Ding, the doorbell chimed.

"What, no dong?" Rarity fixed her hair before rolling off of her bed and heading towards the front door.

Fluttershy flinched as the door opened, her finger slipping off of the button as she did.

Dong...

"Fluttershy, why were you holding the button down?" Rarity asked, stepping aside for her friend to pass.

"I... Well." She scratched her head and stepped inside. "I know you're busy, and I didn't want to bother you too much if I could help it..."

Rarity shook her head with a straight face and raised her eyebrow. "Don't be ridiculous. So Sweetie Belle is going to stay there all weekend then?"

"Yes she is. I confirmed with Scootaloo's parents that it was okay, and they knew all about it. So... I guess we have the place all to ourselves then." Fluttershy hugged her backpack and walked into the bedroom, where she took out her blanket and small toy mouse.

Rarity rubbed her forehead and followed in time to see Fluttershy dangling the toy in front of Opalescence by its tail. The frisky feline gently pawed at the toy with a rumbling purr. Rarity kneeled down by her side and tilted her head at Opal with a puzzled frown.

"You know, not just ten minutes ago she was being very moody. As soon as you show up, she's behaving wonderfully again. I don't get it..." Rarity pouted and crossed her arms. "Why can't she love me as much as she loves you."

Fluttershy winced and dropped the toy. "Uhm... I'm sure Opal loves you more than she loves anyone else. Cats are great pets that just require a few things that people don't really think about to stay happy."

"Help me. Tell me what I need to do to keep her happy all the time. I hate when she's upset, and I love when she's happy."

Fluttershy nodded and gently stroked Opalescence behind the ears as she chewed on her new toy. "I'm glad to hear that you're so devoted to making Opal happy. There isn't too much to keeping a cat like her satisfied. It's more about doing things that don't annoy her. Cats can be very irritable, and they remember the sources of their irritation. That might be why she gets moody around you sometimes."

Rarity stood up and huffed. "I do not annoy her. I'm nothing but a great pet owner. It must be something else."

Fluttershy put on a crooked grin as Opalescence balled her self up and sprang across the room before scurrying under the bed. "Lesson number one: Don't loom over her when you feel like you're going to be negative. Cats are intuitive and can detect threatening body language. Right now, Opal sees you as a bigger, aggressive cat that's trying to prove dominance. That's why she ran away just now, because she isn't looking for a fight."

Rarity bit down on the tip of her finger and frowned. "Oh dear... I'm so sorry, Opal. I don't want to hurt you sweetheart. Come to mama."

"No no... just let her relax down there where she feels safe for a little while." Fluttershy stepped in front of Rarity and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll give you some more pointers on how to keep her happy."

Fluttershy stepped to the bedroom door and opened it up. "Let's go into the other room for a little while if you have free time."

"Okay, and thank you for this. I should have asked you so much sooner." Rarity put on an apologetic smile and shook her head.

Fluttershy nodded and sat down on the living room sofa. "Don't mention it. I'm just so happy to hear that you want to take better care of Opal. She's such a pretty kitty, and I love her to pieces. It makes me feel better knowing she has an owner that wants to make sure she's happy too."

Rarity took a seat next to her friend and nodded. "You're a nice girl, Fluttershy. I know we haven't been the closest of friends, and I regret that now. I know you like animals and work at the shelter, but I never knew you were so pet-savvy."

"I coach people who are adopting rescues so they don't mistake a nervous pet for a bad pet. It breaks my heart to see a pet get returned, because they all need homes, you know? It isn't their fault they've had hard lives, and a little love will go a long way for them." Fluttershy looked down and played with her fingers. "If I had my own place, I'd make sure it had lots of yard-space and be somewhere nice and open, so I could adopt all of them and let them run around and play until someone else could take them. It's awful seeing them in cages..."

Rarity nodded and placed her hand over Fluttershy's. "Well they're lucky to have you in their lives. I bet you've helped unite them with lots of loving families."

Fluttershy looked up into Rarity's eyes with a wobbly smile. "I hope you're right, but enough of that. I don't mean to go on about myself. Let's talk about Opal."

"Okay." Rarity nodded and grinned. "I'm ready to do what it takes to make her a happier cat."

Fluttershy placed her finger on her chin and looked up. "Okay, just stop me if I get carried away, but I'm going to start listing a few things that you should keep in mind."

"Got it." Rarity leaned back on the couch and hugged her legs while she watched Fluttershy making mental notes.

"First thing I noticed right off the bat is that Opal is locked in your bedroom most of the time. Cats are all about scent, so she's going to get antsy when she realizes that other people are marking these rooms up with their scent and she can't get to them," Fluttershy explained.

Rarity nodded. "Oh, that's why she's always sticking her nose under the door. I thought she was just curious as to what was going on out there."

"Maybe you could try leaving your door open more often... Oh, look who decided to join us." Fluttershy smiled and waved at the fluffy white cat, who prowled into the living room with her body low. "Would you please show me how you interact with her?"

"Of course," Rarity said as she stood up and walked over to Opalescence, who flattened her ears and recoiled. Rarity lifted the heavy cat into her arms and carried her over to the couch, stroking down her back. "Shh, that's a good kitty. Be still."

Opalescence growled as she flicked her tail back and forth, and Fluttershy giggled as she wiggled out of Rarity's arms and hopped away. "Okay, first of all, you can't just just stroke down her back if she's in a bad mood. You'll overstimulate her and she might even end up scratching you. If you see her tail twitching or flicking back and forth, that means she's had enough and you need to put her down."

"I'm even petting her wrong?" Rarity asked with a groan.

"It's not that you're petting her wrong, silly. You just need to make sure she wants you to be petting her. I think she's intimidated by you, and thinks that you're trying to put her in her place. Next time she's out and about, just scratch her cheeks and her chin. Once her scent is on you, she'll loosen up for some more affection." Fluttershy ginned and closed her eyes. "But you have to be gentle. Too rough and you'll scare her. At least at first. The more comfortable you make her around you, the more you can get away with without her overreacting. Soon you'll be able to do what you want to her and she'll just be a big happy ball of fluff."

Rarity sighed and rested her chin on her knees. "This is a lot... and Shy? What's she doing now?" She pointed to the cat, who was rubbing up against the television stand.

"She's putting her scent on things. It's probably something she's been dying to do for a long time. Just let her walk around the house for a while," Fluttershy explained, then stood off the couch and took a deep breath. "I have an idea that I think will make things easier, so don't think that I've gone crazy," she said as she stood off the couch and fell onto her hands and knees.

"Watch me be a kitty too."

Rarity blushed and covered her mouth, stifling a laugh. "Darling, don't crawl on the floor. You don't know what kinds of things Sweetie Belle and her horrible little friends have spilled there."

"Can't understand you, I'm a cat. Meow." Fluttershy pawed at Rarity's bootlace before crawling next to Opal and rubbing her cheeks up against hers.

"You can't be serious..." Rarity giggled and stood up, stepping up next to Fluttershy, who looked up with wide eyes.

"Meow... you're scaring me. Please don't stand so tall, I'm no threat to you..." Fluttershy squeaked and whined, curling up into a little ball while Opalescence scurried into the kitchen.

"Oh I get it. You're teaching me... Interesting method, I'll admit." Rarity kneeled down and scratched Fluttershy's cheeks with her fingertips. "There there. I didn't mean to scare you."

Fluttershy curled her tongue and imitated a purr as she closed her eyes and smiled, leaning into Rarity's hands. "Oh, you're not so scary after all. You're pretty nice."

"Shy, I can't help but notice that this is incredibly silly." Rarity blushed and glanced away.

Fluttershy nodded and shrugged. "I know I'm a little strange. I guess it what happens when all your best friends are animals."

Rarity lowered her eyes and stood up, reaching down for her friend's hand. "Hey, you have plenty of friends. What about Pinkie Pie? I can hardly stand her, but you two seem close."

Still sitting on the floor, Fluttershy shook her head. "I'd rather not talk about her anymore... We're no longer friends after... after what she did." Fluttershy reached up and took Rarity's hand, standing up and brushing herself off.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that. And Rainbow Dash? You two talk, right?" Rarity asked.

She shrugged and smirked. "Not really. I always feel like Rainbow Dash is just forcing herself to be nice to me when she's around, and she's always on her way to go do something else when we bump into each other. I understand, I know I'm a pretty boring person and she's got a lot going on."

"Oh you know how she is. Can't be bothered to slow down for a second. I can tell she likes you though." Rarity took a deep breath and casually swung her arms from side to side.

"That's good to hear. I like her too. So... I'm sure you've heard the rumors about me floating around the school, that I'm crazy and think I can talk to animals." Fluttershy lowered her eyes to the floor and crossed her arms. "It's not true, but I understand if you don't want to be seen associating with me. They might make fun of you too."

Rarity glanced over her shoulder and shrugged. "Shame on them. Yes I've heard the silly little rumors, but I don't care about any of that. You've always been a wonderful person to me, and I only regret not spending time with you like this sooner."

Fluttershy smiled widely and blushed as she slowly swayed her body. "It means a lot to hear you say that. Thanks, Rarity."

"No, thank you, darling. You're the one who was kind enough to offer your time to help me when you didn't owe me anything, in fact, I'm the one who owes you since you take such good care of Opal when you groom her. Let me know if there's anything I can ever do." Rarity held her thumb up to Fluttershy and nodded with a smile.

"This is good. It might not seem like much to you, but teaching you to take care of Opal is terrific for me. I can't think of anything I'd rather do right now. And, pretending to be a cat is fun, even if some people might think it's a little weird." Fluttershy giggled and dropped back down to her knees. "Do you mind?"

"Are you saying you want to pretend to be a cat the entire time you're here?" Rarity raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

Fluttershy nodded and purred.

"Fine, but please only do this when no one else can see us. I don't think the the school is quite ready to meet Fluttercat." Rarity laughed and knelt down to scratch her friend behind the ears. "You're a good kitty."

"Mew!"