The Cutie Mark Killers

Cutie Mark Killers

Chapter three: Family Values

Scootaloo scratched her head. She and the other two crusaders were sitting in their tree fort, having a brainstorming session. Despite two kills to their name, they still didn’t have cutie marks. Scootaloo sighed and slumped down to the floor. She looked up at her poster of the wonderbolts, particularly at her former idol, Rainbow dash. She sighed again, and occupied herself with staring at the floor.

AppleBloom was mixing a small pot containing their anesthetic potion they had worked so hard for. It was a complicated recipe, but it seemed to be going well. Sweetie Belle was idly flipping through the pages of her spell book, her horn wrapped in a slight glow.

“Well, why didn’t we get cutie marks after Zecora?” Scootaloo asked nopony in particular.

“I think it was because we didn’t really plan either kill.” Sweetie Belle said, looking up from her book. “With Mrs. Cheerilee, I just kind of snapped. When we did Zecora, we were defending ourselves.”

“Right, and that means we weren’t using any special talent. That’s why we didn’t get cutie marks!” Said AppleBloom excitedly. “We just need to get a little more creative!”

“Our next mark should be somepony important, too.” Scootaloo said, “It might help if we knew our talents were being used on a pony who really mattered.”

“You have anypony in mind?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah,” An evil smile crept to Scootaloo’s lips. “The elements of harmony.”

“WHAT?” AppleBloom shouted angrily.

“I think we would get our cutie marks easiest from them.” Scootaloo said, unfazed.

“Those are our sisters you’re talking about Scoots!” Shouted AppleBloom. “We can’t kill them!”

“Why not? They would do anything for us. Especially if it means getting us a cutie mark. I know it seems bad, but there isn’t really another choice here. Anyway, hasn’t AppleJack held you back long enough?”

“W-what do you mean?” AppleBloom stammered.

“Every time you try to do something, AppleJack is there, breathing down your neck” Scootaloo said. “Name one time you tried to do anything for yourself, and your sister didn’t try to stop you.”

AppleBloom glared at her, but was silent.

“Listen, this is for your own good. You can be free from her constantly getting in your way. Without her, you probably would have got your cutie mark years ago.”

“I don’t know…”

“AppleBloom, you have to step out of your sister’s shadow at some point.” Sweetie Belle added, “Might as well be now.”

AppleBloom looked between her friends, lost in thought. This was her sister they were talking about. Sure, they didn’t always get along but… But what? Her friends were right; AppleJack was constantly getting in her way. She had always claimed it was for AppleBloom’s own good. Now, AppleBloom didn’t know. She was older, and could take care of herself. Yet AppleJack was always there, trying to stop her. She always would be too, if AppleBloom didn’t do something about it.

“…All right.” AppleBloom sighed, and sat down. “But let’s do her first, I’d like to get it over with.”

“Deal.” Said Scootaloo, beaming. “How about you, Sweetie Belle? You up to taking out Rarity?”

“Yes.” Sweetie Belle muttered.

“Really?” Scootaloo said, looking excited. “I would have thought you would be against it!”

“Nope. Let’s do her last. She has to know what is happening to the other elements. I want her scared.” There was a terrifying gleam in her eye.

“…Alrighy then.” Scootaloo said, edging away from Sweetie Belle. “So how are we going to take care of AppleJack?”

“Something quick and painless please.” Said AppleBloom, looking uneasy.

“If it’s quick and painless, it might not be enough to get our marks.” Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes.

“Actually, I’ve been coming up with a plan for our next kill” Said Sweetie Belle. “We just need to get them to the cellar under the Apple family’s barn.”

“Then what?” Asked Scootaloo, getting excited.

Sweetie Belle told them her grisly plan, much to the horror of AppleBloom and the delight of Scootaloo. The kill would take a while to complete, and would require much preparation. The three planned planned into the afternoon, making sure that everything would go smoothly. Finally, they agreed, and headed home with quick goodbyes. The nest day would be a busy one.

--==--

AppleBloom walked through the apple orchard, following a steady banging ringing out from the distance. As she got closer, she found her two older siblings bucking their hind legs against the trees, causing apples to rain down around them. Big Macintosh was carrying a cart behind him, which AppleJack had been throwing all of their apples into. The two looked up when they saw AppleBloom.

“Hey little sis, what’s up?” Asked AppleJack. She sat down to take a break, and Big Macintosh went back to work.

“AJ, can you help me with something?” There was a terrible knot forming in AppleBloom’s stomach. However, she fought through her doubts; she knew what hat to be done.

“What might that be?”

“Me and the other crusaders were going to prepare some cider for the summer sun celebration coming up. We wanted you to help us work the juicer.” AppleBloom put on her best puppy eyes face.

AppleJack sighed “Right now? Listen, why don’t you wait until me and Mac’ are done. It should only be a few hours.”

AppleBloom moaned. “A few hours? Never mind, me and my friends can do it ourselves” She turned and started to walk away. She was rewarded with hearing AppleJack curse under her breath.

“Alright AppleBloom, you win, I’ll help. You three couldn’t work the juicer anyway, it’s too dangerous. You good to wrap up here yourself Mac’? She asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Eeyup.” The red workhorse lazily replied.

“All right, Bloom lead the way.”

The two sisters trotted in silence down the dirt path that led to the barn. It was starting to get dark out. Luna’s moon hung on the horizon, causing AppleBloom to feel uneasy. It felt like the princess was watching her every move. She shook her head, clearing the silly thought from her mind. After a ten minute walk, they were there.

AppleBloom opened the trap door to the cellar. “After you, AJ.”

“Right, let’s make this quick. I’ve been working all day, I need a rest.” AppleJack stepped down the stairs into the darkness below.

She reached the bottom of the stairs. It was pitch black. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she heard a rustling to her left. Her head whipped towards the disturbance. Nothing there. Just more blackness. She heard the noise again, this time directly in front of her. She took a step back towards the stairs

“AppleBloom, can you get a light?” Her voice cracked slightly. “I can’t see anything down here!”

There was no response.

“AppleBloom, where are y- Ouch!” She was cut short by a sharp pain in her front left foreleg. It felt like a bee sting, but the pain quickly grew more intense. It felt like cement was being poured into her veins. Trembling, she reached over with her other hoof to rub the affected area. To her shock, her hoof hit something metal lodged inside of her. Yanking it out, she saw it was a long thin needle.

“What the buck is… is…. going…” She stumbled backwards, trying to find the stairs. Her mind was growing clouded; she couldn’t concentrate on anything, not even the pain. The room started spinning, and she collapsed on the floor. The last thing she saw were three small silhouettes approaching her.

--==--

“Ok, is everything ready? Wake her up, Scoots”

“Got it”

“AppleBloom, get the tool kit”

“…Right”

Scootaloo grabbed a bucket of water and splashed their captive with it. With a groan, AppleJack slowly came to. As she regained consciousness, she tried to move her head around. A large leather strap prevented it. All of her limbs were in similar bindings. Her eyes darted around the room, terror growing. She was tied to a wooden table in the middle of the cellar. Her chest heaved as she started to hyperventilate.

“What’s going on?” She struggled to look at her captors. “Sweetie Belle, is that you? Get help! Scootaloo go with her and… AppleBloom?”

AppleBloom was slowly walking towards AppleJack. Her face may as well have been made of granite for all the expression it showed. She reared back and punched AppleJack as hard as she could in the gut.

AppleJack gasped in pain and reflexively tried to double over. The restraints held tight, however, and her hide was starting to chafe against them.

“AppleBloom, what’s gotten into you?” She demanded, wheezing. “Get me out of here right this second!”

AppleBloom gave no response, but simply backed away and retrieved a large tray. She set it on the table, inches away from her terrified sister’s face. On it were a collection of knives. Arranged from smallest to largest, they were spotlessly clean and looked surgically sharp. AppleJack’s breathing intensified further.

“Bloom… Whatever I did… we can talk about it! You don’t want to do this! Just let me GO!” Seeing the knives put AppleJack into a blind panic. She thrashed around, but got nowhere. The hide on one of her hooves was bleeding faintly.

Scootaloo walked over and grabbed one of the knives. It was short and wide, like a dagger. Unlike AppleBloom, a sinister smile was crossing her face. She walked to the foot of the table. Scootaloo gently pressed the blade against one of AppleJack’s hind legs.

She started to apply pressure slowly at first. Her sick grin grew wider as she pressed. As the skin started to give way, AppleJack cried out in pain. Scootaloo ignored it, and slid the knife deeper into her, past the skin and into the muscle. Blood seeped around the knife, pouring down the leg.

“AppleBloom!” AppleJack shouted, “Please help! I’m sorry, alright? Whatever it was, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! PLEASE!” She was sobbing now.

The blade hit bone. Scootaloo stopped pressing, and quickly yanked it out. A trickle of blood arced between the wound and the blade, splattering across the table. AppleJack screamed with renewed vigour.

Scootaloo wasted no time with the other leg. She sank the knife deep into Applejack. It glanced off of the bone, creating a ragged gash as AppleJack tried to buck her leg. The smell of copper was thick in the air as the leg bled profusely. Scootaloo yanked the blade free once more, and tossed it to the side.

Sweetie Belle was next. From the tray, she selected a longer knife, this one thin and curved on one side. She looked down at AppleJack. The earth pony’s breathing was growing ragged. Sweetie Belle watched her chest rhythmically rise and fall. She could see the faint outline of ribs under orange skin.

Taking careful aim, she stabbed the knife between them. A crimson tide instantly sprang from her victim. The knife sunk deep into AppleJack’s lung. AppleJack tried to scream once more, but all that came out was a bloody gurgle. When Sweetie Belle removed the blade, the blood bubbled as air escaped the punctured organ. Sweetie Belle stepped back and stood with Scootaloo.

AppleJack was fading fast. Her eyes were glazing over, and with each breath she tried to take, more blood poured from her side. It was a matter of minutes.

AppleBloom walked closer and put a hoof on her sister’s punctured chest. Without looking, her other hoof grabbed one of the knives.

AppleJack looked into her eyes. For an eternity, their gazes locked. A tear rolled down AppleBloom’s face.

AppleJack opened her mouth for the last time.

“AaapleBlooom…” She croaked “I…”

AppleBloom didn’t let her finish. With a strangled cry, she lifted the knife above her head. As hard as she could, she brought it down. The blade plunged into AppleJack’s throat. It slid through the skin.

The knife seemed to be moving in slow motion. AppleBloom felt no resistance as it tore through the trachea. The tip found its way between two vertebrae. As it scraped past the bones, the delicate spinal column was severed. The blade continued, until the tip lodged itself into the table underneath.

AppleJack went limp. Her eyes lidded halfway, and rolled up into her skull. The blood flowing from her legs and chest stopped.

The element of honesty had died.

AppleBloom was still clutching the knife. Silence draped over the cellar, punctuated by the occasional drop of blood falling from the table. Eventually, she released her grip. She staggered backwards and collapsed onto her backside. She felt nothing. No pain, no sorrow, no regret. Just an odd numbing sensation.

“You alright AppleBloom?” asked Sweetie Belle.

AppleBloom looked up and saw her friends were looking at her, concern etched across their features. They were a mess. Blood from AppleJack’s lung was splattered across Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo’s front hooves were smeared with gore.

“I’m fine” AppleBloom responded, her voice perfectly even. “Just give me some time alone with my sister. I need to do one last thing.”

“Ok, just give us a shout when you’re done.” Scootaloo said. Her and Sweetie Belle went up the stairs, and closed the trap door behind them.

AppleBloom sat in silence, staring at the corpse in front of her. Minutes passed as she figured out what she was going to do. Her eyes rested on an old hacksaw hanging from the wall. From there, she looked towards the apple juicer. The massive stone wheel should work perfectly.

With a smile, she grabbed the hacksaw and began to work.

--==--

Scootaloo was getting impatient. It had been nearly half an hour. She knew AppleBloom was having a hard time with this, but this was getting ridiculous.

“I’m going down there.” She told Sweetie Belle.

With a huff, Sweetie Belle hopped off of the hay bale she had been lounging on

“Alright, but wait for me.” She said, “And be nice! That can’t have been easy on her.”

They opened the hatch and climbed downstairs. Several torches were lit, bathing the room in a soft glow. There didn’t seem to be anypony down there. Even more pressing however, was that AppleJack’s body was gone.

“Oh hey girls!” AppleBloom said, walking out from behind the juicer. “I was just finishing up!”

“Finishing up with what?” Sweetie Belle asked “And where is your sister’s umm… remains?”

“Right there!” AppleBloom beamed and pointed to a collection of large jars at the base of the giant machine. Each one was filled with a chunky red mixture.

“Eww, what is that… stuff…” Sweetie Belle trailed off in shock as her gaze fell on the juicer’s wheel.

The Stone slab that was used to crush apples into cider looked as if it had been painted dark red. Bits of jagged white had collected at the base of the wheel, unable to be processed. The rancid smell of gore filled the air.

“A-AppleBloom… d-did you…” Scootaloo stammered, not entirely believing what she was seeing.

“Sure did, and let me tell you, big sis tastes mighty good. Want some?”

As AppleBloom turned around to grab one of the jars, something flashed on her flank. Sweetie Belle squinted at it, then squealed in excitement.

“Oh my gosh, AppleBloom look! Your flank!”

“Huh?” AppleBloom turned around and looked at her backside. There, on her flank, was a shiny new cutie mark.

AppleBloom screamed and leapt into the air. It actually worked! She had finally figured out her place in the world, and had the cutie mark to prove it. She looked back at it. It looked like a cut of red meat with a bite taken out of it. Two crossed knives were in the background.

“Wow, Bloom! That looks awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“You actually did it! That means ours must not be far behind!” Sweetie Bell said.

“So what now?” Asked Scootaloo.

“Now,” AppleBloom replied, grabbing a jar of AppleJack pulp. “We’re going to bake a pie. Pinkie Pie style”

--==--

End of chapter 3

--==--