The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Stylists Are For Nerds

Valey took a big, deep breath, standing with Felicity in the entrance to the Laughter dorms, looking out. The weather was exactly the same as it had been every other day, and Valey strode forward, stepping past crowds of sunbathers that had finally started growing used to her presence.

"Well?" She glanced back at her newest friend. "You have any list of places to go, or are we just looking around? I talked to the professor, and we've got about three and a half hours before the campers get back and we no longer have the dorm to just ourselves and the upperclassponies."

Felicity hummed. "I might be feeling up to a walk around. How about you, darling?"

Valey shrugged. "Eh, I'm good. Now that all the vandalism stuff is sorted out, it's not like there's anything important for me to do."

---

Half an hour later, Valey had yet to eat her words.

"Hey! Has anyone ever told you that you have amazing fur?"

"Yes," a sunbather drawled with a casual grin, not removing her shades. "But it really doesn't get old."

Valey crossed her forelegs, striking an easy pose. "You get it done anywhere special? It's like... kinda shiny." She leaned forward.

"Look, Don't Touch," the mare replied, puffing out her chest fur.

Valey whistled and drew back her hoof. "Wow. Not an automatic sellout for famous adventurers? You've got class."

The mare shook her head. "Oh, no, that's the name of my stylist. Find the fish fountain in College Town, then three blocks south and two blocks east. But I'm not a sellout either. If you're looking for easy college catches, go find someone who doesn't prefer the longer game."

Valey pursed her lips. "Honestly? That's cool. See ya, and thanks for the tip!"

"You're enjoying this far too much, darling," Felicity remarked as they walked away.

"Am I?" Valey gave her a serious look. "I was seriously not that happy in the Empire, and I had a pretty unfulfilling life in Ironridge before that. I haven't thought too much about why things are better now, but bananas if I'd rather have anything else."

Felicity hummed and nodded, but Valey decided to continue. "I mean... sure, I don't think I could stay here forever. As much fun as messing with college kids is, at some point I wanna settle down and have a bigger group of more stable friends who treat me at least something vaguely resembling normal. Not a myth, and not a monster. But I don't want that now. Right now I've got a million months of steam to finish blowing off, and I would not change a thing."

"You certainly are the more bombastic of the two of us," Felicity replied. "Well... I rather enjoy it too."

"You're welcome to hit on them too, you know," Valey pointed out. "Sure, I enjoy it, but you can back me up if you want to."

"Oh, no, no," Felicity chuckled. "Believe me, I'm happy being out of the spotlight without having to hide from it for once in my life. Buttering ponies up used to be my job, and it's a job I'm glad I never have to return to."

Valey looked at her for a moment... and then shrugged. "Alright. Hey, you think that's the fish fountain? That means the place that mare was talking about must be..."

---

Two hours later, Valey and Felicity stood side-by-side, staring at their reflections in the window of a cake shop.

"You know, darling," Felicity sighed, "I'm torn between 'it seemed like a silly idea at the time' and 'that worked far better than it had any right to'. Opinions?"

"Sparky's gonna flip," Valey agreed.

"I think I make your messy, carefree style look good, at least," Felicity admitted, admiring herself. "Granted, I think being nearly twice your age and pregnant takes out some of the youthfulness of it, but still..." She experimentally fluffed her mane.

Valey rolled her eyes. "For the last time, you have a big build! No one would know you're knocked up if you didn't say anything!" She brushed her far-straighter mane out of her eyes.

"My style on you, though..." Felicity rubbed her chin. "I knew we should have gone with the pink dye. Though it does look very attractive with your beret. And the ribbon really is a perfect touch."

Valey blew a raspberry. "No way. Natural colors are best. If you tried to turn your mane green, you'd have looked like a comic book character who's supposed to swing a huge axe around. The only way we could have made dye work is if we both went electric blue or something."

"I'm glad you're happy with our choices." Felicity's ears twitched, overshadowed by her own massive bow. "You realize exactly how much shamelessness this is going to require."

"Hey." Valey elbowed her, her reflection sporting a cute little bow on a pin that was keeping her long, brushed-forward mane out of her eyes.. "First off, this was your idea. Second, I've done this before, so yeah, I do. Third, how many of the other mares here you think have their natural colors or styles? We're gonna stroll around like we own the place, laugh at everyone's expressions-" She blinked. "Stop looking at me like that, or I'm gonna laugh at you too!"

"I can't help it!" Felicity snorted, reddening. "I look absolutely and disgracefully ridiculous, darling, like a punk teenager, and you're being your overly serious little self with a cutesy manecut and that bow!"

Valey blinked hard. "Overly serious? Since when have I ever been overly serious in my life!?"

"And now you're pouting!" Felicity protested, pointing a hoof and averting her gaze. "I just can't, darling! It's too much!"

Valey burst out cackling. "Nyaaah ha haa... Ah, bananas. Hey, are you hungry? For some reason staring at my reflection is making me really want a cake."

---

Another hour later, Valey leaned against a wall, held her stomach and burped. It tasted like sugar.

"Have I ever told you," she started, "about the time I got foalnapped by a deranged, possessed marechild who had no idea how to be a pony, and she devoured an entire wedding cake in one sitting without realizing it would make her sick?"

"No, and it sounds like quite the story." Felicity stumped after her, settling down with a sigh. "I wonder why it comes to mind."

"In my defense, I didn't realize they had so much sugar that one serving actually meant one serving!" Valey shrugged. "Anyway, I'm not gonna be tying that record today. Pretty sure I need to get back to the dorms and pass out before I get a real major sugar crash."

"Hopefully not in a hurry," Felicity groaned. "I feel sluggish already..."

"Heh." Valey fell into stride.

After a few steps, Felicity looked at her. "You know Gerardo and the campers should be back now, right? I'm afraid passing out from a sugar crash might have to wait, now that we'll be sharing space with these purported hooligans..."

"Aww, bananas!"

Felicity giggled. "In fairness, I bet you could find one who's tired after their trip, is looking for a nap, and wouldn't mind sharing..."

"Nah." Valey held up a wing, shaking her head. "Not gonna go there. I know I'm being kinda open-season on this stuff, but there's a big difference between being irreverent and actually crossing lines. I need to see exactly how serious about me being more like the old me Shinespark was before I go cuddling or snogging strangers."

Felicity stared at her for a moment. "I really can't figure you out, darling."

"What part of me?"

"How you think." Felicity shrugged. "Sometimes, I'll expect you to do one thing, and then you'll turn around and do completely another. Others, I'll tell you something obvious about yourself, and you'll be utterly clueless."

Valey tilted her head. "Yeah, like me never sleeping alone. That was weird. What were you expecting me to say, though?"

"Nothing. More specifically, not that." Felicity looked on ahead as they walked. "I didn't think you were conducting yourself with limits with regards to everyone who catches your eye."

"Well... I kind of have to, don't I?" Valey gave her a strange look. "There are hundreds of them, lining up because of my reputation. They're all hot, pretty toned, don't come with a whole lot of emotional baggage, think I'm a big enough shot that they'd do anything I ask for at least a while in return for favor and attention... If I didn't have limits, I'd just use them until I got bored. They sure aren't gonna stop me, and I don't want them to deal with kissing someone who doesn't care back. So yeah, I have to."

Felicity's expression darkened somewhat. "Darling, that's not called needing to. It's called having character. I think there are a whole lot of creatures in the world, especially in the likes of Gyre, who wouldn't see that as a bad thing at all."

"Wait." Valey frowned. "So you thought I was..."

"I think," Felicity sighed, "this is where I tell you how glad I am that my expectations for the way things work and the way you do things are so different. They're not my expectations for you, they're my expectations for everyone. And this isn't the first time you've reminded me how it feels to see them subverted... but things like this are why I find myself drawn to you, darling."

Valey blinked. "Huh."

"Sorry for the daily dose of pessimism," Felicity apologized. "It comes with the baggage. You were saying?"

"Eh, I don't remember. Something about flirting with students and manestyles." Valey shrugged. "Oh yeah, I'm also kind of keeping things at teasing them because I maybe sort of have a history with Shinespark and even though she was real clear that she didn't want me being ultra-strict with myself about relationships and stuff, she definitely likes me and I kinda like her a lot too. And I don't wanna take that so literally that she feels like I'm cheating on her, or something. Honestly, I'm already expecting her to punch me in the face for getting as friendly with you as I have, but I deserve a good whack and she deserves getting to give it to me. We can talk about exactly what I can and can't get away with later."

Felicity gave a soggy smile. "Well, I'm glad you have your eye on true love, and am grateful you deigned to snuggle with me instead during your time without it."

"Hey. That's platonic." Valey prodded her. "Ironflanks is like... I dunno, something not-romantic to me, and we snuggle too sometimes. And lemme tell you, once she's all the way better and we get Amber and Sparky all together, we're inviting you and getting the biggest pony pile of all time."

Felicity burst out giggling. "Now that's quite the image. Are you sure, though, darling? It seems like something that belongs to you..."

Valey adamantly shook her head. "If anyone, it belongs to Ironflanks. Apparently it's a Riverfall thing, or at least a thing she used to do with her friends, who are basically her sisters. I'm sure you'll be welcome to climb on in."

"Hmmm..." Felicity sighed. "I don't suppose you'd like to walk back to the harbor instead and see if we can't sight our friends during their return?"

Valey winked. "And we can fly out to meet them!"

"Ahehem...!" Felicity very nervously cleared her throat. "I may have pushed myself to my limit a month ago flying for fifteen minutes because the crew needed it to survive, darling, but even getting this body off the ground at this point would completely wipe me out. It's a lovely thought, but I'll be spending the rest of my time as a pregnant, groundbound sarosian."

"You keep not letting that drop." Valey rolled her eyes. "Alright, so how about I carry you on my back?"

Felicity reddened. "Darling, that wouldn't be very dignified..."

Valey shrugged. "Carry you beneath me? I wouldn't let you fall."

Felicity reddened harder. "That's not the point."

Valey squinted and rubbed her chin. "Carry you on top of me while flying upside-down?"

"Darling...!"

"Carry you beneath me, but hold you upside-down?"

Comments

[Oberth Effect]

A nice fluffy chapter for once, with a little character development on the side. Curious to see how the other ponies on the Dream have been faring all this time.

So Valey and Felicity switched manestyles, if I understand correctly?

I'd love some pictures to compare original Valey with haircut v1 Valey and haircut v2 Valey, but I realize that's quite a tall order. I just have a hard time imagining looks in general.

[Phoenix Kitten]

As much as I like a good bit of fluff, kinda hanging on what's going on with Starlight during all this.

[ZanyZapper]

If you tried to turn your mane green, you'd have looked like a comic book character who's supposed to swing a huge axe around.

Did...did you just reference "I Hate Fairyland"? I knew that was a reference of some sort but couldn't place it at first. And then I was browsing thru my library in Comixology and saw the cover of volume 1 and it clicked. I was also thinking at the time that someone here should do a crossover with that, throwing Cozy Glow into Fairyland. Wish I could write!

[sploopy slooder]

these 2 doofuses are having a spa day while starlight is having a mental breakdown in some corner. poor kid.