Chapter 1
The thousand injuries of Rarity I had borne as best I could; but when she ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge...
"I can't tell you how grateful I am that you called me, Applejack. I don't think even Upper Crust himself has ever tasted real Appletillado."
"Yeah, well... I knew that only someone with your refined tastes would appreciate it, Rarity."
The two ponies headed down another flight of stairs and deeper into the Apple Cider vaults. Torches, lit earlier, shined brightly in the darkness to illuminate their path. Their heat masked the cold from the snow just above.
Rarity cast her eyes up sadly. The damp was already getting to her mane, causing it to droop slightly. Oh well, a small sacrifice for as fine a drink as real Appletillado! When Applejack had told her, she'd rushed over as quickly as she could. For heaven's sake, she hadn't even brought a hat, a decision that was haunting her now. "Applejack, would you mind terribly if I ran back to the boutique? My mane..."
"Shoot, Rarity. I'd forgotten. Sure, go ahead and run off. Besides, I should really have someone else taste it first, just to make sure. I wouldn't want to get you all excited unless it was real Appletillado. Maybe Rainbow Dash. She knows her ciders pretty well."
Rarity raised her nose. "Hmph! Rainbow Dash couldn't tell a Merlot from a bottle of Mane Straightener. Let us continue."
"Whatever you say."
They continued on a while, their only company the clopping of their hooves echoing on the walls. They passed a relatively new section of wall, but Rarity paid it no mind. Mason work had never impressed her. Rarity again broke the silence. "Applejack, I don't mean to pry..."
"By all means, pry away." The orange earth pony replied, not bothering to stop or turn her head.
"Well, how do you know it's an Appletillado? It extremely rare, you know."
"You've mentioned. From what I understand, Granny Smith acquired it years ago and just forgot about it."
"Ah, Granny Smith. I am sorry that I missed the funeral..."
"Think nothin' of it. I know how busy you can be, Ponyville's premiere seamstress and all."
"Be that as it may, I should've at least..."
"Anyway, I read about the cask in her will. I figured you and I could share a glass and decide what to do with the rest."
"Oh." Rarity's mind spun at the possibilities. With a cask of real Appletillado, she could really secure a spot with Canterlot's elite. She'd be the literal toast of the town. Immediately, she began formulating exactly how drunk she would have to get the young farmer to purchase the entire cask. Hopefully not too drunk. Appletillado was dreadfully scarce.
She hadn't been thinking long when Applejack stopped suddenly. Rarity looked past her and saw an alcove built into the wall. It went too deep into the darkness to see very far inside. If there was a barrel of anything in there, she would have to be closer to inspect it.
"Just in there." Applejack motioned with her head into the alcove.
"Well... alright then. Let's have a look." Shaking off the uneasiness, Rarity walked past Applejack and into the alcove, lighting her horn to light the way. Once in the alcove, she narrowed her eyes in confusion. The alcove was just deep enough for her to get all the way in. The ceiling was just high enough that it didn't touch her mane. There was no cask of anything here; just a bare wall.
The light from her horn glinted off of something.
"Are those... chains?"
"Yes. Yes they are."
Applejack's voice was right behind her. The alabaster unicorn spun just in time to see the back hooves of the Element of Honesty bucking straight into her forehead.
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The low scraping sound slowly seeped its way into her mind. The darkness gave way to colors, first blurred then crystal clear. A dull pain thudded in her forehead, and she reached up... feeling the jagged edge of her broken horn. "My... my horn..." She muttered groggily.
"Yeah, sorry about that. But I couldn't have you magickin' your way out then, could I?"
As her vision cleared, Rarity focused on Applejack. The scraping sound she'd heard had been the scrape of the trowel Applejack was using to lay mortar and bricks along the alcove entrance. The young farmer was working hard, her coat already slick with sweat. The new wall was four stacks high, and soon the fifth would be done. "Applejack... what are you doing?"
"You had a bit too much to drink. It had a little more kick than you were expectin' I imagine. I've been trying to talk you into leaving, but you'll have none of it. So, I'll just have to leave you."
"But I don't want to stay here." Rarity was still quite groggy and not sure what was going on. "Here, I'll leave..." The unicorn stood on wobbly legs and tried to move past the wall, but found herself unable to continue. Something was holding her back. She turned her head slowly... and found chains tied around her midsection.
The chains were attached to the wall.
The wheels began to turn more quickly in Rarity's head, and she began to hyperventilate. Everything suddenly became shockingly clear, as did the sharp pain where he horn was supposed to be.
"There you go. I was wondering how long it would take you to catch on."
"But... but Applejack, why?"
"Why?" For just a moment, she turned from her work and gazed coldly into Rarity's eyes. The trowel moved to the corner of her mouth. "I've had to put up with your little jabs and insults for years, Rarity. Insults about my upbringing, my lifestyle, even about my family."
"Playful jests and nothing more! Hardly a reason to wall me up in the cider cellar! For Celestia's sake, Applejack let me loose..."
"Maybe they were just 'playful jests' to you, but what you did to Big Macintosh was anything but playful."
Rarity's mouth dropped. "He... he told you?"
"Not directly, no." Applejack returned to her work, now laying the sixth layer. "But he left it all in the note."
"Note?"
"His suicide note."
The stunned silence that followed lasted until Applejack began work on the seventh layer. She made sure to leave a single brick out of place.
"When did it happen?" Rarity's voice was a whisper.
"Three days ago. It's a miracle that the rafters in the barn didn't break from his giant mass hangin' from 'em."
"Applejack, why didn't you tell anypony?"
The orange pony snorted. "Air our dirty laundry to the masses? No thank you. This is a family matter."
"What... what did he say happened?"
"He pretty much laid everything out. Didn't leave much room for doubt. After I read it, I knew what had to be done." For a second time, Applejack paused. Her eyebrows raised in genuine interest. "Why, Rarity? Why'd you do it?"
"It wasn't anything." Rarity cast her eyes down. "He was drunk. I was drunk..."
"Is that what you told him? That you would have to be drunk to be with somepony like him?"
"No! Well, not in those exact words..."
Applejack shook her head and resumed her work. The seventh layer was soon complete.
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs. "SOMEPONY PLEASE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"
"Nopony can hear you, so save your breath. Snow's too deep. By the time Winter Wrap Up rolls around, you probably won't have strength enough to even scream."
"This isn't fair, Applejack! How was I supposed to know he'd take it so badly?!"
"We'd just lost Granny Smith! We don't have a lot of family to begin with, and you took advantage of him at his lowest!"
"I know you're grief stricken, dear, but Macintosh is hardly blameless in all this..."
"He fell for you, you...you... hussy!" Applejack paused halfway through the eighth layer. She snorted in anger. "He thought he'd finally found somepony who cared, somepony who could take care of him in times of need. And you just shut him down completely. Didn't even let him down softly. Hmph, some Element of Generosity you are."
"We all have moments of weakness. It was Macintosh's own fault that he fell for me..."
"Vain 'til the end. Figures." Shaking her head sadly, Applejack resumed working.
"How do you plan on explaining this to the others? To Sweetie Belle?" Rarity did her best to keep the panic out of her voice.
She was failing. Miserably.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Wrote a nice long letter explaining how you and Macintosh eloped and set out to find your new home. After that, everyone'll just assume that you both are too happy to even bother with your friends back home. As to Sweetie Belle... I'm sure she'll be fine."
Rarity sniffed indignantly, noting that only two layers of bricks remained. Her time was running out. "Alright, Applejack. This has gone far enough. Your attempts at humor are quite morbid, I have to admit. Come, let us retire to the farm-house and get this whole business settled like civilized ponies."
"Oh, I dunno." Applejack replied, starting work on the final layer. "I think we're settling just fine right here."
The coolness and certainty in Applejack's voice finally caused Rarity's mind to snap completely. She lunged at the wall and scraped at it as a rat would scratch at a trap. "FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, APPLEJACK!"
"Yes, for the love of Celestia." Applejack returned, placing the last brick in the top row. "And for the love of family."
The wall was completed. All that remained was the final brick, and the alcove would be sealed for all time.
Applejack peered into the hole, into the darkness. "Rarity?"
The only response was the clopping of hooves, as though they were dancing.
Shaking her head, the earth pony laid the mortar and placed the final stone in its place.
Silence.
Applejack breathed deep and reached a hoof up. Using her hat, she wiped her brow free from sweat and re-hid the remaining mortar and bricks. She reached down and grabbed the broken stub that had been a unicorn's horn in her mouth. She reached up as high as she could go and placed it on a little out-cropping of brick. It was the only marker Rarity would have.
The only one she deserved.
Her need for vengeance sated, Applejack headed back upstairs, dousing the torches as she went. Nopony ever came down this deep. Nopony would ever know. She glanced sideways at the other newly constructed wall, the one that Rarity had passed without a second thought. Hanging from it was a harness she knew well.
"Rest easy, brother." She whispered. Without another word, she resumed the trek back up into the unforgiving cold of winter.
For the half of a century, nopony has disturbed her. In pace requiescat!