//------------------------------// // Mane Troubles // Story: My little short stories- Tales of Dream castle // by Paradise Oasis //------------------------------// Mane troubles Okay, okay, the whole mess with Cheerilee was our fault, but how were we supposed to know? It was a quiet Saturday evening and we were all sitting around the Satin Slipper, drinking milkshakes and having a good laugh. Fizzy was serving up root beer floats with a smile and a laugh as always, Wind Whistler was staring at her glass and philosophically arguing whether it was half empty or half full, and Shady was whining about how they were out of chocolate, and she had to drink a vanilla shake instead. It was then that Cheerilee came trotting into the shop... and boy were her mane and tail a mess! "Whoa, Cheerilee!" Fizzy giggled, nearly tumbling over from laughter. "You look like you got hit by a bug zapper!" "Gee, Fizz, thanks for noticing!" The teaching mare grumbled, indicating how unhappy she was with the situation. "I couldn't even get a comb though this tangled mess this morning." And boy, was she right! That mane looked like a tangled up mass of spaghetti some one had twirled together with a fork, and her tail didn't look much better! I've never seen so many split ends, tangles, and frizzy hairs sticking out of the same pink mane! "Gee, your mane looks terrible!" Shady cried in despair, trying to hold her tears back. "I really wish we could do something to help!" "The logical thing for us to do, would be to assist you with your follicle follies." Wind Whistler added, in her usual logical manner. "For such a remedy, I would recommend a visit to the Crimp and Curl hair salon, where most of us go whenever we are in the necessity of a style alteration." "Yeah, that's it!" Fizzy giggled, putting her milkshakes away, and closing up the Satin Slipper early. "Let's take her over to the salon, and give her a makeover, it'll be fun!" "Indeed, Fizzy! And while we are present at the same time and location, perhaps it would be meritorious to get our manes done at the same time, as well." "Oh, I guess I'll come along," Shady whined, trotting along after the other mares. "But I'm sure I'll be nothing but a burden to the rest of you!" "Now wait, girls- are you all so sure this is such a good idea?" Cheerilee asked hesitantly. "I-I mean, I could just try to straighten my mane out, myself." "Awww, com'n Cheerilee! It won't hurt a bit, we promise!" Fizzy replied innocently, a great big grin upon her face. "Besides, you're gonna need to get a cut sooner or later!" I could understand her hesitation, Cheerilee had not gotten her mane done ever since she arrived in Dream Valley from Equestria. But I think she realized she'd have to get it done sooner or later... unless she wanted to look like a brush n' grow pony. As they dragged her away, this white Pegasus decided to follow along to see what would happen. I really felt sorry for the poor teacher- not only for what her mane looked like, but for what I knew these three goofballs were going to do to her. .... The three of them led Cheerilee down to the Crimp n' curl Salon, a small structure just outside of Dream Castle's main keep. The yellow building looks like a large yellow vanity covered in bows, satin, and lace. As we all trotted through the door, a white earth mare with a blue mane and pink cutie mark greeted us. "Ahhhh, bonjuor my little ponies. Velcome to mi salon!" Fifi, the owner of the Crimp 'n Curl, greeted us. "Please, do come in, and let's see what we can do for vou!" Fifi clapped her hooves together, and her two assistants, Dabble and Scribble, quickly prepare a series of chairs for all of the girls (I declined, of course, only being here to watch this disaster unfold). The three beauty ponies washed, cleaned, and prepared their hair for a cut. Before we knew it, all four of them were seated in front of mirrors, the beauticians ready to go to work on their manes. "So, Fizzy!" Dabble asked, reading the scissors in her hooves. "What'll it be today?" "Eh, I'm feelin' a little bit crazy today!" The goofy twinkle-eyed mare told her. "Go ahead and give me a mohawk!" The purple pony with a pink mane nods, and suddenly spun around the ditzy unicorn in a flurry of cuts and snips. Cheerilee's jaw nearly hits the floor when she sees her friend's new do. "B-but Fizzy!" The teacher pony whimpered, looking on in shock at the single strip of mane the unicorn had left. "Your beautiful mane!" "Oh, that is no great difficulty, my dear Cheerilee." Wind Whistler added, looking back at her beautician. "My dear Scribble, I would be most appreciative if you gave me a swirl pattern shaved into my head." The white earth mare with the red mane nodded, and she soon had the genius pony's mare's mane shaved close to her head. "Aieee! Wind Whistler, you look even worse!" Cheerilee shrieked. "You call these hairdo's a makeover?!" "Okay, Shady! What is it vou want?" Fifi asked, looking over at the depressed mare. "Zomething even more radical, S'il te plait" "Oh, I don't know, whatever I get will look horrible on me!" The mare whimpered sadly, shaking her mane. "Cheerilee, why don't you go first, instead?" "You know what? If you all are taking such chances with your manes, so will I!" The teacher announced, looking back at the beautician. "Fifi, shave everything off- my tail, my mane, everything!" "Oui, madam!" The beautician exclaimed, jumping right over to Cheerilee's chair. "Don't vorry, I will make you look tres magnifique!" Fifi then proceeded to shave the earth mare bald, cutting off every last hair follicle on the earth mare's mane and tail. The beautician spun her around to face the mirror, where she got a good look at her now bald body. "Wow, what an odd trio we look to be!" Cheerilee sighed sadly, hopping out of the chair. "Oh well, at least we'll all look freakish together until our manes grow back!" It was at that instant, that Wind Whistler and Fizzy's manes and tails instantly grew back, taking their old shapes again as they both went back to looking the way they had before the cuts. Cheerilee stared at all of them in shock, as the surprised trio of ponies all stared back at her bald head, until Fizzy finally spoke up. "Ummmm, Cheerilee? Don't Equestrian pony manes grow back instantly after they are cut off?" The unicorn asked. "That's what Ponyland pony manes do!" Cheerilee's eyes go wide, as she reacts in a way only Cheerilee the Equestrian teacher could... "AIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" *thud!* "Oh dear," Wind Whistler said in concern, as I tried to hold back my hysterical laughter. "I do believe she has once again passed out!"