Revenge is Family Business

It was already pitch black when Big Mac arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was sitting at the table, a shovel leaned against the wall behind her and a halfway emptied mug of cider in between her front hooves.

Macintosh sat down across from her and pointed at her mug. “Got a spare one?”

Applejack nodded, walked across the room to one of the cabinets and got a second mug for her brother. She tapped him a full pint from the cider barrel, which was sat up in a corner of the room, and placed it in front of him. “How was your day? Anything worth mentioning?”

Before Applejack had sat down, Mac had already reached out and revelled in the taste of the best cider in Equestria. He noticed his sister’s question, but after a long day, not many things could bring him to put down his mug. Although, Applejack knew that and waited patiently until the big red stallion was done with his drink.

Not even one minute later, Big Mac had downed the whole mug and heaved a heavy sigh as he put it down. “It was a rather normal day. We walked around Canterlot, talked about our daily, or in her case nightly, business and just enjoyed to be around each other. Later we went into a cafe, one of those fancy ones.”

His eyes took on a sad look and his whole form seemed to shrink a little bit. “After that, she asked me if I wanted to join her at the palace. For a cup of coffee or to watch the night sky together, as she put it.”

Applejack leaned forward and looked at her brother with wide eyes. “Why are you here then? This was THEEE chance.”

Macintosh waved a hoof to hush his sister. “Do you think I didn’t know that? I told her that today was to short notice, but that tomorrow would be great. Mainly because I wanted to talk with you before we start all of this and because it wouldn’t have been that great of a chance.”

Applejack arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean? She practically presented herself to you on a silver platter?”

Sometimes his sister was really slow on the uptake and Big Mac wasn’t so sure if he wanted to facehoof either himself or her when she was like that. “AJ, she wanted me to come to the castle. You know, this big house where there are at least five hundred guards at any given time? Not to mention her sister, which would wipe my sorry ass clean of the map, if she got scent of this.”

It took the mare a few moments to contemplate on Mac’s argument, but she gave in eventually. “Ok, you might have a point there, but you’re still in for it, aren’t you?”

He nodded and slowly started to speak, every word carefully chosen. “We are family after all and I want revenge as much as you, but I don’t feel very comfortable to drag Luna into this.”

A heavy sigh filled the room and Applejack’s eyes took on the same sad look that had crept into Mac’s earlier. “I’m not as close to her as you are, but I can imagine how it feels. You’re lying to her on an almost daily basis and if she ever finds out she might just snap.”

She took a swig from her mug before she continued. “Today I had to lie to Fluttershy and Twilight because I tested our mix. I dipped some walnuts into that stuff and gave one of them to a squirrel I found in a tree on the western fields.”

Big Macintosh cringed visibly. “Blearg, sounds horrible.”

Applejack gave him a humorless chuckle. “Looked worse than it sounds. At first, I watched how this little critter munched happily on the nut, but not even half a minute later he convulsed in pain. I felt like I could almost hear him asking why I did this.”

While his sister spoke, Mac got up and grabbed another mug of cider. When he took seat again, he looked at her with a pained expression. “Was it at least worth this little guy’s suffering?”

The orange mare nodded, slowly and carefully. “I called Twilight and Fluttershy over right after that and they were here within fifteen minutes. But all they could do was watch with me. Fluttershy was unable to make even the broadest guess what happened to him and Twilight said she couldn’t do anything without knowledge of what had caused his condition. She said nopony could do anything without knowing what happened. She stated that it’s not a question of ability, but rather of knowledge.”

Mac thought about that for a few seconds before he looked her in the eyes. “How much did you use? And how long did it take?”

Applejack pulled out a few walnuts from under her Stetson. “As I said, I only dipped these into the poison. The dose was minimal and I even watered the stuff down five to one beforehand. I thought a higher dose could cause suspicions. And in the end, it took not even 20 minutes from when he ate the nut until he dropped dead for good. If you ask me, if this shit doesn’t get the job done, I don’t know what will.”

The Apple siblings looked each other in the eyes. “Do you think a higher dose will kill her without unnecessary suffering?”

A firm shake of Applejack’s head confirmed Big Mac’s suspicions. “Don’t think so. And, to be honest, it was never intended to kill short and sweet. It was always meant to let the victim suffer, you know that. The only way to spare her the pain I can think of is to drug her before you give her the shot.”

The stallion nodded. “I thought so, but to be honest as well, Luna did nothing to us. She is as innocent as possible. I don’t want her to suffer.”

His sister closed her eyes and leaned back. “So? What do you suggest?”

Big Macintosh finished his cider, stood up and walked around the table. As he stood next to his sister, he raised to his full height and spoke in a tone that wouldn’t allow any contradiction whatsoever. “I’ve grown to like her, maybe not as a real marefriend but at least as a friend of mine. I won’t see her suffering, especially since she’s innocent. I know that her death is part of the plan and I swore that I will carry out that plan. But I will, at least, make her leave this world with happiness in her heart and without any trace of pain. And after all is done…”

The raise of an orange hoof and the pained face of his sister silenced him. “I know Mac. After everything is done, we will confess to Twilight and atone for what we did.”

Applejack took a few deep breaths and blinked away tears of guilt. “It’s ok, you can do whatever you want. I don’t feel comfortable to let Princess Luna suffer for Celestia’s crimes either. She deserves a little bit of happiness and a gentle passing.”

Mac bent his neck and nuzzled his sister. “Thank you.”

Without another word he left the room and went to bed. The next day would be important and he needed to be in top form to pull through it.

All the while, Applejack didn’t leave the table. Instead she downed a few more mugs of their strongest cider and gave in to her thoughts.

When Mac’s heavy snoring rang down the stairs she looked up and smiled, although it was a smile without any trace of joy. “You tell me you don’t love her, but your eyes tell me you’re lying.”

She downed another swig of cider. “I’m sure you’re planning to follow her after we’re done. And I think it’s your right to do so. I never wanted to make you choose between your special somepony and your family.”

Applejack raised her cider and toasted in the direction of Big Mac’s room “I thank you Mac.”

She downed the rest of her mug in one go and a single tear formed in the corner of her eye. “I’m sorry....”

Silence befell the room, only once in a while pierced by slight sobs.