Fluttershy and Applejack walked along a beach leaving horseshoe prints in the sand, having just reached the coast after a long walk through the Aberdeenshire countryside. On one side they could see the open expanse of the North Sea, and to the other a landscape of undulating sand dunes.

“Oh look Applejack,” said Fluttershy, pointing a hoof, “there’s a dolphin! Isn’t it amazing how they jump out of the water like that?” She smiled at the sight of the bottle-nose dolphin performing its aquatic acrobatics before turning back to her friend. “Thank you for coming with me. I’ve wanted to visit this coastline ever since I read out it in the Scotsman.”

“How do you know so much about this country?”

“Ever since I first came here with Rainbow Dash and learned about the plight of the red squirrels, I wanted to know more about Scotland and the animals here. So I subscribed to the main newspapers and joined the Scottish Wildlife Trust. That was how I heard about the problems they have with invasive alien species.”

“You said they were havin’ some trouble with a big aggressive North American ape?” asked Applejack.

“His name is Donald Trump,” said Fluttershy. “He’s a very rich human from a distant land. He flew in to Aberdeen some years ago and visited this coastline. He said he had never seen such an unspoiled and dramatic sea side landscape—[1]”

“I can see why he’d think that.” Applejack surveyed the scenery, then shook her mane and lifted her head to enjoy the smell of the salt-laden sea breeze.

“So he decided to build a golf course here.”

“Err—a what?”

“He wanted to build a big resort so rich humans could pay to come and hit balls into holes,” explained Fluttershy. “It wasn’t a totally bad idea, but the way he went about it was all wrong. These sand dunes are a very sensitive ecosystem, with many unique plants and animals [2]. Environmental groups asked him to change his design to keep it off the protected dunes [3].”

“But he didn’t do that?”

“No. His application for planning permission was rejected by the local council, but it was pushed through by the Scottish government. Trump said he would invest a billion pounds and create six thousand jobs. They felt that it was worth it [4].”

Applejack raised an eyebrow with a scepticism born of years of business experience.

“Did he really put in all that money?”

“No. After eight years he’s invested under thirty million and created less than a hundred jobs [5].”

“The lyin’ toad.”

“That’s not very nice Applejack. All my toad friends are very honest creatures.”

“Sorry.”

“And then things got even nastier. He bullied the local residents. He wanted to buy their property. But a farmer, Mr Michael Forbes, and many others refused to sell. Mr Forbes’ family had lived there for many years and earned a living from the land and sea. He didn’t want to leave his home [6].”

“I can imagine how he felt.”

“But Mr Trump said his home was a disgrace and it was unacceptable that he had to look at his property from his golf course. He called Mr Forbes home a slum and said he lived like a pig. He said Mr Forbes was not a man that people in Scotland should be proud of [7]. Mr Trump offered him up to £450,000 to try to get him to sell his farm [8].”

“Well I hope he told that Trump were he should stick his money.”

“He did [9].”

“And what happened?”

“Mr Forbes and his family and friends endured some horrible bullying. Mr Trump’s firm built a huge wall of earth by the side of his house. They were harassed by security people. Lawyers tried to challenge the boundaries of their land. Mr Forbes access to the sea was cut off so he couldn’t take out his fishing boat. They had to live for over ten days without water after the people building the golf course cut a pipe. For years they were threatened that the council would use a compulsory purchase order to force them to sell their homes [6].”

“Well that ain’t very neighbourly.”

“And they got no help from the local police who seemed to be on Trump’s side.”

“Well of all the—”

“But although they got no help from the authorities, they did get a lot of support from friends from across Scotland and the rest of the world. Journalists reported their story. Film maker Anthony Baxter made a documentary about their fight. That changed things as the people of Scotland saw Mr Trump as an arrogant con man who was attacking ordinary people like them. They admired Mr Forbes for standing up to a bully and he was voted ‘Top Scot’ by the public in the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award. [10]”

“And what did Trump say to that?”

“He shouted and screamed like a spoilt child. He banned Glenfiddich whisky from his hotels and resorts [11]. He threw another tantrum when the government approved a windfarm off the coast saying it would spoil the view [12]. Then things took another turn after he decided to run for public office in his own country. He said a lot of very hurtful things which upset a lot of people. He called for all Muslims to be banned from entering the US [13]. He annoyed police officers in London by saying, quite wrongly, that they were afraid for their own lives [14]. That proved to be the limit. Even his friends in the Scottish government abandoned him. He was stripped of his honorary degree [15] and his status as a ‘Global Scot’ business ambassador for Scotland was removed [16]. Over half a million people signed a petition calling for him to be banned from the UK [17].

“He sure knows how to upset people. Why do you reckon Trump behaves the way he does?”

“He’s just following his instincts like all animals. Humans have a social hierarchy like their chimpanzee cousins. To be the alpha male, Trump feels he has to be noisy and intimidating and ferociously attack any perceived rivals [18].”

“I get why they wanted him kept out. I wouldn’t want him anywhere near Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Now now. There is always some good in everyone. I’m sure if we gave him a chance to learn about friendship, he could be reformed just like Discord. I hope he accepts an invitation to come to Britain and visit a London mosque [19] and then he might see how it’s much more fun to be part of a diverse community of friends.”

“Yeah… Right.”