Sunset Shimmer was feeling nervous. She tried to convince herself she shouldn't be. After all, she was just asking a small favor. But there was a niggling, insecure part of her mind that told her she had no right to be asking favors yet. It was far too soon for her to expect any kind of sympathy after what she'd done. Even if they had already agreed to be her friends, none of these girls had any reason to really feel any attachment or obligation to her yet. She'd done nothing to earn any favors, so she certainly shouldn't be asking.
The girl sighed uncomfortably as she remembered that, despite how true these thoughts might be, she really didn't have any other options. Sunset had become much better with using her hands and fingers since coming to this world than she was when she first got here. Her handwriting was just as neat now as her hornwriting had been in Equestria, she'd picked up quickly on conversational hand gestures, she could tap out a text on her smartphone just as quickly as any other teenager, and Flash had even taught her how to play guitar back when they were still dating. Despite all this though, she sincerely doubted if she had the skill and dexterity necessary for needlework, and she certainly had no idea how to go about repairing tears in leather.
Her favorite jacket had been thoroughly battered in the magical explosion that had removed the corrupt magic from her system and turned her from a demon back into a normal girl. The worst damage was obviously the large rip in the right shoulder, but there were points of distress littering nearly every inch of the garment. She didn't know a lot about leather, but she at least knew that it was supposedly a very tricky material to work with, and therefore not something she should mess around with unless she wanted to ruin it further. Part of her thought perhaps she should just replace it, but a more sentimental part of her refused to give up on it. This was part of the outfit the mirror portal had created for her when she first came to this world. Giving it up would feel like giving up a part of herself. Plus, she couldn't really afford to buy a new one anyway. Leather was expensive.
So, that left her here. Standing in front of the large house before her in an ill-fitting sweat jacket, tattered leather coat wadded up in her arms, swallowing her pride and trying to work up the courage to ask for assistance she knew she did not deserve.
Taking a breath to steel herself, Sunset marched up the walkway of the house and knocked boldly on the door.
She heard a high-pitched voice shout “I got it,” from within the home and cringed. That was definitely not the voice of the girl she was here to talk to.
The door opened to reveal her suspicions were correct. The smiling face of her underclassmen Sweetie Belle peered upward at her from within the doorway. The smile quickly dropped from the girl's face though as she saw who was on her doorstep.
“Oh.” The young girl's face was a blank mask of uncomfortable confusion. “Uh, hi, Sunset Shimmer.”
“Hi there, Sweetie Belle.” Sunset gave the girl an awkward smile in an attempt to seem as nonthreatening as possible. “Is your sister home? I was hoping to talk to her.”
Sweetie frowned, but nodded. “Sure, I'll get her for you.” She turned slightly and shouted over her shoulder, “Rarity, you have a visitor!”
Sunset flinched slightly at the volume of her voice. She was keenly aware of the fact that the girl had made a point not to invite her into their home, as well as that she had referred to her as a “visitor” rather than a “friend” of her sister's.
“Be right there!” Rarity's voice sang through the house from up the stairs. In fact, she quite literally sang her response. Clearly she'd caught the girl on a good day. That was a reassuring sign.
When she came into view of the door and caught sight of her guest, Rarity's face lit up. “Oh, Sunset! What a pleasant surprise. Please, do come in.” She smiled and gestured for her to enter, making Sunset instantly feel better about coming here. At least someone was glad to see her.
Rarity turned to her sister and admonished her gently, “Sweetie, that was very rude to leave my friend standing out in the cold like that. You should have invited her in.”
Sweetie Belle crossed her arms and turned away, grumbling quietly, “She's not my friend.”
Rarity shot her a glare, and the younger girl quickly scampered out of the room. She sighed and turned back to her friend. “I'm sorry about that.”
“No, it's okay,” Sunset reassured her with a note of resignation in her voice. “I deserve it.”
The fashionista frowned, but did not argue with her. Instead, she looped her arm through Sunset's and led her up the stairs. “Why don't we head up to my room and you can tell me to what we owe this visit today.”
The ex-unicorn was startled by the contact, and had to mentally remind herself that all the girls in this group were prone to these sorts of shows of physical affection. So, instead of pulling away as her first instinct suggested, she took comfort in the gesture as a reminder that she was wanted here, despite Sweetie's behavior. “Thanks, Rarity.”
“I have no idea what you could be thanking me for,” the girl said casually. “Good manners should be expected of any lady.” It was apparent from her tone that she knew exactly what she was being thanked for, but she refused to acknowledge it as a way of telling Sunset that she didn't need thanks for being her friend.
Upon entering the room she'd been lead to, Sunset's first thought was that it just screamed Rarity. Aside from the expected decorations of dress forms, a workbench for her sewing machine, and a full-length mirror to model her designs in, every item in the room was clearly carefully chosen to create a perfect image. The dark fuchsia curtains spaced evenly along the walls, the crimson chaise lounge, the four-poster bed with it's lacy purple frills around the top, and the countless velvet pillows littering every corner of the room; it all gave off the same elegant image that Rarity herself projected on a daily basis.
“Have a seat here, dear,” the room's owner said as she pushed her gently down onto the chaise. “Would you like something to drink? A snack perhaps?”
“Oh, no. I'm fine,” Sunset quickly rebuffed her friend's attempts to be a perfect host. She already felt she was asking too much just by coming here unannounced. “Thank you for offering, but I was actually just hoping to talk to you about something.”
The violet-haired girl smiled serenely and sat down on her bed opposite Sunset. “Well, of course. Fire away then, darling. I am all ears.”
Sunset laughed nervously. As her fears crept back up on her, she thought that maybe cutting right to the chase wasn't the best plan after all. Maybe she should have taken the drink offer, if only to buy herself a bit more time to figure out how she should ask this. She realized her silence was probably starting to creep towards an awkward length and decided to just barrel forward, no matter how much of an idiot she made herself sound like.
“Okay, well, I came here because I need your help with something. Normally I wouldn't ask, especially given how terribly I've treated you up until recently, but you're kind of the only person I know who might be able to help me with this. So, I’m sorry if it seems presumptuous of me to show up out of the blue asking favors like this, but you're kind of my only hope. Anyway,” realizing she was rambling a bit, Sunset bit her tongue and held up her tattered jacket for Rarity to see, letting the crumpled mass unfold itself to reveal the damage. “Can you fix this for me?”
The teenaged fashionista had an amused smirk on her face, her eyebrow quirked at the sight of the garment before her. She reached out to take the article from Sunset's hands and said, “Let's have a look and I'll see what I can do.”
As her now unoccupied hands fell back into her lap, the once proud girl found herself shifting uncomfortable as she watched the seamstress carefully assess the damage to her favorite article of clothing. Her expression shifted slightly when looking at certain points, and she could only hope it was because she was planning and not because these sections were beyond repair. Even if it was fixable though, there was no guarantee the girl would agree to help her. Maybe she was just humoring her by looking at it, and would soon throw it back in her face in refusal. Sunset suddenly found herself missing the times when she didn't care what others thought of her. At least then, when she made demands or threats, she could have fired back with insults if denied her request. Now though, she really did want these girls to like her, and that meant she had to ask nicely. If she was denied help, she wasn't even sure how she'd react. Maybe go home and cry about what a pathetic failure she continued to be.
Suddenly dreading this idea, Sunset found that her brain-to-mouth filter seemed to shut off, as a stream of insecure excuses flew from her lips. “I know I don't deserve any help. I've been absolutely awful to you in the past, and I know I haven't done anything yet to earn your respect or your kindness. I certainly haven't earned the right to be asking any favors, but I really don't know where else to go with this. I would completely understand where you're coming from if you decide to just turn me away right now, I would totally deserve it. And I know it's just a coat, it's not even really that important. But it's important to me, and if you could at least think about it—”
She cut herself off when she felt a hand on hers. Looking up, she found Rarity leaning forward to meet her eyes with a look of concerned sympathy on her face. One hand was still wrapped around the jacket, while the other rested atop her own nervously clenched fists. “Sunset, dear, that is quite enough of that. I know you're still very new to the concept of having friends, but one thing you need to understand is that asking for help is not something that needs to be earned. Favors are not a currency to be bartered, they are gifts to be generously given. No matter what you may have done in the past, you are my friend now, and that means you are more than deserving of my help.”
“But, I—” Sunset tried to stammer out a response but was quickly cut off by Rarity shushing her.
“I'll not hear another word on the subject.” Her dismissive hand gesture gave an air of finality to the discussion. “Now, as far as your jacket is concerned, I should be able to fix it for you without too much trouble.”
“Really?” Sunset's face lit up like her namesake.
“Absolutely. I don't have a great deal of experience working with leather, but I have enough that I should be able to make the necessary repairs. And if I run into any snags, it can simply be treated as a learning opportunity.”
“Oh, thank you, Rarity! It really does mean so much to me. I'd be happy to pay you for your work. Honestly, just name a price.”
“Out of the question. I would never dream of accepting payment from a friend in need.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. I never expect any payment from Rainbow Dash when she asks me to fix the tears in her soccer uniform, and that thing has been ripped open so many times it's a wonder it's still in one piece. I'll not treat you any differently.”
For a moment, Sunset didn't know what to say. Finally, she sighed and closed her eyes. “Thank you, Rarity.” She hoped her tone properly conveyed that she wasn't just thanking her for fixing her coat. The warm smile she received in return indicated that it had.
“You're very welcome, darling. Now then,” the young seamstress quickly stood up and spread the jacket out on her work table before turning around to retrieve some of her supplies, talking all the way. “Given the nature of the material, I can't give you an exact estimate on repair time, but I believe I should be able have it ready for you by Monday at the latest. I'll need to figure for seam allowance, especially with this tear in the shoulder. I don't want to stitch up too much of it and have it be too tight on you. That is your dominant arm after all.” She hummed thoughtfully, before producing a ribbon of measuring tape from seemingly out of nowhere. “Right then, come here and let me get your measurements.”
“Um, okay.” Even knowing as little as she did about clothing, it occurred to Sunset that she probably should have expected this request. She stood still while Rarity flitted around her, measuring her shoulders, arms, waist, etc. She would take a measurement, quickly jot it down in small notepad, then deposit her pencil behind her ear while she took the next one. While she did this, Sunset couldn't help but notice a few other names and series of numbers written in the pad of paper.
“Do you have everyone's measurements written in there?”
“All of my friends and family, yes. It's good to keep these things around in case I want to surprise someone with a handmade ensemble for their birthday. It seems as though I have to retake Sweetie's every few months though. I do wish that girl would stop growing so quickly.”
Sunset chuckled. “Worried she'll pass you up someday?”
Rarity scoffed. “In her dreams, perhaps.” An almost mischievous grin seemed to pass over her features for a moment. “Incidentally, what are your favorite colors in an outfit? I notice you're fond of this shade of magenta.” She tapped her friend's shirt with a playful smile.
The former magic student let out a nervous laugh. “Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. My birthday is still a ways off.”
“Spoilsport.” The fashionista stuck her tongue out at her and she laughed. “Still, I like to plan quite a ways in advance if I can. I'll have to remember to incorporate this symbol of yours as well.” She gestured to the dual toned sun on her shirt. “Does it hold some special meaning?”
“Well, it's just my cutie mark,” Sunset said with a shrug.
Rarity giggled at that. “Cutie mark? Charming as the term is, I'm afraid I don't know what that means.”
“Right, sorry. Not in Equestria anymore.” Sunset had gotten pretty good at avoiding pony terms during her time in this world, but now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag there was no reason not to talk about it with her friends. “A cutie mark is a magical symbol that all ponies eventually develop. They appear on a pony's flank when they discover their special talent. That unique skill that makes them different from everypony else. Some of them are pretty straightforward in their meaning, like an eighth note for someone who's talented at music. Others are more abstract though, like stars often representing magic.”
“What an interesting concept. Just by looking at someone you'd be able to learn something about who they are from their cutie mark. What does yours mean?”
“Well, mine's one of those more abstract ones. It's a shimmering sun.” Rarity chuckled at this. “Yeah, I know, sometimes they fit your name too well. Anyway, I got it when I performed this really complicated spell. It was way outside of what a filly my age should have been able to do. Because of that, I thought my talent had something to do with powerful magic. But, Princess Celestia thought it actually represented a burning passion. Like, the passion I have for learning new skills. In Equestria, I channeled that passion into learning magic. Here though…”
“It became a passion for power,” Rarity finished her sentence after a long moment. She saw the look of guilt that had taken over her friend's features and squeezed her shoulder gently. “Well, passion can be something of a double-edged sword, but that doesn't make it inherently bad. Perhaps your new passion can be learning how to be a good friend.”
Sunset smiled. “Yeah, that's kind of my hope. I'm usually pretty good at things when I really put my mind to it, so fingers crossed on me not being the worst friend ever.”
“I'm sure you'll be wonderful at it, given enough time.” Rarity seemed to become serious for a moment as she moved around to stand directly in front of her newest friend. “Remember though, with passion it's not about putting your mind to it,” She placed a finger to Sunset's chest and smiled gently. “It's about putting your heart to it.”
Author's Note
The original inspiration for this fic came back in October when I found a leather jacket at Good Will that would be perfect for a Sunset Shimmer cosplay. It had a bunch of tears in the lining, but fortunately (as my avatar's cutie mark should imply) this was a problem that fell right within my skillset to solve. It was while I was fixing it up that the beginnings of this fic formed in my mind. Then I actually wrote it out, and it turned out a lot longer and more heartfelt than I had originally planned. So, I hope you enjoyed this little piece of fluff that resulted from me purchasing a beat up old coat for fifteen bucks.
