick replied “no ma. I meant I was havin’ fun before I stole Potato Pony’s spuds.”

Scarlet let out a relieved sigh, then realized that Maverick said “spuds” not “spud”.

“Wait, I thought you said you only took one potato!”

Maverick snickered as his tail swished around.

“I never said I only stole one potato. I said Potato Pony only saw me taking one.”

The green colt grinned devilishly as he thought about his buried loot. All he had to do now was dig it up and his family could have enough food to actually fill all of their bellies. Scarlet commanded him to return the stolen potatoes right away.

“Is Maverick in trouble,” asked an orange Earth filly. Scarlet tensed up, wishing her second youngest daughter hadn’t overheard them.

“No, Marmalade,” she sighed.

Maverick rolled his eyes and said “Yes, I’m in trouble.” This earned him a warning glance from his mother. Maverick reluctantly left their shack and walked over to Russet’s property.

No way am I giving those potatoes back, he thought. The only way to not have to give ‘em back is to make Potato Pony think I don’t have ‘em.

Maverick smirked and looked around for a nice, big rock. When he found a large enough stone, he positioned his hind leg so the tender flesh on his hoof was directly over it and gave a hard stomp. The pain was like lightning going up his little leg and made tears well up in his eyes.

Perfect.

With teary eyes and flattened ears, Maverick knocked on the door and put on the saddest face he could muster.

“What the hay’s the matter with you?”

“I-I’m so sorry, Mr. Russet,” Maverick bawled. “I took a lot of your potatoes and I’m sorry!”

Russet snorted indignantly as he looked down at Maverick. He had noticed a good portion of his crops missing. His mama must’ve wore him out good if he’s cryin’ a river like this, he thought.

“Okay, so you’re sorry. Where are my potatoes?”

Maverick widened his eyes, made himself tremble a little and wailed loudly.

“I—I don’t know, Mr. Russet!”

“What do you mean you don’t know?! Don’t you lie to me, colt,” Russet snarled.

Maverick curled up into a ball in pseudo-fear, grinning behind his hooves as he covered his face.

“I-I’m not! I left them in a pile behind that tree! When my ma told me to give ‘em back, I went lookin’ for ‘em, but they weren’t there!”

Russet had Maverick show him the hiding spot, which was empty just as he said. Russet cursed the Alicorns for his misfortune and stomped in rage. Maverick, on the other hand, was elated at the fact that he was getting away with his theft. All he had to do to ensure that he got away with it was create a scapegoat.

“Mr. Russet, I-I think I know who took your potatoes from me.”

“Who? Who stole ‘em? Who?!”

Maverick pointed to a shack made of cheap metal sheets. In that shack lived Gold Horn, Farron’s only Unicorn—excluding Maverick’s eldest sister. Who better to take the fall for stealing food than an uppity Unicorn who can’t farm? The stallion who stuck out even more than his home was the perfect fall pony and Russet thought the same. The stallion was already halfway to the Unicorn’s shack and Maverick knew he was in the clear. Nopony in the village liked Gold Horn because he was a Unicorn and more importantly, an outsider. It wouldn’t take more than an accusation to make him guilty in Everypony else’s eyes. That night, Maverick couldn’t keep from giggling and snickering to himself.

I’m in the clear, he thought. Nopony would believe Gold Horn in a million years. And after today, Nopony ever will.

What really put icing on the cake was that his family could finally eat a decent meal. That made the risks and trouble all worthwhile.