Sweet Apple Acres has a longstanding reputation as a good place for ponies to go and try out their talents. There's work for most anypony willing to put in the effort and work the long hours, and for a pony recovering from a nasty fall and a nastier past, such work can prove to be a valuable distraction from past and present ills... but problems rarely stay away just because you ask them to, with trouble often having no trouble in finding you wherever you hide. Even the sweetest apple can hide a bitter core, and even the driest, most withered apple can hide the sweetest taste.