• Published 2nd Jan 2017
  • 7,927 Views, 35 Comments

In for a Bit, In for a Pound - Rose Quill



“Where did you get the money when you came here?" It was a simple question.

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In for a Bit, in for a Pound

“Y'know, Sunset, Ah got to be honest,” Applejack said as we started scooting out of the booth we had been seated in. She, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and I had gone out for lunch at a new restaurant that had opened up that served a surprisingly tasty pub fare. Dash and Pinkie were going to join us later tonight for movies.

“Bout what?” I tucked my wallet back into my purse before slinging over my shoulder.

“Where did y'get the money when you came here? Ah know you worked at that sushi place before it closed, but still.”

“It’s a long story, AJ,” I said, fidgeting. “And it’s not that I’m not grateful for the job on the farm, I’m just hesitant to talk about it.”

Twilight slipped her arm through mine. While Rarity saw it and gave it a small smile, it had happened enough since we had returned that it was almost a non-issue with my friends. Only Rarity and Pinkie still gave it external signs of glee. “We won’t judge, Sunny.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to find the words. “How about we wait till we get to my place? This is kinda public.”

Fluttershy glanced around as if suddenly realizing how many people were around us and immediately drifted close to Applejack, using the taller girl as an optical barrier. “I’m fine with that idea,” we heard her squeak.

On the ride back, I thought on Shy’s, well, shyness. She was a beautiful young woman, but instead of the designed couture of Rarity she had a natural glamor, a girl-next-door appeal that people noticed and she wasn’t used to the attention. From what I gathered during our get-togethers, she had been a rather gangly and poorly coordinated child, so the fact that people might find her attractive had trouble reconciling with the memories of the ridicule and teasing. I hadn’t helped in those regards, and I still felt bad about it at times even though she had forgiven me.

We walked into my apartment, the simple studio setup filled with photos and mementos of my friends and I from both sides of the mirror. A large framed photograph of a group of ponies was hanging over the wall that separated the kitchenette from the rest of the apartment and my guitar and amp we tucked underneath the overhang of my storage loft. I sat on the bed, letting my friends take the couch while Twilight grabbed a chair from the table and sat next to me.

I twiddled my thumbs for a minute, before reaching into my nightstand and pulling out a small pouch that jingled slightly. I reached in and pulled out a shining coin.

“When I first came here, I didn’t have much, just whatever I managed to pack after Celestia expelled me. These are bits, the currency of Equestria.”

I passed the coin around, letting them all look over the coin, the stylized engraving of Celestia on one side and the sun on the obverse.

“While a large amount of Equestria can operate on barter, we do have a nominal monetary system set around by the Diarchs a millenia ago. They're usually converted to diamonds for amounts over a hundred thousand bits.”

I saw Rarity’s eyes light up at the mention of diamonds, but I continued on.

“When I came through, besides the clothes that manifested I still had the things that had been in my pack when I left Celestia’s school, including the photos of my family, the communication book, and my money.

“I took it to a pawnshop shortly after I realized how much harder this place was to survive. They offered me five hundred dollars for the single coin I took with me.”

Applejack bit the coin, and then looked at me in surprise. “Sunset, this is…”

“Mostly gold, yeah,” I said, grinning sheepishly. “I’ve pawned quite a few of them the first few months and stockpiled the money, which let me file for emancipated status, get ID documents, rent and furnish this apartment, and attend CHS.” I sighed. “After I learned what the exchange rate for gold was here I was able to negotiate a better rate of sale at the shops. They didn’t argue, between the rarity of the coin and the fact that I was willing to take as little as seventy percent current value, they never argued much. I also think they weren't exactly the most reputable places around, upon reflection.”

“So just how many did you pawn, Sunset dear?” Rarity leaned forward, interest apparent.

I thought for a moment. “Maybe seventy-five, all told? That kept me going till I got the job at as a waitress, then helping over at Sweet Apple Acres. Now, between savings, interest, and what AJ pays me, I don't need to now.”

“How many do you have left?” Fluttershy whispered.

I pawed through the pouch for a second. “A hundred, give or take, if I remember the amounts right. I did spend a few in Equestria. I figured by the time I ran out I’d have a better method in place for keeping my bills paid.”

“How can you talk about this so casually?” Applejack ran her hand through her hair. “You’re talking about pretty good sums of money like it’s nothing!”

“Money isn’t all that important in Equestria, just another commodity.” I took the coin back from Twilight and tucked the entire pouch away. “It’s also why I don’t like talking about it, I’m afraid that it’ll make me seem…I don’t know, snooty or something.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, just because ya have a couple thousand dollars to your name…”

“Fifty-one thousand two hundred thirty-two dollars,” interjected Twilight.

We all looked at her. She shrugged. “It’s just math. One troy ounce of gold is roughly eleven hundred dollars at current values. Assuming each coin had an ounce of gold and seventy percent for each plus relative interest of one percent monthly over six years, it’s a safe enough estimate.”

“Only you, Twilight, would be able to do that math in such a short time,” I smirked.

“Just because ya have a couple thousand dollars to your name,” Applejack continued. “Doesn’t mean we are going to treat ya any differently. Ah mean, Ah help run an entire farm my family owns, Rarity is starting to make a name for herself as a fashion designer around town, and Fluttershy all but runs the animal shelter.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Fluttershy whispered.

“So just because ya used what ya had to survive doesn’t mean you aren’t our friend,” the farmer finished, leaning back and crossing her legs with finality.

I sighed in relief. We chatted for a bit, mostly laughing at how similar to each other their pony counterparts were in the photo I had brought back of the entire group of friends that I shared through the pony Twilight. Rarity found the outfits her unicorn counterpart designed and sold interesting.

“And you say she owns three boutiques? That’s simply amazing and at our age!”

“Technically, she’s slightly older than you. In Equestria, we’d be considered adults. And she’s been doing this for six years before expanding.” I thought for a second. “I'm twenty-four in Equestrian years, and if my estimates are right that's the equivalent to twenty-one as far as this world is concerned as opposed to the eighteen I look.”

There was a knocking at my door that interrupted us continuing the line of discussion. Well, not a knock, really. More a banging like someone was kicking it gently. I went and opened it to admit Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. They were bearing pizza and several DVDs.

“Who’s ready to party?” Dash half-shouted, setting the pizzas on my kitchen table and bouncing around my kitchen to get napkins. I hung back, letting the others serve themselves on paper plates while Pinkie shuffled the movies and laid them out like a hand of poker on the coffee table.

Twilight leaned into me and whispered. “You know, you technically have a net worth of close to a hundred thousand dollars and you’re just a senior in high school?”

I smirked. “Money isn’t all that important to me, Twi.” I shrugged and gestured at our friends. “I’ve come to value that above anything else. Them, and you.”

I looked her in the eye, a glint reflecting off her glasses. “Besides, who knew how’d they react if they knew I might own a house in a nice city across the mirror?”

She perked up. “So you're keeping the house?"

I nodded. "I think so," I said, eyes seeing the halls and rooms of my foalhood home. "It'd be nice to have a place to stay whenever we visit that doesn't impose on the Princess."

She gave me a quick kiss before going to fix a plate for herself. I leaned back and sighed in contentment, watching as my friends laughed and teased each other. Even Twilight got some good shots, much more out of her shell than she had been even during our trip to Equestria three months ago.

I wouldn’t trade this for all the bits in Equestria.

Author's Note:

Based on a deleted scene from Friendship Games - so shaky continuity to begin with - bits don't transform when you cross the portal. So what does that mean, fiducially speaking?

I will probably condense all these SunLight one-shots into a single multi-chapter after my next large work.

Comments ( 35 )

another well written and well thought out story I hope to see many more such as this one. Can't wait to see what else you come up with. :twilightsmile:

Cute story. It's probably a bit too much to ask the mirror to calculate interdimensional exchange rates along with everything else it does. :raritywink:

Nicely handled, down to the difference in a teen’s status in a pre-industrial society (“junior adult”) versus a fully industrialized society (“senior child”). Based on Ms. Faust’s comments she’d thought of the Mane Six as being twelve to eighteen, I’ve assumed the two sets are the same ages, but that’s a minor matter of individual interpretation.
The only thing I might give more thought to is the fact pawn shops, or any businesses that might see rare coins, do talk to each other and are fully conversant with what’s out there. Seeing Equestrian bits, a completely unique and unknown strike, is likely to set off big red lights and sirens in a competent dealer’s mind, and maybe even calls to the authorities for felony fraud and/or counterfeiting.

Can't wait for the hearths warming fic

7837596

I had thought about that, and my plural use may have been better handled, but most counterfeit coins would only be gold plated as to cut down on cost vs profit - or at least to my mind they would be. Most shops around here have electric conductivity testers that can determine the amount, purity, and composition of precious metal items.

And with the number of specially designed limited edition coins being minted every year, I figured for some artistic liberties. :twilightblush:

I should note, while Equestria might use a gem-standard for their economy, Diamonds wouldn't be the base gem. They are far to common, it'd be like using copper instead of gold. The perception of them being rare is due to supply/demand. De Beers held a monopoly on them, and still do I think, and used their control over the supply to artificially lower it while using propaganda to raise the demand. The 'tradition' of a diamond engagement ring isn't even a century old.

They have warehouses full of diamonds, granted most of that is probably industrial grade but still. Now that would be a heist.

7845110

*Puts SciTwi Glasses on*

Actually, the tradition of the engagement ring can be traced all the way to 1477 and Archduke Maximillian of Austria when he commissioned a diamond ring for his betrothed, Mary of Burgundy.

Anthropologists believe this tradition of ring giving was present in Ancient Rome when a man would give his wife a ring with a key on it, symbolizing his ownership. The Victorian era saw many engagement rings designed like flowers and called Posey rings and Edwardian times had them caged in ornate filigree. World War I, the Depression, and subsequent World War II killed the demand for them until DeBeers launched an agressive campaign which would be the basis for it's "A Diamond is Forever" campaign that it launched in the forties which inextricably linked marriage and diamonds in the public mind.

You are correct in DeBeers monopoly and artificial inflation, however a diamond standard is possible if a certain grade of diamond is set. That would exclude fancy diamonds or highly impure ones and would have extensive requirements but it could be done.

*takes glasses off*

Also, I was listening to my iPod when I wrote this and the Song "At the Gala" came on, and Rainbow talked about being showered with diamonds. It kind if went from there. :twilightsheepish:

7845366 I will admit that most of my trivia knowledge is gleaned. I usually do a light check on the validity of the source but beyond that, meh.

Another diamond fact. It is more common for a diamond to be coloured than clear, with browns being the most common. Now think about those commercials with the company with the exclusive right to sell the 'rare' chocolate diamonds.

Also, I now really want to write a story with Sunset trying to explain the basis for Equestria's currency/economy to her friends.

7837596 Where did you see Faust commenting about their age range? I do know that she hasn't directly stated any but would like to know your reasoning on that.

7849873
On Deviantart among other places Ms. Faust repeatedly described the Mane Six as being teens, in the range of twelve to seventeen or eighteen years old. She shilly-shallies a bit by talking about “maturity levels”, admittedly, but it’s pretty plain the intent is “group of teen friends”. I’ve posted elsewhere on world-building information from staffers’ mouth that isn’t presented directly on-screen.

7849981 I'll take this conversation over to your blog post then.

It's been confirmed. Sunset Shimmer is crashing the gold market with her trans-dimensional alien metal. :trollestia:

Once again, a most enjoyable read! :heart:

Now don't be stingy, Sunny. Go take Sunshine on a vacation to the tropics. Maybe Hawaii or the Bahamas! Ooooh, maybe the equivalent in Equestria? :yay:
derpicdn.net/img/2016/6/17/1180709/medium.png
View on Derpibooru - Original source

7853862

Don't give me ideas, Blackwater. It's a dangerous, slippery slope.

7853916
If I had more time in my days, I'd just draw a bunch of fanart of your stories and then put them places like a beach or maybe scuba diving together on summer break. Or really anywhere in any season. Not trying to give any ideas. Nope... :twilightblush:

Dear Celestia, they're cute in any situation. :heart: Me:

7854039

hmm...fanart...that'd be a first...

but enticing...very enticing...

Another excellent story. I love the little expansions you're making in your version of this universe. My headcanon also has Sunset having some kind of emancipated status. I also like the idea that travel back and forth through the mirror could become a normal; if not regular, thing.

What about her saving account back in Equestria?

7962192

Good question........

Again, a wonderfully done story.

love your homecomung series. currently reading them all in chronological order

7845366
I was going to comment on the ambiguity of a diamond standard, especially in Equestria. Good thing I looked at the comments first, huh?

... Though it still doesn't seem like the best thing to base a currency on when rock farms are a thing.

In any case, a nice bit of headcanon wrapped in feel-good fluff. Thank you for it.

7837596
That's just it. How is it counterfeiting? "I have this gold, in the form of these weird coins." They're clearly not regular currency. Sell them as gold, spot price.

8519075
For someone in Sunset’s position, any suspicion or accusation is potentially dangerous—even if spurious—because it raises exactly the sort of questions most likely to expose her secrets. Not every dealer, or more likely every counter clerk, necessarily has an encyclopedic knowledge of all strikes throughout history, and all it might take is a single individual going off half-cocked and making a well-meaning, or even malicious, call to the authorities, and the jig is up. Granted, fraud is a more likely complaint than counterfeiting or, more precisely, attempting to circulate “fake coins”. (“I mean, look at them! The kid has to be pulling some sort of scam, or maybe she’s a mule for some organization. These are way too good to be anything else!”) Moreover, a previously unknown underage teen who suddenly starts showing up regularly with what plainly must be a sizable supply of weird, unidentifiable, but consistent coins of significant metal value is going to raise eyebrows at the very least. My wording could have been more precise, but I stand by my basic point that Sunset would have to work very carefully in moving her stash of bit coins to avoid a misstep that would make her life a major nightmare.

8519210
Indeed. Which is why I don't go any further in depth of how beyond "Not the most trustworthy" in regards to the brokers.

8519210
Could be someone casting their own coins as a hobby :)

8977446
With gold? Expensive hobby.

8977472
I know a few people that buy scrap gold and silver and fashion their own memorabilia coins out of it. Stacking, it is supposedly called. Some people cast some positively fantastic designs too!

8977569
Interesting. Hmm...

This was a nice story, a good slice of life with some humor about the gold as well.
(Hell, part of the fun of coming to this story was just reading the comments too! XD)

That's a lot of bits

🤑money money money money times infinity forever

If this happened in an episode or mentioned in an eqg special I would of loved to see it happen prior to eqg ending in 2019.

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