The crackling fire roared
As the water within boiled
And I stood near the cauldron
To perform my greatest toil
In went some reddish berries
And an onion root or two
Some honeysuckle flowers
And some gemstone residue
Then came crushed leaves from herbal plants
And bark from cinnamon trees
A dash of spicy rainbows
And some salt from distant seas
I stirred the heated broth and
Watched the bubbling liquid glow
From blue to green to red to pink
And then a bright yellow
At last, the mixture settled
And gave off a pleasant smell
I cracked my largest smile
As I knew I had done well
I then went to the pantry
Taking a bowl from a bunch
Which then I poured the soup into
For a nice and calming lunch
I quickly drained the bowlful
But before I went for more
I jumped at a loud noise
As a mare burst through my door
“Zecora!” she said panting for breath
“I hope you’re not too busy”
“’Cause something happened to my friends”
“And caught them in a tizzy!”
“Calm down, Pinkie” I replied
“Just tell me what went wrong”
“And give me all the details”
“No matter if they’re long”
“Remember some time ago” she asked
“Two ponies stopped on by?”
“Their names if you can recall”
“Applejack and Fluttershy?”
“The country mare did come” I said
“And asked something of me”
“She wanted a little something”
“To help grow some sickly trees”
“And Fluttershy if I remember so”
“Spoke of her sweet, dear bunny”
“And requested for some medicine”
“As he felt a little funny”
“So, I brewed them two potions”
“According to what I know”
“One would return the rabbit’s bounce”
“And the other helps trees grow”
“And so, with a happy heart”
“I sent them on their way”
“But I suppose things went quite sour”
“And that’s why you’re here today?”
“Well, I would love to chat” she said
“And keep buzzing on like bees”
“But I think it’s best for us”
“If you came with me to see”
So, as I packed a few things
And trailed behind Pinkie Pie
I had a sinking feeling
Of how it all went awry
***
We soon reached Applejack’s farm
Where she told us of her plight
When she showed the particular trees
We beheld an odd sight
The trees were large, their trunks sturdy
But that was not what’s strange
The apples that fell bounced away
Like popcorn off of a range
Her siblings tried their very best
To catch them in their baskets
But when the fruits sprang off them too
They almost blew their gaskets
As we pondered this strange occurrence
A loud roar came from behind
We quickly rushed towards the source
And stood shocked at what we would find
Carrot Top’s patch was overrun
By a big white hairy beast
Who dug up many buried plants
And gobbled them as its feast
Very soon, a familiar pale mare
Flew down from atop its head
She then pointed to the giant
“That’s Angel” she worriedly said
Pinkie Pie turned to us three
And with a concerned stare
Asked how it all went so wrong
To cause the chaos there
Fluttershy hung her head low
“I guess the fault’s on us”
“We swapped potions without knowing”
“And caused us quite the fuss”
“No, the wrong’s all mine” I said
“If only I marked the jars”
“The cures would go where they should be”
“And this problem won’t go far”
“Aw, shucks!” the farm pony spoke up
“We can’t sit and take blame!”
“I reckon solvin’ this here fix”
“Would help us all the same!”
“Why not get Twilight?” Pinkie asked
Applejack turned and frowned
“I went to her place at first but”
“Spike said she’s out of town”
“So, Zecora” she turned to me
“Can you help us in our plight?”
“And mix up something nice and quick”
“To help us make things right?”
“A shrinking potion” I replied
“Is quite simple to make”
“But for Angel to drink the brew”
“We must a carrot take”
“As for the trees, it’s quite complex”
“I’m not sure what we need”
“But I think we can begin”
“With the bouncy apples’ seeds”
So, in the barn’s quaint kitchen
I filled water in two pots
In the mean-time, the other three
Rushed for the things I sought
***
While Fluttershy tried to calm
The big bunny with her stare
Pinkie searched the carrot patch
To find it nearly bare
The party pony dug and
Just as she began to doubt
Her hooves caught something fresh
As she pulled out a carrot sprout
But the yummy vegetable’s smell
Caught the great rabbit off guard
And when she saw his hungry look
The pink mare ran off hard
The ground shook hard with every bounce
As the giant gave chase
But no matter how close he got
She somehow picked up the pace
I looked up from my boiling stew
To see quite the commotion
A pink mare with a carrot
And a HUGE bunny in motion
“Here!” she reared her head and tossed
The vegetable in with the lot
The mixture then bubbled and frothed
Then settled in the pot
The potion was done just in time
As the creature burst in
And grabbed the hot pot, spoon and all
And gulped the broth within
With his feast complete
The bunny first swayed left, then right
Very soon, he fell down hard
And was out like a light
And with the rabbit sound asleep
From the brew it had drunk
Fluttershy was overjoyed
To see her pet had shrunk
With one problem finally solved
I filled up one more flask
As deep within the orchard
Applejack still had her task
***
Passers-by at the farm would see
A bunch of bouncing fruit
And trailing right behind them
Three ponies in hot pursuit
The Apple siblings tried their best
But their efforts were in vain
Some smashed trees and trampled plants
Resulted from their pain
But just as the apples would
Give them a run for their money
One smashed into a nearby hive
And coated itself with honey
Upon seeing the bouncy fruit
Get wedged in the sweet sap
Applejack got an idea
To make a sticky trap
When I reached the siblings three
They greeted me with grins
As they held a honeyed crate
And the apples stuck within
Getting all the seeds
Didn’t need that much good luck
Although while we were cutting
The knife kept on getting stuck
The seeds went in the flask
Along with the second brew
After I gave a few good shakes
The liquid inside turned blue
I then poured its contents
Below a bouncy apple tree
The glow as the plant soaked it up
Was quite the sight to see
I then motioned to Applejack
Who gave the tree a buck
When the apples that fell stayed
We knew we were in luck
***
I apologised for my mistake
And offered them refunds
But they refused and were just glad
The whole ordeal was done
Though ruining Carrot Top’s whole patch
Made her far from pleased
I compensated her with bits
And a bag of carrot seeds
And with this victory in our hooves
We had to celebrate
With cake and homebrewed cider shared
We partied till it’s late
Soon, we went our separate ways
With no hard feelings here
Though Pinkie kept a bouncy fruit
As a nice souvenir
So, from this happy outcome
I close this sort-of fable
If I had learned a lesson, ‘twas
The importance of LABELS