//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 - The perfect model // Story: An unexpected friendship // by Shadow SSS //------------------------------// With the friendship games right around the corner, everyone had their own designated tasks to make sure that everyone is prepared to be ready and with their spirits up. Sugarcoat and Indigo for example were enlisted with making sure every single student is eating healthy, is doing enough exercise to keep up with the tasks that the Games will include, and that no one slacks around with their studies when the time for tests come around. What you thought that the Friendship Games were only physical activities? No, it will include all sorts of things, like baking, crafting, knowledge tests, group activities, and more. Lemon and Sour were told to prepare an anthem to make sure everyone's spirits are up when they are playing or even before they departe on the buses towards CHS. Not only that, but they were tasked with the important mission of keeping all the instruments checked just in case there is a musical show off between both schools. There are some pre made activities both schools agreed on such as baking and archery, but Cynch and Celestia do like a challenge and they add new activities neither of them had prepared before. Unlike Celestia, Cynch makes sure she always has an ace hidden under her sleeve in case things get quite… difficult. You on the other hand, you got one of the most entertaining and enjoyable activities of all! “No no darling, you need to hold still or I will not be able to stitch this right” Sunny Flare said raising your hand to the side so she could sew under your armpit the new uniform the futbol team would be wearing. That’s right folks, you were a human mannequin. “Sunny, we’ve already gone with four designs, and my arms are really getting tired. Can’t you just like… pick one of the ones you already came up with and go along with it?” This seemed to be some sort of trigger inside Sunny Flare because you are pretty sure she pricked you on purpose this time around “Oops, sorry dear, I missed a little” She said still working on her sewing with a devious smile on “And to answer your question, of course not. Perfection doesn’t come on the first try, even if I do make it look like it” “I never said that you were perfect, not even clo-… ouch!” Another prick? Maybe you do deserve that one for almost ‘insulting’ her work. It’s a good thing you are patient and don’t mind this treatment… for now. “Now Anon, the more you talk, the more you move, and the more you move, the harder it is for me to work” She said with a smile across her face enjoying this a little too much. But seriously, this was the fourth design already! The first design was a little simple. Just the same uniform they wear everyday for P.E. only this time, with their names on the back. The second design was a more exotic one, with little crystals along the skirts of the girls, and a big crystal where the heart should be on the shirts of the guys, but while it was appealing to the eyes, it would cost the school too much to make one for each student, not to mention that they would weight everyone down. The third design was the most reasonable. It was the same for both guys and girls. Blue pants or shorts, depending on each student preference and the activity they will be performing, with a small light blue line on the side. The shirt was a deep purple color, the same color of the regular uniform, and last but not least, the Prep shield on the back along with the name of the student on the bottom. This one was your favorite design of the three. Simple, appealing to the eye, doesn’t get in the way and it’s actually quite comfortable. The fourth design, the one you were modeling right now, and Sunny was adding a few tweaks here and there was by far the most uncomfortable one. The leggings were blue and a bit too tight with feathers on the side to give them a more native look, the shirt was even tighter than the leggings colored purple yet again, hardly letting you breath at all, purple arm sweat bands and a headband colored purple and black to prevent you from sweating… Not that it would help you much considering how much pressure the fabric was applying to your body. God helps whoever has to try and move with this thing on. Girls would get their breasts crashed while guys would lose the chance of ever having babies… you doubt you will be able to have yours if you have to wear this tight leggings any longer. “Sunny… please… you are clearly not going to pick this design, let me take it off” You said pleading her with your best puppy eyes. It was worth the shot, but it takes more than that to break through the fashionista. “That face won’t work on me, and how do you know I won’t pick this one?” She said with both hands on her hips a little offended by your comment not even giving her the chance to have a second thought about the design. “Because as soon as you wear the female design, you will realize it’s too tight to move” You said making her even more annoyed, but she sighed and turned around heading over to her drawing table. At least she was not making you model the girl’s uniform. “Very well, you may take it off, and you can have a break of 10 minutes” “Thank you” You said heading over to the bathroom to get changed faster than what Clark Kent has ever got in a phone booth and come out as Superman. Sunny’s bathroom was actually pretty huge. Bigger on the inside, or so you think… I mean, who needs this kind of bathroom? A wall mirror four meters long, a jacuzzi on one corner, a shower on the other. Of course the toilet was there as well. Two drawers full of make ups and god knows what else, and a small wardrobe where she keeps fresh clean towels, another cabinet with medical supplies and creams all over the place. Who even needs those creams? Really, she may love to look good and all, but this is a bit of an overkill in your opinion. “I swear Sunny, your bathroom is bigger than my bedroom” You whispered to yourself changing back to your uniform before heading out to Sunny’s bedroom. The bedroom at least was a little simpler. The bed was right below the window, a bookshelf on the side along with a small sofa for her to sit down and read. Her personal workstation where she was at the moment, decked out to have enough space to draw designs, a sewing machine and a big table which was currently occupied with lots of fabrics, needles and strings she had been using throughout the day. Her wardrobe was on a small door next to the bathroom. It was actually a small room of 3 by 2 dedicated specifically for her personal stuff. Lastly, tho it was temporary, there was a cloths hanger on the side showcasing the previous outfits. You hang the new outfit on the hanger along with the other ones and walked up to her from behind to peek at what she was drawing, but to your surprise, the page was still blank. She was tapping the end of her pencil against the empty canvas and groan “I have no inspiration! I don’t know what to design!” “Well, why don’t you take a break as well? You did ditch a few designs before” You said looking over at the overflowing bin with lots of paper balls next to her workspace. “Maybe you are just missing a spark” Sunny Flare laid her pencil down and nodded “I suppose you are right dear, besides, we haven’t had anything to drink or eat ever since we got here, would you like something? Maybe a cup of tea?” “Some tea would be nice” You replied with a smile and she took the lead down the stairs towards the kitchen. You were lucky that Cynch wasn’t home yet. She was probably still handing down a few punishments to those students who have miss behaved, or maybe she was doing something worse. Who knows, all you know, is that you don’t have to deal with her right now. “So Sunny… How do you and your mother get along?” You asked casually trying to be friendly and maybe start a simple conversation. “Ugh, my mom is a workaholic, not to mention that she cares little about me” She said annoyed at that last statement. “What do you mean?” “That’s just it. Just because my dad impregnated her by accident, she hates me. She is always saying how much of a failure and an accident I am” She said with a little sadness on her voice. So Cynch did not plan to have Sunny? Someone so perfect like Cynch made a mistake? Interesting…. but sad at the same time since Sunny Flare was the one who was suffering the most and you were not completely sure on how to help her. You kind of regret bringing this topic up now. “But… you are not a failure… I mean, aren’t you one of the best students there is?” You asked unsure on why Cynch would say that. “I am. I’m the third best, but just because Twilight and Sugarcoat are better, she won’t love me” Well that was a stupid reason. A parent should never compare their off spring with anyone else, specially if they are already doing their best to impress you and all. Sure Sunny Flare may have not been planned, but that is done now, can’t she past that now? “Well, you are not a failure. You are perfect the way you are” You said trying to comfort her, and it worked. Sunny looked back at you and nodded with a small smile forming on her face. “Thanks Anon. Now, how about some tea?” She said as she began preparing two cups of tea, a few snacks to go along with them and then invited you over to the dining table. Last time you were here, you were fortunate enough to not have the pleasure to meet Cynch, but… this time around you were not so lucky. As soon as both you and the Shadowbolt sat down on the table to get a little break, Cynch walked through the front door. “Oh good. Mother is here” She said sarcastically to herself in a low voice for her not to hear, but you were close enough to listen to her. “Good afternoon Sunny. Mr Anon. Are you two done with the new outfits for the Friendship Games?” She asked in her all so professional status of principal. “We are taking a break from all the hard work we’ve done so far mother, is that so wrong?” Sunny asked looking up at her mother with a defying look, to which Cynch returned by squinting her eyes. “Not at all, but it would be a shame to see my own daughter fail her task because someone is tired, even though all they have to do is hold still and try on some clothes” She said looking over at you. Of course she would find a way to blame this on you. Well, at least she was not blaming Sunny Flare, so you would take the bullet for her this time. “This has nothing to do with Anon. I am simply not inspired right now” Cynch did not seemed phased by her comment, if anything, she looked like she was ready to rain fire on her own daughter. Spoiler alert, she did. “Oh I know dear. You are hardly ever inspired. You could not keep up with a simple store I bought for you last year because you lacked inspiration to come up with new outfits. You even let that Wondercolt beat you several times. You humiliated my family’s name with your ‘lack of inspiration’ ” Cynch was not playing nice anymore. She had taken the big guns out, and by the look on her face, she seemed to have more. Sunny Flare gritted her teeth and took a deep breath “I told you I had a bad year mother. I can do better now” “You are certainly not proving me you can do better if you are sitting here wasting your time” Cynch countered Sunny Flare argument, making her more annoyed and a few tears form on her face. “Mother pl-!” Sunny was getting desperate by the sound of her voice, but Cynch did not even let her finish. She just raised her hand, looked away and hushed her. “Not a word. Go on. Waste your time with Mr Anon here. When you decide to be productive, you can come and meet me in my room” She said and began walking away. “Yes mother” Sunny Flare said defeated, hanging her head down. That’s it? Sunny was going to give up so easily? After the four designs she prepared? Oh no, you are not going to let this one slide. “Excuse me Principal Cynch” You said standing up to go after her. Cynch quickly turned around and raised an eyebrow at you “Yes?” “You are not giving nearly enough credit to your daughter” “Pardon me?” What are you doing? This is a bad idea, abort. Abort. No… No more running. Sunny Flare looked up from the table and looked at you trying to figure out what you were trying to get to. “Your daughter has made some great designs that should be more than enough for the Friendship Games. I may not be an expert on fashion, but this is not a fashion contest. This is a competition, and let me tell you this. Your daughter not only made an outfit that is perfect and pleasing to the eye, but she has also made one that is comfortable, free and perfect to do any sort of physical activity” You said determined to stand your ground on this one. You were tired of Cynch and her bullcrap, and you were not going to stand her act like a principal with her own daughter. Not in her damn house. In school is one thing, but here, she is Sunny’s mother, not her principal. “Is that so?” She asked looking at the stairs and back at you “Do you really think so?” “With all due respect. Who is the one who is going to be competing on the Games? You, or the students? I as a student can honestly say that one of Sunny’s design is more than perfect for the games” She said folding her arms to show dominance… but quickly dropped them after seeing Cynch menacing face. However, Cynch smiled at your determination. Not many students or even people in general were brave enough to confront her at all. She is a woman with a lot of power after all “You are lucky I am not your principal at the moment Mr Anon, or you would be in a lot of trouble” She said looking at her daughter and smirk “Very well, let’s make a deal. If none of the designs my daughter has come up with pleases me, you will have detention for the rest of the year” Damn that was quite a lot of time wasted in detention, but you were confident enough on Sunny’s designs “Very well, but if you are pleased, then you will begin treating Sunny like she deserves?” You were not leaving this fight empty handed. Winning against Cynch is a reward on it’s own, but you had to aim up. You could not just settle with winning a simple argument like this against her. Cynch raised and eyebrow confused and then frown “What do you mean, Mr Anon?” “You will stop acting all mighty and start acting like a caring mother. You are always bringing her self esteem down” At first, hesitation seemed to fill Cynch face as she looked around for an answer, but then composed herself once again and stared at you straight in your eyes. She was trying to intimidate you, you knew that... “I have not done su-” But you were not gonna have any of it. No more. “Don’t lie to me. She told me the truth, and in all honesty, I believe her… I have my reasons to believe what Sunny told me it’s true. Just because Sunny is not the best student, or because she had a bad year, that doesn’t mean she is a failure. In fact, she is one of the most successful girls I’ve ever met” You said looking back at your friend who was both smiling, but was too scared and shocked to do anything against Cynch, so she simply remained sitted on her chair, averting her mother’s eyes, but occasionally glancing her way. Cynch on the other hand took a deep breath and nodded “Very well then. We have a deal. I hope you are ready for a year of detention” She said leaving you and Sunny Flare alone as she head straight to Sunny’s room. What the hell were you thinking? Cynch could easily say none of the designs are good! She could just ignore the designs to get away with this and screw you up, but.... she is not the kind of person who would risk wasting such good designs, would she? The moment she was gone, Sunny stood up, walked up to you and slapped you on your right cheek with all of her might “Are you crazy?!” She whispered loudly with a frown before hugging you tightly and her face immediately relaxed “You are a fool. A stupid… kind… caring fool. Why did you do that?” The slap might have sting a little, but you did not mind “I was not just gonna stand around and do nothing” “Anon, my mother is never satisfied with my work. The only good thing I’ve done for her in her eyes, was come up with the uniform we wear every day” “And isn’t that great? How long has this school worn this uniform you made?” You questioned her making Sunny think for a moment. “Five years” “And for five years, has no one else come up with a new uniform?” “She… hired several stylists across the city” Sunny Flare confessed clearly annoyed that her mother had tried to replace her daughter’s work even tho this one was a really good one. “And we are still wearing your uniform, which means, you had done more than great. You beat professional stylists… Sunny, I don’t care what your mother says, you have talent. A great talent, and you should be proud of it” You exclaimed hugging her back and hold her tight for a brief moment. Sunny Flare blushed from all the praising she was getting and then smile again “Well, that may be true… but the designs I came up with just now are too simple… she is not going to like them. They are not at the same level of a professional stylist” “Just like I told her earlier. This is a competition, not a fashion show. We don’t need something fancy and uncomfortable. We need something simple, easy to wear and something that will make all of us be at our top performance” You explained holding her shoulders with both hands “Everything is going to be fine, I promise” Sunny Flare could not help but stare deeply back at you and her face slowly began turning red like a tomato. Had you said something that cheesy? Or was something else going on in Sunny’s mind? Before you could try and solve this mystery, Cynch called both of you from Sunny’s room to meet with her. The stylist was a little nervous and was not moving, just staring at you almost like if she was waiting for something magical to happen between the two, but a little shove made the trick and she reacted immediately as she began walking towards the room. Cynch was in the middle of the room, three outfits on the hangers in the order they were before, and she was holding one. She had the third design in hand. Cynch did not look happy… goodbye free time, hello detention. “I owe you an apology” Cynch said looking straight at Sunny Flare catching both of you completely off guard. “What?” Her daughter asked thinking this was some sort of dream. Her mother has never apologized to her before in her life. “I’m afraid I was wrong to misjudge you. While the design looks simple and boring…. this fabric, the way it’s made, the soft touch with the skin. It blends perfectly. Not only that, it’s neither too loose so it would fall down, nor too tight to restrict any physical movement. You’ve done well” She said handing the new uniform for the games to you and looked at you in the eyes “You win this round Mr Anon, but I wouldn’t get used to it. It won’t happen again” She warned you and left through the door. Sunny was too stunned to say anything, and you really had nothing else to add. You won against Cynch… somehow. Well it was not exactly you, it was Sunny’s skill that prevailed in the end. “Anon” Sunny called staring at the three discarded outfits. “Yes Sunny?” “Hold me” That was an odd request. Did she want a hug or something? Just holding her for no reason seemed a little weird really. “Uhhhh… sure? Why?” “I think I’m gonna faint” She said as her legs began wobbling a little. You wasted no time and quickly wrapped her arm over your shoulder, swept her off the ground and made sure to have a good grip on her. “Wow now, don’t go doing that on me now” Too late, Sunny eyes were closed. Maybe it was the excitement? Maybe the fear of denial being washed away? Maybe the relief of victory? Maybe all together? Whatever it was, it certainly took an emotional toll on her mind and she could not bare with it. You certainly did not want to go to Cynch right now, who knows how mad she is going to be with you, so you did the best second thing you could. You laid Sunny down on her bed gently, closed the curtains and sat down on the sofa on the other side of the room. How long could this take? 5, maybe 10 minutes? It’s better to wait for her to wake up… Three hours had passed and you were not too sure if you should stay here longer or not, I mean, Cynch did not care when you told her that Sunny passed out about an hour ago, hell she did not even lift a finger, and Sunny’s father was still at work, so that left you with taking care of her, but… what would she think when she wakes up? You did lay her down on bed and all, but you did not dare touch her further than that. Who knows what anyone would think if they see you messing around with your unconscious friend. You had considered leaving a note on her desk and just head home, but if she doesn’t wake up soon? Crap, maybe you should call an ambulance now that you think of it. You had never had anyone just suddenly faint on you… but then again, if this was a situation for an ambulance, Cynch would have called one already… unless she truly doesn’t care at all about her daughter. “Anon?” Sunny weak voice snapped you back to reality. You walked up to the side of the bed and waved at her “What happened?” “You fainted after your mom apologized to you and pretty much told you that you did a good job” You explained giving her the short version. Hopefully that would suffice her to juggle her memories in place. “Oh” She said slowly sitting up and looked out of the window. It was already dark, which meant you stayed with her longer than what you should have. “What time is it?” “Hold on” You quickly reached for your phone in your pocket and pulled it out “It’s… 9:17 P.M.” “Did… you stay here all day?” She questioned you already feeling a little better. “Well, your mother was not moving to even check on you once, and since your dad was not back yet, I stayed to make sure you were fine” That made her both smile with a tiny blush across her face “Thanks… If you hadn’t stayed, no one would have looked after me” “What about your dad? Is he like your mom?” Sunny Flare took a moment before answering “My parents are divorced. They have been ever since I was born. He left town shortly after I turned 5. I hardly ever see him now” Damn Sunny had it rough. Sure your parents live out of town as well, traveling the world and what not, but at least they are happy and do write to you everyday to see how you are doing and visit you at least twice per month. “Sunny, I didn’t know…” “That’s alright. At least you stayed here and made sure I was fine. Thanks” She said happily as she began to stand up. “Well, I’m glad you are fine… I should get going. I have not fed my snake today, and she is going to be grumpy if I don’t do so soon” You said rubbing the back of your head. Sunny Flare chuckled and rolled her eyes “Alright go feed your….. snake?” Out of all the pets you could have, Sunny Flare never imagined you would have such an exotic one. “Oh yea… I have a python. One day my mom and dad came to visit me and we went to an animal shelter in town. She bought me a baby python” You said with a giggle as you remembered how tiny Silvy was back then. “Right, well I would love to hear more of that story later… Right now, I will take a bath if you don’t mind” She said heading over to the bathroom but before she went inside, she looked back at you “You know… Even though you gave us a terrible first impression, you are a pretty reliable person Anon. Thanks… See you tomorrow?” “Well, thanks for the compliment Sunny, and yes, see you in class!” You said exchanging waves with her and left the house without saying goodbye to Cynch. Well now… you won a deal against Cynch, you managed to become better friends with Sunny and you got to keep a cool new outfit for free for the games. With Three Shadowbolts down in your good side, that only left Indigo and Sour before you can even be in good terms with all of them. Maybe you should spend the whole day tomorrow with Indigo. Who knows… she might be fun to be around after all, she does have quite the spirit. “Maybe you are more than just reliable… Damn” Sunny Flare said under the water of the shower. She could not stop thinking about you now “Why you of all people?” She said reaching out for something private with a deep blush on her face.