Fluttershy yawned deeply as she rolled over in her bed, bunching up the covers with her back legs. She moaned quietly as she attempted to kick the crumpled blankets away, but she only succeeded in making her tangled bed sheet situation worse. Eventually, the yellow pegasus merely resigned herself to laying in the bed, tangled hopelessly in in the sheets. Her eyes stayed shut for as long as she could keep them shut, but she failed miserably to stay asleep. She was already awake, so she'd might as well get used to it.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked up at her ceiling tiredly. She didn't feel bright and energetic this morning, even though she'd gotten well over eight hours of sleep the previous night. A subtle, sick feeling laid in her stomach as she sighed deeply to herself. She longed for someone to be in the bed next to her. Sure, she'd had a relationship before, but to say that it was dysfunctional would be an understatement. Fluttershy's timidity eventually got to the stallion and he left her. So alone she had stayed for a long time.

She supposed that she had gotten used to it. Most days she was okay with it. She had her pet bunny, angel, and all of the friendly critters of the forest to keep her company. And then there were her friends. Her five friends who she loved above everything else in the world. They were always there for her and they usually alleviated the feelings of loneliness she felt...usually. There were some nights that Fluttershy really, truly wanted someone to hold as she went to sleep.

Despite these profound feelings, Fluttershy got out of her bed and moved into her kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea and sat down in one of her chairs before taking a small sip. She looked down to see Angel looking up at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, hi, Angel." Fluttershy said. "Did you sleep well?" The bunny nodded and brought a paw up momentarily toward her.

"I slept fine." Fluttershy said. "A little uncomfortable with all the blankets, but it's fall. What else would I do to keep warm?" The bunny shrugged and jumped up into Fluttershy's lap before laying down and snuggling his head into her leg.

"Oh, Angel, you're so sweet." Fluttershy said as she gave her bunny a pet. "What would I do without you?"

The yellow pegasus was not looking forward to her agenda that day at all. She had to round up a group of raccoons from behind Café Du Mane that were constantly getting into the garbage, stop a pack of bunnies from destroying Carrot Top's garden and last but not least, she had to get the family of birds who had made a home in her attic out of her attic. The yellow mare was always used to going about her days leisurely, without a certain set schedule. But she felt a certain pressure to do these things, as she was probably the only pony in Ponyville who had the influence over animals that she did.

After finishing her cup of tea, Fluttershy stood and moved to her bathroom to freshen up for the day. Angel followed his loving master closely, still not believing that Fluttershy was perfectly alright this morning. She looked at herself in the mirror and smirked tiredly. Her mane was frazzled and she looked sort of worn from her sleep, but otherwise, she looked great. Fluttershy was almost always extraordinarily beautiful.

It wasn't as if Fluttershy received absolutely no attention from single stallions. She actually had received a good amount of flirtation in her life. But she was always so timid or scared, the potential suitor would eventually be turned off and move on to a different, more bold mare.

She stepped into the shower momentarily and washed herself off. She stepped out of the shower and dried off before brushing her mane into it's usual, perfect look. It cascaded from her head like a glorious pink fountain. She washed her face quickly and looked into her mirror once more after drying off her face. Much of her beauty was natural, and she only required a small amount of eyeliner to bring out her beautiful blue eyes.

"Well, Angel. Let's get you fed." Fluttershy said as she walked into the kitchen. The pegasus granted her rabbit a generously sized carrot, which the rabbit took and began to eat on. "Goodbye. I'll be back soon." Fluttershy nuzzled her rabbit lovingly. Angel returned the nuzzle and Fluttershy finally left her cottage to begin the day's tasks.

"Sweetie Belle! Could you please bring me the number twenty-five glitter ribbon?" Rarity cried as she furiously sewed a dress she had forgotten to add to her most recent dress order. She was supplying dresses for a group of eighteen rich and prissy mares, that demanded the best quality. They had made sure to stress to Rarity that the only reason they were buying from her was that the boutique in Canterlot was already filled up with orders and they had heard she was the "next best thing". Rarity was deeply offended when they spoke to her in this manner, and she had prepared to refuse an offer from the snooty mares, but she had held her tongue when she realized that she was in need of money.

So she begrudgingly accepted the deal of nine hundred gold bits for eighteen dresses, and got to work immediately after their departure from the boutique. From that point on she worked herself to the bone all day and all night, only taking momentary breaks to eat and drink. It was extremely tedious work, and the way they had ordered the dresses had seen that every bit of meticulous work and observation of details was done. Eventually, to her great relief, the white unicorn finished her task...or so she thought. She had gone to bed forgetting about one of the dresses on the list. So now, on the very day of the group's arrival, she was bustling about her shop to finish the very last dress.

"Here you go, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle said adorably, holding the ribbon before Rarity with her magic. Rarity smiled and took the ribbon from her sister.

"Thank you, Sweetie Belle." Rarity said as she resumed her work. "Now I know I promised you that we'd go out as soon as we woke up this morning, but I accidentally forgot something with this most recent order. We'll go out as soon as I get done." Rarity looked at her sister. "You understand, don't you?" Sweetie Belle nodded, a smile on her face. The smile failed to hide the obvious disappointment her sister felt. Rarity frowned as she watched her sister leave the room before moving immediately back to her work.

The worst thing about this order for Rarity wasn't the constant work for the dresses. It was the broken promise to Sweetie Belle that they'd have some quality time together. Sweetie Belle always anticipated her time with Rarity with the utmost excitement and Rarity knew this, making it hurt all the more when she couldn't actually be with her sister.

But the gall...the very gall those mares had saying what they did when they did. Rarity was recognized all throughout Canterlot, maybe even throughout the entirety of Equestria, for her talent. She knew this, and everypony in Ponyville knew it. But these mares...it was sickening for the prim unicorn to take their order. But truthfully, things had been going slowly at the Carousel Boutique as of late. Usually, Rarity had a good amount of orders at any given time, able to keep busy for a good amount of her schedule. This usually had the money coming in quite regularly. But following an unexpectedly large and final purchase of some curtains for her room, Rarity was left flat broke and business had already been quite slow.

"Why, those stupid...prissy...bratty little pieces of..." Rarity growled through her teeth as she continued to work on the dress. "They should be honored...honored to have these dresses at their useless disposal. It isn't as if they're going to wear them to anything else but their stupid little prom. I mean, they're buying them with their parent's money, of course..." Rarity stopped herself in the middle of her angry ranting and stood up from leaning over the dress. She straightened her neck and counted to ten, breathing deeply and releasing her pent-up anger.

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle said. "Are...are you okay?" Rarity plastered a fake smile on her face before turning quickly to her sister.

"Oh, I'm fine, Sweetie Belle." Rarity said. "W-Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you were talking to yourself." Sweetie Belle said. "And I know that when you start talking to yourself, something's wrong. I'm sorry if I interrupted you, I was just worried."

"Oh, Sweetie Belle, darling..." Rarity said, sitting on the ground and putting her fore legs out to hug her sister. Sweetie Belle eagerly ran into the embrace and squeezed Rarity with love. "You're not interrupting." When Rarity let Sweetie Belle go, the filly backed up a few steps before sitting down.

"Well, what's wrong?" Sweetie Belle asked Rarity, who sighed.

"It's...It's just..." Rarity said as she ran a hoof through her mane. "These eighteen mares came by to get me to make their prom dresses, which I was happy to do, until they told me that they only came because the boutique in Canterlot was completely booked out and they had heard I was the next best thing."

"But that's stupid!" Sweetie Belle said. "You outclass so many of the dressmakers in Canterlot."

"Oh, you're sweet." Rarity said. "I just...I just can't help but feel devalued after hearing that. I mean, I know that they were just wanting to stick to what they were used to...ignorant, ridiculously stupid little bratty-" Rarity stopped herself before she became too profane in front of her sister.

"That's ridiculous, Rarity." Sweetie Belle said. "Who cares what a few dumb mares think? You're the best dressmaker in Equestria, I'd bet. Now, you finish that dress," The filly pointed at the dress and smiled at her sister warmly. "and show those mares exactly how amazing of a dressmaker you are!" Rarity stood and smiled down at Sweetie Belle.

"You're right!" Rarity cried happily. "There's no need for me to sit around and mope! I'm going to show them exactly what this mare is capable of! Go wash up, Sweetie Belle. As soon as I'm finished with this dress, we're going out on the town." Sweetie Belle cheered happily and ran out of the room.

Her resolve strengthened, the designer began working again at the dress with a new and improved vigor. She effortlessly sewed ribbons and patterns together on the dress, which was beginning to come together quite nicely. At this rate, if those mares weren't impressed by their dresses, they were mentally challenged. Working at this new rate, the dress would probably be finished in a mere half hour, forty five minutes at the most. The white mare heard the door to the dress shop open from behind her.

"Rarity." Sweetie Belle said.

"Yes?" Rarity answered happily.

"They're here."

Fluttershy walked slowly and quietly toward Café Du Mane, keeping a wary eye out for any of the raccoons she would be moving off the premises. She wasn't looking forward to this one particular task at all. This was for several reasons. Raccoons could be nasty, violent little animals when cornered, and Fluttershy had already felt the destructive power of a raccoon's claws once. She never would have preferred to again. Plus, this wasn't just a solitary raccoon she was going to be dealing with, but a whole family. Moving one animal would be difficult enough, but an entire family was a test, even given Fluttershy's influence.

The yellow Pegasus entered the restaurant and regarded the hostess, who smiled happily at her.

"Good morning to you." She said. "Just one today?"

"Well...actually..." Fluttershy muttered, becoming very timid under the vibrant and overbearing gaze of the hostess. "Sure, I guess...One would be-"

"Okay, then. Follow me." The mare said as she led Fluttershy to a table. The pegasus sat at the table and stuttered hopelessly.

"I- I would, um...I w-would-"

"A waiter will be right with you."

"Okay, thank you."

Fluttershy lowered her ears and sighed to herself, unable to say no to the overly nice hostess. She simply couldn't stand how unbelievably timid and sensitive she was. She could rarely say no to someone over anything, and even when she did, it was with a distinct sense of uncertainty. The yellow pegasus decided for herself at that point, then and there, she was going to tell the waiter that she wasn't hungry and that she was merely here to solve their raccoon problem. Her eyebrows furrowed and she took in a deep breath as she saw her waiter approaching her table.

"May I take your order?" The waiter asked her.

"I'd like a chamomile tea." Fluttershy said, wanting to hit herself in the face repeatedly. "Please."

"Coming right up." He said with a small nod before leaving her sitting at the table. Fluttershy began to lightly bang her head on the table in a steady rhythm.

"Stupid...Stupid..." She said in rhythm with the bangs.

"Fluttershy?" She heard a familiar voice say. She looked up and immediately blushed heavily at seeing her friend Princess Twilight Sparkle, accompanied by her assistant Spike. "What...are you doing?"

"You okay, Fluttershy?" Spike said, raising an eyebrow. Fluttershy's blush intensified as she scoured her head for answers to the alicorn's question.

"Uh...Uh..." Fluttershy said, but she sighed deeply and put her forehead on the table, unable to come up with any valid reason that she was banging her head on the table. "Sit down and I'll tell you." Twilight shrugged at Spike and sat down at the table across from Fluttershy.

"So what's wrong?" Twilight asked.

"I...I just can't take up for myself." Fluttershy said. "I mean, I want to, but I can't. I can't even say no to the waiter. I don't even want anything right now."

"Then why are you here?" Twilight asked the pegasus, who rolled her eyes.

"I'm supposed to be getting rid of a family of raccoons that live behind the restaurant." Fluttershy said. "But instead, I'm in here waiting for some Chamomile tea."

"Ooh, raccoons." Spike said with a small nod. "Nasty business." Twilight looked at the baby dragon with an intensely confused look, making him shrug at her.

"Fluttershy, you know the waiter wouldn't be doing his job if he was disappointed or angry that you don't want to order something, right?" Twilight said. "You wouldn't be disappointing him if you just tell him why you're here."

"I know that." Fluttershy said. "I just really, really would hate it if he did really turn out to be disappointed. So now, here I am, waiting for my chamomile tea which actually sounds kind of good right now given the current circumstances."

"Well, I guess if you already ordered it." Twilight said with a shrug.

"What are you two doing here?" Fluttershy asked the two of them. Twilight smiled at her and placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder.

"We're just here to get some breakfast." Twilight said. "I promised Spike that I'd bring him here if he did all of his tasks yesterday."

"And I did 'em!" Spike piped up.

"So we're here." Twilight said.

"Oh, that's nice." Fluttershy said. "You two must be having a lot of fun."

"I suppose so." Twilight said. "We're not really going to be doing much after this besides going back to the library for a well-deserved break. Yesterday was an all-day-long workload, so we're going to savor this day."

"I'm happy for you." Fluttershy said. "I actually have quite a bit to do today."

"Like what?" Twilight asked.

"Well, after I take care of this, I have to go stop a pack of bunnies from destroying Carrot Top's carrot farm. Then, I have to get rid of the birds living in my attic. They move around a lot at night, and they keep Angel awake."

"That's rough." Spike said.

"Oh, it's what I do every day." Fluttershy said, smiling at Spike. "I must admit that my days aren't nearly this packed out, but it won't be the most difficult thing in the world."

"Well, how about this, Fluttershy." Twilight said. "After we grab breakfast here, how about you take Spike and I for a little ride-along?"

"A...ride along?" Fluttershy said. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar..."

"It's where you take Spike and I along with you to watch you do your job." Twilight said. "If anything, we could help you out. What do you think, Spike?" The baby dragon shrugged where he sat.

"I'm fine with it." Spike said. "I'd just be laying around in my bed all day otherwise."

"Oh, I...you don't have to." Fluttershy said. "Please, I...I don't..."

"Fluttershy, we insist." Twilight said with a warm smile.

"Well..." Fluttershy said. "I guess it would be nice to have company." Twilight nodded as the waiter approached them.

"You're chamomile tea." He said before bowing for Twilight. "Princess Twilight. Breakfast is on the house this morning."

"Oh, there's no need for that." Twilight said.

As her princess friend placed her and Spike's order, Fluttershy smiled and took a sip of her tea. A happy feeling welled up from within her and she sighed with contentment. She felt at ease.

She was beginning to feel better about her day.

"So as you can see, the hot pink trim goes exquisitely well with the main dark pink color of the dress." Rarity explained to one of the last mares whose dress she had created. She had endured the constant and unfounded criticisms from the bratty little clique, and she was grateful the ordeal was almost over...almost. Rarity's body was filled with dread as she prepared to give a description of the last, final dress that she had yet to finish. The white unicorn gulped before continuing. "This last dress comes with an expression I sometimes weave into my dresses." The final mare, whose dress was so obviously unfinished, gaped at the dress.

"And what would that expression be?" She said, raising an eyebrow at Rarity, who giggled nervously and blushed.

"Less is more." She said.

"How is that supposed to make me feel better about...this?" The pegasus mare growled.

"Well, think about this, my dear." Rarity said, mentally preparing herself for a long line of complete and utter bull. "You're at the prom with all of your friends, and they have the most fashionable and good-looking dresses at the prom..."

"She thinks her dresses are that good?" Rarity heard the mare that looked to be the leader of the group whisper. This caused the unicorn to stop for a moment and breathe deeply before continuing.

"A young stallion who just bleeds calm, cool and collected is looking around for a lady to dance with. He's tired of the same old, same old. He's seen so much of the overly exaggerated dresses that they make him sick to his stomach. But then he lays his eyes on you. You're dress, so simple, yet so elegant will be sure to catch his eye among all of the flamboyant attire at the prom. One word will come to his mind when he thinks about you." Rarity said, before raising an eyebrow at the mare and smirking. "Modesty." The mare smiled at Rarity and nodded.

"Yeah, that actually does make some sense." She said.

"He'll be drawn to you, against his better judgement. Sure, he could be drawn to one of...these girls, but he's looking for adventure. Some spice, and he surely finds it with you." Rarity said. "You know, the idea just struck me."

"I love it!" The mare said in stark contrast to the way she was feeling a minute previously. Rarity smiled and nodded.

"I'm happy you do, dear." The white unicorn said with a smirk before addressing the lot of them. "Now, the payment?" The member of the group that appeared to be the leader scowled and reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a rather large sack of bits.

"Here." The mare growled through her clenched teeth before dropping it on the ground before Rarity. "This should cover it." Rarity, miffed that the mare hadn't even given her the courtesy to place it on one of the tables, frowned at the mare. The white unicorn changed her expression to one of kindness and nodded.

"Thank you." Rarity said through her smile, wishing she could have at the leader for a minute or two. But the unicorn was always strictly professional. "Enjoy the dresses." The other mares, wearing catty expressions on their faces with the exception of the pegasus mare who got the unfinished dress, left. The leader, however, stayed behind.

"Aren't you coming Sapphire?" One of the mares asked her.

"I'll be there in a minute." She said. "You guys go on. I just want to congratulate Miss Rarity on her fantastic dress making skills."

"But-" The mare continued.

"Go." The leader growled through her teeth. "I'll meet you outside." The other mare submitted to Sapphire's will and left the boutique. Rarity raised an eyebrow at Sapphire, who simply scowled at her. Once the snooty mare heard the door close, she began.

"You are pathetic." She said, catching Rarity off guard.

"Excuse me?" Rarity replied, her stomach beginning to boil.

"You may have fooled Sunshine, you hack, but you can't fool me." Sapphire scoffed. "I can tell that that dress is grossly unfinished, and I'm just sad that you lack the skills required to make a proper dress."

"First of all, did I not present you all with your completed dresses?" Rarity asked, cocking her head to the side, struggling to maintain her professionalism. "Secondly, Sunshine seemed to like the dress, so your opinion matters not to me."

"It's no wonder you're second to the dressmakers in Canterlot." Sapphire spat, raising an eyebrow. "You can barely keep yourself together for your customers. Such a tool. Such a hack."

"Well, I was up awfully late last night, so my capacity for interaction-"

"There's no debating it. You're a washed up hack who possesses no skills when it come to high fashion." Sapphire said evilly. "I'm out of here. This place looks like a cave." Rarity's eye twitched as Sappire turned around and headed for the exit. She didn't care what the mare said, right? Rarity was a professional...and there was no way the white unicorn would show this prissy little mare otherwise.

Strictly professional...

...

Buck it.

"You." Rarity snarled in rage before grabbing Sapphire and lifting her off the ground with her magic. "Turn around and face me."

"Ugh!" The earth pony cried out. "Put me down you-"

"If you call me a hack one more time, I swear to Celestia, you will regret the day you ever set foot in here." Rarity spouted. "I slaved away all day and all night, putting those dresses together for you ungrateful little brats. I got no sleep. None! I put so much effort into the dresses, and you don't even show the littlest speck of appreciation! You don't even have to show appreciation, you're just an awful pony. I mean, who in their right mind would want to go about their day being so horribly mean?! And for the love of Celestia and Luna, STOP acting like you're spending your own money on this! I know you begged your parents on your knees for this!"

"Put me down!" The mare said, visibly scared.

"As you wish." The angered unicorn said with a wide smirk before haphazardly dropping the mare onto her belly, the impact producing a loud thump. The earth pony stood and scowled at Rarity.

"I want the money back!" She cried with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, but of course!" Rarity said, furrowing her eyebrows and clenching her teeth. "Anything for such a WONDERFUL CUSTOMER!" Rarity screamed the final two words as she began lifting the bits out of the sack with her magic and hurling them at the earth pony's face, making the mare cry out in fear.

"You'll be hearing from my lawyers!" She screamed as she ran out of the boutique.

"Good!" Rarity screamed back at Sapphire. "Anything to get another crack at you!"

The unicorn stood in the middle of her boutique, breathing heavily, her eyes still widened from her encounter. Rarity then realized how much effort she'd put into keeping the earth pony mare suspended with magic for that amount of time. That, coupled with the hurling of the coins, was enough to make Rarity sink to her knees. Against her better judgment, Rarity's lips began to tremble and tears began to form in her eyes. She began to cry. It wasn't the loud sobbing, it was just the quiet crying that signified intense physical and emotional exhaustion.

"What was that?" Sweetie Belle said, her eyes widening as she entered the room. "I've never heard you scream that loudly-" Sweetie Belle stopped in the middle of her speech when she saw that her older sister was crying.

"Hey...hey, Rarity." Sweetie Belle said, running up to her sister and placing a hoof on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, Sweetie Belle." Rarity breathed before smiling at her sister. "I'm just exhausted, is all."

"Well, don't worry about taking me out." Sweetie Belle said with a sweet smile. "I want you to get your rest." Rarity immediately sat up.

"Nonsense!" Rarity spouted, standing up quickly and smiling widely at her sister. "I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it. Why, it'd take all four of my femurs being broken to deter me at this point." Sweetie Belle cheered happily and ran back up to her room.

"I'm gonna go get ready!" The filly cried excitedly. Rarity kept up her happy look until her sister left the room, after which, she slumped where she stood and groaned. The unicorn stored the sack of bits in her safe and moved slowly up to her bathroom. She began running her shower and stepped inside, not caring that the water wasn't hot yet. After she had washed herself properly, she dried herself off and moved to the mirror before applying a fresh set of makeup. Looking as fabulous as ever, Rarity smiled at herself before leaving the bathroom to take Sweetie Belle to go eat.

Fluttershy walked with Twilight Sparkle and Spike up to Carrot Top's farm house tiredly. The raccoons had put up more of a fight than the yellow pegasus thought they would. She tried every single technique she could think of before finally using the stare to scare them away.

"Alright, well, rabbits are probably better to work with than raccoons, right?" Twilight asked Fluttershy, who nodded at her.

"Oh, yes." Fluttershy said with a small nod. "Raccoons have always had a particularly nasty temperament."

"I honestly always thought raccoons were nice." Spike added. "I mean, even that baby raccoon was as mean as a cockatrice."

"You should have let Fluttershy take care of it herself." Twilight said with a smirk. "What, your hand is still in pain?"

"It's not really pain as much as it is a sort of...left over feeling." Spike explained. "There's some kind of weird...pressure where it happened still." Earlier during the whole raccoon debacle, Spike had gotten a little too adventurous when it came to a small raccoon. It ended up chomping onto his hand, prompting the baby dragon to run screaming through Café Du Mane. Twilight had taken the liberty to heal it with a spell, of course.

"Well, the spell was mostly cosmetic." Twilight said. "It healed to top part of the injury so you're not walking around with a bite mark in your hand, but the rest will take a little time."

"I guess I should be happy dragons are immune to most diseases." Spike said with a small laugh. "Right?"

"Right." Fluttershy said with a nod before knocking on Carrot Top's door. After a few moments of silence, the carrot farmer arrived at the door and greeted Fluttershy gratefully.

"Oh, Fluttershy, thank you for coming." The orange-maned mare said happily before addressing Twilight. "Princess." Carrot top bowed where she was.

"Please, rise." Twilight said. "That's not necessary." Carrot top looked at the alicorn and nodded, smiling.

"So tell me about your problem...please." Fluttershy said, smiling.

"Well, there's been a rather large group of rabbits eating all of my carrots before they can be picked and sold." Carrot Top stated, a frown on her face. "It's cutting into a lot of my profits."

"How many would you say there are?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, I'd say in the neighborhood of forty to fifty of them." Carrot Top said. "Could you please help me? I'll pay you well."

"I can definitely help you. But you don't need to pay me." Fluttershy stated confidently before blushing sheepishly. "I mean, it's just what I do."

"Nonsense!" Carrot top said happily, moving closer to Fluttershy. "I'm going to pay you."

"...okay..." Fluttershy squeaked quietly, seemingly shrinking in on herself.

"Would any of you care for a cup of tea before you get started?" The carrot farmer asked. "I just made a fresh pot."

"...no thank you..." The pegasus nearly whispered.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Carrot Top said, raising an eyebrow.

"She said 'no thank you.'" Twilight stated with a nod.

"Very well! Come and let me know when you're finished and I'll give you your payment." The mare said before going back into her house.

"Okay, so...um, I guess we'll get started." Fluttershy said as she moved into the area the carrots grew and gingerly stepped through the fields, looking at the ground almost constantly.

"So what are we-" Spike began before Fluttershy shushed him. Realizing what she did, Fluttershy almost immediately shrank back and blushed heavily.

"I'm sorry!" She whispered. "I just...um...need quiet for this...If that's okay."

"Yeah, it's fine." Spike whispered back at her. When the pegasus turned around, Spike mouthed "What?" at Twilight, who shrugged as they continued on. Fluttershy moved to one of the holes, shoved her head inside and seemingly began to whisper into it. It went on for a while before it began to unsettle Twilight and Spike. They watched, eyebrows raised and eyes widened as Fluttershy whispered into the hole. Suddenly, the yellow pegasus brought her head out of the hole, which was immediately followed by a group of bunnies who looked up at her.

"Now, I know you like it here, but you're not welcome in this particular field." Fluttershy said kindly to the group of rabbits. "Now I'd like you to move to a different place please. It is for your own safety and the safety of ponies like me." The rabbits slowly began to come out of the hole, one by one. Twilight counted sixty-two before the chain seemed to stop. Fluttershy sighed to herself, nodded and approached Carrot Top's door. The carrot farmer came to the door, astonished.

"My word, that was fast!" She said. "How'd you do it?"

"I, um...I asked nicely." Fluttershy stated quietly.

"I never would have thought...Oh well. Here's your payment." The carrot farmer dropped a small bag of bits into Fluttershy's hoof.

"Thank you." The pegasus replied as she stepped away from the porch and walked down the path toward her cottage.

"So...where to now?" Twilight asked, to which Fluttershy began to fidget with her hooves.

"I was going to go back to my house and wash my face, because I still have to get rid of the family of birds in my attic." Fluttershy explained. "So...So, um. I was wondering if you and Spike would-"

"Say no more, Fluttershy." Twilight interrupted her with a small nod. "Thanks for this time. It was...fun. It was definitely fun." Fluttershy nodded back to Twilight and smiled widely before heading in the direction of her cottage.

"Goodbye." Fluttershy said with a happy smile as she waved back at her friends.

"See ya, Fluttershy!" Spike cried, returning the wave.

"Take care." Twilight said.

While they didn't really do much to help her, Fluttershy could not have asked for better company. They had helped her get through the majority of her tasks, while supplying companionship and interaction. As Fluttershy walked along the path, she felt her face and remembered that she had no soap at her house. There would be no way for her to wash the dirt off of her face. The pegasus diverged to the Ponyville market and bought some soap with her newly-acquired bits from Carrot Top. On her way out of the market, a familiarly-coiffured purple mane came into her view. Rarity smiled widely at the sight of her yellow friend.

"Fluttershy!" Rarity cried. "Over here, darling!" Fluttershy smiled as well and approached her friend before giving her a quick hug.

"Hi, Rarity." Fluttershy said, smiling. "What brings you to the market?"

"I just have to pick up some celery for the stew I'm making for Sweetie Belle tonight. Yourself?" Rarity certainly seemed to be noticing the dirt on Fluttershy's face.

"I had to get some soap."

"I assume for your face?" Rarity said. "Yes, I was going to make an inquiry about that."

"Oh, I just had to clear out some rabbits from Carrot Top's farm."

"Looks like the little ruffians gave you quite a bit of trouble."

"Not really." Fluttershy said. "I just had to stick my head in the ground to get their attention for a moment, is all. They were very courteous."

"That's good to know." Rarity stated with a small giggle. "It looks like I'm seeing all manner of my friends today."

"Who have you seen besides me?" Fluttershy asked.

"I saw Pinkie Pie in Sugarcube Corner when I took Sweetie Belle there. We talked for a while. I saw Rainbow Dash flying overhead, but she was going much too fast for me to get her attention. I swear, she's going to hurt herself." Fluttershy giggled at Rarity's statement. "And then I saw Applejack here at the market not ten minutes ago."

"Oh, that's nice." Fluttershy said. "How's your day been?"

"Awful." Rarity deadpanned.

"What's happened?" Fluttershy asked.

"What hasn't happened?" Rarity said. "I just had to finish a long eighteen-dress order for a bunch of unappreciative brats from Canterlot. One of them actually had the gall to stay behind and criticize me. Let's just say she won't be coming to Carousel Boutique ever again."

"I hope it wasn't too harsh." Fluttershy stated as they began to walk together through the market. The day was getting a little late, so the crowd was clearing out quite nicely.

"Oh, she didn't dish out anything I couldn't take." Rarity said, feeling another small boiling of rage in her belly. "What about your day, my dear?"

"I had to clear out some raccoons from behind Café Du Mane."

"Raccoons? Yech, disgusting little creatures."

"Yeah, they were a little mean. Twilight and Spike were with me...one of them bit Spike."

"And how'd that turn out?"

"He ran through Café Du Mane screaming with it still attached to his hand." Rarity laughed heartily, Fluttershy giggling as well. It took a moment before Rarity calmed down and noticed she was being stared at by several other ponies. The unicorn immediately straightened her posture and smiled at Fluttershy.

"Well, I can certainly imagine him doing something to that effect." Rarity stated with another small giggle.

"But other than that, my day's been pretty long too." Fluttershy sighed.

"Well, my dear, allow me to suggest a solution to both of our stress." Rarity said, raising an eyebrow at Fluttershy.

"Okay." The pegasus said.

"Sweetie Belle is going to go stay with Applebloom and Scootaloo in that treehouse tomorrow night, so why don't we go get dinner, maybe see a movie and go to the spa?" Rarity inquired. "We haven't done anything like that in a while."

"That actually sounds really fun." Fluttershy agreed with a nod. "I could definitely use some time to relax and unwind."

"Perfect!" Rarity said happily, clapping her hooves together. "I'll meet you at Café Du Mane at six thirty tomorrow and the relaxation can begin...oh." Rarity realized at that moment what Fluttershy had just gone through at Café Du Mane.

"Café Du Mane is perfect." Fluttershy said with a warm smile. "See you then."

"I can't wait." Rarity replied, returning Fluttershy's smile. The two mares separated and went back to their own houses.

Fluttershy could not wipe the wide grin off of her face if she tried.

Author's Notes:

So there's that chapter. I'm really looking forward to continuing this story. What will become of Rarity and Fluttershy's spa date? Or is it a date? Or maybe it's just a mutual getting together of a couple friends, who don't have romantic feelings toward each other at all?...It's totally not that last one. Cheers!