When in Rome...

On the next day, Twilight was standing outside the basement door, waiting for Arnold to come out. It was close to noon, but they still hadn't left. It was mostly because he slept until quite late, but it didn't help that it was taking him way too long to undress behind that door.

"Are you ready yet?", asked Twilight impatiently.

"In a minute!", came out a nervous answer from behind the door.

"How long can it possibly take to take off few pieces of clothing?"

"Have some mercy, it's not so easy for us to just get naked before going out!"

Twilight just rolled her eyes.

"Look, can I at least keep the shoes on?", he asked.

"Why, do your feet need protection from the ground when you walk?", she was a little surprised.

"Well, technically we can walk barefoot, I know some native tribes and maybe some hippies do it, but I'd rather..."

"Then better leave them here", she decided, "It will be the best not to get used to relying on them if you don't need them, especially that sooner or later they'd wear out anyway."

"Oh, okay", he just sighed with disappointment.

Another short moment passed, and then the door slowly creeked open. Arnold carefully peaked his head out, but was still reluctant to reveal himself.

"Come on, stop fooling around", Twilight started getting annoyed, "I promise I won't stare at your 'private parts'!"

He just made a nervous grunt and slowly came out from behind the door, like he was a convict marching to the gallow. He stood up in front of her and finally she was able to see what he really looked like.

It turned out that the rest of his body was as hairless as the previously visible places, save for few patches of short hair here and there. On his chest, he had a single pair of nipples, just like other primates. His penis was considerably shorter than that of a stallion and ended with a red tip, it also didn't have any sort of sheath, just dangling down in front of the testes. His feet ended with five fingers each just like his hand, although here the fingers were really short and only taking the feet's tips, likely an evolutionary effect of the upright pose.

"See? I told you it wouldn't be so bad!", she said in an encouraging tone, "I don't understand what you were so nervous about!"

But for him, it was just that bad. He was standing stark naked in front of a member of the opposite gender, even if she was a different species, and he was about go out like that in public, where everyone would see him in all his glory. And that would be his every day from now on. Just standing with his bare feet on the wooden floor and feeling his arms resting against his own naked skin was a very unusual sensation to him, he just couldn't imagine this becoming the new norm from now on. Twilight must have noticed how he felt on his face.

"Look, if it makes you feel better...", she started in a comforting voice, "In just few weeks, your clothes will get sent to the laundry and you'll be able to put them on again if you really want. They're not going anywhere, you can still wear them from time to time, you'll just have to learn to live without them on most days."

"Couldn't I just wear some sort of loincloth over my junk when we're outside?", he asked, "I'm sure a small piece of material wouldn't be a problem..."

"Are you joking?", she looked at him in terror, "If you covered nothing but your genital area, it would actually be worse than simply wearing nothing at all, as it would look like you wanted to bring attention to that area, make others think about what's underneath it, like in some sort of an adult club. You would only look like a pervert walking around like that in public. Just go out like everypony else and everything will be fine!"

"Oh, alright...", he sighed, thinking about what a crazy world he ended up in.

"Now grab your jobseeker's card and let's go see if they found something for you."

"With all due respect", he asked with a satisfied smirk, "But now that I don't really have any pockets on me, obviously, am I supposed to just carry it around in my hand all the time? What if I need to carry more things?"

"Uh, just put it behind you", she answered like it was the most obvious thing.

"What do you mean, behind me?"

"You know, just like I did with our ad yesterday at the bulletin board, remember?"

"Oh, that", he said in confusion, "But how is that even...? How am I supposed...?"

"Here", she handed him the card with her magic, "Just try putting it behind you like I did."

He shrugged as he took the card, and reached the hand holding it behind his back. He then let go off the card and, just like he expected, he heard it plop on the floor behind him.

"No, no, you can't just consciously release the hold on the card!", she corrected him, "It will only cause it to drop to the ground. You have to do this without thinking about it, like you were quickly placing something away on a table. Try again!"

He sighed and turned around to pick up the card, trying not to think too much about how he was basically flashing his naked butt at Twilight when bending down. Then he tried it again, but the card dropped this time too. Annoyed, he quickly picked it up and repeated, this time without even trying. Surprisingly, he didn't hear anything behind him.

"Where did it go?", he gasped in shock as he turned around and the card was nowhere to be seen.

"It's still behind you, you just have to grab it", she explained, "Just like before, try it."

Reluctantly, he reached his hand around and tried to get the card, but he didn't feel anything with his fingers.

"Once again, you're giving it too much thought", Twilight sighed, "If you focus on grabbing it, you will only grab air. You have to do it fast and subconsciously, like the last time. Now try it again."

Still baffled about this whole situation, he reached behind again and tried to grab the card as casually as he could. This time, he felt something thin and soft between his fingers. He pulled it up to his eyes and it turned out to be the very same card which he had been given yesterday and which disappeared behind his back just a moment ago.

"How is this even possible???", he asked in utter puzzlement.

"Basic passive magic, all the creatures here have it", Twilight pointed out, "But what am I trying to explain to someone who refuses to believe that clouds are capable of holding a pegasus pony?"

"Oh, basic passive magic, okay", he simply nodded, not even trying to understand it all.

"Yeah, so put that card behind and we'll be on our way!", she said as she turned towards the door.

As he heard it, he just froze in place, reluctant to make a step. He knew this moment would come eventually, but now that the time finally came, he just couldn't bring himself to it. It was one thing to stand naked indoors in front of just one pony, as bad as it was, but actually going outside like that where literally everyone could see him seemed million times worse. He just stood there with a terrible sucking sensation in his stomach, and Twilight instantly picked up what was wrong.

"I don't know if it helps", she started in a comforting voice, "But if you want to know my opinion, I think you look much better now than when you were all covered up. Now come on!"

He put the card 'behind' him and followed Twilight towards the door, still not used to the unfamiliar sensation of his skin brushing against skin in so many places during walking. As she walked in front of him with her genitals and anus clearly visible to him, he actually felt jealous of her indifference towards her own nudity, as she never had to know what he was going through at the moment. They reached the door and as she opened it, the sight of the big world outside hit him with another wave of sucking in the stomach. Now he could see where he was headed while in his current state, and knowing that someone from the outside could already see him through the open door was like a sneak peak of the humiliating experience he was in for. Twilight left the library, but she must have noticed he was still inside, as she turned back to him.

"Come on, step outside!", she encouraged him, "You don't want to spend your whole life inside that library, now do you?"

He sighed, knowing he couldn't just prolong it forever. Still not believing he was actually doing this, he slowly put one foot outside the door, already feeling its exposure to the world. Making the second step wasn't that easy, but he told himself that standing naked one step outside an open door wasn't really much different from standing naked one step behind an open door, and reluctantly, he placed another foot outside, cutting his last tie with the safety of the library's interior. He was now standing outside, completely bare.

"That's it, I knew you could do it!", Twilight cheered him on as she locked the library, "Now let's go, just like yesterday okay?"

He couldn't bring himself to go after her, but the prospect of standing alone naked in front of a locked library seemed even more terrifying, so he just took a deep breath and followed the purple pony, carefully looking around. To his relief, there only seemed to be two or three ponies around the open area where the library was, all pretty far away and all looking somewhere else. Still, it didn't help him much, as he felt exposed, vulnerable and... small. He tried not to think that he was naked, but the eerily unfamiliar sensation of the soft ground under his feet, the sun in the noon warming him all over and the light summer breeze tickling his bare skin wouldn't let him forget that he wasn't naturally covered like he was used to be. He was only hoping that none of those few ponies would notice him until they reached the fence corner around a huge bush they were heading towards, and that the next stretch of their walk would be equally as easy.

Unfortunately, once they got around the corner, what emerged from behind the bush was a busy street full of ponies walking in all directions. Arnold knew that now there was no chance he could skip by unnoticed. All those ponies would constantly pass him by, walk in front of him and likely see him face to face. Feeling cold sweat running down his naked skin, he instantly slowed down, barely making any advance forward, and this time Twilight noticed it to.

"Come on, get over yourself and stop dragging behind!", she hurried him indifferently, "Trust me, nopony has time to look at your genitals!"

He picked up his pace unenthusiastically, wishing he had ended up in the Star Wars universe instead, and as hard as it was for him to believe it, it seemed she was actually right. Most of the ponies walking by didn't even look at him, and none of them seemed to care about his nudity, some of them even casually greeted Twilight and one actually asked him how he was doing without even taking the eyes off his face. Still, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was constantly looked at and that everyone focused on his unclothed body, even though he knew it was all in his head. On top of that, seeing all those mares with their vulvae on full display and all the stallions with their balls dangling freely between their hindquarters, he actually felt embarassed and silly next to them when they were able to walk around like that without being ashamed of their bodies while he was making a big deal out of it, even though all his life it was considered a normal reaction where he was from. He actually couldn't wait until they were finally at the employment agency, where at least his nakedness would be contained inside a single room with only few others beside him.

When they finally arrived at the agency, which this time seemed to Arnold like it took twice as long, they were served by the same unicorn mare from the previous day, who took his card when he finally pulled it from behind after few unsuccessful attempts. As he was standing as close to her desk as possible, making sure she could only see him from the waist up, she was shifting through some papers from his folder.

"Alright, mister Naku... Nakuya... mister Arnold", she said while reading something carefully, "It looks like we got one offer for you, it's from the Ponyville Spa. They are willing to hire somepony with fingers as a massagist!"

"That actually sounds like a great job offer for the beginning, what do you say?", Twilight commented.

"Sure, I guess I could do that for the living", he shrugged.

"Here you go", the clerk handed him a piece of paper, "Go to the spa with this as soon as possible, and they will explain to you what next!"

"Thank you", he said as he took the paper and turned around before walking away from the desk, making sure she could only see his butt.

"Say now", the clerk commented offhandedly, "Weren't you actually wearing all those clothes when you were here yesterday?"

He instantly froze in place. She knows I'm completely naked, he thought to himself in panic. All that fear from before leaving the library came back tenfold, and he felt like he was getting out of breath.

"Y-yes...", he nodded nervously.

"Oh, so I was right!", she laughed to herself, "I must admit I was surprised a little when I first saw you because I had never seen anypony wearing this many clothes in the middle of summer!", and he felt instant relief.

"See?", said Twilight when they left the building, "You actually cause more unwanted attention wearing clothes than without them!"

"Yeah, yeah, weren't we supposed to go somewhere next?", he rushed her, desperate to get indoors again as soon as possible, even thought going outside naked didn't seem as terrifying now as it did the first time round.

"Oh right, the spa!", she remembered, "Let's go, it's right around the corner from here, we'll have this one off the list already!"

The spa turned out to be a big multi-treatment facility run by two young mares in headbands. Right now, the blue one was interviewing Arnold about the job.

"So, you want to work as a massageest at our spa, right?", she asked as she carefully studied the paper from the agency.

"Well, yeah, that's correct", he nodded while looking around.

"Alright, then show me what you can!", she extended her front hoof, "We'll see if you'll be useful to us!"

Reluctantly, he grabbed her hoof with both his hand and started rubbing the soft skin on the wrist the best he could. Her reaction was instantaneous. Having ten little fingertips massaging her independently at the same time turned out to be utterly overwhelming for someone only used to massages with big pony hooves.

"Oh, sweet Celestia!", she gasped in complete bliss, "Thees ees simplee amazing! Aloe, come heer quick, you got to try eet!"

The other mare quickly came over and reached out her hoof too. Arnold started massaging the pink wrist in the same manner, and the reaction was identical.

"Oh my, how come we haven't thought of getting a feengered massageest earlier?", panted Aloe.

"You're hired!", they both said at the same time the moment he finished.

"Congratulations!", Twilight applauded him.

"Come heer tomorrow before we open, we'll sign all the papers and explain everytheeng to you. First week it's minimum wage plus teeps, then we'll see how you're doing.", they explained.

"Gee, thanks", he said and they left the spa.

"See? You're doing great here!", said Twilight on the street while Arnold started subconsciously watching around again, "You already have a job, you've learned that you don't actually need clothes to properly interact in society, and who knows, maybe there's already an ad waiting just for you about a nice little place to rent?"

However, after another long, awkward walk through the town, it turned out there was nothing new on the bulletin board that would suit them. Interesingly though, there was an advertisement for a brand new "Ten finger massage" at the Ponyville Spa starting tomorrow.

"Well, might as well go back to the library, maybe tomorrow we'll have better luck", said Twilight and Arnold felt relief that he would finally hide for a while from all those eyes seeing his completely exposed body.

Unfortunately, the day was far from over.

"Hey, look who's here!", he suddenly heard Twilight's happy voice on their way back while fighting that annoying voice in the back of his head telling him that ponies did in fact care about human genitals.

He turned where she was looking and saw the same five ponies from yesterday standing not far away. He didn't know much about them except that the one wearing a hat was named Applejack, but it looked like they were all Twilight's best friends, and he didn't like it. He could already tell that he wouldn't get back to the safety of the library as soon as he hoped.

"Come on, let's go talk to them!", Twilight pulled him in their direction, and he sighed as he reluctantly followed her.

"Twilight, darling, how are you doing?", asked the white one with concern, "Yesterday when we were parting, things didn't look too bright..."

"Everything's great, Rarity!", Twilight assured her, "It took Arnold here a little while to get used to the new situation, but we've explained few things and now he's fully cooperative!"

"And how is our visitor doing in Equestria so far?", asked Rarity with curiosity, while Arnold was just getting impatient that he had to wait in the middle of the busy street in his state while they just chit-chatted, keeping him exposed to everyone's gaze longer than needed.

"Oh, he's doing pretty fine!", said Twilight assertingly, "He already has a job, and we're currently looking for a place for him! It's taking him a little while to get used to life in Equestria, but I'm amazed at the progress he's making!"

"That's mighty fine, sugarcube!", nodded Applejack.

"Uh, what is he so nervous about?", the rainbow one noticed Arnold pacing in place impatiently while constantly looking around at the ponies passing him by.

"Oh, that...", Twilight just smiled awkwardly, "Remember how yesterday at the library he was dressed in all those clothes?"

The others all nodded and agreed, now remembering it.

"Well, you see guys...", she started explaining, "It turns out that where Arnold comes from, they always cover their bodies with clothes, everywhere they go, because they believe that it is wrong to let others see... your... reproductive parts.", by the end of the sentence, she had a hard time containing her amusement.

The rest of them just started laughing and snorting, but they didn't even try to hide it.

"So he's afraid of showing the parts you do it with?", the rainbow one snickered, "Oh, this is so rich, just like in that joke about a rock farmer who always made his daughter...", but then she stopped when she noticed the pink one giving her an angry glare.

"But sugarcube, there's nothin' wrong with that part of y'all, no need to cover it from anypony!", reassured him Applejack while still giggling a little under her breath.

"Oh my gosh, he's completely naked!", the rainbow one screamed in fake terror to tease Arnold, and burst out laughing when it caused him to jump unwittingly.

"Rainbow Dash, that wasn't very nice!", Twilight scolded her.

"Sorry Twilight, just couldn't resist!"

"As much as I can relate to the enjoyment of wearing a nice garment", Rarity chimed in, "I have a hard time imagining myself wearing one all day, especially if it was as covering as yours. Is it really healthy to always keep your entire body sealed like that? Your skin can't possibly have much access to fresh air in there, and then there's hygiene..."

"Rarity does have a point, you know", Twilight pointed out.

"And besides", Rainbow Dash added in a cocky voice, "Imagine one day you meet a nice filly and end up taking her to your place, things get hot and she's waiting for you on your bed, and then you suddenly say 'Wait a second, I need to take off all these clothes first!' Now wouldn't that be awkward?"

"I'm not really planning to date here, thank you very much", he snapped back, getting really impatient still having to stand there.

"Why, have you vowed celibacy back in your world or something?", asked Twilight with curiosity.

"No, it's not about that", he explained, "It's just that I don't like the idea that she would have to pretty much be different species from me."

Somehow, what he said must have been seen as some very offensive faux pas, because they all just instantly felt dead silent and only started sharing awkward gazes among each other.

"Weeell", Twilight started awkwardly, "It's not up to me to judge, but you have to remember that you will be here for the rest of your life and every potential partner will be different from you, so unless you're planning to grow old and die alone, you might think about becoming a little less... exclusive."

He didn't like what she just said, but didn't really know how to respond to that.

"Your new friend is mighty strange, Twahlight!", Applejack noticed.

"I know his behavior may appear odd to us", Twilight started defending him, "but try to put yourselves in his horseshoes for a while. Imagine you were raised all your life to be ashamed of your body, believing it needs to be covered at all times, to the point that you are actually scared of others seeing it. That's what it was like back in Arnold's world, and after all those years it's not easy for him to adapt to our lifestyle, in fact if I hadn't talked him out of it, he would probably have just spent a fortune on laundry just so he could wear those clothes of his all day long. To him, just being outside like right now is a stressful experience."

"Ooh, so he's like Fluttershy?", the pink one asked inquisitively, which caused the yellow pegasus to blush a little.

"Actually, Pinkie, it's much worse", explained Twilight, "Fluttershy at least isn't afraid of others seeing her butt", and to that, the others responded with light snorting, including the one referred to as Fluttershy.

"Aww, don't worry sugar, y'all get used", comforted him Applejack.

"Yeah, soon you won't even believe what a big sissy you used to be about that!", Rainbow Dash winked at him.

"I sure hope so", he just sighed.

"Just look at me!", Pinkie pointed her hooves at herself, "I'm not afraid of being seen and neither should you, even if you do look a little funny!"

"Pinkie Pie, please!", Twilight scolded her.

"No, it's okay", he stood in the pink pony's defense, "I know I may look strange to you guys and I don't blame you for it, not that it makes much difference to me now, anyway."

"Still, he does have a magnificent rump!", remarked Rarity while checking out his posterior, and he just blushed nervously, wondering in how many more ways he'd have to miss his clothes.

"Hey, you know what guys, how about we all go out somewhere?", Rainbow Dash suddenly suggested, "Maybe that would get Twilight's new buddy to loosen up a little!"

"Great idea!", Twilight instantly agreed, "I heard that down at the Ponyville cafe they put up those long picnic tables outside, we could all fit there together and talk about everything over some lunch!"

"Oh come on!", Arnold just groaned, "Can't we just go back already?"

"I know you just want to go back to the library and hide!", Twilight patted him affectionately, "But you have to be outside doing normal things among ponies as much as possible, or you'll never get over your irrational addiction to clothes!"

"What did I ever do to deserve this?", he just asked himself in defeat.

The cafe turned out to be a green-timbered house with - of course - a thatched roof and a large outdoor area where tables actually had bales of hay for chairs, althouth there were also two or three picnic tables on the edge. They all seated themselves around one of them, with Arnold taking a seat next to Twilight, which to him was yet another unfamiliar sensation that day, feeling the wooden surface under his bare skin. Having to actually sit in place in public for a prolonged time felt even more awkward than just walking around, or even standing and waiting while others talked, but at least it made him feel a little better knowing his lower half was concealed by the table, even if the ponies behind him could still see his butt on the bench.

"Go ahead, pick anything you want, it's on me!", said Twilight while he was carefully reading the menu, desperately trying to find something that sounded like it was actually edible to him.

"Have you made your decizion?", he was finally asked by a snobbish French waiter, although he had no idea where anything resembling French culture could come from in this world.

"Uhm, I think I'll take the... hay fries?", he said, figuring it was probably still a better choice than something like a daffodil sandwich.

The waiter took his order and walked away, and as Arnold saw his balls and taint flashed at him, he still couldn't believe just how casual everyone around was about their nudity, while he still felt like a snowman on the first day of spring. A moment later, he was served a plate of what looked like deep fried hay, with a small bottle of ketchup for flavor. Wanting to make it as easy to go down as possible, he tried to douse the pile with a huge load of ketchup, but he had trouble pushing it out of the old-fashioned glass bottle and ultimately ended up with a huge ketchup stain on his chest.

"Goddammit!", he barked to himself.

"See?", Twilight tried to contain her amusement, "If you were wearing clothes right now, you would have to wash them, but now all you have to do is wipe it off!"

"Thanks for making me feel better!", he grumbled back, trying to get the ketchup off himself.

"So tell me darling", Rarity asked from the other side of the table, "How are you finding life in Equestria so far?"

"I think it sucks", he replied while still cleaning himself, "Your society just seems extremely low-tech and some of your customs are downright weird!"

The others just burst out in a soft laughter to that, apparently finding his view of their world somewhat amusing.

"Well, yeah, I guess to someone who spends whole day in his own sweat our way of life probably does look funny!", Rainbow Dash snickered.

"So from what you've mentioned so far", Rarity continued in curiosity, "I'm supposed to understand that clothes play considerably large part in the daily life where you are from, is that correct?"

"Yeah, we are always dressed, not just for special occasions", he explained.

"My, that sounds like a wonderful place!", Rarity sighed in delight, "I'd love to live in a society that holds so much appreciation for dressing up!"

"So do you also take baths in clothes?", Rainbow Dash asked skeptically, "And what about doctors, how are they supposed to examine you properly?"

"No, of course we don't wear clothes in shower!", Arnold protested, "And doctors are different!"

"So lemme get this straight, sugarcube", Applejack asked, "It's okay when a doctor can see y'all, but not when somepony random on the street?"

"Yes, that is correct!", he snapped, now annoyed that not only did they deprive him of his right to cover himself, but now they also made him have to justify it.

"Say now, darling", Rarity started carefully, "I was thinking, since you no longer really need your clothes, how do you feel about the idea of selling them? I really liked the design of many of them, especially the material your pants were made of or the patterns on your shirt, and I am willing to pay decent amount for the complete package."

"Well, actually, I...", he started thinking of a polite way to decline.

"YES!", Twilight suddenly interrupted him, "He'll bring them to your boutique first thing in the morning on his way to work, you'll just have to wash them!"

"Hey, what gives!", he got angry at her, "You said I could keep them and still wear them at least sometimes!"

"Come on, be a big boy!", she quickly shut him down, "You know that the sooner you let go off anything encouraging you to hold on to your old lifestyle, the better for you. Besides, you desperately need money right now, so it's only for the best!"

"But... but...", he still tried to protest, but ultimately gave up, realizing he just lost the only comfort he had in his new life of permanent exposure: the anticipation of one day getting to feel his clothes on his skin again for a little while.

"Oh, that's wonderful!", Rarity clapped her hooves together in joy, "I just can't wait to remodel it all into brand new designs! I can already see the new fashion line I could base off it, of course you all will be invited to the grand premiere!"

"Woohoo, a party!", Pinkie Pie threw her hooves outwards in excitement, and in the process, she accidentally knocked off Applejack's hat to the ground.

"Pinkie Pie, look what y'all have done! Now Ah'll have to pick it up!", the cowpony scolded her in anger, then turned around and bent over to get her headgear. And that's when it happened.

Just like yesterday with Twilight casually mooning him, seeing Applejack's lifted rump sway back and froth from behind the table as she was taking her hat made him feel uncomfortable, but this time he realized it was more than the simple awkwardness of having someone's genitals flashed at him. As hard as it was for him to admit it to himself, it was actually... stimulating to his male brain. He knew he was basically just staring at a horse butt, but somehow the fact that it belonged to a sentient creature he could talk to made it feel more like seeing a naked woman, and the feminine roundness of her hindquarters combined with the hypnotic movement that no horses from his world were capable of inevitably caused an involuntary response in one particular part of his body, and he started panicking once he realized it. He was just getting erection while being completely naked in public, and everyone would be able to see it!

They're going to find out, he was thinking to himself nervously, not even daring to imagine how they'd react to the fact that he got a boner for Applejack. Feeling his manhood rising higher and higher, he started desperately trying to hide it as much as possible. He bent forward to make it more horizontal, he tried squeezing it with his thighs, he pushed himself against the table until the edge stabbed him painfully in his naked chest in order to hide it from the view as far as possible. All the time analizing all the possible angles someone could potentially see it from, and tormented by the thought that there would always be at least one left out of his control. Unfortunately, as it usually is when one tries to hide something, it eventually only caused more attention, and others started noticing something was off.

"Uh, what is he so nervous about this time?", Applejack looked at him suspiciously when she was back upright with her hat on.

He noticed everyone was now staring at him, confused about all his sudden wriggling and twisting. Eventually, Rainbow Dash just bowed and took a look under the table, apparently sensing what he was trying to hide, and now everything was clear.

"Now he's embarassed that he got an erection!", she sighed in a voice equally annoyed and amused.

The others momentarely stopped eating, and Fluttershy blushed deeply.

"You really did?", Twilight asked carefully.

"I- I just... well...", he started sweating profoundly, completely not knowing what to do.

"Forgive me asking, darling", Rarity asked in a stoic voice, "But what could possibly make you... excited about dining out?"

He was thinking about a possible way to explain himself, but none came to his mind that he thought would actually help him in this situation, so he just stared at them awkwardly in silence. They must have eventually figured out what had happened right before, because they all turned their heads towards Applejack, who started blushing.

"Was it because... you saw Applejack from behind?", Twilight blinked at him in shock.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!", Rainbow Dash apparently found the whole thing hysterical, "The poor guy was so repressed back in his wussy world that now just seeing A.J.'s bits makes him hard!"

"Gosh, sugarcube", Applejack just laughed awkwardly, "Ah didn't know mah rump has such an effect on guys..."

"So you guys don't think it's creepy?", he was genuinely surprised, "You know, that I reacted that way about looking at her?"

"What are you talking about?", Twilight looked at him in confusion, "It would be creepy if you were inappropriately hitting on her, or invading her personal space, or maybe making rude remarks about her butt. But you can't really be blamed that your body reacted in a predictable way to finding her attractive, unless if maybe she was a little filly of course. That's like you wanted to judge a mare for her vulva winking when she saw a really handsome stallion."

He wondered what exatly it meant for a mare's vulva to 'wink', but he didn't really feel like asking.

"Of course, the fact that at your age you reacted this way to simply seeing a mare's rump in a normal daily situation is a little sad", Rarity remarked.

"Oh, I'm sorry we're not used to that level of openness!", he rolled his eyes, "It's not normal for us to just walk around naked in public, or to get an erection in front of everyone. Does it also mean you guys just do it in the open, while others watch?"

"Heavens, no!", Twilight actually seemed offended with that, "Just because we're not as prude as you guys doesn't mean we're some sort of perverted deviants! However, it's perfectly natural that certain parts of our bodies react in a certain way when we're attracted to somepony and there's nothing shameful about that, plus it also makes a lot of things easier as it lets a stallion and a mare easily find out how they feel about each other and what exactly they expect. I bet in your world it's not that convenient, eh?"

"Well, no, we mostly rely on talking and non-verbal cues.", he explained.

"That's good too, of course", Twilight agreed, "But more signals is always better for an efficient communication."

"Pardon my curiosity, darling", Rarity asked, "But in your world, how exactly can a lady know when somepony is thinking of her in a lustful way if his male parts are kept hidden from view at all times?"

"Well, I guess he'd just have to tell her", Arnold said rather matter-of-factly, "Otherwise, I don't think she has a way to find out."

"Darling, I think that's creepy!", she shuddered, "If you ask me, a lady should always be able to tell a male's intentions!"

He had no idea how to respond to the fact that he now lived in a world where females were uncomfortable with the idea of him being able to hide his genitals from them.

"Wait, but what about kids?", he noticed, "Is it really acceptable for them to see a stallion parading around with a throbbing erection in plain view?"

"And what's wrong with that?", asked Twilight, "There's no point sheltering foals from how our bodies work, in fact it probably would only be more damaging in the long run, as without the proper knowledge they'd be more vulnerable to being taken adventage of."

He thought about all the articles he had read about how lack of sexual education could apparently result in the victims of predators being too confused to know how to defend themselves or what to tell the adults, and he started wondering if she didn't actually have a point there.

"Well, looks like you do want to have a girlfriend here, after all!", Pinkie started suddenly teasing him about the whole situation, and everyone burst out laughing, even Fluttershy.

He felt himself beginning to blush again, so he just stared at the hay on his plate in silence. As if being naked in public wasn't bad enough, now he was naked in public with visible erection while everyone around him just casually discussed his erection, all during what was supposed to be just having a normal lunch together. He didn't think it could actually get any worse.

"Alright gals, how about we all stop talkin' about our genitals and go back to eatin'?", Applejack suggested and he really felt grateful about that, as well as about how she had just taken it all in stride in the first place.

The topic was quickly dropped and everyone focused on their plates again. As his erection eventually just naturally subsided, he somehow managed to finish his hay fries which actually weren't so bad with enough ketchup. For some time, everyone just talked about regular stuff like their jobs or some upcoming festival, and when they were all done eating, they just got up from the table and said goodbye to each other before going their separate ways. Arnold didn't really like leaving the safety of the cover that the table provided and standing upright in all his glory again, but he still felt relieved to finally be going back to the library.

"I'm so proud of you!", said Twilight in an encouraging voice on their way back, by which point the sun was slowly beginning to set, "Today you've managed to let go off your lifelong attachment to clothes and gather up courage to do something you were always taught to be ashamed of, which certainly wasn't easy for you. That's really quite an achievement, you know!"

"Thanks", he just said after hesitating a little.

"And to think you were so afraid!", she continued, "When we were leaving the library in the morning, it felt like I couldn't drag you out with wild horses, few hours later and now you don't even seem to be paying attention to it!"

Now that they were finally going back at the day's end, he realized she was actually right: at this point he wasn't even thinking that much about his nudity. Sure, it still felt unnatural to be outside in a state he'd be ashamed to show up in to a stranger even inside his own house, he'd still occassionally catch himself checking if others weren't staring at his body, and his feet still weren't quite used to the rough ground underneath them. But after a whole day without clothes, he didn't even notice when it eventually stopped occupying his mind all the time and he was actually able to forget about it for a while and direct his attention to other things just like normal. Apparently, being naked wasn't that bad when everyone else was and nobody was making a big deal out of it.

"Yeah, I have to admit I actually thought it would be much worse...", he reluctantly agreed.

"Just remember", she reminded him, "The only one who really cares about your genitals is you. In fact, I don't think anypony else even realizes you could actually have a problem with this particular body part, since to us it's no different than your ears or tongue. As long as you don't bring attention to your 'private parts' - assuming we can even still call them that - nopony will even think about them. Just act normal and you'll be fine."

"I'll keep that in mind", he promised, although he knew it wouldn't be easy.

The rest of their walk back was pretty easy and peaceful. By this time of the day, there weren't as many ponies on the streets as few hours before, so he didn't worry quite as much about being seen this time. At one point, they passed what looked like a couple on a date, and althought he had no way of telling, the stallion looked like he would likely be considered handsome in this world. He wasn't really looking, but he noticed that the obviously excited mare's vulva was contracting bizzarely, kind of like something that lives on an ocean's floor, and he wondered if that was the so called 'winking'.

Not long after, they finally arrived at the library. It felt weird to Arnold wiping his bare feet on the doormat before going inside, although he knew it was one of those new habits he had to get used to now with his shoes gone. Once they were inside and he heard Twilight lock the door behind him, he felt the greatest relief that this long day was finally over and he could at last be safe from all those eyes inside the library where only Twilight could see him instead of everyone. Of course, he quickly realized that tomorrow it would all start again, and then again and again every other day after that, but at least he knew that next time it wouldn't be nearly as horrible as on his first day.

"Okay, you can go take a shower while I make something to eat, and then we'll prepare your clothes for Rarity!", announced Twilight.

He didn't like being reminded that he had to give all his clothes away, but the prospect of a shower really brightened his mood after all the stress he had endured that day. Not only because of how much he needed it, especially his feet, but mostly because the shower was probably the most private place he'd get to be in that day, and one where he wouldn't have to be ashamed of his nudity. He quickly rushed to the bathroom, where he then spent much more time than yesterday, enjoying the comfort of being surrounded by the shower curtain which safely separated his now permanently naked body from anyone's eyes. After being finally done, he caught himself trying to put his clothes back on, completely forgetting that the familiar transition from "out of shower" to "in shower" was now gone, and then he came back to the main area to eat.

It turned out that this time, Twilight made a salad. It was mostly stuff he was used to, like carrots or lettuce or cucumbers, but he also found some daisies or hay in it. Still, he tried his best to swallow down at least some of it, even if it felt a little weird in his mouth. After they were both done eating, Twilight rose from her seat.

"Alright, take all your clothes and put them in a pile outside of the basement", she ordered.

He went down to the basement where he had left all his clothes earlier that day, which now felt like a million years ago and in a completely different life. He started moving them outside the basement door, and as he neatly stacked the jeans, the underwear, the t-shirt and the socks in a small pile, he was thinking of how he was basically parting with the only thing that reminded him of his own world, the only tie he had left to the life when he could feel safe being outside in public, and it gave him a pang of sadness knowing he would never wear them again.

"Can I at least keep the shoes?", he asked just in case.

"Arnold!"

"Okay, okay!", he said obediently as he put his Adidas sneakers on top of the pile.

"Wow, there's quite a lot of it!", remarked Twilight as she examined the pile, "Did you really wear all of this every day of your life?"

"Yes, and I actually like it that way!", he just barked at her.

"Look, I know I promised you could keep them", she started in a polite voice, "But believe me, it will only be for the best to get rid of them for good and just learn to live without them as soon as possible, they would only hold you back in adapting to our world. Not to mention that I know Rarity well and can assure you that she would pay you a really good money for something she likes, and you could really use extra cash now for lots of things, like buying a warm coat in the winter when you'll actually have a reason to cover yourself. And besides, she will probably make much better use of those clothes than you ever could, you'd be surprised what masterpieces she can create out of it!"

"Okay, you win!", he said in defeat, thinking of how not only someone would take his only clothes away from him, but would also cut them all into pieces to create something for those horses to wear.

"Great!", she put a hoof on his shoulder in support, "Now get ready for bed, tomorrow you'll have a busy day at your new job!"

He went down to the basement and got himself into the sleeping bag. He actually liked it in there, having his whole body finally covered in something even if he was technically still naked underneath. It also helped that he used to actually sleep naked from time to time, so at least he was now in a situation when nudity actually didn't feel so unfamiliar. The difference was, of course, that normally sleeping naked would end with getting up and putting the clothes back on, while here he would just have to leave the sleeping bag to be exposed to the world again, but he tried not to think about it. He turned the lamp off, thinking about all the time that passed since he went to sleep there the previous day, about how he just spent the entire day without clothes despite how unbelievable it used to seem, and about all those years of naked life to come. Hoping he would do well tomorrow at his new job at the spa, he eventually fell asleep.