Another day, Another customer
You know, for somepony like me, I'd never thought I'd be manestylist!
But that's what it was like when I first got my cutie mark. 'Never thought I'd be cut'n, trim'n, an' style'n other ponies's manes, that's for sure! But hey, what'ya gonna do? I worked hard to perfect my talents, practicing on myself and other foals. I worked my way up from there, and got myself a pretty good career in barber shop down the corner from my place.
Today was not much of a busy day, though. A few customers, and most of them come to the other workers. I was just finishing up this next customer; a small colt. With my good pair of scissors in my mouth, I snipped off the unwanted strands across his mane. I have to make swift, even cuts, otherwise you screw it up. It's especially hard for an Earth pony to use scissors, since we don't have levitation. Carefully, I made sure every strand was even and...
"There you go!" I said to the colt as I turned the chair to face the mirror. "What do ya think?"
The little foal gasped suddenly. "Oh my gosh, I love it!" He said excitedly, bouncing gleefully in the chair.
"I can see that!"
It's always nice to see a young customer get so excited about their new do. Most of the time, customers leave this shop satisfied with the results. But there have been at least a few who weren't. Sometimes there's some pretty rude ponies out there, who hate their manecuts given to them by the staff here. But that's to be expected here in Manehattan. One time, Daisy Twirl--one of the manestylists here--got a pretty bad rep thanks to some uptight, mean-flank mare. It had gotten so bad, she was on the verge of tears.
I took the cloth, and neck paper off of the colt. Before he could take off, I used an airbrush to blow away the multiple strands of hair off o' him. Once that was done, he jumped out of his chair and ran over to his mom, bouncing pretty excitedly.
"Mom, Mom! Look, look, look!" He shouted exuberantly.
"Wow!" His mom said. "It looks great!" The beige colored mare approached me, and handed me a few bits. "Thank you, miss Babs Seed. He's never been this excited about his hair before."
"No problem, ma'am." I replied. "All in a day's work."
Without another word, they left. I should'a asked their names, especially if they decided to become regulars, but I guess it doesn't matter at this moment. I put the cloth on the chair, as I waited for the next customer. I watched the glass door momentarily, hoping that I'll get another customer.
I love this job a lot! Even though I work hard and stuff, I get a lot of enjoyment out of doing it. To me, this place was almost like a second home. We do have a break room in the back, but sadly it's kind of messy in there. It needs a bit of clean up, but whatever. I get to talk to my coworkers often in the break room, even made a few friends with'em. Gamine was always great with the playful, boyish, and sassy kinds of styles. She's a lot fun. Platinum Gloss was a very particular stallion. He was a perfectionist in every sense of the word, and makes sure his style is perfect. And then there's poor Daisy Twirl. She usually does a good job, but she's pretty sensitive. Ever since that no good witch gave her hard time, she's been a little depressed.
At least she won't come back here no more!
The bell rung, when I least expected it. The pony who came in was a blue unicorn mare, with a pale blue mane. I don't know what it was, but somehow I knew this pony from somewhere. From what I could see, her cutie mark was a magic wand with a crescent moon. The mare was sitting and wait'n on one of the chairs.
"Pardon me, ma'am," I heard her ask Daisy Twirl, "But are there any manestylists available at the moment?"
"Um... yes there is." Daisy said shyly, pointing towards my chair.
"Oh, good! Trixie is in need of a new manestyle." The mare got up from her seat and approached me.
That name. I do know her!
"If I didn't know any better, you look pretty familiar. And Trixie never forgets a face!"
And then it came to me! "Former Baddie!"
"'Former Bad'--wait. You're the filly who helped catch that dastardly criminal, Rough Diamond!"
"Yeah, that's right!"
Now I remembered. It was a long time back, since that happened. Trixie, or The Great and Powerful Trixie, was performing a magic act at a stage show. She did a whole series of magic tricks, including a (rather elaborate) finishing act which involved making the famous Ostlerheimer Diamond disappear. However, she ended up losing the diamond in questioned, and was blamed to have stolen it. I, my cousins, Rarity, and Fluttershy, helped her to clear her name. We ended up finding the real criminal, and the case was officially closed.
"It's been a long time!" Trixie exclaimed. "And you were smaller back then."
It was great remembering old times, but I still got a job to do. "Take a seat," I ushered her to the chair. "and I'll get to work."
"Right, right. Sorry. It's been so long, Trixie's feeling a bit of nostalgia!"
Once the mare sat down in the chair, I put the cloth over her, and wrapped the neck paper around her. "Okay, so... How do ya want it?"
"Hmm..." she must of thought indecisively, "That's the problem. I'm not sure what I want!"
Oh, man! Not another one!
If there's one thing I'm not fond of... it's an indecisive customer. I'm not good at guess'n! I'd prefer it if a customer knows what he or she wants, rather than one who doesn't. Not to mention, this is the fourth indecisive customer I've had so far! FOURTH!! I try my best to grin and bear it, every time.
"I know Trixie wants it cut. But I'm not sure how short. If I get it too short, ponies might think of me the wrong way! But if I just trim it, there won't be anything different about me!"
"Okay, slow down." I said calmly, try'n to help keep her cool as well as mine, "You don't want it too short, but you don't want it long, is that right?"
"Yes. But don't make it spiky! Trixie hates spiky manes!"
Wasn't plan'n on it. I wanted to say it, but I couldn't. "Don't worry, I won't make your mane spiky. That's Gamine's job."
"And I do a dang good job of it, too!" I heard her reply, as she was working on another pony. Her mane was short and spiky, fitting for her expertise.
"But seriously, I detest spiky manes." Trixie repeated herself.
"Alright, alright, I won't make it spiky." I reassured, cracking a smile.
I turned from the mare to my desk, to grab the pair of scissors I left sitting. As I did, I got a brush from the same desk. It was then when went to work on the mare's pale blue mane. Her mane kind of curled at the front and back, so If I am to cut the top mane I needed to be aware of that.
"Do you want the tail done too, or?.." I asked.
"No. Just from Trixie's head, is fine." She told me.
At least she just wants her mane done. If I had to do the tail, I'll be here f'o ages!
I did my best to brush each strand to be as even as possible. Else, I'd have a pretty crooked cut that just won't look good. I put the scissors down for a moment, to grab a hair-sprayer off the desk. Trixie turned her head around, giving me a confused look in her violet eyes as if she had no idea what I was doing.
"Aren't you going to cut it?" She asked me.
"I need to spray your mane down first." I told her. "Since you've got a curl going down, I have to try and straighten out your mane."
As I sprayed the mane with water, I used my hooves to try and do just that: straighten it. I kept pushing her hair down, but somehow, that curl just won't go down! I didn't want to put too much pressure on her mane; I don't wanna hurt her. Every time I try to push it down, the curl just keeps coming up.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, no, no. I'm just doing my job." I tried my best to grin and bear it.
"Hmm... Is there a way to have a shorter, without it looking too... boyish?"
"Of course." I kept spraying her mane to make sure it was completely damp, "Just because a mare wants a shorter mane, doesn't mean it can't still be feminine."
"Ah... Trixie gets it now! In that case, I think I'd like my mane a bit shorter."
I sighed rather than groaned in frustration. Again, I really don't like indecisiveness! Seriously, if somepony's gonna get a manecut, at least plan ahead! But I can't let the customer know my frustration; I have to be professional. Hopefully, this chick won't continue to be so unsure.
"How short do you want it?" I said, trying to keep my cool and not explode.
"I guess maybe shorter in the back. Trixie's feeling a bit daring today!"
"Okay."
Thankfully I can get around cut'n the back shorter. I grabbed the brush back, and started brushing. I held the hair up, as I got my scissors. Carefully, I made sure each cut I made was precise and even. One by one, strands of pale blue mane fell to the checkered floor below. I could hear the mare wincing slightly. Was I hurting her? Or was she suddenly regretting her decision? Hopefully neither.
"Ah!" She shrieked.
I jumped a little, and nearly messed up. "What?! What is it?!"
"Trixie just got a slight chill down her neck. My apologies"
"Oh." I sighed pretty deeply, relieved that she said that. "Please don't do that again."
"Do not worry. The Great and Apologetic Trixie, promises never to freak out like that."
One would hope so. You nearly gave me a heart attack! "Would like the front done in a similar way?"
"Um, sure I suppose?"
As much as I wanted to say: "MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!", I couldn't. I know she's not trying to test my patience, hence is why. Trixie wasn't always a good pony from what I've been told. Not to mention, had a huge grudge against Twilight Sparkle, and her friends. But the past is behind her. Trixie's a different pony now. Still, she needs to make her mind.
"Just be sure, alright? 'Cuz I don't wanna mess up your mane."
"Okay, okay, Trixie wants it just as short." She decided.
Oh, thank you.
I brushed the front strands of hair in face. It's not the most comfortable feeling sure, but it needed to be done. I pushed the strands down, making sure they were nice and even. Once I got'em where I wanted'em, I snipped off each strand one by one. I also wanted to make sure I got the sides the proper length, so I did some cut'n there.
All that was going through my head, was the thought that I would have an unsatisfied customer who hated their manecut. I wanted it to be good, for the customer. All that mattered was what the customer thought, and if they hate their manecut it would not only look bad on them, it also look bad on me.
At least she wasn't give'n me a hard time. Not like that punk Daisy tried to help.
Once I got every long strand, it was finished. Her mane was done. It was finally done! After that I put my scissors down on the desk, and grabbed the airbrush. I brushed off the loose strands on her with the brief puffs of air. Before I did anything else, I wanted to make sure she liked it first. Once that mane was cut, she had now just passed the point of no return.
"Okay, I think we should be all done here."
"Let me see!" she said worriedly. "I want to see myself!"
I turned her chair around to face the back mirror. When the chair got to a complete stop, Trixie gasped rather loudly. She stared into her reflection, speechless. Her face made it hard to discern whether she was surprised, or utterly appalled. She lifted her hoof and ran it down her now short pale blue mane slowly. She turned her head to somewhat see the sides look like. I gritted my teeth, not sure whether to be scared or not.
"S-so... what do you think?" I asked hesitantly. "Do you like it?"
"No. I don't like it." She answered.
That's what I was afraid of.
"I... LOVE IT!!" The mare burst out, smiling wide. "What do you call this manestyle?"
"Simply, we just call it a bob."
"A bob? It's a very short simple name. Trixie likes!" She then started making poses in her reflection.
I wanted to faint from relief, but kept myself up. Her reaction was much better than I anticipated. It was pretty clear she was enjoying her new look. She continued to make weird faces in the mirror, as if it was the only thing in the world. I then got this warm feeling in my chest. It made me proud to see my work was approved of.
It took a while, but I eventually removed the neck paper and the cloth from her. When I did so, she went over to hug me tightly. She was hugging me so tight, I could hardly breath. I didn't think she'd be this strong! Needless to say, she seemed very thankful for all the hard work I put in.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!" She shouted delightfully.
"Your--" I tried to say, but I was choking."--welcome! Uh, can ya stop hugging me? I can't breath!"
"Oh!" She then let go of me. "Terribly sorry about that."
"That's okay..." I gasped for air. "I get that a lot."
I saw her horn light up, as she reached into her purse. "And of course, how could I, Trrrrrixieee, forget to pay?"
She handed me a total of 30 bits for her work. "WHOA!" I said, shocked. "30 bits?!"
"Anything to help a dear friend!"
I placed the bits into a glass jar. It was already full of bits, but adding the 30 bits doubled the jar's amount. Needless to say, I got pretty giddy. I watched the mare open the door with her magic. As she did, she got onto her hind hooves, and spread out her front hooves. It was like she was about to perform for something.
"LOOK OUT EQUESTRIA," She announced loudly outside. "HERE COMES THE NEW TRIXIE!!!
Wow. Just as theatrical as ever.
"Ooh! Almost forgot!"
"What? What did ya forget?" I was a little confused at this point.
"Trixie wanted to ask, who got you into manestyling?"
"Surprisingly, Rarity."
"Oh. Okay!"
And just like that... she was out and about. Once the door closed, I sighed deeper than ever before. It was at this point I can relax for a bit. Well, at least until the next customer comes around. As I was giving myself a breather, I noticed Gamine was trotting towards me. Her face showed a bit of worry.
"Wow. She really likes that bob." She said to me. "So how'ya feel after that?"
"Honestly, I feel good." I told her proudly. "It's just another day, another customer."
