After walking back into town, Twilight, Spike, and Galen made their way through the streets on their way to Rarity's.
"Y'know, I'm getting quite a few stares. It's kinda making me uncomfortable."
It was true. Many of the ponies on the streets gave Galen curious glances as they passed.
Twilight gave Galen a sympathetic look. "It's probably because you're not only new to town, but showed up at the same time your house did. The locals are probably curious about who you are, and why your house showed up out of nowhere."
Twilight blushed in embarrassment. "That and most of them probably overheard my friends and I talking about you after the first day we met, so most of them probably know you're new to being a pony as well."
Galen sighed. "Great. Being the guy who lives in the house that showed up out of nowhere is bad enough, but now they know I'm essentially an alien too. Interacting in town is going to be so awkward for a while, isn't it?"
"Well, sure ponies might be nervous around you for a little while, but I'm sure they'll warm up to you after they get used to your presence."
Spike gave Galen's shoulder a light bump. "Yeah! I mean, it took a few days for everypony to get used to me and Twilight, but we've been accepted into Ponyville pretty easily."
Galen nodded, but was inwardly unconvinced. sure, but there's a difference between two out of towners and an unknown stranger from a different world. Guess I'll just have to power through the scrutiny for now.
The group of three continued onward, until a rather noticeable building came into view. It was in the shape of a carousel, with pony mannequins displaying dresses in the windows in front.
"Well, that's a neat theme for a store. This is where Rarity works?"
"As well as where she lives, yes. Come on, let's go see what she's up to!"
Twilight led the way to the door and gave it a few knocks. They waited for a few seconds, before the door opened and the white unicorn answered.
"Welcome to carousel boutique, where everything is... Oh, hello there, Twilight dear! And I see you've bought Galen with you! Giving him the tour of Ponyville I'd assume?"
"Yep! In fact, we decided to take the same route I did when I first came to town."
"Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea! Do come in, I've been working on your clothes Galen, and I must say it has been rather difficult to resist... improving the design, so to speak. I know you've requested that the design stays the same, but most of your dressings are quite... plain. No offence of course."
"None taken. I don't dress to look fancy. Like I've said, the only reason I want those clothes is to cover myself up. I know you ponies seem to be fine with walking around without wearing anything, but it's going to take me a while to get used to that."
"Completely understandable darling. You said you come from a culture where clothing is required in public, so it would only be natural to be uncomfortable going out without any. In fact, I can see that you're still wearing that oversized robe of yours. I must say, it isn't very flattering."
Galen looked back at himself. He had left the house that morning wearing his bathrobe, since it was the only thing that he could even wear in his new body. The thing was definitely quite oversized, and he had to take good care to prevent himself from tripping while he walked.
Come to think of it, the robe might also be playing a factor in those stares. Still think it's better that walking around in the nude, but that's something to consider.
"Yeah, I'll admit the bathrobe isn't exactly something I'd typically wear outside, but it's all I can really fit on myself at the moment."
Rarity gasped dramatically. "Well, that simply won't do! As luck would have it, you won't need to wear that ratty thing for much longer! I will admit it took me some time to figure out, and I was unfortunately unable to replicate the elastic properties, but I have managed to recreate one of your outfits to fit your new body!"
Rarity walked over to a corner of the room and with a dramatic flair, levitated the cloth off a ponequin to reveal what she had created. it was one of Galen's sweatshirts, grey in color, as well as a pair of jeans, remodeled to fit his new pony body shape.
"It's certainly not much, but I hope you're happy with the result. I had to repurpose your old pants to make the new pair. Those 'jeans' of yours must be quite expensive, denim is quite an expensive fabric, given how fine and durable the weave is."
Galen walked over to the display, eyes wide. "You did this overnight? That's insane! I mean, I know you're probably really good at this type of thing, but hell, that's like no time at all!"
Rarity chuckled and waved a hoof. "oh, it wasn't that difficult! The hardest part is usually coming up with the design, and that was already taken care of!"
"Seriously though, thank you for this. You're sure you don't want anything in return? I know I can't really pay you money, since you probably use a different type of currency, but-"
"Oh, don't think of it! You needn't do anything of the sort dear! It's simply a gift from me to my new friend! Besides, you're already dealing with quite a lot, being sent to a new world and in a new body. I wouldn't dream of adding anything more to your plate."
"Well in that case, I guess I can at least give some context to my clothes. Denim isn't actually that expensive. I guess I can understand why it would be hard to make here, since you don't have precise machines to weave the fabric, but jeans, and denim in general, are actually quite common in my world. And elastic part of my clothes is because of a material called spandex. I don't really know how it's made, but I do know it's a pretty artificial material."
Rarity took the information in with an interested expression. "While I still don't quite care for how you humans mass produce your clothing, I can't deny that those machines would make fabrics much easier to create, and less expensive as a result. It's quite interesting to think about. As for this 'spandex' material, I believe that with a little bit of time and practice, I can incorporate a few enchantments into the clothing to replicate the elasticity of the originals."
Rarity gave an excited laugh. "Oh, your clothing has given me so many exciting ideas to work with! Perhaps you've paid me back in that way already."
"Well, I'm glad to hear it, even though I don't really understand what all the fuss is about."
Twilight coughed to get Galen's attention. "Well, aren't you going to try your new clothing on? Like Rarity said, I doubt you want to be walking around Ponyville in that robe all day."
"Oh, yes! I was so wrapped up in our conversation that I almost forgot about it! Wait one moment Galen Darling, I'll be right back!"
The mare retreated into one of the back rooms before coming out with a dressing screen.
"I realize you may be uncomfortable changing in front of us, so feel free to use this for privacy."
Galen raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm not grateful, but why do you even have that? Ponies don't really care about being seen without clothes."
"Why, for the suspense of course! The anticipation of seeing one of my dresses being worn by a client is a feeling you simply cannot compare to anything else!"
Galen rolled his eyes. "Don't really get it, but I suppose it would be an important thing for you. Hang on a mo, lemme get this stuff on real quick."
Galen slung the clothes over his back and withdrew behind the screen. A few minutes passed, and then a few more.
"God damn, putting clothes on in this body is going to take some time to get used to. It took a bit, but here it is."
Galen came out from behind the screen, and the clothes seemed to fit him perfectly. there wasn't too much slack anywhere, but neither were the sweatshirt or jeans too tight.
Rarity looked on with a mixture of pride and happiness. "Oh, you look just incredible! I must admit I was worried that I may fail to fully recreate the casual look of the original design, since I've always stuck to more formal dresses and the like, but it seems my worries were unfounded."
Galen lifted his front and rear legs, testing out the range of motion and was pleased to find that there was no resistance. "I'm just glad that they're comfortable. at the end of the day, that's all that really matters to me. Well, so long as I don't look too ridiculous. I might not care too much about fashion, but there are some things I can acknowledge as cardinal sins. Socks and sandals, for instance."
Rarity made a disgusted face. "I don't even know what sandals are and I agree. Whoever came up with such a horrendous combination must be punished most severely."
Galen nodded sagely. "Indeed. Really, though, I can't thank you enough for doing this for me Rarity. It'll definitely help my mentality to have proper clothing to wear outside."
"No thanks are needed. As I said, I am simply happy to help out a friend. I shall let you know when the rest of your wardrobe is ready for collection." Perhaps I'll even surprise him with a few original designs of my own. I'm sure I can come up with a few ideas he'll like.
Twilight walked over to Galen and gave his clothes a once over. "They really do seem to fit you quite well. Rarity's outdone herself once again. Maybe I should see if she can make me something comfy to wear at home myself!"
Rarity tittered in amusement. "Perhaps. Now, I wouldn't want to keep you too much longer. You still have quite a lot to see on your tour I'd assume?"
Twilight blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry Rarity, we're taking up your time during business hours! We'll leave you to your work."
"Oh, there's no need to apologize! Feel free to stop by whenever you please. Ah, Galen darling, before you leave, I must ask if you'd leave your robe with me for a while. While I doubt you plan on wearing it out in public any longer, I would still like to remodel it to fit your new stature. I'm sure it'll at least be more comfortable to wear around your house in any case."
"Oh, that'd be awesome. Thanks for that Rarity."
"Of course Darling. Be on your way now, I wouldn't want to stall you any longer."
"Of course. It was great to see you Rarity! Come on Spike, we're leaving."
Galen and Twilight exited the store, the latter carrying a lovestruck drake behind with her telekinesis.
Rarity chuckled a little as she watched them go. "Well, I suppose I should get back to work." The white mare went over and picked up Galen's discarded robe, noticing the various dirt and grass stains on it. "Though, it might do to wash this first..."