//------------------------------// // The Eyes // Story: Birthday Gyrrl // by shallow15 //------------------------------// “Right, darling,” Rarity said gently turning Flash back to face her. “Next up, the eyes. And one of the most important things with your eyes is you want them to complement the rest of your ensemble. So, since we have that delightful green in your gown, we naturally want…?” “Green?” Flash volunteered after nearly a full thirty seconds of Rarity’s expectant look. The fashionista smile and clapped her hands once. “Exactly! Of course, we can’t just slap some green on your eyelids and call it a day.” “We can’t?” “Good heavens, no! That would undermine the whole point of bringing out the best in yourself! No, we need something bold, daring… dare I say, sexy?” “Sexy? Me?” Flash repeated. While he hadn’t been a slouch in the dating department in high school, he usually thought of himself as more handsome than sexy. It was an odd adjective to use in regards to himself. “Yes, indeed!” Rarity began flipping several eyeshadow palettes open, rejected them all, then flipped open another three before she smiled. “Oh, yes, this will do nicely.” She grabbed another small palette, this one with a grid of sixteen squares with eyeshadow in a variety of skin tones and put it on top of the one she approved of. She picked out half a dozen brushes of various sizes and set them next to the palettes. She opened a drawer in the vanity and extracted a small roll of tape. She tore off two small pieces and placed them at the bottom of the outside corners of his eyes. “What’s this for?” he asked, looking at the tape in the mirror. “Oversplash,” Rarity replied, hunting across the detritus on the vanity top. She made a delighted noise and produced a black eyeliner pencil. “Close your eyes please, darling.” Flash obediently did so, and winced slightly as he felt the pressure of the pencil point on his left lid and eyeball. Rarity worked swiftly, coating the lid in black, making sure to follow the edge of his eyelid and into the crease. “Now, this is going to form the base for the eyeshadow. Most green shadows are very bright, so you want to give them something to work against to truly make them pop,” Rarity explained as she repeated the procedure on his right eyelid. “You don’t have to get the whole lid, because we’re going to blend once we have good coverage. Here, take a look.” Flash opened his eyes and sure enough there was a dark black ring at the top of his eyes. He winked one eye closed so he could see what Rarity was talking about. The lids were almost completely black and a small “wing” swooped off the outside corners of his eyes, above the tape. “Of course, you’ll need to keep your eyes open when you do this yourself,” Rarity continued. “But if you keep your eyes half closed, you should be able to cover everything easily. Now, we take our brush and we blend the eyeliner so everything is smooth and softer.” She did so, working quickly, until his eyelids were a soft uniform shade of black. She put the brush aside and picked up the skin tone palette. She picked up another brush and swirled it in a creamy brown color, tapping off the excess until there was almost nothing of the makeup on the bristles. “You can keep your eyes open for this part, darling.” Using a light hand, Rarity began applying the eyeshadow to Flash’s left eye, starting at the outer corner and lightly running it above the black, through the crease of his eyelid, thinning it out when she got to the inner part of the crease. She then worked the brush back and forth, blending the shadow into a solid arc, then she switched to a smaller brush and continued working. “”And we’re blending,’” Sunset said in the pompous voice from before, quoting the ViewTube video she and Rarity had referenced earlier. “So much blending,” Rarity said. She leaned back and looked at Flash’s eye. “Good. Let me just quickly do the other one and we can move on.” She quickly applied the same treatment to Flash’s right eye then reached down and stopped. “Oh, damn.” “What?” asked Flash. “What is it?” “Nothing major, darling. I just forgot something we need. I believe I left it in the bathroom. I’ll be right back!” Rarity left the bedroom. Sunset got up off the floor and sat down in the desk chair. “So, how you feeling?” Flash shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t know. I mean, the dress is great and I’m glad you two are having fun but it’s just… I dunno.” “Kinda weird?” “Yeah,” Flash agreed. “I don’t quite feel like myself, but it still feels right somehow. I guess that doesn’t make any sense.” Sunset reached out and put her hand on his. “It makes perfect sense to me. I felt that way when I first came through the portal. Everything was wrong, but it felt right too. Like it was some part of me that had been hidden had just been revealed.” “I guess,” Flash said, shifting in his chair. “I just… I dunno.” He looked at himself in the mirror and grimaced. His eyes stood out against the coloring on his lids, but rather than looking sexy or attractive, it looked like he had gotten in a fight with someone and lost. Even with the blush and contouring, his face still looked jaundiced. Thanks to the wig cap, his hair was pressed flat against his head and his ears looked like they were sticking straight out from his head. He felt his eyes begin to water and he frowned in anger. “I look ridiculous,” he said, standing up. “Who am I trying to kid?” She spotted a packet on the vanity labeled “makeup remover wipes.” He reached for them, but was stopped as Sunset stood up and put her hands on his shoulders. “You’re not trying to kid anyone, Flash. This isn’t about deception, or trying to be something you’re not. This is a part of you. The part of you who always wanted to be able to dress in something more interesting than the plain old suit and tie, or t-shirt and jeans, or button downs and khakis that guys are stuck with when it comes to fashion. I remember the night you told me you always wanted to try wearing girls’ clothes. You remember what you told me?” Flash swallowed and looked down at the floor. “I wanted to be pretty.” Sunset nodded and gave him a warm smile. “That’s right. You wanted to be pretty. You still want to be pretty. You want to wear pretty colors and feel comfortable. You want to try other styles of clothes that don’t conform to the expectations of gender. And that’s okay.” Flash looked back up at her. “But I don’t look pretty. My face is too square. I look like I caught something in the Amarezon jungle. I don’t see how anyone could find this…” He gestured up and down his body with both hands. “… pretty.” Sunset tightened her grip on his shoulders. “Because, Flash Sentry, you are one of the prettiest souls I’ve ever encountered… on either side of the portal. You’re kind, thoughtful, self-sacrificing… sometimes to a dangerously stupid extent, but still. You’re talented, and creative, and I kick myself every day that I was such a bitch to you when we were dating. “You are pretty, Flash. You are gorgeous. You are beautiful, and that’s why I set all this up. I want to help you see yourself like I see you. The most caring, strongest, prettiest person I know.” Sunset wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. Flash felt a lump rise in his throat and his eyes watered even more. He tried to keep the tears from falling, not wanting to ruin Rarity’s hard work. Sunset’s voice whispered in his ear. “Trust me, okay? You’re pretty. You’ll always be pretty. And if you trust me and Rarity, you’ll be the prettiest boy you’ve ever seen. Can you do that?” Flash leaned back and nodded. He smiled as he saw Sunset’s own eyes were watering. She reached down and grabbed a couple of tissues form the box on the vanity and handed him a couple as she dabbed at her own eyes. “Oh, darlings!” Rarity’s voice chirped. They looked at the doorway, where Rarity was standing, a tube in one hand, her eyes also filled with joyful tears. She was fanning her other hand, trying to will them from falling. Sunset held out a hand and the fashionista came over, the three of them collapsing into a loving three way hug. Flash felt the tears roll down his cheeks as he and the girls held onto each other. He felt warm. He felt euphoric. He felt seen.It was the most wonderful thing he’d ever felt in his entire life. He was content to just stay there, being seen and held by two of his most supportive friends. But the hug came to an end all too soon. Rarity grabbed a tissue of her own and dabbed at her eyes. “All right, darlings,” she said, sniffling. “First things first, we need to fix the damage all three of us just caused, and then we’ll get back to where we were.” The corrections to their makeup took very little time and soon Flash was once again seated across from Rarity, who took a tapered brush and applied some black eyeshadow to it. She raised the brush and paused. “And just for the record, Flash,” she said with a smiled. “I think you’re one of the prettiest people I know too.” Flash felt his cheeks heat up as he began to blush. Rarity giggled and leaned forward. She applied the brush back to his lids, running it along the crease, between the eyeliner and the brown. “Now, we’re going to use this to apply some contrast and define your eyes a bit more. I’m only going to apply it to the outer corner, because that inner corner is where the green is going to go.” Flash made a noise of understanding. Rarity finished with his left eye, then gave the right eye the same treatment, before going back to the brown and adding a bit more to restore the color and blend it all together. “Oh, yes, lovely,” Rarity cooed. She turned Flash’s head so he was looking at Sunset, who had returned to the bed. “What do you think?” “Looking pretty so far,” Sunset affirmed with a wink. Rarity picked up a beauty blender and the tube she had brought back from the bathroom. She opened it and tapped out some powder onto the blender and applied it underneath Flash’s eyes. “Now, pigments like this tend to flake and drop residue onto your cheeks, so we’re using this powder to catch all that and we’ll get rid of it later.” “Okay,” Flash said. Rarity picked up the other palette she had selected earlier and opened it. Flash blinked at the sight of no less than eighteen different colors all glittery and vibrant. He was transfixed, his brain imagining how they would all look when properly applied. Rarity noticed his amazement and smiled. “I take it these meet with your approval?” Flash nodded, not taking his eyes off the glittery green shadow which he knew would soon be adorning his eyes. Rarity took another brush, swirled it in the green and began to apply it to the inner corner of Flash’s eyelids. She worked swiftly, tapping the makeup onto the lid at first, then swiping it out toward the outer corner of his eyes. Once that was done, she switched back to the black and used it to clean up and blend the two together, emphasizing the glittery emerald sheen. She then grabbed a small flat brush, dabbed it in the black and began running it along the edge of Flash’s upper eyelids near his eyelashes, filling in any gaps the eyeliner had missed. Next, she took another small brush, applied some glittery white shadow from the palette and lightly ran it along the gap between the eyeshadow and his eyebrow on each side. “Just a bit more and your eyes will be finished, darling,” she said, picking up a large clean brush and using it to brush away the powder under his eyes. She picked up the eyeliner pencil and ran it along the edge of his upper and lower eyelids, before getting the small brush and running more black shadow slightly underneath each eyelid and blending it outward. She reached up and peeled the tape off of each eye, leaving a clean, clear angled wing effect on each of his eyes. “Now, let me just apply your mascara and we’ll nearly be done!” Rarity said, plucking the appropriate tube from the vanity and extracting the wand inside. “Glance upward, darling.” Flash complied, and Rarity expertly swept the bristled brush through his upper and lower lashes, thickening and darkening them. It didn’t take long and she put the mascara down with a self-satisfied smile. Flash started to turn his head to look in the mirror but Rarity stopped him. “Ah, ah, ah, darling!” she chided. “We’re almost done, so from here on out, no peeking until we’re finished. There’s only a bit more to go. You can be a good boy for us and wait just a little longer, can’t you.” Flash nodded. The suspense was killing him, but he had said he would trust the two of them, and if they didn’t want him to look at the results until they were finished, he’d oblige them. “Sunset, while I do his lips, could you go get number three, please? It’s in my closet, second shelf down on the right. Oh, and grab the brushes you’ll find there as well.” Sunset nodded and got up and entered the cavernous depths of Rarity’s walk in closet. Rarity turned her attention back to Flash. She picked up a couple of things that Flash finally recognized; lip liner and a tube of lipstick. “We’re going to go fairly basic for your lips,” Rarity explained, uncapping the liner. “A simple nude color. It will make your lips stand out without clashing with your eyes. Ooh! As a matter of fact, let me teach you a little beginner’s trick I learned a while ago, since you don’t have a lot of experience with lipstick and such.” She leaned forward with the lip liner and drew an X on his upper lip, the upper arms of the X touching the peaks of his upper lip. Then, she repeated the process on his bottom lip, only this time the bottom arms of the X rested on the edge of his lip, which Rarity connected with a curved line that outlined the small section of that lip. “So,” she began, “the easiest way to work with lips is to draw these X’s, then use them as the starting points for your lip liner. Start at ones side of the X on your upper lip and then gently draaaaaaw along the edge until you reach the corner of your mouth, then do the same for the other side.” She did so, the liner spreading easily along the edge of Flash’s lip. It felt vaguely ticklish, but Flash managed to keep still, not wanting to ruin Rarity’s concentration. She repeated the process on his bottom lip, starting from each end of the curved line she had drawn. She uncapped the tube of lipstick and held it ready. “Open your mouth slightly, please, darling,” she asked. Flash complied and Rarity skillfully applied the lipstick. “Now, do this.” She pressed her lips together, bringing them slightly inward toward her mouth. Flash copied her, his lips making a comical popping sound when he released them. Rarity smiled, recapped the lipstick and put it down. “And your makeup is done, darling! But before I let you see it, we need to fix your hair.” Flash nodded and reached up to remove the wig cap. Rarity threw her hands up to stop him. “What’s wrong?” Flash asked. “We have something special in mind for you, Flash, dear,” Rarity replied. Sunset appeared holding a small plastic bag and a pair of brushes. “Here you go,” she said. She grinned at Flash. “We got you some beautiful girl hair.” Flash looked at the dark mass in the transparent bag she held. “A wig?” “Of course,” said Rarity. “That’s why we darkened your eyebrows, to make sure they matched the wig. Oooh, trust us, darling. This will be the piece de resistance of your entire ensemble!” Flash looked up into their expectant faces. Both were entreating him with their eyes to take this final step. They were also making sure he couldn’t see the mirror to decide whether he wanted to do it. He looked back and forth between them. Rarity was practically vibrating with excitement, while Sunset’s smile was sympathetic and encouraging. He looked at the wig in Sunset’s hands. He had no clue what it looked like, other than it was black. He looked back up at the two girls, then sighed. “Okay, I trust you.” Rarity’s “Eeeeee!” of delight almost reached a range beyond human hearing. Sunset chuckled at her friend, then turned her attention to Flash. “All right, close your eyes. We’ll tell you when you can open them again. Flash obliged. He soon felt a whirlwind of activity around him. Something snug was pulled over the crown of his head, there were some adjustments made. As that happened, he felt strands of the wig come down and brush his left eye. These were quickly pulled aside. Soon, the initial tugging and pulling was done, and Flash began to hear the girls dragging the brushes through the artificial hair. It was an odd sensation. Aside from the very slight tugging at his scalp, it didn’t feel at all the same as when he brushed his natural hair. He felt the bristles of a comb brush up against his forehead as what he presumed were the bangs of the wig were brushed into place. “Well?” Rarity’s voice said once all the activity had ceased. “I think we’re ready,” Sunset said, her voice confident and excited. He felt the girls take hold of his hands and pull him into a standing position. They led him across the room in a direction that Flash remembered held a full length standing mirror. The hands left his, and relocated to his shoulders, gently turning and nudging him into place. He felt the girls step back behind him. “All right, darling,” Rarity said, her voice breathless with excitement. “Open your eyes!” Flash did. And he stared.