As Fluttershy shifted slightly from hoof to hoof in boredom, Rarity finished making her measurements of Fluttershy's waist with an attention to detail.
"My, my Fluttershy. How do you do it?" Rarity questioned the pink haired pegasus as she scribbled down numbers onto a small parchment. "You've continued to drop inches off your waist yet again, now 21 inches. You simply must tell me your secrets!"
"Uh... well, I don't know Rarity. I don't feel like I'm doing anything different," Fluttershy answered as Rarity brought out yet another measuring tool from a nearby table drawer.
"What a shame. If I could lose some of this disgusting fat I've gained from being cooped up in this boutique so much...," Rarity sighed, "if only. But, I must continue if I want to be able to compete well this year on the shelves."
"Rarity, you're not fat. You're in great condition," Fluttershy remarked, honestly. "You're in just as good as shape as I'm in. Our weekly spa visits have really helped your complexion." Fluttershy said, hoping to get her friend out of her mood. To her dismay, Rarity simply continued her analysis of the pony while continuing to speak badly of herself.
"While that's true dear, I've been packing on the weight lately. 12.3 pounds, to be exact. I'm actually starting to push my own personal dresses to the limit. Quite a shame, really." Rarity finished her sad speech as the measuring tape folded and returned to its original resting place, along with the faint noise of scribbling as Rarity wrote the final measurements down. Looking over the paper with a final look of approval, she grasped the measurements in blue magic and headed for the door to her closet.
"I'll be back in just a moment, darling. These measurements are a bit odd. It may take me a moment to find the dresses with these in mind." Rarity called back while entering the closet. Fluttershy was about to say something back, but was cut off by the sound of the door closing behind the white unicorn. She waited in silence for her return, looking at some of the dresses on display as she waited.
As Fluttershy examined a simple black dress near the front window, the new sound of hooves clopping the floor alerted her to the return of Rarity.
"Here we are," said Rarity as she carried the dress in her magic towards the center of the room. It was a fairly plain dress from what Fluttershy could tell, white with some frills toward the end. A wedding dress, perhaps? Fluttershy didn't know, and was lost in her thoughts for a moment before Rarity's voice snapped her back to reality.
"Now, if you would please change into this, dear." Rarity commanded, giving the dress to Fluttershy in her hooves. Fluttershy nodded and went behind the changing screen.
As soon as she started changing, Fluttershy attempted to note every detail she could about the dress. If she didn't, then she wouldn't be doing her job of trying out the dresses very well.
The first immediate thing she noticed about the dress was how impossibly smooth, warm, and comfortable it was. It didn't feel like she was wearing a dress, more like a blanket than anything. Taking a look at the sleeves, she noticed that the fabric used seemed very different then normal, with a certain feeling she couldn't quite place. Assuming it was just a fashion thing and that's how it was supposed to be, she continued her fitting of the dress.
Besides some of the frills being a little off in design, she couldn't find anything in particular to note, so she took off the dress, which wasn't easy with hooves or wings, and came out from behind the screen to tell her friend what she thought. The first thing she saw was her friend working on a dress with a fabric she had never seen before. Shrugging it off, she told her friend all of the mistakes she had been rehearsing in her head, and the unicorn nodded as she spoke.
"Yes, I thought a few of those cuts weren't quite on, but I dismissed it as my imagination at the time," Rarity responded looking at Fluttershy with a cocky smile. "Now I know however it wasn't simply me, and I will get to fixing that as soon as I get this beautiful design finished." She said as she showed off her handiwork to Fluttershy, showing no hesitation in her presentation of the work of art. Fluttershy took this as the chance to finally ask about the strange fabric.
"Yes Rarity, it looks very beautiful, but can I ask you a question?" Fluttershy asked.
"Of course, dear. What do you ask?" Rarity responded while measuring the dress's waist measurements.
"Well Rarity, I see you're using something new in your dresses, and it feels really comfy. What is it? It's so soft," Fluttershy asked with a smile as she snuggled a spare piece of the fabric. Rarity immediately stopped working on the dress and looked at Fluttershy with a nervous smile.
"Uhh... well you see dear, it's..." Rarity stopped, as if thinking about something. "It's the newest fabric used by top fashion designers in Canterlot. It's what's in style for this Spring!" Rarity explained. Fluttershy was slightly suspicious of the explanation, but her kindness won out to simply ignore it.
"Well that's nice Rarity, but what is it? It reminds me of Angel Bunny's fur, it's so soft." If Rarity seemed nervous before, she was now sweating in anxiety.
"Well, uh, you see darling..." Rarity began to speak, but stopped when Fluttershy investigated a box lying nearby on the floor. The box that was originally used to import her fabric, to be more precise.
"Haythorne's Fabrics, 100% Pure Animal-made Fabric. Order of: 23 sets of Cottontail Rabbit Fur." Fluttershy read aloud to the terror of the white unicorn.
"I can explain, dear..." Rarity began, even though she knew she couldn't. She didn't have to anyway; at that moment Fluttershy fainted.
What if the poor dear doesn't forgive me? What if she hates me forever? Rarity thought as she walked the path to Fluttershy's cottage. It had been two days since the events at the Carousel Boutique, and Rarity was more nervous now than she had been two days ago.
Even though Fluttershy was the nicest, shyest, most forgiving mare Rarity had ever encountered, she couldn't imagine how angry she must've been at her. She had caught Rarity using her beloved animals as fashion materials; Rarity couldn't imagine how she could forgive something like that.
Rarity became so lost in her thoughts and predictions of what was going to occur at Fluttershy's cottage, she didn't even notice she had arrived at her destination until she realized she had been staring at the door for at least a few minutes. With great hesitation and worry, she raised her hoof and knocked on the front door. There was a slight pause, then the door was opened by the cream colored pegasus with her standard, caring smile.
"Hello, Rarity." She said calmly as normal, surprising the unicorn.
"Ummm, hello darling. I thought we should talk about... well, you know..." Fluttershy just nodded and stepped to the side, allowing Rarity to enter.
"Well, where do you want to start?" Fluttershy asked, continuing to confuse Rarity with the wording of her sentences.
"Well, I suppose an apology is in order. I'm sorry I used..." Rarity gulped, "animal skin in my clothing line, then asked you to try them on."
"Oh, it's alright, Rarity." Fluttershy replied, finally reaching the tipping point in Rarity.
"What do you mean 'it's alright', Fluttershy? How are you not upset with me? I convinced you to wear animal skins!" Rarity said, her voice rising as she spoke to a near yell towards the end. "Oh, sorry dear. This whole situation has just gotten me very stressed."
"It's ok, and to answer your question, I was angry at you at first, but I'm not anymore." Fluttershy answered. It wasn't enough of an explanation for Rarity, however.
"But how aren't you anymore?" Rarity asked.
"Well, when I first woke up back in my cottage, I was angry because of the animal skins. To think some ponies enjoy wrapping themselves in the fur of other creatures..." Fluttershy looked down at Angel Bunny at her hooves, who had appeared without Rarity even noticing. "I don't understand it, but I accept it. Just as you make your dresses out of them. I don't understand why you would make dresses out of it, but I accept it."
"Well... thank you for understanding, and if that's all, i suppose I should return to the Boutique for any customers." Rarity said.
"Have a nice day, Rarity." Fluttershy responded, greeting her goodbye. She watched the unicorn disappear over the hill before returning back into the cottage, where Angel Bunny was tapping his foot on the ground with an annoyed look on his little bunny face.
"What is it, Angel Bunny?" Fluttershy asked. In response, the bunny pulled out a large book from seemingly nowhere, flipped to a page, and revealed it to Fluttershy. The page had a picture of a large salad.
"Carrot salad? I don't know Angel Bunny, those aren't good for you at this time of day." In response to the pegasus, the bunny thumped his paw on the picture twice.
"Oh, alright Angel Bunny. I'll go prepare the salad, you just stay here." Fluttershy said as she began to head to the kitchen. Angel Bunny huffed loudly at the mention of him waiting, causing the pegasus to turn her head to the ungrateful rabbit.
"Don't get an attitude with me Angel, or you'll be in Rraity's next dress." She threatened with an emotionless face that sent shivers down the bunny's back. Just as suddenly as it came though, the dark look on Fluttershy's face disappeared.
"Don't worry Angel, I would never do anything like that. I'll be back in a moment." With that, the Fluttershy entered the kitchen, out of sight of Angel Bunny. With nothing else to do, he sat on the couch and waited for the yellow pegasus to return.
The pegasus he was now slightly afraid of, whether he wanted to admit it or not.