It was a cold winter's night, and nearly every pony was asleep, some were still up and moving, managing stalls outside for hot chocolate to warm hearts that were cold.

At Sweet Apple Acres, the crops and trees were done for the season until spring. Thankfully, the Apple family had enough bits to survive the winter. The only issue was the fireplace just went out.

This was bad, as Granny Smith wasn't getting any younger, she was getting older and more vulnerable, the cold could freeze her heart. Her body wasn't a temple like it used to be, it was more of a ruins running on willpower and steam.

Applebloom shivered, after tossing and turning for a few minutes straight, she woke up and looked around, and sighed. Lately her feelings had put her in a confused and depressed state. She'd be more quiet than usual, even her efforts in finding her cutie mark had died out for now.

To top it off, the nightmare she recently had scared her. In it, Diamond Tiara had a strange homemade hammer of some kind, while poor Applebloom was weak, she came over and delivered the final blow.

"...what am I feelin...?" She looked out her window, at the Crusader clubhouse, for some reason, Scootaloo always came to mind, and whenever she was around, she felt weird. A good kind of weird.

Then she realized something was wrong. Applebloom slowly walked through the house, being quiet, but a sound from her sister's room made her jump. "Woah!"

Silence. Pure silence. She was glad she didn't wake anyone up. She poked her head into her sister's room and looked around, nothing, except for Applejack's light snoring.

"He's our best friend... Lightning is welcome around anytime..." mumbled the farm pony.

Applebloom had heard about the stallion and would ask about him later, but for now, she had to see what was so odd, she couldn't put her hoof on it, then it hit.

It was colder than usual.

In a panic, she almost woke up Applejack, but tried relaxing enough to convince herself that she could fix this.

The filly proceeded down the stairs to where the fireplace was, there was still a tiny flame. She sighed and looked around, she noticed some old papers and put them in, slowly, the flame caught on and began spreading on them, then she remembered what Applejack did, she grabbed the gasoline bottle and put a drop in there, she set the bottle back and stared at it with a smile.

But suddenly, she had put a bit too much as the fire flared and made the filly roll backwards, she looked down and saw her hoof was on fire, she quickly ran for the sink and stopped it in time before it could hurt anything. But the patch of burnt fur around her hoof will remind her of the mistake.

She sat back in the living room, ears folded down. Why was life treating her like this? Why did she always feel happier with Scootaloo around? There was only one answer, and it made her gasp. She placed her hooves at her heart and closed her eyes.

"Mama... daddy... please... help me..." when she was truly lost or afraid, she'd pray to her parents in hope that she'd receive a sign. She laid down and began sobbing, she accidentally bumped against the fireplace, and an object fell on her.

It was a picture of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the moment they became friends, Applebloom realized it right then.

She was in love with Scootaloo, and no idea how to treat it.

It was the incident with the Foal Free Press. Her friend had defended her from angry classmates, and at that moment, Applebloom felt something for her. She wasn't sure then, but she was sure of it now.

Bonus Chapter, for being late.

She felt a hoof on her back and turned, it was Applejack, without a word, she hugged the filly, and then looked at her.

"Applebloom... what's been goin on lately...? You used to be smilin... now we hardly ever see it. It's what keeps us goin." Applebloom looked down, unsure of what to tell her older sibling.

"I'm not sure, sis..." it was the truth and a lie. She knew what SOME of it was, but at the same time, she had no idea. She tried not to lie, she knew her sister was the Element of Honesty.

"You can tell me anything, I promise I won't repeat any of it."

Applebloom closed her eyes slowly, she silently prayed, and confessed all that she could. The aftermath left her sister in pure shock.

"Scootaloo? Applebloom, are-"

"I'm sure, Applejack... I don't know what it is, I'm already grateful to have her as a friend. I... maybe she'd like me too?" Applejack began thinking, she had no idea how to deal with this, but if it'd cheer her up, what harm could there be?

"Alright, sugarcube, I suppose we can see where this goes..." she received a tight hug and the sisters just sat by the Fire for a while. Soon, Applejack sent her sister back to bed.

"Go on, it'll be dawn soon." Applebloom, with a renewed purpose, hurried to bed.

Applejack sat alone, she wondered what her friends would think? But remembered she promised not to tell. She made sure the Fire was at a good temperature before going back to bed.

Applebloom laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Thanks, mama... daddy... you always help me..." the filly closed her eyes and dreamt. Eager for tomorrow to come.

Author Note: So here you all are. The new A Very Sweet Apple, note that the chapters will be short in this one. But regardless, I hope you all enjoy!

I'm keeping the original chapter 1 so you can see the differences. But aside from that, really nothing else, I put a bit more in as an apology for being late.

See you in Chapter 2!