Apple Bloom was deep in thought.

Mostly the thought was 'consarn it!', with the occasional interjection of 'this is so dumb' and 'I don't get to do anything fun ever' for variety. But she was deep within them.

She had too much to do. She had too many chores, and too much homework. She knew, as an absolute and unimpeachable fact, that there was not a foal in Equestria who had as much busywork to do as her, who had less time to spend with her friends, exploring the world, playing games, and generally having fun.

The truth, if she was entirely honest with herself, was that there was just a lot to do on the farm that week and her elders needed her to chip in and do some of the lighter chores. They couldn't ask her to buck trees or pull loaded carts or work the market on her own, so they asked her to take care of all the animals, feed them and clean up their pens and collect the eggs. But the truth was boring.

Plus, Sweet Apple Acres had an awful lot of animals to take care of. At least the sheep and cattle could look after themselves for the afternoon if she asked them nicely. They might call it a favor to be repaid later, at a time and in a manner of their choosing, but since Applejack got rid of the Cowfather they didn't do that so much anymore. The pigs needed to be washed and fed, Winona needed to be washed and fed and exercised, and the chickens needed to be washed and fed and have their pens cleaned out and fresh hay loaded in and the eggs collected.

All while the little time Apple Bloom could potentially spend with her friends was slipping from her grasp forEVER.

“There has to be a way,” Apple Bloom pondered, “to speed up some of these chores.”

She had thought this through a thousand times before, spending time that could have been spent actually doing the chores properly instead (but that would have been defeat), and had meticulously cut every corner that could be cut. She had gone lightly with the feed (“Won't kill them to go on a diet for one afternoon.”), she had been sloppy with the washing (“The pigs don't care and Applejack won't look closely anyhow.”), she had only played fetch with Winona four hundred times rather than five hundred. But there was still not enough time to do all the stuff she had planned with her friends later.

There was nothing for it. She had to break the First Rule.

Nopony had ever broken the First Rule and escaped unharmed. But she would. There was no other way.

After she had done it, she took the basket on her back, and began to walk back to the farmhouse, a road that suddenly seemed infinite and full of peril.

“I can do this,” Apple Bloom whispered to herself. One hoof forward, then another, then another, then another. “I can do this.”

She reached the edge of the field and lowered her hoof down on the flat, dry road leading to the barn. A small smile grew on her face. “I'm doin' it,” she whispered, breathless with awe. The open barn door was right in front of her now. “I'm—”

“Apple Bloom WATCH OUT—”

Apple Bloom screamed as Scootaloo crash-landed on top of her, wagon and Sweetie Belle in tow, and the precious cargo exploded and coated them all with disgusting, sticky, and now completely unusable egg yoke.

---

“So,” Applejack said, her voice clear despite the brush in her mouth. “What did ya learn?”

“Nopony cheats the First Rule,” Apple Bloom recited from within the bathtub.

“How was I supposed to know not to do a flying entrance?” Scootaloo asked as the brush scrubbed her mane. “Ow! That stings!”

“Look on the bright side,” Sweetie Belle said, playing happily with the bubbles. “We're all together now.”

“Yeah, great,” Apple Bloom muttered. “I swear, I would have gotten the basket safely indoors if you hadn't shown up just then.”

Any further discussion was interrupted by a noise and a flash of light from under the water.

“That wasn't me!” Scootaloo preemptively exclaimed.

“Wait,” Sweetie Belle said, “Apple Bloom, get up from the water.”

Apple Bloom did so, and looked back. “You have got to be kidding me.”

On her flank was a picture of a broken egg.