Doctor Jekyll and Mister Shyde

It had been a week since Applejack completely changed her sleeping schedule. She had to admit, it was a lot more calming: bucking her trees alone with only the moonlight as her guide.

As apples rained into the baskets, her mind wandered once again to Rainbow Dash. Applejack grunted in annoyance as recent memories came to the forefront of her mind. She preferred to not dwell on the past.

She clenched her eyes shut as the unbidden memories flowed freely. “Just go away,” she muttered, barely audible, as she dragged a basket of apples to the barn. Luckily, no more apples had gone missing since Rainbow Dash’s rescue, but the Apple family was still going to have to work hard to keep from losing the farm.

Applejack was so lost in thought that didn’t even notice when a few leaves fell from the tree above her. As she reared back to buck the apples out of the tree, she suddenly felt weightless. She looked around frantically to find that the ground was rapidly receding. She was… flying?

Finally, Applejack looked up to see Flutt- Keres carrying her up far into the night sky.

“I wouldn’t struggle if I were you. If you were to fall from this height, you would undoubtedly die.”

Applejack gulped as she realized her predicament. “What do you want, Keres?” she asked calmly, trying to not antagonize the mare with her life in her hooves.

The Pegasus grinned maliciously. “I just want to torment your friends. Especially the pony who slipped between my hooves. And you’re going to help me.”

“And if Ah refuse?”

Suddenly, Applejack found herself plummeting through the air towards the ground. Her fear instantly spiked, but before she could start screaming, she felt hooves wrap around her barrel again.

She gazed up into Keres’ icy blue eyes. The wicked pony hadn’t said anything, but her threat had been made loud and clear. Applejack hung her head in defeat. “Fine. Ah’ll help ya.”

Keres narrowed her eyes, not quite believing the Earth mare. “I want you to Pinkie Swear that you will be completely devoted to me until my work is done.” She continued, cutting off Applejack’s protests, “Remember, I control if you live or die, so choose your next words carefully.”

Applejack glanced down at the ground. At this height, she could barely see Sweet Apple Acres, but she knew that they were hovering above it. She grimaced as she imagined Apple Bloom finding her splattered and twisted body in the morning. Applejack knew she was beat, so she pinkie promised: “Cross mah heart an’ hope to fly, stick a cupcake in mah eye.”

Keres frowned. “That’s not morbid enough… Hmmm… I know! I want you to repeat after me: Slit my throat and hope to die, stick a diamond in my eye.”

Applejack stared at her in horror, brain trying to wrap itself around the gruesome promise. However, she finally relented and repeated the evil phrase.

As soon as she finished, Keres started flying towards her cottage. When they reached the ground, Keres released Applejack with the warning words: “Remember, if you try to escape, attack me, or betray me, I will make you and your entire family suffer.” She pulled open the door and ushered the orange mare inside.

Applejack sighed as she entered the formerly happy home. As she crossed the threshold, an awful smell washed over her. “Ugh, what is that stench?” She demanded, covering her nose with a hoof. Keres lit a candle as she closed the door, illuminating the remains of Scootaloo.

Only one part of the filly was still visible for all to see. Up on the mantle, her skull had been washed and scrubbed clean. The bone gleamed as the empty eye sockets seemed to stare into Applejack’s very soul. She backpedaled furiously, horrified at what had happened to her little sister's best friend. She rounded on Keres and growled, "If mah sister ends up like that, Ah will personally make sure you suffer."

Keres pushed past Applejack, not even blinking at her reaction. She responded to the threat as she opened the refrigerator and started rummaging through it. "I don't think you're in any position to threaten me, Applejack. However, if it makes you feel any better, she will not be harmed at all while you are working for me. Ah, here it is." She pulled an entire pie out and set it on the table. "Would you please preheat the oven? You must be hungry and I would hate to be a bad host. I am truly sorry about the smell, but I haven't been able to clean this place since…" She trailed off, but finished her thought by gesturing to the skull.

Applejack blinked at the sudden show of hospitality but complied. Her stomach growled as if it could sense that food was nearby, despite the fact that it hadn't been cooked yet. Once the pie was in the oven and the timer had been set, both ponies settled down on the couch in the living room. The entire house seemed empty. Fluttershy's animals usually roamed around freely, giving the entire place a cheerfulness that wasn't easy to replicate, but it seemed that Keres had driven all of the animal friends away.

At the thought of Fluttershy, Applejack frowned. "Keres, is Fluttershy okay?" She asked directly, never really being one to beat around the bush.

Keres smiled, and Applejack was surprised to notice that it wasn't a cruel smile either. "Yes, she's fine. She's sleeping right now. I've decided to keep her around, for now at least."

Applejack nodded, satisfied with the answer, and the two fell into an uncomfortable silence. Finally, the timer beeped, bringing both ponies back to reality. The farmer followed Keres into the kitchen. In a flash, Applejack found the pie out, cooling on the rack, with two slices already taken out of it. She dug into the piece that had been given to her and chewed thoughtfully.

The pie was… savory? Applejack had only eaten the apple pies that her family made - it was a secret Apple recipe - so this was something new to her. It wasn't bad though. The vegetables seemed to swim in the creamy sauce and the buttery crust seemed to complement the flavor perfectly. But there was one part that didn't quite taste familiar.

As the farmer swallowed the rest of her pie, she turned to Keres and saw that she had already finished her slice and was getting another. "That was pretty darn good. Honestly, Ah've never had a savory pie before, but it tasted great. What's it called anyway?" She asked as she helped herself to another slice as well.

Keres smirked, waiting until the farmer had a bite in her mouth before answering: "I like to call it chicken pot pie. Of course, all of Fluttershy's chickens left ages ago, but I did have another flightless bird around on hoof to use. I think it turned out well." She chewed another bite and swallowed, watching her guest's face for her reaction.

Applejack froze, her face turning a shade somewhere between green and gray. She knew exactly who Keres was referencing when she said "flightless bird" and it disgusted her. Trying to not antagonize her host, the farmpony pushed her plate away from her. "Y'know, it's the darndest thing, but Ah'm suddenly not that hungry. Ah guess Ah should be goin' back to the farm to get some shuteye." She turned the leave the kitchen, but stopped when she heard the icy voice behind her.

"No, Applejack. You are staying with me. I don't want you running off and telling anypony about this or what I'm planning next, so you are staying in this house until I require your assistance. Is that understood?"

The apple mare gulped once and, remembering her Pinkie Promise, sat back down.

"Also, this pie is the only food you're going to get, so I suggest you get used to the taste or you are just going to go hungry. But, since you're done, let me show you to your room." Keres stood up from the table and led Applejack into the guest room. It was more on the cozy side, but there was a decent sized bed right in the middle of it. However, the first thing that Applejack noticed was the chain that spanned the area between the far side of the room to the bed.

Keres walked calmly over to said chain and beckoned her prisoner over. "I can't take any chances while you're in the house. I don't want you escaping or hurting me while I'm asleep, so I decided that this was the best way to avoid that. I'm sure you understand. Now come here and let me chain you up."

Applejack, resigning herself to her fate, trudged over and didn't put up a fight at all. Even as she felt the cold metal wrap around her neck and the padlock click shut, she didn't protest. Once Keres was satisfied with her work, she left.

The chain clinked as the orange mare made herself comfortable in the bed. As she stared up at the ceiling, she couldn't help but voice one single question that had been rattling around her head since she made that awful promise to Keres.

"What have Ah done?"