“The Summer Star Sighting Show. The last royal event of the summer and one of the most prestigious held in the Capital City of Canterlot. The most influential ponies of Canterlot, from the msot distinguished families and organizations, all come together to witness the night sky in the shortest night of the year, the last before autumn. And this year is even more especially because for the first time in a thousand years, Princess Luna, fully recovered from her absence, will settle the night for all ponies to see.

“The most special night of the year...and I´m stuck here.”

“Do yah feel the need to talk to ya self, Diamond Tiara?” Apple Bloom said, stacking a pile of boxes on her back effortlessly.

“I was merely expressing my sorrows, you illiterate mule. And the correct word is monologize,” Diamond Tiara said, falling over her own pile of boxes.

Apple Bloom merely rolled her eyes and easily stacked her pile of boxes atop another one. She hated to admit it but Diamond Tiara´s suggestions had really helped clear the storage room. The way Apple Bloom was doing it before, the boxes were piling in a corner, threatening to fall over. Diamond Tiara had the idea of spreading them according to weight and now the room was looking much more organized. She may be rude and obnoxious but she had a talent for organization. Too bad she didn´t had a talent to carry heavy things.

“Well, quit ya mono-thingie and get moving yer hooves. Otherwise ya never finish cleaning the Cakes storage by the end of the day.”

“I don´t see the point in rushing. I still have two hundred more hours of community service to make,” Diamond Tiara said, dramatically falling over a box. “Then again, it's a fitting punishment for endangering the whole town. Not to mention this nasty ugly scar that still won't´go!”

Apple Bloom couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Diamond Tiara pouting. After the event with the dragon, Diamond Tiara was so shocked that she actually spent days without talking. Looking at her so devastated while Princess Celestia and her father gave her a lecture was such a sight that even Scootaloo  was feeling sorry for her. Watching her acting a little more like the old Diamond Tiara was actually a relief for Apple Bloom.

The whole town had been going slowly going back to normal as the summer approached its end. The novelty of Spike´s heritage had worn out and he himself let go of several of the most ridiculous rules of his Code. He still insisted in repairing all the damages caused by the other dragons but the rest of the town didn't let him do it all alone. Everypony, including visitors Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, all helped rebuilt the town.

A few days later, Spike appeared in Sweet Apple Acres to formally court Babs Seed. It was as ridiculous and cheesy as you can imagine and the whole incident turned into a chase when Rainbow Dash learned she was technically still engaged to Applejack which totally ruined her chances with Soarin. It was a funny little scene, the last scene of the summer.

“Babs must be really enjoying the party with Spike. Lucky her, getting both him and the scholarship for the Earth School of Fillies Future Talents,” Diamond Tiara said, emphasizing the last words.

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow, a little angry that Diamond was acting too similar to the old Diamond Tiara.

“But I suppose she deserves it. I still don´t understand how she could keep something so big hidden for so long. I mean, if I have got a scholarship invitation I would have told everpyony about it.”

“Ya wanna know why?” Apple Bloom said and once she got Diamonds attention she trew a box over her. “Because Babs doesn't like to brag. She´s smarter than you and me. She´s the smartest of the Crusaders, she studies hard and that´s why she got grades notes high enough to get a scholarship. Instead of, ya know, trying to use a famous boyfriend to get in.”

Diamond blushed and tossed the box aside, getting up. “Fine, I see your point. I guess I´m still a little angry because leaving this dirty town and going to that school in Manehattan has been my dream for years. And now it will never come true.”

“Your dad won't let you try the exam?”

Diamond Tiara shook her head. “Even if he changes his mind, I´ll still have the reputation of the pony that almost destroyed an entire town. I´m not  ESFFT material anymore.”

Apple Bloom approached Diamond and patted her in the back. Diamond just turned her head around which Apple Bloom figured was the best she would get and get back to work.

“I don´t need you to feel pity for me. I may be not be able to go to ESFFT but I will graduate from a famous college. I´ll go to Fillydelphia or Baltimare or even Vanhoover and I´ll show all of you that Diamond Tiara is the shiniest gem to come out of Ponyville!”

“Glad to see ya have cheered up. Now, can we please go back to work?”

“Why are you even helping me? Shouldn't you be with the other two blank flanks digging holes or whatever is you blank flanks do?”

“Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon are at Rarity's Boutique, picking up some dresses for a dance Silver is preparing.”

“Yeah, i know all about it. I can´t go. In fact, I can´t go to any parties for the next five years” Diamond said, pouting.

“Well, Sweetie got you covered. Seems she and Silver Spoon are now really good friends,” Apple Bloom said,shrugging. She was giving her back to Diamond Tiara so she missed her looking a little sad at this fact.

“They spent all day talking about boys and dating. Ever since Sweetie got over her super secret crush on mah brother, she´s been all lovey-widey-eyed. Seems Silver Spoon is trying to help her get a boyfriend,” Apple Bloom keep explaining.

“Good luck with that,” Diamond said but Apple Bloom decided to ignore her spite. After all, Diamond was talking out of pain of losing her friend.

“Scootaloo can´t take them any more and now spends all day with the boys. I saw her the other day bossing around Rumble and other kids. If ya ask me, she'll end up making them fall for her if she keeps hanging around with them.”

“I didn´t ask,” Diamond said, by now turning green for all the envy she had. She used to had all boys in school following her around.

“Well, ah can´t stand being around any of them. Ah rather spent the last day of summer doing some actual work and since ah have nothing to do at the farm, ah may as well help you. ´sides, ah can´t let poor Featherweight do all the heavy work for ya.”

They turned to the side to see the scrawny, who had been present the entire conversation, struggling to get one single box atop a shelf. He blushed when he noticed they were looking and tried to look tough, lifting the box over his head, only managing to get the box to fall over his head, crushing him.

This caused Diamond to giggle and then blush when Apple Bloom looked at her with a smug.

“It´s his problem. I didn´t asked him to come hlep me!”

Apple Bloom helped Featherweight got up and send him upstairs to get some ice from Mrs. Cake.

“Ya know, ya could be a little nicer to the guy. Out of all the colts, hay, out of all the ponies in Ponyville, he´s the only one who still talks to you. Sorta,” Apple Bloom said, referring to how the pegasus still followed Diamond around.

“He´s..dumb. Like I said, I never asked him to help me. This is my punishment and I don´t need any help. Certainly not for a dumb colt who barely speaks a word,” Diamond said, blushing so hard that her whole argument fell flat.

“Ya not fooling anypony, DT. Why don´t ya just come out and say ya like him?”

“Ha, you´re one to talk! After you show off the entire town how you were Spike´s one and true love, then you let him go so easily!”

Diamond Tiara regretted those words the second they came out of her mouth. For a second, she thought Apple Bloom as going to hit her but she just went back to the boxes, not looking back at Diamond.

“It wasn´t easy.”

Diamond looked at Apple Bloom work in silence after saying that. She pushed boxes with no effort and kicked them with obvious resentment.

“That whole business with the mark turned out to be a major fiasco. If you truly were his destined love, how come you didn´t get him?” Diamond said.

“Ya heard Princess Cadence. Mah mark was incomplete ´cause Spike didn´t shared mah feelings and mah own feelings weren´t that sincere.”

“So you never loved him?”

Apple Bloom turene dover and Diamond almost gulped looking at that sad smile.

“Ah do love him.”

“...”

“But ah also love mah cousin Babs. And ah´m happy they´re together.”

Diamond kept quiet while Apple Bloom stacked some more boxes. “...I don't get you,” she finally said.

“It´s okay. Ah don´t expect you too. Point is, ah made mah choice and ah don't regret it.”

“But how could you let go of him? If you love him so much, why wont´you want to have him?”

“Thing is, ah think a always had Spike. Ah had it for years, as a friend, as family, he was always around, either with Twilight or alone. Ah guess ah got so used to him being with me that ah felt like what ah felt for him was I mean, ah sure liked being with him.”

“Yeah, it´s really nice having him around. Not just doing stuff for you but, he can be really funny at times…” Diamond said and once again blushed when she noticed Apple Bloom looking. Although this time, Apple Bloom didn´t had a smug but a sincere smile. “Do-don´t get me wrong, I'm not saying that I was falling for him or anything. I just…”

Apple Bloom giggled and went back to work but Diamond Tiara still wanted to talked.

“Still, you liked him and feel good when he was around, why let him go? I could never do something like that.”

Apple Bloom sighed and hold her chin on a hoof. “How can ah explain this? Remember when you still didn't have a Cutie Mark, how anxious ya were to get one?”

“I never felt that way. I always knew exactly what my Cutie Mark was going to be and, after I got a perfect score on that test, it appeared right on queue. Remember Mrs. Cheerilee said I got the highest score she had ever seen in years? She mentioned it again to my father during my Cutieceañera party, remember that?” Diamond said, playing with her mane in a haughty manner.

“Ah was a little busy that day. Mah point is about learning the true value of things.”

“I don´t follow you.”

Apple Bloom facehoofed. Was she so dense before? No wonder her sister was always so frustrated when she failed to learn a lesson.

“Let's try another thing. That tiara of yours is special, right?”

“Was my birthday present, yes.”

“And what if ya have to get rid of it?”

“Why would I? It´s my tiara.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “What if ya have to give it to your special somepony. Would you?”

“I...I don´t know.”

“First smart thing ya have said all day.”

“Hey!”

“Diamond Tiara, ah love Spike but ah´m not in love with him. Ah could let him go because ah want him to find his own happiness. Ah don't wanna force him and setting him up with Babs was doing that. He chose Babs, not because some mark told him to but because he wanted to,” Apple Bloom said.

“And you think those two are truly in love?”

“Ah don't know. Ah think that´s a matter for them to resolve. Ah´m just happy ah resolved mah own issues. Ah´m no longer afraid of losing either of them and ah´m no longer angry or scared. Ah´m okay,” Apple Bloom said, finishing with a smile.

“Tsch. I hate that you sound so mature.”

“Well, after all ah went through, ah believe ah´m a little more mature than you, Diamond Tiara.”

“Oh yeah, then how come you don't have you Cutie Mark yet?”

It was just like the old days with Diamond teasing Apple Bloom, only this time, she had a response.

“Ah can wait. After all, every Apple got their marks last of their classes. If ah don't get it today, ah can wait until next summer.”

Diamond pouted some more. She really hated that Apple Bloom acted so mature, it made her look like she was still a child. Didn´t she went through a whole ordeal too? She had also changed and wasn´t going to let Apple Bloom take all the credit.

Just then, Featherweight came downstairs, carrying a tray of sweets Mrs. Cake made for both fillies. With a haughty gesture, Diamond approached Featherweight and put her tiara over his head. He blushed and she blushed too, taking one sweet and teleign him to shut up.

Apple Bloom giggled, missing the fact that her flank was glowing and a mark appearing.