Life in Allspark Wells

by The FraudulentBrit

The Imperator and the Farm Girl

Lying on her bed, Applejack stared at the white ceiling. The teenaged farm girl wasn’t fixing her eyes on anything in particular. Instead, she just stared off into the blank void.

Of course, Applejack had more than enough reasons to not want to focus on her surroundings and block everything out. For starters, she was not at home on Sweet Apple Acres. Instead, she was in a patient’s room at the Canterlot City mental hospital. Rather than her normal farm girl attire, she was clad in a simple white shirt, pants, and dull gray loafers. Even her body had begun to change, with her skin fading into a light orange, several hairs stood out no matter how much she combed, and large, dark circles had formed under her eyes. If there was any consultation, Applejack was allowed to keep her father’s beloved Stetson, which now rested on her desk next to her schoolwork.

“Ugh, schoolwork.” Applejack groaned to herself. Slowly rising up from her bed, she trudged over to the desk as she lamented, “Ah’m stuck in this prison, Ah can’t go home, and Ah still gotta do schoolwork.” Rubbing her temple, she asked herself, “How could this get any worse?”

From behind her, the farmgirl heard a familiar and very raspy voice mockingly reply, “Oh tisk tisk. You really think so little of me?” Groaning in frustration, Applejack turned around to find herself confronted by the sight of a man with gray skin, metal plate armor, a dark purple tunic, and piercing red eyes. Folding his arms, the intimidating man playfully continued, “After all we’ve been through together?”

Glaring at her guest, Applejack growled, “Shut your trap there Megatron! What do you want?” Letting out a hearty chuckle, the former emperor replied, “Oh come now, do I really need a reason to want to, how do you kids put it, “Hang out” with my best friend?” Hearing Megatron call her his “best friend” stung Applejack in her heart, leading her to shout, “You and Ah are not friends!”

Megatron walked up to Applejack and pointed right at her heart as he condescendingly stated, “Oh please, I know you better than anyone else, living, dead or otherwise.” He then pointed directly in between her eyes as he added, “I’ve survived worse places than here.” Applejack tried to push Megatron’s finger out of her face, only for him to move his hand out of the way as she growled, “Shut up!” The disgraced emperor simply narrowed his eyes as he shrugged, “Of course. Whatever helps us sleep at night.”

‘Of course he had to say “us.”’ Applejack thought to herself. Ever since that night all those weeks ago when Megatron first showed his face, he had proven to be a persistent thorn in her side. Just when she thought she could have even a moment’s respite from her therapy sessions or schoolwork, the guttural growl of his voice would ring out or she’d see his face in a mirror or in a drink. Sighing in resignation, Applejack asked, “Ah’m never gettin’ rid of you, am Ah?”

Walking up to the window, Megatron stretched his arms and replied, “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get bored of you someday. Maybe you’ll join me on this side of the Rubicon. Who knows?” All I know is….”

Both Applejack and Megatron were distracted by the sound of someone knocking on her door as a woman’s voice called out, “Excuse me Applejack, but your grandmother and brother are here for their scheduled visit.” Feeling her heart soar (if only slightly), the farm girl replied, “Ok. Ah’ll be right there.” She then turned around as she began, “As for you, you little….”

Applejack found herself staring at an empty space where Megatron had once been. Sighing to herself, the orange farm girl groaned, “Of course he disappears whenever someone Ah need to talk to someone else.” It stumped her that, while the former emperor always bothered her when she was alone, he always seemed to disappear whenever she would be with someone else.

Before she could ponder Megatron’s ethereal nature, the door opened, revealing an orderly with dark brown skin and bright yellow hair. Stepping into the room, the orderly said, “Come on now. Let’s not leave your family waiting.” As much as she was annoyed with Megatron’s messing with her, Applejack couldn’t help but prefer her brother and grandmother’s company.

With a deep breath as a small smile formed across her lips, Applejack made her way towards the orderly as she replied, “Some friendly faces oughta make today a little better.”

Entering the hospital cafeteria, Applejack was pleasantly greeted by the sight of her older brother Big Macintosh and her beloved Granny Smith seated at a far-off table. Taking a deep breath, the orange farm girl thought to herself, ‘Never thought Ah’d be so relieved to see them again.’ Then again, she never thought she’d be in a situation where she’d not be able to see her family every day.

As she closed the distance, the orderly gently reminded Applejack, “Remember, you have twenty minutes. Don’t forget you have a session with Doctor Heartstring in ninety minutes.” The teenaged farm girl let out a sigh of annoyance as she replied, “Ah know. Ah’ll try not to draw this out.”

Sitting down across from her brother and grandmother, Applejack greeted them with a gentle, “Hey guys. How’ve y’all been?” Big Mac was the first to reply to his sister, answering her question with a gentle, “We’re doin’ alright.” He then scratched the back of his neck as he continued, “A bit busy, but alright.”

Intrigued, Applejack asked, “Really? What’s goin’ on?” Before Big Mac could reply, Granny Smith answered with, “We’ve just been a bit overwhelmed at the farm is all. With you here and…” Pausing for a moment as she struggled to find the best way to describe her younger granddaughter, she finished with, “With your sister away, we’ve both had to pick up a lot of slack.”

The moment those words entered Applejack’s ears, the middle Apple sibling found herself overcome by two intrusive thoughts. The first was an external anger aimed at Apple Bloom for not being around to attend to her responsibilities. ‘Grrah. This is all your fault Apple Bloom!’ she thought to herself.

Of course, Applejack knew it wasn’t entirely her sister’s fault. While Apple Bloom may have been the mastermind and driving force behind the Anon-A-Miss incident, she wasn’t the one who couldn’t keep her anger under control, nor was she the one who punched her sister in the face, necessitating the need for a restraining order, in turn leading to her own mental breakdown, thus landing her in the mental hospital in the first place.

Applejack was interrupted from her internal self-reflection by the sound of her brother asking, “You alright there?” Shaking her head, the blonde farm girl replied, “Yeah, Ah’m fine. Ah mean, Ah’m not “fine” fine, but….” Sighing, she shrugged and finished with a simple, “You understand what Ah mean, right?”

Big Mac let out a gentle sigh as he nodded and replied, “Ah understand.” He then asked, “How about you? How you holdin’ up in this place?” Applejack sighed as she answered, “It’s not too bad. Kinda borin’ and the food kinda bland, but Ah can’t really complain.” She then asked, “How long am Ah gonna be here again?”

Granny Smith answered with a dejected and blunt, “Until they say you’re sane again.” She then pointed to her granddaughter’s hands as she continued, “Hopefully by the time you won’t need those bandages anymore.” Upon hearing this, Applejack looked down towards her hands, which were covered in bandages, a reminder of her lashing out at her mirror in her sleep and covering her hands in scars and blood.

Sighing, the teenaged farm girl glumly remarked, “Guess it’ll be a few more weeks then.” She then asked, “So, anything else new?” Big Macintosh let out a gentle chuckle as he answered, “As much as Ah was complainin’ about bein’ overworked, we might actually get some help. Aunt Orange and Babs Seed will be stopping by for a while.”

Applejack was caught completely off guard by this revelation. “No way. Aunt Orange? Why’s she comin’ down from Manehattan?” As Big Mac and Granny Smith shared concerned looks with each other, the family matriarch replied, “Apparently things ain’t goin’ so well up there. The Oranges got caught up in some sort of market crash or somethin’, and while Uncle Orange managed to find another job, he has to go overseas for it. Aunt Orange and Babs will only be stayin’ for a short while until he decides if it’s worth movin’ them over.”

Intrigued by this, Applejack remarked, “Well, hopefully everythin’ will work out.” She then asked, “So, any word from Apple Bloom?”

Before Big Mac could say anything, Granny Smith sternly warned, “Ah told you this last time. We ain’t supposed to talk about your sister with you.” She then folded her arms as she warned, “We don’t want Ironhide gettin’ upset with you again.” Taking this in, Applejack groaned, “Ugh. It ain’t fair!” Rather than show any overt sympathy, the family matriarch simply folded her arms as she reminded her granddaughter, “Ah know. But don’t forget, you brought that on yourself after what you did to her.”

Perhaps that was what hurt Applejack the most. It was already one thing to know that she couldn’t see or talk to her younger sister until her eighteenth birthday (and even then, only if Apple Bloom were in a forgiving mood), but the fact that no one would even talk about her sister just broke Applejack’s heart. To the middle Apple sibling, it was as if Apple Bloom had become a taboo subject.

And of course, Applejack knew that it was all her fault.

As Applejack thought back of how her actions had brought her here, she noticed something darting across the corner of her eye. ‘What the hell is that?’ she thought to herself. As her eyes darted after whatever it was, she found herself greeted by the sight of Megatron, the former emperor leaning against the wall.

“Temper temper.” The gray man mockingly chided Applejack. “You better watch that anger of yours.” He then unsheathed his gladius short sword and began to inspect it as he cruelly added, “Then again, it’s not like you can end up anywhere worse than this place, right?”

Applejack could normally handle Megatron’s cruel insults with little more than a growl of anger or rolling her eyes, but something about him mocking her in front of her family touched a nerve. Giving in to her frustration, the teenaged farm girl shot up to her feet as she furiously called out, “You shut your damn mouth you good for nothin’ jerk!”

Big Mac immediately rose up and rested his hand on his sister’s shoulder as he begged, “Applejack! Calm down!” The orange farm girl shook her head as she replied, “What? Big Mac? What are you…” She then paused as she realized what had happened before turning to face where Megatron had stood, only to see that he had disappeared yet again. Sighing, Applejack apologized, “Sorry about that. Ah was just seein’ him again.”

Big Mac pulled his sister into a hug as he asked, “You still seein’ that nasty brute Megatron?” Hugging her brother back, Applejack sighed as she replied, “Yeah. He just shows up and barks somethin’ at me before vanishin’.” She then lamented, “He’s not even a good conversationalist.” This playful quip was met with a gentle chuckle from her brother and grandmother, something that made Applejack feel a little better.

At that moment, the orderly made her way to the family as she informed them, “I hate to interrupt, but we need to get you ready for your therapy session.” Applejack groaned as she whined, “Come on. Just a few more minutes?” Sadly, the orderly shook her head as she replied, “Sorry, but those are the rules.”

As the middle Apple sibling sighed in resignation, Granny Smith reassured her, “Don’t fret there young lady. We’ll be back soon. Just focus on gettin’ better and you’ll be home by hearth’s warming at the latest.”

Smiling, Applejack replied, “Thanks Granny Smith. Ah love you.” She then threw herself at her grandmother and wrapped her arms around her as the older woman replied, “Ah love you too sugar cube.” As Big Mac joined the group hug, he reassured his sister, “Ah’ll be back soon. You just behave yourself.” Applejack let out a gentle chuckle as she quipped, “When have Ah otherwise?”

With that, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith departed as Applejack followed the orderly to her therapy session with Doctor Heartstring, hoping she could get some respite from Megatron’s meddling.

Lying on the couch as she said everything on her mind, Applejack finished her story with, “And just as Ah turned back around, he was gone again.” Sighing to herself, the blonde farm girl lamented, “Ah still don’t know why Ah keep seein’ him, but he won’t go away and…” Taking a deep breath as a single tear escaped from her eye, Applejack finished with a simple, “Ah’m scared.”

From across the room, a woman with white skin, blue hair up in a bun, a white coat, pink shirt, blue pants, and brown shoes scribbled into her notebook as she replied, “I see. Well, I must admit I’m still surprised by this “Megatron’s” persistence.” Setting the notebook down on her lap, the woman continued, “Has there been anything else bothering you?”

Sitting up, Applejack replied, “Not too much Doctor Heartstring. Mostly, just the same old same old.” The older woman then asked, “And if I may, have you been taking your medication?” The teenaged farm girl replied, “Of course Ah am!” She then hesitated for a moment before apologizing, “Sorry for gettin’ defensive.”

Thankfully, Doctor Heartstring reassured her, “It’s alright dear. I know this whole thing has been difficult for you.” Smiling, Applejack asked, “So does this mean you know what’s wrong with me? Why am Ah seein’ Megatron?”

Sadly, Doctor Heartstring shook her head as she replied, “I have a few theories, but I don’t want to say anything until I’m certain.” As Applejack sat down and pouted, the pale psychologist reassured her patient, “But when I do figure it out, you’ll be the first to know.” The teenaged farm girl smiled as she replied with a simple, “Thanks.”

At that moment, the sound of a bell ringing caught everyone’s attention. Turning to face the source of the noise, Doctor Heartstring lamented, “Oh dear. It seems we’ve run out of time. See you tomorrow?” Nodding, Applejack replied, “See you tomorrow.” She then began to make her way out of the Doctor’s office, all while she thought to herself, ‘And now, time to get ready for mah friends.’

If there was one thing that Applejack didn’t mind about her current predicament, it was the fact that her friends had promised to stop by and visit her every day. On a normal day (especially in more normal circumstances) she’d usually run into her friends sooner or later. If anything, this sort of made the process easier.

Of course, there were a few caveats to everyone coming to her. For starters, they could only show up during visiting hours, which usually meant everyone would only show up right after school. The other issue was the fact that, in spite of making some progress, Applejack couldn’t help but admit to herself she wasn’t the most fun person to be around. ‘Heh, Ah wonder if it’s mah looks or mah temper that’s made me less appealin’ to everyone.’ After all, it took almost a week of begging and vouching from Fluttershy and Rarity for Pinkie Pie to give her old friend another chance after she "accidentally" called her sister Marble Pie "retarded."

Perhaps what hurt Applejack the most was the fact that she knew that at least one bridge was already burnt. Though most of the others had been willing to still be her friend, Rainbow Dash had made it abundantly clear that she wanted nothing more to do with her. Sighing to herself, Applejack lamented, “Ah made her choose between me an’ Scootaloo. Ah don’t blame her for choosin’ her sister over me.”

Still, that didn’t mean she was completely alone. Making her way to a chair in the visitor’s room, Applejack whispered to herself, “At least Rarity, Pinkie, Twi, and Fluttershy are still willin’ to be mah friend.”

After a few minutes of waiting, Applejack was distracted by the familiar sound of Rarity’s voice calling out, “Hello there darling!” Turning around, the orange farm girl found her fashionista friend, clad in a white shirt and purple skirt and boots walking up to her, flanked by Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. As the trio of girls approached their friend, Applejack let out a gentle chuckle as she greeted, “Howdy girls.”

As Rarity pulled Applejack into a hug (one which the latter happily reciprocated), Fluttershy meekly apologized, “Sci-Twi says she’s sorry she couldn’t be here today. She’s busy working on a project with the robotics club.” The infirmed farm girl reassured her friend, “It’s alright. The world don’t revolve around me.”

Once the group made their way to a nearby table, Applejack asked, “So, what’s new with y’all?” Fluttershy was the first to speak up as she replied, “Angel’s been behaving lately. I was able to get him to eat his cauliflower and Brussel sprouts without any complaints.” The middle Apple sibling replied with a surprised, “Really? Ah’m impressed.”

Applejack’s eyes then turned to Pinkie Pie, who was shaking with anticipation. Letting out a gentle chuckle, the pale orange farm girl asked, “Alright there, what’s new with you Pinkie?” The pink girl took a deep breath as she reached for her phone and exclaimed, “Speaking of animals, Marble got a pet parrot, and she is just the cutest!” Presenting her phone, she continued, “Just look at them!”

Taking Pinkie’s phone, Applejack was pleasantly surprised by the sight of a familiar gray girl in a gray turtleneck and a black leather jacket with a bright red scarlet macaw resting on her shoulder. As she began to hand the phone back to her friend, the teenaged farm girl remarked, “Gotta say, Ah didn’t expect Marble to choose somethin’ so colorful.” Nodding, the pink girl replied, “Yeah. Even weirder, the bird, named Scarlett, is quite the talker. Since Marble isn’t quite the talker, it makes them quite the odd couple.”

Applejack then asked, “How’d she decide to get a parrot anyway? Aren’t they like super expensive?” Pinkie Pie answered her friend with, “That’s what I thought, but apparently, she and Sideswipe found her all alone while they were hanging out. Beachcomber said Scarlett may have escaped from some illegal bird traders.” Fluttershy then added, “I hate it when people take animals from the wild and sell them as “exotic” pets.”

However, Applejack wasn’t paying attention to her friend’s remark. Instead, she was struggling to contain her internal frustration. ‘Come on Applejack, don’t do somethin’ you’ll regret.’ She thought to herself. ‘All she did was say her sister and her girlfriend found a parrot together. Doesn’t have anythin’ to do with Apple Bloom other than the coincidence.’

Noticing her friend was tensing up, Rarity asked, “Everything alright darling?” Applejack sighed as she replied, “More or less. Sorry about that. Ah just….” Pausing for a moment so she could take a deep breath, the blonde farm girl explained, “Since Sideswipe is… You know… Ah just needed a moment.”

Taking her friend’s hand, Rarity asked, “Still having angry thoughts about your sister?” Applejack nodded as she lamented, “Yeah. Ah just… Ah don’t know why just thinkin’ about her pisses me off.” She then apologized, “Sorry for soundin’ selfish.”

Fluttershy reassured her friend, “We understand. I know it’s been hard for you after you….” As the yellow animal lover struggled to find the right words, Applejack interrupted with a blunt, “Since Ah went coo coo and ended up here in the looney bin?”

Rarity immediately spoke up, “Now now Applejack, we don’t need you deprecating yourself like that or using such a rude choice of words.” As the blonde farm girl let out a sigh of resignation, the purple haired fashionista reassured her, “We know that you’re not well, but that doesn’t mean you have to insult yourself.” Pinkie Pie then added, “Yeah, especially since we promised we’d be here for you.”

Feeling overjoyed at her friends’ concern for her, Applejack pulled her friends into a tight hug as she exclaimed, “Ah love you girls so much.” Fluttershy was the first to reply with a gentle, “I love you too Applejack.” Rarity was next, tearing up as she declared, “I love you so much darling.” The last was Pinkie Pie, who began to bleed tears as she cried out, “I love you all so much.”

However, Applejack noticed something in the corner of her eye. ‘Oh no, not him again.’ She thought to herself as she turned her head, only to be greeted by the sight of Megatron, this time unsheathing his gladius sword. Inspecting his blade, the fallen emperor gloated, “You really think they’ll stay your friends? Especially once they see what you can do with their own eyes?” As Applejack began to glare and growl at him, Megatron started to trot over as he quipped, “You know, just like your sister?”

Without thinking, Applejack blurted out, “You shut your goddamn mouth you good for nothin’ backstabber!” The moment those words escaped her mouth, the other three girls backed away from her in fear. Sighing to herself, the teenaged farm girl apologized, “Sorry girls. It’s just….” Hesitating for a moment, she decided to just admit, “He’s back.”

As Megatron walked up to Applejack, Pinkie Pie reassured her friend, “We understand. Don’t let that big meanie push you around and bully you.” Of course, Megatron was not one to take an insult lightly, and thus he aimed his sword right at Pinkie’s throat as he gloated, “Well now, how about I remove your head from your shoulders so you can see just how much of a “meanie” I can be?” Scared for her friend, Applejack charged at him and declared, “Ah won’t let you hurt mah friend!”

But Megatron was a calculated being, and simply sidestepped out of the way, leaving Applejack barreling straight into her pink friend.

As both girls hit the ground, one of the hospital orderlies ran over and asked, “What the hell’s going on?” Fluttershy spoke up with a scared, “Applejack saw Megatron again!” As she rose back up to her feet, the orange farm girl apologized, “Ah’m sorry! Megatron was gonna attack Pinkie and Ah was tryin’ to stop him and…” To her surprise, Pinkie Pie interrupted with a gentle, “Megatron must have been a meanie again. It wasn’t Applejack’s fault.”

Though relieved somewhat, the orderly sternly said, “Be that as it may, I think Applejack has had enough excitement for today. You kids better head home.” Pinke tried to protest, but Applejack relented as she defeatedly said, “You girls better go. Ah don’t wanna give y’all a heart attack or somethin’.” Deciding that there was no point in arguing, the other three girls began to make their way out as Rarity bade, “Do take care darling.”

Once her friends were gone, the orderly took Applejack’s hand as they said, “Alright now. Let’s get you back to your room.” As they began to depart, the blonde farm girl noticed Megatron leaning against the wall, smirking at her. Glaring at the former emperor, Applejack thought to herself, ‘Just you wait ‘till Ah get mah hands on you.’

As she got ready for bed, Applejack took one last look at her reflection in the mirror. The circles under her eyes were far more noticeable than they had been earlier that morning, her hair was even more frizzled, and even her lips were starting to look chapped. Groaning to herself, she complained, “Ugh. Ah can’t believe that’s me.”

From behind her, Applejack heard Megatron’s voice mock her, “Oh please. You’re as beautiful as a freshly slain Amazon.” The moment she heard his voice, the young girl growled as she turned around and angrily asked, “What is your problem? Why are you messin’ with me?”

Megatron let out a cocky and hearty laugh as he replied, “Because it’s fun!” He then pointed right at Applejack’s nose as he continued, “And because you deserve it.” The blonde farm girl immediately growled back, “Don’t you ever say that again or Ah’ll….” Megatron interrupted her with a condescending, “You’ll do what? Stab me in the back? Send me away? Tear my teeth out?” He then raised his hands as he finished, “Don’t you get it? I’m not going anywhere, so you better get used to me.”

Applejack began to feel her eyes water as she found her anger starting to overtake her again. ‘Don’t do anythin’ stupid. Don’t do anythin’ stupid. Don’t do anythin’ stupid! DON’T DO ANYTHIN’ STUPID!’ She thought to herself. Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore. Throwing herself onto her bed, Applejack slammed her face into her pillow and screamed her pent-up fury and frustration.

“Damnit damnit damnit damnit!” Applejack bellowed, “Just leave me alone!” Raising her head from her tear-stained pillow, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Megatron had disappeared. Letting out a gentle chuckle, she remarked, “Heh. Guess he’s gone for now.” Of course, she knew that at any moment, Megatron could return and continue to torment her.

Still, the teenaged farm girl found herself starting to yawn as she said to herself, “Guess it’s been a long day.” Applejack then began to tuck herself in under her sheets as she asked herself, “So, same thing tomorrow?” When no one answered, she let out a sigh of relief as she replied, “Alright then. Time for some peace and quiet.”

Once again, Applejack found herself staring up at the ceiling, thinking back at how her actions had brought her to this. Sighing as she began to drift off, the blonde farm girl lamented, “Ah wish things were different.” After all, if she had been able to keep her temper in check, she wouldn’t have had her breakdown and subsequent need to be trapped in this mental hospital. Of course, if Apple Bloom hadn’t started the whole Anon-A-Miss stunt, then she wouldn’t have lost her cool in the first place.

And it was with this thought, just as Applejack finally drifted off into the land of slumber and dreams, that Megatron’s voice whispered in her ear, “And that is why you’ll never escape me.”