The next few days Rarity's friends managed to breathe easier as they saw that whatever had been bugging Rarity was now gone. Her boutique was back open for business as usual, and she was back walking around town. She even treated Fluttershy to an extra special spa date to make up for the one she had missed before.

Spike stopped by the boutique the morning after he had helped her fix her home and apologized for falling asleep just as she was about to model her new outfits. She waved off his apology, she herself being sorry for keeping him awake after he had worked so hard. She promised to let him know as soon as she was free to show him the outfits she had in mind once she had caught up on her work.

Thanks to the new mannequins she had ordered, she was back in business and soon was happily working on her various orders. Near the end of the week her door opened and a familiar young pegasus walked into her shop. Looking up, Rarity smiled as she saw that it was who she was expecting.

"Why hello, Flitter, darling." she greeted her customer.

"Hi, Rarity. I'm here to pick up the outfits I ordered." she said cheerfully. "Oh, I can't wait to see what Spike thinks of them!"

"Oh, I'm sure he'll love them." Rarity said, walking over to her counter and levitating the outfits Flitter had ordered down. "Now, why don't you go try them on and see if everything fits."

"Okay!" Flitter said excitedly. She grabbed the first dress on the pile and raced over to the fitting room.

A few minutes passed by, longer than it should have taken Flitter to slip the outfit on. "Is everything alright in there?" Rarity called out, grinning mischievously.

"I, uh, I'm having some trouble getting it on." Flitter admitted.

"Here, let me see." Rarity said, slipping inside the dressing room. She saw that Flitter was indeed having trouble as the dress seemed to be too tight and refused to allow her body to fit inside.

"I think they're too small." Flitter said, once again trying to wriggle around to fit but failed once again.

"Nonsense, I made them exactly to your measurements." Rarity insisted. "Although, I... yes, maybe that's why..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Flitter asked.

"Well, my dear, the outfit most likely doesn't fit because you've gained some weight since I measured you." Rarity said bluntly.

"W-what?" Flitter asked, slightly stunned. "I... no, that's impossible. There's no way I could have put on that much weight since I was here last week."

"Well I can assure you that my measurements were all correct and spot on." Rarity said. "Why don't we try the other outfits and see who is right."

Levitating the other outfits over to them, Flitter tried each and every one on, only to find out that Rarity was right: none of them fit her. They all became stuck at the same point, and as Rarity carefully hung the last dress back on its hanger Flitter looked over at her with a worried look.

"I... I'm sorry. I guess I did gain a few pounds somehow." she said sullenly.

"Don't worry about it, darling, it can happen to anypony. Well, except for those who's careful enough." Rarity says, taking a cheap shot. "If you'd like I can let out the outfits a little so they'll fit you properly. No charge, or course."

"Really? Oh wow, Rarity, you're the best! No wonder you were selected to be the Element of Generosity." Flitter said happily, giving Rarity a quick hug of appreciation.

"Yes... yes I am." Rarity said, holding back a eerie giggle due to the irony. "Just stop by here early next week and I'll have everything ready for you."

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Flitter said. Rarity brought Flitter and her outfits back to the counter and took the payment Flitter had brought with her. Thanking Rarity again, Flitter was about to open the door when Rarity called out to her.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Flitter dear. Do you want me to keep the old size tags on your outfits or should I risk putting your new size on them instead?" Rarity asked.

Flitter stopped, confused by her question. "Huh? Why would I want the wrong tags on the clothes?" she asked.

Rarity adopted a look of concern. "Why, so Spike doesn't see that you're getting fatter, of course."

"Why would he care about that?" Flitter asked, becoming worried by Rarity's words.

"Oh, my poor dear, you must not know. There are a few mares who tried to ask Spike out but he turned them down due to, well, their size. I think the last two he turned down were those two fillies my sister goes to school with, Twist and Diamond Tiara."

Flitter knew both of the ponies Rarity mentioned as she had fillysat for them occasionally. She knew they were a bit on the healthier side, but they weren't THAT bad. But why would Rarity lie about this? She did know Spike better than most other ponies, after all. "R-really?" Flitter asked with tears forming in her eyes.

Rarity nodded. "I'm afraid so, my dear. But like I said, I can keep alter the size tags so Spike will never know. Though you'll have to work harder to keep from gaining any more weight. There's only so much I can do to help."

Flitter looked down at her stomach and started to believe Rarity's words. "Y-yeah, I guess I have been putting on some weight. I guess... I guess I have to start working out with Cloudchaser some more." she said worriedly. "But, how can Spike be that shallow? He doesn't seem like that kind of dragon to care about somepony's weight."

"Of course not, he wouldn't openly show that he cares about that sort of thing." Rarity explained. "But remember, this isn't any ordinary pony or dragon, this is Spike, assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle herself and the savior of the entire Crystal Empire! He deserves the best, don't you think? Of course, if you don't think you're good enough for Spike you could always end your relationship with him now."

Flitter stood in stunned silence for a few seconds before shaking her head. "No, I can be his perfect mare. I can make myself better for him." she said, more to herself than to Rarity.

"Well, I'm sure you'll have no trouble with that." Rarity said with a smirk.

Unable to continue talking Flitter quietly thanked Rarity for her help again and left, unsure how she was going to change herself so Spike wouldn't leave her. 'Maybe if I worked more hours I could lose more weight. I'll also cut back on those dandelion sandwiches. Maybe that zebra Zecora has some sort of potion that can help.' Flitter thought as she walked home.

Rarity smiled in satisfaction as she saw Flitter walk away with doubt and confusion now planted in her mind. Closing her door, she looked over the outfits for Flitter still on the counter. She never thought simply sabotaging a set of clothes by making them one size too small in certain places could have such a profound effect on a pony. She may not have gotten Flitter to give up on Spike just yet, but it was a promising start.

Author's Note

Wow, even I can't help but hate Rarity right now.