Fluttershy took in a deep breath through her nose, the scent of cedar bedding and grooming supplies flooding her senses. "Ahhh... I love it here."

Rarity fanned in front of her nose and shook her head. "Where's the cat stuff?"

Fluttershy pointed towards the back of the store and led the way while Rarity followed close behind and eyed a wall of shiny, sparkling dog collars. She stopped and grabbed ahold of a thick black collar with big silver bell dangling at the front of it, then casually held it low and out of sight while she stepped into the feline area of the store.

Fluttershy stroked her hand up the length of fully assembled cat trees on display, some several feet taller than she was.

"What should we get for Opal?" Rarity asked, staring at the tall decorations with wide eyes.

Fluttershy lifted a box and inspected the picture on the front. "This one looks good. Opal is pretty chubby and there's a very wide perch at the top. I think she'll make good use of the little den at the bottom for a while too. What do you think?"

Rarity took the box in her hands and shook it up and down. "Seems good to me. What else should we get"

Fluttershy placed a finger to her chin as she watched Rarity angle the box into a shopping cart, then slide the collar beneath it. "How about a bag of cat treats?"

"No she has plenty of those. I just usually forget about them since she's usually too moody to hand feed," Rarity explained.

"Well how about this?" Fluttershy pointed a small red beam of light onto her friend's chest. "I love watching cats chase these around."

"A laser pointer? Okay sure." Rarity smiled and stepped back towards the cash registers. "I'm ready to kick my shoes off and curl up on the couch for a while, so let's go home for now. If we realize we've forgotten something then we can come back later."

Fluttershy nodded and followed, lifting the the box onto the counter along with the laser pointer. She then lifted the collar and raised an eyebrow. "Rarity, you do realize that this is too big, right? Opal is a cat and this is clearly a dog collar."

"Yes of course!" Rarity blushed and snatched it from Fluttershy, handing it to the cashier. "Don't be silly... it isn't for Opal, my dear."

Fluttershy tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, then spotted Rarity lifting her card from her bag. "No." She placed her hand over Rarity's and stepped in front of her. "I'll get this for you since you so generously treated me to the spa."

"Oh," Rarity said, putting her card away. "That's very kind of you. Thanks."

"I also like to rack up rewards points here with my membership card. So it's win win." Fluttershy smiled as she purchased the items with her crumpled wad of cash and earned her points.

***

Meanwhile, Opalescence found herself with free reign of the house. She cat-crawled into the open, stalking her prey from behind a shoe. The small dust ball inched across the slick kitchen tile floor as a draft creeped in through the window. At the sight of movement, Opalescence lowered her ears and wiggled her haunches before darting into action! She pounced onto the ball of dust full speed, losing all traction and sliding across the kitchen floor.

With a loud crash she collided with the refrigerator, knocking down several magnets and pictures Sweetie Belle had drawn. The cat quickly regained her bearings and resumed her chase, scurrying in place for several seconds before gaining any momentum. She eyed the dust and hopped on top of it in an attempt to capture it beneath her front paws, but it slipped between her grasp and floated high into the air.

Opal stared at the ball of dust forlornly as it vanished from sight, resting peacefully atop the refrigerator. Her attention was then caught by the creaking of the front door, and she trotted into the living room to investigate with a high pitched meow.

"Aright! Let's get this thing built," Rarity said with the pumping of her fist.

Fluttershy nodded and peeled the box open before dumping its contents onto the floor. A few pieces tumbled out and onto the floor and she took a deep breath, wiping her brow. "Okay good. This is the easy kind that you just twist together."

Rarity shrugged and lifted the base upright, noting the steel bolt protruding from the center. "Oh I see. This seems quite easy, much unlike what I expected."

Opalescence spied on them from the kitchen, watching as Rarity twisted the parts into place, and her tail flicked from side to side.

Fluttershy stood up and rubbed her hand across the soft carpeted top. "Opal might feel a little uneasy about this at first. Cats sometimes need a bit of time to adjust to furniture changes or the addition of furniture. I'm sure this thing smells very strange to her too, so there's that to consider."

Rarity nodded and dragged the tree into her bedroom, propping it up into the corner. "It'll probably stay here since this is Opal's main room. I'll see about letting her out more often, but Sweetie Belle is a mess, and Opal likes cleanliness."

Fluttershy smirked and shrugged. "So... about that collar."

Rarity's back stiffened and she stared straight past her friend, pulling the collar from her pocket. "Well, I just thought... I thought that, you know, since you're pretending to be my pet sometimes, I thought that maybe you'd like to... wear it."

Fluttershy rubbed her forehead with a wide smile and laughed. "Oh, that's all? I thought maybe you had a big puppy I didn't know about. Sure, I'd love to." She took the soft, silky collar and unlatched the shiny chrome buckle.

Rarity's eyes widened as she watched her friend lift her arms and wrap the black fabric around her neck. Fluttershy then lifted her chin and exposed her neck further. "Could you help buckle it please?"

Rarity nodded and gently slid the metal prong into a small hole before tucking the excess strap beneath the buckle. "Looks lovely on you."

Fluttershy flicked the bell with her fingertip and giggled. "I love it. Thank you for picking it out."

"Now I'll be able to find you whenever I need you." Rarity stared at the bell and placed her hand on Fluttershy's cheek.

"Yes, and I'll always be here whenever you might need me." Fluttershy nodded and leaned into her friend's hand with her eyes closed. She then took a deep breath and placed her own hand over Rarity's, and her deep teal eyes slowly inched open to meet Rarity's vivid blue ones. Fluttershy wore a coy pout as she leaned forward and Rarity tilted her head.

Fluttershy shifted her weight and rubbed her boots together as her nose brushed along the side of Rarity's, and just as their lips touched, Rarity jumped with a start. Opalescence pawed at her shoulder from the top of her perch.

"Oh look, she likes it." Fluttershy pointed to the cat, then clenched her fist and silently stomped the floor in frustration as Rarity looked back.

"I guess she does... That's really great. And she's playing with me. This is wonderful! I hope she's warming up already. Should I grab her treats?" Rarity turned back to Fluttershy with wide and sparkling eyes.

"Uhm... yes. Go ahead and give her a couple to celebrate her taking a liking to her new perch." Fluttershy rolled her eyes and rested her chin on the perch by Opal's face as Rarity headed into the other room. "You're such an attention hog, Opal," she mumbled before scratching behind the cat's ears.

She then whispered with a wink, "I'll kiss that girl eventually. Just you watch."

Rarity returned with her small bag of treats and shook it in front of Opal, who stuck her nose up and turned away. "Oh, I guess someone doesn't want any treats..."

"She doesn't seem too excited. I'm guessing she doesn't like them very much," Fluttershy noted.

"Maybe you're right. Do you want some?" Rarity teased and dangled the bag with her fingertips.

Fluttershy shook her head and walked into the front room. "Come on, let's give her some time with her new toy, and later we'll whip out the laser pointer for some real fun."

"Ooh, I can't wait." Rarity followed and joined her friend on the sofa as she turned on the television and flipped through the channels. "What are you looking for?"

"Just something to watch. I just like white noise at the very least." Fluttershy stretched her legs before kicking her boots off and resting her feet on the coffee table.

Rarity scoffed and shook her head. "Well you've certainly grown more comfortable around here."

Fluttershy paused for a moment, then quickly sat straight up and lowered her legs. "Oh my! I didn't mean to. It's just that I... well at home I..."

"Shhh. No worries, love. Just don't do it if my mom is home." Rarity winked, kicking her own boots off and propping her feet up as well.

Fluttershy smiled and hesitantly leaned back, resuming her previous position.

"What is she doing?" Rarity asked while Opalescence arched her back and dug her claws into the base of the cat tree. "Is she really sharpening her claws? That's why they do that, right?"

Fluttershy nodded and crossed her legs over the table, partially distracted by the tv. "Yes, her claws are getting sharper and stronger while she does that. She isn't necessarily trying to sharpen them, but instead she's instinctively honing them. They use trees in the wild to hone their claws, and it keeps them from growing to a point that they'll easily break. The sharpening is an important side effect."

Rarity slowly nodded. "I see. What if we get her declawed?"

Fluttershy shot upright and rapidly shook her head. "No, you can't! It's awful. Cats hate it and there are a lot of risks. If you're worried about claw length, then let's just trim them. I'll show you how with a regular pair of nail clippers."

Rarity chuckled and waved her hands back and forth. "Fine, show me how then."

Fluttershy rubbed her temples and took a deep breath. "The declawing procedure should be outlawed... Anyway, I just very recently clipped her nails yesterday, so she should still be fine. I can tell you how now and show you next week. Give me your nail clippers, please."

Rarity opened her bag which sat on the coffee table in front of the couch. She then handed the clippers over and watched carefully while Fluttershy took her hand. "Darling, don't ruin my nails."

"Oh... I'm sorry. Here, clip mine for me then and I'll walk you through it." Fluttershy sat back on her knees and and placed her hands on her thighs. "Mew... Please don't hurt me."

Rarity lifted the clippers and looked down at Fluttershy's fingertips. "Oh please, I've clipped nails a million times over."

"My nails aren't like people nails. I have a very sensitive nerve that grows inside not very deep in." Fluttershy pouted and pulled her hand back.

Rarity nodded. "I see. Well I'll be extra careful."

Fluttershy held her hand out and rested her fingers on Rarity's palm. "Just clip the very tip of the sharp part, less than about a quarter of the claw's length in."

Rarity focused and just barely nicked the very tip of the nail, not visibly altering it at all. Fluttershy smiled and pulled her hand away, then nuzzled her cheeks against Rarity's hand with a quiet purr.

"You're a good girl, Fluttercat." Rarity stroked her hair and jingled her bell.

Fluttershy smiled widely and quickly nodded. "You need to keep in mind that Opal might try to resist you clipping her nails at first because she'll feel nervous and uneasy."

Rarity crossed her arms with a knowing smirk. "You mean the way you were nervous and uneasy at the spa?"

Fluttershy frowned and sat back. "I... What do you mean?"

"Oh you know, when you were getting you pedicure. You seemed seconds away from a nervous breakdown." Rarity laughed and urged her friend backwards. "Are you nervous and uneasy right now?"

Fluttershy fell back onto her elbows while Rarity lifted her left calf and rubbed the muscle. "I'm a little... What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a massage, remember our agreement? You teach me and I rub you," Rarity explained as she bared her teeth with an innocent smile.

Fluttershy nodded and took a deep breath. "...You know that I'm nervous. I just don't like that kind of massage."

"Oh? And how do you know? Have you experienced one? I was a bit disappointed that you didn't get one at the spa. I insist I get one every time." Rarity ran her hand down Flutteshy's shin while she held her calf with the other hand.

Rarity noticed Fluttershy cover her face and let her head fall flat against the cushion, then decided to carry on. She slid her index finger between Fluttershy's ankle and sock, then pulled down on the soft fabric.

"No." Fluttershy pulled away and sat cross legged on the couch, shaking her head. "Maybe later. Let's do something else for now."

Rarity let her hair fall over one eye as she tilted her head. "Okay. We can do whatever you want. What do you feel like doing right now, Fluttershy?"

"Uhm... H-how about a kiss?"

Author's Notes:

Sorry for not replying to all your comments. Just know that I do read them all and I love them very much! Thank you.

Expect another update soon.