Life In Lace

by Harasha the Gryphon

chapter 4

For Amethyst, the bus ride back felt three times longer than when they’d ridden to his cottage. He tried to tell himself that it was the distance to the mall, but more than likely it was apprehension. Which would make sense. After all, he was only going to one of the most feminine places in town, according to Orchid.

His friend had not made the trip any easier. After she’d noticed his apprehension, she’d started asking him odd questions about his house and artifacts. Which was fine; Amethyst enjoyed informing ponies about the neat stuff he collected. However, every so often, Orchid would test Amethyst by saying his fake female name.

Needless to say, Amethyst failed most of the time.

“Ok, Amethyst here we are,” Orchid declared as the bus began to slow to a halt.

“You know Orchid, I’ve been meaning to ask you, why the Paradise Mall?” Amethyst inquired.

Orchid smiled. “The Paradise Mall has all kinds of places that mares go to. Heck, I go there all the time. What better place to show you how the fairer sex lives than one of my favorite hangouts?”

“I could think of a couple places Misty mentioned,” Amethyst grinned, which received him a hoof upside the head. “Ow! Just kidding!”

“Well straighten up, because we’re here.”

Holding his head, Amethyst looked out the bus’ window. The mall building was about two stories high in the center, and three stories high on the left and right sides. Out front, there was a large walkway decorated with fountains.

“Well, come on Amethyst. We have an exciting day ahead of us!” Orchid said, smiling.

The bus came to a complete stop, and the driver opened the door. Orchid shot up from her seat and headed out, with Amethyst following behind shyly. He thanked the bus driver, and followed Orchid along the large pathway leading to the mall. When they reached the building, an earth pony with a yellow mane and a sash that read “greeter” greeted them.

“Welcome to the Paradise Mall, where every visit is simply paradise. Here, have a flier!” The mare gave Orchid and Amethyst a pamphlet. “Enjoy your stay,” she said before galloping toward a yellow pegasus mare.

Amethyst followed Orchid through the front doors of the mall. Once inside they saw the hustle and bustle of ponies all over the place. The roof was made of glass and stood two stories high. Balconies adorned both sides of the plaza, and a large golden statue of a stallion with long hair and a beard stood in its center.

Amethyst scowled at the statue. Clovis never looked like that.

“Come on Lavender” Orchid called, which snapped Amethyst out of his daze. Quickly, he caught up with Orchid.

Taking an elevator to the second story, Amethyst found himself gazing at the various stores in the mall. Most of them were very feminine in nature. They were mainly mare’s clothing stores but they were accompanied by other feminine stores of lesser mention. Among the lesser stores, Amethyst saw perfume and jewelry stores. He also thought he saw a grocery store but he couldn't be sure.

Amethyst also took notice of the various ponies in the mall. Predictably, most of them were mares; the majority of the stallions present were most likely husbands or boyfriends roped into accompanying their significant others, the looks on their faces made that abundantly clear. Some of the mares had young fillies and colts in tow.

After some more walking the two mares arrived at a store that read, “Cobalt’s Fantastic Dues.”

I recognize that name. Amethyst thought. I met him at The Prancing Pony bar once.

The Prancing Pony was a hangout that he and Misty frequented at least once a month. It was a bit of a run down establishment that served a lot of hard apple cider. Cobalt was the name of a stallion that Amethyst had seen there occasionally. He was there for the same reason as Misty, to score a tipsy mare or two.

“Here we are Lavender,” Orchid said, again snapping him from much more pleasant thoughts. “We’re going to get our manes done by the best mane stylist I know!”

I hate getting my mane cut, Amethyst grumbled in thought. Before he could voice any objections, Orchid wrapped her hoof around him and dragged him into the salon.

To his surprise, it wasn’t all that different from most high-end mane treatment places. Mares of all descriptions sat in beauty chairs having their manes dried. Pretty much any stallion in the salon was sitting in the waiting area staring off into space. At the very back of the salon was a drawn curtain, and several stacks of magazines. There were mares walking around the salon, but most of them were running cash registers and operating the mane driers.

As Orchid and Amethyst walked in they saw a pegasus stallion emerge from behind the red curtain.

“Hello there girls, and welcome to Stylish Cobalt’s fantastic dos. I’m Mr. Fantastic himself, Stylish Cobalt,” said the effeminate stallion.

“Why if it isn’t Miss Orchid Seed, one of my favorite customers.” He said, trotting over to the mares. “What can I do for you today, dear?”

Amethyst took the time to look him over. He had deep violet fur, and blue eyes. His equally blue mane was done up in a pompadour. Just like how he’d remembered the stallion from the bar.

“This is Lavender Star,” Orchid said, “She’s the sister of one of my close friends.”

“Amethyst Shard I presume,” Stylish burst in. “They have the same, everything even down to the special talent. I never knew he had a twin sister.”

“Yeah, well she needs a makeover pretty bad. Think you could you help her?”

Stylish moved up beside Amethyst and took him in from every angle. “Oh my stars! What have you been doing to your hair, girlfriend? I’ve never seen so many split ends. Don’t you even comb the bed head out of your mane in the morning?”

No why would I? And since when did Stylish have that wacky voice? Amethyst thought. The Stylish Cobalt of the bar sounded very different from the stallion he was looking at. When Amethyst had spoken to him, he’d had a very thick Manehattenite accent, and a much deeper voice.

“I’ll put you right on the schedule book, girlfriend; we need to do some serious work with that mane of yours. Just wait in the chairs over there and I‘ll get right too you.”

Amethyst nodded and walked over to a group of normal chairs next to the beauty chairs. He took a seat and waited, with Orchid following suit.

“Isn’t this great, Lavender? We’re going to look gorgeous after this,” Orchid said with a grin.

Why did I let Orchid rope me into this? This is the most uncomfortable I’ve been since my parents took me to see the princess. Amethyst thought, though he managed to reply, “If you insist.”

“Miss Lavender Star, Stylish will see you now” rang out the voice of a rather dull sounding mare.

“That’s you Amethyst, I’m going next,” Orchid said.

Cautiously, Amethyst got up and walked into the back of the salon. Stylish was waiting beside a barber chair, smiling.

“Just have a seat dear,” Stylish said as he shut a curtain. He then turned to an assortment of scissors and combs. “So, Miss Lavender, what kind of mare do you want to look like?”

I don’t want to look like any kind of mare. I just want to be a stallion and go to my regular barber. Amethyst thought, but his voice replied. “Umm, err… attractive?”

“Attractive to whom girlfriend, are you planning on going on a date?”

Amethyst blushed at the thought. “No, no. I just want to look beautiful today, is all.”

“Nothing wrong with that girlfriend,” Stylish paused. “Ah! I know just the look for you!”

With that, Stylish went to work. First, he put Amethyst’s head into a sink and gave his hair a thorough washing. Next, he went to work trimming away the excess back hair on Amethyst’s mane.

“So, Lavender, I assume you’re here visiting your brother?” Stylish asked as he trimmed away.

“Yeah, we haven’t talked in a while since he quit his last job.” Amethyst said. “He‘s told me good things about you, Stylish. But I wonder why you‘re talking weird, he said you have a deeper voice and an accent.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Head forward please” Stylish said nervously

Amethyst obeyed his command, but didn’t let up. “He said pretty clearly that you’re from Manehatten, and that you have an accent.

“Oh, you must be referring to my twin brother, Stylish Indigo.” Stylish said as he trimmed around Amethyst’s ear. “He’s an interior designer and a much less fashionable pony than me.”

Wow. Amethyst thought as Stylish rinsed his mane again and put some hair curlers in Amethyst's mane. I didn’t know those two were twins. Maybe I should talk to those ponies more often.

“OK, sweetie, you’re done.” Stylish said, before calling over his shoulder. “Petunia! Please show the young lady to a drier.”

A single mare walked over to Amethyst and herded him to an open hair-drying seat. Amethyst sat down and the mare pulled the top down over his mane. A second later, hot air started blowing down all sides of his head.

“Would you care for a magazine while you wait for your mane to dry?” The mare asked.

“Umm, no thanks,” Amethyst replied. The mare nodded and left without a word.

“Hey, that’s a nice fur color you have,” a feminine voice said to Amethyst. It was a lime green unicorn mare, with amber eyes and a harp for a cutie mark.

“Um, thanks,” Amethyst said. “So, who are you?”

“Lyra Heartstrings,” the mare said.

“My name’s Ame-” Amethyst caught himself. “... Lavender Star.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Lyra said. “So, from the sounds of things, you’re from out of town as well?”

Amethyst nodded. “I work for the Canterlot archives, so I travel a lot. I‘m here to visit my brother, Amethyst Shard, we‘re twins.”

“That must be awesome, having a sibling that looks like you.” Lyra mused.

“I guess so,” Amethyst said. “So, how about you?”

“I live in a town called Ponyville. As for my career, I’m a musician.”

“Oh, what kind of instrument do you play?” Amethyst asked.

“The lyre,” Lyra answered. “Also, on the side, I’m a cryptozoologist. You know, someone who studies imaginary creatures.”

“Yeah… sure.” Amethyst replied awkwardly.

“So, you mentioned you travel a lot. Got any neat stories to tell?”

Amethyst brought a hoof to his chin. “Well, one time I was in an ancient Binician pyramid, and almost fell victim to a 100 foot pit trap. And there also was this one time I got myself kidnapped by some crazy llama girl in the Santa Crossa jungle. Luckily, my uncle and our guide Pedro were able to rescue me.”

“Whoa,” Lyra replied, wide eyed.

“It wasn’t all that bad,” Amethyst replied. “Plus, the llama chick was kinda hot.”

“Pardon me?”

Amethyst blushed as he realized what he’d just said. “Um, nothing.”

“OK, Miss Heartstrings, you’re done,” announced the assistant from earlier.

“Thanks,” Lyra said as she was helped out of the drying chair. She picked up a few shopping bags in her magic, and turned to Amethyst. “Well, thank you for the chat, Lavender.”

“You’re welcome,” Amethyst replied. Lyra smiled, passed the assistant a few bits, and then exited the salon.

“Nicely done,” said a very familiar voice.

Amethyst whipped his head to his left and saw Orchid sitting in the chair beside him. Her mane and tail was adorned with curlers.

“How long have you been sitting there?” Amethyst asked.

“I sat down around where you were getting abducted by that Llama,” Orchid giggled.

Amethyst rolled his eyes at the memory of that whole affair. It was most certainly not his proudest moment.

“OK, Miss Lavender, you’re done,” the assistant announced. She walked over and carefully assisted Amethyst from the chair.

“Thank you,” Amethyst said. He turned to leave the store, but shuddered slightly as he felt a hoof rest itself on his shoulder.

“Hold up sweetie, we’re not done yet. Your friend Orchid paid for a tail package as well.” Stylish called out.

With a slight sigh, Amethyst went back and sat in the barber chair. Stylish then completely inclined the chair, and put a reflective screen up in front of Amethyst’s rear.

“What’s that for?” Amethyst asked, suspiciously.

“You’ve never been to a salon before have you?” Stylish asked, to which Amethyst nodded. “Well, let’s just say it’s illegal to trim a mare’s tail without a screen up to block the view of the more sensitive areas.”

At the mere mention of his new, alien privates, Amethyst’s cheeks flushed bright red. So fixated on the thought, he didn’t notice Stylish prop the chair up an inch.

“So, how short do you want your tail, girlfriend?” Stylish asked. “Short tails are in this season just so you know”

Amethyst flinched at being put on the spot like that. He hated having his tail cut because he was kind of sensitive down there. And a long tail was his own personal preference for his appearance. However, he noticed that the transformation into a mare had significantly lengthened his tail.

“I don’t want it shortened, too much,” Amethyst blurted. “Maybe just an inch or two, please.”

“Can do,” Stylish said, before getting to work.

To the best of his ability, Amethyst didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to interrupt Stylish’s work on him, primarily out of fear of causing more damage, but also on part of curiosity. Stylish was able to grip scissors and combs with the feathers of his wings, and maneuver them around as if they were additional limbs. It was a curious trick, which seemed to help calm Amethyst’s nerves.

“And we’re finished,” Stylish declared. He set his scissors down and used his teeth to remove the hair curlers from Amethyst’s mane. After that, Stylish rolled over a large mirror and positioned it in front of Amethyst.

Reflected in the mirror, Amethyst could see that his bangs were curled up into two distinct curls at the top of his mane. The back part of his mane was significantly shorter, and was combed into a distinct ending at the left side of his head. Just as he had specified, his tail only had an inch taken off, along with the unwanted twisted and tangled hair.

The sight of his mane cut made his mind come to a screeching halt, save for one thought. I look gorgeous.

“So, what do you think?” Stylish asked.

Amethyst swung her head towards him, eyes beaming. “I love it!”

“Glad to hear it,” Stylish said. “Now, just head back to the lobby, Orchid should be done any second now.”

Nodding, Amethyst got up from the seat and took a less comfortable one in the waiting lobby. Sure enough, Orchid rejoined him not a few seconds later.

“You look fantastic” Orchid complimented.

“Gee, thanks,” Amethyst blushed, then looked at a clock on the wall. “Well, let’s go home. It’s been a fun morning, but I really should start trying to cure myself.”

“Oh no, you don’t you’re not getting off that easily,” Orchid said as she walked in front of Amethyst. “We’re going clothes shopping!”

“What!?” Amethyst stopped in his tracks. “The mane cut was bad enough, why do I need clothes now?”

“Because it’s my day to show you how mares live their lives and mares shop for clothes.” Orchid said authoritatively.

“Could have fooled me, since half the mares here are plot naked?”

“Don’t argue with me Amethyst. I said we’re going to have fun today and by Celestia we’re going to have fun!” Orchid said, staring daggers at Amethyst. That look was more than enough to remove Amethyst’s resistance to the idea.

“OK, OK, fine! If you really think its necessary,” Amethyst said defeated. Orchid’s terrifying look suddenly shifted to one of glee.

“Yay! Thank you Amethyst” Orchid said followed by a quick hug

There are days when that mare scares the crap out of me. Amethyst thought, just before his stomach rumbled slightly.

“Could we eat first?” Amethyst asked shyly.

“Of course,” Orchid replied, leading the way towards the food court.

Author's Note:

thanks to samaru for editing

Comments

[Rachel Rayne]

Amethyst nodded. “I work for the Canterlot archives, so I travel a lot. I‘m here to visit my brother, Amethyst shard, we‘re twins.”
"Amethyst shard"
"shard"

[IkioStar]

....He missed some things...What...

[Lt Rainbow Slash]

Hmm. Interesting. I likes.

I have one problem with this though. I always find third person gender bender fics work better if you refer to the character by their current sex. Simplified, I would refer to Amethyst as 'her' as soon as he bacame a she.

Just my five cents worth

[trinitysparkle1]

Awesome! Can't wait to read the next chapter!

[Buckshot2825]

4177631 *poke*

[StormyVenture]

4198706
Yeah, me too. Honestly, Orchid should be calling her Lavender too because otherwise he'll never get it down. And it's unlikely she's whispering in Lavender's ear.

I wonder what he'd do if he was stuck permanently. I mean, she'd have to "return"T to Canterlot and somehow not have anyone notice that her brother went missing and/or that she doesn't actually have a job/home in Canterlot.

[redh00f]

“Nothing wrong with that girlfriend,”