What's wrong, Princess Celestia?
It was a nice, quiet afternoon in the capital of Equestria. The sun was shining and birds chirping. It was a particularly slow day, and even the castle staff was lazing about. Among the overall laziness, Princess Celestia finally found some time to herself. Sitting down in her study, she opened a drawer in her desk, and floated out a few scrolls. She smiled to herself, recognizing the still unopened letters.
Suddenly, the walls of Canterlot Castle trembled with a powerful gasp. A loud boom of long-range teleportation spell followed soon after.
It was a nice, quiet afternoon in Ponyville. The sun was shining and birds chirping. Twilight Sparkle was sitting in her library room of the Castle of Friendship, enjoying the nice time with a book. Out of the blue, something big teleported right in front of her face. The power of the spell threw everything that was too close back, sending the pony, along with a stack of books and papers, flying.
Before the Princess of Friendship could get her bearings, let alone crawl out from under a mess of books, a thunderous voice boomed.
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE! I AM SO DISSAPOINTED IN YOU!”
The ringing in her ears certainly didn’t help her assess the situation. Finally looking up to the source of all the commotion, Twilight saw Princess Celestia. A pretty angry Princess Celestia.
“Celestia? Why would you say this? What did I do?” she asked, confused.
“I’VE TOLERATED YOUR ACTIONS-“
“Please, just lower your voice first!” Twilight interrupted, trying to block her ears with her hooves.
“As I said, I’m very disappointed. And angry,” Princess Celestia said in a lower tone, but her anger certainly did not lower.
Twilight could only nod, as that much was apparent. She had to admit that she had never seen the Princess that angry before, and instantly felt overwhelming guilt. Whatever she had done, must have been pretty bad.
“I’ve always accepted your decisions Twilight, even if I disagreed with them, because I trusted you. I trusted your judgement. But this,” She flung a piece of parchment in Twilight’s face. “Is crossing my boundaries.”
“That’s… Applejack’s old friendship report! I still don’t understand,” Twilight said, looking up from the scroll in her hooves.
“Everything about that pony irritated me from day one. But fine, I didn’t have to like her, she’s your friend, not mine. I can tolerate different ponies, even if they are the worst example of a hick.” Princess Celestia drew her face closer to Twilight’s. “But what I never had, and never will tolerate, is blatant disrespect to the highest institution in this world. Me.” Twilight shrunk under the towering mare. “I want you to cease and desist any relationship you may have with her.”
“B-but she’s been my friend for years! Why now?”
“I don’t care. I've only just had the time to catch up on the friendship reports, and now I’m not only offended, but also reaffirmed in my opinion on her. I don’t want you to be friends with the likes of her, as she can only has a bad influence on you.”
“You… This is ridiculous! I know that sometimes Applejack may act a bit… simple… but she’s still a good pony! If you could only get to know-“
“Splendid idea.” Celestia interrupted. “Let’s meet her then.” and with a flash of light, they were gone from the Friendship Castle.
It was a nice, quiet afternoon at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was just coming out of the shed. She carried a hoe on her shoulder, as she headed for the vegetable garden. Suddenly, a bright sphere of light blocked her path, soon to turn into Twilight and Princess Celestia.
“You! Filthy and disrespectful yokel!” Celestia boomed. Applejack only rightened her Stetson.
“Rattle snakes dancin’ in a pit of tar! Princess Celestia! What can ah do yah fo’?” Celestia could only grind her teeth at that.
“I hereby issue a royal decree, active immediately, that you be banned from any interaction with my faithful student Twilight here.” she growled.
“Uh, wha? Also, ain’t she, like, not yer student no more?” Applejack looked to the uneasy looking Twilight.
“No. I mean yes. I mean,” Princess Celestia stomped her hoof. “You get out of her life. Capiche?”
“Friggin’ cotton pickin’ zebras! Why would ah do that?”
“You have no values whatsoever. I despise you and your disrespectful attitude. You don’t deserve to be friends with Twilight.”
“Now, now, Princess, hold yer horses!” Applejack held up the hoe defensively. “Twilight here is her own mare, she chooses ‘er friends.”
Celestia gritted her teeth again, which sent golden sparks flying into the air. “Don’t you dare talk down to me…”
“Ya’ll cain’t tell her who to friend and who to not. Friends are supposed to be like stones an’ turtles in a pond, not like planks in a rickety ol' fence!”
At that, Twilight's eyebrows rose high, and Princess Celestia opened her mouth a few times, but couldn't find anything to say.
“Ah mean, Ah’m gonna be ‘er friend if she wants me to!” This time, Celestia’s gaze on the orange pony hardened. Applejack absent-mindedly tightened her grip on the hoe’s handle, an action that did not go unnoticed by the Princess.
“Are you defying me?” She asked in a cold tone. Somehow, Applejack was sure that there was only one right answer.
“Like a pig in a chicken coop, Princess!” She stammered with wide eyes.
Unbeknownst to Princess Celestia, that was supposed to mean No.
The sun shone a bit brighter, to the point where Twilight had to shield her eyes with a hoof. After just a second, everything went back to normal. The hoe fell to the ground next to a steaming pile of ash.
“Wow.” Princess Celestia said, throwing back her mane. “That made me feel so much better.”
“You… You banished her? Where to?” Twilight asked, staring at the pile of ash.
Celestia turned her head to the side. “Banished? What d-, Oh, I mean, yes.” She answered, spreading the still steaming ashes with her hoof. “To a, um, nice place. Believe me, she won’t have any worries anymore.”
Twilight nodded, holding back the tears in her eyes.
And just like that, Applejack was gone from Equestria, the show, and nothing of value was lost.