Stitching Up A Broken Heart

Over the course of two months, you’ve lived in Manehattan. With the amount of money you pulled in, working under Suri, you were able to get an apartment in the same building as Coco, so you didn’t have to worry about distance. Speaking of Suri, things seemed to be getting better when it came to her. For instance, she started addressing you by your name, as well as saying things like ‘Thank you’ and ‘I appreciate you’. While you and Suri mostly had your own projects to work on, there were genuine times where you both laughed and shared good times while working on one project.

Despite today being a day off, you felt inclined to come in. As you walked down the street, you saw how sad Manehattan was. Sure, its state wasn’t sad, but its citizens were, and from what you heard, this was one of those crime-ridden cities, so you always kept a switchblade on you for that reason alone.

As you came up to Suri’s shop, you saw her moving rather panicked. Upon closer inspection, you felt as though you knew why, walking in and to the back as she rushed back and forth, seemingly overworked.

“Um… Suri? Everything ok?” you asked, only for her to turn to you with mascara running down her face, and you felt horrible

“Do I look ‘okay’ to you?! My day is a disaster! So many orders came in at once! I’m so overwhelmed, I’m so stressed out, I. Cannot. Handle. This!” she said, gripping the collar of your shirt tightly. It was apparent to you that she was in distress, as it wasn’t just her mascara running down her face, but her mane was undone and messy, there were bags under her eyes, and she just looked like a mess. You wanted to help her, so you gently placed your hands on her shoulders and shook her.

“Suri, get a hold of yourself! You’re a strong mare, you will get through this, but first off, you need a cleanup” you said, taking her hand as you led her upstairs. During your time working with her, you learned that she was a work-at-home kind of mare, which made sense. Anyways, you rushed her upstairs and to her bedroom, sitting her down at her makeup desk.

“W-What are you-?!” she attempted to get out as you started getting to work, carefully detangling her hair with your fingers, and she let you, watching you in the mirror. You saw her hand you her hairband, and you took it, carefully holding her mane and putting it into her exact manestyle, and you took a second, letting her see how you did it, and she gasped, feeling her mane, “Y-You… how did you?”

“After seeing your mane a couple of times, I was able to basically figure out how you do your mane. Don’t call me psychic, but I’ve had experience with hair as well, and yours was no exception” you said, moving on as you started wiping the mascara off her face gently, seeing her cheeks turn pink, though you ignored that, as you then went on to reapply her mascara for her, and you did that very carefully, so as to not upset her, and to her surprise, you didn’t. After all that, she stood up and stared at you, and you asked, “Well, did I do good?”

Not saying anything, she nervously, but slowly, hugged you. It felt weird, being hugged by the very mare who used to call you ‘hairless ape’, but it felt warm. Not wanting to be awkward, you softly embraced her, gently petting her, making sure not to mess up her mane. After a while, her cheeks burned too pink for her to handle as she pulled away.

“You did well, f-for a human… ahem, more importantly, I’ve got orders to fill, and one is very important. Now shoo, give a mare her privacy!” she said, trying to push you away

“Wait, Suri. What if we filled them together?”you suggested as she blushed, but snapped out of it as she fidgeted a little

“B-But isn’t today your d-day off? I give you one day to take off and be able to enjoy yourself” she argued, and you sighed and shook your head

“Suri, I’d hate for my boss to lose her place in the world due to being overworked” you said, taking her hands as you looked her in the eyes, “Let me help you, and we’ll get this done together”

She was speechless, and was blushing from how much you were just willing to help her, and she just sighed, “Fine, you can help me, but at least give me some privacy! You’ve seen too much!” and with that, she pushed you out of her room, and into her hallway. Knowing you got an answer out of her, you went back downstairs and started filling some of her orders.

As you were filling orders, you came down to only one left. After Suri had come back down, the two of you got most of the orders done, and there was now only one left, but she felt exhausted, and decided to freshen up with a shower, leaving you to do the last order.

To your surprise, this one was very special, as it was for a princess. The princess in mind was Princess Flurry Heart, who was getting married to a human named Amor, and from what you’ve heard, they’ve been together for 3 and a half years, and have just decided to tie the knot. You thought it sounded beautiful that there’d be another alicorn getting married, as there were already 4 others who were married.

As you were sewing a beautiful red velvet dress, you heard the bell ding as you looked up, seeing a human enter in, with a sword sheathed at his side. He looked important as he waited in the lobby, and you walked out to the cash register.

“Hello sir, how may I help you?” you asked him as he stood up and stood before you

“Yes, I am Prince Amor. You may know me, or may not. I heard this shop had quite the business, despite receiving backlash years ago. I put in an order for a red velvet dress for my Flurry. Is it ready?” Amor asked you as you shook your head softly

“Not quite, sir. I’m currently working on it. Give me…15ish minutes, and I should have it done by then” you said, about to leave before you stopped at the sound of a whistle

“You know, I’m surprised that you put up with Suri. From what I’ve heard from my aunt-in-law, Twilight, Suri had a bit of a toxic friendship with Rarity, and even though it was settled with the help of her husband, Silver, Suri just never had the courage to really try designing on the fly. She mostly reproduced her older, original works, but the people eventually got tired of it, and her shop lost its popularity. As you can see, she still kept it open, and without you, it would’ve closed down” he explained, “Props to you for putting up with her”

“Someone’s gotta do it, right?” you said, getting a chuckle out of him as you headed into the back, “I’ll have it done in about 15 minutes”

As you got out of earshot, you got back to working on the red velvet dress. You had a feeling that the princess would love it, no doubt in your mind about it.

After 15 minutes, you got the dress finished. Looking at your finished product, you took it out to Amor, who gasped at how beautiful it looked.

“Wow, she’ll love it, I know it. Honestly, I’m surprised. There’s no awkward fabrics sticking out, nothing, it’s perfect. How much?” he asked you

“For this piece, I’d say a good… 170 bits?” you suggested as he sifted through a bag, pulling out the exact amount of bits needed, and placing them in your hand as you placed the bag gently in a box, then in a bag for him, handing it to him.

“Pleasure doing business with you. Have a good day, sir” he said, leaving the store. With that out of the way, you sighed, and wouldn’t you know it, it was nearing shop closing time. You looked outside, seeing if there were any more customers, and once the coast was clear, you flipped the open sign to closed, heading into the back, and sitting down.

After a couple of hours, you heard hoofsteps as you saw Suri descend the stairs, coming down in a robe with her mane tied up in a towel. She saw the red dress gone, and looked at you, “Where’s the dress?”

“Finished and sold, duh” you said as she got closer to you

“Did he like it?” she asked

“Yeah, definitely. He even said it was perfect. He bought it for 170, which meant is was mostly a ‘name your price’ kind of deal” you explained

“You do realize that dress could’ve sold for more, right?” she questioned, but you just chuckled

“But the smile on his face was worth it. When you see the smile on the person’s face after completing a sale, it makes you feel good” you said

She stayed silent as you broke the silence, holding her hands as you looked into her eyes, making her blush a little

“Don’t you feel good, Suri, knowing that ponies actually come to your shop and buy clothes?” you asked her as she blushed more, not looking at you directly

“I… suppose I do…” she said, still looking away

You had a feeling Suri had feelings for you, but wanted to see if she’d make a move on you leaving, despite it being very late, so you smiled as you got your things together and headed for the door

“Alright boss, I’ll see you tomorrow, have a good-“ you said as you got close to the door, only to hear hoofsteps behind as you felt her grab your arm, making you stop. As you turned to face her, you were confused, “Suri? What’s wrong?”

”It’s late, d-don’t you think? M-Manehattan can be a dangerous place at this time…” Suri said, and oddly, you never expected her to really show you sympathy, and usually it was the other way around. Maybe she did have feelings for you, but you just weren’t completely sure. Testing the waters, you turned to face her, smiling a little

“So, are you suggesting I stay here with you for tonight?” you asked as her cheeks grew redder, and she looked very flustered, and you thought it was adorable

“Y-Yes… if it isn’t a problem…” she said. It honestly made you giggle, knowing that she sounded so nervous around you. Instead of answering her, you decided to test the waters even further. You pulled her into a surprise hug as you held her in a warm embrace as she meeped softly, and hugged you back. After a while, she looked up at you and sighed, “So is that a yes?”

“Suri, you’re too kind. Of course” you said, seeing her smile, and you thought it was cute, “Suri?”

“Yes darling?” she responded, and that also surprised you, as she had never called you ‘darling’ before

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you smile before. You got quite the cuteness under all that pride” you said, seeing her cheeks grow pink

“I… thank you…” she said, and unbeknownst to her, her tail was wagging, and you thought that was cute too, “Um, are you hungry?”

“Well, I haven’t eaten today. Got any meat?” you asked her as she shuffled nervously. Something told you that she never had dinner with a human before

“N-No… unfortunately not…” she said, looking down, but you brought her chin up to look at you as you smiled.

“Hey, it’s not that big of a deal. What do you have in your fridge?” you asked as she led you over to her kitchen, allowing you to see into her fridge. As expected, she had food that suited her cravings, but not hers, which made sense, since she probably never ate with one before. Your eyes, however, set on a caesar salad, and you reached for that.

“Salad? Are you sure that will be enough for you?” she asked with concern, aware that humans were meant to have protein in their diet, though you had plenty of meat back at your place.

“It’ll hold me over for tonight, Suri” you said, taking it to the kitchen table and eating the salad there. Suri then decided to get a plate of pizza from her fridge, and it was the same Spinach and Feta that you had at Coco’s, and you smiled.

It was mostly silent at the table. Seemed Suri wasn’t one for conversation at the dinner table, and you respected that. After a couple of minutes, you both finished as you looked at her expectantly

She stared back, and felt uneasy, “What are you looking at me for?” she said sheepishly

“Sorry Suri, but I can’t help but think about how cute you are” you said, seeing her cheeks turned pink as she pouted a little

“Me? Cute? Nopony has called me cute before…” she said, looking down a little. You had a feeling that after her reputation was tainted, nopony looked at her the same way again, but you looked past what she may have done, but that brought up something else.

“But you are cute” you said as you put an arm around her, causing her to flinch before she smiled at you softly, then she sighed

“Dear, there’s something I need to ask you” she said, being gentle with her voice

“Ask away” you responded

“Why are you so… calm around me? Surely you’ve heard about what I did to other ponies… like Rarity and Coco Pommel… so answer me this: Why stay around a mare like me? I showed you no respect during the first month, always calling you ‘hairless ape’! Why do you stick around me?!” she shouted, driving herself to tears as she stood up and nearly ran away, though you managed to grab her arm and pull her back into your arms, “W-What are you- let go of me!”

You refused to let her go, and pressed your lips against hers. She was surprised at first, but slowly wrapped her arms softly around your neck, kissing you back. Over her shoulder, you saw her tail wag and brush against you, before she pulled away and rested her head on your chest.

“Why me?” she asked you, “I could think of several other mares who’d want a human like you, like Photo Finish, but why me?”

“Suri Polomare, listen to me. When we first met, I could tell that you had no respect for humans, but I put up with you cause I was desperate for a job, and wanted a fresh start. Over time, I came to an understanding that there was more to you then what you were putting on. From then on, I put up with you, and I have to be honest with you. I have a crush on you, Suri” you said, causing her to blush red as she went to undo her mane, but you stopped her, “Suri, I like your mane the way it is”

“No, Diamond, let me do this” she insisted as she let her mane down, letting it fall. You thought she looked beautiful with it down like that, and you gently ran your fingers through her mane, and you swore she purred like a kitty.

“What made you call me ‘diamond’, Suri?” you asked her as she giggled

“Well, you shined bright in my darkness, and are worth more to me than any dress I’ve ever made~” she said, kissing your cheek softly

“Makes sense…” you said, yawning, “So, does this mean we’re together?”

“Was the kiss not enough?~” she teased, “What more do I have to give for us to be together, dear?”

“Nothing at all, Suri, though I’m…” you yawned, making her giggle, “...getting quite tired…”

“Oh, don’t you worry your little head about that, dear” she said, leading you over to her couch, and sitting on it. After that, she patted a spot next to her, then pointed at her lap, and you raised a brow as she giggled, “Now, don’t be shy, lay down sweetie~”

Seeing no reason to deny her, you sat next to her, and laid down, placing your head perfectly in her lap, and she ran her fingers through your hair softly, and you found yourself getting tired quickly, so you spoke up about it, “Um, Suri, what if I-?” only to get a finger of hers on your lips

“I don’t mind sleeping on the couch, as long as it’s with you, Diamond~” she said, still stroking your hair as you closed your eyes, hearing her hum softly. That was enough to put you to sleep, as you completely fell asleep in her lap. Now having Suri Polomare, a once self-seeking mare, now original works fashionista, as your marefriend, brought plenty of joy to your life, and you only wondered about where it would go from here.