Mature Dark. Applejack, Apple Bloom.
It’s time for another Zap Apple Harvest. This year, Apple Bloom will discover the family secret behind the Zap Apples. In the process, she’ll get rid of two bullies and possibly find her special talent.
Part of my one-shot week.
Apple Bloom set a tray of crackers on the table alongside the other snacks. She helped herself to a cup of apple juice as she waited for their guests. It was cool and cloudy, and in a few weeks the Zap Apples would start appearing. Applejack took a seat across from her at the bench.
“Ya sure you're ready for this, sugar cube?” Applejack asked.
The filly looked up at her and swallowed. “Yeah, if Granny Smith could do it, ah can too. Maybe ah’ll finally get my cutie mark!”
“Alright, sugar cube. Just remember, the Apple family has been makin’ Zap Apples this way for decades. So ya can’t turn back.”
“Ah’m ready. Besides, ah think Diamond will work great.”
“Here they are now,” Applejack said. “Howdy, partners!”
Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara trotted up to the farm. “Ugh, hello. I wasn’t expecting it to be so cloudy and humid today.”
“That’s all part of the weather we need for the best Zap Apples, and today we’ll show ya how we make them,” AJ explained.
“And you’ll be able to meet our larger quota? 800 jars of Zap Apple jam in four weeks?”
“No problem, Filthy. Ah have a feeling this will be our best harvest yet. We called in some extra ponies ta help this year.”
Diamond glared at Apple Bloom before hopping up on the bench to look at the snacks the Apples had set out. There was an assortment of sliced apples, crackers, cheese, and an apple pie. She shook her head and jumped down without having any.
“Let’s get this over with, Daddy,” she whined. “Silver invited me over for tea.”
“Of course, honey.” Filthy Rich pointed out into the orchard. “You’re using the north field this year?”
“Sure are. It’s our largest field,” Applejack explained. “Follow me and ah’ll show ya.”
Apple Bloom smiled as she watched Filthy and Diamond follow Applejack. She recalled all the times Diamond had tormented her and the crusaders. It was too bad Silver wasn’t here to share the fun, but Applejack had insisted they follow the plan.
The four ponies wandered out into the middle of the apple orchard, far from the town of Ponyville. Eventually they came up to a row of trees with a loose soil piled next to them. In the next row were the two empty holes about six feet deep.
“So, you said the reason you can double our order this year is a special fertilizer?” Filthy asked.
“Sure is, and ah can even give you that forty percent discount ya demanded.” Applejack rolled her eyes while looking at Apple Bloom. Her sister had to stifle her laughter.
The moment was nearly here and Apple Bloom could feel her heart racing. When her sister made her move, she had one goal: knockout Diamond Tiara.
“Then you won’t mind telling me what exactly you fertilize them with? With the new Equestrian Food Safety Administration guidelines, I have to put it on the jars,” Filthy explained.
“Ah, well ah guarantee it’s a hundred percent organic,” AJ replied. “Take a look at it.”
She gestured him over to the hole in the ground next to an apple tree, and reached back into a saddlebag for a piece of rope.
“What am I looking for?” Filthy asked.
Applejack tossed the lasso she had just removed from her bag over Filthy’s neck, and shoved him into the hole. He fell down, feeling the rope yank itself tight around his neck as his weight reached the end of its length.
Diamond and Apple Bloom gasped. Remembering what she was supposed to do, Apple Bloom picked up a nearby rock and jumped at Diamond. She landed on top of the filly. Diamond looked up at her as Apple Bloom brought the rock down on her forehead with a loud snap. Diamond twitched and tried to push the filly off her.
Apple Bloom looked at the blood pooling out of the gash on Diamond’s head. The first blow had sent tremors up her forehooves. Diamond stuck a hoof into her stomach trying to push her off. She decided to bring the rock down again on her head. Diamond tried to move out of the way, and Apple Bloom hit her eye instead. Diamond screamed as a jolt of pain reached her. She couldn’t see out her left eye, and never saw the next blow coming. There was a loud crack as the rock hit her head again. Diamond went limp. Apple Bloom stood up and let the stone fall to the ground. She looked at the bully who had tormented her for so long.
Apple Bloom’s heart raced and she felt lighter than air. Her face had stretched into a wide grin and she couldn’t help but laugh. She was scared Celestia would find out that she had helped kill two ponies, and that caused this thrill she didn’t understand. Apple Bloom was elated at the power and control she had over Diamond Tiara.
For all the times she had made fun of her, she was no match for her and a simple rock. She could have gotten rid of Diamond years ago, and already her mind imagined tossing Silver Spoon in the ditch with them.
“Sugar cube, ya okay?” Applejack asked.
Apple Bloom looked at her sister, who had dragged Filthy back out of the hole. She had hogtied him, and the stallion was taking wheezy breaths.
“Yeah, sis,” she replied.
Applejack handed her a rope, and she got to work. Apple Bloom used some simple square knots to tie all four of her hooves together. She then took the extra length of rope and tied it around Diamond’s head, jamming the rope tightly into her mouth, gagging her. She watched her sister kick Filthy into the ditch. Apple Bloom kicked Diamond in the spine, causing her to wake up and squeal. She struggled against the ropes and moaned into the rope gag.
Apple Bloom laughed at her. “Who is the worthless blank flank now? Ya treated us like crap and now ya will reap what ya sowed.”
Diamond was crying as the pain of her wounds and the tight ropes registered with her brain. She felt another wave of agony in her ribs as she was kicked, and landed in the bottom of the hole. She began to whimper for her mother.
Apple Bloom grimaced as she saw the filly whimpering in the ditch. “Do we have ta do it this way?”
Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder. “Yeah, sis, it works better if they’re alive for it. Don’t feel bad though. They always cry and piss before they die. It’s the only way left for ‘em ta try to make us feel bad, but we’re just doin’ what we have ta.”
She grabbed a shovel from behind the tree and started scooping dirt on top of Filthy while Apple Bloom followed suit with Diamond Tiara. After each scoop she looked down at the filly who had tormented her for her whole life. With each shovel of soil a weight was lifted from Apple Bloom’s shoulders. Applejack was right, and she no longer felt pity for the evil pony. This was what they deserved for their torment and extortion. Besides, this meant that every nice pony would get to enjoy even more Zap Apple jam this year.
Diamond was squirming erratically in the ditch. Blood trickled from her head and when dirt landed on her ribs, she would scream into the gag. She was looking up at the edge of the pit, trying to make eye contact with Apple Bloom. Diamond tried to convey to the pony at the top of the hole she was sorry, but it was too late. With each scoop that landed on her, she would whimper and stare upwards with wide eyes.
At this point her hind legs and chest were covered in dirt. Apple Bloom had waited as long as she could, and finally dumped a scoop on her face. Diamond began to choke and cough. The dirt in her eyes made it difficult for her to look up at her captor. When the next scoop fell, Apple Bloom saw small holes form in the dirt where she was breathing. As she inhaled and exhaled, small gaps in the soil formed. She tried to shake the dirt off but only inhaled more of it. Diamond finally gave up. The dirt was still, save for the rise and fall of her chest, and the two small air holes.
Apple Bloom’s earlier adrenaline rush had faded. The experience had been great, and now she only found herself feeling empty. There were still other mean ponies out there that deserved this, and she still hadn’t found her cutie mark.
She shoveled in the rest of the dirt. The hole was just a hole now, with no sign of the filly at the bottom. Once it was filled up, she jumped up and down, packing the dirt in.
Apple Bloom looked at her big sis and wiped a tear from her cheek. “We tried, but ah guess it wasn’t ma talent,” she explained.
Applejack laughed and pointed at her flank. “Are ya sure about that, sis?”
Apple Bloom turned around and saw a brightly colored zap apple on her flank. She gasped, and turned to check her other flank just to make sure.
“Ah did it!”
“Ya sure did, sis! Ya fertilized yer first Zap Apple orchard. Now, Big Mac ought ta be done with Filthy’s wife by now. Ya want to go see if Vinyl and Octavia want to come over for lunch?” Applejack asked.
Apple Bloom realized what that meant and smiled. “I sure do!”
Apple Bloom hugged her sister and whispered ‘thank you’ into her ear. The two then trotted off towards their house.
No sooner had the exited the orchard she saw Sweetie and Scootaloo waiting. They had eaten most of the snacks on the table, and rushed over to her.
“Oh my gosh! You got your cutie mark!” Sweetie cheered.
“That’s so awesome! It’s almost like Dash’s!” Scootaloo shouted.
“Yeah, ah got it fertilizin’ the Zap Apple trees!” Apple Bloom replied.
Sweetie managed to tilt her head and raise an eyebrow in confusion without laughing. “Fertilizing?”
Scootaloo collapsed laughing on the ground. “C-cutie—mark—crusader. . .” She gasped for air. “F-fertilizers!”
Sweetie snickered and shook her head. “Come on, it’s not that funny. Now, do you use cow or pig manure?”
Scootaloo couldn’t help but laugh even louder, despite Sweetie’s question being serious.
Apple Bloom was frowning and huffed at them. “If it’s so funny, maybe both y’all can help me fertilize some trees and ah can show ya how ah got it.”
Applejack trotted up and interrupted them. “Come on now, Crusaders, run along. Apple Bloom and ah aren’t done here yet and we’re expecting company.”
“Yes, Applejack.” Sweetie nudged Scootaloo and herded her off the farm back towards town.
Applejack and Apple Bloom watched them leave just as Vinyl and Octavia arrived. Soon would come the lightning, and the timberwolves howling at the smell of the decaying ponies. Then, they would harvest the zap apples.