//------------------------------//
// A Sister's Story 
// Story: Country Gems 
// by Nightlock106 
//------------------------------//

	I woke up the next morning, my heart still heavy from yesterday. I looked out the window as the sun was beginning to rise. I let out a long sigh and got out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, my face was still red with tear stains from the night before. My mane was a complete wreck, but I couldn't care less about that.
There was a knock at my bedroom door, "Apple Bloom? Are you up yet?"
I sighed again and looked to the ground, "Yeah sis, I'm up."
The door squeaked open as Applejack stepped inside, "How are you feeling?"
I shake my head, "Like I've been beaten to death." I could feel tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes.
Applejack walked over to me and wrapped her hoof around my shoulders, "It'll be alright sugarcube. Why don't you get yourself washed up and come downstairs for breakfast? After that we'll have to run by Rarity's place and talk to her about staying with them for a while."
I looked up at her, eyes widening at the thought,"D-Do we really have to stay over at Rarity's? I mean I'm sure Fluttershy wouldn't mind us staying for a little bit."
"You still really nervous about tell Sweetie Belle how you feel?"
I gave her a slight nod and looked back into the mirror, "I just don't really think I'm ready to do it."
"You were ready to do it yesterday, what happened to your confidence?"
Tears began to roll down my cheeks as I thought about what Granny had said.
Applejack started to stroke my mane, giving me a light kiss on the head, "I know it hurts Apple Bloom. But I promise you, everything is going to be alright."
I let go of her and sat down against the wall, "It's just not fair Applejack. Why did this have to happen to us? We  didn't do anything to deserve this."
Applejack sits next to me, holding back her own tears, "I know Apple Bloom. But, there's nothing we can do about it now."
I looked at her, "Applejack?"
"Yeah?"
"Yesterday, you had said that you were a filly-fooler as well."
"And?"
"Well, the day before that, you had told me about you and Nova dating each other."
Applejack let out a long sigh, "I guess now's a good time to tell you the rest of that story."
I tilted my head in confusion, "What happened?"
"You see, not too long after mine and Nova's date at the fair. I began to get mixed feelings about how I truly felt for him. On one hoof he was every mare's dream, but on the other, I began to lose interest in him. Eventually, I did completely lose my feelings for Nova. It broke his heart when I told him, but it was something that I had to do. That's when he started to spread rumors that I was a filly-fooler."
"So, when did you find out that you were?"
"Well, it was when I decided to get back at him for starting the rumor. I ended up convincing by best friend to pretend that she and I were dating in order to show Nova that his rumor didn't bother me. During that time, she and I really began to develop feeling for each other. We honestly couldn't tell if we were still acting or not, but we didn't care, we were closer than we had ever been before."
"So, you found out you were a filly-fooler when you started to date your best friend?"
"I guess you could say that, but she and I ended up having to break up once Granny Smith and her parents found out about it. We haven't seen each other since then. I don't even know if she remembers me anymore. But, I still thank her for helping find out who I truly am inside, and that's something that nopony can take away from me."
I looked away from Applejack, wiping the tears from my eyes. I started to feel better about things. I'm not ashamed of who I am, and I'm not about to let Granny change that. I looked over at Applejack and smiled, "Thanks for telling your story."
"You're welcome sis. I hope it helped you to realize that you shouldn't worry about what other ponies think of you. You are who you are, and nopony should tell you different." Applejack gave me a hug and got up from the floor, "I'm going to head downstairs and get breakfast ready." And with that, Applejack left the room, and left me with a much lighter heart.