The Mother of All Deadly Sins

by The Young and Free Dragon

Rating: mature
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Spike, Tragedy, Main 6, Gore
Length: 6977

Some times, after doing the same thing everyday, you simply crack.

The same boring job, the same boring town, the same boring life. It begins to become too much for a young dragon, full of excitement, and one day, the mind cracks and fun must be had, no matter how it must be done.

WARNING: Story contains violence and gore. You've been warned.

The name of this story comes from this quote by Edith Wharton:

Beware of monotony; it's the mother of all the deadly sins.

Published 2012-04-08 22:04:04 UTC
Last updated 2012-04-14 23:56:35 UTC

Chapter One: Blinded

Once again, this story contains violence, gore, and out of character acts. Please enjoy.

THE MOTHER OF ALL DEADLY SINS

BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON

CHAPTER ONE: BLINDED

Rainbow Dash was not sure how to tell Spike what she planned to tell him. She had been flying over the house and noticed a putrid stench. It must've been because of his cleaning or something. She had flown over the library everyday for the past few months, but until this month, when the sun had begun beating down on Ponyville, did the stench become pungent. She didn't know how Twilight could stand it in there, considering she had kept conversation to letters, and had been studying non-stop the past month.

What was she going to do? Knock on the door: “Hey your home stinks.” Well, there surely was a more polite way to say it, but that was besides the point. It was still rude. But it was for everypony's sake really. If the two were studying so hard, they were neglecting to take proper care of themselves, then it was up to her to rescue them. She knocked at the door and stood back as she waited.

It was several long seconds before Spike answered the door. He looked a bit harrowed, as though he'd been studying long hours into the night. His scales were not very grimy or in any bad shape, but something seemed off about him.

“Hey Spike...you...uh...the library hasn't been smelling too good lately,” Rainbow Dash stuttered, trying to find an easy way to tell him this.

“Yeah, I'm sorry,” Spike said. “We're having a bit of a plumbing problem.”

“Oh, okay,” Rainbow Dash replied, nodding.

So they were having a plumbing issue. That wasn't a problem. Though they should have gotten it fixed a long time ago, especially if they were working 24/7 in those conditions. Something suddenly didn't feel right about this. That just didn't seem right. While Twilight wasn't as OCD as Rarity, she certainly wouldn't allow any sort of mess like this to go on.

“Can I get a book?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You don't read, Dash,” Spike pointed out, poking a hole straight through her plan.

“Well...I'd like to start.” she said, thinking quickly.

“Okay, well then I'll get you something good to start with,” he said, turning away.

“Wait! But I'd like to pick one out myself.”

Spike was silent for a moment. Rainbow Dash was sure he was contemplating how to get around this, and her suspicions grew. But to her surprise, he opened the door further and left it open for her to come in. As she stepped in, she noticed that books were scattered all over the place. Some shelves were barren, some had a few books left on them, and others had only a couple removed from them. But either way, there wasn't a path that could be taken where a hoof would not land on a book.

“I kind of wanted to get it for you, because this place is a bit of a mess,” Spike said, as he began clearing a path through the bookcases.

That kind of made sense. Spike was the one who cleaned up around the library, and if he had been slacking off for whatever reason, he might not want anyone to see that he had done so. But Rainbow Dash still couldn't see how Twilight Sparkle would let the place go. Speaking of the pony, she was nowhere to be seen.

“Where's Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“She's in the basement, working with chemicals. She said they're dangerous so she doesn't want anyone to come in,” Spike said, solemnly.

Well he had certainly come up with that fast. Either he had that excuse already made up, he was a good liar, or he was telling the truth.

“So pick out your book,” Spike said. “And while you do that, would you like me to fix you something to eat?”

That sounded like a good way to get him out of the room so she could go downstairs and see what Twilight Sparkle was up to.

“Yes, please.”

Spike nodded and headed out. Rainbow Dash pretended to look through the books until she was sure Spike was in the kitchen and then she quickly exited the room and headed for the basement door. Whatever it was that Twilight and Spike didn't want her to know about, she was going to find out. She opened the basement door and was hit with a stench that caused her to recoil and strain to keep her lunch down.

The smell was horrifying. It clogged up her nose and lungs, and her head began to ache from the power of the stench. But it made sense to some extent. If the smell of plumbing problems would come from anywhere, it would be the basement, down closer to the pipes. She gagged and swallowed one more time. She didn't think Twilight was actually in here, but she had to be sure. She headed down the dark basement stairs. As she got farther down the stairs, she heard a muffled bubbling noise. She couldn't make out what it was, but it seemed to be coming from a place near to the bottom of the stairs.

When she reached the bottom, she felt a hoof around on the wall, feeling for a light switch. She couldn't find anything and kept traveling down the wall for about five feet before she found some sort of wench on the wall. She didn't really know what else to do, so she began turning it. She heard the sound of tired ropes creaking against wood as the wench worked some sort of pulley system. Suddenly with a fizzing noise, the bubbling became much louder and she heard the sound of hinges grinding. The wench stopped turning and all noise ceased, except for the bubbling.

She kept feeling down the wall, back the way she had came and on the other side of the stairs, she found a light switch. She flipped it up and blinked until her eyes became used to the dark. As she looked around, she gasped. The wench and pulleys had connected to a large trap door on the ground. Under it was a dark viscous liquid that bubbled non-stop. She stepped over to the vat and found out it was more of a tub, and it was only deep enough to submerge a full pony. But the liquid... Wait! Spike may have been telling the truth. This could be the dangerous chemical. But...where was Twilight Sparkle?

She glanced around and still did not see her anywhere. She also noted that the putrid smell was not coming from the liquid. She though that it would be the cause of it, but maybe Spike was telling the truth. A strange coincidence that a rather unpleasant smelling liquid and the plumbing happened to be in the same building. It was strange, but it had to be the truth.

As she was about to leave, she noticed a grimy sheet with something under it sitting near to the bath of chemicals, right behind Twilight's lab table. It was almost obscured there. She walked around the bath and trotted over to the sheet. She grabbed the end of it in her teeth and then yanked it aside. The stench that had been plaguing her suddenly became unbearable and she felt back, feeling like she was swallowing a rock in an attempt to keep her bile down. It wasn't made any easier as she looked down at what was emitting the stench.

A purple and blackish-red mess had been revealed. Blackened blood was pooled all around the corpse of Twilight Sparkle. The body itself was covered with dried blood, but deep caverns could be made out in her chest. Her stomach had been sliced open, but after the body had been placed on its back, the intestines had been pushed back inside, and were now only a bloody bath inside of the opening in her abdomen. They were black, red, and whitish. She now noticed there was also more white stains below the body.*

She looked up the body and saw that the holes that had been torn into her chest had been down with her own horn, which was sticking out of her throat. The horn was angled, and she could see twisted, and torn flesh of the jugular vein. As she finally rested her eyes on Twilight's face, she found it was contorted, as the mouth was twisted in a scream, while the eyes were wide open, but no eyes stared out. Instead only a dark cavern filled the holes. She was about to fall back and finally be sick, but she saw something else that finally did it for her.

She hadn't noticed it at first glance, but the intestines were squirming and moving. On closer examination, she found that Twilight's stomach was filled with maggots, as well as her own organs. Her eyes were moving, and they actually happened to be more insects, feeding on her ravaged body. Rainbow Dash fell back, gagging and finally was sick in the tub if acidic fluid. After her stomach was empty, and she had dry heaved several times, she finally looked up. What the fucking hay was going on? Twilight was brutally murdered and rotting in the basement of the library. She had to have been dead for a few days, so the letters that her friends had received the past few days... they hadn't been from her. Who could...?

“I told you that Twilight was working with dangerous chemicals down here,” Spike said as he came down the stairs.

Rainbow Dash's eyes shot up fearfully. Spike did this. He had to. He had been pretending to be Twilight through letters so no pony would worry... So no pony would know that he had stabbed Twilight Sparkle to death with her own horn.

“Spike! What have you done?!” Rainbow Dash cried as she stared up at the small dragon.

How had he even managed this? He was so small and innocent. How could a tiny guy like him overpower Twilight and...do this to her? Maybe he didn't actually do it. Maybe she was assuming too much. That still didn't explain why he covered for whoever did do it but...

“I know. I'm disappointed with myself,” he sighed. “I meant to put her in the vat long before she started rotting like that.”

Rainbow Dash's breath caught in her throat. “What do you mean, Spike?”

“I really am sorry about that the stench, but I've not had the heart to get rid of Twilight yet.”

“Spike...why did you do this?” Rainbow Dash asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

She hadn't quite realized it yet, but her mind and body was beginning to understand that Twilight Sparkle was gone. She couldn't possibly be brought back. The last time she'd seen her, they'd simply exchanged greetings...she couldn't even remember the last time she had hugged her. She left her legs going weak. She fell to her knees and felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I really don't know Dash...but there's no need to cry. I can make it better.”

She grit her teeth as anger flared in her and she would have tackled him, had she not been so weak from sadness.

“How?! How could you possibly make up for what you've done?!” She shouted, finally looking up at him.

She jumped as she saw he was standing right in front of her now and he took her face in his claws, though his grip was tight enough to keep her still.

“I can help you join her,” Spike replied.

Before Rainbow Dash even realized what he meant, the claws of his thumbs had sunken into her eye sockets. She screamed and jerked backwards as the goo of her destroyed optical organs spilled out of her sockets. She was filled with adrenaline suddenly and she stumbled blindly away from Spike. She heard the roar of a Bunsen burner starting up and various chemicals beginning to bubble, as well as the crackle of electricity.

Rainbow Dash stumbled around, trying to avoid Spike and the pit of acid she knew was around here somewhere. But in her blinded state, she fell to her knees. Tears were produced from her tear ducts, and helped the blood to run down her cheeks faster. She jerked her head from side to side, trying in vain to catch Spike in one of her remaining senses. All was silent though.

“Spike!” She called out blindly. “Spike, please don't do this!”

The purple dragon didn't answer. There was no reason to. He worked quietly as he tied the ropes together. The Pegasus before him had broken into sobbing and screaming at the darkness, tortured by his silence. The ropes only made an occasional groan as he made them tighter.

Rainbow Dash had lost it. She wheeled about, screeching at every slight sound. She knew if she moved, she would have the chance of falling into the bath of acid. But if she stayed still, she would surely be murdered by the deranged dragon that lurked in the darkness. She let her cries die to whimpering as she lay down, prone. She began crawling forward, feeling every inch with her hooves to find a dip, which would mark the opening of the vat.

But suddenly, something grabbed her back legs and began dragging her backwards. She screamed as she could feel the claws of the dragon as he tightened his grip, no doubt dragging her away from freedom. She kicked and flopped about, trying to break his grip. But held fast and as she brought one of her hooves down to the ground, it kept going. Her hoof submerged in bubbling heat, and she screamed louder as she realized her mistake.

But as she withdrew her hoof, she was suddenly pulled upwards by her back legs and she felt ropes being drawn around her hooves and tightening. She tried to kick, but within seconds her hooves were tied up tight and she was hanging by her back legs. She screamed and flailed about for a few minutes before going quiet at the arrival of nothing. She had expected to have been dunked in the acid by now, or ''something ''happening. But there was nothing. Only the continued bubbling of the acid.

In this moment of quiet, she realized the searing pain in her hoof and she shook in fear and pain, crying silently. What could she do? What did Spike intend to do? Would he leave her to hang here? Or was he planning to butcher her in some horrifying way as he had Twilight Sparkle? Well... she had no horn... She couldn't be killed like that. Oh, who was she kidding? Spike was going to murder her no matter what, and she wasn't going to get out of it thinking irrationally.

So, what could she do. Well, the only thing she could think of was to try and swing back and forth and maybe break the ropes. But doing that gave way to the chance of the ropes breaking and sending her straight into the acid. Well, it wasn't as though she had a better plan.

She began swaying back and forth, using her wings to push herself forward, though they were too weak to help much. She was feeling a throbbing pain in her head, right where her eyes should have been, and she felt her pulse, pumping blood out of her ravaged sockets. If she didn't get away soon, she would die from her wounds.

She screamed when a pair of claws grabbed the hair of her chest and held her suspended forwards. The claws held tight and as she thrashed her front legs about, she felt her hooves hit Spike's face. She grabbed what she was sure was his cheeks and pulled him to her face so she could talk to him, though she could not see him.

“Spike please,” She cried, her tears renewing themselves. “Please, let me go! I won't tell anypony! I'll say I had an accident while flying and a...stick poked out my eyes! I'll do anything if you'll just let me go!”

She felt Spike's breath against her face but he didn't speak and each sigh from his nostrils burned her bloody eye sockets. Finally, words formed and burned into her face.

“Would you... ring me your other friends?” Spike growled in a low voice, that was nothing like his normal one.

“W-What do you mean?”

“I'll let you live if you bring me...Rarity...” he hissed, almost as though it hurt to speak.

Bring him Rarity. She wanted to ask for what, but it was painfully obvious in her non existent eyes. He would kill her. Torture her maybe? Who knew what he had done to Twilight before he had delivered the final killing blows, and he'd done so much so far that Rainbow Dash knew she'd have nightmares for months.

It would be simple. Send Rarity over to check on Twilight. Say you heard she and Spike were sick. Spike would let her go and she could continue to live while Rarity suffered her fate at Spike's claws. But the ideas were mere flashes through her brain. She wouldn't turn in any of her friends, not for a chance to become a Wonderbolt, not for her own life.

“I...I can't do that...” she murmured. “Isn't there anything else?”

Spike was silent for a moment before he hissed; “You're sure?”

Rainbow Dash didn't hesitate. “I can't betray my friend-...”

Her pledge of loyalty was cut off as Spike's jaws closed down on her mouth with a growl and a snap. It wasn't a kiss. A kiss would have been tender and sweet. Spike dug his teeth into the flesh of Rainbow Dash's face and tore away what was around her mouth. She felt some of her front teeth sting as they were exposed to the cold air and her blood began flowing down her face. She screamed and threw herself backwards, but Spike's claws held on and dug into her flesh.

End of chapter one. Please rate, and comment the story. All manner of comments are welcome as long as they are constructive or encouraging. You're welcome to not like the story, but please try and handle your dislike in a mature way. Thank you all.

* This is not semen as you are most likely thinking. A white fluid is produced by a body after laying out for a long time, and is best apparent on concrete.

Chapter Two: Juggling Apples

Thanks everyone for the kind comments and thumbs up. I also noticed a lot of people favorited this story, which is great too. Please enjoy the next installment.

This chapters a bit like “Saw” which was not my original intention, so sorry if it's a bit silly, but it was the only way I could really think of to get what I want to happen to happen.

THE MOTHER OF ALL DEADLY SINS
BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON

CHAPTER TWO: JUGGLING APPLES

Applejack carried a basket of apples on her back as she made her way towards the library. Also, in her saddle bag, she carried a book Twilight had given her that told how to get rid of a certain pest that had been plaguing the trees of the Apple family farm. The apples that were now free of insects, and delicious as ever. The basket was her way of saying thanks. She hadn't seen Twilight for quite sometime, but then again, she had been busy taking care of the pests.

She knocked at the door and waited. The foul odor that Rainbow Dash had mentioned last week was not present, at least not on the scale that the pegasus had made it out to be. It was true that there was a decaying smell in the air, but she had known Twilight to have Spike make her lunch, and then she would never eat it, too caught up in her studying. She probably left some food out somewhere.

But after a long time, nopony had answered. Twilight was probably hard at work, and running Spike around like a dog. She opened the door and stepped in. She'd just leave the basket and book somewhere that Twilight might find it. She'd know who it was from. But that still left the problem of where. She decided she would just place it outside the library door.

As she neared the library, she noticed that the door was ajar. She peered in and, to her surprise, found nopony inside. Well that was certainly strange, but maybe Twilight was in her basement or something. Applejack stepped inside. She noted that books were scattered everywhere, as though Spike had been neglecting his job.

But there was a pile of books on a desk that were opened and bookmarked, as though they had been recently read. She trotted over, placing the basket on the table. If Twilight had been reading these books, she'd surely continue with them, since it looked like she wasn't done.

As Applejack turned to leave, a title of one of the books caught her eye. It was bound in old, worn leather, and bore a name that set her at unease; “The Art of Tanning Hides”. Now why would Twilight want to read a book like that? There was no way she would harm any animal for its pelt and use it.

A sudden acrid smell filled the air, and she felt her stomach turning over. She followed her nose to the basement, where the smell was coming from. She opened the door and trotted down the steps, not being mindful of the creaking sound they produced. But this sound was drowned out as a fizzing sound erupted, as though a giant alka-seltzer tablet had been dumped in a large glass of water.

She froze and stood quietly, listening as the fizzing continued for a few minutes before beginning to die down. It became darker as she continued down the stairs, and as she came to the bottom, she couldn't see anything at all, and so she didn't catch sigh of something hanging over the stairs. She ran right into it and it wrapped around her like a blanket. She let out a cry and she fell to the ground, repulsed by the sticky liquid all over the inside of the cover. She wrestled her way out and when her head was uncovered, she saw the lights come on. She saw Spike standing before her, a large vat of bubbling liquid behind him. His expression was unreadable.

“Spike! What's...?” She began but her words caught in her throat as she glanced down.

The slimy inside of the blanket was red and covered with veins. There was blood all over her from where she had rolled in the peeled skin, and a part of it that was folded over was purple. The outside was clean, lavender, just like the coat of her dear friend, Twilight Sparkle.

She jumped out of the skin and let out a screech. Before she could register her horror over falling into her friend's skin and coat, she saw something else of almost equal horror. Blue legs hung from where there tied to a rafter. Well...they had been tied. The ankles of the legs were crimson and raw from where the rope had been wrapped around them, and the rope was broken. What was now suspending the legs, was a series of large nails, pounded through the flesh and bone of the ankles, into the rafters. The legs were, however, the only truly blue part of the body, the rest was matted in blood. The wings of the body were pierced with hooks and spread like that of an angel. But the rest of the body was far from heavenly.

She was looking at the back of the dead pony, which made what had been done to the body clear. Long, sharp spikes of bone protruded from two gashes, one above each wing. She couldn't tell what they were at firs, until she saw a long spur of bone that looked as though had been connected to the sharp, broken edges of the white spikes. She now realized that what was on the ground was a breast bone, and the ribs that it had been connected to had been pulled out of the back of the body. She realized that the head was an unhealthy distance from the floor- a few inches. The reason, she found was that the neck had been hacked and slashed with a small, swirling, purple tool (it looked like Twilight Sparkle's horn) until only a few strands of flesh and muscle held it hanging from the severed throat. The esophagus was visibly hanging, as though it had been dug out on purpose.

The head was turned slightly and she could see and confirm that the mangled body was Rainbow Dash, despite that a large amount of flesh had been removed from around her mouth, as though from a bite, and her eyes were gone, leaving gaping holes in her head. Applejack couldn't tell what wound had been the final one, and she didn't want to. At this point, there was no telling what had been done to Twilight Sparkle.

And then came the loathing. The horror and anger at whoever thought they could do this to her friends and get away with it. And there was only one other being in the room. She turned to Spike, her rage becoming more and more apparent. He didn't look as though he realized what he had done. How could he possibly not? He did Celestia knows what to Twilight Sparkle, his caretaker, employer, and best friend; and tortured and killed Rainbow Dash.

“Spike, what've you done?” She screamed at him.

And what was this that he was doing with Twilight's skin and pelt? She had noticed a pile of bones that could only belong to Twilight. So he skinned her and was hanging her pelt out to dry, preparing to make some sort of artwork or something crazy with it? It was disgusting, disturbing, and all over wrong.

Spike continued to look as though he was at a loss for words, as though he was somewhere between realizing what he had done, and having done it. But Applejack was tired already of his clueless attitude. She tackled him to the ground, pressing her hooves down on his chest, hard enough that she knew he couldn't breathe.

“You killed Rainbow Dash and Twilight, didn't you?!” She screamed into his face.

He stared at her, still struggling to breathe, until she eased the pressure a little, now that he looked like he had something to say.

“Get out of here Applejack...” Spike said when he could speak.

Get out of here? Was he threatening her? She had him pinned to the ground and was about to reap her revenge on him, friend or not.

“Not 'til you've been properly punished!” She growled.

An epiphany seemed to strike Spike then. Applejack smiled in slight satisfaction. He was realizing the consequences of his actions. While she didn't plan to do any of the things he had done to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, she was an old fashioned girl, and her rage was creating an “eye for an eye” mood. Spike's eyes then became bright and colorful, rather than fearful. Applejack was taken aback. Was he having fun?

Suddenly, he began speaking in a voice that didn't seem to below to him, though this new insane Spike was capable of anything she realized.

“Would you tell everypony that Twilight and Dash were killed in an accident?”

“What? You mean lie?” Applejack was dumbfounded. She had lied to everypony once and didn't plan on doing it again. Exactly who did he think he was?

“That or you can join them,” He said, grinning.

“Spike, if y'all haven't noticed, I'm in charge here.”

But her speech was a mistake, leaving her vulnerable as Spike made a lightning-quick move. Applejack had never known the clumsy little dragon to be so fast, and as his mouth sunk into her left foreleg, she was surprised by his brutal attack (despite all the evidence suggesting that it was easy compared to the other things he had done). Even though she had easily jumped to the conclusion that Spike was a murderer, she was barely able to contain her shock that he was attacking. To actually see and feel the pain was something totally different than what she imagined.

She let out a cry of pain and shock, falling backwards, trying to shake Spike off. His teeth dug through her flesh and into the bone of her leg, securing his jaws in her. She shook him and placed her other fore hoof on his shoulder, trying to push him off. She realized it was a big mistake as her strong leg pushed him away, tearing the flesh from the bone, and splitting the white skeleton of her body down to the marrow. He fell back, grinning as the meat of her leg hung from his mouth, drops of her blood dripping from the juicy tissue.

Applejack stared in horror at him and then the wound, feeling her pulse through out her entire body, pumping blood out of the severed artery which spat blood. She looked back up to Spike, and was met by his claws. They tore a gash across her face, sheering her freckles from her skin, and leaving a hot, bleeding fissure. She collapsed to the ground, her torn leg giving out, and her head spinning from the forced that had been slammed across her skull. His claws pushed her hat from her head and wrapped over her cranium.

He seemed to feel the contours of her skull for a moment, like an artist preparing to make a change to his masterpiece, and then he brought her head down onto the cement floor, and continued to do so until she lost all of her senses.

[][][]

Applejack awoke with her head throbbing and her face burning. She tried to open her eyes, but only one would open. The other was swollen shut and was covered by a bandage that also covered two cuts in her face. As she looked down her nose, she saw that small rivulets of blood dripped from her nostrils, and the throbbing in the base of her “sniffer” (as she used to call it as a filly) that it was broken in at least one place. As she glanced backwards at her body, she noticed that her back legs were held in metal shackles and sharp metal slats dug into her thighs, which were suspended by a sort of machinery that wrapped around the back portion of her body.

She noticed that there were cuts and bruises all over her body, though they and the laceration in her leg that should have killed her were dressed and stopped from bleeding. It seemed as though Spike had continued attacking her body after she had fallen unconscious, though he had fixed her up. So he was planning to save her for something else. She didn't intend to be a part of it. But as she moved her legs, the metal slats that were secured tightly around her thighs drew blood, causing her to shiver in pain, since she was trying not to cry out. Why were they so tight?

“I see you're awake,” Spike said, appearing in front of her. “Good, now we can begin.”

“Begun what?” she spat. “What is this contraption?”

“Something Twilight was working on before I got... bored,” He said. “Note the treadmill that she borrowed from the pony body builders. Note the tight slats that are almost cutting off your circulation. Note how, they are movable, only whenever I activate the treadmill.”

“Why would Twilight make these things so sharp?”

“Oh, well that was me. That modification alone has turned her blood pressure machine into my challenge for you. Well, my test for you.”

“What test?” she hissed.

“If you pass, I'll be happy to let you go and allow you to tell all of Ponyville about my 'crimes'. If you do not succeed however, I will have to bring you closer to your friends.”

Applejack was against the idea of playing this game with him, but on the other hand, she knew deep down that she really had no choice. It was her only chance at escaping him and avenging her friends.

“What do I have to do?” she asked.

“I think you'll get the hang of it soon. But for now, let's just do what this machine was made to do.”

He attached a stethoscope like thing just behind her knee, and turned on the machine. The slats began to move, as did the treadmill. The slats moved in the motions her leg would have to follow to walk normally, and were at a rather slow pace. The machine began feeding results on to an endless strip of paper, telling Spike her blood pressure.

“Twilight had originally intended this for health reasons, so that ponies could do daily check ups of their blood pressure. However, it will never fulfill that purpose. And now, here is your first test." He went around and picked up a heavy sack that emitted a clattering sound from its contents. He placed it on her back, strapping it on and turning up the speed of the treadmill.

She began panting and sweating. Her back was weighed down by the bag, and the extra speed was causing the slats to wear on her legs. The didn't draw blood though they did seem to dig into her bone. He came back around, looking at her readings and looking back to her.

“Good, good. Your strong legs are more than suitable for this challenge,” he said. “So let's turn up the heat.”

[][][]

Applejack was panting heavily and struggling to breathe but still managing to carry the weight of the bag. Spike applauded her and took it off her back.

“The first part of the challenge is complete. You held up well, and if you keep your resilience, you'll be able to avenge your friends.”

The country pony wouldn't admit that she didn't understand some of these big words he was using, but she was glad to have the bag off of her, and was feeling ready, despite herself, to continue. Spike slowed the pace of the treadmill and then brought the bag to his side, huffing after carrying the heavy load but he turned to her and smiled.

“Now that you've passed the physical test, it's time you did the psychological one,” Spike said, moving a book, hoping that she did not see the title, so that she wouldn't know he learned most of these techniques from it. “Let's begin.”

He opened the bag and poured out the contents. The machine began feeding higher readings, as Applejack turned red with anger. The bag had been full of bones, now dry. The skull had a break in it where a horn had once connected. They were Twilight's bones.

Blood was beginning to draw from the slats as she walked faster, her body trying to release its anger through some sort of physical means, and she now wanted to reach Spike and give his behind a beating until it bled.

“Take it easy,” Spike said, grinning. “If you wish to avenge your friends, you're going to have to show the same mental strength and discipline as you did while carrying these.”

He picked up one of the bleach white bones, and began picking his teeth with it.
“You know, Twilight was delicious. Her flank was especially tasty,” He teased.

“You didn't!” she screamed.

And she felt a painful pop in her leg and blood running faster, which brought fear to her heart.

“Ha, take it easy Applejack. I didn't eat her. I was only teasing. She had rotted far too much to eat when I finally uncovered her body.”

He was teasing her. And she had to tighten the muscles in her legs to keep from bursting into a gallop at him. He was getting satisfaction from this as well. If he knew he could cause this much torture to her so far, he would keep it up until she would break. She had to show strength. He dropped the bleached bone and walked out of her field of vision.

“While you were 'sleeping,'” he said, as the sound of scraping of nails sounded as though he were removing them from wood. “I was able to finish what I was doing with Twilight's hide. I think it came out nicely.”

He returned to her vision, he was wearing a hairy lavender cape and she grit her teeth, trying not to show her anger as she realized what Spike had made from Twilight's pelt. He turned stylishly, showing off his new cape to her.

“I can now blend into twilight even better, and it helps remind me of the good times I had with Twilight Sparkle.”

How could he be so...so...? There wasn't a word. He was a hypocrite, plain and simple. He killed his best friend, and made clothing from her body, and talked of liking it because it reminded him of the good times he had had with the life he had ended.

“The blend should be good if you fail. I'll be able to easily get to sweet little Apple Bloom,” He said.

She swore under her breath. The little...he wouldn't get away with this. Not with these words, and not with his actions.

“I wonder how her 'bloom' tastes,” He said, smiling at her and she prayed to Celestia that he was teasing her again, especially with what followed. “I hope it's sweeter than Rainbow Dash's. Hers had turned quite sour from all that attitude.”

The nerve. The nerve! He was insulting Rainbow Dash, after killing, and possibly having done things to her that Applejack shuddered even to think of.

“She wasn't a bad pony,” Applejack hissed, her legs shaking as the blood flow sped up for a second.

“Oh, she was. You remember the whole 'Mare Do Well' incident, don't you? She scared the scales off of me, as well as on Nightmare Night. I guess you could say I got her good, didn't I?”

“You're going to pay, Spike...” She growled.

“What was that? I didn't catch it.”

“You're going to pay.”

“I'm sorry, I can't hear. I'm imagining if Apple Bloom will scream like your other friends did.”

That was it. Applejack broke, giving a cry of rage and galloping, making her final mistake. The slats tore into her flesh and she fell to the ground as she lost her balance, which finished the job. The tendons, muscle, and skin twisted and tore, the bones snapping and splintering over the slats, and she was left on the ground, with bloody stumps for back legs.

She was left crying, and Spike smiled down at her. She had failed. She had given in to her anger, and now... now she had doomed her friends and her sweet little sister to the murderous claws of this...psycho dragon. But her blood loss quickly put her out.

[][][]

Applejack awoke again, surprised that she had. Was this hell? Hell paid for her failure...? But as she looked around, she saw an angel like corpse hanging inches from her. She looked up to see that she was suspended by the stumps of her haunches. Her attention was turned to a purple dragon, cloaked in the cape of one of her other friends. He was holding a fork as he calmly ate ice cream, while looking over his work. He stood as he saw her awake and put down the ice cream. She wondered for a brief second why he had used a fork instead of a spoon, but pushed the stupid thought away.

“I'm being too nice to you, Applejack, but I'm going to give you another chance,” Spike said as he stepped up, so his hot breath could blow in her face.

She perked at the idea of another chance. She might not survive the loss of her back legs, but she could save her friends.

“All you have to do is say what I want you to say.”

That was easy, she could do that!

“Just say that you don't love your friends and that you're glad I've knocked off two of them.”

Well... no that wasn't easy. On the one hoof, all she had to do was say those things and she'd be home free.... But they were lies.... Pure and simple lies. She couldn't, not again....

“No Spike... I can't say that-...” She began but was cut off as the fork was embedded into her forehead.
She let out a scream as Spike tore it out and slammed it back in, ripping out small chucks on flesh as he stabbed her.

“You...are...just...no...bucking...fun...!” He huffed as he brought the utensil down as hard as could.

One slash landed in her throat and when he tore the fork out to the side, which slashed her jugular, causing blood to spill out on to Spike's face. He thought for a moment before opening his mouth and tasting it briefly.... It wasn't very good. But it gave him an idea... As for Applejack, she was gone now, knowing now that her failure was complete, and this was in, fact, hell.

This chapter was very weird, and a bit time consuming to write, but I hope you've enjoyed.