A small bell dings, as I step into Carousel Boutique, for the first time, since Rarity brought us here upon our first meeting, to fix Twilight's mane after Rainbow managed to wreck it with her patented 'Rain blow dry" technique.
"One moment please!" A singsong voice comes from out of view, near the back of the boutique.
I stop for a moment, and look around at some of the designs Rarity has been working on recently. I've never really had an eye for fashion, but there are some really nice ensembles here. Looking around, I can see several unfinished dresses on dress forms along one of the walls towards the back of the room. Rarity must have been working on a new line before all of last week happened. I'll have to apologize for making her put that off for my sake.
"Hello, and welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is Chic and Magnifiq...Oh, Hello Fawkes. I didn't expect you here quite so early." Rarity starts her greeting before seeing who had come to her business.
"I said I'd be here today, figured it would be best to be here early, in case you need to remeasure or anything. I also wanted to bring you this. I've been holding onto it since I was here last time." I say, taking out the reimbursement slip Celestia told me to give to whoever makes my clothes.
" Remeasuring won't be necessary, dear. I am Rarity after all! To be honest, I already started on the line, using the base measurements I used to make the gown for you at the hospital. I just needed to take proper ones yesterday, so I could make any adjustments needed to the outfits I made. Shall we take a look?" She motions to the door off to the back that she had just come through a few minutes ago. It leads to her design studio and houses the stairs up to the second level, where her bedroom is.
As we pass into the new room, I'm greeted with the sight of several crudely made human shaped mannequins, all, with several items of clothes on it, Several pairs of jeans, a few pairs of simple slacks, even a pair of sweatpants, as well as some basic tee shirts of a range of colours.
"Well, Darling, what do you think? Sorry for the crude dress forms. I didn't have anything in your size and shape, so I whipped something up real quick to suit. Helped me keep my mind off...events, last weeks."
"It's...great, Rarity. Simple, but enough to be ready for most situations, Honestly, it's not much different from my actual wardrobe. I've never really had an eye for fashion like you, so simply suits me better."
"The simplicity was mostly borne from the lack of time and resources in making a project like this, but I'm glad you like it. I can show you to the fitting room if you would like to try it all on. The shirts and the jeans, as I recall you calling them, as all the same size, but can be altered if needed."
I spend the next 20-30 minutes trying on the various outfits and seeing the different colours blend with the jeans, which came in several different washes. For someone who had never seen or made human clothes before, Rarity did a fantastic job. No wonder she ends up so successful with her boutiques. Eventually, after I'd had my fill of playing dress up, I selected an outfit for the day, and after leaving instructions on how to redeem the reimbursement letter, I left on my way. Twilight gave me a small bag of Bits go around town and stock up on anything I need, apparently supplied by the Princess again, as a thank you for helping with Nightmare Moon. While I'd normally refuse such a reward, I was currently a person of no income, and little property, so I'll take what I can get.
I walk around town, trying to think of what I still need to get when I noticed Davenport's Sofa and Quill shop. If I recall properly, he sells beds too, as that's where Spike brings Twilight to waste time, in the episode 'Castle Sweet Castle.' A small bell dings, as I pass through the door ducking slightly, as I do with most doors in Equestria.
"Good Afternoon! What can I...do...For you?" Davenport greets me, with a sudden pause, and attempts to continue unphased. "Ah, yes. I remember now, you're that human that the Princess was with at the Summer Sun Celebration. What was your name again?"
"Hello, My name is Fawkes. As I seem to be stuck in this world for an unknown period of time, I was curious as to whether you do custom orders for beds? It's fairly hard to find one of my size, you see."
"Yes, I'm sure it is. I've never done a custom order for a bed before. I supposed if you tell me what sizes you need for the frame and mattress, I could get a quote for materials. It will be quite a bit more expensive than the ones you see here, as it would require both more materials, and more time, to plan and make. Could you afford such a thing?"
"Well, I do have a small number of Bits here, to acquire any necessities, but I doubt it would be enough. The princess says I can ask her if I require any assistance in procuring any specialty items needed for myself or Twilight, so if you get me a quote, I can see if she will reimburse you for any materials and labour." I reply as Davenport stares at me scrutinizingly.
We talk specifics for a bit, before settling on what would have been a twin size bed in my world. After giving Davenport the dimensions, and preferred material choices for the mattress, I take the quote he gives me and put it in my pocket. I'll have to ask Spike to help me contact Princess Celestia about this later. I leave the store, giving a thank you to Davenport for his time, and as I walk away, a grumble in my stomach reveals how hungry I've gotten. Not being able to eat any meat has caused some trouble for my body. Vegetables just aren't as filling as a good serving of meat, nonetheless, a guy's gotta eat. I head down to Sugar Cube Corner, for a small snack to keep my energy up.
"Oh, Hello Fawkes! Howsya doing today?" An energetic voice calls to me, from the moment I open the door.
"Oh, Hello Pinkie. Working for the Cakes today?" I ask, walking up to the counter, which Pinkie Pie was standing behind, which held an array of sweets and treats.
"Yes indeedy! The Cakes have quite a bit of baking to catch up on, with what happened last week, so they asked me to mind the counter while they do! I've never really helped out without them watching over me, so it's a bit REALLY EXCITING!" Pinkie shouts the last words, as she jumps in the air, and confetti bursts, seemingly out of her mane.
"What was that? Is everything all right Pinkie?" Mr. Cake comes trotting out from the back room in a hurry, clearly concerned by the sudden shout.
"Oh, Good day, Mr. Cake. Sorry for the noise, Pinkie was just telling me how you are letting her mind the shop while you catch up on your baking. Nice to finally meet you, by the way." I say, extending a hand his way.
"Likewise," he says, extending his hoof, so I can shake it" Pinkie has told us all about you. Another world huh? You must be so lost here." Mr. Cakes returns my greeting, with an odd look on his face. Expected a bit of a reaction, as I'm sure I as weird as they would be in my world.
"Not too much. I've made some great friends, who are willing to help me. I should keep you though, I'm sure you're very busy. I'm just here to buy myself a snack."
"Right then. Hope you enjoy." Mr. Cakes walks to the back, where Mrs. Cakes can be seen waiting for him to return. I offer a small wave, which she nervously returns.
So, What can I get for you, Fawkes?" Pinkie pulls my attention back to the case of sweets between us.
"Uh, well, I haven't tried much baking from this world, and I'm looking for something more filling, than sweet. Can I just get a couple of carrot muffins, please?
"Okidoki! That will be 2 Bits please." Pinkie happily bags the muffin, as I place 3 Bits on the counter. "Silly, I said, TWO Bits." She slides the third Bit back my way.
"It's a tip, Pinkie. I'm donating an extra bit to the business, to show my appreciation for the work and service. It's a custom from some parts of my world." I say, sliding the bit back towards her.
"OOOOOH! I see. That's sure nice of you, Fawkes. You haven't even tried it yet."
After saying our partings, I leave the bakery, cheerfully eating my muffins. They're actually pretty good. I wonder if the Cakes provided the muffins for Twilight's welcome party... Those might have been made by our favourite wall-eyed mare though.
With all my important errands done, I explore Ponyville for a while, buying some small things here or there. Noticing it was starting to get late, I decided to head back to the Library for the night. Twilight and I are meeting with Applejack tomorrow and helping to hopefully tame her new Everfree Vine lasso, so It will probably going to be a busy day tomorrow.