The mare in the photo on the wall smiled selfishly back at her daughter through a thin pane of glass. The house felt empty without Ma around, even though the sounds of a newborn foal kept most of the family company. But it didn't comfort the older filly. She just pretended that baby wasn't even a thing.

It was a darn good thing Granny was there to help out with the young'un. Nopony expected what happened, and they'd even done things up right this time and had the baby in Ponyville General. Ma passed just the same. Granny said sometimes things were just meant to be, even when they were bad things, but Applejack didn't like that kind of talk. Nothin' should ever be this bad for nopony.

It wasn't long after before Pa caught ill. All the kinfolk were still shaken up from what happened with Ma. Goldie came over to help with the baby while Granny tended to Pa, and a couple cousins helped the kids finish the harvest. Big Mac did most of the work, of course, but AJ pushed herself mighty hard too, mostly to forget stuff for a while. She couldn't stick around the house much because she hated that baby with a fiery passion. Course, she'd always wanted a li'l sis, just like anypony—but that don't change the fact that little brat took Ma away from her in a sorry heartbeat. Maybe you couldn't blame a baby, but that didn't matter. She'd have thrown that squirmy little thing into the pits of Tartarus just to get Ma back. And now with Pa bein' ill, it was just too-much on top of too-much-already.

Pa's fever kept returning and he couldn't move or eat. He could drink, at least. He could down medicine, too, and they sure as sugar tried all kinds. First the nurses and doctors came, and then the unicorns with their fancy magic. A lot of Apple Family goodwill had been holed up in Ponyville over the decades, so everypony wanted to help if'n they could. Besides, the very idea of a couple of kids losin' both parents at the same time was enough to bring ponies from miles yonder. Heck, Princess Celestia herself showed up and tried to fix Pa, but for all her flashy magic she could only make the fever break for a couple days.

Things got desperate fast. They even let some crazy striped horse with a weird mane show up and offer some Pa some hoodoo slop, and Granny insisted they try it too, even though it was madder than a March hare to trust somepony lookin' like that. Kinda funny though, that was the only stuff that seemed to make Pa feel any better. But just like all the rest, it didn't stop the fever from comin' back.

They never found out what the malady was. That was the worst part of all, really. Two times in a row now, and each time all the fanciest science and magic around wasn't a lick of help to nopony. Granny swore Pa died from a broken heart, but AJ knew better. That's just somethin' you say to stop a foal from cryin' when her whole world's been burned to ash.

It took some time before Applejack could forgive the baby for her part, but one day she finally up and realized Apple Bloom would never even get to meet Ma or Pa, and it tore her up inside, and she cried. That little baby was just a victim like everypony else.

AJ and Mac had to grow up faster'n anypony should, but they did it for Ma and Pa. Eventually they were takin' care of the farm all on their own, even the harvest. And that little sister grew up to be the best little sister in all of creation, and they all agreed to mourn Ma on Pa's day of rest instead so the filly could have a proper birthday like she deserved.

It still ain't normal, though. Not yet. It just gets a little bit easier with each passin' year, and the one-two punch of honest living plus the love of friends and family has fixed up that young mare's soul pretty well. Most of the time, anyhow.

But in the end, that's just what it takes. There ain't no injury or malady out there worse than sorrow, and the only medicine that works, is time.