Upon the grounds of Sweet Apple Acres, many a tree was fully laden with its titular fruits, ready to be bucked out of their branches. Applejack, along with her brother, Mac, smiled as they looked upon their orchards. The sun was shining, the grass was as fresh and green as ever, and all around them they could see nothing but row upon row of healthy trees. Sighing, the orange mare looked to her brother, who smiled down warmly at her. He gave her a brief nod before starting to walk to the nearest tree, after which he began bucking. As expected of a stallion his size, all it took on his part was one kick to send the apples falling into the already-prepared baskets. Applejack too began to assume her duties, lining up a good-sized tree to kick herself. However, before she got the chance to do so, she and her brother were taken aback by the sudden sound of some kind of explosion. Spinning around, they looked on as they began to see a small column of smoke emerging from behind their family barn. Immediately, the two Apple siblings charged forward, ready to find out what it was that had caused this. They ran together, jumping over the white picket fence that surrounded their home, before approaching the barn.

However, as they ran around it, they ground to a halt as they saw what had occurred. There, before them, were the Cutie Mark Crusaders; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. All three of them had stood to one side, by the barn wall, watching the ground nearby, which now seemed to possess a small crater, still smoking. With a look of worry plastering her face, Applejack ran forward, immediately placing a hoof on the shoulder of her little sister, before speaking up in a fearful manner.

"Apple Bloom! Are ya okay?"

But the young filly merely looked up at her sister with some confusion before putting on a small smile.

"Of course ah'm okay, sis."

Raising an eyebrow, Applejack looked up to the two fillies, both of whom simply smiled at her, before looking back to the nearby crater.

"But...but...what in the hay happened here?"

A wide smile crept onto Apple Bloom's face as she walked away from her sister, pointing to the smoking hole in the ground.

"Well...ya said y'all wanted to deal with that old stump, right? So...ah did!"

As expected, Applejack looked to her sister with a great deal of uncertainty, before starting to gain a look of understanding. Stump? Wait...that’s right! There used to be an old stump there just this mornin. But...what happened to it? She looked to Apple Bloom, who was still looking quite pleased with herself, before fumbling her words somewhat.

"But...but...but...how?"

The young filly smiled once more, raising a hoof and pointing it to the barn beside them. Turning, Applejack looked upon something she had not noticed until now. A small glass flask, containing some kind of yellowish-green liquid. Hesitantly, she began to approach it, looking at it carefully before looking back to her sister.

"Since when do y'all dabble in potions an the like?"

Apple Bloom turned her head around and pointed to her flank, bearing her cutie mark of a red apple and hammer.

"The other day, ah was in the middle of practisin some woodwork by the clubhouse. But then, Zecora came along, looking fer some herbs an such. We got ta talkin an she started talkin about her potions an stuff. Ah asked if ah could try makin some, so she told me a few recipes."

After having heard all that, the orange earth pony turned, gazing upon the crater. Ever since that little filly got her mark, she's been out an about, makin all kinds of stuff. She fixed the barn roof. Made a brand new swing set fer the school. Heck, she even helped to patch up that broken old plough Big Mac uses. Ain't no doubt in mah mind that she's been mighty useful with her new talent. A small smile crept onto her face with that thought. It's just like all the other Crusaders. Sweetie takin every opportunity to sing as much as possible. Spike sure likes it, that's fer sure. As fer Scootaloo, not a day goes by when that little pegasus isn't scootin about on that scooter. Faust knows how many folks in town she's near-terrorized with those fancy stunts of those. But, her expression became one of slight concern as she considered that. But potion makin? That's somethin else. Ah know it's still makin stuff, but still...sounds strange ta me. After finishing that line of thought, she turned to Apple Bloom, before speaking in a calmer tone.

"An ah reckon that there crater is one of ya potions work?"

Apple Bloom nodded.

"Eyup! Cleared that old stump clean away! Y'all shoulda seen it! It was amazin!"

Seeing the enthusiasm on her sister's face, Applejack couldn't help but smile.

“Ah'm sure it was, Bloom."

Turning, Applejack looked upon her brother, who had been standing there quietly, as usual, and just taking in all of this. After a brief moment, Applejack gave him a nod, silently giving him permission to leave. Although hesitant at first, the older stallion nodded back, turning around and heading back off to continue with his apple-bucking. Now alone with the fillies, Applejack let out a sigh before placing her hoof upon Apple Bloom's shoulder once more.

"Look, sister...ah know y'all wanna practise yer special talent as much as possible, and ah appreciate that y'all have a real gift fer makin stuff...but ya gotta be more careful than that!"

Apple Bloom's ears began to drop somewhat, causing Applejack to feel more than a slight pang of guilt for having caused that.

"Ah know y'all wanted ta help, and ah thank ya fer it. But ya gotta understand...this could've been mighty dangerous for ya."

The young filly looked up from that.

"Ah know. Ah just...really wanted ta see if ah was any good at this."

Seeing the honest look in her sister's face, Applejack sighed before putting on a more affectionate smile.

"It's fine. Just...let me know when y'all wanna do something like this in future, okay? Ah don't want ya getting hurt from it."

Looking up at her sister, Apple Bloom returned the smile and nodded.

"Ah will. Ah promise."

But, no sooner had she said that when her eyes began to light up, looking more excited than she was before.

"Ooh! There's actually this other recipe ah've got brewin right now! Zecora said it'll be good for helping broken bones an such. Is it alright if ah finish makin it?"

Applejack chuckled at that.

"Sounds good. But ah want Zecora here when y'all finish it, just ta make sure it's okay. Besides, ah don't reckon there's much of a hurry to get it done right now anyways."

Apple Bloom nodded, and opened her mouth in readiness to agree to that. However, before she got the chance to do so, all four of them heard a massive cracking sound from far away, leading to them simultaneously turning in it's direction. Without a word, they sped off, heading straight for the source of the sound. In moments, they arrived at the edge of the orchards and looked upon what had happened. It was Big Macintosh, leaning against the nearest apple Tree, his hind leg lifted up as if lowering it was too painful to do so. Beside him was a broken tree branch, with scattered leaves around it, making it clear that it had been a sudden and massive impact with the ground. Putting two and two together, Applejack quickly understood what had just happened, giving her brother a look of both concern and annoyance.

"Again, Mac?"

Smiling nervously, the stallion nodded a little, confirming Applejack's suspicions, causing her to let out a grunt. Ugh! Well...at least it ain't Apple Buck Season this time around. She walked over, helping her bother up and aiding him as the two of them walked towards the family barn, no doubt to get him some bandages. As for the fillies, they remained where they were, with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looking concerned for Mac's condition. When it came to Apple Bloom, however, the two other fillies watched her with some confusion as, for some reason, she actually had a look of excitement upon her face. However, it wasn't long before they understood why.

"Well ah'll be! Guess ah get to try out that potion after all!"

Hearing that, Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.

"No offense, Apple Bloom...but sometimes...you're pretty twisted."

Author's Notes:

Nothing really special about this one, I just needed something to take the place of "Cutie Pox" in the timeline, since the CMC getting their marks kinda wipes it away.

Also, Applejack? As much as I love you and your family, my spell-checker hates me every time I try and get your accents right.