//------------------------------//
// 20. Barbers Babs & Breeze 
// Story: Renaming Starlight's Village 
// by Brass Polish 
//------------------------------//

Babs Seed was running as fast as she could down the Canterlot street. The Mane-Iac was catching up to her; not because she had longer legs, but because her long strands of hair were acting as spider-like legs, allowing her to zoom down the road while she bobbed up and down upside-down watching Babs’ pitiful progress. The shadow looming over Babs told her she couldn’t outrun the monster. Then she spotted Daring Do swinging on a liana above the street towards the Mane-Iac. She attempted to kick the attacking wacko over, but was grabbed by the throat by a strand of the Mane-Iac’s unnaturally long hair. Babs Seed didn’t stick around to watch Daring’s demise. She kept on running, knowing the looming threat was still towering over her. As she reached a fountain in the center of town, she heard someone call her name and jerked her head right. It was Shadow Spade. But before the private eye could get another word out, she too was snared by a fist of hair. She tossed something to Babs before the fist of hair encased her. It was a large pair of scissors. The fist slammed on the ground. Babs looked up. Long, green, hairy claws were reaching out for her. She grabbed the large scissors and sliced the arm of hair. The Mane-Iac shrieked as the long strand of hair parted and flopped down into the fountain. Babs heaved a sigh of relief when the Mane-Iac receded. She got a thrill of horror a split-second later when the floating strand of hair raised snake-like up out of the fountain. Before she could draw breath, the hairy snake grabbed her by the middle and pulled her into the fountain. The hairy snake squeezed, and all of Babs’ remaining breath burst out in a bubble as she was pulled down into the dark and strangely deep water.

*****

“I wonder what the weather’s going to be like,” said Mancy as he and Night Glider sat in Sugar Belle’s Cafe eating warm pies.
“Try looking outside and sticking your hoof in the air,” Night Glider frowned.
“I said going to be like, smart-alec!” snapped Mancy.
Apple Bloom witnessed this and felt strange. On one hoof, Mancy and Night Glider were still not getting along despite having attempted to set aside their differences last summer. On the other, Apple Bloom wasn’t used to ponies not knowing the weather schedule; but of course, Starlight’s Village didn’t have a weather team. Winter had hit the town pretty hard. Snowfalls, icy winds, and bright sunshine came and went at random, and the Villagers, along with the Crusaders, had all donned jackets, earmuffs, hats, scarves, boots, etc. Bend Twist was the only pony in town who hadn’t gotten into winter clothing. He’d never left the Hostel since he’d first arrived in the Village eager to but terrified of reconciling with Party Favour.

*****

One cold but not very snowy day, the Crusaders were in the Hostel making their umpteenth attempt to talk Bend into going out and talking to his brother. Bend still seemed repulsed by the idea, yet continued to agonise over wanting to.
“We’re just going in circles,” groaned Scootaloo after she, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had given up and left the Hostel. “All he’s done is sit by the fire and flip-flop for weeks.”
“Maybe this isn’t a problem for us to solve,” Sweetie Belle suggested. “Don’t forget, he wasn’t called here by the Cutie Mark Grid. Maybe this is more of a friendship problem, so maybe one day, he’ll be summoned to Ponyville by Twilight’s Map.”
They heard excited shouting. They turned to see Double Diamond skiing into town having run non-stop from the top of the nearby mountain, so heavy was the snow up there.
“Hey, Crusaders!” he called as he ground to a halt. “While I was up there, I think I spotted some ponies headed towards town.”
Sure enough, the CMCs’ cutie marks went off, and so they headed for the Cave.

*****

As soon as the three teenage fillies arrived at the mouth of Cave, a cutie mark flew past them and entered.
“Hey I recognise that!” exclaimed Scootaloo. “That mark belongs to Fluttershy’s brother.”
They looked into the sky beyond the Village, and could see an oddly shaped silhouette. It did look like a pegasus, but what was all that stuff on him?
“Maybe he’s overdressed for winter,” said Sweetie, squinting up at the silhouette.
Suddenly, a second cutie mark hovered swiftly towards them from out of the sky. Apple Bloom recognised it at once.
“Babs!” she exclaimed. “Zephyr Breeze is carrying Babs on his back!”

*****

A gust of cold wind blew as Zephyr Breeze landed with his passenger, but Apple Bloom hadn’t even noticed as she excitedly bounced towards the visitors to hug her cousin. Babs gave a yelp and ducked behind Zephyr’s head, giving his neck a squeeze.
Apple Bloom, her mane billowing in the cold gust, stopped in her tracks. “Babs? What’s the matter?”
She looked to Zephyr for an answer, but he was struggling to speak.
“When was the last time you’ve had a trim?” he managed to grunt.
Like many teenagers, Apple Bloom had avoided going to the barbers lately.
“Seedy here’s got a phobia of long manes and tails going,” Zephyr explained horsley. “Not a good thing when working at a barber shop.”
“I know,” Babs piped up, leaning out and releasing her grip on Zephyr’s neck. “I heard about how you all rescued the Queens.”
“Well that was mostly her,” Apple Bloom admitted, pointing to Sweetie Belle.
“And,” Babs Seed continued, “I’d heard that when Celestia and Luna had been captured, they were tied up in their own manes and tails.”
“She’s been terrified of long ones ever since,” Zephyr Breeze huffed. “She only agreed to ride here on my back if I agreed to ruin my well-done mane and wear a hat.”
“I really appreciate it,” said Babs, dismounting. “Thanks, Zeph.”
She walked towards her cousin and they hugged; Apple Bloom could feel her flinching, but it was a happy reunion nonetheless.

*****

“So you’re both working together in a hair salon in Manehattan?” asked Scootaloo as the party entered the Cave.
“Since summer began,” grinned Zephyr, delicately taking his hat off so as not to wreck his already-ruffled mane-do. “And things were going just fine until the school year began.”	
“Clearly,” said Sweetie when they reached the large stone Maze. “The Cutie Mark Grid has called both boss and trainee at once.”
Zephyr Breeze and Babs Seed stared as they watched their cutie marks navigate the Maze at the end of the Cave.
“I think I’ve already made it clear why Seedy’s here,” said Zephyr as he managed to remove his hat at last. “As for yours truly…”
But Apple Bloom was still quite interested in her cousin’s troubles. “If you’ve got a fear of long hair, isn’t it a good thing you’re working at a barber shop?”
“Not really,” Babs frowned. “Every time I get a customer with a long mane and tail, I’m either too uncomfortable to get near it, or I overdo the cutting and trimming.”
“Then come the complaints,” grimaced Zephyr. “And in the end, I always have to take over.”
Babs Seed shivered; not just from cold - an icy gust was filling the cavern - but from fright. In the Cave, she could vividly picture Queens Celestia and Luna writhing on the ground fighting their own manes and tails in a futile attempt to escape.
Sweetie Belle shivered too. “Why don’t we get to the Village Hostel and out of this cold?”
“Oh, come on! I just got my hat off!” Zephyr Breeze complained.

*****

After about a quarter of an hour mincing about with the hat, the party was in the warmth of the Hostel, and now it was Zephyr’s turn to tell the Crusaders his cutie mark struggles.
“I have a pretty well-rounded education… albeit without any degrees or diplomas. In the end, I graduated from a program for hair styling after my sister and my better half convinced me to deviate from my own vision and strive to meet the requirements to see the program through to the end. Well lately, I’ve been pondering what might have happened if Flutters and Rainbows happened to give me such a boost during one of my previous college courses. Before hair styling, I’d taken classes in canaries, tattoos, cloud seeding, and hot air balloons.”
Bend Twist squirmed in a nearby rocking chair, but nopony took any notice.
“Now I can’t help but imagine if I’d seen one of those courses to the end and had chased a career involving that,” finished Zephyr.

*****

Apple Bloom didn’t know where to start with either boss or trainee, but found herself gravitating towards Babs, she being her cousin and the first member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders since the club was formed.
“So Babs, how have your fellow Manehattan CMCs been?”
Babs gave a feeble smile. “I’m so proud of you Apple Bloom.”
Apple Bloom was taken aback.
“Just look at you,” Babs Seed grinned, trying not to look at Apple Bloom’s longer mane. “You and your friends have moved on up and are helping ponies across Equestria with their cutie mark problems.”
Apple Bloom suspected Babs was avoiding her question, but didn’t press the subject. “How would you like a tour of the Village?”
The two cousins passed by Bend Twist on their way out. He’d been staring out at the cold Village street, and when Apple Bloom opened their Hostel door, he promptly jerked away from the window. Apple Bloom quickly informed Babs Seed of Bend’s situation as they left the building.

*****

Sweetie Belle was about to tell Zephyr Breeze what Apple Bloom had just confided in Babs, but Scootaloo spoke to him first.
“So you got your degree in Hair Therapy right?”
“Oh that’s just a euphemism for hair styling,” said Zephyr airily. “Like how body art studio is a euphemism for tattoo parlour, or how soul food is a euphemism for fast food, or how life ceremony is a euphemism for funeral, or…”
“I get it!” Scootaloo interrupted impatiently.
“Don’t get mad, Scootaloo,” coaxed Sweetie Belle. “Can you think of any barber who didn’t try to strike up a conversation?”
Scootaloo took the reins back. “Well I think Bend Twist over there could use some hair therapy.”
Zephyr could only agree when he really looked at Bend for the first time; Bend Twist hadn’t exactly been keeping up with personal hygiene since he’d come to Starlight’s Village.
“Front!” Zephyr barked to Day Star and Sereta. “Fetch me a chair, a blanket, and a mirror.”
Sweetie Belle cringed. “If he orders Babs Seed around like that, I’m surprised she’s not as much a bundle of nerves as Bend is.”

*****

It was freezing in the new CMCs Treehouse. Babs Seed was impressed regardless, but still looked glum.
“I remember me, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon invading the old Crusaders Treehouse in Sweet Apple Acres,” she frowned.
“Oh, enough of that,” Apple Bloom said with a dismissive smile. “I know you’ve regretted your bullying behaviour since we first met. Since you realised you were making us feel as awful as those bullies at your school used to make you feel…”
She faltered when she saw Babs’ face fall even more.
“You’re still having bully problems, aren’t you?”
“A lot of the foals who picked on me in Primary School are in my Secondary class now. They haven’t bothered me for years, but when the school year began, they found out about my new phobia. They’ve started letting their manes and tails grow really long just to freak me out. And there’s nopony I can complain to because everyone says they’re not really doing anything remotely wrong. Those bullies say they're just growing their hair long to fight off the cold weather, but they’re always tossing their heads and flicking their tails at me. There’s one colt with dreadlocks who…” Babs shuddered. “Cracks them like a whip. I yelp every time. I can’t help it. It’s so embarrassing.”
Apple Bloom was determined to help her cousin but still couldn’t think of a way to do so.
“Let’s go for a walk down the Street to keep our blood pumping,” she suggested. “Maybe I could introduce you to some of the Villagers.”

*****

By the Hostel fireplace, Zephyr Breeze was doing Bend Twist’s mane and tail up, and to Scootaloo’s and Sweetie Belle’s delight, they were chatting away.
“You’re lucky you’ve got a job doing something you enjoy,” said Bend calmly but glumly. “I’m a plumber in Tall Tale. It’s so dull.”
“D’you think you’d have more fun being a plumber in Fillydelphia?” Zephyr joked. “Sometimes a change of location is just what you need. That’s why I avoid my hometown Cloudsdale, or my sister’s new home in Ponyville. Whenever I go to those cities, I run the risk of being constantly hit on by Rainbow Dash.”
“Hit on?” asked the nearby Sweetie Belle.
“Well, he’s half right,” smirked Scootaloo.
Then the two CMS watched with satisfied smiles as Bend Twist began to talk about balloon art, seeming to become more relaxed as time went on and Zephyr continued to snip, comb, and spray.

*****

Party Favour was sipping hot cocoa when Apple Bloom and Babs Seed arrived at Sugar Belle’s Cafe. Babs, remembering not to mention Bend Twist, struck up a conversation with Party Favour very quickly after Apple Bloom introduced the two to each other.
“I don’t mind when the snow comes,” Party Favour said. “I have this fun little joke I like to play on the other Villagers. I’ll make a snowmare, and I’ll blow up a balloon, cover it in snow, and put it on the top. Then I’ll ask a pony taller than me to put the carrot nose in.”
Babs chuckled, picturing the startled pony recoiling at the exploding head of the snowmare. Apple Bloom was glad Babs was cheering up, but still regretted diving into this endeavour alone too hastily. She was still drawing a blank as to how to help Babs get over her newfound fear of long hair. Wondering if Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were making any progress with Zephyr Breeze, she slipped away to visit the Hostel. Neither Babs nor Party Favour noticed.

*****

The wind had died down when Apple Bloom returned to the Hostel. When she entered, she saw an unfamiliar pony.
“Oh, hi,” she said politely. “I’m Apple Bloom.”
“Hi,” said the stranger. “I’m Bend Twist.”
Apple Bloom double-took. Bend Twist was calm and smiling. He was standing steadily and spryly in the middle of the room. And his mane and tail were entirely unrecognisable; not only were they styled entirely differently, not only were they dyed and their original colours lost, but they were somehow longer than before. In fact, his mane was draped so far along his back, it obscured his cutie mark.
“How did you do that?!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
“It’s college-level stuff,” smirked Zephyr Breeze. “Besides, it’ll make it easier for him to face what awaits outside.”
“Uh, Zephyr,” said Scootaloo, “it’s not the cold that makes him afraid to leave the Hostel.”
“It’s because he’s scared to face his brother,” put in Sweetie. “It was kind of because of him that he got stuck as a plumber.”
Bend Twist gave no reaction to the mention of Party Favour. He was too busy admiring his reflection to pay attention to the conversation.
“I love this new do,” he smiled. “I feel like an entirely different pony. Why my own family wouldn’t recognise me.”

*****

The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ eye widened when Bend Twist began to divulge a plan to leave the Hostel.
“I’ll masquerade as an utter stranger. Knot, I’ll call myself. Then I can start fresh with Party Favour.”
The Crusaders huddled.
“Is this really the best way for Party Favour to reunite with his brother?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Sweetie, look at him,” said Scootaloo. “He just said Party Favour’s name without so much as a twitch of his cheek. He practically is a whole new pony right now. We might not get another chance. His doubts could come flooding back at any moment.”
“It’s a start,” Apple Bloom agreed.
“And if this works,” Scootaloo continued, “Zephyr may have his cutie mark epiphone and stop regretting leaving every other education program he’d taken.”
“Okay,” Sweetie Belle nodded.
The huddle parted.
“Well if you’re sure you’re ready,” Apple Bloom said to Bend Twist, “Party Favour is at Sugar Belle’s Cafe. Let’s go, Knot.”
The Crusaders’ faces lit up when Bend Twist strided to the Hostel door with no hesitation or faltering expression. And although the wind had died down outside, a draught entered the building, causing Bend’s hair to billow behind him. With a jolt, Apple Bloom remembered that Babs Seed was also at the Cafe.

*****

Babs and Party Favour had left the Cafe and were sitting outside sipping hot chocolate. Then they were abruptly approached by Bend Twist in all his mane-styled glory. Babs tensed up and pointed a shaky hoof at Bend.
“Th-th-that’s Ben-!”
She spotted Apple Bloom standing behind the long-maned stallion. Apple Bloom stared intently at her panicking cousin and made a slashing motion across her neck.
Party Favour, having not noticed Apple Bloom, stared with concern at his new friend. “Who’s Ben?”
Babs Seed’s mind was racing; she knew the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn’t want her to let Party Favour know that this long-maned stranger was his estranged brother.
She mustered herself. “Oh, Ben’s just another pony who was called here by the Cutie Mark Grid.”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Bend Twist. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders have helped me overcome my conundrum, and now I’m thinking maybe I’d like to move to this Village. What’s your name?”
“I’m Party Favour,” said Party Favour with a smile.
“Nice you meet ya,” grinned Bend Twist. “Can I buy you a hot drink?”
“Ah, thanks,” smiled Party Favour. “Hey Sugar Belle! Another round, please!”
He began to walk back into the Cafe with “Ben”.
“Maybe you should get another hot chocolate as well, Babs,” said Party Favour. “You look frozen to the bone.”
Reluctantly, Babs followed the two stallions into the Cafe, determined to take the first step towards getting over her fear of long hair.

*****

As the three ponies sat in the Cafe sipping chocolate tea, Babs Seed didn’t say much as she watched Party Favour and “Ben” begin to bond. Bend Twist, having always been intently interested in balloon art, positively relished hearing about Party Favour’s craft and even seeing some demonstrations. Maybe Zephyr did such a good job, or maybe the two brothers hadn’t seen each other for so long, or maybe it was a combination of both, but Party Favour didn’t recognise his brother at all. Yet the two of them became closer and closer as the hours went by. Eventually, Babs noticed that part of Bend Twist’s mane had coiled around Party Favour. Babs wasn’t disturbed by the sight. It looked to her like a loving embrace; a warm hug. It brought a warm feeling to her heart; though she wished she could get a warm hug herself.

*****

The three of them finally left the Cafe. Zephyr Breeze and the Crusaders were waiting for them.
“Wow,” Party Favour said when Babs told him who Zephyr was, “how many ponies did the Cutie Mark Grid call here today?”
“Just the three of us,” said Zephyr. “Me, Seedy, and Knot.”
“Knot?” asked Party Favour. “I thought his name was Ben?”
“Knot’s his last name,” Babs said without missing a beat.
To everypony’s relief, Party Favour remained unsuspicious.
“Well,” he said, “my new cottage mate…”
The Crusaders’ faces lit up.
“...says he’s not confused about his cutie mark anymore. How about you two?”
Right on cue, the cutie marks of Babs Seed and Zephyr Breeze glowed and vibrated, along with those of the CMCs. Babs Seed immediately tackle-hugged Apple Bloom.
“I can’t thank you enough, Cous,” she beamed.
Smiling, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked to Zephyr Breeze, expecting him to thank them for their help. They were a little annoyed to see that he only looked pleased with himself.

*****

“Well Ben,” Babs said when she released Apple Bloom, “you may have decided to stay here, but me and my trainee need to get back to work. Come on, Zeph. Back to Manehattan.”
“Alright. Hop aboard, boss,” Zephyr Breeze smiled, kneeling forward.
As Babs Seed climbed onto Zephyr’s back, the Crusaders mugged their amusement that Babs was Zephyr’s boss when they’d assumed it was the other way around. Soon the parties parted ways; Zephyr Breeze had flown away carrying Babs Seed, Party Favour had taken “Ben Knot” to his cottage, and the CMCs had gone to their Treehouse. Although they were pleased with their days’ work, they knew Party Favour may discover the truth about his brother any time. But as they found themselves constantly saying, it was a start.