Twilight Sparkle had been pacing back and forth in the Golden Oak Library for what must have been a few minutes. She had been wondering if she did the right thing in giving Spike the space that he wanted. She was thinking about the things that her little Dragon had said. How he wished he was an adult or that he wished he had a girl to be with.

She stopped for a moment and thought about it further. Eventually, her thinking took her back to when she was a little Filly. When she was a Filly, she felt so content with her life. In fact, she remembered she once wanted to live the life she had forever. Just reading books, going to school to gain more knowledge, and playing with her big brother every day. She recalled with clear certainty that she did not want her life to be any different. Then, she remembered when she felt so torn when she got an order from the Princess to go to Ponyville to make new friends.

Recalling all this made her felt intrigued. What intrigued her the most was that how she felt at the time of her of being a Filly was in fact the opposite of how Spike feels about growing up. He wanted to grow up fast and be an adult, Twilight didn't want to grow up. She just wanted to read books and be with Big Brother forever.

Then, she came to a conclusion: No matter how a youngling feels about growing up, they cannot stop themselves from growing up or do anything to speed up or slow down the process. Everyone grows at the same rate as Father Time dictates.

Her thoughts turned to Spike again and then she thought about how he doesn't realise how good he has things right now. Being a kid was something that Twilight cherished very much, and she felt as though Spike does not realise how important it is to just be a kid while he can. Oh, but the only thing she ever wanted was the best for her little dragon. She did not want to force anything on him if she could help it. How could she approach him about this particular subject? She asked herself that.

She didn't know what to do. Then, she remembered another thing Spike said. It was his concern about Rarity. She hypothesised for a moment. If Spike left on his own in an emotional surge, surely he would seek her out next. Twilight wanted desperately for her little Dragon to not be hurt or do something that he'd regret.

Does she go after him?

Sweetie Belle entered Rarity's room to see her doing her everyday task of embroidery. She looked calm and content as she performed her task with a smile while humming a tune to herself.

Sweetie Bell was surprised. "Rarity? It's Hearts and Hooves Day. You're not going to try and get together with any stallions?"

"Oh, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity stopped what she was doing and turned around to look at her. "Oh, no. I decided to just play it cool this year."

Play it cool? It was an unusual thing for someone like her older sister to say, Sweetie Belle thought. "Really? Uh, wow. Usually you're frantically going on about how you need to find a rich stallion so you wouldn't feel left out."

The seamstress pony nervously giggled. "W-Well, yes. I did do that in the past but then I decided that things must change. I'll have to resort to a new way on getting a Stallion's attention. I thought doing my usual routine would clear my mind on a few things and...help me get an idea."

Sweetie Belle looked around the room and saw how it was decorated with a lot of manikin pony figures dressed up in exotically designed clothing. She turned her gaze back to Rarity. "Well, maybe you should stop looking."

"That's what I just said, dearest sister."

"No, stop looking for good."

Rarity blinked at her. "Uh...I don't follow."

Sweetie Belle groaned at her. "I was just thinking...sometimes we're in such a desperate search for an answer that we may not realise what's in front of us. Have you ever thought that maybe something or someone was there the whole time? What you wanted?"

Rarity glanced over at the wall for a second then looked back at Sweetie Belle while rubbing her chin. "No...I suppose not. I also suppose I haven't thought of it like that. You have a point. But who could have been there this whole time for me? The one who loves me for me?"

Sweetie Belle's mouth partially dropped. "You can't be serious, Rarity! I would think of all ponies, you'd catch a hopeless romantic!"

"H-Huh?"

She groaned. "Rarity. I'm talking about Spike. Spike had his eye on you from the very beginning, you know? And I'm sure he still does. You hang out with him, laugh with him, and even go on some adventures with him. You even defended him from Dragons that were bullying him! What about him?"

Rarity had a blank look on her face. Of course, it was Spike, she thought. Yes, she was aware of his feelings for her. However, while she does acknowledge her sense of affection for Spike, it was not of love but of a very friendly variant. She walked the fine line between friends and more than friends for so long with Spike. When it comes to addressing the feelings between them, however, she would always be flabbergasted. The truth she knew was that she didn't feel the same way, but she didn't want to squash his enthusiasm.

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked, concerned.

Rarity sighed heavily. "You're right about him, of course. I know how he feels for me. But...I'm never sure what of what I should say to him if the issue comes up directly."

"Maybe take a page out of Applejack's playbook?" Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Pardon?"

Sweetie Belle groaned again with more frustration. "No offence but you're really slow today. I mean be honest with Spike. Wouldn't Applejack be honest in this situation?"

Rarity then caught on to what she was talking about. "Oh! Why, yes! However, that one can be...brutal, sometimes. Matters of the heart are such a delicate thing that must be approached meticulously. One wrong word, regardless of the message you're trying to deliver, and tragedy will strike."

"Hmm..." Sweetie Belle thought for a second.

Ding-Dong!

"Oh! The door! Please go greet our guest, darling." Rarity commanded gently.

Sweetie Belle sighed and exited her room.

Rarity looked out the window of her room to think about Spike. He's a simple soul, she thought. A simple but sometimes dorky one. However, it's one of the things she liked about him. She liked many things about him, but she only liked him. She never thought about him more than a friend and still doesn't. She felt as though it was right this way.

"Rarity?"

"Gwah!" Rarity jumped as she turned around. "Be a bit more discreet next time! Anyway, who was it at the door?"

"...Spike." Sweetie Belle said grimly. "He came to see you and he said it's something important, and since it's Hearts and Hooves Day..."

"...Then it's most likely about how he feels..." Rarity finished. What timing.

Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity seriously. "Just be honest with him. You owe Spike at least that for all that he's helped you with and done for you."

Rarity sighed deeply and hung her head. "Yes...I'm in trouble...most likely. Okay...here I go..."

15 minutes later...

Sweetie Belle witnessed the heated exchange between Spike and Rarity from afar and in silence. Seeing her sister feeling so devastated from his words, she could certainly understand her pain but at the same time, she felt a sense of sympathy for Spike. After all, she felt a degree of exclusion and frustration with Rarity as well some time ago. However, first things first, she had to pick up Rarity from off the floor.

She walked up to Rarity and then said gently, "Get up off the floor, Rarity... You shouldn't cry down there..."

Rarity looked up and saw Sweetie Belle lending her a tissue with her hoof. Rarity snagged it from her little sister and blew on it forcibly as she slowly stood up. "Oh, my dearest sister! What am I to do? I made a few mistakes with him when I told him the truth, but now he wants nothing to do with me..."

Sweetie Belle slowly walked to her older sister and gave her a hug. "You know, this reminds me of how we wanted nothing to do with each other at one point. Remember?"

"Oh, why bring up that memory now, Sweetie Belle? I wasn't proud of the way that I acted back then...back when I was an awful sister to you." Rarity said as she hugged her back, while recalling that dreadful time.

Sweetie Belle explained as she continued to embrace Rarity. "Remember how I 'un-sistered' you? Well...there's something I remembered from watching you two just now..."

Rarity sniffed as she wiped her tears. "Wh-What is that?"

Sweetie Belle looked down on the floor before explaining herself. "...It's that I felt more useless than I ever felt before in my life. I thought that if I couldn't be useful to you, Rarity...how would I be useful to anypony else? This blank flank of mine isn't helping things, either and I share this struggle with my two best friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Honestly, I was desperate... I didn't think much of being anypony's sister anymore at the time. I just wanted to feel like I was at least useful to someone... I really wasn't angry at just you, Rarity...I was also angry with myself."

Rarity looked at her little sister somberly then asked, "Where are you going with this, dearest sister?"

Sweetie Belle looked into her eyes and then told her, "This is just a hunch but I think Spike's feeling similar to how I felt during that time before. He is a little Dragon but he's still got the heart of a kid. I can relate to how he's feeling. He feels useless to you and confused with how you've been treating him, Rarity."

Rarity sniveled for a few seconds while holding back sobs. "I may be a beautiful pony on the outside...but after having that incident with you and a similar one with Spike, I feel as though I'm the worst kind of pony there is to exist on the inside!"

Sweetie Belle felt saddened that Rarity was putting herself down. "Rarity, you really shouldn't put yourself down like that. ...We all make mistakes, don't we? You made a mistake on being my older sister. You acknowledged it. Then, you learned from it and became a better sister-no, the best sister a little Filly could ever hope to have. If you really do care about being a better friend for Spike, I think you know what you need to do."

Rarity exchanged an embrace with her little sister once more then smiled. "You're right, Sweetie Belle... I do. I hope I'm not too late to make things right between us! But what if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore?"

"Then at least you tried, Rarity...and the best way that you can take it is as a lesson to be a better pony for the friends that you still have..."

"Y-Yes, o-of course." Something then clicked in Rarity's head. "By the way, Sweetie Belle, since when did you become such a good counselor? I never expected that you'd give such great advice!"

Sweetie Belle gasped as she blushed. "G-Great advice? U-Um, I was just trying my best to help you, Rarity. Hee-hee... B-But thanks!"

DING-DONG!

Upon hearing the first sound of the doorbell, Rarity sprinted down the stairs to greet whoever was at the door. She opened the door, hoping that Spike had a change of heart. "Spike?!"

To her surprise, it was Twilight Sparkle with that familiar purple skin and mane. "N-No, it's me, Rarity. I got worried for Spike since he was taking so long coming back home, so I went looking for him. Was he here?"

"Why, yes! He was! B-But..." Rarity didn't exactly know how to explain herself to Twilight.

"Yes?"

"Uh...why weren't you with him, Twilight? Isn't he always by your side?"

Twilight Sparkle thought to herself that judging by Rarity's facial expression, Spike didn't stay here for too long. She suspected Rarity must have said something to make him leave. Otherwise, he would be there all day if he could. "Rarity, tell me what happened to Spike. I'll tell you why he wasn't with me, too."

They exchanged each other's story while having tea inside the Boutique. The exchanged was filled with strong feelings and dramatic pauses in between some sentences.

Rarity sipped the last of her tea as silently possible. "...I just feel like a terrible pony... Like, I couldn't bare the thought of Spike and I not being friends anymore...because if I did anything to hurt him, it would jeopardise my friendship with you in turn, Twilight."

"I feel the same way," Twilight replied sorrowfully. "I feel like I failed as a role model to Spike. I never thought about wanting to grow up. I've always felt content with how I was as a Filly. So, I didn't really know the right words to say to him... I'm sorry that you ended up being caught up in this mess."

Rarity shook her head. "You have nothing to apologise for, dear. Friends do stuff together and that includes getting in trouble. ...Not that it's any less bad but I'm trying to find a silver lining here." She stood up from where she was sitting. "We have sat idly by long enough. We must go after Spike. We're not doing him any favours by letting him walk alone out there!"

"Ponyville is a relatively safe place, Rarity. I'm sure one of the others will find him and come looking for us eventually," Twilight said to try and calm her down.

Rarity gasped. "Do you really want to take that chance? Because you're basically saying that you don't care about Spike as much as you say you do if you don't want to bother looking for him!"

Twilight Sparkle scowled at her. "First of all, Spike is smart for a kid. Secondly, we have absolutely no leads on where to start searching for him. I care about him, okay? But I also believe in making the most calculated decision possible, not the most emotional."

"Alright then," Rarity said as she rolled her eyes. "What do you propose we do?" She really wanted to make things right as soon as possible.

Twilight sighed and then said, "Knowing Spike, he'd probably go to where one of the others live. I think we should try Sugarcube Corner, first."

"And if that fails?"

"Then we go to Sweet Apple Acres. We'll spend all day looking for him, if we have to."

And so, the two Mares began the hot pursuit for the little Dragon. But alas, despite scouring every suspicious-looking nook and cranny, their search had no success. None of their other best friends told them that they had seen any sign of the poor Dragon anywhere. Even with Rainbow Dash preying around the sky like a vulture, she couldn't see him. Applejack knew every inch of the barn but could not see any sign of him anywhere. Pinkie Pie...was...well...Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy asked her animals if they caught any scent of Spike. They all said "no".

Exhausted and weary to the bone, they returned to the Golden Oak Library.

Twilight and Rarity were pacing the floor frantically after a failed search for the little dragon from all around Ponyville.

Rarity made a whining noise as she stomped once with her front-hooves. "Ooh! I feel absolutely horrible! I couldn't find the right things to say to him when it's obvious he's more attached to me than just friends!"

Twilight sighed. "Actually, I felt as though me not paying much attention to how Spike was feeling and his frustration with his own feelings bottling up got us into this situation. I should have been more careful..."

Rarity let out an even deeper sigh. "I guess both of us messed up somewhere along the line, darling." She took a seat on the floor. "Twilight...do you sometimes question why ponies like you and I are and represent the Elements of Harmony?"

The question presented made Twilight pause with slightly widened eyes. "N-No, not really. Why?"

Recalling Spike's hurtful words, Rarity shuddered before saying, "W-Well, Spike said to me that...I'm not a generous pony. As in, I'm not an Element of Harmony."

Twilight gasped at her. "What? Spike said that?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Rarity looked to the side while scratching the back of her head. "W-Well, I was thinking about how I'm like in the past when I'm not at my best a-and...well, what if he's right-"

"Don't listen to him, Rarity." Twilight interrupted. "I know Spike and he would never say anything like that and genuinely mean it. Yes. We are supposed to be the Elements of Harmony but if you ask me, our imperfections make us interesting ponies in the first place."

Rarity blinked twice at Twilight. "R-Really? How so?"

Twilight smirked at her. "Look at Rainbow Dash. She's supposed to represent Loyalty."

It took a moment for Rarity but she got what Twilight was getting at. She giggled. "Oh, I see what you mean."

Twilight nodded at her. "...You see, now? Our flaws might be exactly why we are the Elements of Harmony. We may fight, argue, or even take time away from each other but it's through remembering how we became friends in the first place and the good times we had with each other that we always find the will and way to get back together in the end with our friendship going stronger in the process. It is through accepting the flaws in each other that is true harmony."

Rarity lightly clapped her two front hooves together for a few seconds before asking Twilight, "That was absolutely beautiful, Twilight! Have you ever considered writing poetry, given your knack for literature?"

"I...I think I'm right where I ought to be, Rarity, but thank you," she said as she sheepishly chuckled. "So...what should we do with Spike, Rarity?"

Rarity turned her look to the door and then said, "When we eventually find him or when he comes around, I'll say a few words to him. However, I honestly think that you need to talk to him more than me, my best friend."

Twilight became intrigued. "Why do you say that, Rarity?"

Rarity turned to Twilight and pointed a hoof at her. "Because, dear, you were the one who raised him like his motherly figure. You were there when he spoke his first words, took his first steps, and it is you who taught him from right and wrong. I think your relationship with him is far more important to mend because all five of us consider him a friend; I'm sure he considers you like a mother and holds you dear to his heart."

Twilight Sparkle blushed a bit. "That's...flattering, Rarity. Thanks."

A knock sounded from the front door of the library.

"Who is it?" Twilight called out.

"I-It's me, Twilight!" Spike's voice called out from behind the door.

"Spike?!" They both exclaimed.

Two hours later...

Rarity was about to call it a night. She was just finished cleaning up the downstairs section of the Boutique to make sure it was as squeaky clean as it could possibly be. She was usually a dramatic pony but on this Hearts and Hooves Day, it was filled with drama almost too much for her heart to bear. She nearly lost a dear friend in Spike but was relieved that their friendship was mended after the truth about how they felt for each other came out. Furthermore, so much heartfelt advice was shared today between friends. Also, she got help from her little sister as well.

Earlier, she was happy that Rarity and Spike would still be friends but Rarity made sure to give her sister credit for giving her sound advice as well as a kiss on her forehead, which made Sweetie Belle very embarrassed but happy. Rarity realises that though they are not perfect and have their flaws, the flaws themselves aren't an excuse or justification for transgressions or mistakes. She made a silent vow to become a better pony from this point forward and to continue her reputation as a generous pony surrounded by glitz and glamour.

A knock on the front door was heard by Rarity. Who could be here this late, she wondered. She opened the door to see that it was Twilight Sparkle once more.

"Oh! Dear! I was about to take my beauty rest! What has happened?"

Twilight Sparkle sneered at her slightly. "So, Spike told me you rubbed off on him."

Rarity looked from one end of the door to another to avoid her gaze. "Wh-Whatever do you mean?"

"He kissed me on the cheek to show how much she appreciates me, Rarity," she said as she continued to leer at her.

"Oh!" Rarity nervously giggled at her. "Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing, Twilight. That's just him showing his affection for you!"

"Yeah, but you forget: I hate all that gushy stuff!" Twilight said with a rising voice.

"Shh! Shh! You're going to wake up Sweetie Belle. I just put her to sleep..."

Twilight covered her mouth. "Oops. Sorry."

"So, he took it well?" Rarity asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yep. He did. And I gotta say, it looks like he really did learn a lesson from our mysterious pony. I can't help but wonder who could have met him, though..."

Suddenly, a "boom" sound filled the room.

Quickly, the two mares rushed outside. They looked around to see ponies looking up at flashes of light in the night sky. Not a second too soon, the two mares looked up themselves in their direction, to see a fireworks spectacular.

"Was there a fireworks showing scheduled for tonight?" Rarity asked.

"No. There's never any fireworks, as far as I can remember. It's strange how there'd suddenly be fireworks now...but they're good to look at."

They continued to watch the fireworks for a few minutes. As the fireworks reached their climactic finish, a message seemed to have formed. It read...

"Enjoy the time you have with those you love, ponies!"

And then, the fireworks subsided and completely stopped. It was followed by ponies cheering and giving applause for the spectacular show.

"That was simply adorable! Good show! That was a nice surprise to end Hearts and Hooves Day!" Rarity looked over at Twilight who was still looking at the skies with a blank expression. "Twilight? What's wrong? Didn't you enjoy it?"

Twilight slightly shook her head. "Oh. Yes, I'm okay but, there's something that bothers me about this showing of fireworks..."

"Yes? What is it?"

Twilight swallowed before saying, "The direction we were looking at, it looked as if it came from the Everfree Forest..."

Rarity took a few seconds to realise what Twilight was talking about. She gasped. "D-Dear! Are you saying that-"

Twilight nodded. "Yep. I think our mystery pony is behind this...and I have an inkling I know who..."