One Day Off - A 'My Little Pony: Canterlot High' Side-story

Before they could go to the pool, they had to get swimwear, or at least that was what everyone said. Gerald and Twila didn’t have any because they lived in Equestria, and ponies did not need such things, although some of the more serious swimmers did at least wear goggles and swimming caps. Gerald was surprised that Rochelle wanted to buy a new swimsuit, assuming she already had several. Then he realized that this assumption might not have anything to do with her desire to go out and buy another set.

For their outing into town, everyone was in casual wear – not that Canterlot High had a uniform, but this was a chance to wear something they did not normally let others see.

Blonde Jackie was in a plain white button-down blouse and denim shorts.

Strawberry-blonde Felicia wore a light green tank top edged in gold and a knee-length pink skirt.

Pinkie, her hair appropriately dyed pink, was in a purple T-shirt and short skirt combination.

Brunette Rae wore a white graphic T-shirt that said ‘20% cooler’ with violet shorts.

Rochelle, who could have dyed her hair purple to match that of her pony self, wore a plain white sundress that nevertheless rode high on her thighs and low on her chest. She completed the outfit with a pair of sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat. Although Spike tended to try to stick close to her, she insisted on walking arm-in-arm with Gerald, who had long since stopped objecting to such comparatively small public displays of affection.

Twila wore a light blue blouse and capris pants, going for the modest route.

Gerald himself had chosen a white golf shirt, over which he wore a green vest like the one he normally wore, and a pair of kaki shorts with cargo pockets.

Everyone else had forgone their usual boots for more utilitarian sneakers or sandals, given the heat. They also all carried duffel bags for their gear.

Looking at the group, Twila, with her purple and pink hair, and Gerald, with his rust-red hair shot through with green streaks, stood out the most. This contrasted highly with back home, where everypony was a different colour.

The first thing Gerald had to do was derail Rochelle’s plan to go into a small boutique with somewhat dubious fair displayed in its windows. Why a woman would want to wear something so revealing boggled his mind, but then perhaps that was the point: the design might cloud the judgement of any man who saw the wearer in it, as well as the purchaser for buying it in the first place. Considering the type who might be interested in interactions with the wearer, it seemed to Gerald that the only real winner would be the shop’s owner, for having sold so little cloth for so much money.

Money itself was a small issue for Gerald, having brought a small stockpile of gemstones from Equestria in case he got stranded on another world. Of course, it was a gamble because he could have easily ended up in a world where jewels were so common their value would be less than that of gold. But it had turned out well, with Gerald only having to sell off three of his jewels through the diamond exchange, explaining they were part of his inheritance. With the money he gained from the sale, he bought a small house and its furnishing, a complete computer workstation, which he then customized, and the most average, common-looking sedan on the road. Getting his driver’s license was easier than he had thought it would be, once he got all his other paperwork in order.

Gearhead did his research, determining what was needed so he and Twilight could live in this world without drawing unwanted attention to themselves. In the process, he had learned much of this world’s history and culture. As he learned about computers and their operating systems and programs, he also learned about data manipulation, slicing, and hacking. He decided to turn his new skills to use for good, helping to apprehend cybercriminals, and also for profit by playing small stocks on the market.

All of this reminded him that he may have created the first and only computerized system in Equestria. At first it had only been a means to help him control his Alicorn Engine, but he had slowly made it more sophisticated. Even now he had his automated construction units, designed and programmed solely for construction, making items Equestria would need to defend itself. With a catalogue of movies and novels about artificial intelligence destroying or enslaving humanity for the sake of the world’s safety, Gearhead was glad he had not made them any more complex. He certainly would not make any machine self-aware or self-teaching.

As the group entered a department store, Gerald brought his thoughts back to the present. Rayne whistled at the store’s selection as they walked between the aisles. Twila almost started to wander away, probably toward a book display, before Pinkie grabbed her and steered her back on course. Following the signs, they made it to the swimwear department in short order – and speaking of ‘short,’ that did seem to be what was on display.

“Oh... my...” Felicia blushed, seeing the store’s offerings.

“Come on, slowpoke!” Pinkie and Rayne dragged Felicia and Twila away to find something suitable to wear.

“Like what you see?” Rochelle asked with a smirk as Gerald stared at some of the porcelain forms ‘dressed’ in their skimpy outfits.

“It’s not the first time I’ve seen dress forms, but I’ve never seen clothes like that before,” he said.

“Ah, now I understand. These aren’t dress forms, Darling. They’re called ‘mannequins,’ and they model the store’s clothing without having to have living models stand or walk around all day.”

“Should they not be called ‘womannequins?’”

“How many times do you think you could say that quickly?”

Gerald shrugged. Now that he knew about the  mannequins, he looked around until he spotted some longer bottoms on display visible from where he stood. “What about those? Back home if we wear anything, it’s tops, not bottoms.”

“That has me curious, but yes, you’re on the right track. Those are the men’s swimwear.”

“You’re curious? Horses don’t normally wear clothes,” Gerald said quietly, “’though I wore a vest with enough pockets to carry my gear.”

“You comin,’ Ro?” Jackie called.

“Of course,” Rochelle answered. “I’ll see you later,” she said, winking as she walked away, toward the others. Gerald watched her hips swing, and wondered how many women could make a plain white sundress look like a cocktail dress. Then he raised an eyebrow as he noticed Spike literally dogging her heels. Surely Twilight, of any of them, would notice in time.

Gerald turned his attention to the men’s section. Many of the designs were more flamboyant than he wanted, and he certainly wanted more coverage, rather than less. He puzzled at the netting that was supposed to function as the underwear, but given the long history of reliability the tags on most of the clothes seemed to espouse, it was obviously a method that had been in use for some time.

Spotting some swimming trunks that had large pockets sewn into them, Gerald started to rifle through them, holding them, a pair at a time, against his waist for comparison’s sake. Most of them were too small, as though meant for children. And maybe they were. Unfortunately he did not see many swimsuits with pockets for his size. Maybe I can sew them on myself, but since we’re going to go and try swimming today, that means I wouldn’t be able to drive and sew at once. He would have to make a choice, which was a shame since it would be nice to have his waterproofed smartphone on him at all times.

“Can I help you?” A woman’s voice asked behind him.

“Well, I’m looking for a swimsuit in my size that has pockets like those ones,” he said, turning around. There was no mystery concerning why this woman was working the floor, given her hourglass figure and brown, doe eyes. Even a pantsuit did her justice, and there was always something distracting drawing the eye. A man or woman with other things on his or her mind would have less room to think about what was left in their wallet or purse!

“There’s not much call for those,” the saleswoman said.

“But wouldn’t an adult need to have a larger object on his person than a child would?”

“Like what?”

In answer, Gerald drew his phone from his pocket. To the casual observer it was a fairly standard smartphone with a sturdy-looking black casing. To him, it was a priceless multitool.

“Ah, I see. It had to be something that could get wet, but I didn’t imagine it would be electronic equipment.” The woman sidled up beside Gerald, and used her hands to get a practical measurement of the device so she could find something with large enough pockets. “Let me see if we have anything in the back,” the woman said, then she walked away with a smile.

The saleswoman soon returned with three swimsuits. The first one was too small, even just measured against his waist (and here the lady took the chance to get close to Gerald again). The second choice was green and black, which was not so bad, but it was a little short, making the pocket too small to be of use to him. The third choice was purple and red, and came to his knees. The pocket was large enough, and despite the colour scheme he kept it as a possibility: a prefab pocket would be better than buying two suits so he would have the material he needed to sew a pocket onto one of them – and yes, having lived on his own for over ten years (at least on his first, pre-rewrite, pass through life) had given him the opportunity and motive to learn to sew, along with other craft skills.

“Would you like to try them on so you can be sure of the fit?”

“That might not be a bad idea,” Gerald said cautiously. The saleswoman seemed to be easing off on her approach, but it was too soon to lower his guard.

“The fitting rooms are this way,” she said, leading the way past a nearby service desk, all the way making sure he was watching her. While this woman was doing all this for a sale, somehow it occurred to Gerald that he liked Rochelle’s teasing better. Maybe it was because he was used to Rarity teasing him about his possible relationships with Fluttershy, Prism, and Dawn back home. Of course, now his situation was even more complicated, with the only obstacle to a relationship (other than being in an alternate dimension) removed from the situation. Which meant that Gearhead was among the most eligible bachelors in Equestria. But at least he did not have to deal with the matter of Succession, least of all now. Father had it handled.

Before he started changing, Gerald made sure the door was properly latched. Even changing he kept wearing what he felt he should for the sake of sanitation, and then had a look in the mirror. Purple and red were not bad colours on him, he reckoned, and his smartphone fit in the pocket in a way that was unobtrusive enough that most people wouldn’t know it was even there, and it fit snugly enough that it would not shift and keep him from swimming properly – as far as he could tell.

“Are you in there, Darling? Do you want a semi-professional opinion?” Rochelle asked, knocking lightly on the door.

Gerald started. “It wouldn’t hurt,” he said recovering. He had kept his shirt on, so he slipped his shoes back on and opened the door.

To find Rochelle standing there in a purple bikini in all her glory. The top seemed to be held together with an O-ring at the front, and the bottoms had side-ties. Of course, the fashionista was posing for him. Gerald became aware he was making an ‘O’ of his own with his mouth. “So you like it,” she said, spinning slowly to show the whole effect.

“You could say that,” he said lamely, picking his jaw up off the floor.

“Good, then I know what I’m buying. Now it’s your turn,” Rochelle started to inspect Gerald in his swimsuit from all angles, her expression telling him she was in full Fashionista Mode. When she was in front of him again, she put one hand on her hip and pointed at his chest. “Do you intend on wearing that in the pool?”

“No?”

“Then take it off,”

Rochelle’s tone brooked no argument, and besides that she would see him in just swim trunks soon enough. So Gerald pulled his shirt off over his head and folded it up so he was carrying it just in one hand. Rochelle circled him to inspect the works again, then nodded appreciatively. “You know, you’re pretty well built for someone who spends so much time at his computer.”

“It’s not all I do,” Gerald said, putting his shirt back on. As he started to turn back toward the change room he noticed a little of Rochelle’s glint leave her eyes.

“Oh, hold on,” she said, grabbing his arm. “Lets find the others and see what they think.”

Gerald suppressed a sigh. This was going to take longer than he’d expected. It was too bad they couldn’t just go through a montage, like most of the movies he had had the time to see.

But, with the opportunity to see the other girls in various swimsuits, he had to admit that at least some of it was worth the extra time. While Jackie and Rae both went with modest functionality, Pinkie chose several outrageous designs, including one with a poofy skirt that was probably meant for younger girls. If there was a way she was able to fit into it, it was probably because, in this world or any other, she was Pinkie Pie. Twila and Felicia both tried to steer toward conservative one-piece suits, and in one case even a competition swimsuit.

“Oh no, Dear,” Rochelle said, “you must show off all your advantages, or it’s a waste.”

“Oh dear,” Felicia said.

“You can’t just let her wear something in which she feels comfortable?”

Rochelle stepped on his toe, a feat that was made harder by the fact that she was wearing designer sandals, while he had running shoes on. “I’m doing this for you, silly,” she whispered.

“You make an odd girlfriend sometimes,”

“’Sometimes?’ I’m being compared to a pony. I know you can’t help it, but still!”

“Okay, I’ll pay more attention to just you,”

“Oh? Are you sure you can, when one of your loves is right there?”

“You were the one who said ‘pony,’ and yet –“

“I’m kidding!”

“Sometimes I don’t get you,”

“You’re not supposed to,”

“This does not make any sense,”

“What doesn’t make sense,” Rochelle said more loudly, “is not taking full advantage of the summer day to do something we don’t normally do.”

“Okay,” Rae said.

“Lets get out suits and get on out there,” Jackie said. When he went back toward his change room, Gerald bumped into the saleswoman again, who offered to ring his purchase through using one of the tags on his suit. All he had to do was snap the plastic tie attaching it to the suit, and he did not have to take it off. But he still had his boxers on underneath, so he removed them in private later, before pulling his shorts on over the bathing suit. Now he would not have to change at the pool.

At the checkout counter, Gerald happened to notice that Felicia had snuck a light green one-piece into her short stack of purchases. Obviously she was too uncomfortable with just the bikini that Rochelle and Pinkie had insisted she get.