Universe 25197

A few days after Applejack’s arrest.

“You have ten minutes,” The guard stated as he let Granny Smith through.

The old mare glanced around, noticing only one vacant seat amidst the others, which were occupied by visitors conversing with prisoners through gem-infused phones, the two separated by sturdy glass. Without a word, she sat on the vacant seat and waited as a guard let a prisoner in on the other side.

Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, which was a good match for the mare, Applejack sat on the other side and immediately picked up the phone. Granny Smith took a second to study her granddaughter. Her mane was disheveled, and the heavy bags under her eyes indicated she didn’t have much sleep. Of course, the most prominent feature Granny could see was the glare upon her grandaughter’s face… as well as the bruises that were still present from the hits she received the day of her arrest. Finally, she picked up the phone on her side.

“I can’t believe this… I can’t believe I’m here… Using the phones MY engineers came up with to… Ugh…” Applejack immediately complained. Granny Smith raised an eyebrow; that was the first thing her granddaughter had to say? Still, it was true gems had greatly aided the world in advances in technology, such as these phones, or the communication amulets.

“Are ya alright?” Granny asked, even if she was tempted to antagonize her instead. Her granddaughter should have known why she was in this place.

“Am I…? What do you think?! I’m in prison! I don’t belong here! But I’m telling you, this isn’t over! My lawyers are working on my case as we speak! The princesses had no right to trespass on my grounds! This was an unlawful arrest, and I’m gonna prove it in court!” Applejack shouted so loud that Granny Smith wondered if she even needed a phone for this.

“Ya enslaved ponies, Applejack,” Granny sternly reminded her, which seemed to make her granddaughter pause.

“I… Well… Pfft,” Applejack sputtered incoherently before shaking her head. “It was no slavery, alright?! That’s a serious accusation you’re throwing! Moreover, they had no evidence of that when they arrested me!” She defended herself.

“They arrested ya for an attempted murder,” The old mare narrowed her eyes.

“Oh, please! She came from another world! You can’t even consider her a citizen of Equestria or Equus at all! This is very ambiguous legally, and I won’t stand being falsely accused!” Applejack replied defensively. The old apple sighed, losing even more hope in the younger mare. She had hoped this experience would have brought back her senses. “Anyway, look, I need your help, Granny,” Applejack suddenly leaned forward, whispering as if she was plotting something. “I talked to my lawyers, and they’re gonna mention that unlawful arrest I talked about, but it’s not gonna save me, so… They’ve suggested I go for an insanity plea. We’re gonna pin everything on Happy Feather, my assistant, and spout some bullshit about how he manipulated ‘cause I was vulnerable or something. I need you to testify in court and tell everyone I had mental issues since I was a foal. Don’t hold back on the waterworks, alright? You say I was always a troubled filly, that I never got any treatment ’cause we were poor… My lawyers will brief you on what to say, anyway, just trust’em. And don’t worry about the diagnosis, I already have a doctor in my pocket,”

“What? Applejack, no,” Granny furrowed her brows in disbelief. This was ridiculous! Her granddaughter didn’t really expect her to lie like this, did she?

“Huh? Why? Oh, right. I didn’t talk about the payment. You can figure this out with my lawyers since I don’t really have access to my money at this moment,” Applejack waved her hoof dismissively.

“This ain’t about the money! Have ya even seen yer lawyers?” Granny retorted offendedly.

“Why is that important? Yeah, I talked to them the first day I got here,” Applejack answered in confusion.

“Then, they may have some news for ya… Ah really didn’t want to talk about that now, but… Ya desperately need a wakeup call,” Granny sighed, shaking her head sadly.

“Seriously, what is this about?”

“Ya started yer company with a familial contract, didn’t ya?” Granny reminded the other pony, who wordlessly nodded, still having no idea where this was going. “Well, since yer in prison, the ownership of yer company will go to yer closest relative, namely, me,” She revealed, making her granddaughter widen her eyes in shock. “Honestly, Ah made only a few decisions, all of which Ah ran by Applebloom. That filly has a gift for this,”

“A-Applebloom? The filly? The tiny filly?!” Applejack pressed her face against the glass, eyes wide with fear.

“Yer sister,” Granny corrected her.

“B-But that’s mine! That’s my company! I built it from the ground up! Do you know how much I’ve sacrificed?!” Applejack hollered obsessively.

“Yer aunt. Yer uncle. Yer family. Yer decency. Everythin’ ya inherited from yer parents. Ya’ve become a monster, and for what? Money?” Granny shook her head.

“No, no… You don’t get it. You don’t get it! I-I needed to do that! The whole world revolves around me! I had to succeed, no matter the price! It’s not just money, it’s pride! The world is full of sharks! How do you expect to win if you’re not ruthless, Granny?!” Applejack argued ferociously. “Use the money to help me! Pay whoever you have to, and get me out of here! I can’t let my empire end this way!”

Granny stared at her granddaughter in silence, looking downcast. Was there anything she could even say? No, even if she had nothing to say… It was her duty to remain by her granddaughter’s side. It was her responsibility to help her. And the first step to helping her… was to do the right thing.

“Yer money will be used to pay back everypony ya’ve hurt. All the ponies ya forced to work in yer mines,” The old mare revealed as Applejack fearfully shook her head. “Ah still can’t tell what happened to make ya this way… Maybe it was ma fault. Maybe Ah shouldn’t have let you leave the farm, or… Maybe there was nothin’ we could have done to change this outcome. However, Ah still love ya. And Ah’ll do everythin’ in my power to help ya become a better pony, someone yer parents could hopefully be proud of,”

“No… No, Granny! That’s my money, Granny! You can’t do this! You can’t give it away to some filthy peasants!” Applejack screamed, suddenly savagely punching the glass separating them. “It’s mine! It’s mine! You have no right!” She glared hatefully at the older mare when two guards pounced on her, grabbing her by the legs and dragging her away.

“Alright! Visit’s over!” One of them shouted, grunting as Applejack kicked around.

“It’s my money, Granny! You can’t let me rot in here!” She continued to scream until she was out of view, yelling obscenities at the guards, Granny Smith, and even the other prisoners. Maybe the mare would never change, but… Granny still wanted to try. It didn’t change the fact that Applejack would never get out of prison for her crimes, but she at least wanted her granddaughter to change. It was the least she could do as her grandmother.

“Ah will see you next week,” Granny sighed before standing up. “Goodbye, Applejack,”

Author's Note

Yup, this one is pretty short! Most of the others probably will be too, maybe slightly longer. I can't tell for sure, but this one only focuses on the discussion between Granny Smith and Jackie.