Pies and Knives

It's not a party without Applejack!

       I held the wrench with a grip so firm with confidence, and already felt the thrill coarse through my body and tingle inside my head! I couldn't believe I forgot how good this feels, and I haven't even done anything yet! It's been at least a few months since I last hurt someone... now I remember why it was such a rush. It's excitement, it's anticipation, and it's a bunch of nervousness rolling around in your stomach before it's released into your arms, which gives you that short second of strength that delivers the killing blow. Enough of the fantasies, time to make this party begin!

       I hold the wrench out and show it to him. "You ready?" He wants to scream, I can tell, but he's tuckered himself out, and is too exhausted to cry any longer. Without his vocalized disapproval, I bring the wrench out with a wide swipe backward, then swiftly and quickly bring it up and crack it against his jaw, following through up to the sky and back down to my hip. I underestimated my first hit and accidentally knocked over the chair, where he hit his head again, this time knocking him out. I got down and started shaking him. Repeating the phrase "no" several times with disbelief. "Already?" I ask. "We didn't even finish with the wrench yet! Oh for God's sake! Now what? Do I wait for you to wake up?" I'm asking an unconscious pony tied to a chair what I should do. Maybe that's why I get so lonely.

       To my surprise, there's a knock on the barn door. I swirl my head around with wide eyes. It shocks me, and I drop the wrench to sprint over to the door. I opened it with just a creak, because no matter who it was, they couldn't see what I had just done. Through the crack of the opened door, I could see bright yellow skin and pink rolling hair. It was Fluttershy. Of course it was, she always liked to show up at the worst times, bless her sweet heart. "Hey-a Fluttershy. What brings you to my ol' barn?" She looks up at its immense size, always surprised by the height of the structures I build. She's so proud of me even though I don't ask her to be. "Wow, well, there's this party going on in town and I didn't see you there. So, I wanted to see what you were doing."

       I didn't feel like talking at the moment, so I tried rushing the conversation with small talk. "I'm just hanging out! Nothing too crazy! Say, you were at the party? I thought you were one to always stay home!" She shined a bashful smile at me. "Well, you know Applejack, I do sometimes have a wild side to me. You've never seen me when I've turned into a full party animal!" I didn't believe her. In fact, I think she's never been a "party animal" once in her life. She even shies away from Pinkie's Super-Pink Fizzy Drinks that get you buzzed and dizzy. After a second, she pushed our talk further with an invitation.

       "Well, if you're not too busy, maybe you'd like to head down to the party with me! Of course... it's okay if you're in the middle of something." I shook my head. "Sorry, no-can-do! I'm uh, building me a new shed to replace the old one. Yup, it will take a few days. No time for me to be-a partyin'." She looked sad after I said that. I didn't feel bad about it though, I don't feel bad for people who bother me. "So yeah, but thanks for stopping by, Flutter-Butter! Very kind of you to consider me, but I'll have to skip the party tonight. Tell Pinkie and Twilight I said hi if you see them! Now I'll be back to my work, see ya around!" I quickly pulled myself back inside but she didn't quit.

       "Do you think I could see it?" Her asking caught me off guard. "See what?" She giggled at me. "The new shed you're building, silly!" I made a weird nervous cluck with my throat, then stuttered out, "Oh - uh, well it's not... finished quite yet." She paid no attention to my anxious tone. She probably mistook it for me being too embarrassed to show it incomplete. "That's okay! I just like seeing what you build, I don't mind if it's not done yet. I know those things take time!" I start to feel more nervous and irritated, so I mutter to her "I'll show you when I'm done, okay? Now get on to that party of yours, I don't want you to miss it. Guh-bye, Fluttershy!"

        I slam the door close, and walk back to the unconscious man who is sleeping on the floor, tied to the same sharp chair as before. The rope around him is getting looser. I should probably replace it now. Just as I grab a loop of rope off one of the hooks on the wall, I hear a creaking sound, like what a door sounds like being opened slowly. I make this connection immediately, and my body pumps adrenaline to my legs so that I can sprint back and stop it before it's too late. Unfortunately for me, and unfortunately for Fluttershy, it was too late.

       I lunged for the door but I fell short of it and was unable to push it back. She opened the door wide, and the shine of sunlight flooded the room and revealed the terrifying scene that had been hiding behind the giant red-painted hinges all along. She could see the man's deformed mouth, shifted to the side where the joint had snapped. She could see the blood leaking from his nose, staining the hay a dark shade, and the musk of rust and metal wafted in the damp cold air. The shock was enough to paralyze her. She started flapping her wings getting ready to fly away as fast as she could. Her feet held a different plan: The plan to run as fast as possible. These two different strategies clashed in her head. The indecisiveness led her to not move at all, staying frozen in place, with her feet stubbornly planted in the ground.

       "Fly Fluttershy! Fly!" her body probably screamed. "Run! Why aren't you running?!" This internal conflict stirred in her head, and she hadn't even noticed the pain in her leg, where I had struck her in the knee. She fell on her chin, and just like with the other pony, I dragged her into the biting cold of my lovely barn. The moonlight gave her a soft kiss before she had the time to say goodbye, and she vanished along with the chirping of the birds and the chittering of the bugs.