“Ow!” Fleur de Lis yelped for what Rarity swore was the fiftieth time.
“Stop squirming,” Rarity responded.
“I will, once you stop trying to sew the dress onto my flank. Again.”
“If you would have just held still, that wouldn't have happened.”
It had been a week and a half since their uncomfortable spa date, and Rarity was making a dress for Fleur to wear to her sister's wedding. Unfortunately, Fleur's twitchiness wasn't making this particularly easy or pleasant for either of them.
“Couldn't you do this on a ponniquin or something?”
“Do you see any ponniquins around here that have anything remotely similar to your proportions?”
Fleur looked around, realizing that there wasn't a single one with proportions that were remotely similar to hers. She sighed and resigned herself to more poking and prodding while making a mental note to see about getting Rarity a ponniquin closer to her own proportions.
Shortly after this, and another yelp of pain or two, the door bell rang, and a butter yellow pegasus carrying a basket walked in. “Oh, Fluttershy. Come in, come in.”
Fluttershy walked to the center of the room and gently set down the basket. Opal popped out of it, reveling in her typical, fluffy glory before glaring at Fleur who had knocked her into the laundry tub when Rarity wasn't looking hoping to get Fluttershy, who she suspected was avoiding her, over. Fleur ignored the cat, instead turning her attention to the new arrival, who was turning to leave.
“You don't have to leave Fluttershy. I can make us some lunch when I finish here,” Rarity said.
“Oh, I don't want to impose.”
“No, it's fine. I was hoping you would get back in time for lunch anyway. Just let me finish up here, then I can get started.”
“Yes, feel free to stay and watch as Rarity finishes torturing me with a-ow!” Fleur said, before being stabbed with the needle again, this time on purpose.
She turned to glare at Rarity who was glaring right back at her. Fluttershy, wanting to dispel the tension in the room, asked in a slightly subdued yet still conversational tone, “So, how's the move going?”
“It's been going smoothly, though Jacques isn't particularly enjoying having all the new furniture moved in.”
“Yes, Jacques doesn't really like large changes to his environment, especially when they're constantly coming. Give him some time, and I'm sure he'll calm down.”
“I'm sure you're right,” Fleur said, then, deciding to run with Fluttershy's immediate focus on the mention of her new cat, “though it would be nice if he would stop clawing the couch.”
“Just tell him to stop and he should.”
“I have and he hasn't. Could you come by later and see about getting him to stop? I'm sure he'll listen to you.”
“I can come by and see if I can help after lunch,” Fluttershy suggested.
“That would be perfect, and while we're on the subject, I'll be in Prance next week for my sister's wedding and I was hoping you could take care of him while I'm gone.”
“I can do that. Just drop him off at my house before you go, and I'll make sure he's well taken care of.”
“Thanks, though I have to ask about your rates,” Fleur said.
“Two bits a day sound fair?”
“That's less than a quarter of what I would pay in Canterlot. Not that I'm complaining.”
In a very unusual move for the disciplined dressmaker, Rarity was too busy listening to the two other ponies' conversation to pay attention to what she was doing and ended up stabbing Fleur in the side. “Ow!” the taller unicorn yelped loudly before trying to take the needle from Rarity's telekinetic hold.
“Sorry, sorry,” Rarity said, taking more care to keep the needle from poking Fleur's now very sore flank.
Fleur resisted the urge to make a snarky remark about this, instead saying, “Just try not to stab me anymore. If only for the sake of my poor flank.”
“I'll try, but if you really want to protect your flank you should stop fidgeting.”
Fleur's response to this was two very exaggerated twitches that earned her another glare from Rarity. She then asked, “So, what do you think of my new dress Fluttershy?”
“It's nice,” Fluttershy said, now taking the time to look it over. It was a simple though pretty blue party dress with silver trim along the borders and a sapphire at the clasp, designed to show her cutie mark while still covering a good portion of her flank.
“I wanted to make something more extravagant, but she insisted I keep it simple,” Rarity said.
“Well, it wouldn't be right of me to outshine Bordeaux at her wedding, now would it? Maybe when I return from Prance, I'll commission something more elaborate. Or maybe not,” Fleur said, while Rarity made a valiant, if doomed, effort not to stab her again while making the last few stitches.
“Done and done,” Rarity said a minute later, “So what do you think?”
Fleur inspected herself in the mirror, doing a few dramatic poses for good measure, and said, “It's perfect. Just the thing for attending Bordeaux's wedding.”
“I'm glad you like it, though I should point out you might still have a few threads embedded in your flank.”
Fleur took the dress off and passed it to Rarity who laid it out so it wouldn't get wrinkled. She then looked at her right flank, and found a few threads embedded just above her cutie mark. Using her magic she pulled those out and tossed them aside before inspecting the damage Rarity did to the area.
Less than thirty seconds after this the door opened and Rarity stated, “Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and-”
“Well, hello Pink,” Fleur interrupted, speaking in a sickeningly sweet tone reserved for those you hate.
Rarity looked at the new guest, thinking she was going to see Pinkie Pie, but instead saw a mare of about forty with a dark pink coat and mane, a slightly heavyset build, a strand of pearls around her neck, and something white on her flank, which Rarity, who was in front of this pony, guessed was a large pearl. This was the sort of pony that if you saw her on the street you probably wouldn't even take a second glance at her, even though she presented an obviously ill deserved air of superiority.
“Well, Hello Fleur. So nice to see the most promiscuous pony in Equestria again,” Pink Pearls said in a very polite tone.
“Yes, I had heard about the mirror shortage in Canterlot. Such a tragedy that you can't look at your own face every morning, isn't it?” Fleur said in the same polite manner.
Pink ignored the jab, instead turning her attention to the two other ponies present. In her politest tone, she asked, “Are these your newest lovers, my dear?”
“No, these are my friends, though I can see how such a concept would be alien to you.”
“Friends, you say? Have you, ah, made love to these friends by any chance?” Pink asked.
There was a flash of anger on Rarity's face, but without missing a beat, Fleur said, “Of course not, though I have to wonder what makes you think that you should make love to your friends. I certainly never thought that you should.”
“Oh, but I thought that's how all, ah, bisexual ponies saw their friends. Am I wrong?”
“Indeed you are, though I'm not surprised. Maybe I can help you get a better understanding of the concept of friendship and what it entails?” Fleur offered, still maintaining her polite tone.
“That will not be necessary, and, either way, I don't think I would benefit from any lessons you could give me.”
“Your loss. By the way, have you broken any homes up lately? Or did you grow a soul after ruining my marriage?”
“It's certainly not my fault you were sleeping around too much to satisfy your husband's needs. Maybe you should have considered that before you went to meet your latest lover,” Pink Pearls politely suggested.
This particular jab seemed to hit a nerve, as Fleur dropped the thin veneer of politeness for just a moment, saying, “I got a urinary tract infection because I tried to satisfy his needs. I think that justifies my not making love to him for a while?”
“Are you sure it was his needs, or was it the needs of numerous other stallions and mares in Canterlot? And have you started taking advantage of that experience here in this little hick town?”
Rather than rise to the insult, Fleur took a second to compose herself and said, “Funny how you apparently came to this 'hick town' as you call it to have a dress made. Care to explain that to me?”
“Just because it has an excellent dressmaker doesn't mean it's not a hick town. You should know that.”
“True, but aren't there excellent fashion designers in Canterlot that you could work with instead, so you don't have to mingle with these so called 'hicks'?”
“None up to the standards I want, unfortunately. Mingling with hicks like that pegasus,” Pink Pearls said gesturing towards Fluttershy, apparently not realizing that she was a Cloudsdale native, “or that orange earth pony who I bought an apple from is a necessary evil for the standards I am willing to pay to meet “
While this was going on, Fluttershy sat and watched, unsure of what to do while Rarity, standing a few feet from Fleur, struggled to keep her composure. Upon hearing this last sentence, though, she decided enough was enough. “I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”
“What? Why?” Pink Pearls asked in utter disbelief.
“Because I refuse to work with those who would insult me or my friends so openly and flagrantly.”
“Fine, but Canterlot will hear about this, and when they do you will never make dresses in that town again,” Pink Pearls said still maintaining her polite tone, before hanging her head high and walking out of the shop with as much dignity as she could manage.
Once she was out the door, Fleur, with a playful pout on her face, asked, “Did you have to make her leave? I was having such fun!”
Rarity, starting to relax, said,“I'm sorry but I can't stand ponies who would say such things about my friends and will not cater to them, no matter how many bits they offer. If having standards like that costs me business, then so be it.”
“Nice to see that you're still the same pony I met two years ago. And speaking of cost, how much do I owe you for the dress?”
“Because you're my friend, and you just moved in, I'll let you have it for free as long as you don't tell anyone,” the bearer of the Element of Generosity said
“My lips are sealed,” Fleur said.
“So she was the one who Fancypants was sleeping with?” Fluttershy asked after a short lull.
“Oui. I actually caught her making love to him in our bed. It was the worst moment of my life, especially since we agreed to not make love until I had healed.”
“But why her? She has nothing on you,” Rarity said, honestly confused.
“Thank you for thinking so, though I think that he was just looking for an outlet at that point. I know of no stallion or mare with anything near his libido, and since he had gone more than a week without any action, well...” Fleur said.
“So she was just convenient. Is that it?”
“Oui. Well, as far I know. Also, she was the one who managed to talk him into letting Canterlot know I was bisexual, saying that if his affair was discovered, the damage to his reputation would ruin his philanthropic efforts, despite the fact that charities have weathered far worse than their heads being found having affairs.”
“Sounds like a real piece of work,” Rarity said.
“Oh, she is. I knew it the second I lay eyes on her. As I recall, she was flirting with a married stallion at the time,” Fleur said, thinking back to that day.
((Flashback))
It was about three years prior, and Fleur was at a fancy party, having recently moved to Canterlot at Fancypants' suggestion. She was mingling and hobnobbing like everyone else, though she was slightly self-conscious about it because she wasn't quite fluent in equestrian yet.
At this particular moment she was heading to the hors d'oeuvre table for a quick bite, and noting that some pony was openly flirting with Old Money, a married steel blue stallion with a black mane she had had some dealings with since becoming a model and who was hosting this party. One thing that always struck Fleur about him was how manipulable he seemed and as she got closer to the conversing ponies she realized it wasn't just an impression.
“But what if she finds out?” Old asked.
“If it's only one night she won't find out, trust me,” the other pony said moving about in a seductive manner, making her intentions perfectly clear, “And even if she does, she flirts with enough stallions and mares that I doubt she will care.”
“M-mares? Really?”
“Yes, I've seen it with my own eyes. There was this little blue pegasus who came to town that she couldn't seem to resist. The other mare turned her down, but it begs the question: how many haven't?”
Fleur struggled not to butt in on their conversation. She knew Old Money's wife well enough to know that she would always be loyal to her man, and never step out on him, and yet here was this dark pink pony insisting that she would and had.
Old Money looked very disturbed at hearing this. “Oh my. How horrid.”
“Now, knowing that, does the idea of one night with another mare bother you?” the pink pony asked.
“N-no, I guess not.”
((end flashback))
“Seriously? Openly flirting with a married pony?”
“Oui. Ironic, really, when you consider that, to her mind, promiscuity is one of the greatest insults one could give,” Fleur said.
“And she doesn't seem to hold bisexuals in high regard, either,” Fluttershy said.
“No. She's of the belief that all of us are promiscuous homewreckers who are not to be trusted. Or could you tell?” Fleur said.
“It was pretty obvious.”
“Fortunately, very few of the Canterlot elite are that far gone, though it must be said that most of them do agree with her to varying degrees. Just one more reason I'm glad I don't live there anymore.”
“But surely you must have hated it there even before Fancypants cheated on you,” Fluttershy said.
“I didn't actually. That's the beauty of hindsight. I didn't realize how little I actually had in common with them until I left. Sure the fashion and the glamor were to die for, but, looking back, I don't think it was worth betraying my very being for.”
Rarity, remembering what she was going to do before the arrival of their guest, said, “Anyway, I think I'll get started on our lunch. A salad with almonds and croutons sound good to you two?”
Getting an affirmative answer, she went to the kitchen to prepare their meal, leaving her two friends alone together for the first time since their time on the massage tables (the generally silent Aloe and Lotus notwithstanding).
This lasted about thirty seconds, however, before Fluttershy excused herself, saying she wanted to help Rarity in the kitchen. Fleur let her go choosing to take the time to thoroughly inspect the damage to her flank and ignore her stomach in the meantime.
When Fluttershy asked if there was anything she could do to help, Rarity directed her to the tea kettle which was now whistling. After Fluttershy took it off the stove and got Rarity's tea set out, the purple maned unicorn asked, “Have you forgiven Fleur for her remarks at the restaurant?”
“Mostly, why?”
“I think you should go on a date with her,” Rarity said, getting right to the point. This was the first time she had the opportunity to speak to the pegasus alone since Fleur arrived and she wasn't going to waste a moment of it beating around the bush.
If Fluttershy hadn't put the tea set down on the counter before Rarity suggested this it would now be in a million pieces on the floor. Utterly bewildered, all she could articulate was, “Wait, what?”
“Oh come on, think about it. She obviously likes you, and you like mares-”
“I am not a fillyfooler!” Fluttershy said louder than she meant to. Loud enough, in fact, for Fleur to hear her clearly despite being two rooms away and to catch both Rarity and Fluttershy completely by surprise.
The tall unicorn, curious about the commotion, walked as quickly and as quietly to the kitchen door as possible, staying out of sight when she arrived. “...and regardless, the word you're looking for is lesbimare,” Rarity was saying as Fleur go into earshot.
“Well, I'm not one.”
“Then how do you explain your reaction to Fleur's, ah, thoughts about you on our spa date?”
“Didn't we agree never to speak of that again?” Fluttershy asked.
“We did, didn't we? Either way, my point still stands.”
Fleur briefly considered intervening on Fluttershy's behalf at this point, but thought it would be better to let her handle it herself instead of letting the two other ponies know she was eavesdropping.
“My body acted on its own. Doesn't make me a lesbimare.” If only it were that simple. In truth, Fluttershy had no idea where she was sexually anymore, and it all started with that moment. Of course she wasn't ready to admit as much, wanting to get a handle on her sexuality first, but she knew Rarity's suspicions had some grounding.
“Or you're just in denial,” Rarity suggested, realizing too late just how she sounded.
Fluttershy glared and said, “Rarity!”
“Okay, okay, I'm sorry. But if you were a lesbimare, would you consider going out with Fleur?” Rarity asked.
Fluttershy purposefully delayed answering this uncomfortable question by pouring tea into three of the cups.
“Well?”
“...maybe,” she finally said.
Rarity was not expecting this answer. “What do you mean, 'maybe'?”
“I haven't had any reason to think about it before.”
“I see,” Rarity said.
Since the unicorn wasn't asking her any more uncomfortable questions, Fluttershy took the opportunity to take the tea to the dining room.
Fleur heard the light footsteps heading in her direction and immediately tried to find a way not to get found out and have to explain herself. However, in keeping with her recent streak of luck, Fluttershy found her before she could even attempt to come up with a plan. Thinking fast, she said, “Oh, Fluttershy I was coming by to, um...see if lunch was ready.”
Fluttershy immediately figured out she was lying, mainly because she looked like a filly caught with her hoof in the cookie jar. Even so, she said nothing, electing to let Fleur off the hook this time, though the tea set in her mouth probably contributed to this decision.
When Fluttershy moved to put the tea set on the table Fleur intervened, saying, “Let me get that for you. I wouldn't want you to spill.”
Fluttershy mumbled a quick thanks and took a seat once the tea set was in Fleur's grasp. As Fleur moved the tea set to the middle of the table she started doing dramatic poses to work off the tension that she had felt when she got caught (a trick she had learned during her modeling career).
Fluttershy, thinking Fleur was doing this to seduce her, pretended to ignore the unicorn though she did steal a quick glance at the tall unicorn, who immediately smiled at her, causing her to blush a bit. Fleur then sat down and waited for lunch to be served.