Werewolf Among Us

It was the morning after Orange's murder. The sun was still rising over the horizon, cool air suspended between the land and the sky, temporary until the afternoon sun brought heat and humidity. Daffy trotted through Ammyville, taking note of the fact that everypony was rushing towards the town hall. Daffy took note, that was strange, Ammyville was usually a bustling town, albeit small. Daffy couldn't help but be curious as to what was occurring.

Daffy trotted to the town hall, everypony was there; talking amongst themselves. Daffy noticed a familiar face in the crowd however, her red coat stuck out to Daffy. It was Sketched Hope.

"Sketched!" Daffy shouted, waving his hoof in the air to get her attention.

Sketched turned to face Daffy, and then trotted over to him. "Oh?" Sketched smugly remarked, "I thought you had nothing to say to the likes of me. What changed?"

"Ugh." Daffy groaned, "You're the only pony here that will talk to me."

Sketched smiled in response. "Oh, so now you're the one asking questions."

"I just want to know what's going on." Daffy stated, his patience running thin.

"Sheriff Rusty Boot called a town meeting." Sketched explained, "If I had to guess, another murder."

Daffy looked towards the elevated podium, opposite the side of the hall as the entrance. "I sure hope not." Daffy said with a worried expression.

Sketched turned to face the podium as well. "I hope so." Sketched said with a light smile, "It'll make a juicy story, for sure!"

The sheriff, deputy, and mayor exited the back rooms of the town hall. The crowd fell silent as the mayor ascended onto the elevated podium.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Mayor Soaring Bit announced, "In these trying times, it is absolutely imperative that we stick together." The mayor pulled out some papers from his suit pocket, and began reading them. "Another member of our community has been found to be dead. And the killer is still at large."

The crowd gasped.

The mayor continued reading off of the papers. "A stallion by the name of Orange Hue. Some of you may know him as one of the bakery siblings. Now, a statement from our sheriff, Rusty Boot." The mayor stepped down from the podium, allowing the sheriff to take his place.

"I've seen the killer." The sheriff announced. The crowd visibly became more invested in the speech. "The rumors are true." The sheriff stated, "There is a werewolf among us." The sheriff stepped down from the podium and began pacing through the crowd, looking at ponies and examining their fetlocks, attempting to spot the wound he left on the beast the previous night.

"Somepony in this here room," The sheriff explained, "Is responsible for the murder of a mare in her home. A filly in her barn. And now, Orange. And you could be next."

A mare stepped forward and directly addressed the sheriff. "Sir, how do we know it's a werewolf? Could it have been something else?"

The sheriff turned towards the mare. "I can confirm," The sheriff said, taking his ten gallon hat off and holding it against his chest, "I've seen the furry bastard with my own two eyes. Shot that fucker right in the ankle."

"It's true!" Purple Hue claimed. "I saw it too! It tore my brother to shreds!"

"Now," The sheriff ordered, "Before any of y'all ponies leave this building, you are to show your fetlocks to the deputy and I so we can confirm that you ain't a werewolf."

"Hold on a sec!" Daffy shouted, "Yeah, it was a wolf. If that's what you saw, but what makes you think it was a werewolf specifically?"

The sheriff put his ten gallon hat back on his head. "No wolf," The sheriff condescended, "Attacks with such speed and ferocity. This mongrel's bigger than any wild wolf, and it ain't made of timber."

"Hmm." Daffy thought for a moment, before speaking once more. "I just don't think we have enough proof yet."

"Well," Steely Dam said as he approached Daffy, "Nopony asked you." Steely began slowly pacing back and forth in front of Daffy, keeping his eyes fixated on him. "Yer just an outsider. An alien."

Daffy's expression turned sour. "And you're nothing but a butcher!" Daffy spread his wings and assumed an aggressive posture.

"Yeah?" Steely replied, "Well yer-"

"ENOUGH YOU TWO!" The sheriff intervened, cutting Steely off before he could finish, "This is a crisis! The last thing we need to be is divided!"

Steely looked towards the sheriff. "With all due respect," Steely said with an attitude, "This here winged fisher ain't one of us."

"Steely," The mayor reasoned, "Although Daffy is not an Ammyville resident, he lives in close proximity. And he too is in danger of the werewolf."

Steely made a disgusted noise in response, and left the town hall building entirely.

"Sheriff," Sketched spoke up. "What are you intending to actually do about the werewolf? Make speeches?" Sketched sarcastically suggested, "Hope you bore it to death?"

The sheriff was visibly irritated. "I'm gonna kill it," The sheriff said confidently, "Or die trying."

"Ha!" Sketched laughed, "You're trying to play the hero, aren't you?"

"Sketched." The sheriff said calmly.

Sketched continued, "You think you're gonna save the day, kill the werewolf once and for all!"

"Sketched." The sheriff repeated, speaking through his teeth.

Sketched didn't stop, "All we need to do is rally behind the sheriff! He'll save us all!"

The sheriff lifted his hoof and decked Sketched right on the snout. Sketched fell backwards.

"HEY!" The mayor shouted, "Remove her from the building!" The mayor ordered. Nopony budged.

"...Oh!" The deputy realized, "Right away!" He said. The deputy hurried over to Sketched and escorted her out of the town hall, her snout lightly bleeding. The deputy and Sketched had made it outside the building, they stood on the damp grass in the building's shadow.

"Hey..." The deputy expressed, "I'm sorry... About that."

Sketched had her hoof over her snout where she was punched. She looked at the deputy with rage in her eyes. "Fuck you." She stated, looking away from the deputy. Sketched trotted off to some other part of town. Deputy Penny Packer wasn't angry at Sketched Hope, he sympathized with her despite how she had been harassing the townsponies since the second murder.

The deputy re-entered the town hall, just as the sheriff was finishing up his speech - without interruptions.

"...And nopony is to enter or leave," the sheriff announced, "Until that oversized furry piece of shit-" The mayor loudly cleared his throat, and lightly nudged the sheriff. "Right," the sheriff said, "Until the werewolf is dead."

"Thank you, sheriff." The mayor added, "To motivate our beautiful community to do what they can to catch the werewolf, I have subsequently put a reward of over 10,000 bits to whichever pony can kill the werewolf."

"Until then," the mayor urged, "I encourage you all to return to your normal lives."

Hours had passed. The townsponies of Ammyville had returned to their lives, with the knowledge that somepony among them was a werewolf. The deputy stood on the porch of the sheriff's office overlooking the town. Seeing everypony down there going about their lives made the deputy feel a deep sense of responsibility. He could have killed the werewolf back in that kitchen, but was so paralyzed with fear he didn't even think to reach for his gun.

"Never again..." The deputy thought, in complete confidence.

The sheriff exited the building and stood next to the deputy, both now looking over the town.

"How're you holdin' up, Penny?" The sheriff asked the deputy in a calm tone of voice.

The deputy looked down at the ground, thinking for a moment, and then looked back towards the town. "I almost died..." The deputy responded hollowly.

"I'm sorry," the sheriff apologized, "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"No, no," The deputy insisted, "I could have reached for my gun. I could have killed it!" The deputy became emotional.

The sheriff nudged the deputy. "You did your best. Truth is anypony else would have done the same." The sheriff reassured.

The deputy turned his head towards the sheriff with a serious expression. "I'm a police officer." The deputy remarked, "If I won't risk my life to save others, who will?"

The sheriff thought for a moment, "Maybe a... Journalist?" The sheriff laughed.

The deputy chuckled as well.

"Tell ya what," The sheriff promised, "Next time we see that filly murderin' son of a bitch," The sheriff turned to face the deputy with a dutiful expression. "We'll kill em'."

The deputy smiled, confidence shining in his eyes, "Yeah!" The deputy agreed, and then saluted for some reason.