It really has been nearly six years since I wrote my last one-shot! I got distracted by other multichapter fics and had no ideas for stories for this one up until now. Thank you to everybody who waited for me to carry on.
I want to shoutout EvilBorgBorger, O.H._Shoot, Tagg, Nissehamp, and Alex Boehm for helping me figure out some insults used in this one-shot.
A Surprise Defender
It had been a mere week since the uncovering of the conspiracy behind the so-called 'Savage Mammals Crisis', but things were already in chaos – especially if you happened to be a sheep.
Sharla Woolton was unfortunately one of them. Even worse for her was that she was a literal black sheep. And to some mammals, that was even worse than just being a run-of-the-mill sheep.
Ever since she was young, Sharla had dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but the path there was long and winding. She was currently in the middle of studying for her PhD in astrophysics, and that didn't come cheap, so she needed a job. She had qualified as a teaching assistant prior to taking her PhD, and she could comfortably work that job part-time while focusing on her studies for the rest of it. If she failed to reach her goal, she could always retrain as a teacher.
Right now, though, Sharla was so close to quitting altogether. Because of Dawn Bellwether, everybody viewed sheep in a suspicious light. It didn't matter if you were so far removed from the plot as to basically be almost totally unfamiliar to its instigators: if you were a sheep, you were automatically treated as being involved. Guilty by species association.
Since the ZPD raided the Mayor's office following Bellwether's arrest, it had just gotten worse. Bellwether had wanted to implement a shock collar mandate, and segregate the predators from the prey. And throughout it all, she would remain in office, reassuring the prey populace that there was nothing to fear from the predators. It had all been laid out in shockingly thorough detail. Bellwether knew exactly what her endgame was.
Unfortunately, Bellwether's actions had painted targets on every sheep's back. And the worst of it came from the prey mammals. Somehow, that was worse. Not that it would be better coming from predators, but at least their anger would be understandable!
Sharla had heard all sorts of things in the past week, which made it seem more like a month.
"Go back and cower in your herd!" That one came from a deer doe.
"You're all just wolves in sheepskins!" That was said to Sharla by a beaver.
"I guess sheep will just follow any bell with a ring to it!" A pig told her one morning.
"Fifteenth generation inbred mange magnet wool-less wonder!" came from a squirrel.
"Heh, thanks, Woolly! You made us shifty foxes seem like angels!" That one was from a deep-voiced fennec.
"I knew you guys were involved in a grand conspiracy to subjugate the predators! Knew it! Hah! The Iwoolmunati is real!" shouted a rather deranged-looking honey badger.
And, of course, the blowback had reached her job as well. Nobody wanted the sheep near their children, lest they corrupt the prey and harm the predators. Protesters had gathered outside Acorn Heights Elementary School, each wielding a placard with anti-sheep sentiments.
Sheep Should Stick To Their Herd!
It's All A Cudspiracy!
Not in MY Flock!
Speciesism is BAAAAAAAD
Needless to say, Sharla had gone round the back of the school that morning to avoid that crowd, but she was not spared. Some of her fellow teachers – mostly prey mammals – were giving her sideways glances, and Sharla caught the occasional ill-hidden sneer in her direction.
The worst was yet to come, though. At least, in Sharla's mind.
The headmaster, Matthew Skipps, a desert hare, had called Sharla into his office at the start of the second week.
"Please, take a seat," Skipps indicated. Sharla sat, her hooves on her lap. Skipps sighed, allowing a brief moment before looking Sharla straight in the eyes.
"We've had complaints," Skipps said. "And threats to pull children from the school. Mammals are not happy to have a sheep near their children."
Sharla opened her mouth to protest, and Skipps held up a paw.
"I know what you're going to say, and I do agree with you," Skipps said. "Believe me, I do. It was a small group of sheep, and the vast majority of your species has nothing to do with this conspiracy. I understand that, I believe it."
Skipps looked down at a document on his desk.
"Why don't you take a couple of weeks out?" Skipps suggested.
Sharla could not believe what she was hearing.
"A-are you firin' me?" She asked.
"No, no!" Skipps denied. "Definitely not! But I do have to think about this school as a whole. Right now… well, even if I believe in you, others don't. That's why I'm suggesting you take a couple of weeks personal time. Paid, of course."
Sharla simply sat there, totally dumbfounded.
"I know what you're going to say," Skipps continued. "What if you don't want to? Well, if you decline the time off, I might not be able to protect you if the Board of Governors steps in. They're under pressure from these 'concerned parents'. I would definitely take it. Take a couple of weeks outside the city while this all sorts itself out. You came from Bunnyburrow, yes? Maybe go and visit your family there."
And that was that. Sharla had returned to her apartment that afternoon, phoned her parents back in Bunnyburrow, and packed a suitcase. She still didn't want to go, but she had to admit that Skipps' logic made a certain amount of sense. He had promised to keep the Board off her tail while she was away, and that was the best she could hope for at this stage.
Crossing the District to Zootopia Central Station would normally have been a straightforward affair, but since Sharla did not drive, she had to take a bus. And that meant more side-eye looks, snide comments and even an attempt by a young capybara to trip her up when she was walking down the rows to find a seat. Thankfully, the bus driver, a tiger, didn't refuse passage. He had given her what she thought might have been a look of sympathy before taking her fare.
The journey was uncomfortable, with the other passengers constantly giving Sharla dirty looks. She did her best to keep her head down and not acknowledge, and hope the journey was not as long as it seemed it would be.
It took half an hour for the bus to get from Acorn Heights to Zootopia Central, and yet it felt much longer. Sharla waited for all of the mammals to file off before she got up herself. As she stepped out of the door, a voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Hey," the bus driver said. Sharla turned back around. "For what it's worth, I don't blame your species. That Bellwether was just one bad sheep."
Sharla's mouth opened slightly in surprise. To hear a predator say that to her was unexpected, especially after the week she had just endured. She was expecting blame from predators as much as the prey at that point.
"I'm just glad that bunny and fox figured her out before it was too late," the bus driver continued. Sharla's thoughts turned to Judy, who had been her childhood friend. If somebody had told her that Judy would not only befriend a fox, but work together to bring justice to Zootopia, Sharla would have called them a big liar. She hadn't believed it when she first saw the news.
Knowing Judy's past with foxes in particular, Sharla couldn't help but feel a sense of pride that Judy had managed to move beyond that. Maybe that meant there was hope yet, even for a black sheep like Sharla.
"Thanks," Sharla mumbled.
"Safe travels, miss," the tiger nodded his head. Sharla stepped down from the bus, clutching her suitcase, and stepped towards Zootopia Central Station.
Thankfully, Sharla managed to find a seat on the train where she could sit unaccosted by other mammals intending to take shots at her for her species.
It took two hours for the train to arrive in Bunnyburrow. As the train slowed to a stop, Sharla noticed her younger brother, Gareth, waiting for her on the platform. Though he was younger, Gareth was taller than her, and a bit wider as his wool was thicker. She took her suitcase and rolled out onto the platform. Gareth opened his arms for a hug and she took it.
"I've missed you, little sis," Gareth said.
"Hey, I'm older than you," Sharla pouted.
"Yeah, but you're also smaller than me," Gareth grinned mischievously. Sharla shoved his arm playfully. Gareth laughed, but then his expression became worried.
"I hear it's been hard in Zootopia," he said.
"Sure has," Sharla sighed heavily. "Nobody even cares that I've got nothin' to do with that whole mess, they jus' see a sheep and…"
Gareth gave Sharla a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
"Please tell me it hasn't come out here too," Sharla pleaded. "I really don't wanna have to deal with it here."
"Well, I'd be lyin' if I said we were completely free of it," Gareth shrugged, "but it's nowhere near that bad. We've still got most of the town on our side. The Hoppses have been very loud about supportin' us."
"Hmph, I bet the Greys have been gekkerin' in celebration," Sharla huffed. One of the few fox families in the town, the Greys were not well-liked by many. It was Gideon Grey, the youngest son, who had bullied Sharla and Judy growing up. Last she had heard, which was back when she was a teenager, Gideon had been transferred away to another school, and his father, a nasty piece of work in his own right, had run away with another vixen.
"Ah, well…" Gareth began. "A lot's been happenin' while you've been in the city."
Sharla tugged her suitcase along as she followed Gareth out. He had arrived in the family truck – almost everybody in Bunnyburrow had them instead of cars, as it made it easier to transport things from the farms surrounding the small town.
The journey back to their parents was punctuated by chatter between the two siblings as they caught each other up on their lives. Sharla explained why she had come to Bunnyburrow, following the unrest in Zootopia and the suggested break from Principal Skipps, while Gareth listened sympathetically and without interrupting her. Soon, they arrived at their parents' home. Mrs. Woolton was waiting for them on the porch, and she rushed down the steps as Gareth pulled the truck in to the driveway. As Sharla got out, Mrs. Woolton pulled her into a tight hug.
"Thank goodness you're okay," she said.
"Mom, I'm fine, I haven't even been hurt," Sharla protested.
"Yet," Mrs. Woolton replied. "We've seen the news about anti-sheep demonstrations. What that… that witch did was horrible, but there's no reason to take it out on all sheep!"
Following her small outburst, Mrs. Woolton invited Sharla and Gareth inside. Sharla dragged her suitcase upstairs into her old bedroom. When she was younger, it had been painted in pink and purple colours, but now she no longer lived there, it had been repainted in magnolia. A single bed and wardrobe, as well as a few storage boxes lined the walls. The curtains were open, allowing the sun in. Sharla placed her suitcase against the wall, and drawing a huge sigh, simply collapsed on the bed.
Sharla decided she was going to go for a walk the following morning, hoping to clear her head of all the things that had troubled her for those past few days. She skirted around the town, avoiding the eyes of everybody she came across.
But that didn't mean everybody avoided her. As she made her way across town, she was tripped up by an elderly goat, who had stuck their walking stick out in front of her as she passed by. He had gone out of his way to approach her just for that.
"No good bleetin' sheep," he grumbled. "Givin' all us caprines a bad name!"
"But I…" Sharla began.
"Don't try and deny it, you hornless woolly sweater," the goat snarled. "They arrested a whole crew of sheep," he spat the word, "led by that traitorous spectacled fleece! Maybe you all sheared away your consciences along with your wool!"
Sharla froze in place. It was bad enough hearing these kinds of things back in Zootopia, from the various prey mammals, but this was Bunnyburrow, and her assailant was a goat, a species not far removed from sheep in the first place.
"Nothin' to say? You're jes' as disrespectful as ya are evil …" the goat raised his cane, apparently intending to strike Sharla with it. Sharla flinched, jamming her eyes shut.
The strike never came.
"Git! I said git, ya red-furred menace!" the old goat shouted. Sharla opened her eyes. The goat's arm was raised in place, his cane gripped in his hoof. The end of that cane was in a russet-furred paw that belonged to a rotund fox with a parting of fur on his head and blue eyes. A frown etched his face.
Eyes Sharla remembered very well.
'Gimme your tickets right now, or I'm gonna kick your meek little sheep butt!'
The voice echoed from fifteen years in the past, and yet the terror they brought her almost overrode everything else.
Yet the voice that spoke in the present day didn't have that mean edge to it.
"Now, Mr. Ramford, ya've been attackin' every sheep ya seen this past week," the fox said.
Sharla couldn't believe it: her saviour was none other than her former bully, Gideon Grey.
"Git outta here, ya flea-bitten fire-fur!" the goat shot back. "Jes' 'cos ya got in with most of the prey families round here, don't mean I believe ya turned over a new leaf, Grey!"
"Everybody knows you're a believer in them conspiracies," Gideon continued, shaking off the remark, "but that don't give ya the right to go attackin' mammals jus' 'cos o' their wool. Ain't all sheeps like that Bellwether."
The goat gritted his teeth, glaring at Gideon, who let go of his cane.
"Now, git," Gideon warned. The goat stared a moment longer before deciding it wasn't worth picking a fight with the younger and larger predator. He ambled off, muttering under his breath about "that darned prey-lovin' fox", leaving Sharla alone with Gideon. He turned back towards her, a much gentler look on his face.
"W… well, n-not how I-… uh, I mean…" Gideon stammered. "Sharla, I, uh, kinda hoped I'd run into ya someday. I… I just wanna say…"
"Save it," Sharla said finally, holding a hoof up. "Ain't nothin' you're gonna say is gonna undo what you did in the past. I don't wanna even talk to you."
Gideon's ears fell and his eyes dipped, in a show of remorse or regret. He looked deflated, defeated.
"Well, I, uh, I'll jus'… right…" Gideon mumbled, before turning and walking away. Sharla watched him leave. She had the brief impulse to shout something after him, but held back.
"He did?" Gareth said. Sharla had returned home not long after her altercation with the elderly goat and encounter with Gideon, and had recounted it to him when he noticed how downtrodden she looked when she got home.
"Hope ya thanked him," Gareth added.
"Thank… wha?" Sharla blinked. "Why would I thank him for doin' one decent thing? Ya forgot what he was like to us when we were lambs?"
"Far from it, Shar," Gareth replied, shrugging. "But… aw, you ain't been round here for a while, so you ain't seen it. Gid's turned over a new leaf, and he's proved it. He's even in with the Hoppses. He's their business partner. They give him fresh produce from their farm an' he gives 'em fresh baked goods. He's one of the best pastry chefs in the tri-burrows. Even has his own shop in town. Draws quite a crowd too."
"… are they senile?" Sharla said incredulously. "Remember what he did to Judy? Clawed her face! An' they go and join up with him?" Sharla crossed her arms. "Bet Judy ain't happy about that."
"Yeah, about that…" Gareth raised a sheepish hoof and placed it behind his head. Sharla's jaw dropped.
"They ain't…" Sharla began.
"Remember when all that unrest was happenin' in Zootopia?" Gareth said. Sharla nodded, so he continued: "Well, Judy came home. Right depressed she was, thinkin' she had broken the city with her speech 'bout how predators were 'revertin' back to their primitive, savage ways'," Gareth air-quoted with his hooves. Sharla remembered the headlines ZNN had run: 'Hero Cop Resigns'. She couldn't believe it: Judy had worked for that all her life. Something had to have happened to make her leave like that.
"And, would ya believe it," Gareth continued, "she happened to be 'round when Gid was droppin' off a delivery. First time they saw each other in years, an' the first words outta Gid's mouth were 'I'm sorry'. And Judy accepted it!"
Gareth chuckled slightly at Sharla's incredulous expression.
"And that ain't even the half of it! You wanna hear how he got in the Hoppses' good graces to begin with? The day Judy set out for the city to become that big city cop she always talked about, her little sister Molly climbed on top of the train and followed her! All two-hundred-and-eleven miles! The Hoppses chased her down, even nearly hit Gid in his truck on their way to get 'er! Well, they got to Zootopia, found Molly, but the little rascal slipped them again, on the train goin' the other way!"
Sharla listened intently.
"Well, Gid was makin' a delivery to the Station Master when he heard about it, and heard that Molly was on the train comin' back. He grabbed his truck, drove it right up the tracks an' got it to stop! Let me tell ya, right after the Constable was done chewin' Gid out for bein' so reckless, he gave him a commendation for bravery. Didn't even arrest him for tresspassin' on the railway!"
Gareth rested a paw on Sharla's shoulder.
"An' if the Hoppses, and even Judy can forgive 'im, I can," he said. "I ain't gonna tell you to forgive 'im, that's your shout, sis. But… Gid's really changed. Maybe if you talk to him, you'll see."
Sharla stared at Gareth, still processing everything she had just heard. It totally clashed with her expectations, and her earlier attitude towards him now seemed more callous than she wanted it to. Had Gideon really just wanted to apologise?
Sharla mulled it over for the rest of the evening. The knowledge of Gideon's change gnawed at her through dinner, into her sleeping time and even when she woke up the following morning.
She had to see this for herself. She had to see if Gideon Grey was truly remorseful. And so, the next morning, she marched right down into the centre of Bunnyburrow, on a mission to seek out Gideon's bakery. It didn't take long to find it, as it was painted bright pink and sat right in the middle of the parade of shops that sat squarely in Bunnyburrow's centre.
Gareth was right: Gideon's bakery seemed to be fairly popular. She could see mammals of all different varieties coming and going.
Taking a deep breath, Sharla started forward towards the bakery. She reached the door, opened it and stepped inside.
There was a small queue at the counter. Gideon was serving a wombat at the front when Sharla walked in. His gaze met Sharla's and he stopped for a moment. The pair stared at each other for a moment before Gideon turned around.
"H… hey, Larry?" he called to the back. "Mind t… takin' over for a sec?"
"Sure, Mr. Grey!" a rabbit – one of the Hopps clan, Sharla noted – emerged from the kitchen behind the counter. Gideon stepped out from behind the counter and approached Sharla.
"Ain't sure if you wanna slug me or not," Gideon said. "W… well, I've prolly earned it."
Sharla shook her head.
"I got told by Gareth," she said. "I wanna see it for myself."
"L… let's step outside," Gideon said. He removed his apron and hung it up by the door as he followed Sharla outside.
"L… look, Sharla, I got the message yesterday…" Gideon said. "I know I, uh, have no right to ask for you to forgive me."
Sharla held a hoof up to stop Gideon.
"I've had a real bad week," Sharla said. "Ever since that spectacled monster was arrested, everyone and their mas have been at my tail, jus' 'cos I'm a sheep, like I was her best pal or somethin'. Right now, it sucks to be a sheep. I came home to get away from it, so I didn't think I'd get it off a goat, of all things. That's almost worse."
"What Mr. Ramford said was outta line," Gideon said, a bit more confidently. He deflated a bit afterward. "But… he ain't that different to how I used to be. All that unchecked rage an' aggression… an' I-I took it out on you, an' your brother, an' Judy. I ain't never had the right to do that. I-I was a mean jerk, a big bully. I'm sorry."
Sharla crossed her arms, examining Gideon.
"Well, you stood up for me when everybody else jus' stood and watched," Sharla replied. "Thanks for that. I guess you ain't so bad now. I guess if Judy can forgive you…"
Gideon's ears lifted slightly.
"I hear you're a good pastry chef," Sharla said. "Ya got a Bramley apple pie in there?"
A slight smile came onto Gideon's face, very much unlike the cruel smirks Sharla remembered.
"Uh… yeah, sure do. Gimme a mo," Gideon turned around, stepped back into his shop and came back outside with a pie in a box. He offered it to Sharla.
"Ain't much to start with, but can ya accept this as a peace offering?" Gideon said. "On the house?"
Sharla smiled – the first genuine smile she had since the whole mess with Bellwether began.
So, this one-shot has rolled around in my head as to separate ideas since Zootopia+ aired. I couldn't get the first idea – Gideon saving Molly and earning the good graces of the Hopps family – to work to my satisfaction, so I rolled it into this one-shot. Also, I've really wanted to write something that focuses on some of the side characters instead of Nick and Judy, and this idea presented the perfect opportunity for me to explore two characters I haven't explored in depth yet, even in the stories I've had them in. I hope you all enjoy it!
I have no idea when the next one will come around, these ideas just sort of happen. I have two other stories to finish, though, so I might be working on those next – especially Temporal Investigation Department, since that's in its final two 'episodes' already and definitely needs to be finished.
So, until next time!