Twilights Mane Passion

by Darkonshadows


21

“What?” Rarity of sound mind, well it technically wasn’t sound at all at the moment. It was screaming at her to ask what happened to these two mares and to clean them up. It was also asking why the purple pony asked for ten bits.

“Sweetie Belle hired us to find your cat and to bring her back here. We just finished doing that and let me tell you, running into a five headed hydra was not something I expected to happen. Overall it still went well, it is pretty much on par with what I normally expect from my life.” Well that was an easy explanation and Twilight hoped she could get her money and leave; she didn’t like the strange look in Rarity’s eyes.

“Yeah and the ponies at the market place agreed we did them a favor by making sure their business’s didn’t get closed down for a day due in part to a monster attack. Not to mention probably saved their families and friends from being eaten.” Tress also got an odd look from Rarity and she was scrutinized more than Twilight was.

“You look familiar. Oh my, I’m sorry I got so distracted, come over here and let me get you two cleaned up and I can do your hair for you, now have you ever tried cutting it short like…” Rarity was cut off from her plans to style the two ponies, possibly against their will, more specifically in the middle of an idea for the dirtied blue haired mare.

“Just give us the ten bits so we can leave, we’ll clean up when we get home. Maybe we can talk some other time, Rarity was it?” Seeing that the mare wasn’t going to let them go without an issue judging by the determine look on her face, Twilight decided to step up her voice and deflate the other unicorn. She wasn’t going to have some pony mess with their manes if they were going to be this pushy about it. “So please excuse me for saying no to your generosity, so please take it from us that we don’t need your help with this issue.”

“Oh and I suppose you can do a good job of it? I certainly fancy myself a good…” Rarity started only to be cut off by Tress.

“Of course she can, she’s my personal stylist and she’s really good at it.” Tress pointed out Twilight with her hoof, she really didn’t like where Rarity was trying to take this. She liked her hair the length it was and she was pretty sure Fluttershy would immediately vacate the premises at a fast pace hearing the words 'cut' and 'short' in the same sentence. If this Rarity pushed the issue then she was going down on the list of ponies Twilight didn’t like and Sunset Shimmer was the only pony on said list, she was most likely trying to make a suggestion and as such Tress didn’t react to what she said too badly. The purple pony in question just blushed and rubbed the back of her head causing a bit of grime to drop to the floor with a solid plop noise. “Besides she’s already promised to take care of this when we get home and I really don’t want her to go back on that.”

“Thank you for bringing back Opal safe and sound, I’m sorry about all the trouble she caused you. I’m also sorry about my sister, she kind of gets this way upon seeing ponies being all messy. She’s kind of a clean freak.” Sweetie Belle came up to them after shrugging off whatever Rarity was doing with her. She had a purple and pink mane and tail that was a bit curly at the tips and no cutie mark to speak of. She deposited the ten bits before Twilight who took them. “I hope you’ll help me again sometime Miss Sparkle.”

“Thank you very much Sweetie Belle. Don’t worry about it; we’re always happy to help you if you need us. Just make sure you have enough to pay for our services if the problem is really big.” Twilight turned tail to quickly exit before Rarity could try to impose on them anymore. ”Come on Tress, let’s go clean ourselves off.”

“But…” She tried before drooping as the two exited her dress store; Rarity started to get really sad. “How could they not want my help? I’m the best fashion designer in Ponyville and I’m relatively good at hairdressing. I just wanted to lend my assistance, is that so wrong?”

“I talked with them, they recently came from Canterlot and moved into Ponyville a day or so ago, so of course they don’t know who you are. I saw their ad in the newspaper and we both know Opal has been missing for a while, so I thought they could help find her and they did.” Sweetie Belle thought she was the more sensible of the two sisters; well at least she wasn’t a drama queen like her big sister. She pulled out that section of the newspaper she had saved from earlier that morning. “It’s wrong only if you force them to do what you want and you do tend to do that to ponies you know.”

“When did you get so smart Sweetie Belle?” Rarity nuzzled her little sister, addressing her before she would start reading the article over. “Canterlot you say, I really don’t know much of what it’s like living there and it must be so glamorous, now I have the perfect… oh right… I scared them off.”

“I’m the top of my class Rarity, of course I’m smart. We’re not very good at making very many friends though are we? You didn’t exactly scare them; you just unsettled them by trying to order them around.” Sweetie noticed Rarity wince at the thing she said about friends, she sighed. “I’m sure they’ll talk to you about what it’s like in Canterlot if you asked them. Twilight did offer to talk later. You haven’t even read their newspaper article either and you know nothing about them or what they are like. You even started talking about cutting their manes before they even answered you about whether or not they wanted you to help them clean up.”

Rarity herself only currently had the acquaintances of Applejack and Pinkie. She knew of Trixie, but she really hasn’t bothered to actually mingle with her as she was more Pinkies’ friend who had strange fashion sense that rubbed at Rarity the wrong way.

At least Ponyville had a suitable educational system and one that didn’t focus entirely in subjects’ only earth ponies would be good at either. The teacher really knew how to handle a class of pegasus, unicorn and earth ponies equally and Sweetie Belle was an excellent student even if she didn’t have access to her magic yet.

Rarity finally decided to see what Sweetie Belle was talking about, as she perused the small article her eyes bugged out and she made sure to finish reading the article first before she did anything else. Rarity quickly picked up a magazine from a nearby shelf and opened to a section where Fleur De Lis is, there she was Tress Ravel and she was so unclean when she saw her. How could a mare so beautiful be okay with appearing that gruesome?

“My goodness, I had Tress Ravel in my shop and with her personal stylist no less? I think I may have just made a huge faux pas. That she would even consider being in the same room with me ever again is just…” Rarity quickly levitated her couch in and faked passing out on it; Sweetie Belle just stood by and rolled her eyes at the sight.

“You do realize their location is posted in the article and the thing says they’ll welcome just about anyone right?” Watching her sister fling away the couch and dive for the article, leaving Sweetie wondering what she had just done.

“I swear that mare is weird.” Tress said on the road back to the house, she continued to knock some flakes of dirt out of her mane. “Please never leave me alone with her; I don’t want her to working on my mane if her first thoughts were to cut it short.”

“She was probably just trying to be helpful, though she could show a little more control about suggesting things and assuming we’d actually want to go along with her. She makes dresses and it appears she likes working with her own mane a bit too much. Frankly I’m not really attracted to it and it really weird’s me out.” Even Tress paused at Twilight’s confession that Rarity’s mane wasn’t attractive to her. Twilight had been attracted to all kinds of manes she even made mention to the pink pony named Pinkie’s mane as being really healthy looking despite its messy appearance.

“Well I didn’t see much wrong with her mane. Sure she may seem a few cats shy of being crazy, but it did look like she was good at making dresses and clothing at least. Though she seems too entirely set in her ways of just making dresses.” After a pause, Tress decided to breach why Twilight didn’t feel an attraction for Rarity’s mane. “Still this is the first time you’ve shown a lack of interest in any mares' mane.”

“I know, I think maybe it’s too perfect a look on her or maybe it’s just she styled it so meticulously that it seems like it’s a wig. She has roots so that is actually her hair. Her tail on the other hoof I find rather fascinating.” At least Twilight didn’t seem to be missing her attraction to the tail hair or Rarity’s nice clean coat, but her mane just didn’t attract her.

“Oh that’s a load off my mind, for a second there I thought you may have lost your sanity. So you sure it’s just her mane then?” There had to be something about that mare’s mane if Tress’s hair loving friend saw it as uninteresting despite its unique appearance. “Maybe it’s only the hairstyle you don’t like?”

“Eh, could be. I’m not about to ask her to change to fit my needs though. Every pony has their own style and I know mine is the same one I’ve had all my life.” Twilight shrugged as they came to the front door of the house.

“It’s always you and your cute fringe, isn’t it Radiance?” As Tress entered she noticed Twilight blush, she smiled demurely at that. Her friend was almost as adorable as Fluttershy at times, she wondered if the pegasus gave lessons.

“You’re still calling me that?” As she said this, Twilight closed the door to the house. Why wouldn’t Tress ‘The Mane-iac’ Ravel ever drop that nickname fully, she hasn’t been that super hero since they exited the comic together. Was it because of her sparkled butt? Did it have to do with her name and the word radiant meaning the same thing?

Thirty minutes and a quick bath later, Tress was having her mane combed out by her best friend and she was content with the world by being fully clean once again. She’d never get over the feeling of having her mane tenderly cared for like this, especially if it was Twilight doing it. That comb could really glide through her mane and if there were any tangles Twilight would take care of it without a problem. It was almost enough to sooth her to sleep. Some of the best things in life were the simplest to Tress.

After Tress was finished she sat down in the middle of an empty room, they were really going to need to go over to Quills and Sofas to buy a couch or two sooner or later. She heard a knocking on the door, going over to it Tress opened it to see Rarity and she immediately glared.

Rarity however was staring at a clean and refreshed Tress Ravel in total awe; she gulped at the glare she was receiving. She had come over rather fast and maybe she should have come back later, but she did have a problem and she would be willing to pay for a pony to handle it for her.

“Yes, did you want something?” Tress asked after a moment of silence, her tone stayed flat and even.

“I’m here to apologize for my hasty treatment of you and your friend.” She started out with a hint of fear. Rarity really felt small right now.

“If you can answer this question honestly I might accept that, why the sudden apology. I’m no pony important and neither is my friend.” The sudden shocked look across her face was priceless to Tress; it only came when she claimed she wasn’t important. Twilight wasn’t the only one who could play detective. Obviously Rarity has read a magazine she was in and had probably thought she insulted a celebrity.

“But you’re Tress Ravel, your work alongside Fleur was incredible as it was said that she would hardly work with any pony!” Even Rarity knew Fleur was the top supermodel in Canterlot and here was a pony that was praised as being just as beautiful as the famous pony she worked alongside for the most of two years. No pony knew why she quit though. Tress actually proved Fleur was possible to work with and that she had to be special if she was some pony that such a popular model would work with.

“Tress… you were working with Fleur De Lis…” The sound of Twilight's voice halted both Tress and Rarity’s budding conversation.