4.1. Tea Party at Fluttershy's

Fluttershy's wings strained to keep everything perfectly balanced across her back as she took her valuable load outside. Fine porcelain plates and cups with ivy green trim around the edges; linen napkins with thread counts higher than her bedsheets; a teapot of brilliantly polished silver with matching spoons; and most importantly, a tiny glass jar of orange blossom tea imported from lands far beyond Equestria's borders. The first beautiful day of spring was too inviting and Fluttershy had immediately invited Rarity to join her on a hill just a few steps away from the cottage.

 

Atop the knoll, Angel helped unpack Fluttershy's load. For all his rebelliousness, the bunny knew that one chip or crack and the yellow mare's soft voice would disappear in a torrent of fury. Other than animals big and small, she cherished nothing more than her tea set. Everything set out atop a cotton tablecloth, the mare and the bunny waited for their guest.

 

They heard Spike grunting and gasping only a second before they saw the top of his burden. The wagon the baby dragon pulled was piled high with dainty cakes and pastries, the sugar crusted and iced atop them glistening in the sun. All that lay between Spike and his destination was one last itty, bitty valley, but exhausted it was too much; the wagon overcame him, ran him over, and barreled down the dip and up the hill, easing to a stop just before the picnic blanket. Spike didn't bother to get back up and just enjoyed his reprieve face down, half buried in the soil.

 

Rarity lumbered into view.

 

The fabulous dressmaker was fabulously round. Her face and neck bore no points or edges, only the gentlest curves, fading her cheeks into her chin, her chin into her neck, such that while she still clearly had each part, one couldn't tell where each one began and ended. A tremendous marshmallow hung strangely fixed and still between her four legs, its only motion a slightly perceptible bounce at its bulging sides. A taller blade of grass dared to brush against it; apparently ticklish, Rarity bit her lip and tried to hide her smile, exhaling a stifled giggle. Her legs were swollen and strong, some extra muscle necessary to carry her weight hidden beneath a plush exterior that pressed against her stomach every step or so, widening around it. Her haunches... Fluttershy didn't think it appropriate to think in detail about her friend's posterior, but there was no question the diamonds of her cutie mark had increased by a few carats.

 

"Oh Fluttershy! I hope you don't mind but I thought it would be rude to drink your marvelous tea without bringing something of my own to share." Rarity sung as she trotted down the dip and up the hill, her horn illuminating to pull Spike from his earthen slumber and carry him along.

 

"I don't mind but... um... it is an awful lot. Should I expect somepony else to join us?" Fluttershy looked over the wagon of treats. She might have one, two tiny little morsels but unlike some ponies, she kept to a very strict diet, not that she'd ever tell anybody. Rich foods made her stomach tumble after only a couple of bites.

 

"Well Rainbow Dash is still doing her weather work for the day and the others are out of town, so it's just you and me for now. But don't worry, whatever we don't eat now I'll just take back to the boutique for later." Rarity was already levitating a inch-cube of carrot cake towards herself.

 

"Not much later, I'm sure." Spike grumbled sarcastically, though not disdainfully.

 

"What was that Spikey-wikey?" Rarity swallowed and asked before plopping another piece of carrot cake into her mouth.

 

"Oh nothing~" Spike sung in return as he lay forward and propped himself up on his elbows. Fluttershy tried to focus on making the tea, her mouth grasping the teapot's handle as carefully as possible to pour the hot water. She poured three cups and set it down as Rarity unwrapped a cupcake and sat down, her middle billowing out to each side, soft as a cloud in a dream.

 

"Have you heard any word back from Twilight or Applejack?" The two had rushed off to Appleoosa to investigate some emergency, but didn't explain what. As a Princess, Twilight Sparkle was always running here and there to help with things that flummoxed local authorities, to the point that nobody was particularly concerned anymore when she left in a hurry. Rarity swallowed.

 

"Not a word." She unwrapped another cupcake as she licked a bit of frosting from her cheek, hesitating to devour it as she thought. It would be profoundly inappropriate to speak with a mouth full of food... not that it would be full of food for long. "I will admit it is unusual for her to run off with Applejack like that, but she rarely writes while doing her royal duties. Just watch, they'll be back any day now." The cupcake disappeared down her throat. The two had already been gone for weeks.

 

"If you say so..." Fluttershy had never had a staring problem. In fact, her command of the art was legend. But she couldn't help but watch as her friend daintily but greedily devoured one tiny cake after another. How many could she eat? How many had she already eaten? Fluttershy imagined trying to do the same and the very thought made her feel a little queasy. She could never blow up like the glorious mare expanding before her eyes. It was a good thing. Someponies claimed being heavy was bad for you, but extra weight was so rare a thing that no one was really sure.

 

Rarity was in mid-swallow as she raised the glass of tea up to her lips, steam filling her nostrils. She huffed out a little from her nose, blew the steam away, and sipped. And sipped. And sipped.

 

And sipped.

 

And... stopped, placing the glass back down. It was half-empty.

 

"That tea is simply divine! Where in Equestria did you get it?" Fluttershy took a moment to process the question, amazed that the tea hadn't burned her friend's tongue, more amazed that by the time she realized there was a question Rarity had already inhaled a cinnamon apple tartlet.

 

"Um... well..."

 

"You haven't even touched the treats I brought with me!" Rarity levitated another tartlet and sent it right at the yellow pegasus. "Open wide." Fluttershy politely took the tartlet and chewed. It was a swirl of silky rich flavor, incredibly delicious, and no doubt capable of making her sick if she ate more than one more. She chewed very carefully, smiling, and after ten or so seconds swallowed.

 

"Thank you Rarity, but you don..." A piece of carrot cake flew into Fluttershy's mouth just as Rarity finished swallowing whatever it was she'd just consumed.

 

"Fluttershy, now, I'm not one to prude into how people live, but Rainbow Dash and I are worried about you." Fluttershy was frustrated about being cut off by a cake but was too dedicated to her patient chewing to voice her objections. "You spend so much time out here working with the animals and you eat less than a church mouse. You're the thinnest pony in town and we're worried that you're not getting enough nourishment." While Rarity was right that Fluttershy was the lightest grown mare in Ponyville, the pegasus was sure that the sort of "nourishment" the unicorn had in mind wasn't needed... or wanted. She swallowed and cleared her throat. Already her tummy grumbled.

 

"I'm perfectly fine..." She caught of a hint of frustration in her own voice and took a breath. "...but I do appreciate you caring about me."

 

Rarity finished a sugar cookie, patted her lips with a napkin, and quaffed the remainder of her tea. After a contemplative moment, she rose to her hooves with a huff, walked over to her friend, and sat down right next to her. Unfortunately she hadn't considered her... spread... and her belly pillowed out and right into Fluttershy, conforming against the pegasus' wing and legs. The unicorn reached out and pulled her even closer, if that was even possible, with a hoof and held tight.

 

"I won't take no for an answer. A good friend makes sure their friends stay healthy and nourished." Fluttershy started to object but was again met with a sugary morsel. She almost spat it out but didn't want to upset Rarity, not to mention the stunning revelation that the sugary morsel was just that--a sugarcube. "Rainbow and I are going to wait on you night and day to make sure you're eating as much as a healthy pony should. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all the other meals!"

 

Fluttershy didn't know there were other meals. Rarity's padding seemed to envelop her, though in reality it only dominated a side. Every motion jiggled against her wing, every beat of Rarity's heart muffled through layer after layer. Goodness was she soft. The unicorn's tremendous warmth was penetrating, swelling throughout the pegasus. She'd never been hugged like this before. It was intoxicating... nauseating... Fluttershy suddenly felt very dizzy and sick. The heat made it seem like Rarity was burying her. Cool air was suddenly very precious.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"I..." Fluttershy let out a tiny burp. "I don't feel so good."

 

"Don't worry, Doctor Rarity will take care of you!" The cup of tea floated over to Fluttershy's lips and she sipped. The bouquet of citrus lit up her tongue and washed away the sickening sugar, pushing down her sick feeling despite being very hot. At least until Rarity presented a full cupcake just before her nose.