The Microstable

by Equinox3141

A Nice Warm Shower

It was the first day of Polished Gears’ vacation and the stallion was so caught up in sightseeing, that he had neglected to get a room at the local stable. He looked everywhere, but all the ones he could find were full until tomorrow afternoon.

Worried that he’d be sleeping outside in a strange city, he kept on searching until he came across one that had a room for not only the night, but also for the rest of his stay. Ecstatic, he immediately booked, still not quite sure what a microstable even was.

That was, until he got to his room. To call it a room was a little generous, as it was just barely large enough to sleep in. The room was a cornerless beige, with no visible light fixtures other than the ring of lights around the centerpiece of the room, the bed. When Gears first opened the door, he mistook the room for not having a bed, but after a step and a faceplant onto the soft surface, he realized that the floor was the bed.

After getting thoroughly acquainted with the bed, Gears stowed their things in the cabinet outside the door and went down the hall, where the communal bathroom was located.

Once their nightly ritual was finished, they flopped onto the floor/bed only to find a little screen concealed in the wall. It lit up and he was shown a list of options to make his stay more comfortable, such as room temperature (a necessity given that there wasn’t any blankets), white noise/lullabies, alarms, and it even be used to book appointments at local venues. Setting an alarm, so he could get an early start, Gears found another option just simply called ‘Shower’. Since poking it only toggled it on or off, he figured that it just reserved a stall in the morning, just in case they weren’t going to try out one of the local bathhouses.

After running around all day, Gears definitely needed a bath. He would’ve preferred one before hitting the hay, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Plus, with everything that was on his itinerary tomorrow (including a spa that he’d heard a lot about), he definitely didn’t want to arrive dirty.

---

The room slowly brightens as the alarm gently rose in volume, rousing the stallion from his deep slumber. Who covered his eyes with his foreleg, while the other was thrown in the general direction of the sound, as he tried to get a little more sleep. He seemingly managed it as the alarm cuts off after thumping against the wall a couple of times. Though, to his consternation, the lights remained on. Only to be interrupted by a small chime and a voice.

Preparing Shower

That caught his attention, but his brain still had two hooves in dreamland and wasn’t up to figuring out such complex things just yet.

Without warning, Gears was thrusted into a pleasantly warm downpour. Not long after getting thoroughly soaked, the sprays of water turned to a heavy strawberry-scented foam. Sputtering in surprise, he tried to make his way to the door and escape the slippery deluge. Unfortunately, the door wouldn’t budge (not that he could get a firm hoofing anyways).

Then, the stallion heard a muted clanking followed by a whirring of a motor from behind. Before he could see what was causing it, something pressed into him from behind, plastering the pony to the door. It felt like hundreds of tiny washcloths, scrubbing in the soap as it panned from the tips of his ears to his hindhooves and back again.

After several minutes of this, the pressure let up and Gears flopped back onto the bed with a splash of foam. Where he was finally able to see what was scrubbing him, and it looked disturbingly like those brushes used at automatic cart washes; one for every side of the room. The one assigned to the bed came back down to continue the cleaning. Landing on his belly, before moving upwards to engulf his head and muzzle in a cleaning fury.

The brushes cleaned his front just as diligently as they cleaned his backside. Sometimes flicking certain ways to turn him over, or against walls so they could get to the bed itself. The stallion tried to fight it at first, but there wasn’t much he could do to escape and ended up only wearing himself out. Eventually he accepted the ministrations of the machines, even though it occasionally felt that the machines were cleaning the room with him, more than their own brushes. He lost track of time as his world became nothing but strawberry foam and deep scrubbing.

Eventually, the scrubbing came to a stop and the soapy sprays changed to water as everything was rinsed off. The brushes retracting back into the ceiling as the soap ran off into hidden drains. He laid there, in the spring rain utterly exhausted from the extensive cleaning.

After a few minutes of rinsing, the water was shut off and replaced with jets of air. The blow dryers made quick work drying everything off, wicking the moisture from his coat.

He laid there in the mini wind tunnel, until they too shut off. The silence fell over the room, and Gears contemplated whether or not to get out of there or to take a nap. Until he was interrupted by another chime and a voice.

Thank you for choosing Luxury Microstables, powered by WashCo. We hope you enjoyed your stay and will come again soon.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Gears hauled himself to his hooves and retrieved his saddlebags from the cabinet. After leaving the hotel, he checked the time and noticed that his “shower” was only a half-hour. Then a shiver went down his spine as he not only remembered that he had already prepaid for the rest of his vacation, but that he also definitely didn’t have enough bits to not experience that again.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Hmm. Not much to say here. Vaguely amusing, but there's just not much to go on. It feels like a ten-second scene in a mid-century "wonders of the future" cartoon extended to a thousand words. I have no idea who Gears is beyond a hapless, strawberry-scented patsy with curiously fluid pronouns. (You slip into "they" for a bit, and I'm not sure if that's an extended typo or preference on Gears's part.) In all, there's no real story here, just an extended setup for a mildly entertaining punchline. Sorry, this one just didn't land for me. Still, best of luck in the judging.

[Bicyclette]

It was the first day of Polished Gears’ vacation and the stallion was so caught up in sightseeing, that he had neglected to get a room at the local stable. He looked everywhere, but all the ones he could find were full until tomorrow afternoon.

hehe, stables as an analogue for hotels in horse world is fun!

When Gears first opened the door, he mistook the room for not having a bed, but after a step and a faceplant onto the soft surface, he realized that the floor was the bed.

that is certainly a unique idea for a room! i think it's pretty neat, but at the same time i'd have some trepidation about the prospect of everypony having to walk on top of the bed

room temperature (a necessity given that there wasn’t any blankets)

it must be far less cost-efficient for this stable to provide blankets than extra heating to every room, right? most curious!

Since poking it only toggled it on or off, he figured that it just reserved a stall in the morning, just in case they weren’t going to try out one of the local bathhouses.

gotta say, brave thing to do when in an unfamiliar and bizarre high-tech bed/room!

Preparing Shower

That caught his attention, but his brain still had two hooves in dreamland and wasn’t up to figuring out such complex things just yet.

haha, knew it

After several minutes of this, the pressure let up and Gears flopped back onto the bed with a splash of foam. Where he was finally able to see what was scrubbing him, and it looked disturbingly like those brushes used at automatic cart washes; one for every side of the room. The one assigned to the bed came back down to continue the cleaning. Landing on his belly, before moving upwards to engulf his head and muzzle in a cleaning fury.

hehe, "automatic cart washes", love it! and definitely raises further questions as to what's going on in a stable like this!

Thank you for choosing Luxury Microstables, powered by WashCo. We hope you enjoyed your stay and will come again soon.

now i really am wondering about the demographics of the kind of ponies that would patronize a place like this. just what is their deal? do they like the efficiency of having machines scrub them down in the morning?

Then a shiver went down his spine as he not only remembered that he had already prepaid for the rest of his vacation, but that he also definitely didn’t have enough bits to not experience that again.

oof, the perils of traveling on a budget!

---

well, the unexplained focus on the unexplained worldbuilding element that seems to sit there in the center and be the point of the story itself certainly makes me wonder about what was intended with this story! i don't understand it myself, but i guess it's not my business to. you do you, author!

[Equinox3141]

11297983
I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, this was such a fun challenge to do.

If you don't mind a bit of rambling, I can give you a peek into my thought process.

I don't really get ideas for a full story, it's more like various scenes and scenarios that don't have an overarching story. And they usually follow a logic of `What if this was the case, how would that affect that machine or interaction. For example, in one of my first stories I got into my head that crystal ponies were made of crystal and would that mean an intense spa treatment include an oversized rock tumbler to create that sparkly shine.

In this story, I've heard of micro hotels and knew that some of them were only a bed and not much (if anything) else. They are popular amongst business travelers as they'll be away from the room for conferences or something else, and only need a place to sleep (plus without the extra amenities they are usually cheaper than regular hotels (also because they can stuff more rooms into the same space).

Then I thought about a fully automatic micro hotel, which would probably be even cheaper as they don't have to pay for staff (outside of a hoofull of technicians). This includes cleaning the room in between guests, all the toggle does is set whether or not the cleaning cycle happen before or after the pony leaves the room/checks out. As for heating and cooling, most hotels I've been to have a separate hvac for each room, it's just slightly more advanced to provide more comfort (and to eliminate bedding that would add additional costs).

Oh and the walking on the bed bit, the room/bed isn't that big (about the size of a large closet). I also believe that ponies hooves are fairly clean, whether that's through their innate magic or just part of their physiology. Since we don't really see them washing their hooves all the time, even though they were just walking across a dirt road (I think the only time we see it in the show is look before you sleep). Plus their hooves are already going to be in the bed, so I didn't really see a problem with them walking on it.

Hope this was enough to answer your questions. If not feel free to ask more, I'm always happy to provide more detail.

[jegego]

Hmm, there's not much to discuss when it comes to this piece. It's vaguely amusing, but it lacks substance. It's as if it's a brief ten-second scene from a mid-century "wonders of the future" cartoon that has been stretched out into a thousand words, much like trying to find a freezer in a scorching desert. I'm uncertain about who Gears is, aside from being a hapless individual, akin to a refrigerator with a curious assortment of labels. They, or should I say, it, occasionally shifts pronouns, and I can't discern if that's an ongoing typo or a quirk in Gears's character. Ultimately, there isn't a compelling narrative here; it's more akin to a drawn-out setup for a mildly entertaining punchline, akin to opening the fridge only to find leftovers. I apologize, but this one didn't resonate with me. Nonetheless, I wish you the best of luck in the judging process.