Equestria Girls - The Tale of Two Sunsets

by HumanSunset63

Chapter 35: Suited For Sunset

While continuing to trot through Ponyville, Sunset wasn't entirely sure where her next stop would be. She wasn't told specifically where each of her friends would be that day, but it was hinted that most of them would be somewhere around town. This was surmised after hearing of the dilemma Twilight alluded to during the coronation, as she mentioned everypony else stayed behind in Ponyville when she moved to Canterlot. This gave Sunset the idea to at least scope out Ponyville further, as it would still fulfill her motivation at seeing more of Equestria, even if she wasn't immediately able to find a friend to share the experience with. Still bearing in mind, there wasn't really a set plan for who she would hang with on each day, but rather, just finding the right opportunity while exploring, like she had originally planned.

Sunset also decided that for the sake of being polite in return to these ponies sacrificing their time just for her, she would hold off on visiting Silver Shoals until then. Sure, she technically already knew these ponies thanks to knowing their human counterparts, but getting closer with them was just as important if she planned on revisiting Equestria more often in the future. And since they had all agreed to bond with her, as requested by Princess Twilight, Sunset felt it was right to take their offers whenever she did happen to find them. So far, these experiences with the pony versions of her friends hadn't gone at all as Sunset had expected. Rainbow ended up hating her guts after falsely accusing Indigo Zap for purposefully malicious vandalism and theft. Pinkie just left Sunset feeling awestruck after knowing she could be hanging with either Pinkies no matter which world she was in, but regardless, she still seemed to be on good terms with her in the end.

Due to her experiences thus far, Sunset hoped nothing else would go wrong with the rest of her pony friends, and that she could make some actual good memories with them. It was one of the main aspects that had enticed her to return, as making friends felt like something she should've done many years ago. The only real pony friends she had for quite some time were Twilight and Celestia, as she had never bothered socializing beyond her mentor. Having more friends in Equestria could also make her own personal quest in relearning magic more satisfying to fulfill, as by then, she would actually have somepony to share that victory with. Although Sunset technically already had her human friends by her side for such occasions, they wouldn't really understand the extent of her merits, as they were all beings who weren't meant to truly use magic. With this in mind, she decided it was definitely a great plan to help herself feel more at home, as her time in the human world already taught her the values in making friends instead of driving them away.

As for her parents, Sunset decided there was no use in focusing on them at the moment. She could barely remember any distinct areas in Ponyville, as she had spent most of her youth growing up in Canterlot. There were still two sources of hope remaining, as Twilight mentioned she would research into the matter whenever she could, possibly coming up with something more concrete. Plus, Sunset had yet to visit Celestia, whom she believed definitely knew something about the matter, assuming she actually claimed wanting to become the mother-figure Sunset seemingly needed. Despite hearing her classmates mentioning how supportive and close their own parents were, Sunset always believed it was just as much a waste of time as socializing. This kept up to where she wouldn't even bother questioning why her parents weren't involved in her life, or truly considered the possibility of having an actual family. The human friends she made at CHS were the legitimate first family Sunset ever had in her entire life, and it seemed as if their love from day one had finally inspired her to look further into the family who brought her into the world.

Knowing it would be better to focus her parents later, Sunset kept on going through Ponyville until she finally noticed a familiar purple-maned unicorn in the distance. Thinking back to her bully days at CHS, Sunset remembered that out of the entire gang, she disliked Rarity the most. This was due to finding her overly dramatic reactions annoying, and often gritting her teeth in jealousy when overhearing other students claiming that Rarity was prettier than her. Since then, Sunset admired Rarity a lot more, as she learned over time they actually had a lot more in common than she really imagined. It was actually Rarity who had influenced Sunset's fashion choices at CHS, which genuinely improved the approaches she took at sporting leather outfits. Rarity also designed and crafted that spiky leather vest Sunset loved wearing often, which was unfortunately ruined when Gilda assaulted her in the alleyway.

Again, Sunset wasn't too saddened, as clothes were always replaceable, but this mostly served as a reminder that Rarity's generosity created trait and philosophy she had stuck with over time. The many instances of Sunset generously considering others before herself had exemplified this, especially when had risked her own life to save a helpless child from imminent danger. It was time to spend time with the one friend whom Sunset considered to have some of the best influences on her ever since they had become friends. She went over to Rarity to greet her, hoping that they could both make some wonderful memories together in the next few hours.

"Hey, Rarity." Sunset greeted. "I was wondering if now was maybe a good time for us to hang for a bit? If you're not too busy, of course."

"Oh, why hello, Sunset!" Rarity replied. "I'm afraid it is somewhat of a bad time, dear. I had just gotten report that my latest client had arrived in Manehattan a week earlier than expected. That's a week less for me to finish this dress I've been working on, which is still only a blueprint. I'm expected to finish the whole project by tomorrow, but if I by some miracle finish tonight, she'll recommend my line to absolutely all of her adoring fans."

"That's understandable." Sunset began, before thinking this could still be a great opportunity. "But since we're friends now, perhaps I can help you out? Let's just say the other... you, taught me a thing or two about fashion and generosity. Plus, I certainly wouldn't mind doing a little work with you, if it means we could bond with each other."

"Well, I'd certainly be in a state of organized chaos if I turned down help when I most certainly need it." Rarity said gratefully. "Miss Pommel and Sassy Saddles are currently doing their own side commissions, so I guess it'll just be you and me, my new assistant. Thank you very much, Sunset."

"Awesome!" Sunset said enthusiastically. "Are you going out to get the required materials or anything?"

"Not at all, actually. I have everything I need back at Carousel Boutique." Rarity responded. "I was actually checking to see if anypony around here could give me any fresh and original ideas to make this dress dazzle. Coming up with originality becomes rather difficult over time, wouldn't you believe it?"

"Yeah, I can certainly relate." Sunset acknowledged. "Even drawing up comic books begins to take a toll when you have no idea which direction to take. But anyways, it looks like you got your wish, now that I'm here. I guess we could head back to your place to discuss ideas."

"Sounds wonderful, dear." Rarity said with hope, as the two unicorns began heading to Carousel Boutique.

As they had both entered the carousel, Sunset could certainly see Rarity was truly having a lot more trouble than she let on. There were bizarre dress designs hanging on mannequin ponies, many papers with rejected designs scattered and crumpled up around the floor, and even several trash cans filled with cut fabric. With the knowledge of Rarity seemingly going through all this for the new client, and being told she had a week less to finish everything, Sunset certainly began feeling sympathetic toward her. Luckily, she was now there to help her generous friend prevail, and Sunset did have her own senses of fashion which would certainly give Rarity a new perspective on the matter. Seeing all the failed attempts at dresses, Sunset felt she had to understand what specifically Rarity needed to accomplish for this clothing commission.

"I can certainly see that you've already given a fine attempt in your creative spirit, that's for certain." Sunset started off.

"Yes, this organized chaos isn't a pretty sight at all, wouldn't you say?" Rarity asked rhetorically. "Unfortunately, after all these years in making hundreds of dress designs, the public simply demands more originality, quality, functionality, and creativity. And I'm afraid asking a designer like myself to now create something that perfect and ambitious is just too much."

"Let's break this down bit by bit." Sunset said, trying to analyze everything. "Did your client by any chance mention that this absolutely had to be a dress with the most perfect qualities imaginable?"

"Well... no." Rarity admitted. "She only mentioned wanting something nice to wear at the annual Manehattan beauty pageant. But of course she would say that, she wouldn't want to stifle my creativity. Plus, making super ambitious and perfectly designed dresses just proves to clients that I'm a designer who can outdo herself, putting quality and design over anything competitors would come up with. It guarantees business and gives yours truly a good image in the eyes of the public."

"I get you." Sunset understood, before explaining her own viewpoints. "But perhaps you're still going about it all wrong. Just hear me out, at least. It looks like you've become too focused on being a perfectionist for this dress, that you've forgotten to incorporate basic aspects to prevent it from becoming defective. For example, notice how some of those failed dresses in the corner either lack functionality or have incredibly unusual design choices. I feel as though focusing too much on perfecting this design may be more counter-intuitive than the little things, which really matter."

"I suppose... I had forgotten the image and direction I wanted to take with this project, since I hadn't really been working on it until after I was informed the deadline had changed." Rarity reflected. "I was working on Twilight's coronation gown after all, and did focus too heavily on being as ambitious as I could. That did admittedly backfire when I learned later on at the event, the dress being too ambitious contributed to the disaster of her falling off the balcony after she got her crown. Maybe you do have a point after all."

"Right, so I was thinking perhaps we could come up with something more different for your client." Sunset started explaining. "You said she simply wanted something nice to wear at a beauty pageant, right? I'd think something as simple as a vest could do the job just as effectively as a dress. Coming from me, dresses are pretty overdone at times, especially at beauty pageants. Plus, I would certainly know building a fully functional dress with tons of detail in such a short time isn't something we'd likely be able to pull off. With the stricter deadline and the order not specified to be a dress, I think we can definitely handle doing a vest, at least."

"A vest..." Rarity pondered. "I've never thought about crafting these for a Manehattan order, but I believe that could be a better idea, dear! We don't really have a lot of time either, so you do have a point, I'd most likely just put out something cheap and unfinished if I truly kept the ambition and stuck to the deadline. But unfortunately, I would have no idea where to start, I'm afraid I have little experience with designing vests, as I've mostly stuck to dresses my whole life."

"Well, how about just something simple, but able to accomplish the goal of making the pony look stylish?" Sunset proposed. "Maybe something made of leather? Leather's been part of most of my outfits, and it's always a material that made me happy and confident in my appearance. Plus, let's just say a good friend much like yourself, was able to design me one of the best and fashionable spiky leather vests I've ever seen."

"Leather?" Rarity thought for a second. "I can't believe I hadn't thought of using leather for my orders! I remember the time my mane got into a horrific incident, to where I couldn't show my face anywhere in Equestria. But after some motivation, I styled myself in the most trendy punk look I've ever managed to pull off. A full mohawk with leather attire which really added toward my fashion like never before. I even have some leftover leather in the shelves, so we wouldn't even need to make another trip to gather materials. This is incredibly brilliant, Sunset! If you plan on being in Equestria more often, you might have a future in fashion after all! I'd gladly even pay you for your services as my third assistant."

"I appreciate the offer, Rarity." Sunset smiled. "But it's really just something I came up with off the top of my head. Fashion's still not really my expertise, and I still had learn how to improve my own fashion from my other friends. Oh, and if I do plan on staying in Equestria longer, I've kinda already decided to focus more on improving my magic, since I haven't had available magic for so long."

"I understand, darling." Rarity replied. "But I really do owe you for saving me from this pickle. I honestly have no idea what I'd do if you hadn't come along and given me the inspiration I needed. Losing this client's interest would most certainly affect my business in many ways, even if I was at the mercy of her changing the plans very last minute."

"Very generous of you for sure." Sunset acknowledged. "But really, I'm just happy to help out a friend because I believe it's the right thing to do. After all, I used to be the kind of pony who's learned the hard way not to expect being rewarded for absolutely everything I do, let's just say."

"I insist, I should still do something for you." Rarity persisted, before thinking about it further. "I know! How about I design you a vest of your own? You most certainly know a thing or two about leather, and I would imagine it'd look nicely on you! Then you could study magic in style, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Well, alright. That does sound nice, thank you very much." Sunset replied gratefully. "But of course, we'll have to finish the main order for your client first, so we might as well get started. Is there anything at all I can help you with right now? You might need help gathering the materials to speed things along?"

"That would be excellent, dear." Rarity responded. "We haven't got a moment to lose, it's time to let the crafting marathon commence!"

With that said, both Rarity and Sunset began doing everything possible to create the most stunning leather vest anypony had ever seen. They had gathered materials, created a base design, and started trimming the leather sheets to make everything just right. Sunset had to admit, working with Rarity on clothing that was more suited to her own style was pretty fun, even if last time, it resulted in her and the rest of her friends wearing ridiculously laughable vegetable costumes. Overall, the vest was coming together rather nicely, and it began to feel like they had made huge progress in the little time they've spent collaborating on the project.

Things seemed to be going smoothly, up until the front door to Carousel Boutique opened. Rarity knew she wasn't expecting any customers today, since the shop was closed. This meant that either her client had arrived even earlier than she said, or it was likely her little sister. It turned out to be the latter, as both Sunset and Rarity heard a familiar and distinct squeaky voice from downstairs.

"Rarity, I'm home!" Sweetie Belle shouted, before making her way up the stairs as Sunset and Rarity had paused their activities."You mentioned earlier before school that you had to work on some dress, right? Well, now that I'm growing older and needing to learn future responsibilities, I'd figure I could help-"

But before Sweetie Belle could even finish, she saw Sunset, whom she had presumed was already assisting Rarity in her work. Her disappointment caused her ears fall back in sadness, as this was confirmed when Rarity spoke up.

"I'm terribly sorry, sister." Rarity apologized. "But I'm already doing that with my friend, Sunset here. If you would like us to spend time doing things together, perhaps we could mine for gems next week?"

"Alright then..." Sweetie Belle sighed, before murmuring as she began leaving the room. "It figures that the one time I actually want to spend time with my big sister, she doesn't have any time. Yet when she missed me, she only wanted us to do things I liked when I was way younger."

However, Sunset's hearing was keen to where she was able to understand everything the filly had just said, even from a fair distance away. Sunset already began to get flashbacks of the Anon-a-Miss incident, where she unknowingly took time away from the older sisters of Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, which caused the three little girls to became jealous and attempted to frame her. This was certainly no different, as the pony Sweetie Belle seemed noticeably upset when she was legitimately looking forward to spending time with her older sister.

Although what the girls did to her back in the human world was especially rotten and selfish of them, Sunset still felt a part of herself was wrong too, by simply letting Applejack exclude Applebloom from their activities. Sure, it was more ideal to hang with a group of friends around the same age, but just as she had said herself after the revelation, she already knew herself what it was like to be all alone. Although Sunset wasn't immediately thinking Sweetie Belle might plan on doing something as malicious to her for stealing her big sister, she was considering doing what she should've done back then, which might've prevented the whole Anon-a-Miss conflict in the first place.

"Rarity..." Sunset began before explaining why she suddenly stopped making further progress on the vest. "Maybe we shouldn't just exclude your sister like that. It looked like she was really looking forward to spending more time with you, and I wouldn't want to take that away from her. I also heard her mutter under her breath, something about how when you missed her, you purely wanted her to indulge in things she only liked when she was little?"

"Oh, right." Rarity said sheepishly. "That was an embarrassing experience for me, how I spent so much time away from my sister, to where I wanted to have more quality time with her, unaware she wasn't a little filly anymore. But I did end up taking away the lesson that growing up doesn't necessarily mean you also grow apart. As such, I had accepted to give her room to continue growing older on her own, as I've already assured myself she'll always be my little pony."

"Well, even if you've decided to give her space, it sounded like she really wanted to spend more time with you herself this time." Sunset elaborated, before alluding to her own parents. "If there's anything that my friends have taught me, it's that family always comes first, and that we really shouldn't exclude them when they genuinely want to spend time with you. Plus, let's just say that, I've already embraced the strong feeling that... family won't be around forever. She really did sound sad and disappointed that I'm taking up your time, so perhaps we could have her join us."

Rarity looked back at their handiwork so far, but then looked toward the direction Sweetie Belle went, thinking of Sunset's words. She began to realize her friend was right, and that this was a perfect opportunity to spend time with her sister, as this was one of the very few times in the past year Sweetie Belle actively wanted to hang out.

"You're absolutely right, Sunset." Rarity admitted making a huge mistake. "I've decided to give my sister more space to be herself, and the one time she wants to be with me, I deny her of it. Again, I guess I was caught up with making this order perfect, to where I didn't really think consider having her, as you were already assisting me. And she did say she wanted to learn from me, as one day, I'll be too old for this job, and she'll be the one running things around here. She certainly can't do just that if I don't teach her anything."

"I'm glad you see things this way now." Sunset said, happy she was seemingly able to immediately stop tension between the two unicorn siblings. "Should I go get her?"

"No need, dear." Rarity replied. "I'll go fetch her, but truly, thank you for caring enough to see family problems which I couldn't even see myself."

As Rarity stormed out of the workshop and toward Sweetie Belle's room, the two sisters reconciled before finally returning to Sunset. She noted that Sweetie Belle now seemed much happier than she was a few minutes ago, which made her feel deep down, she had done the right thing. Although the three girls definitely were in the wrong with framing Sunset, she was still able to understand why they did it, as she also knew from experience what it was like to be left out.

"Well, I guess it looks like the three of us are now going to finish this vest for that ultra-important client of Rarity's?" Sunset asked rhetorically.

"You bet!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed excitedly. "Rarity said it was your idea, so thank you very much for letting me spend time with my sister after all. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised you two didn't just carry on without me. That's what I'd usually expect if Rarity's already got that Coco pony working on dresses with her. Out of curiosity, what made you feel the need to let me join in on the activity, Sunset?"

"Well, I know myself what it's like to be alone and left out." Sunset began alluding to what the the human version of Sweetie Belle had done to her. "I did feel bad for taking your sister's time away from you, and let's just say... last time I unknowingly did this with another friend, their sibling became jealous and acted maliciously toward me. I'm not saying you would've done the same, it's just... something I've learned during my entire journey of accepting friendship."

"Sweetie Belle? Not acting malicious?" Rarity questioned with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. "Oh, I don't know, Sunset. My dear sister here once tried to sabotage the headdress I made for Sapphire Shores, just because she felt the costumes I made for her play got more acknowledgement than her acting. She actually almost cost me my entire career, now isn't that right, Sweetie?"

"Come now, I said I was sorry, didn't I?" Sweetie Belle pouted. "Plus, I did make that extra change with the dolphin stitching, which she ended up loving. But hey, this will give me a nice opportunity to learn from the master. One day, I'll be the one running Carousel Boutique, and you have said I've got the creative vision to craft, haven't you?"

"Yes, I suppose it's a good time to teach you more about fashion, darling." Rarity responded. "Alright, so why don't we all continue where we left off?"

"Yeah, sounds good." Sunset said, enthusiastic to continue.

Although the three ponies began working on the vest as expected, Sunset was still somewhat shook up by the fact Sweetie Belle did at some point end up nearly costing her sister's career out of pettiness. This was much like the human version of her, who ended up stealing Sunset's phone at the slumber party while everyone was asleep and downloaded the embarrassing photos and videos to post on MyStable. Sunset began thinking she definitely did the right thing, not only for helping Rarity improve her family relationship like a good friend, but because it might've also potentially saved her from a jealous Sweetie Belle's retaliation.

Regardless of what the outcome would've otherwise been, Sunset was glad the Anon-a-Miss incident still helped her learn a valuable lesson, even if in all fairness, it wasn't particularly clear that the three young girls were feeling excluded at the time. She took this off her mind as everypony continued doing the usual routine of gathering materials and assisting Rarity whenever possible. Rarity also had to admit, twelve hooves working together made things much faster than only four, even if she was more used to working by herself. After a few hours of hard work and perseverance, the leather vest was completed, and to Sunset, it looked much better than the one the human Rarity had made for her. She could almost feel a joking degree of envy toward the pony who would end up receiving this wonderful vest, but still kept in mind that Rarity promised she'd make another for her.

"That sure is a beauty, Rarity." Sunset acknowledged as the three unicorns gazed upon the marvelous attire. "I'm glad we were able to do this whole project together."

"And now, I would like for you to try it on, Sunset." Rarity said. "I do need somepony to model the vest for me, since Sweetie Belle here is still a little too small."

"That's fine, I'm in no hurry to grow up anyways." Sweetie responded, alluding to the incident where she and the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders became adult mares.

"Wow, this is quite a privilege." Sunset said before taking the vest off the rack and putting it on herself.

It made her feel at home in the human world, since this was the first time she had worn leather as a pony. The leather vest to Sunset, symbolized the path she had gone down, to where the beauty of the vest manifested as the inner kind and empathetic pony she had become. Having three ponies work together on the dress certainly cut down on the time spent constructing the attire, and it also gave Sunset a good opportunity to bond with not only Rarity, but her little sister too. With the client's order finished, Rarity and Sweetie Belle gazed upon a pony who showed beauty on not only the outside, but the inside as well, after seeing the lovely acts of kindness she had done for both of them.

Comments

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Knowing it would be better to focus her parents later, Sunset kept on going through Ponyville until she finally noticed a familiar purple-maned unicorn in the distance. Thinking back to her bully days at CHS, Sunset remembered that out of the entire gang, she disliked Rarity the most. This was due to finding her overly dramatic reactions annoying, and often gritting her teeth in jealousy when overhearing other students claiming that Rarity was prettier than her. Since then, Sunset admired Rarity a lot more, as she learned over time they actually had a lot more in common than she really imagined. It was actually Rarity who had influenced Sunset's fashion choices at CHS, which genuinely improved the approaches she took at sporting leather outfits. Rarity also designed and crafted that spiky leather vest Sunset loved wearing often, which was unfortunately ruined when Gilda assaulted her in the alleyway.

Interesting.

"Yeah, I can certainly relate." Sunset acknowledged. "Even drawing up comic books begins to take a toll when you have no idea which direction to take. But anyways, it looks like you got your wish, now that I'm here. I guess we could head back to your place to discuss ideas."

I feel the same way with my fanfics I write. The first year and half of it was fun but the last few months I started to reconsider if I want to continue doing it or not, which lead me to a tough decision I've decided to do following next month. Retire or take a extended break from writing them.

"Well, even if you've decided to give her space, it sounded like she really wanted to spend more time with you herself this time." Sunset elaborated, before alluding to her own parents. "If there's anything that my friends have taught me, it's that family always comes first, and that we really shouldn't exclude them when they genuinely want to spend time with you. Plus, let's just say that, I've already embraced the strong feeling that... family won't be around forever. She really did sound sad and disappointed that I'm taking up your time, so perhaps we could have her join us."

She's got a point there.

"Come now, I said I was sorry, didn't I?" Sweetie Belle pouted. "Plus, I did make that extra change with the dolphin stitching, which she ended up loving. But hey, this will give me a nice opportunity to learn from the master. One day, I'll be the one running Carousel Boutique, and you have said I've got the creative vision to craft, haven't you?"

Can't argue there.

It made her feel at home in the human world, since this was the first time she had worn leather as a pony. The leather vest to Sunset, symbolized the path she had gone down, to where the beauty of the vest manifested as the inner kind and empathetic pony she had become. Having three ponies work together on the dress certainly cut down on the time spent constructing the attire, and it also gave Sunset a good opportunity to bond with not only Rarity, but her little sister too. With the client's order finished, Rarity and Sweetie Belle gazed upon a pony who showed beauty on not only the outside, but the inside as well, after seeing the lovely acts of kindness she had done for both of them.

Way to go Sunset, you killed two birds with one stone doing this.