“Turing, no!” Apple Bloom screamed, rushing over to the water’s edge. The murky water had settled and was now still and silent.
Applejack heaved a sigh and retrieved her hat, placing it back on her head. Ignoring Apple Bloom’s screams of protest, she swept up the little filly and hugged her tightly.
“Don’t you worry now,” she whispered, rocking back and forth as she held her. “Yer big sister’s gonna take care o’ ya. I’ll get Twilight to remove them robot parts from ya. That mechanical monster can’t hurt ya now, Apple Bloom.” She wore a tight, uneven smile, tears spilling from her eyes as she looked up at the sky.
Apple Bloom ceased her struggling and heaved a sigh. “Applejack?” she asked softly.
“Yes, Apple Bloom?” Applejack looked down at her. Her crazed eyes were still wide, unfocused.
Apple Bloom gently pulled open the small pouch around her neck. “I love you, Applejack,” she said. Then her eyes grew stern as she took hold of the pouch. “But snap out of it!”
She shoved the pouch into Applejack’s face, pressing the powdery blue contents right into her muzzle.
Applejack let go of her and stumbled back, coughing and shaking her head, trying to dislodge the pouch on the end of her muzzle. She shook it free and continued to cough as blue powder was smeared all over her nose and lips. She tasted the bitterness of the medicine on her tongue and felt it burn in her nostrils and throat.
But then, slowly, the brightness around her seemed to dim. The numbness of her cheeks faded. The lightheaded feeling that had persisted since she’d left the farm subsided. Presently, her head began to clear.
“Who the… what the… huh?” she asked, looking all around her. “How’d I get here? Wait, I was runnin’ through the woods, an’ then I…” She trailed off when she saw Apple Bloom looking up at her.
“Apple Bloom?” she asked. “What the hay are we doin’ out here?”
Apple Bloom heaved a sigh of relief. “Applejack, don’t ya remember? You ate some kind o’ weird mushroom an’ started seein’ things!”
“What?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “That’s… I don’t remember that. I mean, I remember that you were there an’ Turing Test was there an’... an’ she was laughin’ at me…”
“Turing Test was never there!” Apple Bloom shouted, stomping her hoof. “You imagined the whole thing! Heck, I’m pretty sure Turing Test can’t even laugh!”
“But…” Applejack shook her head. “I… she took my hat?”
“Lost it in the dang woods,” Apple Bloom said, rolling her eyes. “Turing Test has been helpin’ me an’ Winona find ya all day! She was worried about you, same as me!”
Applejack blinked. “So… none o’ that was real?”
“No!” Apple Bloom shouted. “An’ what’s wrong with you, Applejack?! Why’d you treat Turing Test like that?! She’s been so nice to us an’ she never did a thing wrong to you, an’ then you went an’ did that to ‘er!”
Applejack blinked. “Did what now?”
“You bucked her into the water!”
Applejack’s eyes went wide. “What?!” She looked around and spotted where Turing’s hooves had dug into the embankment. “I did that? Oh my gosh, is she waterproof?!”
“I don’t know!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Oh no, poor Turing Test! W-what if she’s really in trouble, Applejack? She’s so heavy, I don’t think she can swim! She could be stuck down there!”
“All right, all right, just calm down, sugarcube!” Applejack said. She swallowed. “I’ll… I’ll fix this! First thing I’ll need to do is… wait, what is that sound?”
They both turned to see Winona scrambling over to them, barking her furry little head off.
“Winona?” Apple Bloom said, annoyance crossing her face. “I told you to stay, girl! Bad dog!”
Winona ignored the reprimand and seized Apple Bloom’s tail, growling and dragging her away from where she stood.
“Are you crazy, Winona?” Apple Bloom shouted. “Applejack, what’s gotten into her?”
Applejack blinked. Then she caught a whiff of the air and noticed that it had suddenly turned even more noxious than it had been before. Her eyes widened.
She recognized that smell.
“Apple Bloom, she’s tryin’ to warn us! We gotta--”
There was a bubbling sound from another nearby pool, and something began to emerge.
And then it kept emerging. Higher and higher the thing rose from the water, until its monstrous form blocked the afternoon sun. Greenish brown scaly skin, four long, serpentine necks, and a body the size of Town Hall stood before them.
The two ponies gawked, their blood running cold as four distinct faces glowered down at them.
“HYDRA!!” Applejack shouted, just as one of the heads roared and lunged at them.
Both she and Apple Bloom jumped out of the way as the massive creature snapped its jaws where they had been standing mere moments before. Applejack took off, Winona right beside her, looking back to see if Apple Bloom was following.
To her horror, she saw that Apple Bloom had gone in the opposite direction. Worse still, the monstrous hydra was following the little filly.
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack screamed, turning around to chase after them. She saw that Apple Bloom had turned toward the Everfree forest, but the hydra cut her off, kicking up a massive wave of water that washed over the path. Apple Bloom screamed, reversed direction, and instead made for a cliffside on the other end of the bog.
“Hey, leave ‘er alone!” Applejack shouted, chasing after the monster that pursued her sister. This had no effect; she could only watch in horror as it slowly got closer and closer to her, splashing through the bog and churning it up like a giant stewpot being stirred. Applejack even found a gap in the path before her and had to leap over it to avoid falling into the bog.
At last, Apple Bloom reached the cliffside, scrambling up a steep path and wedging herself into a small crack halfway up the rocky wall.
The hydra roared and tried to follow, but the crack was too small for it to reach in with its head. It bit and snapped and dug into the rock wall, trying to get at the little morsel inside.
Applejack’s heart nearly stopped as she heard Apple Bloom scream in terror. Then she swallowed and shouted, “Hang on, Apple Bloom! I’ll save ya!”
“Hurry!” Apple Bloom shouted back, her voice barely audible over the angry roars of the creature.
Applejack tapped her head, thinking of a solution. Deciding to try the simplest tactic, she scooped up a hoof full of mud and flung it at the beast. The mud ball splattered on the back of one of the creature’s heads, causing it to grunt and glare back at her.
“Yoohoo, big an’ ugly!” she said, dancing exaggeratedly at it. “Come an’ get me!”
The head that she’d pelted merely raised an eyebrow and turned back to the cliffside, continuing to pound it with the others, trying to smash it or at least widen the crack where Apple Bloom was hiding.
Applejack looked around for something else to use as Winona stood nearby, whimpering at her.
Then she spied a long vine hanging from one of the mangrove trees. She grabbed it with her teeth, pulling it free from the branches. It might not have been a real rope, but perhaps it would make a good substitute. In no time at all, she’d fashioned it into a makeshift lasso.
Twirling it in a big circle over her head, she tossed it, managing to loop it around the creature’s tail. She tightened the vine and yanked with all her might.
“Come on, now!” she growled, holding the vine tight in her teeth. “You leave ‘er alone!”
The hydra felt a tug on its tail, enough to cause a few more of its heads to look back. But it gave a grunt of mild annoyance and merely flicked its tail, yanking Applejack off her hooves and whipping her back in forth in the air until the lasso came loose and sent her flying through the air.
She gave a long yell as she tumbled head over hooves before landing in a muddy pool and sinking into the murky depths. She saw something out of the corner of her eye but paid it no mind as she swam back to the surface, paddling for the shore. Winona was there to greet her, licking her face and still whimpering. The loyal dog jerked her head over at the cliffside, where the hydra was still focused on Apple Bloom.
“I know, I know,” Applejack said, climbing out of the water. She coughed and shook herself, spraying water everywhere. She also noticed that her hat was missing again, not that it mattered right then.
What do I do now? she asked herself. That monster could eat poor Apple Bloom in one bite! Or me! How am I supposed to beat it all by myself? I need help! I need…
She blinked. And then she remembered the thing she’d seen below the water. Sure enough, she saw that she had been thrown back into the same pool where she’d kicked Turing Test in her hallucinatory state.
She saw that she was still wrapped up in her vine lasso and undid it, tying one end around a mangrove tree, the other around her waist.
“Let’s hope she ain’t too mad,” Applejack said. After a beat, she added, “Or dead.”
She jumped into the water, swimming with all her might to the bottom of the dark, murky pool. Just when it seemed as though the water had gone pitch black, she spied a glimmer. A violet glimmer. A pair of them.
It’s her! Applejack swam towards the glow. Soon she found herself face to face with the robot, who had sunk to the bottom of the pool but was apparently still able to walk along it.
Applejack undid the vine and pointed to it, then to Turing Test.
Turing Test nodded, the coils of her mane waving and floating in the water like some sort of seaweed. Applejack nearly laughed, finding the momentary scene almost charming.
Putting that aside, she gave the vine to Turing Test, who fastened it around her waist. Applejack then swam to the surface, emerging and taking a big gulp of air after holding her breath so long. She glanced at the hydra and saw it was still growling and scratching at the cliffside.
She still had time.
She went to the mangrove where she’d anchored the vine and began to pull. As she did so, she felt another tug and saw that Winona was helping too. She smiled down at her and dug in her hooves, pulling on the vine, which creaked and stretched and almost snapped but somehow held.
Eventually, Turing Test was slowly pulled from the water. Her hull and mane were dripping with mud and muck and algae as she finally crawled onto the surface.
“Turing!” Applejack cried. “Are you--”
Turing Test ejected a long, powerful stream of water through her nose, spraying it all over Applejack. Then she shook her head, letting the last droplets of water shake free from the holes in her faceplate.
Applejack wiped her face. “Well, guess yer all right.”
“Correct,” Turing Test replied. “I am mostly waterproof, but my faceplate is hollow. Fortunately, I am able to create suction between that area and my nasal intake system. This enabled me to eject the stream of water you are currently wiping from your face.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Are you… holdin’ a grudge?”
Turing Test held out a hoof, tilting her head. “You tried to murder me.”
Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. “Uh, yeah. Look, it was the mushrooms, but I'm better now, and I’m sorry, but we don’t have time for this!” She pointed, and Turing Test followed her gaze to see the hydra chipping away at the cliff side.
“I hear Apple Bloom’s voice.”
“That monster’s got ‘er cornered!” Applejack shouted. “An’ I can’t save her on my own. So, I mean, I know yer probably sore at me, but--”
“I will assist you.”
Applejack jerked her head back. “Y-you will?
“Of course I will. Apple Bloom is my friend, and even if she was not, how could I let a pony come to harm when I am able to help?”
Applejack blinked at her. She somehow felt like she was seeing the mechanical mare for the first time.
“I have a strategy. I will distract the creature. While I am doing so, please rescue Apple Bloom and lead her to safety.”
Applejack’s jaw dropped. “What?! That thing’s a hundred times yer size! How’re you gonna--”
“Engaging P-Mode.” She sprouted wings and her jets roared to life. A moment later, she leaped into the air and flew directly at the towering beast.
“Welp, guess she’s got a plan,” Applejack said to herself. “C’mon, Winona! Let’s get Apple Bloom!”
The dog barked as they ran after the robot.
Inside the crack where she’d taken refuge, Apple Bloom shivered and held her forelegs over her head as the monster outside continually pounded at the entrance to her sanctuary. Slowly, bit by bit, it crumbled and widened. Soon it would be wide enough, and the creature would reach her, and then…
“Help me,” she whispered feebly, shutting her eyes.
But then her eyes opened again as she heard a strange rushing sound. It was growing louder very quickly. Even the hydra outside took notice, and the head nearest to her paused, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
Then a shining bolt from the blue shot in from the side and smashed into the hydra’s head, its eyes rolling back as the thing smashed into it.
In the moment of impact, Apple Bloom saw that Turing Test had flown directly into it at nearly top speed, her heavy metal body smashing into it like a cannonball.
“Turing Test!” Apple Bloom cried, her eyes lighting up as she jumped to her hooves.
The hydra outside roared as one of its heads was knocked unconscious and the strange metal thing began to circle and dive bomb it. Still, she wondered how her robotic friend had escaped from the bottom of the bog.
Then a familiar orange, freckled face peeked into the crack.
“Applejack!” Apple Bloom cried joyfully.
“No time to hang around here, sugarcube!” She beckoned with one hoof. “Come with me if ya wanna live!”
Apple Bloom went to her side. “But Applejack, how’d she get outta the water?”
“How do ya think?” Applejack asked, smirking at her. “Now come on, she’s keepin’ that overgrown varmint busy so we can get away!”
The two ponies and Winona scrambled down the cliffside and back across the bog, making their way for the Everfree Forest. Applejack brought up the rear, looking back over her shoulder.
Turing Test was still swooping, diving, and weaving through the remaining three heads. She suddenly swooped downward as one head snapped at her, only to fire her jets and rocket upwards to plant a hoof into another head’s jaw. The head reeled back and fell to the side limply, joining its unconscious counterpart. A second later, Turing rolled to the side, landing on the cliffside before springing off it and rocketing directly into another head, nailing it between the eyes, knocking that one out as well.
She’s amazin’, Applejack thought to herself. In no time flat, Turing had easily handled a beast that she couldn’t have taken on by herself on the best day of--
The hydra suddenly whirled around and whipped its tail at Turing Test, striking her and knocking her off course. She slowed down, trying to regain control, and the hydra seized its opportunity and snatched her up in its jaws. It tossed its head back and, with some obvious effort, it simply swallowed her whole.
“Turing Test!” Applejack screamed.
Apple Bloom and Winona also froze, the little filly’s face staring at the monster in horror.
But before Apple Bloom could even react, Applejack shouted in rage and dashed back towards the hydra. The girl could only stand there, awestruck, as Applejack rushed headlong back into danger.
“Hey, you!” she shouted at the monster, which was still making a face at the apparently foul-tasting meal it had just taken.
The hydra looked down at her, regarding her with curiosity and annoyance more than anything else.
“That’s right, you!” Applejack shouted, pawing at the muddy ground with her hoof as she stared at it with hardened eyes. “You already got three o’ yer heads knocked out! Care to try fer four? Because there ain’t no way I’m lettin’ you get away with eatin’ one o’ my friends! So either you cough her up, or I’m gonna wallop you like nopony ever walloped a monster before!”
The hydra gave a deafening roar and shot down at her, jaws wide as it prepared to snatch her up and swallow her.
Things seemed to slow down. Jaw set, she remained still, hearing Apple Bloom screaming in the distance, smelling the creature’s foul breath, and feeling the blood pounding in her ears. There was no fear, however, and no pain. There was just the moment, and she was going to wait for it.
When the creature was almost upon her, she leaped back, turning in midair, raising her hind legs. The creature crashed right behind her and looked up to see a pair of hooves aimed right at it.
With a bestial shout, Applejack bucked her back hooves into the hydra’s forehead, kicking it with every last ounce of strength she had. The sound of hooves hitting bone with a sharp crack resounded as the creature reeled back, head lolling and eyes askew before it finally collapsed limply to the ground, its entire body toppling over like a mountain collapsing and sending a wave of water throughout the bog.
In the aftermath, the bog grew strangely silent, until the sound of crickets and bullfrogs could be heard once again.
Panting, sweat dripping off her body, Applejack stood there on shaking, wobbly legs. Then she felt a jolt of pain in her hips and fell to her haunches, wincing at it.
“Applejack!” Apple Bloom cried, rushing up to her. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” she managed to say between gasps. “I’m… I’m all right. I just… I’m sorry that I…” She lowered her head. “Turing Test… if I hadn’t--”
She was cut off from this line of thought as one of the downed heads suddenly rose up, letting out a loud growl.
“N-no… no!” Applejack said. She tried to force herself to her hooves, but she felt utterly exhausted. There would be no escape this time.
As it turned out, there was no need. The head rose, but then it made a strange gagging sound. Its face turned green - well, more green than it already was - and a large lump suddenly went up its long neck. The head reeled back when the lump reached it, coughing and gagging before it finally vomited up a pony-sized metallic mass onto the earth before collapsing once again.
The metal thing stood up, still covered in digestive juices but otherwise apparently unharmed.
“Hello Applejack and Apple Bloom,” Turing Test said. “That was the second time I have been ingested. I can confidently report that it does not become more pleasant.”
“Turing Test, yer all right!” Apple Bloom cried, rushing over to her. But then she stopped before she could hug her, covering her nose with her hoof. “Ugh! An’ you could really use a shower!”
“I will take that under advisement, Apple Bloom.” She looked over at Applejack, who was still sitting before the head that she’d bucked. Turing pointed at the unconscious head. “Was that your doing, Applejack?”
“Eh heh heh… yeah, that was me,” she said, polishing a hoof on her chest.
Turing cocked her head. “But why? You were a sufficient distance from the hydra. Why did you return to confront it?”
Applejack blushed and looked away. “Well, you know…”
Turing’s ears shifted as Apple Bloom took on a smug look.
“I see. Perhaps we should return to a place of safety. Zecora may have the rest of the cure prepared by now. Also, I noticed she has a variety of natural cleaning supplies that may allow me to remove my offensive fragrance.”
“Sounds like a--gah!” Applejack said as she tried to get to her hooves and failed. “Ah, dang it…” She glanced at the pair of them, smiling sheepishly. “Uh, sorry to ask, but would y’all mind givin’ me a hoof?”
Turing Test went over to her, picked her up, and slung her across her back. “There is no need to ask.”
***
Back in Zecora’s hut, Applejack sighed contentedly as Apple Bloom rubbed a salve into her hips.
“Feel better, Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yep,” she said, closing her eyes as she leaned over Zecora’s table. “Gotta say, Zecora, this stuff is the bee’s knees.”
Zecora was busy mixing up more of the antidote, having found the missing ingredients in the Everfree. She turned to smile over her shoulder, however. “I wish I had a cure for you, but at least I have that brew.”
Applejack nodded. Back when she’d first been diagnosed, she’d gone to Zecora for help. Unfortunately, it seemed that there were things even Zecora couldn’t cure.
There came the sound of metal hooves on wood as Turing Test emerged from Zecora’s back room, the mud and other gunk removed from her hull.
“I believe that I have sufficiently removed the offensive odor,” she said, looking to them. “Am I correct?”
Zecora chuckled. “You have the thanks of all of us; before you reeked like Tartarus!”
Apple Bloom and Applejack laughed at that.
Apple Bloom turned to face Zecora as she massaged the last of the salve into Applejack’s hip. “So, Zecora, ya think you’ve got enough o’ that stuff fer Granny an’ Fluttershy?”
Zecora nodded. “Just take the newest batch of powder. It shall block the Madcap’s power.”
“That’s good,” Applejack said, wiping her brow. “That dang mushroom made me see all kinds o’ crazy things! Sorry about all the trouble, by the way.”
Zecora frowned and put the pestle down gently. “Listen to me, Applejack, for it may get you back on track. The Madcap gives one potent visions, but they aren’t without precision. It calls forth thoughts within the mind, be they cruel or be they kind. The vision that gave you such unrest, was a fear of Turing Test.” She walked over to her, staring at her intently and causing her to squirm. “Speak your mind, and don’t be modest. You are known for being honest. Yet I think there’s something hidden, something strange and forbidden. Tell us now what gives you fear, of this robot we hold dear.”
Applejack’s eyes widened as she glanced from Zecora to Apple Bloom and finally to Turing Test. At last, her ears drooped and she lowered her head.
“All right,” she said. “I guess after that whole mess, I can’t really keep it in.”
“What is it, Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked, laying her hooves on Applejack’s shoulder. “Don’t tell me that after all this yer upset about acceptin’ help!”
Applejack shook her head vigorously. “Don’t be ridiculous!” she snapped. “It’s…” She closed her eyes, heaving a sigh. “Aw, fer Pete’s sake, where do I begin?”
She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“Way back when I was just a little filly an’ you were just a baby, Apple Bloom, Pa used to watch me go out into the field an’ try to buck alongside him an’ Big Mac. I’d try to help even though I was too small to hold a hammer or even buck a single apple. An’ he used to say…”
She paused, drawing in a breath sharply.
“...He used to say ‘Yer gonna be a hard worker someday, ain’tcha? Everypony’ll see.’” She swallowed, her eyes already growing damp. “I remember that like it was yesterday. An’ I swore I’d prove him right. I grew up an’ worked my tail off in the fields, buckin’ an’ plowin’ an’ doin’ everything I could to prove that I was the hardest-workin’, most dependable pony in all o’ Ponyville! Maybe even all o’ Equestria!” She looked upward, her eyes bright.
“Everypony was so proud o’ me. You an’ Big Mac an’ Granny… I’d work twelve hours a day, no problem, an’ I’d provide fer the family. An’ every day, y’all would sing my praises an’ I’d just feel like I was the most special pony in the world!” She smiled, the memory of all the compliments and blessings she’d received coming to mind. “I felt like I was more’n just a farmer… I felt like somepony special.”
Then she blinked, her ears going back. “Then I… I got this danged case o’ Bucker’s Hips.” She heaved a sigh. “An’ suddenly I couldn’t work as much as I could. Those twelve hour days got harder an’ harder. The doctor told me I needed to cut back, let others take over, just… just stop worryin’ so much. But I do worry! Things are tight, tighter’n they should be, an’ just when the farm needs me, when the family needs me, my own body up an’ betrays me!”
She slammed her hooves on the table, startling them all.
“I see Granny Smith, just slowly makin’ her way across the farm. She had Bucker’s Hips a long time ago too. An’ she can’t buck no more either. An’ even though she had to quit when she was a lot older’n I am now, she was always more about bakin’ than she was about farmin’. An’ I look at her an’ I wonder, ‘How long’ll it be until that’s me?’ How long until everypony just says ‘Sit back, Applejack… just relax, an’ let us handle things?’”
She sniffled at that, the tears in her eyes growing larger. “I… I don’t wanna be some old lady,” she muttered, looking down at her hooves. “Not just yet, at least. I always thought I’d work my hooves to the nubs until I was old an’ gray… but now, I… I just don’t know anymore. How much longer do I got ‘fore I gotta retire? Before my body finally gives in? All this business has made me realize that I… I’m not in my prime no more; the best days o’ farmin’ in my life are gone.”
She shut her eyes, deep frown lines crossing her face. “An’ still I told myself that at least I’d be appreciated. Even if I had to slow things down, be a little more ordinary, at least I could take pride in knowin’ that my work would be like… like… I dunno, a monument or somethin’! I pushed my body to the limits fer my farm! An’ then…”
She opened her eyes and grit her teeth, her tears finally spilling over as she pointed at Turing Test. “An’ then you showed up!” she shouted. “I worked so hard to be the best dang farm pony there ever was, an’ then you come an’ do it all like it’s nothin’! An’ to you, it really is nothin’! My work was my life, an’ you can do everything I can do, only a thousand times better without so much as breakin’ a sweat, getting tired, or gettin’ hungry! Don’tcha know what it feels like to know that the best days o’ yer life are already behind ya, only to see somepony else come an’ make it look like none o’ it even mattered?!”
She sobbed, collapsing on the table. “An’ the worst part… the very worst part about it,” she managed to say, her voice breaking, “is that I can’t even be mad about it! When I saw them visions about you tauntin’ me, like you were some kind o’ monster, in a way I was relieved!” She let a wry laugh escape her. “Ya know why? Because it made it easier to hate you. But that ain’t the truth. The truth is that you were just tryin’ to help. You were bein’ kind an’ helpful, an’ you never meant any harm by it, an’ I couldn’t say nothin’ about it to anypony or else I’d just look like the jealous, foolish pony that I really am!”
She finally broke down, laying her head on the table, burying her face in her forelegs as she cried. Apple Bloom went to her side, holding her, crying as well.
Turing Test had stood there the entire time as Applejack had continued speaking. Now that Applejack had finished, she lowered her head.
“I am sorry, Applejack,” Turing Test said quietly. “But you are mistaken; I am not kind.”
Applejack looked up at her through tear-stained eyes.
“The truth is that I…” Turing Test looked away. “I knew that my actions were causing you pain.”
The group of them gave a start, staring at her.
“At first, I wished to assist you because I thought that it would make you happy. And yet it did not. I realized that you were resentful of my actions as I assumed responsibilities that you previously held.”
Applejack grit her teeth. “Why you… if you knew the whole time, then why the hay did you keep doin’ it?!”
Turing lowered her ears. “I experienced a new emotion, and I did not know how to identify it. Still, I felt compelled to continue to assist your family. However, I now believe I have identified the emotion.”
She turned to look at Applejack. “I experienced what I believe can be called envy.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow at that. “Envy? What have you got to be envious about?”
“Clarifying: I was envious of you, Applejack.”
She gasped. “What? What for?”
“When I assisted your family, they praised my actions. They welcomed me, talked to me, and treated me as a normal organic pony. It was as though I was one of them. It was as though I was part of your family.
“As you know, I was built, rather than born. I have no family. Robots have no mothers or fathers, and if there are other robots like me, they will likely not resemble me in their thinking, as my creators seem to regard me as a non-sentient being. These hypothetical robots may even prove hostile. It is for those reasons that I came to value being part of a family unit. It is a wonderful thing that you enjoy every day. And it is something that I will likely never experience.”
Applejack stared back at her in silence. She wiped her nose and waited for Turing Test to continue.
“I strongly desired the things that you had, Applejack. And that is why I continued to supplant you, even though I knew it was causing you pain. However, I did not realize the extent of your distress or how severely you were reacting. I am very sorry for hurting you; I have experienced sadness and anger before, and I regret that my actions have produced those emotions in you. I am ashamed of my selfishness and lack of consideration.”
She looked away for a moment, but then turned back to face her.
“However, Applejack, I believe that your perspective on the situation is flawed. You believe that my actions made your presence unnecessary, but the truth is that your contributions are more significant than you realize.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean?” she asked slowly.
“You place a large value on your farm work, Applejack, believing that your status as an excessively hard-working farmer is what gives you greater distinction. In actuality, your significance is multifaceted.
“For instance, on the first day that I began working at Sweet Apple Acres, I had a conversation with Big McIntosh while the two of us were hauling in our carts of apples. It was after Granny Smith summoned you to stop early to avoid aggravating your injury. You seemed very agitated, so I said to your brother, ‘Applejack seems very intent on working despite her condition. It does not seem logical for her to risk further injury. Furthermore, she seems displeased with me, though I do not understand why.’
“He gave the following response…” She shifted her voice, and Applejack gave a start when she heard Big Mac’s voice come from Turing’s mouth, the sound of cart wheels rumbling in the background: “Now listen here, Turing Test. Applejack might get a little stubborn, but she means well. Ain’t nopony with a bigger heart than her. She’d give up her left legs fer this family, an’ probably the right ones too if she thought it would keep us from even a moment o’ pain or trouble. She’s just a little steamed that she can’t be out here helpin’ us with these apples. Please don’t think any less o’ my sister, ‘cause she’s one o’ the most important ponies in the world to me.”
Applejack smiled, putting a hoof to her chest.
“Two days ago,” Turing said, back in her own voice, “I was assisting Granny Smith in the kitchen. She praised the meticulousness and speed of my apple peeling and thanked me for my recent assistance with the family budget. I stated that I was glad to provide ‘a superior quality of assistance’.”
Applejack frowned at that, but listened as Turing continued to speak.
“Granny Smith paused in her pie making and turned to face me. She appeared agitated and said,” Turing’s voice changed again, this time to Granny Smith’s: “Well, I don’t know about ‘superior,’ Turing Test. Not that I ain’t glad fer the help, but Applejack does her best. She might make mistakes in ‘er mathematics sometimes, but she checks ‘em twice an’ keeps me on point. An’ maybe she ain’t the best baker, but that girl sure can knead dough when these ol’ hooves are sore. Plus, I don’t think I’ve ever met a pony that loves my apple fritters as much as she does, I can tell ya that much! An’ seein’ the way she appreciates it, well, that makes it all worthwhile.”
Turing paused for a moment, but Applejack heard chopping noises in the background and realized that this was part of what Turing had recorded, and that Granny Smith herself had gone quiet while they’d been talking. Then she heard her grandmother continue:
“Honestly, Turing, raisin’ three young ‘uns by myself at my age wasn’t no easy task. But Applejack never took it fer granted. Ya see, ever since her parents…”
Applejack stiffened, drawing Apple Bloom closer to her.
“...well, point is, she’s always wanted to be the pony o’ the household, an’ she was always tryin’ to help out an’ be an adult so I wouldn’t have to worry so much. Without her around, well… truth is, I don’t know what woulda happened to this farm if’n she hadn’t grown up so fast! I worry about ‘er sometimes, but just the same, she’s grown up into one o’ the finest young ponies I ever did see!” There was a chuckle, and then, “Oh, listen to me yammerin’ on about my grandkids. You don’t wanna hear all this, I’m sure. Pass me the cinnamon, will ya, dearie?”
Applejack smiled. “She really said all that?” she asked quietly.
Turing Test nodded. “Affirmative. And yesterday, while assisting Apple Bloom with her homework, she--”
Apple Bloom blushed, looking away. “Aw dang, not that!” she exclaimed.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “What? What happened?”
Turing Test’s ears shifted. “Do you not wish me to continue, Apple Bloom?”
Apple Bloom glanced from Turing to Applejack, then back to the robot. She sighed in resignation. “Nah, it’s all right. Go on an’ tell ‘er, Turing Test. I think she needs to hear it.”
Turing Test nodded. “Acknowledged. I was assisting Apple Bloom with her homework, and she made the following remark:”
Turing Test then spoke in Apple Bloom’s voice: “You sure are good at these here math problems, Turing!”
Turing shifted back to her own voice. “I replied, ‘Thank you, Apple Bloom. Shall I continue to assist you with your homework in the future?’ Apple Bloom then appeared to consider the question before responding.”
She continued in Apple Bloom’s voice: “That’s mighty nice o’ ya, Turing, but maybe just sometimes. Truth is, I kinda like gettin’ help from Applejack, even if she’s not as fast as you. Ya know, Applejack’s the one that taught me all this math stuff in the first place! Well, I mean, Miss Cheerilee did, but I wasn’t gettin’ it. So every night fer a week, Applejack came to help me out. An’ I could see she was just about dead on ‘er hooves after harvestin’ all day, but she never complained and stayed up half the night just to help! See, she taught me fractions by bringin’ in apples cut up into halves, quarters, or whatever until I finally got it. Now, whenever I do ‘em, I just think about Applejack showin’ me all them apple slices! Plus she let me eat ‘em if I got the problems right.”
Both Applejack and Apple Bloom laughed at that.
“But the point is, much as I appreciate all the help, Turing, I never woulda come this far without Applejack. She’s… well, she’s the one who takes care o’ everything around here. She’s a hero an’ all, but it ain’t that stuff that makes her important. It’s that she takes care o’ me an’ Big Mac an’ Granny an’ anypony else that needs help. An’ it’s because o’ her that I know that no matter what my cutie mark turns out to be, I’m gonna use it to help other ponies, just like she does!”
Applejack’s lip quivered, and she looked down at Apple Bloom. “You really mean all that?” she asked quietly.
Apple Bloom was still blushing. “Yeah,” she replied, rubbing the back of her neck, “Sorry fer not sayin’ it to ya. It’s just kinda embarrassin’.”
Applejack’s eyes had again filled with tears, but this time she wore a smile on her face. She swept up Apple Bloom in a tight hug. “Aw, sugarcube,” she whispered as she held her, “don’t apologize. I’m just… I just never knew it all meant that much to ya.”
“I apologize if I caused you embarrassment, Applejack and Apple Bloom,” Turing Test said, causing them both to look up. “I merely wished to demonstrate to Applejack that she has significance beyond her capacity for hard work. Applejack, the things your family members told me about you make it obvious that you are precious to them in a way that I am not now and never will be, regardless of my abilities. You are important to your family by virtue of who you are and how you enrich their lives. You have worth that extends beyond the apples you can buck, the fields you can plow, and the number of hours you can work. I am capable of doing your work, but there is nothing I can do to replace you. You are irreplaceable.”
Applejack just stared at her, her grin spreading, before a sob escaped her. “I… I don’t know what to say, Turing Test,” she managed to say as she wiped her eyes. “Thank you so much fer tellin’ me all that. I guess I didn’t even know how much I needed to hear somepony say it.” She laughed as she tried to get herself under control. “Aw, fer cryin’ out loud, just look at me!”
“I am looking at you, and you are indeed crying out loud, Applejack.”
Applejack, Apple Bloom, and even Zecora chuckled at that.
Turing Test then bowed her head. “Applejack, I apologize for causing you distress. Though I did not realize the consequences of my actions, I will accept responsibility for hurting you, and I will not trouble you any further. I will take my leave of you and your family once we have delivered the cure. I will now wait outside until you are ready to depart.”
She made for the door when Applejack jumped up, blocking her way as she held up a hoof. “Whoa, now just hold on there, sugarcube,” she said, giving her a wry smile. “Now, don’t get me wrong: yer weird an’ talk crazier’n a seapony in a hard cider aquarium. Just the same, though, I think this is the first time since I got my diagnosis that I haven’t felt like yesterday’s apple cores.”
Turing Test’s ears shifted. “You think my method of speaking is eccentric?”
“I’ll ignore that,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes. “Point is… well… I’m tryin’ to say that I think I’m finally over it: the bad feelings that I’ve had, the fear, an’ all the resentment. Maybe we both got off on the wrong hoof, Turing Test. Maybe… well, heck, ain’t no maybe about it. Truth is, ya helped my family out, ya helped me out, an’ when I thought that hydra got ya, I nearly lost my mind. Yer a good pony an’, well, I’d be honored to have ya in my home…”
She heaved a sigh.
“Let’s start things over again. On the right hoof, this time!” She spat on her hoof and held it out. “Whaddya say, Turing Test? Wanna be friends? Fer real this time?”
Turing Test held up a hoof, looked at it, then looked over at Apple Bloom.
“Apple Bloom, I lack salivary glands. Will you please spit on my hoof so I may accept your sister’s offer?”
***
The three of them made their way back through the Everfree Forest alongside Winona. Applejack paused for a moment as she glanced back at Turing Test.
“Hey,” she said, shooting her a look.
“Yes, Applejack?” Turing Test asked.
“I know ya said that you ain’t got a family, least not one like mine. Now, that may be true, but I want ya to know somethin’,” she said, going over to her. She put her hoof on Turing’s shoulder. “There’s more to family than just who yer Ma an Pa or brother or sister are. Family’s about who cares for ya, who depends on ya or who you depend on in return, an’ most of all, it’s about the ones who raised ya like one o’ their own.”
Turing glanced down at Applejack’s hoof, then back to her.
“Just lettin’ ya know,” she said, flashing a grin, “in case you decide that maybe you’ve got a family after all.”
She let her go, leaving Turing Test to contemplate her words in silence. After a moment’s consideration, she trotted after her, making her way back towards Ponyville.
***
It was another two days before Twilight Sparkle and Spike finally returned home. When they arrived, groaning and grumbling after days on their hooves and claws, respectively, they just wanted to go to bed and collapse.
And yet, when they opened the door, they found Turing Test sitting there.
“Oh, hello, Turing!” Twilight said, gazing up at her through darkened, puffy eyes. “Did you have a nice time with Applejack and her family?”
“Affirmative. I am also happy to report that I was able to make friends with her.”
Twilight smiled, but then let out a long yawn. “I’d love to hear about that,” she said, rubbing her eyes, “but maybe that can wait until tomorrow…”
She began to walk by Turing Test when suddenly the robot embraced her, laying her head on her shoulder. She also reached over and brought Spike into the hug. Both Twilight and Spike exchanged a look, surprised at this sudden display of affection.
“Uh, Turing Test?” Twilight chuckled, her eyes shifting nervously. “Is everything all right?”
Turing loosened her grip backing away slightly. “I have learned that a display of affection,” she explained, “is a common way to welcome the return of one’s… family. Twilight Sparkle and Spike the Dragon, are you not my family?”
Twilight smiled, as did Spike, as they returned the hug. “Heh… right you are, Turing Test,” Twilight said, holding her close. “We’re your family now.”
To be continued...
