Maple Tree
“Let’s see…” Rarity hummed as she neatly arranged her outfits on the bed in neat little squares. “What compliments purple?”
The white unicorn paced back and forth, wondering how much she wanted to dress for Mineral Water’s discussion about business. With every trip to the other side of the sofa, Rarity admired her diamond sheen in the mirror. “What a fabulous and unique product you have, Mineral,” Rarity said after her umpteenth return to her reflection.
It wasn’t the first time she saw herself coated as a crystal pony before. The crystal heart has several times before flared up and cast its glorious and generous spell that covered any non-crystal pony in a temporary visual spell; it also had a great sense of fashion and made everypony’s mane in various and appealing styles.
Rarity couldn’t keep her inner foal contained. She was excited to discuss with Mineral in hopes to sell his products within her various stores across Equestria. Of course, if Mineral denies her the offer, then so be it. But Rarity kept coaching herself to make any attempts to avoid such an unfortunate reality.
“Maybe a small short-sleeved shirt will be all I need!” Rarity said with a skip in her step. “No harm in showing most of my shiny coat to the empire. I do want to show Mineral how much I love his invention.”
With her type of shirt in mind, Rarity levitated all non-short-sleeved shirts back into their trunks. However, Rarity was still trapped in a dilemma. “Now I need a shirt that goes with purple…”
***
“It has been a thousand years since I wore this shirt,” Mineral said as he walked toward the kitchen.
Every Nebula in view of Mineral spoke in unison, “Lookin’ good!”
His heart jumped at their exclamation. “One at a time, please…”
Mineral stopped in front of the picture snapped of his old group of friends, staring at himself. Just as he did in that photo, Mineral was wearing blue attire. The difference between the image and the physical Mineral was the picture was him wearing a blue sweater. The real Mineral chose to wear his button-up tuxedo.
“Blue suits you,” Nebula said.
“Thanks,” Mineral said in a near whisper.
Nebula turned her head and asked, “Is something wrong?”
Mineral looked at Steadfast. “I am prepared for today. I will undoubtedly talk more than just business with Rarity, considering her friendship counseling.”
Nebula followed Mineral’s stare and looked back at the golden stallion. “Are you admitting what you did to Steadfast was wrong?”
“What I did was for his own good,” Mineral answered. “I didn’t do it out of spite.”
“But you were angry at him at the time.”
The stallion looked down at his shirt. “I’m still conflicted about what I did.”
***
“Just perform three knocks,” Rarity told herself as she walked onto Mineral’s property. “Don’t behave unladylike. Otherwise, Mineral will mistake me for Saradiamond.”
The tall, emerald house was such a beauty to behold. To have a home chiseled from emerald and have it hollowed out to become inhabitable was a form of architecture Rarity would never understand but admire the trade regardless.
Just as she coached, Rarity applied three knocks to the door. Shortly after, the doorknob twisted and the door opened.
“Why good morning, Rarity,” Mineral nodded with an inviting smile.
“Good morning to you as well, Mineral Water,” Rarity said, levitating her yellow bowler hat with a white rose stuck to its left side and nodded as well.
“Is yellow your preferred color to wear?” Mineral asked. “If I remember correctly, you wore a similar yellow shirt last night.”
Rarity, you fool! He recognized your repetitive behavior! The mare’s thoughts did not dissuade her smile, however. Rarity looked at her small yellow t-shirt with a much bolder yellow trim at the edges. “Silver and gold was today’s theme,” Rarity said, despite her real intention was to compliment Mineral’s purple coat.
“A suitable color for a generous pony like yourself.” Mineral reached out his hoof to Rarity. “I wish to thank you for coming at such short notice.”
Rarity took the kind gesture and shook hooves with the crystal pony. “You’re welcome, Mineral. I think you owe yourself some time to distract yourself with business talk than the personal stress you’re enduring.”
Mineral chuckled, “That would be nice.” His grin melted to a flat line, “However, your friendship expertise is also something I would like to hear sometime later on.”
“Then shall we strictly talk business, then?” Rarity asked. “Or perhaps take our time together with leisure?” Rarity wanted to allow Mineral the freedom to choose how to direct their business and friendship talk. However, she was doing her best to steer him toward spending a few hours with Mineral while also walking about the Crystal Empire.
“You said ‘leisure,’” Mineral started, his brows furrowed in thought. “Do you wish to go anywhere in particular?”
Remember, Rarity: not too hasty. “What do you suggest?”
***
“Here we are, Rarity,” Mineral said, gesturing his hoof to the street before him. “The Crystal Empire’s exquisite shopping district!”
“Ah yes, this wonderful place!” Rarity smiled. “I was here yesterday when Spike, Pinkie Pie, and I were scouting for ponies to aid in setting up the Crystal Fayre.”
A long row of buildings, some businesses one, others two stories high, stretched down a walkway before the two ponies. A few benches spotted here and there; one set surrounded a large maple tree several stores down. Another row of facilities ran along the streetside, each store advertising a variety of products, from antiques, to hats, to restaurants.
Rarity recalled walking into the shopping district, remembering Pure Gold’s lovely jewelry shop and his adorable, knowledgeable son, Rough Diamond. She wanted to browse Pure Gold’s wears a little more while seeing how he and the colt were doing.
The mare sighed, her grin slightly fading. “I must admit, it is nice to have you as my guide for the time being. Finding anything in this city can be quite a challenge, and I’ve been here several times before.”
“As with any city,” Mineral agreed. “However, most tourists do not mind getting lost in the Crystal Empire. Even the most simple of homes here are a sight to behold.”
“Along with the various shops at our disposal.” Rarity took one step forward, the mare willing to get a move on. Somepony had to initiate the walk into the district first. “Come. Let us discuss more of your eventful morning.”
Rarity looked back at the flushed stallion who had almost a limp approach. “Which matter would you like to discuss?” Mineral asked.
“One with much less Saradiamond,” Rarity said, her tail flicking the name from its hairs.
“I am somewhat surprised you, Spike, and even Steadfast agreed to remove her invite to the castle,” Mineral said.
“Would you want to have somepony with a very expressive attitude at an event that is supposed to unite the crystal ponies, not tear them apart?” Rarity asked with one brow raised. Despite the distaste she had for Saradiamond, she wanted to test Mineral’s response.
Mineral rolled his lips into his mouth. “As much as I’m still not fond of her yet, I don’t think she is willing to tear Sugar away from me.” He then nodded, “I don’t condemn your choice. I would have done the same. And I think that when Spike told her what he did, that’s what got her clockwork ticking and why I saw her this morning.”
The crystal pony shuttered and said in a low tone, “To be told by Spike, the Great and Glorious, that he is displeased with you…” Rarity became soft as she saw Mineral’s eyes widen with horror. The thought of little Spike’s words could make or break a crystal pony.
Rarity did her best to try and find some pity for Saradiamond and understand her hurt feelings. The task was difficult because most of what Rarity experienced with Saradiamond was her absolute hatred for Mineral; it was hard to imagine Mineral letting her into his home after the previous evening and everything prior the two had.
Rarity saw a very professional looking stallion with a good sense of fashion. His choice of a bold, blue tuxedo really complimented his amethyst figure. Then again, Saradiamond did mention how Mineral prioritized work over friends. She needed to think of a way to allow Mineral to open up to her about his past with Saradiamond, Steadfast, and Nebula. Only then could Rarity truly assess both perspectives. That would give her half of the story, leaving Steadfast to give the remaining three-fourths. The only segment Rarity would never receive would be from Nebula.
“I just want to let you know, that despite what Saradiamond has told me, I have no strong opinion of you yet, if you are curious,” Rarity said in hopes to ease herself into a good stance with Mineral.
“The fact that you took my spontaneous offer speaks a lot more than you know,” Mineral said with a twinkle in his smile. “Not to mention you dressed for the occasion. You take the extra step.”
The compliment flared Rarity’s character and caused her to start walking forward. “It’s a little challenging to not be professional whenever business calls.”
Mineral eyed her hat and said, “Speaking of ‘professional,’ what is it you do, Rarity?”
Rarity patted her yellow shirt with a hoof, “I am a dressmaker! A tailor if you will.”
“Making the world a much more lovely place, I see,” Mineral said. “Glad to know we have something in common.”
“Very much so,” Rarity nodded. “I have various stores sprinkled about Equestria. One at home, another in Manehattan, and the last in Canterlot.”
Mineral was very impressed by Rarity’s verbal resume. “You manage three locations?”
“How else would I be my professional self? I can’t spread my beauty without some expansion, nor can I be in multiple locations at once.” Rarity slightly turned her head, “Have you considered expanding stores before?”
Mineral’s eyes looked down at a small potted plant beside the tall maple tree Rarity saw earlier. “I have not,” he answered. “What made you want to expand?”
“Hmm…Where do I begin?” Rarity hummed. However, her vocal expression was only a facade. Rarity was about to ask about Mineral only being a single worker for his business, but the crystal pony was very fast to bring the attention back onto her. Was there a reason for the reflex or was she thinking too deep?
“It all started with a trip to Manehattan,” Rarity started. “It was my first time featuring my own clothesline in a contest. The fabric I had was this gorgeous purple silk.”
“Specifically purple?” Mineral asked with an amethyst smirk.
“It is simply the truth,” Rarity said. “I’m not attempting to butter you up in any way.”
“When you word it like that, I don’t suspect a thing.”
Rarity giggled along with Mineral’s laugh. “I’m sure you don’t. But back to the story. There, I was reunited with an old friend named Suri Polomare. She and I had a history together.” Rarity snorted, “But Suri was up to no good when she asked me to use a small portion of my fabric.”
Mineral’s smile faded, his brow twitching with interest. “Just one day after I gave Suri a healthy amount of my fabric,” Rarity continued, “Suri created an entire line of clothing consisting of mostly my creation and presented it to the host as if it was her own before I could even show off mine!”
The folds on Mineral’s forehead creased. “How awful!” he said with a slacked jaw.
Suri’s treachery and the pain she caused stung Rarity’s heart. “You wouldn’t believe the devastation that created upon me. To have my generosity abused like that put such a damper on my soul. Because of what Suri did, I had no choice but to create a second line. That is when I asked my friends for help.”
The white unicorn stopped walking and frowned. “And I treated them like trash! I was so stressed about winning that stupid contest, I lashed out at them like my predicament was their fault!”
Mineral flinched, his ears falling down. “I know what you mean, Rarity. But please continue.”
Again, Mineral pushed the attention back onto Rarity. He certainly didn’t want to discuss himself.
Rarity smiled in hopes to lift his spirit. “But despite my attitude toward my friends, I asked for their forgiveness and was gifted it with smiles and hugs.”
Mineral only let the corner of his mouth express the tiniest of grins. “I’m glad for your happy ending.”
It took Rarity a few moments to remember the night before. Saradiamond ranted about Mineral and how he lashed back at his own friends as well. Perhaps Rarity’s story was too raw for him.
“After the events in Manehattan, I pondered about how I was a single pony working alone in my own shop. I wondered about other times I was stressed about work and if I forced my frustration on my friends and family.
Rarity swung her head toward the sky. “Then it hit me! I thought that it was time to seek out an apprentice and expand my works to Canterlot! That way, I can make a profit and not have to work alone!”
“I’m- happy that everything worked out so well for you,” Mineral said, his voice cracking with every other word. “It sure surpasses my fortune.”
“Oh dear!” Rarity exclaimed; her story about Manehattan was too similar to Mineral’s past actions. “I didn’t mean to upset you!”
“Who said you did?” Mineral asked.
She was already skin-deep, but Rarity figured it was time to discuss friendship matters; business talk was on the backburner. “I say that because last night, Saradiamond told me about how you let your work stress you to the point where you got angry at your friends.”
Mineral let his head dip. “Of course she would tell you that…”
Rarity looked at her surroundings, seeing a healthy amount of ponies mill about the stretch of businesses. Some looked at her and Mineral with curious stares. Their looks did not concern Rarity as she looked for a place to talk. “Let’s sit at a bench, Mineral,” she said, finding one with a large pot beside it.
Mineral followed her stare to the bench for two. “Alright,” he plainly agreed.
They sat side by side with Mineral sitting beside the massive pot with a small plant poking out the top. “If you don’t want to discuss it-” Rarity started, but Mineral threw himself into the spotlight.
“You’re here to solve a friendship problem,” Mineral interjected. “Let’s focus on that first.”
“Okay then.” Rarity thought long and hard to find the right question to ask. The question that was mustered up was a weak one. “What can I do to help?”
“I’m not sure what you can do,” Mineral answered. “My past mistake forced me away from my friend.”
“Don’t be like that!” Rarity argued with as soft of a voice she could manage. “It wasn’t your fault. It was Sombra’s.”
A crystal pony who passed by flinched at the sound of his name. The unicorn kept a straight path but the gesture interested Rarity for a short moment.
“It was my fault, Rarity,” Mineral said. “I don’t doubt that Saradiamond told you about the day I promised to go to Nebula’s and her tournament, but I didn’t show up.”
“That was the gist of all she said. Steadfast said nothing about you not coming.”
Mineral showed a small portion of frustration. “I’m also not surprised Steadfast left out important details.”
”Why don’t you tell me your side of the story, Mineral?” Rarity suggested. “Tell me why you didn’t go.”
The crystal pony shifted in his seat, the blue shirt wrinkling a little by the slight movement. “The night before the tournament, I made sure to set my alarm. I did it just before I was about to crawl in bed. However, my blasted urge to work continued to prod at my head. So I went down to my workshop in my basement to double check my spreadsheets.”
Mineral looked up at Rarity, his frown very heavy on his shiny lips. “Did Saradiamond tell you about the intervention she, Nebula, and Steadfast had against me?”
Rarity nodded, “She did. And Saradiamond admitted that she missed you at the time of the intervention.”
“She mentioned that?” Mineral asked. His mouth started to straighten. “That’s interesting.”
“Trust me, through all Saradiamond’s anger toward you, she did manage to compliment you a few times,” Rarity said.
“And here I thought Saradiamond spat pure hatred against me prior to yesterday.” Mineral shook his head, “Anyways, the intervention.”
“Yes, the intervention,” Rarity echoed.
“It was certainly the wakeup call I needed,” Mineral admitted. “I was just swarmed with work and was at a constant breaking point.”
“Why didn’t you let your friends help you?”
“Because I had stubborn pride in my work. I wanted to manage my own work by myself. It was my own creation and mine alone.” Mineral let out a heavy sigh, “That’s what I told them. And Saradiamond said that was a stupid excuse.”
“I won’t echo her words,” Rarity said. “But I will agree that it isn’t right to not want help because of pride alone. That pride is what brought your friends to come to your aid.”
“And bless Celestia for them,” Mineral said. “When Nebula told me she and the others would leave me if I continued to push them away, I instantly snapped myself out of my stubborn attitude.”
A red leaf from the maple tree tumbled by the bench, aided by the wind. Mineral looked at the tree permanently stuck with autumn colors. “The next day after the intervention, I invited Nebula to the crystal heart and apologized a second time there.”
“Why did you take her there specifically? And why did you apologize twice?” Rarity asked.
The crystal pony didn’t take his eyes off the tree as he continued, “I’m sure you know by now that the crystal heart reacts to happy emotion, especially love.”
“I do.” Rarity then gasped, her inner filly excited. She leaned toward Mineral, “Did you tell Nebula you loved her?”
Mineral flushed and shook his head rapidly. “N-No! I didn’t do anything that extreme!”
Realizing her behavior, Rarity pressed her spine against the bench. “Sorry, dear. It just sounded like you would do that after saying what the crystal heart does.”
“If I told Sugar, Nightshade, or Morganite, I think they would have had the same reaction,” Mineral said with an embarrassed smile. “Nightshade and Morganite might even be more hysterical now that I think about it.”
“How do you think Sugar would react?” Rarity asked.
Mineral bit his lower lip, “I fear she might get jealous even though I love her now.”
“Oh dear,” Rarity muttered. “You better not let her catch you alone with me. I’ve known a few mares who were the jealous type, and they were very protective of their stallion.”
“Don’t forget about Nightshade,” Mineral said. He shuttered a little, “Wouldn’t want to be on her bad side a second time.”
“Indeed,” Rarity nodded. “So if you didn’t tell Nebula that you loved her, then why did you go to the crystal heart?”
Mineral looked back at the unicorn beside him. “Because the crystal heart reacts to real love. You can never fool it with false love, even if you are the best actor in all of Equestria. I wanted Nebula to see it spin and twirl as I told her the truth and how sorry I was. She was the reason why I was the Vamponies’ sponsor, and I was grateful for her friendship. I didn’t want to see her go away.”
“How sweet,” Rarity said, her smile twinkling a few times.
“I spent the entire day with her after that,” Mineral said. “The next day, I did the same to Saradiamond, and then Steadfast.”
Rarity furrowed her brows just a few notches, “But after all that, how come you didn’t follow through with your promise?”
Mineral wasted no time changing his mood. “Because I was a moron!”
“Hey, there’s no need-”
“Just- let me finish, please! You can tell me your, ‘don’t beat yourself up’ comments after I’m done telling my story!” Deep frustration materialized in Mineral’s eyes. Tears quickly followed the reddening of his scleras. “My mistake played part in Nebula’s departure! No matter how hard anypony tries to tell me otherwise, no matter how many tell me it was Sombra’s fault, I still played part in all this!”
Rarity stilled her tongue, despite wanting to urge Mineral to calm down. She gave Saradiamond the night before the willingness to vent. It would only be fair to hear Mineral’s confession.
“When I looked at my sheets, I noticed I was behind schedule because of my three days off. I knew that I was given two weeks to get all my work caught up before the tournament. I did my absolute best to catch up. But when you lose 36 hours of work and work alone, you better believe a lot of time was needed to get back to par.”
The muscles in Mineral’s jaws tightened. “I told myself to just go back upstares and rest because of my promise. Then I convinced myself to do just one order. Once that order was done, I did another. And another. And another...”
“I worked myself to sleep; I worked an additional… 6 hours I think that night… Because I wasn’t asleep in my bed, I wouldn’t be woken up by my alarm.”
Dread melted onto Rarity’s diamond face, her blood chilling on her back. She was beginning to understand why he blamed himself. The mare wanted to give Mineral some affection to help him cope with his mourning. Rarity tapped his hoof with hers. Mineral looked at it for a few moments, looked side to side, then finally took it.
“Why did you do that?” Rarity asked with a raised brow.
Mineral snorted before showing a calm smile. “Just in case Nightshade or Morganite might have caught me with holding another mare’s hoof. They really want to see me with Sugar and Sugar alone.”
“You’re only coping,” Rarity reassured. “Besides, if I wedge myself between you and Sugar, I would not be helping with fixing any friendship problems.”
Mineral shuttered, “I hate to imagine the repercussions.”
“Then don’t and remain focused on your story.”
Mineral nodded and let out a sigh, “I do feel relieved I can tell somepony my story. Even if it does make me sad.”
Rarity nodded in response, then waited for more tragedy. When Mineral’s expression faded into sadness, Rarity swiveled her ears toward the stallion. Her eyes bounced to his hoof when it gave hers a more firm hold.
“I remember waking up to my door being pounded on, similar to the day I had the intervention,” Mineral said. “When I got a grip on my consciousness and remembered why I was in the basement, I ran to the door in a fit. I was a flurry of emotions. Panicked. Enraged. Scared. Ashamed.”
Mineral’s ears flicked up and turned a few ticks before settling back down. Rarity gave little care for their movement. He probably had an itch.
“I answered the door and was met with Saradiamond yelling at me and Nebula crying with tears rolling down her face. I tried to defend myself, but even I knew I was in the wrong with what I did. Nothing I could do would amend for what I did. I never said ‘I’m sorry,’ so many times in one day.”
Rarity let out a small whimper, pained by the truth. She finally understood Mineral’s self-blame and Saradiamond’s hatred for the stallion.
“And just before Nebula flew off to the moon, never to be seen again, she screamed at me and said-” Mineral’s eyes squeezed out a few tears, but not as much compared to earlier. “-she said, ‘And here I thought the pony I loved changed two weeks ago! Guess I was wrong!’
“After her stunning words, Nebula flew off into the sky, still clad in her armor.”
Mineral’s grip on Rarity’s hoof loosened, and soon, he reclaimed what was his. “To reconcile with my error, I threw on the best outfit I could find, bought the most expensive bundle of roses for both Saradiamond and Nebula, and stood in front of the Crystal Empire Colosseum.”
“I waited all day for Nebula to return,” Mineral said. “Saradiamond avoided me like the plague.” Mineral used his shoulders to dry his cheeks. “As for Steadfast, well, all he did was tell me how disappointed he was in me.”
“At least he spared you another scolding,” Rarity said. “Steadfast does miss you, you know.”
Mineral let go of his sadness and applied anger instead. “I didn’t need his opinion! I was wrong! I got the worst from Saradiamond and Nebula! I wanted to show I was sorry! I stood there all day. The next day I did the same as the day before. And the next day. For once in my life, I didn’t care about my work.”
Rarity sighed in thought. If only you had workers at your disposal. Or didn’t overwhelm yourself.
“But after all my waiting,” Mineral said, “all I received was enslavement.” Mineral blinked at the ground. “Was my predicament a means of poetic justice?”
“No,” Rarity responded bluntly. “There are ponies who have done far worse than you could have ever done. I’ve met those ponies. I don’t mean to toss Starlight under the carriage, but-”
“Pinkie Pie told me she has once hated cutie marks,” Mineral interjected. He rose a brow, “Was she really that bad?”
Rarity didn’t want to tell him how Starlight locked her and her friends in a room in hopes they would convert; that would hurt his opinion of Starlight. “She was much worse than you. But she was forgiven in the end.”
“I never got that from Saradiamond,” Mineral countered. “All I received from her was, ‘You killed our friend! She was in love with you, but you killed Nebula!’”
Rarity had to swallow her own words. Her throat cramped, sad for Mineral and angry at Saradiamond. “To kick a pony while their down…” Rarity muttered. Instead of focusing on the aggressive mare, Rarity wanted to focus on a more charming pony. “Did Steadfast at least try to make you feel better?”
Mineral gave no quick response. Instead, he looked forward and remained mute.
“Mineral, did you push Steadfast away like Saradiamond said you did?” Rarity asked.
Two purple ears fell down in response; the answer was clear.
“Why?” Rarity asked. “He’s such a charming pony and a way with words. I cannot recall a single time Steadfast insulted you compared to Saradiamond.”
“I- I’m upset with him…” Mineral finally answered.
“How?” Rarity asked, her brows furrowed with confusion.
“I wanted compassion the day I messed up. It was a mistake. But even Steadfast didn’t believe me that day. Only when Nebula was gone did he really see how badly I messed up.”
“Then I don’t see any of your old friends coming back to you if you can’t spare Steadfast forgiveness,” Rarity said. “You can’t receive forgiveness if you don’t give it yourself. That’s why it’s called for-give-ness. You give for the ness.”
Mineral broke into a fit of laughter. “‘Give for the ness?’ How does that make sense?”
“It’s an old saying my mother used to tell me,” Rarity answered. “I was angry at my little sister because of something petty. When my mother confronted me because I wouldn’t forgive Sweetie Belle, she told me to think about every good word that ends with ‘ness.’ I came up with ‘happiness, goodness, cuteness, worthiness,’ and a few others I cannot remember.”
A ring of laughter echoed down the walkway as two foals chased each other in playful sport. “My mother then said that if I saw those things in Sweetie Belle. And I answered ‘yes.’ Mother prompted me to tell Sweetie Belle why I was frustrated with her, but also the ‘nesses’ I came up with. Quickly, my feud with my sister ended.”
A smile continued to infect Mineral. “So do you want me to do the same for Steadfast and compliment his sexiness?”
Rarity sputtered her lips, the joke catching her by surprise. “Perhaps you can. He has quite the chiseled chin.”
Mineral rubbed his own chin, “What’s with mares liking chins?”
“What’s with stallions liking a mare’s flank?” Rarity countered.
“Fair point.”
Another voice laughed in response to Rarity’s retort and Mineral’s simple reply. It sounded like it came from behind, but their backs were to a wall. Mineral looked up and back to the maple tree. “Did… you hear that?”
“I did,” Rarity said. “Hmm, interesting.”
Mineral shrugged, “Anyways, aside for the ghost haunting this bench, I assume you want me to tell Steadfast a few ‘ness’ words?”
“As well as tell him why you are upset with him,” Rarity added. “I don’t agree with pushing him aside if I am going to be generous with the truth.” The crystal pony broke eye contact with her. “If he was willing to give you another chance, give him a chance to be your friend again. In fact, why not after we discuss business, go to the stadium and say hello to him. Spike is there watching him and Saradiamond, so why not have some guy time later?”
“It doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Mineral said. He looked back at Rarity and nodded, “I can try that.”
Rarity shook her head, “Don’t try, but do. And do it for not for Saradiamond, or Sugar, or anypony else. Do it for you and him only.”
“Okay.” Mineral smiled at Rarity, “Thank you for listening to my side of things.”
Rarity beamed, “You’re welcome. Would you like a hug for your troubles?”
“Oh nonono, please, no hugs!” Mineral quickly scooted as far over as he could. “Sorry, I’m just too ticklish.”
The over exaggerated behavior stunned Rarity. “A simple no would be fine.”
“I have a history of being tickled by Nebula to the point where my torso is way too sensitive.”
“Does Sugar know about your issue with hugs?” Rarity asked.
“Very much so,” Mineral said. “The thing is, we have this game where we try to hug the other. Our friendship sort of revolves around this game.”
“How adorable!” Rarity giggled. “Has she managed to hug you before?”
“Nope! I am unhugged!”
“You seem too happy to be not hugged by a pony who loves you,” Rarity said as a joke.
Mineral’s smile slowly fizzled away. “The truth is… I actually want her to hold me in her own arms. I know Sugar wouldn’t tickle me the way Nebula did. Because when I hold Sugar, she stays still and doesn’t fidget around.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Rarity asked.
“The problem is that I can’t let her get a single point in,” Mineral sighed. “If she does-”
“Hey! Who’s that on the roof!” a child exclaimed, pointing her hoof above where Mineral and Rarity were sitting.
Both ponies, including several bystanders, looked up to see a head poking over the edge.
“Nightshade?” Mineral said and hopped off the bench. Nightshade quickly pulled her head from view and most likely fled.
Rarity pressed her back against the bench, “I think Sugar has an overprotective sister…”
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Monster? As a drink similar to Red Bull? Plus, I must admit that I was very fearful that Sugar may have stumbled into Mineral and Rarity's conversation and get it confused for something else.
Also, I found Mineral's side of the story to be very tragic.
First, I have to say I'm still really enjoying this story. I was very happy to see this had been updated and rushed to read it right away.
Second, I'm going to go ahead and comment about something I was going to save for the end, but I feel I can apply it to this chapter. Long partial-review ahoy. 
Alright, I'm going to start off with the veggies.
Okay, now I remember what it was I wanted to say several chapters ago but forgot about it. This has been bugging me for a while and I wish there was a character, even a minor one, that would say it. People do not change over night.
There was an intervention, yes, but that doesn't mean Mineral would change in a few days, or weeks, or even months depending on when the intervention happened and this event in the quotations. Change takes time, and sadly, it seems no one gave him the allotted time to change. I think this scene would have been better if you had a moment where Steadfast, I think he'd be the best person for this, offered to help Mineral after the three day break seeing as it would put Mineral behind schedule a bit, and since Mineral is to stubborn to ask for it his friend knows to ask instead. And then Mineral rejects the offer claiming he can handle it, which then leads into this. It's been a while since I've read the rest of the story, so if you did include something like this, please disregard this comment.
My only other complaint on that matter, and this is about the Vamponies not your writing Fero, is that no one really sees this from Mineral's perspective either, he runs a business that pays for his house, puts food on his table, and pays for other bills. He needs that to make a living. That means he will sometimes have to pick work over friends and family, which sucks, but it's a part of life. And I know this from experience, from both sides of the fence. It just pains me to see the whole group getting mad at Mineral for things that take time to change, whether we like it or not.
My final, for lack of a better word at the moment, complaint is regarding Saradiamond. Spike and the others are here to solve a friendship problem, but they are also supposed to pick ponies that can help with the Crystal Fair. Saradiamond's outbursts have been directed at Mineral, and them choosing to kick Saradiamond from helping out was due to a personal issue, not a business one. Personally, I see that as very unprofessional even by MLP standards as Mineral and Saradiamond's issues are separate from the Crystal Fair, which is a bigger problem than the two of them. She clearly cares about her profession and the Crystal Empire very much, and while she might get a bit flustered, a majority of her outbursts have been linked to stress from her friends and events from within their group.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she's a saint, and she earned a very stern talking to about her actions. However that event was a bit much due to the Crystal Fair and Saradiamond's issues being two very separate problems that shouldn't be intertwined. I'm sure everything will work out in the end, as your stories have always done well wrapping things up, but this has been bugging me a bit for a while now.
I would like to say that Saradiamond's personality is very solid, she's very confident when in her belief's which really help drive her "enthusiastic" outbursts home. This character trait is actually one I will need to revisit while building up a character of mine.
Now for your dessert.
This is a really neat concept, I don't believe I've seen anyone else use this, or if it has been used I've missed it. I really liked Mineral's thought process on using the heart to show how much he loved someone, very nice touch. I'd be really interested to see this come into play in other stories should you have character come by here.
No! Fero, what have you done? Just imagine all the fan art that's going to pop up because of this one line! On second thought, maybe that's not a bad idea.
Okay, in all seriousness, this line had me laughing my butt off. 
This scene deserves an award.
You will never know how much this made me laugh.
I found Waldo!
I mean, I found Nightshade! 
Time to write a novel in one sitting then! Yeah!
I mean, assuming there isn't an energy crash afterwards. 
In all seriousness, you're story is doing great despite the two flaws mentioned above, which honestly aren't really that much of a big deal to begin with. You're characters are still fantastic and act in a realistic manor, Spike deserves an award for his performance here and I believe he's one of the best parts about this story. He never really falls to one side or the other in conflicts and is a great mediator.
Very well done so far, and I hope you have a good day with your large spark of energy. Also I hope your holidays went well.
Best authors not ever XD. The chapter was pretty awesome too :)
As soon as was mentioned that a voice came from the maple tree I suspected that Nightshade was spying on Mineral.