It's that time of year again to make apple cider for all the ponies in Ponyville, and Applejack is determined to make enough for all of them this time, enough to last the entire cider season. Against her better judgement, she creates a machine similar to the one the Flim Flam brothers used, and, wanting this year's cider to be the best tasting out of all the other years, she resorts to other ingredients being used in the cider to give it a better taste. When Applejack accidentally discovers the secret ingredient that works best for this, it sets her down a path that she can never turn back from.