//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine - Shopping // Story: Cruising // by Rose Quill //------------------------------// “This is pretty,” I said, holding up a paisley print blouse, its pale blue color would match my eyes nicely. “What do you think Twilight?” I held it up as I turned to her The bespectacled girl glanced over from a rack of skirts in fall colors and tartans. “It makes your eyes pop. I like it.” She pulled a red and yellow tartan skirt from the rack and glanced over at me. “I wish Fluttershy had decided to come along.” “Oh, she’s engrossed in that book,” Rarity said over by a rack of dresses, checking sizes. “I’m sure you can relate.” “Yeah,” Twilight responded, her gaze dropping to see the bag from the bookstore before going to the skirt again. I saw myself in a flash suddenly, wearing the skirt she was holding and a white blouse. my hair pulled back into two pigtails, looking down bashfully. I blinked and shook my head, feeling a momentary flash of shyness and excitement through the bond. I glanced at Twilight seeing her still holding the skirt, a slight blush on her cheeks. It couldn’t be, I thought for a moment. Surely I hadn’t seen something from Twilight’s imagination. Had I? I put the blouse back on the rack, turning as Rarity called out my name. “Do come and try this on, Sunset! I’m sure it will look ravishing on you.” She held up a pale green dress with some sort of reflective thread woven into it, causing glints to sparkle in the shop’s light. Single-shoulder designed with a knee-high slit on one side. An attached shawl hung from the neckline. I took it gently and went into a dressing room. I looked at myself in the mirror as I adjusted the shawl, making it drape off the bare shoulder before stepping out to the adoring coo from Rarity. I liked it, even if it was a touch loose through the hips. It just felt right. Stepping up to an old-fashioned microphone, a quiet jazz orchestra playing a slow and smoky tune. I started to sing a ballad, but the words were indistinct. I blinked my eyes, seeing the image waver and the shop coming back into view. Twilight was staring at me, a distant look in her eyes. I did a slow turn at Rarity’s insistence, and mid-turn I was encompassed by another vision. I slowly slid the zipper down, sliding the shawl back and slipping the shoulder strap down, gazing back over my shoulder. I plucked the strand of our bond, the vision wavering as Twilight gasped. I looked her with a narrow gaze as Rarity went behind me and adjusted the shawl. I mouthed at her. We’ll talk later. This probably won’t be good, I heard Twilight’s voice, but I didn’t think she had spoken. I blinked. “What?” She gave me a confused look while Rarity paused in her adjustments. “I didn’t say anything, darling,” Rarity said. She stepped in front of me and sighed. “I’m sure I could make some adjustments to the fit had I the resources, but alas. This is why I simply detest buying off the peg sometimes.” She gave another tug at the loose material around my hips and pulled her phone out, angling for a better view. “Don’t just stand there, Sunset,” she commanded, hand waving in the air. “Give it a little flair!” I shook my head and posed, hand on hip and one leg forward just enough to show my shin. I flashed a smile as Rarity snapped the picture, mentally laughing at the fact I was modeling a gorgeous gown with sneakers on. Strutting down a catwalk, flashbulbs going off in my face. Twilight! I thought firmly, and the vision vanished with an audible gasp from the bookworm. I locked eyes with her. You’re hearing what I’m thinking, I pushed through the bond. And I’m seeing your little daydreams. She paled, hands going up to her mouth. Ohnoohnoohno. She saw!? What do I do? Still broadcasting, honey. She turned away, and I felt her clamp down on her emotions. Oh yes, we were going to talk. “What happened?” she said, eyes wide and hair in slight disarray. “When did I start projecting my thoughts? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Why…” I dropped the bag I was carrying and grabbed her by the shoulders and touched my forehead to hers, pushing as much calm and peace as I could muster given my own sense of confusion. “Breathe, Sunshine. Just breathe.” She took several hurried breaths, heading for hyperventilation. “Slower, Twilight,” I said, guiding her to the couch. “In, and out. In, and out.” She slowly calmed down. “Better?” I asked. She nodded, eyes still wide. I knew she thought this to be one of her greatest fears, losing control of her own mind. “Why?” she whispered. “I don’t know,” I said, falling to sit before her on the floor. “The bond, maybe? With all that excess magic flowing it could have been strengthened.” “Radio waves with more power do have a longer broadcast radius,” she mused, her panic giving way slightly to the rational part of her mind. “It may have just been dampened by the ambient field of magic.” The glimmer of life was coming back into her eyes. She fell silent, eyes flickering back and forth as her brain made hypothesis and conjecture based on available data. “Twilight,” I said. “About what I saw…” She made a shushing noise, patting the air with her hand. I recognized it as her ‘I’m in the middle of something’ gesture. I rolled my eyes. “Twilight,” I said again, a little more forcefully, snapping her out of her research mode. “Sorry,” she said with a shy grin. “About the daydreams,” I said, the images flashing through my mind. I saw her redden slightly. “I’m sorry,” she started. “Don’t be,” I said. “At least they all had me dressed in them.” I leveled my gaze at her, letting my playfulness slide into the bond. “How often do you have little fantasies like that?” “Not often,” she said. “But lately it’s been getting more frequent, especially the last week or so.” “Hmm,” I said. I leaned over and grabbed the shopping bag, climbing onto the couch. “Let’s take it slow and make sure we don’t overdo this,” I told her, leaning over and hugging her. “It could be a natural development of our bond or it could be a spell that one of us cast without realizing it. If it persists when we get back, then we’ll see what needs to be done then.” She nodded, a thoughtful look crossing her face. “In the meantime, however,” I said, reaching into the shopping bag and grabbing one of the articles within. She glanced over and blushed furiously as I pulled out the tartan skirt. I smiled. “I think I might need to stay after class, professor,” I said in a sweet and innocent voice. Still smiling as she started giggling at my faux innocent act. We both knew it would be another few days before we could engage in any sort of activity like that, but knowing Twilight… “I think I know just the thing, Ms. Shimmer,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “I’ll let you know soon what your extra credit will be.” We both started laughing again, falling back on the couch cuddling each other. “You know,” my love giggled after a moment. “I think I liked the gown more than I did that skirt.” “Rarity refused to let me get something that poorly fitting,” I sighed. “It was pretty, though, wasn’t it?” “She’s likely in her cabin drawing a design based off of it,” Twilight whispered, tucking her head against my shoulder a little more. “Probably,” I agreed. A thought sprung up and I grinned down at the bespectacled girl. “Want to see one of my fantasies?” I asked. She sat up with a curious look and I leaned forward, touching our foreheads again and closed my eyes. I stood before an altar in my pony form, dressed in a fine gown. Sunshine stood across from me, draped in a white gown of simple lines and a veil across her eyes. Celestia towered over the both of us, wings spread over us protectively as she pronounced us married, “I always wanted her there,” I said as the image faded. “Even after I ran away, she was still important to me. Even if I couldn’t see it past the bitterness.” A tear slipped loose, trickling down my cheek. Small, gentle hands came up and cupped my face. “Hers is one of the first names on my guest list,” she whispered, leaning forward and kissing the spot where my tear had trailed down to. Goddess, I loved this woman.