//------------------------------// // 9). Privacy // Story: Us Against the World // by Chelis //------------------------------// If there was a guilty pleasure for Fluttershy, it would be dresses. Beautiful, beautiful dresses. Luckily, there was the dress shop in town that tickled her fancy. The place looked like a specialty store but had the prices of a wholesale factory, which was right up Fluttershy's alley. She shifted from dress to dress in the empty store, each one as unique as the one before. Fluttershy loved a few but picked the first three that fitted her. When she found them, Fluttershy made her way to the dressing room, looking around for anyone who would of recognize her. The only person in the store was the sales associate, but she was too busy texting and taking selfies to notice her. She entered the small enclosure and sat at the ledge that was sticking out of the wall across the giant mirror. She pulled her phone out of her purse and went to her text messages. I'm here. She wanted to try the dress, but that would have to wait for her visitor to leave first. It only took a few minutes, but the door opened, and a familiar friend slithered his large body into the stall. "Hey!" She whispered and she went on her tip toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled and took his place on the ledge next to her. Fluttershy made room for herself by grabbing the dresses and hung them on the hangar that was sticking out of the door. They sat there for a few minutes, fighting and fighting with their brains for something to say. "How has Steel Weld been treating you?" Big Macintosh asked. "Not well. They keep me from seeing you and they keep me in their clique. They keep trying to persuade me to do gross things to them. They stop when Steel Weld hits them and says that "I'm his". It's awful." "I wish I can go stop him. But Lunar Promenades' friends..... they are something else." "How so?" Fluttershy asked. "They act like her bodyguards and not her friends. They keep an eye on me all the time." "That's.... creepy." "The only place they are not watching me is in the boys room, but I doubt that's even true," They became silent again, brooding in the situation. "I-iI missed talking to you," Big mac said with a blush. "I- do too..." Fluttershy replied with a blush with her own. The two friends turned to stare into each others eyes and smiled. The butterflies in their stomach were assaulting them at full force. tThe hands closest to their friend carefully crept forward until they met in the middle. "I don't think they would be mad if we share just one song..."Big Macintosh said. "I agree, at least once." Fluttershy suddenly dragged her bottom to Big mac and stopped when her head was resting on his shoulder. In front of them were three dresses, each as beautiful as the one next to them. "So..." Fluttershy started. "hHmm?" "Which one should I wear for the dance?" "Well, I...." Fluttershy giggled. "No pressure." Big Mac concentrated in a determined state for what seemed to be an eternity. After careful consideration, he pointed to one. It was a baby blue strapless cocktail dress bedazzled with white and pink rhinestones on the chest area dancing around like a vine. "I like it, I'll wear that one," Fluttershy said. They stared at the dress for a few more minutes, milking each second with each other. "I guess its time," Big mac said, looking at his watch with a sigh "Yea." They helped each other up off the hard carpet floor and were feeling frigidity about trying to get out. They knew the consequences if word went around that they ended up in a stall together. "See you in class," Big mac said as they shared one last hug. He quietly slipped out of the stall and made his way out. Fluttershy already missed him as soon as he slipped out of the door. It would be another week before the dance ended. She was hopeful that the madness of the "feud" would end. At the same time, she felt like it would be something like that would drag on until the seniors found someone new or graduated. A vibration in her purse knocked Fluttershy out of her train of thought It was a text from big mac It's safe to go, the clerk might have been texting and taking selfies since I had arrived She left the stall with the baby blue dress in one hand and the other two dresses in the other. After she put the other two back in the rack where she found them, there was nothing left to do but to walk up to the counter with a debit card in hand.