"Hi, sorry I'm late. My last client has visited our showroom five times and he still can't make up his mind."

Sunburst smiled and pretended that he didn't mind waiting for the client coordinator. He wasn't normally an impatient stallion, but the waiting room at Sable's Garden Inc. creeped him out. It was decorated in pink and metallic silver, with fake vines wrapping around the fake columns and walls, making him feel like he was waiting his turn at a tacky fair ride. He couldn't afford to go to a nicer place, so what else could he do besides wait patiently?

The client coordinator made friendly chit-chat as she ushered him past the reception desk and into a private office. She wasn't a bad looking mare, except that she was probably old enough to be his mother — like all the other mares he knew.

"All right," she said, seating him and taking her place on the other side of the desk. "Let's just go over your specifications, shall we?"

Sunburst nodded and tried to make himself even just a smidgen less uncomfortable. After all, he wasn't in the absurd waiting room anymore.

The client coordinator reminded him that their consultation was completely confidential and got started. "So, let's go over each category starting at the top." She pushed a copy of his application form towards him and pointed to the first category – beauty. "I noticed you didn't mark down a preference. Let me fill you in about each style. First there's Snow Lilly—"

"I get it," Sunburst interrupted. "I didn't put anything down, because I don't care about what she looks like. All the mares have to be presentable in order to get a contract with you, don't they?"

"Of course," the coordinator said without skipping a beat. "I can set up your selection to be random if you'd like. Usually it's the most important feature for our clients."

"The mares aren't robots, are they? I was under the impression that they were real mares that you chose to describe with flowers names depending on their coloring."

"Yes, that's all true. Then let's move onto the second category – Model. This refers to their best functionality."

Sunburst's eyes ran down the list; Diva, Creative Princess, Domestic Goddess, Queen Rose, and Enchantress. His mouth practically filled with tar as he read the titles. Why couldn't he have afforded a less cheesy agency?

"I wondered if you didn't understand the titles."

"Because I chose Domestic Goddess?"

"Yeah," the coordinator stammered. "It's just no one chooses that one and the others aren't very descriptive." Then she launched into a description of each title. "The Diva is the kind of mare who looks great on any stallion’s side. She's always the pinnacle of fashion and style—"

Sunburst interrupted again. "I read the small print. I don't have any need for a mare who has to be the pinnacle of fashion. I don't need an artist, or a gardener, or a five-star chef. I just want someone who can be more like a personal assistant and do a little of everything."

The coordinator winked at him. "I see what you mean," she said with a little smile. "Now age? You marked under twenty-five and that seems perfect for you. You're what?"

"Twenty-six."

"Gorgeous. Lastly, if there are any special skills you'd like in a model, you can choose from this list."

Sunburst just about lost it. As if this wasn't already embarrassing enough. "Can we skip all that and just get to the price?"

"Certainly," she said, moving the paper out of his way. At that second, she understood that Sunburst wasn't going to be able to buy a nice model, but that didn't seem to bother her any and her attitude didn't change for the worse. "Our lowest price bracket is between two hundred fifty thousand and two hundred and eighty thousand bits. Let me just check to see how many Domestic Goddesses we have in that price range."

Sunburst squirmed slightly in his seat. He really couldn’t afford this.

"There are three, but if you're willing to go up to age twenty-eight, I can offer you two more to look at. Do you want to do that?"

"Sure."

The client coordinator got up from her chair and led Sunburst back through the offices to a showroom that looked exactly like a warehouse, except that the metal brackets were painted pink. The floor was bare cement with yellow stripes around the perimeter of the walkway and the ceiling went up forever.

"The first one is part of our Daisy line." Said the client coordinator as they walked.

"Daisy?"

"They're mares under four feet tall."

Sunburst didn't know how to answer that. He didn't have a complex about his height.

The client coordinator stopped at one pink crate and pulled loose one long rectangular box. The top was glass and a beautiful mare was asleep inside. Sunburst peered in — taking note of the strange tubes that entered the box on the other side. She was in cryostasis.

"She looks like she's twelve."

"She's actually twenty-six. Some stallions just really like being with a mare that is definitely shorter than he is. I didn't think the Daisy line was for you, but I thought I'd offer anyway — just in case it was love-at-first-sight." She moved the box back into place and started them off down the aisle. "The next one is a Carnation."

"Carnation, like the ones you give for Mother’s Day?"

"Yes. Some stallions like to be mothered. The price for this one is actually below the price bracket I mentioned."

"Why?"

The woman pulled out the box and Sunburst saw why.

"Hmm...She has beautiful hair," Sunburst remarked timidly and the coordinator slammed it shut with a bang.

"The next one is an Anemone."

"You don't sound very enthusiastic," Sunburst remarked.

"Well, I'm not. This one is twenty-seven. She also costs less than the minimum fee."

"Why?"

"Her memory has been tampered with. She doesn't remember the last two years and she's been here for three."

"How does that work?"

The coordinator sighed. "Time stops once we put the mares in cryostasis, so they don't age. Good models are only here for a few months before they're picked up. This pony has been here three years. The price keeps dropping because it's more like she's been here for five years, since she doesn't remember two years before she got here."

"How much are you charging for her?"

She stared. "After this one, I've got two models left to show you that are in perfectly good condition. I'm sure one of them will suit you."

"How much?"

"Two hundred thousand."

Sunburst nearly choked. "For a year?"

"No. That's how much we'd want for a lifetime investment."

Sunburst couldn't believe his ears. No mare sold for that little. There had to be more wrong with her than memory loss.

The coordinator pulled out the box and showed him the Anemone. Sunburst was pleasantly surprised. She had shiny purple hair as long as the Carnation.

"Is her hair so long because she's been in here for three years?"

"Yes."

"Why not switch her category? She has beautiful hair. She might sell faster."

"It wouldn't make any difference. Her memory is bad."

She moved to close it, but Sunburst held it open so he could look at her a little longer. She was a unicorn, her coat a nice soft lavender while her mane and tail a much darker shade of purple, which would’ve been boring hadn’t been for the mint green streak that ran through her hair. Like the other girls, her makeup was flawless and her lips painted a perfect raspberry.

"She's lovely. What else is wrong with her?"

The coordinator rolled her eyes and sighed. "You shouldn't do this just because she's a good price. She could have been involved in anything in those two years she doesn't remember — crime, drug wars — anything."

"What's going to happen to her if she isn't bought?" Sunburst asked.

"We don't keep any pony longer than three years and in three weeks, it'll be her anniversary. Basically, it's not cheap to keep these mares like this. She'll have to work here until she pays off the cost of keeping her asleep for all that time."

"So, she'll be doing makeup?"

"Probably not. The staff members who do make-up are highly paid professionals who are worth every bit. Let me show you the other two." She pushed the box in and took him down another stretch.

Sunburst turned around to get the number on the Anemone’s box. It was 44015.

When they arrived at the next one, the coordinator said, "This one is a genuine Rose."

Sunburst stared. "How old is she?"

"Seventeen, but gorgeous, isn't she?"

She was, but something didn't sit right. She was nine years younger than him.

"Show me the last one."

"It's a Snow Lilly."

Sunburst stared at the Snow Lilly. There was nothing wrong with her. She was twenty-two and pretty. The chart said she was excellent at everything she tried to do. She was two hundred and seventy-five thousand bits. That sales pony took him to the only reasonable choice last.

"I'll let you think about it," she said, as she left him to look at the sleeping girl.

Sunburst didn't know what to do. He couldn't actually afford the Snow Lilly. She was perfect, but if he bought her, he wouldn't be able to even buy food without taking out loans and driving himself crazy. Besides, the two hundred and seventy-five thousand only bought her for a year. After that, he wouldn't be able to buy another mare for two more years.

He closed the box and the client coordinator came rushing up.

"Can I do up the papers?"

"Sure," he said, trying to sound cool about his choice. "I'll take the Anemone."

The mare frowned. "You shouldn't do that. There's a no-return policy attached to her."

"But I'm going to. I like lost causes." His voice sounded cool, but inside he knew he was a loser. He just couldn't stand to live alone anymore.

The look the client coordinator gave him was unusual. He couldn't tell if she was pleased with his choice or disgusted. She led him back to her office with a quick step and gave him the papers to sign.

Sable's Garden Inc. disclosed all of the Anemone's personal information since he was buying a lifetime investment in her. Of course, her name wasn't really Anemone. That was just a flower type. Her real name was Starlight Glimmer. Sunburst decided to call her Starlight. He signed for her to be delivered to his home in two weeks. That wasn't the normal chain of events after a purchase. This flowery place liked their customers to wake their product with a kiss, but Sunburst asked her to be delivered. He had a deadline just before her arrival date. If he used her as a carrot, he should be able to get more work done.

Just before he signed the final releases, the coordinator put her hoof over the dotted line. "Are you sure you want to do this? You're a good-looking stallion. Can't you find a date on your own? I'm sure lots of normal mares would love to be with you."

He answered by pointing to the address Starlight was being shipped to.

The coordinator looked at it and frowned deeply. "Then I guess it can't be helped."

They both knew that no pony would go there voluntarily.

"I'm only raising these concerns because you seem like a nice stallion. You have honest eyes and a gentle expression. You even seem embarrassed to be in a place like this. It's just a shame that you won't go with the Snow Lilly."

"She'd come back screaming after the year was up. Not everyone can live happily up there. The weather's not bad. It's the isolation that gets me."

"Yeah. Well, you said you didn't want a mare who was the pinnacle of fashion. Well, just between you and me — you aren't getting one."

"I understand. It's fine."

Author's Note

This is my first attempt at sci-fi and hence I'm really hesitant to call it so (is it enough to call it sci-fi just because technology is present in the story?), at it's core it's still very much a romance just that I'll be taking my sweet time getting there...what? you expected anything else from me?

If by chance someone who writes sci-fi happens to read this, any pointers about the genre would be appreciated, since I'm mostly feeling my way through this story and I'm probably ignoring lots of elements that go with sci-fi. At least I hope you guys enjoy my stumbling.