//------------------------------//
// Chapter 33 - Maybe It's Time To Grow Up 
// Story: My Feelings Have Shifted 
// by rarityxspike 
//------------------------------//

As Rarity got back home, she tried to hold back tears as much as she could.

"I can't believe I messed up so badly that even our friendship has gone," Rarity thought out loud while unlocking the door to her boutique. The white unicorn didn't even bother turning the lights on; she just locked the door back up and went straight into the kitchen, set the picnic basket down, and opened up the freezer. "No Rarity! There's no need to get into a slump again. You messed up, so you must deal with the consequences," she closed the freezer and went to her room, "...but that doesn't mean I can't rest."

When Rarity reached her room, she closed the curtains and lay on her bed, thinking, ‘Spikey... I promise I'm happy for you.’

Spike and Luna were lying next to each other, just resting, when Luna remembered something.

"Oh, Spikey, I made something, and I wanted to show you," Luna sat up, as did Spike.

"What is it?" Spike asked curiously. Luna's horn glowed, and a bracelet from her bedside table floated towards them.

"Notice anything special?" Luna asked excitedly while using her magic to hand the bracelet to Spike.

"Hmm..." the young dragon inspected the bracelet, then he noticed the charms. "The charms! You made a charm bracelet and put the charms on it," Spike smiled, as did Luna.

"Yeah, after I finished those lovely treats you got me, you know I planned to turn them all into metal to make them into real charms, and I wanted to always keep them on me, but I didn't want to lose them, so unless I'm resting, I wear this," Spike had the biggest smile on his face.

"Luna, that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done with a gift I've given them," Luna smiled at Spike's comment.

"Well, they're very special to me as a very special dragon gave them to me," Luna and Spike just smiled at each other before they kissed.

"I love you so much, Luna," Spike said, gazing into Luna's eyes.

"I love you too, Spike," Luna said, gazing back. Spike and Luna just hugged and laid back down on the bed, continuing to hug, and it wasn't long before they fell asleep.

Luna's eyes opened, and she realized she was laying on Spike's chest, and he had his arms around her. She smiled and felt so content, she just snuggled into Spike's chest a bit more, and then she felt Spike hold her slightly tighter.

"Mmm, that's nice," Luna sighed with contentment, and Spike just smiled. Then Spike had a thought.

‘This feels right. I don't want this to end. It's different and so much better than when Rarity used to hug me.’

‘Wow! I have fallen really hard for Luna.’ Spike didn't realize just how much he had fallen for Luna. With this thought, he smiled and continued to enjoy embracing Luna.

"Do we have to get up now?" Spike asked, stroking Luna's mane.

"Are you hungry?" Luna asked, slightly looking up at Spike.

"Not really," Spike responded.

"Then no, we don't," Luna said, smiling while snuggling back into Spike's chest. The young dragon just smiled at Luna and continued stroking her mane.

"Good," he responded quietly.

Rarity was sitting at her dining room table with a cup of tea, thinking out loud.

"I'm going to wait until I'm actually ready, no matter how long it takes, and if I'm ready before Spike, then I'll wait until he's ready."

"But what if he's never ready?"

"No, Rarity, we're going to stop that type of thinking just like we're stopping a certain type of behavior," Rarity took a sip of her tea and then had an idea. "Maybe it's time I review my actions, instead of just apologizing for them, and hoping for forgiveness," that's when Rarity said something she thought she'd never say. "Maybe it's time I do some self-reflection, and allow myself to grow as a pony," Rarity finished her tea, grabbed a notebook and pen, sat down in the living room, and started to reflect on the current situation