Bittersweet Apple Acres (DARKFIC)

Crimson opened his eyes, noticing that he wasn't alone. Applejack was still there doing something to his body, and it didn't take long to figure out what she was doing. A sharp pain surged throughout Crimson's body, as she stuck a needle with some sort of metallic thread attached into one side of the open wound down his chest. He screamed, but only for a second, seeing the pain wasn't as severe compared the many other things Applejack had already done to him.

She noticed that he was awake, and didn't hesitate to silence him, due to his struggling making the stitching process difficult.

"Don't struggle!" she warned, giving him a very stern look in the eyes.

Crimson knew he didn't have a choice, so he did his best to keep himself calm. Applejack continued with the stitching.

"What are you doing to me?" asked Crimson in a weak tone.

"What does it look like?" she said annoyingly. "I'm closin' ya' up. We need more blood, and leavin' this open would cause infection, makin' y'all useless."

Crimson looked down at his chest, noticing the deep cut Applejack had made nearly stitched shut. The stitching job looked as if it had been done by an amateur doctor, meaning it was only temporary. Through his weak vision, he managed to mutter out some words, as Applejack continued the stitching.

"Why don't you just kill me?" he asked, staring at the grinder just below him.

"Because, that would be no fun, sugar," replied Applejack.

"Fun? How could this possibly be fun?! You used to be a positive influence to everypony, and now, they fear you!"

"Trust me, sugar. If you had a taste of it, you'd want more."

"I would never torture my own kind, nor kill them so I could continue to make money off of an applesauce! I'd find another way!"

Applejack was growing tired of Crimson's yelling.

"You'd best keep your voice down, or I'll give you that "special" punishment again!" she threatened.

Crimson knew what Applejack was talking about, so he just kept his voice down, while Applejack finished up her work. Once she was finished with the stitching, she turned to him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"Well, we gotta get ya' cleaned up for dinner," she replied.

Crimson was confused.

"Dinner?" he said, confused.

"Y'all will be joinin' the rest of us for dinner, sugar," she concluded.

Crimson saw this as an opportunity to escape, knowing that the dinner that Applejack was referring to wasn't anything delicious, only disgusting. Applejack could read him easily, knowing what he was thinking.

"Trust me, sugar, you'll be far too weak to even try any sort of escape," she said. "Yur' limbs will be so weak, you won't be able to walk, so I'll be escorting you to the dining room. Think of it as a date."

Crimson's hopes were dashed, realizing Applejack was correct. He had no feeling in his limbs, especially his front legs, seeing the blood flow had been cut off to them. To add to the torture, he had no interest in being escorted by a monster. An escort that Applejack had described as a "date." The thought of him dating a monster made him shiver.

"I'll go grab some sponges, along with some water, and we'll get y'all cleaned up, sugar," clarified Applejack.

Crimson nodded his head, knowing it was best not to argue with Applejack, watching her as she walked down the stairs, out of sight. Once he heard the door shut below him, he immediately knew that if he was ever going to get out, now was the time to come up with a plan. Not much time remained before he would be going through the grinder.

He immediately pondered over his options of escaping, knowing the time was short. He was too weak to speak, so he thought of ways to escape deep in his mind. The only thing he could think of was somehow managing to weaken the restraints, but they were on him tight, and were replaced whenever a new victim came into the slaughterhouse. Through his desperation, he attempted to loosen the metal restraints binding his front hooves. His front hooves were far too weak to even move, so he resorted to his back hooves, containing more strength than his front hooves.

He lunged them forward with every bit of strength he had left, ignoring the aching in his limbs. He continued to lunge the his back hooves, praying that the metal restraints would weaken or budge, but unfortunately, the restraints were too strong. He needed more strength, even if he did, he was unsure if he would be able to weaken the restraints. They were stuck to the wall tight, forged to remain there the entire time a victim was locked in them. He stopped lunging, hearing the door below open.

Applejack returned with a bucket of water and a blood-soaked sponge, looking up at Crimson. She noticed he was sweating, and due to her dealing with multiple victims in the past, she knew what he had been trying to do.

"It's probably best you didn't manage to break free," she said, dipping the dirty sponge into the water. "You would've went headfirst into the grinder. That would've been a shame."

Applejack gave Crimson a deadly look. Impersonating the sounds of what would've happened if Crimson would've managed to break free and fall into the grinder. The sounds made him quiver, wondering if it was best he didn't break free.

"Sorry, but it's never that easy, sugar," she said, giving him a wink. "Now, time to get ya' cleaned up."

Applejack placed the sponge along Crimson's body, and started washing away the dry streams of blood from the wounds.

"Why?" questioned Crimson.

"Didn't I already tell ya' the answer?" she replied.

"No. Why did I lose so much blood?" he claimed. "The amount of blood that I lost was more than I should've lost."

Applejack gave him a grin, continuing to clean around the wounds.

"Oh. Remember those pancakes I fed ya'? Well, a strong blood thinner we use on most victims was in the batter, that causes yur' blood flow to increase massively. That's why y'all lost that much blood. Did ya' really think those were "normal" pancakes? Ya' make me laugh, sugar."

Crimson was shocked, and now knew he had to be careful. Nothing was safe as long as he was here, and somehow he had to get out.

Once Crimson was cleaned up, Applejack proceeded to unlocking his limbs from the wall, knowing he was far too weak to do anything. First, she released his front hooves, falling like rocks. They were floppy, and to Crimson felt as if they were made out of gelatin. He couldn't even feel his front hooves, nor support himself, so it was clear Applejack had him trapped. Next, came his neck, which didn't feel any different, but Crimson's breathing increased, and didn't feel as constricted. His back hooves were last, as he fell like a stone, but Applejack made sure he didn't fall into the grinder, wrapping him up with her lasso, and covering his head with a sack.

"Can't have ya' seein' where the exits are, now can we," said Applejack, dragging Crimson down the stairs, hearing his back hooves hit each step, causing them to ache.

Once they were on solid ground, Applejack placed him on all four hooves, struggling to keep him up. To keep him balanced, she placed his left front hoof over the back of her neck, and escorted him into the Apple Family dining room as if Crimson were her date.

In the dining room, Crimson could hear the sounds of hooves against the wooden floor, as Applejack settled him into a chair. She didn't lock his front hooves into restraints, but his back hooves were locked against the front legs of the chair. It was clear he wasn't going anywhere, and he was trapped in a dining room full of killers. Applejack lifted the sack from his head, only for him to see that he was seated at the far end of a wooden table with each dinner plate covered with a metallic lid.

Seated to the left of him was Applejack's older brother, Big Macintosh, staring at him with an evil grin. To the right was Applejack, and at the opposite far side of the table was Granny Smith humming a tune of some sort. The sight of the murderous ponies was terrifying, and nearly made Crimson urinate all over the chair.

"First, I'd like y'all to welcome our special guest, Crimson Flash," said Applejack. "He's also my date, seeing he just loves his "sweet Applejack" very much."

"Y'all have never been very good with dates," said Granny Smith. "Every time you bring one to the table, they seem to disappear."

"This one is different, Granny," replied Applejack, hitting her hoof hard against the table. "He's special, and does love me! Don'tcha think, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup," replied Big Mac.

"Well, now that everypony is here, we are going to play a game," claimed Applejack. "The rules are that nopony gags or spits out their food, otherwise there will be consequences."

The sound of this "game" Applejack was referring to was reminding Crimson of the previous night, but he knew that the consequences had to be more severe. He took deep breaths, knowing that this was going to be difficult.

"The consequences will get worse the more somepony gags or spits out their food. The first punishment will be a simple cut in any place of the pony's choosin' except the neck, because the neck is no fun. Second punishment will be an even deeper cut in a place of my choosin', and if the pony screams, the cut will deepen. Third punishment will be a brand of the Apple Family official brand to the forehead. Fourth punishment will be a brand to the left side of the face. Fifth punishment will be a brand to the right side of the face. Lastly, the sixth punishment will be a 50/50 choice, which will be one, spend the night in my room and allow me to do ANYTHING to you, or two, a trip through the grinder."

Crimson's eyes bulged at the sound of the last option, and now knew this is how all the victims went, after multiple tortures. Crimson didn't know what to think, as Applejack yelled the words that would begin the sealing of his fate.

"Soup's on, everypony!" yelled Applejack, starting the lift the lids off the platters, only to reveal horrid looking content.

Crimson wanted to gag, but managed to keep himself under control.

"Hold it together, Crimson," he said to himself. "Hold it together."

The first platter was placed before each of them, which looked like some sort of animal.

"First servin', roadkill," stated Applejack.

Crimson nearly gagged, but once again, controlled himself. He grabbed the provided fork and knife, and cut into the horrid meal, only to see a pus leak out of the opening, and only got worse as he tore off a piece, revealing the insides of the dead animal. Pus gushed out, along with some maggots, and a horrid smell that burned every nose hair within his nostrils. He couldn't hold it back anymore and gagged to the point of where he threw up all over himself.

The smell and texture of the meal caused him to vomit again, soaking the floor and plate with his own stomach content. Applejack rose from her chair with nothing but anger in her eyes. She stood next to him.

"NOW, IS THAT ANY WAY TO ACT AT A DINNER TABLE?!" she yelled. "YOU WILL EAT IT!"

Applejack violently lunged Crimson's head forward, straight into the roadkill, hearing the gushing of the pus and the stiff flesh of the animal break like a bone. He gagged massively, and vomited into the animal's body, feeling the maggots and pus against the inside of his mouth. It tasted unlike anything Crimson could describe, as the maggots, pus, and rotten flesh leeched into his mouth. Applejack pulled his head back so far he was choking and gagging on the content in his mouth then placed his head back into it's normal position, immediately starting to gag.

"YOU SWALLOW THAT FOOD! IT TOOK GRANNY SMITH ALL DAY TO COOK THAT!" commanded Applejack.

Crimson attempted to chew the content, but his gag reflex was too strong, and immediately puked again, lunging the horrid content back onto the plate, along with the vomit.

"HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT MY FAMILY'S COOKING! APOLOGIZE!" she commanded.

Crimson couldn't take it anymore, so he used a free hoof and gave Applejack a taste of her own medicine. He landed a nasty punch straight to her face, and knocked her into the stove, accidentally planting the left side of her face on one of the burners. She screamed from the third-degree burn singing the entire left side of her face. Crimson had had enough, and didn't care what was coming next. He was finished.

Applejack raised her head from the burner, and quickly looked at herself in a nearby mirror. The left side of her face was singed beyond repair, and now, she literally looked like a monster. She turned to Crimson.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME! I LOOK LIKE A MONSTER!" she yelled.

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE!" stated Crimson.

Applejack gritted her teeth, and gave the final command, sealing his fate.

"We've played with him enough! It's time to fire up the grinder, because he's goin' through!"

Crimson was scared, but at the same time, he didn't care. He'd be free of the torture in death. Big Macintosh stood up, and walked out of the room, into the slaughterhouse to fire up the machine. Applejack walked up to Crimson, whispering into his ear.

"You are going to pay for what you've done to me," she said, as she undid the restraints from his back hooves.

She wasn't gentle with him, dragging him into the slaughterhouse, as Big Mac fired up the machine. Crimson listened as the machine erupted to life. The conveyor belt started moving, and the sounds of the rotating blades erupted from above where he was originally bound to the wall. Applejack carried Crimson up the stairs, until they were right before the entrance of the machine. The blades rotated as Applejack lifted Crimson up headfirst, before the rotating blades, and drew his face closer to the grinder. Just as he was about to be eaten up by the blades, the machine came to a stop.

"Big Mac, what are you doing!" she yelled.

"It was me," stated Granny Smith, who had commanded Big Mac to shut off the machine.

"Granny, why you stopping me from putting this garbage in the trash where he belongs!?" questioned Applejack.

"We need to talk about somethin, and it's important!" said Granny Smith with a stern voice. "Calm yourself, and get him back on the wall! Then get back into the house!"

Applejack didn't like this, because right now she just wanted to see Crimson dead, but she knew she couldn't argue with Granny Smith.

"Fine!" she exclaimed, turning Crimson's head to where she was face to face. "You got lucky this time, but next time, you won't be so lucky!"

Applejack grabbed Crimson, and placed him against the wall once again, locking his limbs in the restraints. Once she finished locking Crimson to the wall, she proceeded out of the slaughterhouse, back into the house with a loud slam.

Back in the house, Big Mac and Granny Smith were seated at the table. Applejack wasn't pleased, seeing her once beautiful face was now scorched for the rest of her life. She wanted Crimson dead.

"Why did you stop me from killin' that trash!?" asked Applejack.

Granny Smith gave Applejack a stern glare, causing Applejack to calm down, and take a seat.

"We need him, Applejack," stated Granny Smith. "He could be the key to keepin' our production going for the rest of our lives and beyond, due to the number of victims gettin' smaller."

"What the hay are you talkin' about?" asked Applejack.

"I'm talkin' about keepin' our family alive for generations, and seein' I'm not in the day and age to even have children anymore, I'm makin' a proposition for ya', Applejack. It's against our family's heritage to breed with another family member, so I figured that y'all could use that Crimson feller' as your ace breeder. You've always wanted a young feller to love, right? Well, now ya' got one, and you just nearly turned him into nothing but muck."

Applejack liked and hated the proposition, seeing Crimson had made her look like a monster. It was tempting, so she decided to add a few conditions.

"So, yur' plan is to have me breed with Crimson, and produce foals, so our family can grow and never die?" she asked.

"Correct," assured Granny Smith.

"Temptin', but I have a few conditions, seein' Crimson is more tricky and rebellious than others I've tortured in the past."

"What are the conditions?" asked Granny Smith.

"I get to torture him in any way of my choosin', including the forbidden ways, I'm left alone while I do the breedin', and the first foal I ever have is slaughtered. He must suffer some way for what he did to me, and if goin' through the grinder isn't the way, let it be him seein' his own child die before his eyes. If you agree to the conditions, we have a deal, Granny."

Granny Smith didn't agree to some of the conditions, mainly, the "forbidden" tortures. She had no choice though, therefore she gave the final verdict.

"I agree with the conditions, Applejack," agreed Granny Smith. "Start first thing tomorrow."

"Absolutely," said Applejack, as she licked her lips, knowing that this plan was going to be a benefit for her, but torture for Crimson. She laughed at the thought of it.