The wooden trestle spanning the wide Arod River shook beneath the weight of the train as it thundered across at full speed. The locomotives roared and belched out a pale blue cloud of ozone (which rapidly dissipated as the ozone molecules broke apart back into oxygen gas particles).

Outside the cabin, an unsettled mare approached a member of the train crew. “Excuse me, sir, but why are we going so fast?”

“My apologies, dear mare, but there was an incident at Nimbuscait, and had to depart ahead of schedule for security reasons. Once we are over the river, we’ll return to our normal speed, and layover at our next stop.”

Onboard, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom stared out the window feeling great relief as the huge stone walls bordering Nimbuscait disappeared behind them.

Sweetie Belle still sobbed softly, her chest heaving in short sharp breaths as tears streamed down from her eyes.

“Stop it!” Granny Smith snapped, “There ain’t no need to cry, Apple Belle. Ain’t nopony’s gonna hurt you. It’s over. Yer safe.”

Sweetie Belle tried not to cry, but she was still terrified by what happened back there. “Th-thank you, Granny Smith,” she finally said.

“You’re welcome,” Granny Smith said, patting her gently on the head.

Across the cabin, Applejack sat, with her hat in her hooves, staring out the window. She didn’t dare speak. Big Mac wasn’t inclined to say much either. They all knew the whole purpose of this trip was so they could dehorn Sweetie Belle. And it was Applejack’s idea.

“Applebloom, Sweetie Belle,” Why’cha two run along n’ gander around the train fer’ a bit?” Granny Smith suggested.

“Yes, Granny Smith,” the two said as they stepped down from their seats and exited the cabin.

As Sweetie Belle slid the door shut, the small cabin became electrified with intensity. Big Mac sensed the voltage in the air and it made him uncomfortable. He did not take well to family drama. All the big red stallion wanted some peace and quiet. Why was that so much to ask?

“Applejack Sweet Apple, look at me,” Granny Smith barked. Applejack obeyed and looked up.

“I have one question fer’ you: Why did you do it?”

Applejack didn’t answer right away.

Granny Smith grew impatient fast. “Why did you bring us all the way to Nimbuscait, just to have her dehorned? An’ why in bloody tarnation did you disobey me, and even go behind mah flank? Answer me!”

Applejack felt solid in her convictions, despite being corrupted with superstition by Applegem and the Nimbuscait Apples, but she felt herself wavering infront of Granny Smith. She felt briefly that she was entirely wrong. As an automated mental defense, she pulled up her reasoning from everything Applegem told her. She wasn’t one to lose face, not even in front of a seething mad Granny Smith.

“What if all that stuff them Apples said was true? About Celestia’s wrath an’ unicorns plaguing us-”

“That is bullshit, and you know it, AJ!” Granny Smith shouted, her shrill high pitch voice ringing out. “Is that why you did it? Because you gone and went all paranoid? Just listened to them twisted ponies without even thinking? Sweetie Belle was damn near killed today, Applejack, and so were we! If it wasn’t fer Apple family tradition to protect each other no matter what, we’d all been burned alive!”

“That’s cus’ you went and attacked the priests!” Applejack shouted back, the anger flaring up in her, “Nopony dares attack a priest, and certainly not in Nimbuscait, Granny Smith! It’s family tradition that saved us from your reckless action! You could’ve been hurt.”

“Ah don’t care if they’re ‘priests’ or the town guard or even the damned Canterlot royal guards! I’d do it again to protect any o’ mah family, even you, AJ! After all Ah taught you...has it really been fer nothing?”

“Dang nab it, Granny Smith,” Applejack fumed, “If you just sat there and let them priests do their job, none o’this would’ve happened! We wouldn’ta been disowned by our fellow Apples! How you feel about that? You went and screwed us over all fer some unicorn filly!”

There was a brief pause, then Granny Smith countered. “Ah’m glad we ain’t family with those ponies. They were really our enemies, and Ah showed ‘em up fer it. Ah won’t have my family familiate with the likes o’them. An’ Ah woulda done the damn same if they tried to de-hoof you lulling in yer work, stab out Big Mac’s eye for lookin’ at the mares, or cut out Applebloom’s tongue fer talkin’ too much.”

“What?” Applejack asked in disbelief. “Cut out A’bloom’s tongue-”

“Oh yeah, they was talkin’ about that when the lot o’ ‘em came down to visit fer Hearth’s Warming last year. You know how Applebloom is. They loathed her, remember? Would you idle on yer’ flank if they dragged her out and mutilated her in the name of purity and Celestia and all that bullcrap?”

Applejack’s ears sank and dipped downward. “Uh, no, Granny Smith-”

“And what about me? What if they wanted to flame-broil mah old flank jus’ fer bein’ old? Ah been in Nimbuscait enough times to know they execute their old folks, saying it’s an assured sendoff to heaven or some bullwacky like that.”

“Ah swear, no!”

Granny Smith’s eyes squinted as she stared Applejack down, then she said, “Ah don’t trust you.”

Applejack didn't quite show it, but that statement hurt. She simply looked down at the floor again.

Granny Smith continued her verbal onslaught. “How would any o’ us know you ain’t been brainwashed by all their religious talk to the point you’d rather let us be hobbled and scorched in the name of their religion? As sure as hell wouldn't. An’ Ah was convinced so when you didn't jump up on stage to save Sweetie Belle. Ah ran from the house buck naked, Big Mac too, when we heard the dehornin’ was underway. An’ you know how them Nimbuscait ponies don’t like it when we don’t wear clothes like in Ponyville.

“You brought us here so our relatives could shelter you and keep you soaked in their hooey, and keep us from protecting Sweetie Belle. This whole trip was so you could hurt a pony. Ah never thought Ah’d say this, but shame on you.”

That stopped Applejack dead in her argument. It was like a knife through her heart. She always aimed to make everypony happy, and hearing that from Granny Smith hurt quite a bit, but she was tough and didn't show any tears.

“This is why we never go to Nimbuscait, AJ, and this is why we hardly ever have them ponies over at Sweet Apple acres unless a harvest is compromised. They got to your head. You let them get to yer’ head, AJ. You've got alot of thinking to do, young lady. Alot. Think about what kind of pony you really are, and what kind of pony you jus’ might become. Ah know Ah’m gonna die soon, and you will be in charge of Sweet Apple Acres. You will be responsible for the raising of our apples, our vegetables, our livestock, our barns, and even Applebloom’s and Sweetie Belle’s upbringing to full grown marehood. Ah sure as rotten hay don’t want to look down from the stars and see the curse of Nimbuscait corrupt and destroy our family and farm.”

Applejack said nothing. Granny Smith got up from her seat. “Now, if y’all’ll excuse me, Ah got to use the loo.”
And Granny Smith exited the cabin. Big Mac took one look at her and left too, leaving Applejack on her own.

She sat there, slouched against the back of the seat, staring forward, completely restless. She was horribly torn between what she suddenly came to believe, and the harsh stinging, accusing words by Granny Smith. It was a harsh personal attack, and that three word phrase actually triggered her brain to release storm of hurtful memories that surged up in her. Things Applejack bottled up for years and never told anypony. Things she tried to forget since she came to Sweet Apple Acres to start a new life long ago.

She never wanted to tell anypony. She wanted to believe she was fine, and everything was dandy, but the pain came back in full force and was almost unbearable. Then she felt an instant surge of bitterness, anger and contempt towards Granny Smith for what she said to her. She practically accused Applejack of bringing down the family, and killing them, something she sure as hell would never ever do. Despite what she did back in Nimbuscait earlier (which she still felt right to do), she hated Granny Smith of saying she’d let harm come to her family.

“It had to be done!” she shouted out loud to herself, “That unicorn will hex us all and bring us all down. Ah did it to protect y’all!”

But nopony heard her. She wanted to say that, right before Granny Smith ripped her apart with her words. But then a jarring thought hit her: What if Granny Smith was right? What if the Nimbuscait Apples, who she seemingly sided with, condemned one of her own family, and decided to have one of them butchered or burned at the cathedral? She had allowed herself to be overcome with fear and superstition-

Applejack vehemently denied that line of thought, and struck herself in the head with a hoof for thinking such trash thought. She’d never let that happen to anypony she loved. Unless it was a unicorn.... She tried to keep ontop of her wave of denial to push back the pain that threatened to crush her heart.

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle walked the entire length of the ten passenger car train. Behind the passenger cars was another locomotive that hauled a long line of freight cars. Off limits to passengers. The two locomotives that pulled the train were powered by magic, which was stored in massive magic batteries. While magic propelled the engines, some of it was converted to electricity to provide lighting and communications.

The two fillies tried to put their anxieties aside as they explored the train. Each of the passenger cars was different from the other. One car was built fairly new, another nearly a hundred years old. The ‘dining’ car was fairly cheap. All there was for food was a large despenser machine full of trail mix, which ponies poured into containers. There was a concession bar, but the food, other than fruits and vegetables, was expensive. The two fillies, having removed their clothes worn in Nimbuscait, gandered at the groups of ponies who came from even further away than Nimbuscait. The Equestrian Railroad spanned the entire country (the world) and went on for thousands of kilotrots. Most ponies hardly left their own local areas, and those who had the luxury of long distance travel viewed it as an adventure.
They joined a motley group of foals who brought along boardgames and books for the trip. The two fillies did all they could to put the ‘family vacation’ out of their minds.

Anypony in neighboring Arod County who lived close to the river that bordered with Nimbuscait could say that the weather was almost always better on their side of the river. Local talk has it that darker clouds and heavier rains and fogs always hung over Nimbuscait, as if to reflect the somber atmosphere behind the huge stone wall. Today it rained there, but as the train traveled further away, the weather became nicer.

By mid afternoon, the train stopped for its layover at the town of Bristle Thatch, then resumed on schedule to Risette and arrived by evening. Ponies travelling on the other line that lead south to Corlett, Wooton, and Ponyville had to board another train, which didn't come till noon the next day. Then it would be a day and a half back home. ++

The train pulled into the station at Ponyville late in the afternoon. Scootaloo, missing her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, waited anxiously on the platform. Then she spotted them. “Applebloom! Sweetie Belle! Over here!”
Oblivious to their mood, she galloped up to them and hugged Applebloom tight, then Sweetie Belle.
“You guys, I was wondering when you’d get back, I was so bored! I wanted to go too but my parents wouldn't let me.”

“It’s a good thing you stayed here,” Applebloom said, “Nimbuscait sucks. Don’t ever go there.”
“Really?” Scootaloo asked, “Why?” She looked at Sweetie Belle, who just looked down at the ground. She never wanted to hear about that place ever again.
Applebloom took a quick glance at Applejack who was over talking to some other Apple ponies who came to the station to meet them. She quickly waved a hoof, indicating for Scootaloo to come close.

“Them ponies up there are complete freaks. They hate unicorns. They tried to chop Sweetie Belle’s horn o-”

“Applebloom! What y’all talkin about so hushlike for?” Applejack called.

Applebloom nervously backed away from the other two. “Uhh, Ah was just tellin' them about Big Apple Thumper’s zap apple pie-”

“Well shut yer mouth, that’s Apple Family business! An’ don’t y’dare talk about anything else, ya hear? Now come along you two, we got plenty of chores to be done!”

When something was said to be Apple Family business, that meant it wasn't to be discussed with outsiders.

Scootaloo followed them through town, asking Applebloom and Sweetie Belle a bunch of questions, and telling them about Pinkie Pie’s latest mishap at Sugarcube Corner. Apparently she screwed up on some crazy recipe and a birthday cake exploded all over the place. Scootaloo and Dinky Doo spent the day with Pinkie Pie licking up the mess. The cake was delicious. The special ingredient: pop rock candies.

“Aww gee, we haven’t been to Sugarcube Corner in so long,” Applebloom lamented.

“Scootaloo,” Applejack called, “Unless y’want to be spending the evenin’ doin chores with these two, y’better skedaddle and get on home.”

Scootaloo didn't have to be told twice. She said goodbye and was gone.

A notable thing in the history of Apple family superstition that wasn’t limited to the Nimbuscait Apples, was the concept of an equilibrium that suggested what comes up, must also come down. That translated to the Apple family as if too many good things happened, bad things would follow. That principle was what kept the Apple clans all over Equestria from enjoying life too much other than via hard work. They strongly and instinctively believed there was a trade off when it came to life and death. For every foal born into the Apple family, or a life saved, another was expected to die in some accident or sickness.

Either case, Granny Smith’s number came up. Her tragic end occurred on a day of heavy rain. Big Mac and Braeburn were trying to haul a cart full of applekins, the last of their applekin harvest. Applekins were what they got when they crossbred apples with pumpkins. The pumpkins looked like pumpkins on the outside, but under the skin, it was all apple. The Sweet Apples scratched their heads when they discovered the first applekin years ago- they cut open the pumpkin, and discovered it wasn’t a pumpkin.

Applekins were heavier than pumpkins, and Braeburn and Big Mac had a hell of a time carting them from the fields along the muddy paths to the barn. Took both stallions to haul one cart through the mud.

Granny Smith showed up and offered them some freshly baked apple cinnamon chocolate cookies and some milk.

“Why, thank you kindly, Ms Smith,” Braeburn said, tipping his hat as he ate the cookies.
“Eyyup,” Big Mac panted, and nodded.
“Aw, it ain’t nothin’ you two. So this is the last of the applekins?”
“Eyup.”
“Well you only got a hundred trots to go and the harvest will be finished. Thanks fer all yer’ help Braeburn!”
“It’s a pleasure, Ms. Smith,” Braeburn chuckled, “C’mon Mac, let’s giddyup this thing to the barn,”
“Eeyyup.”

As the two stallions proceeded to pull the wagon, the wooden wheel on it’s starboard (right) side suddenly collapsed into splinters. The whole thing suddenly lurched over, and slid, and the wagon, applekins, all fell on Granny Smith, instantly crushing her.

“GRANNY SMITH!” Big Mac and Braeburn both shouted. They immediately unfastened themselves from the cart, and began bucking the applekins and pushed the wagon off of her.

Applejack came galloping full speed from the house up the hill. “What happened?” she shouted.

“She’s hurt! Real bad!”

Granny Smith tried to speak, but coughed, and blood came up.

“N-no! It can’t be! Granny Smith!” Applejack saw right away that the old mare’s ribcage had collapsed, and she was struggling to breathe.

“We’ll get you to the hospital, hang on. Apple Cinnamon! Run into town and get help!”

“It...look...like...Ah’m...done...here,” Granny Smith croaked through her labored breathing. She looked up at the three of them and her eyes filled with tears. “Ah...Ah...Ah’ll be...watchin y’all.”

Applejack took Granny Smith’s hoof in hers. “Granny Smith, don’t die, hang in there! We’ll getcha to the hospital and fix you right up brand new, you’ll see!”

Granny Smith took one last look at Applejack, and with her final breath, she wheezed: “Remember *cough* what Ah said, A...J...don’t let this farm.*cough*...family...die...”

But Princess Celestia, the giver and taker of all life, apparently didn’t let Granny Smith finish, because, she lost consciousness and went limp. She was dead.

Applejack screamed at the top of her lungs, and held Granny Smith’s body close and cried, Big Mac and Braeburn standing over her, completely dumbstruck by Granny Smith’s sudden passing. They knew she was nearing her end but didn’t expect her to go out like this.

Despite the whole Nimbuscait thing only weeks ago, Applejack still loved and revered Granny Smith. Her death became somewhat too much for the orange pony to take.

On the following Solar Sun Day, the funeral was held at the cemetery on the western edge of Sweet Apple Acres. Many ponies came out to pay their respects. To some, she was the icon of Sweet Apple Acres, others, she was an icon of living history- one of the last connections to the founding of Ponyville. She was known and revered by many. Sure she was odd at times, but almost nopony thought lowly of her. Even Filthy Rich, one of Sweet Apple’s biggest zap apple customers, came out to pay his respect, and he dragged the unappreciative spoiled brat, Diamond Tiara, with him. The other five members of the Mane Six, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle attended the funeral and tried to console Applejack.

The pallbearer ponies lowered the casket into the grave and shoveled in the dirt. An elaborate tombstone was etched out and planted to mark the grave.

Applejack, one of the most proud, resilient, cheerful, stern, and mentally strong ponies in town, cried harder than the other Sweet Apple members. AJ, the one who scolded Applebloom for crying; who believed crying was for the weak, simply let it all out, or so was thought.

As winter set in, Applejack spiraled into a depression, and her grieving went on longer than normal; a concern for her friends and family. Twilight Sparkle tried to examine her, but she refused to talk about much, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy tried to cheer her up but with little success.

One day in early Winter, as freezing rain and snow lashed the landscape, Applejack sat in her bedroom staring out the window. The raindrops spattered loudly on the glass, and the wheels in her mind began turning erratically. At first she blamed herself for Granny Smith’s death, and beat herself up for not seeing it coming, not being out there to pull Granny Smith out of harm’s way, or stop the cart from falling on her.

The mystery of the accident was quickly figured out: the wheel collapsed under the weight of the applekins. All night she prayed to Celestia, begging for forgiveness, and asking why this had to happen but she never got a reply.

Then, as her mind destabilized, she spotted Big Mac, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle hauling another cart full of feed for the animals. She looked at the wheels on that cart, then at Sweetie Belle, then a bunch of nerves suddenly snapped together in her brain with an electrical surge, and her thoughts suddenly became clear:

Sweetie Belle killed Granny Smith. That little unicorn witch put a spell on that cart. Made the wheel give out. All the things the Nimbuscait Apples told her ran through her head over and over again, about unicorns, curses, death and destruction. She remembered the reasons Applegem told her they had about dehorning and killing unicorns. Then she remembered the what-goes-up-must-come-down principle: Granny Smith saved Sweetie Belle, and for that Granny Smith was killed. Suddenly, she felt a surge as all her hatred focused on Sweetie Belle.

Applejack wanted to kill her. Not just for killing Granny Smith, but to stop her from bringing more curses, mayhem, death, disease, and destruction on the farm. Applejack remembered what Granny Smith always told her about family and farm: never let the two fall and die out.

Applejack wanted to take a pitchfork, and jam it right through that little unicorn’s heart and lungs. She wanted to tie her up, douse her in oil and set her on fire, just like the priests rightfully did to the other foal back in Nimbuscait. She wanted to pack that unicorn two trots under the dirt in Everfree, so that the dangerous, vile creatures there may devour the body and magic.

However, her intent to kill Sweetie Belle was cut short by Granny Smith’s harsh words on the train, and her warning of who Applejack just might become. Applejack always respected Granny Smith, and always followed through with what she said, until she was exposed to the superstition from the Apples up north. She also remembered what she was told at a young age about death:

When ponies died, their spirits ascended to the sky and watched the living through the nighttime stars. Their souls went back to Princess Celestia, but their spirits remained in a new ethereal form and watched the living through Celestia and Luna. She knew that just because Granny Smith died, she’d still be watching Applejack, and one day, when Applejack kicked the bucket, she’d join Granny Smith in the next life, or in pony heaven or wherever, and she’d get it for sure whatever she did in these years between their deaths.

Fear of disappointing Granny Smith, her one great parent and mentor in her life, was what shut down Applejack’s intent to kill Sweetie Belle, and placed her back at the center of her struggle between her loyalty to Granny Smith, and belief and obedience in the strict superstitious ways of the ponies in Nimbuscait, and the fear of hell they instilled in her.

Also, to make matters much worse, Applejack’s past memories surged through her and mixed with all this. She went insane. Insane with anger and frustration. At herself, at Granny Smith, and at Sweetie Belle. Applejack bucked and kicked the furniture in her bedroom until everything was damn near destroyed, and the walls were ruined with hoof sized dents. She screamed bloody murder and went insane as the demons of her past haunted her. Eventually, she hit the floor and curled up in a heap and cried.

If anypony opened the door and saw her like this, she just might have tried to kill them out of mere impulse. She couldn’t stand to see herself like this, no way in hell she’d let anypony else see her in this condition.

In the week following that fateful day, Applejack remained secluded in her room while Big Mac and the fillies carried out the daily chores. School ended for winter break, so Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had more time to help Big Mac with the chores. Winter chores were far less than summer chores. All that had to be done on a daily basis was to feed the animals and clean up their slop.

Applejack finally put herself back together, and re-appeared as she stepped down the stairs into the kitchen.

“Been a while AJ. Y’all right?” Big Mac asked.
“Y-yeah, Ah’m fine. Never been better actually. Ah been prayin’ to Celestia is all. Ah hate-”
She set her eyes on Sweetie Belle, and they flared with anger, then she caught herself.
“-mahself fer what happened to Granny Smith. Ah should’ve been there to protect her.” From you, blasted unicorn wretch.

“These things happen,” Big Mac said matter of fact-ly, “Real sad, but she’s with Celestia now. Perhaps pray to Luna, and Luna just might let you visit Granny Smith in yer’ dreams when y’ sleep.”

“Really?” Applebloom asked, wide eyed.
“Eyyup. Eat yer’ soup, A’bloom. You too Apple Belle.”

“Heh.” Applejack grunted. She was still slightly out of it. “Well, she’ll be sorely missed, but never forgotten. Ah’m ready to get back to it. Thanks fer’ coverin’ for me Big Mac.”
“Eyyup.”

From this point on, Applejack’s personality fractured. When she was in control of herself, she was the normal Applejack, who got over her grandmother’s death and was the proud owner and hard working chief commanding farmer of Sweet Apple Acres, and her family.
However, the other side of her always threatened to seep in, and flood her mind with thoughts about her subconscious grudge against Sweetie Belle, and her unrelenting anger over Granny Smith’s death.
Such hatred played out whenever Applejack was angry at Sweetie Belle, and when she disciplined her for this or that.

Without even her knowing it, as the days, weeks, and months passed, Applejack grew colder, meaner, sterner, and stricter. She turned into a crazed workaholic, always obsessing about the farm and all the work needed to be done to keep the place in top condition. She soon came to become furious when she saw ponies loafing off and playing around, especially Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, even when their work was done.

She took it out on them by assigning more chores and projects, and making the two fillies work on their school work for hours in the evening, even though their homework was already done. Applejack got another Apple pony to make up busy work for them and keep them on their hooves from dawn till dusk.

At first they complained, griped, groaned, whined, then Applejack took out the belt, or a stick, or a rope and lashed that out of them. They learned the hard way that the meaner, angrier, workaholic Applejack was here to stay, and they better hoof down and obey. The days when Applejack was a nicer, kinder earth pony were slowly waning into the past. And Sweetie Belle got the worst of it.

After Hearth’s Warming, Applejack put those two on a tough regimen of schoolwork and chores. Her expectation was that their school grades went up. She flew into a rage if there was so much as one bad mark on their weekly report cards from their teacher Cheerilee. She expected no less than 99% marks on all their assignments. And she whooped them good when they came home with bad results.

Of course, the chores ran from early morning before school, all day after school and into the evening. That was followed by hours of homework and homeschooling by Apple Dumpling. They were not allowed to get tired, or distracted. Social time was also cut short, even to the point where Scootaloo was not allowed over unless she joined Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in their chores and homework.

They hardly ever got time to go back to their Cutie Mark Crusader treehouse, which eventually got taken over by other foals. Each of the CMC’s sadly speculated that the days of the Cutie Mark Crusade were over.

Sugarcube Corner was declared off limits. Applejack’s reasoning: Sweets, candies, cakes, puddings, and all that was bad for their health, and they were only allowed to eat food produced and cooked on the farm. One time during spring when Applebloom and Sweetie Belle snuck off and joined Scootaloo at the Corner, Applejack caught them, and lashed them hard for it, and sentenced them to no supper for three days.

Another thing was that Applejack hardly let the two out of her sight when they went into town, and that was basically only to sell apples and buy supplies and materials. Foals usually ran around town free, there was a general agreement that everypony look out for everypony else’s foals. If there was a problem, anyone could help out and get that foal back to his or her parents. Ponies in town did take note and comment to one another about Applejack keeping her fillies on a tight leash in town. They had to be in her sights or they got in trouble.

But the best part was Applejack’s explosive reaction when Sweetie Belle brought up magic. It was suppertime during a day in mid spring. Sweetie Belle spent the last two weeks gathering the courage to ask. She knew full well Applejack despised unicorn magic, but she went ahead and brought up the subject at her peril.

They were sitting at the table, eating a vegetable-hay pot pie, when Sweetie Belle swallowed her food and began to ask.

“Um...Auntie Applejack?” Sweetie Belle hesitantly asked.
“What is it, sugarcube? Well, go on, spit it out!”
“I....I...well...you...know....you know Tootsie Flute? She’s in our class. She...she signed up for-”
“C’mon Apple Belle, quit acting like a broken sheep whistle and talk already! Yer’ stuttering is startin’ to piss me off,” Applejack strongly prompted her.
“She started having magic sparks.”
“What!?”

Applebloom couldn't take the suspense, and with the innocent of intent on being helpful, she spoke up. “Tootsie Flute started making magic in class on Mariday. Cheerilee said she should sign up for magic training. Parents have to sign a permission form. Sweetie- er I mean Apple Belle wants to go too.”

Applejack flipped the buck out. If she saw this coming, she would have tried to keep herself under control, and given a more calm lecture about how much she hated and forbade magic. She jumped up and slammed her hooves on the table, tipping over the juice jug and their glasses. Juice spilled everywhere.

“What the bloody rotten hay are you talking about goin to yer’ infernal magic trainin’ for, you little brat! So you can hurt ponies and burn their houses down? So you can poison their food and sour their milk? Is that it? Is it not enough for you that Granny Smith died to save yer life-damned flank?” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Sweetie Belle’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Don’t you dare start up the water works, little missy, or Ah’ll take you out back by the ear and hoof beat ‘em tears out of ya!”

Both fillies were too stunned and scared to even move. They sat with their flanks rooted to their chairs. Applejack continued ranting. “You get this right and remember it real damn good, Apple Belle. Magic is a cursed power from the evil. The enemy of Celestia and life itself. Ah don’t care who or exactly where it comes from, but it is absolutely forbidden here on mah farm and in mah family! Ah won’t you growin’ up to be another accursed witch! Ah don’t care if the other unicorn brats in yer class are popping out their little infernal unholy sparks. Cheerilee ought’a put caps on them so they don’t burn down the whole dang school! No, yer’ NOT going to that hocus pocus magic club, an Ah’m gonna make damn sure Cheerilee knows that. Don’t you dare ever, ever ask me about magic or mention it to me again, Apple Belle! Or Ah swear to Princess Celestia, Ah will drag you by the ear all the way to Nimbuscait and chop that horn off mahself! Do Ah make myself clear?”

That shut Sweetie Belle up, and she simply nodded. She was paralyzed with fear. No Granny Smith to save her this time. The all-too-clear memories of the other unicorn that got flamebroiled alive next to her came back.

“Yer’ gonna grow up to be a hard workin’ earth pony, and that’s that. Now shut up and finish yer supper.”

Minutes later, Big Mac entered the kitchen through the back door, carrying a bucket of milk. He saw the two fillies sitting scared stiff in their chairs, and spilled juice all over the table and floor.
“Dang it, Applejack, what y’ blow a gasket over this time?”

“Big Mac,” Applejack replied, pointing her spoon at Sweetie Belle, “Apple Belle here needs to learn real good that magic is absolutely forbidden, and she will NOT be using magic at all on the farm, in school, or anywhere else in her life as long as Ah’m in charge, and that is final.”

And so these things were just a small hoof-full of examples that indicated Applejack was slowly becoming a psychopathic deranged workaholic religious control freak.