When she got home she went to the barn for her birthday party. All her friends were there: Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. And her family, of course: Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith

Pinkie Pie, in typical fashion, was a ball of energy, hopping over to her and slamming a birthday hat on her head and putting a noisemaker in her mouth.

The top of the barn was decorated with streamers and balloons, music was playing on a record player, and there were drinks and food scattered around. She took all of this in, at first feeling excited. Then she saw Applejack and her feelings changed, not feeling the party spirit at all. It had little to do with the mysterious card Diamond Tiara had given her. Things had changed with the knowledge Applejack had imparted to her little over a week ago.

“What’s wrong there, Sugarcube?” asked Applejack, seeing the sad look on her sister’s face.

“Well, it’s just…” Apple Bloom squirmed a bit, a few tears coming down her eyes before she asked, “Can… can I have my mom hug now?” Apple Bloom just caught the tears that appeared on Applejack’s eyes before she sat down and grabbed her sister, holding tight to her.

Applejack had known it was inevitable. She had known from the start that telling her sister the whole truth of their parent’s deaths was going to change the way she felt about her birthdays and parties. It was the main reason she had held off as long as she did in telling her sister such a terrible truth.

With her eyes closed, Apple Bloom was picturing her mother holding her, imagining her voice(though she had no way of knowing what it sounded like) telling her that she loved her, smiling through her pain and the knowledge that she would only have a very short time with her brand new child. And then the tears came. She began sobbing. Applejack just held her harder.

As she was being held a feeling came to her, one she hadn’t felt since Applejack had told her the story: guilt. “It’s my fault!” she cried out. “It’s all my fault.”

“What’s yer fault, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked gently.

Looking up at her sister with teary eyes she cried out, “You were right! I killed our mom! If it wasn’t fer me-”

“NO, APPLE BLOOM!” Applejack said sternly. That was one thing she wouldn’t let stand. She didn’t want her sister going through the same thoughts she had. “It’s NOT yer fault. I was stupid enough back then ta put the blame on ya, but none of it is yer responsibility. Ya would never want ta be the cause of something like that.” Tears were streaming down her eyes as she tried to keep her composure, her heart aching. “It would break our mother’s heart ta hear ya say that. I’m glad as anything ta have ya around as my sister, and I’m so proud of ya.”

Everyone else just quietly watched the exchange between the two of them, Pinkie’s mane drooping a bit, none of them knowing what to say.

“Y’know, Apple Bloom, I guess I kinda lied ta ya back then, because looking after ya, taking care of ya, holding ya and tucking ya in at night, and all the other stuff…”

She looked her sister in the eyes with all the affection she could muster, and said in the most genuine love-filled voice, “Yer as close ta me as a daughter, and I’m so glad ta have ya every day.” Shock covered the young filly’s face, so complete she had even stopped crying. “So please…" She gently rubbed a hoof against Apple Bloom's face, wiping her tears away. "Please don’t blame yerself fer somethin' ya had no control over. I wouldn’t be able ta stand that.

"It would make me feel so terrible fer telling ya the truth of what happened ta our parents. As I told ya before, our mother died with a smile on her face, holding ya close ta her until her last breath. The only thing she wanted when she went was fer ya ta be loved, fer us ta do the job she wouldn’t be able to. But blame… anger… hate…? Not a speck of that was in her heart. So please cheer up, my little Apple. I can’t stand to see ya in pain like this.”

As Applejack patted her chin, in her mind’s eye Apple Bloom could imagine her mother doing the same thing for her, telling her the same words. She thought of the precious times she shared with Applejack, of people commenting at times that they were more like one pony than two, their bond simply that strong. She closed her eyes again, holding tight to her sister, never wanting to let her go, not knowing what she’d do without Applejack. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, tears still coming down her eyes. “I’m sorry I hurt ya.”

“Its okay, Apple Bloom,” Applejack responded tenderly in a soft voice, rubbing her back.

For a few minutes things were quiet, the two of them just holding each other, Apple Bloom slowly feeling better. She believed that a piece of her mom still lived on in Applejack, so it was easy to imagine that it was her mom comforting her.

When they finally split apart they met each other’s eyes, each shining with love and affection. “Ya okay now?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah… I’m sorry.”

“Ya don’t have ta be sorry, Apple Bloom. This wouldn’t have been an issue if I had been honest with ya from the very beginning.”

“I love ya, Applejack.”

“And I love ya too, my little Apple.”

“Do ya…” She hesitated, then, “Do ya… do ya think…” Her nerve failed her. “Oh, never mind.”

“What is it?”

She took a deep breath, and asked the question digging at her. “Do ya think, from time to time, I could call ya… Mom?”

A mild look of shock crossed her face. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at that question, after what I just said. If it will make ya feel better then, yes, ya can call me Mom if you want.”

That finally put a smile on Apple Bloom’s face. She grabbed her sister, trying it out. “I love ya, Mom!” She liked it! She liked having a mom she could call her own. She didn’t have to feel different from her classmates anymore.

A mix of emotions assaulted Applejack, hearing those words. A little bit of the guilt from a long time ago surfaced, feeling she wasn’t worthy. She felt honored that her sister thought that highly of her. She felt fear, that her sister would diminish her love for her real mother by calling her that. But, more than anything else, she felt… content. More complete. “I love ya too…” She struggled with the last few words, so foreign to her tongue. “…my wonderful daughter.”

The joy Apple Bloom felt at hearing Applejack say that was without compare. She squeezed hard, before letting out a happy, “Yahoo!”

She hopped down to the floor. Now she was ready to party. “Let’s get to it! Yeehaw!” As she reared back and her spirit returned the mood picked back up. Apple Bloom danced, drank, ate, laughed, and opened presents, putting her heart and soul into having a good time, because she knew it’s what her mom, both of them, would want.

By the time it was all over it was getting dark. She thanked everyone and bid them farewell. She hopped onto Applejacks back, grinning from ear to ear as they went to the cemetery, telling her parents about the wonderful day she had.

Later that night, as she was getting into bed, she remembered something. So much had been going on during the past few hours that she had all but forgotten the card Diamond Tiara had given her. She debated on just leaving it for the morning, as if it wasn’t something nice she didn’t want that to be the last memory of her birthday. However, it kept nagging at her and nagging at her that she couldn’t sleep, her curiosity overtaking her.

Putting on a lamp she looked at the envelope. It didn’t have anything written on it, probably because she just didn’t want anyone to know she was actually going to the trouble of making her a card. A bit of nervousness gripped her as she tore the edge of it off, pulling out a piece of folded construction paper. It felt a bit stiff to her, not flexible like it should have been, meaning there was probably something inside it besides words.

On the front of it was a bunch of cross-outs of half written words, as if she couldn’t decide what to say and couldn’t be bothered to find another piece or erase what was there. Finally, on the last third of the piece, it just said, “Don’t tell those other two.” She assumed that meant Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Don’t tell them what? Well, she guessed she’d have to open it to find out what.

She opened it, seeing it folded a few times over. A look of confusion was apparent on her face as she opened each page. The stiffness had been from photographs glued to the pages. It took her some time to understand what she was seeing. At first she wondered why she had never heard of Diamond Tiara having a twin. It just took a while before she could believe that what she was seeing was Diamond Tiara.

She recognized Filthy Rich from when he had appeared for Family Appreciation Day, and a mare she guessed was Diamond Tiara’s mother, the nurse. They appeared to be at an amusement park. There were eight photographs in total.

Where her confusion and thoughts of a twin came in was from the smile on Diamond Tiara’s face. Whether it was on a Ferris Wheel, or Merry-Go-Round, in each photograph she wore a genuine smile. There wasn’t a trace of malice, smugness or condescension anywhere. She looked overjoyed, something she had only noticed out of the corner of her eye when her dad had made his presentation.

She studied each of the pictures in turn for over a minute, at first wondering why Diamond Tiara had given them to her. All of a sudden everything clicked in her mind. It seemed so obvious now. Her parents had given her what she had asked for, and that meant that she, Apple Bloom, was right and responsible for helping her reconnect with her parents. That meant she had to be grateful to her nemesis, and it was probably such a difficult thing for her.

She guessed that it had happened the day after their talk. The whole week, when Diamond Tiara was thoroughly ignoring her, it wasn’t because her parents had denied her request for more time with them personally, it was because she found it extremely difficult to abandon her rampant pride and express her gratitude.

Apple Bloom was willing to bet that she had been struggling the whole week to decide to give her these pictures, and she had finally made up her mind today, on the day of her birthday. It only made further sense that she seemed embarrassed and afraid to see her open the card right in front of her. She probably just wasn’t ready for that conversation, and it especially made sense why she didn’t want Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to know. Something was changing in her, and she didn’t know how to deal with it yet.

As Apple Bloom continued looking over at the pictures, she felt a swelling happiness in her heart. She felt genuinely happy for Diamond Tiara. She couldn’t spend time with her real parents, but Diamond Tiara still had that chance. And maybe, with what she was jealous of taken care of…

Apple Bloom carefully folded the paper back up so she didn’t damage the pictures, feeling indeed that it had made a wonderful birthday present. As she finished closing it up she saw there was something written on the back too. Countless scribbled out bits of “Th” and “Tha.” This time it didn’t end until the very bottom, crammed into the corner of the last bit of open paper. “Thank you.”