Author's Note

Mai's POV

At the Carousel Boutique: 2

I had just had my breakfast. Now I had decided to have some fresh clothes for myself. I want my clothes to be personal and fitting to my new body such as it had been delivered to the location of where I was to spend my vacation.

Apparently, there is but the one place to go; the Carousel Boutique run by a Rarity. Strange names in my mouth, but I am new here and have to get used to what I was to be for the duration of my vacation. If she could make me the clothes I could enjoy wearing in public, who am I to complain about her name? I haven’t even seen her, I have no right to judge her by the name. Not yet.

Trotting over to her Boutique at the center of town is no challenge. The Equine form was proving to be more to the advantage than I had dared to imagine; even after the challenges to get used to, had been deduced from the total sum of things. Maybe part of the advantages are from the cybernetic body, but I already had experience enough with this so I can’t really credit the change to this in the first place. If this is what Equaines are actually like in the flesh, I had no idea, it isn’t a thing one could ever compare. On the other hoof; these are not Horses, but Ponies and not the Ponies that are merely smaller Horses.

Initially, I had been tempted to just see how fast I could go there, but settled on a moderate trot. I find it relaxing in ways I had never really expected or anticipated. How could I? Maybe I am not one of these slow people who settles with a slow walk and doing nothing in wait. This proved to be a vacation from myself in ways I could never have expected. For the joy of it, but it is the truest form of vacation.

Vacation is vacation, because I take time of and relax. Is there a better way of doing it, than to leave my old self behind? Everything that was me is laying behind in cold storage, while everything essential goes to the location of my vacation, where the cybernetic body had been assembled.

Even trotting in a measured gait, I still got to where I intended to go much faster than I had expected. Maybe these Ponies are smaller than I expected, but they are just as massive and powerful as I could ever have been. I even slowed down even further in order not to feel as if I was rushing into the central town and made an effort to actually stop, well before the door before I entered the building in a more dignified manner.

As the door swing open, I hear the shim going off with a lovely musical quality to it. That certainly did come off as a good sign. A very convenient surprise to me. Maybe she would actually have something for me to wear.

“Greetings, and welcome to my Boutique. I am Rarity!” she exclaimed in a fabulously welcoming tone.

“How do you do, Miss Rarity. I had not expected a Boutique with the style, or as large and deliberate as yours in a village like Ponyville!” I expressed in response.

“I am doing quite well, thank you for asking!” she responded, “What are you looking for, this fabulous morning?” she added, almost as if it had been an afterthought.

“Since I am on a vacation, enjoying Ponyville, I could use a few suits. Call me Mai, by the way. I would like something light, yet tight fitting enough to make me feel as if I am actually fitting in here. Of course I had to see you first, in order to make a good impression on the fellow Ponies of Ponyville. A vest and skirt in black or a deep purple should be just about right?” I suggested, knowing black would go well with most colours, including my silver gray coat.

I had opted for the blue mane over one in gold silver or copper. Had it been the wiser choice or a mistake is left to seem with Rarity as my judge. Metallic electric blue, not quite the expected metallic hue you had expected, but it makes me a bit more of a living entity over that of a robotic servant one may have chosen to have as a companion back home where I came from. Now I just hope my coat does look like a real fur and that Rarity could craft a suit to make me blend in with the crowd.

“On vacation? Ponyville is an exquisite place to rest from the daily drone of your hectic life, thanks to the exemplary weather we have here. A tight fitting suit, let me take measurements and I will be right at the job, then you can pick your wardrobe up, once I have completed the work. Black certainly will compliment your shiny coat. I think I can create just the right style for you to fit right in and feel comfortable in Ponyville, or any other place you choose to visit on your vacation. Let me pick up a few samples along the way to see what fabric will go best with your coat!” she responded, pulling out a measuring tape, taking every imaginable measure she could possibly have use for, before she pulled out a group of select fabrics she imagines could go well with what she had envisioned to be my style.

Purple and black fabrics mainly. Picking one while discarding others left and right. After a moment, she ended up with a few samples she decided should go well with me; in the style I had asked for.

“These fabrics looks just about right. I just need to see them making up the suit, before we can know if they will be perfect!” I pointed out.

“From your measurements, Mai, these should be just right!” she pointed out, pointing at patterns she pulled out from a stack of patterns for suits.

“This one seems to be perfect. How long will it take you to craft a suit like this for me?” I responded without a thought to the cost of her work.

“For two or three suits like this; that would leave you with just about enough time to have a good meal. If you choose to go to the Sugar-Cube Corner Café, or if you prefer a more stylish salad? Either establishment is within trotting distance!” she pointed out with pride.