Big Mac stared off into the rolling hills of the Sweet Apple Acres, remembering the days of his foalhood. Ghost images of a young Applejack leaving him behind for a better life, teaching baby Apple Bloom how to plant the seeds just right, dragging that heavy plow around the field all day, only to be refreshed by AJ's happy voice as they all sat down for dinner. A single tear rolled down his muzzle, tickling his nose. Big Mac closed his eyes and turned away, trying to set up a dam in his mind to hold back the flood of tears that threatened to break through.

"Hey, Big Mac?" a soft voice sounded behind the large red colt. "You okay?"

Big Mac turned to see his good friend Caramel behind him, a worried look in his eyes. "I-I'm fine," he stuttered, brushing the tears from his eyes. "Just got dust in my eye, that's all. Eeyup, dust."

The buff earth pony was slightly surprised when he heard his friend chuckle lightly. "Mac, you don't have to act so tough when I'm here. I know you're justa big softie..." Caramel stepped next to Big Macintosh, pressing against his flank. "It'll be alright, buddy. Applejack's pickin' apples in the sky with Momma and Pop now."

The two farmer colts stared at the sky as the sun rose steadily into the air. If one looked hard enough, they could almost see the shadow of the great Princess Celestia against the huge yellow ball of fire. As always, Caramel's girl-ish mannerisms set Big Mac off a little, causing him to feel awkward as the colt pressed against him. However, the warm feeling of a smaller, daintier body next to him made him feel as if Applejack was there instead, happily watching Applebloom playing with her friends, or going on about stories of Momma and Pop.

Big Mac sighed. "You're right, like always." he mumbled. "Ah shouldn't feel so sad, AJ would want me to be happy, wouldn't she?" he glanced at Caramel.

"Sure she would!" he said, a bounce in his voice as he tried to cheer his friend up. He got silent for a moment, then turned and looked Big Mac in the eye. "So, what are you gonna do?"

The red colt was confused for a moment. "Whad'ya mean, what am I gonna do? Not much I can do but continue workin' on the farm."

Caramel shook his head, slightly annoyed. "No, ya big feather brained foal!" he flicked his tail angrily. "What are ya gonna do about AJ and all of those other ponies? I know you ain't gonna sit there and act sad, you gotta do something about it! Stop reminiscin' and act like the big, fearless colt you always try to look like!"

Big Macintosh felt slightly angered and shocked at Caramel's outburst, but soon saw the truth in his words. "...You're... you're right! I gotta find the horrible pony that did this to my sister and her friends!" With that, Big Mac galloped towards the Ponyville Town square, leaving Caramel in the dust.

As he watched him go, Caramel smiled. "Such a dense colt," he said to himself. "Yet so lovable."

Big Mac was knocking furiously on Twilight Sparkle's door. "Twi, hey, Twi!" he yelled. "Are ya there? TWI!" He banged his large hooves harder on the door, nearly breaking the whole thing to splinters.

The door swung wide open. "It's just after sunrise, Mac! What in Equestria do you want?" a sleepy Twilight Sparkle rubbed at her eyes and yawned widely.

"Twilight, I need your help." Big Mac stated. "You see, you're one of the last two ponies left of that group of friends y'all were in, an' Rarity isn't as... emotionally stable as you, so Ah need your help in findin' who that murderer is."

"Well that's very... ambitious of you, Big Mac, but the police are already working on that. Also, did you really have to come up with this plan so early in the morning?"

Twilight was slightly surprised as Big Mac snorted angrily. "The police ain't doin' manure 'round here! Besides, I'll never let it go if I don't do somethin' to avenge AJ! C'mon Twi, you know you wanna help me."

Twilight glanced behind her into the library, lost in thought for a moment. She turned back to Big Mac. "Fine." she answered. "Though I still think it's a better idea to leave the investigating to the police, but I guess helping them can't hurt."

The big red colt grinned. "Thank ya kindly, Twilight. I need your brains and you need my strength, so it'll work out just fine."

Twilight hesitated before responding. "Yeah." she said finally. The two ponies slipped into the library, the door slamming shut behind them. Twilight motioned for Big Mac to sit on a cushion near the center of the room. He sat down, getting comfortable. Spike scurried down the stairs, an eager smile on his face. For a moment, Big Mac though it odd that the baby dragon didn't ask what was going on. Maybe Twilight and him had some sort of connection, who knows?

Twilight Sparkle's horn began to glow brightly, and Big Mac suddenly found himself bound and gagged, afloat in the air by Twilight's magic. His eyes widened as she went into panic, trying to thrash his hooves around to break free of the ropes that held him. The cotton rag stuffed in his mouth teased at his uvula, causing him to cough and gag against it.

Twilight sat down in front of him, watching as Spike hurriedly took a shot filled with a large dose of an anesthesia and stuck it into Big Mac's side. The colt's eyes rolled back and he slowly slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

---

What felt like not more than two minutes later, Big Mac groggily woke up in some unknown room. He was strapped to a gurney that was cold to the touch with dark stains across the straps. A disgusting smell emitted from it, like urine and vomit alike. There was a sort of feeling coming from the gurney, it felt like a mixture of fear and pleasure. It was a weird emotion that toyed with Big Mac's brain, so he soon turned his attention to what else was around him.

It was very, very bright. Several lights were aimed at him, blinding him. He couldn't see anything but white if he tried to look further than his gurney, so he might as well been in the dark. Big Mac squirmed in the straps, yelping as they dug into his skin painfully. He was a pretty strong colt, but these were much too tight.

Panic shot though Big Mac's body again as he realized the numbness he felt below his waist. He tried to move his leg, anything, even just barely flex a muscle, but he couldn't. The colt could barely tell if he had legs anymore.

Gulping down his fear, Big mac called out to the whiteness, "Hello?"

A familiar voice answered him. "Oh, look who's woken up finally!" The lights flickered out, shrouding the room in darkness. A single, dim light bulb came to life on the ceiling, lighting up a small space. Twilight sparkle entered the light. Tight black elastic gloves covered her forelegs all the way to the knees. She had her mane pulled back into a messy bun behind her head, long needles sticking out of it. her eyes were dark and bloodthirsty. A black apron was tried tightly around her body, the threads swinging by her sides as her walked. As much as Big Mac hated to admit it, Twilight Sparkle looked beautiful in her rage.

Horn glowing dimly, Twilight stared at Big Macintosh. She smirked slightly, as if she could read his thoughts, and sat down. "Big Mac, please don't panic. Save that for later. For now, I want you to relax."

Horrified thoughts and suspicions ricocheted in his mind, and his whole body was shivering under the straps of the gurney. He couldn't possibly relax now!

Twilight either didn't notice his fear or chose to ignore it. "I've got a story to tell you."

---
[Twilight's point of view]

"What do you mean you didn't kill them?" I roared at the started griffin in front of me. "I saw you! You has plenty of chances to kill Rainbow Dash! The party!" I paced back and forth, Gilda cowering in the door way. "You had several chances at the party!" I stopped and turned back to her. "I though you said he had Pinkie Pie 'taken care of'?"

"W-well, I thought I did! She dropped several miles out of the sky, for fuck's sake!" she stammered.

I rolled my eyes. "You should have tried harder. The Princess used the best engineering to make her and the other four the ultimate warriors. She won't die from a simple fall."

Gilda opened and closed her mouth, but couldn't come up with how to respond. I frowned, starting to pace again. "You don't know about that, do you? What did the Princess tell you, anyway?"

"That those five had to be killed and disposed of soon. She wouldn't tell me why, though."

I sighed. "When the Princess hears of your mistakes she'll be very upset, you know. I might as well tell you why you were sent off to kill them, before she punishes you." I glanced at Gilda. She looked much less frightening when she was frightened herself. If the Princess had seen her like this before, she never would have hired her. "Several years ago, the Princess became aware of Luna's threat to break free from the moon and cast eternal night. She knew she'd have to defeat Luna somehow. But, being the Princess she is, decided it wouldn't be her that defeats her."

Gilda spoke up. "I thought Princess Celestia was the strongest unicorn in all of Equestia?"

I nodded. "She is, but she's not one to fight. She didn't care for her younger sister, Luna wasn't even important enough to her to have the satisfaction of finally meeting Celestia in battle. So, she called forth the wives of her five strongest guards. Using her very powerful celestial magic, the Princess impregnated each mare with a specially designed child that would grow up to be the Elements of Harmony. When the fillies were born, Celestia quickly had them planted in families in Ponyville, where they could grow up together without any special treatment. That way, the Elements would be the most pure." I stopped and looked at Gilda. "Do you follow?"

She nodded slightly, obviously surprised with my story. I continud.

"Several years after that, Luna broke free. The Elements fought her, along with I, and turned her back to her normal self. But that's where things go wrong. You see, the original plan was to kill Luna. There's no need for her, and she has a disorder of some kind where she sort of goes crazy if she doesn't get attention. I know what you're thinking, why can't we just try to kill Luna again, instead of the Elements? Well, the Princess hates imperfection. Those warriors were made to do one thing, and they failed. Not only did they do that, but they also came with a long list of glitches. Schizophrenia, paranoia, multiple personality disorder, things like that." I swung around and face Gilda. "You were sent out to terminate them. You failed. You will most surely die next."

"B-but, why do we have to kill them? Why can't we just leave them be?" Gilda asked.

"They were created with the Princess's magic, therefore they are just as powerful if not more than the princess herself. Celestia can't bare to have ponies more powerful than her living."

Gilda gulped, tapping her claws on the floor. "What about Luna? Who's gonna... kill her?"

"Celestia will, but in a very unfair way. Something like stabbing her in her sleep, sawing off her horn and sending her back to the moon, so she won't be able to make food or air with her magic." I answered the question without emotion. Celestia was a bloody ruler behind the scenes, and she was training me to rule over Equestria in the same way. I feel no sympathy for the many ponies lost, they're clearly not important enough to worry about.

Then, the Princess herself burst into the room. Her huge wings were expanded fully, a serious look was carved into her face. Her beautiful long hair mimicked the ocean as it rippled around her face. "Gilda," She started, nearing the terrified griffon. "Did you kill them?"

"N-no," Gilda answered, voice shaking with fear.

Celestia was quite for a moment, then leaned forward a little more. "Sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly." She said, dangerous laughter in her voice. "What was that?"

"I... I failed. I'm sorry, Princess."

The princess nodded once. She turned her head to the door way she came through. "Guards!" she called. Three guards hurridly rushed into the room, awaiting their master's order.

"Take her to the chambers."

The three nodded and escorted Gilda from the room. She knew better than to protest, but tears streamed steadily from her eyes as she walked. Celestia turned to me, eyes blazing with anger. "That rat! That lazy, weak, rat!" she spat, sitting down. I was surprised, the Princess rarely sits down in the company of others, even me. She thinks it makes her look weak.

"I'm sorry, Princess. I'll go look for a stronger assassin if you'd li--"

"No. I can't trust anypony outside of castle. The guards aren't nearly strong enough. I need you, Twilight. I teach you only the strongest spells, you've attended the lessons I have in the chambers. Someday, you will follow in my hoofsteps, Twilight, and become the bloody ruler I am today. It's the only way to keep total control."

I gaped at Celestia. "princess, I would never question you, but are you sure I am strong enough?"

She nodded, staring at me with pleading eyes. "Twilight, I need you."

In that moment as I sat with the Princess, I realized how much she trusted me. Here she was, completely vulnerable in the presence of a unicorn she trained herself. Warmth flooding my body, and I smiled at Celestia.

"Anything for you, Princess."

---

"Do you understand, Big Mac?" Twilight asked. Big Mac couldn't answer, but she didn't care. Yawning slightly, the unicorn continued. "While I still have Rarity left to kill, I have big plans for her, the Princess told me to also kill anypony that gets in my way, who might find out the secret. You, Big Mac, are one of those ponies.Seeing as you woke me up early and I had nothing planned for today, I'm going to spend a lot of time on you."

The straps on the gurney became shrouded in a purple glow, and fell off Big Mac's body like dying snakes. Big Mac flopped to the ground, holding himself up with his forelegs, his back legs laying uselessly behind him. Twilight grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him into the darkness, her glowing horn the only light. She put his hooves into cuffs, having him hang upside down from the chains. Big Mac spit out the cloth, the gravity making it easier. He promptly vomited, the chunky liquid covering his face and dripping onto the floor. He coughed and yelled for help. Twilight didn't react, she just sat and watched in amusement as big mac panicked, swinging from his chains.

"No pony can hear you." she stated after a while. "I put a spell on this place. This is Applejack's cellar, you know. You're going to die in your dead sister's cellar."

Big Mac shook her head, "No, don't do this Twilight. I'll... I can help you! I won't tell a soul, I swear."

Twilight laughed dryly. "For some odd reason, I don't trust you on that, Big Mac. If you don't mind, I'm going to begin now." Spike entered the very dim light, holding a knife. The knife was huge and curved, the blade stained with dark splotches. "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing."

Twilight snatched the knife from Spike, and swung her foreleg around in a wide arch. Big Mac gasped at the blade cut his side. Twilight continued the slashing, moving with a warrior-like grace. She looked like a beautiful samurai, but a dangerous one.

White lines crisscrossed Big Mac's vision as the pain burned through his body. He gasped and whimpered and yelped with each slash, each cut, tears mixing with the vomit on his face and dripping down into the disgusting mixture beneath him.

After a while, Twilight stopped. She was breathing heavily, sweat making her fur damp. She laughed hard and long, a manic sounding guffaw. "Oh, this makes me feel so alive!" she breathed, handing the knife to Spike. She got seriously quickly. "We have to move him and finish this before he dies of blood loss." As she spoke, Twilight used her magic to free the colt. He floated limply over to a small bench, where her was tied down again.

The puddle of vomit, tears, and blood alike was scooped into a small pail, and set on Big Mac's chest. Twilight neared him, holding up the bucket, smiling widely. Big Mac clamped his mouth shut, shaking his head. "Open uuup, Big Mac!" Twilight cooed. Big Mac refused.

"Fine. Then I'll just have to force you to. SPIKE!" Spike scuttled to her side. "Star the pendulum."

Spike nodded and hurried into the darkness, metal clanks and rope whooshing through the air was heard, and suddenly a huge, curved blade was lowered form the ceiling. Big mac stared at it, shivering in the straps. The blade began to swing back and forth, very slowly. Twilight backed away and watched quietly. As it swung, it neared the ground more and more. Big Mac whimpered, but still refused to open his mouth. The pendulum swished through the air, not two inches from Big Mac's chest.

Twilight gasped, then giggled, as the blade made it's first contact with Big Mac. He moaned and squirmed, but the straps held him tight. In his absolute fear, Big Mac relieved himself, foul smelling yellow liquid dripping down his useless back legs. Finally, her opened his mouth. "F-fine! Just, stop that thing!"

Twilight nodded to Spike, who pulled on a rope that caused the blade to stop and raise back into the darkness above. Twilight brought the bucket to where Big Mac's urine streamed off his leg. She held it there until it began to drip very slowly, then swished the bucket around and shoved it into the colt's face. "Drink."

Big Mac maoned and stared at the repulsive mix. He could drink it, or he could die under that huge, swinging blade.

"You're going to die anyway," Twilight said suddenly, as if she could read his mind. "Just do as I say and you'll live for a few more hours."

The red colt gulped, sweat trickling down his brow. Twilight became impatient, and stuck her hoof into his mouth, opening it up widely. Big Mac thrashed and gurgled as the mizture was dumped into his mouth. It tasted disgusting and smelled of despair and death. As Twilight poured the liquid down his throat, Big Mac vomited several times. The chunky goo covered the two ponies, but Twilight never stopped. Finally, the horrified and disgusted red colt swallowed the last mouthful, holding back another wave of nausea. Twilight smiled triumphantly.

Using her magic, she gather the stray vomit back into the bucket, but instead of forcing it down Big Mac's throat again, she handed it to Spike. "Ready the pool."

Spike scurried away. Big Mac wanted to cry and scream and go running home to is Momma, but he can't now. He knew he was going to die. That was Big Mac's last thought as a weight came crashing down on his skull, and blackness overwhelmed him.

---

Big Mac was awaken to the feeling of cold water enveloping him. Thrashing around, Big mac soon realized her was in a small cage. If he sat down (At this point, 'sitting down' meant putting his upper body weight on the twisted and limp back legs that crumpled beneath him.) his muzzle just barely rose out of the water. Sucking in a breath, the colt listened to Twilight begin to talk from some corner of the area.

"Big Mac, I'd like to tell you that you are almost completely unsafe in every way at the moment."

"Ah figured already, you rotten--"

"Silence! I will not have you insulting me when you are in my chambers!" Twilight barked. "Big Mac, you are in a pool. A pool filled with filthy sewage, with a hint of your own urine and vomit. You're going to stay here for a few hours, while I go have some lunch and converse with the ponyfolk. They will notice if I'm gone all day, won't they? Scream all you want, Big Mac," Twilight added as the colt began hollering and shouting for help. "Nopony can hear you. Magic, duh." With that, Twilight Sparkle and Spike swiftly left the room, leaving Big mac in the pitch black, swimming in his own vomit.

He wondered if maybe he went to sleep, he'd drown. He probably would, and then he wouldn't have to feel anymore pain. He clenched his teeth at the burning in his chest. The huge gash that cut from his chin to his pelvis was festering in the filthy water, and he knew that it would get infected and kill him, if he could make it through this. He doubted he could even make it until Twilight got back.

Suddenly, Big Mac though of something. If he were to die now, Twilight wouldn't be able to play any more 'games' (That he would be alive to experience) that she enjoyed so much. It would make her so mad... and that's the best way of revenge Big Mac could think of.

As he relaxed slightly, the colt realized how tired he actually was. The blood loss was making him dizzy and woozy, and all he really wanted to do was drift off into a peaceful sleep. As he slowly closed his eyes, Big Mac whispered into the empty, wet darkness; "I'll see you soon, sister." His eyes shut heavily and his body crumpled, his head dipping under the water. At first, his instincts made him panic and struggle, but soon he just simply drifted off, leaving the horrible torture and filthy water and memories behind.

---

Meanwhile, Rarity was smiling at Twilight Sparkle who was standing at her door. "How may I help you, Twilight, dear?" she asked.

Twilight grinned. "I'd like to look at some dresses. A funeral gown, for Rainbow Dash's upcoming ceremony." Each of the Elements had had their own ceremony over the past weeks. In each ceremony, the ponies' necklace that represented their Element was polished and sat on a coffin filled with pictures and such of the deceased (the ponies' bodies were sent to Canterlot for 'experiments'). Some ponies might say that the pendants glowed slightly, with an almost urgent feeling around them. As if they knew a horrible secret and had to tell everypony, but no pony would listen.

Rarity nodded. "I've been working on those..." she started, but trailed off. Princess Luna was sitting in the very center of the main room, a angry look in her eyes. Twilight bowed deeply in respect for the Princess, but ground her teeth as she did so. She hated giving anypony respect besides her master, Princess Celestia. Luna was a fluke, anyway. She should have never been born. She was birthed of unlawful blood, a bastard child. All of the royals loathed her behind her back.

Luna looked at Rarity, her eyes glinting. Rarity acted as if she heard words from that simple glance, and quickly turned to Twilight. "I'm sorry, Twilight, dear," she said mechanically, "but I cannot be of service to you at the moment. Please come back another time, dear."

Twilight frowned. "What do you mean? You were just--"

"I said, I can't be of service to you."

"But--"

"GET OUT! Can't you take a fuckin' order?" a loud and assertive voice boomed throughout the cottage. Twilight turned to Luna, surprised, but Rarity flinched and refused to look at the princess.

"Princess?" Twilight said. "Princess, when did you start--"

"Get out, before I throw you out. Can't you tell Rarity doesn't want you in here?"

Rarity piped up, her voice weak. "Princess, you really don't have to be so rude to Twilight. I can take care of myself."

Luna rolled her eyes. "You can't take care of shit" she spat. Turning back to Twilight, the princess continued. "And you better get your purple ass out of here before I do something you might regret."

Twilight's rage flared in her stomach, engulfing her in an intense heat. Deep inside, she wanted to kill her. She wanted to torture her slowly, cut off her limbs one by one. However, Luna is much too strong for her. She could never take her down. Instead, twilight nodded once and left the cottage, painfully ignoring the thumps and whimpers emitting from it as she left. She knew she planned to kill Rarity eventually, so she shouldn't care if she gets abused, but she wanted to burn and cut that Luna so bad, it almost hurt.

"One day," she whispered. "One day..."