//------------------------------// // Second Chapter : The Spa // Story: The Mane Makes The Pony // by MerlosTheMad //------------------------------// Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was slinking along the side of the buildings in Ponyville's square, and doing her absolute best to remain stealthy. Ever so carefully, she craned her head around an alleyway corner and spotted her goal. "Alright... there it is... the Ponyville spa." She swallowed hard, sizing up her target, and whether or not there were any nearby ponies that would recognize her. Rainbow Dash had been made a fool of once already by going to the spa, and refused to ever let that happen again. Still, it was the only place where she could get a manecut, other than asking a friend. There's no way I'm going all the way home for a manecut... Dad would freak out, act weird and want me to stay all week. That reduced her options to the spa, or a friend, and there was no way she'd let Rarity's hooves near her head ever again. Fluttershy's scared of scissors... Applejack's busy working... Couldn't find Pinkie Pie... and Twilight's working on some weird potion... Rainbow let out a tired breath and used one hoof to raise her overgrown mane out of her eyes. "Alright, lets get this over with." Her hooves squared up on the ground, while her wings flexed and readied themselves for use. Quick as a speeding thing that could go really fast, Rainbow Dash cleared the entire town square in seconds, coming up just shy of running into the spa's glass doors. "Phew, okay. Step two— Oh, sorry about that." Standing beside her were three mares who had just stepped outside. Each bore a flower cutie mark familiar to most Ponyvilleans, but they now also sporting frizzed and ruined mane styles that would come as quite the shock. Rainbow Dash laughed nervously and backed up slowly inside, moving past them; luckily, it seemed that the three mares hadn't quite noticed yet what had happened. "Sorry..." she murmured, just as the door shut. A voice caught her attention. "Oooh, Ms. Rainbow, so good to see you—" Rainbow Dash's eyes sprang to their widest and she whirled around, jabbing her hoof out to press it against the muzzle of whoever was talking. "Sssshhhh! Don't say my name..." Her eyes darted around frantically, looking every which way to make sure she'd be seen by as few ponies as possible. "My rep can't take any more hits, Lotus. Look, I just need a quick trim, can you help me out, please?" The spa pony, who sported a vibrant pink coat and baby blue mane, delicately removed Rainbow's hoof from her mouth. "Ah, I see. Well, let's hurry you on back then. You're in luck! We have no other customers right now." Smiling gently, she turned about and began trotting briskly down a near hallway. Rainbow let out a relieved breath at hearing that, and promptly began following behind the other mare. "Oh, and Ms. Rainbow." Aloe turned about, smirking as she did. "I am Aloe, my sister is Lotus." She tilted her head up at a slight angle, giving an air of amusement to send the point home. Rainbow Dash blinked, then laughed nervously. "Oh, heh heh, my bad," she murmured, while the pony leading her through the spa entered a side room. "This way, Ms. Rainbow!" Aloe called back into the hall. Rainbow took another breath to calm herself. After a quick looksie around, she ducked through the door after the other pony. It'll be fine, Rainbow, she reassured herself. This never takes longer than five minutes. Aloe was standing just inside the door, waiting patiently. "So, can I interest you in anything other than your usual?" she asked cheerfully. Rainbow Dash gave the other mare a withering look, one eyebrow raised, then rolled her eyes. "No, Lotus. Come on, you know I'm not big on girly stuff..." She winced at the thought, shaking her mane and shivering. "I'm still Aloe," Aloe reminded hastily, then chuckled. "Alright, well in that case have a seat at one of the chairs and somepony will be right out." Rainbow began trotting to a chair near the exit, but stopped after something she'd heard rang an alarm. "W-Wait? Somepony else? Lotus- er, Aloe, I thought that you would cut my mane?" She looked around worriedly, giving the impression that she was still trying to keep her presence there a secret. Aloe hummed and paused at the door. "Oh, well, don't worry Dash, they're new. I doubt that they even know you. Is that alright? They need the practice is all and, well, your style isn't exactly hard to pull off." She held a hoof up to her muzzle and tittered lightly at the joking observation. "No offense," she added. Rainbow groaned, front hooves dancing slightly. "A-Alright, but please hurry?" "Of course, right away." Aloe winked, sliding out the door so she could do just that. Rainbow's wings fluttered slightly, while she looked around, then spotted a window nearby that would make a perfect escape route, just in case. She flew up and opened it, intent on using it in an emergency. "Uggh, sometimes I wish I had a horn, then I could just cut my own hair." After a brief moment, and settling into the stylist's chair, she gave a loud guffaw of laughter. "Yeah, like that'll ever happen." Aloe trotted back through the hallway of her beloved spa towards the front desk, chuckling the whole way over Rainbow Dash's behavior. As she saw it, the other mare was being rather silly over maintaining her image, so to speak. It was well known by all that Rainbow did her best to keep up the 'tough-mare' routine, and would never put that in jeopardy if she could help it. Even better well known to most Ponyvilleans was her concern of the way others thought of her. To that end, Aloe and her sister had allowed themselves to be sworn to secrecy over Rainbow's occasional, rare visits; which was perfectly fine with them. Aloe, still wearing a residual smile from her amusement, pushed open the door to the staff room and called out, "Oh, Hans!" A deep, accented voice speaking in Germane called back in answer. "Ja, ich bin hier, ich bin hier..." Aloe recognized that much at least as meaning, "Yes, I am here, I am here." She spotted just the employee she was after, sitting in one sorely undersized lounge chair. "We have somepony for you to try out your 'handiwork'." She chuckled at her little joke while trotting up to the hulking hairdresser, and prodded his knee with one hoof. "It's an easy style so you should have no trouble. A very 'butch' look I think you'll appreciate." Hans was a minotaur, and recently moved to Equestria in order to, as he put it, find where his art would be truly appreciated. His dream was to pursue a life as a hairdresser, and he had only recently arrived in Ponyville to do just that. Hans lowered his newspaper just a fraction and peered over the top, his horns reaching up even higher than that. "I do? This is... good," he replied, suddenly in normal Equestrian, then spoke again in more Germane, punctuating how bored he'd been. Aloe put on a concentrated look, trying hard to follow what her new hair stylist was saying. Though it was her native language that he spoke, she was a bit rusty. "Oh, Hans, you're making me feel bad for letting my Germane slip so much." She sighed briefly, shaking her head, then pulled out a stylist's catalog and pointed to a picture of a stallion with a longish styled mane. "There's a mare in room two, can you cut her hair like this?" Hans looked at the picture, and his eyes widened in response. What he said next, as near as Aloe could tell, was a couple muttered complaints over the simplicity of such a look. Aloe patted his shoulder consolingly. "Now, Hans, I know you want to handle something more complex, but I really do need to find out just what your skill level is before I can just have you handling the regulars. The mares around here can be very picky and... You don't understand a word I'm saying." She had spotted the confused look on Hans' face just a little bit too late. "Alright, let me get my sister," Aloe quickly said, then, when Hans shrugged, she angrily added, "Warten sie hier, ich holen meine schwester!" Roughly, she had told Hans to wait there, she would go and fetch her sister. Rarity trotted into the spa, smiling broadly all around the entrance. "Oh Lotus! Aloe!" she chimed out merrily. "I'm here for my appointment, darlings!" She immediately spotted just the two ponies she wished to see. Aloe was trotting towards the staff lounge with Lotus, but stopped and waved. "Ms. Rarity, good afternoon. How are you today? I see you brought a friend with you." She smiled and moved back behind the front counter, taking up her spot by the register. With one hoof gesturing to her side, she motioned Lotus to move on. "Just go and tell Hans what to do, I'll help Ms. Rarity," she whispered, then turned back to her best customer. "So, how can we help? Will you be having the usual?" Rarity was watching Pinkie trot in behind her, having held the door open with her magic, then let it close. "Oh, fabulous as always, of course, Aloe." After a quick, tinkling bit of laughter, she continued. "Yes, the same as usual for me, and would it be any trouble at all if Pinkie here could be seen to as well? She's having a bit of a fashion emergency, so to speak." For emphasis, she used her magic to envelope and hold up the top-most section of Pinkie's mane. Pinkie's eyes widened some as her mane was tugged out of her reach. "Whoa!" Her front hoof swirled in the air trying to regain a hold of the floating length of mane. Aloe whistled in fascination at the sight. "I'll say," she breathed. "You must have been needing a manecut for some time, Ms. Pinkie." Pinkie laughed nervously, just barely managing to regain control of her mane as Rarity let it go. "Y-Yeah, and just 'Pinkie' is fine!" Grinning broadly, she bounced her way up to join Rarity by the counter, her mane dragging along the ground occasionally. Aloe smiled. "Alright. Well, Pinkie, Ms. Rarity, if you will both follow me I can get you situated right away." Together, the three mares moved through the hallway. Rainbow Dash almost immediately heard the laughter from several voices, like the distant thunder before a coming storm. She gasped, "Oh no! Aaah, I knew all this quiet was too good to be true." Her teeth gritted, and angrily she thought over her options. She could stay and risk future ridicule, or just fly off through her escape route as she'd planned to. The voices were getting closer, and the last straw was pulled when the doorknob to the room turned. "To hay with it!" Rainbow squeaked out, then zoomed like a flash of lightning out the near window. I'll just go visit Pop... I haven't swung by home in a while, anyway. "And this, Pinkie, is where you'll be seen to in just a moment if— Oh, that's odd." Aloe looked around after she got the room open, searching for her previous customer. Oddly, the room was empty except for a gently swinging, open window. "What's wrong?" Pinkie Pie jutted her head in, which in turn crowded the other pony up against the doorway. "Was somepony else supposed to be in here?" She looked this way and that, then up at the ceiling, searching for what was supposed to be odd. Aloe grunted, stuck between Pinkie and a hard place, then popped into the room. "Ah heh, no, nothing I guess. Never mind." She coughed and gestured towards a near stylist's chair. "J-Just have a seat, Pinkie, we're short hooved today, but my sister or I should be with you in just a few minutes." "Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie grinned and bounced her way inside, pausing just a little to wave at Rarity. Rarity returned the gesture, already trotting towards the back of the building with Lotus close behind her and two towels over her withers. "Take care, darling! Feel free to join me in the hot tub when you're finished!" Pinkie settled into the chair, leaning back until she was seated, and smiled towards the door again. "I sure will, that sounds absolutely terrific!" She turned to face towards the mirror again, humming happily and kicking her rear hooves idly. A tentative speaker addressed her. "Oh, uhm, Pinkie?" It was Aloe's voice. Pinkie turned again, still smiling happily. "Hm?" Aloe had on a friendly, but very nervous look. "If— If you do stay, I must insist... That... you do me a favor?" Pinkie tilted her head, wondering what Aloe could possibly need of her. "What is it, Aloe?" One of her ears flicked, reflecting her curiosity. Aloe took a deep breath, composing herself. "It's just, if you stay... You are under no circumstances, whatsoever, allowed to dive into the hot tub again. I must also request you do not cook vegetables or smores in the sauna, either." She gave a curt, withering smile beneath a pair of steely eyes. Pinkie held a hoof up to her muzzle and giggled nervously. "Hehe... No problem! Uhm, won't happen again!" Aloe waited a moment, an eyebrow raised, then smiled and nodded as she left. "Just wait here Pinkie, we'll be right in to give you your manecut." "Haircut!" Pinkie corrected, then let out a relieved breath as the door shut. "Phew, for a moment I thought I was in trouble there—" The door to the room suddenly shook slightly, as did everything else. Pinkie watched in shock as a lone cup of water on the near counter-top began to move with each boom, creating ripples in its surface. "What the hay?" she asked the empty air around herself, eyes glued to the frightening oddity before her. The door then swung open quickly, but very gently. Pinkie sat upright in surprise and looked over; in stepped a tall, looming figure, that bounced the various hair products and nearby shelves around the room. Pinkie's eyes widened at the sight of the newcomer, who happened to be a rather imposing minotaur. "Iron Will!" she cried out immediately, standing up in her seat while jabbing a hoof at the doorway. "Or, wait, who are you?" She realized she didn't recognize whoever the stranger was, and she would know, being the very best at remembering any face from Ponyville. The minotaur was tall and had a slicked back, fancy looking hair style. The shirt that he wore had poofy sleeves, looking equally as fancy. A sudden realization struck Pinkie, still standing on her back hooves atop the chair. "Oh my gosh! Are you new in town!? We need to throw you a par—" Before Pinkie could finish, she was taken by surprise as two large minotaur hands picked her up by the shoulders, turned her around mid-air, then set her back down gingerly in the stylist's chair. He pointed one thick finger at himself, then gestured for Pinkie to sit still by pointing at the floor. A few muttered things that were too difficult to understand, or too strange, followed. To begin, he whirled her chair around quickly and turned on a nearby faucet, filling the sink with water. "Oookie dokie!" Pinkie answered. She rolled her eyes back, trying and failing to look at the minotaur already getting to work. "Well, I guess the party can wait... Sssso, what's your name, stranger? Oh, and before I forget, just a little off the top, please!" She giggled again, watching absently as barber's tools were set in rows on the near table. The minotaur placed a hand down on her shoulder to sit her still, then paused for a second and hummed thoughtfully. Pinkie quirked an eyebrow, studying his face now that she was momentarily facing him. That's weird, did he forget his own name? "Hans," the stranger's thick voice finally rumbled in reply, nodding thoughtfully and smiling. "Nnnneato! Never met anypony named Hans before." Pinkie oooed interestedly while the hairdresser laid an apron-like sheet over her, then dunked her back slowly in the filled sink. Next, with her hair slicked, he began seeing to it straight away. She giggled, "Wow! The service here is great as always! I didn't have to wait long at all. I was expecting Aloe or Lotus to cut my mane though. Not that I mind you at all mister Hans the Hairdresser." She laughed again, absently looking around the colorful room while Hans put various pins into her overly long manestyle. "Yes, yes, Aloe, Lotus," Hans responded simply, amidst sighing; it was odd, but he had sounded almost sad as he picked up some clippers. Pinkie furrowed her brow, taking notice. Why would he be sad? Just as she had the thought, she absently heard the beginnings of her hair being trimmed. "Remember, just a little bit shorter," she added, still staring at the floor in thought. Huh, was it something I said? Or maybe he doesn't like working with Aloe and Lotus? But they're such nice ponies! Hm... I may have a case of somepony needing to be cheered up on my hooves. Pinkie thought she heard an unmistakable sniffle amidst the trimming of her mane. She wanted to gasp and leap into action right there to help her new friend, buuut she decided he might appreciate it if she at least waited until he was finished. All the while, it seemed that a lot more trimming was being done than Pinkie had first expected. Her thoughts became impressed. Wow! My mane really was getting long. Just look at all that hair on the floor.