In Maretime Bay, ponies were walking into a salon. This salon was a white brick building with light pink trim and a dark gray roof. Its establishment's logo consists of two music notes, each shaped like the letter "M" in the front.

A yellow earth pony named Posey Bloom came into the salon, where she saw Pipp on a stage at the end of the mall as she started to sing. Over time, Pipp opened up a salon run by her; since styling is more her thing and have a gift for styling, she wanted to share that gift by opening up her own business, and thanks to the help of her friends, she finally got the shop in her image, with a stage to walk for her singing talent to entertain the ponies coming in, so they can enjoy the song and get their styles as well.

Clickity clack, who's that?
It's your girl Pipp, styling with a brand new track

Pipp sang as she flapped into the air, then flew to Posey.

Setting up shop, got a brand new gig
With colors that pop and a drip so big

She then put Posey in a hairstyle machine and went to her friends for their style.

Come in and get your hooves buffed, your mane puffed
Everypony's getting their tail fluffed

Pipp went to Sunny first and twirled her around, styling her mane with a ponytail on her head while Sunny sipped a drink and smiled at her new look. Pipp went to Sonic next and twirled the hedgehog around, styling him with a ponytail, which Sonic liked, and smiled at Pipp. She went next to Hitch and twirled him, giving him a mane cut and a mane style that his mane is combined to the side, as Hitch smiled at his new mane style.

Dance to the beat, dance to the beat
Who could ever sit still with a groove this sweet?

Pipp then went to an empty seat. She suspected Zipp of sitting there for her mane style, but she wasn’t, so Pipp looked around for her.

Behind the stage was Zipp, hiding from her sister. She didn't mind her sister running a business, but when it came to style and makeup, she would rather not. She liked her mane the way it was and couldn’t let her sister change it. So, she hid from her to protect her mane and tail from being changed. Zipp hid further into the stage as Pipp looked for her, wondering where she’d go.

A place you can go
Where you already know
You can find your pony flow
When you step through the door

Putting aside finding Zipp for now, Pipp showed Izzy a mirror that somehow made selections of the main styles of her or anypony choosing. Izzy found it amazing and made a funny face for a little humor as Pipp searched through the sections to see what fit Izzy the most. When Izzy turned around, Pipp picked a section with her mane down and a crown with stars and hearts. Izzy loved that section, so Pipp twirled Izzy around, and she got said mane style, but since she got her head turned, the style covered Izzy’s whole face, but Izzy found it great. Izzy took out the homemade phone she made with her ‘Unicycling’ skills and picked all five stars to review Pipp's salon.

Pipp, a pegasus named Rocky, and an earth pony named Jazz danced on stage as they sang to their customers.

Try something new, take a chance, just believe it
Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it?

The ponies in the salons are getting their manes matched to their styles and giving Pipp's salon a five-star review as they all sing together.

Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh (Hey!)
Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh

Sunny, Izzy, Hitch, and Sonic joined in the song as they sang, while Zipp kept trying to hide from her sister for trying to touch her mane. She failed to hide by holding a pillow covering her face since Pipp was approaching her. Zipp freaked out and ran away from her. Pipp saw her sister with a smile and tried to catch up with her, wanting to give her mane a new style.

Try something new, take a chance, just believe it
Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it?
At Mane Melody (Hey!)
At Mane Melody

The ponies in the salon sang together as they showed the styles of their manes. Posey, with a new mane spike style, walked to the door after her new mane style was finished. She brought out her phone but gave a three-star review to the salon.

Pipp heard the pop and saw the three review stars, shocking her as she never had three stars in a review of somepony before. "WHAT?!" she yelled out as she landed on the ground with a thump; she looked at Posey while the ponies around looked at her, then at Posey, who looked confused. Pipp tried to go with it as she corrected what she said. "What... a... L-" she gulps nervously as she continues. "Lovely review, heh. Thank you... so much, Posey," she finished with a creepy smile as she was about to explode.

Posey looked at Pipp for a moment and smiled nervously, then opened the doors and jumped through them as the door shut.

Pipp regained her composure as she calmed down, finding that review had nothing to worry about as she spoke out. "So, Who is ne-ext?" she sang and asked for the next pony to get styled.

The doors then opened, revealing Phyllis Cloverleaf, Canterlogic's CEO and Sprout's mother. The ponies on the local gasped while looking at her. "I am," Phyllis said to Pipp in an intimidating voice.

Phyllis then walked through the salon as various ponies whispered in fright, telling each other rumors of how Phyllis came to grand opening businesses to inspect them to see if they were great since she was a CEO. Now, she was at Mane Melody to see if Pipp's salon was okay or if it should get shut down.

Pipp and Phyllis looked at each other as a tumbleweed of cut-up manes blew past them. Phyllis stared at Pipp like some Wild West showdown, while Pipp was scared and hoped she would get a good review from Phyllis.

"So, you're the new stylist in town?" Phyllis asked as she adjusted her glasses.

"That's me!" Pipp cheered with a smile. "Welcome to Mane Melod--," she tried to sing but was interrupted as Phyllis chuckled.

"We'll see about that," Phyllis said to Pipp, smirking.

Pipp gulped nervously, thinking that if Phyllis gave her a bad review, she'd lose her salon in a day.

Phyllis then came to a salon seat and sat down, looking at the mirror as she put her phone down. Meanwhile, the rest of the Mane 5 looked worried at Phyllis, while Sonic scratched his head and looked at Phyllis with confusion.

"Uh... Sunny?" he called out, "I'm gonna need some context here. Why is the ponyfied Karen acting like she's about to destroy Pipp's carrier with a review?" he asked seriously, since he hadn't met Phyllis at all, just looked at her agreeing with being friends with unicorns and pegasi, but that was all.

"Because she IS going to do that if she doesn't like Pipp's work!" she whispered. "Phyllis has shut down five salons in one month because of how much she disliked them. And if she considers Pipp's styling horrible, it is the end of Mane Melody!" she exclaimed with worry.

Sonic's neutral expression became worried now that he understood the bad situation. "Man, this sucks..." he said with worry.

Pipp came next to Phyllis as she inspected her mane. "So…" she started with a nervous chuckle as she continued. "Um, what can I do for you?" she asked Phyllis.

"Surprise me," Phyllis requested, which caused Pipp to freak out even more as Phyllis continued. "You know, this place used to be a restaurant until I reviewed it," she told Pipp, recalling when it used to be a restaurant before it became a salon. "Free all-you-can-eat pizza? Puh-lease!" she added in disbelief.

"Uh... yeah," Pipp said nervously, but she was surprised that the salon used to be a pizza joint. She looked at Phyllis' phone, which had the review stars option, and she felt more nervous while turning on a haircut machine.

"Before that, it was Fancy Filly Fashion Boutique, Painting Palomino's Pottery Café... oh, and a salon, actually." Phyllis listed the business she reviewed in the same building they are in now, which didn’t put Pipp's mind at ease. "Hair Today? More like Out of Business Tomorrow!" she laughed as Pipp brought the haircut machine and cut off part of Phyllis's mane.

Pipp saw what she had done and gasped in shock, seeing that she had made a bald spot on the back of Phyllis' hair. She backed away, whimpering nervously, and then ran out to the door, with Sunny, Sonic, and Zipp seeing all of this.

Zipp was about to follow after her, but first, she grabbed Sonic's hand with her hoof. "You are coming with me!" she whispered to him.

"The what now?" Sonic asked, confused, but Zipp grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the building.

On the other hand, Sunny grabbed two Kiwis from the beverages Jazz was passing on the cart. "Hey!" she called out, but Sunny didn’t listen since she wanted to distract Phyllis long enough for Pipp to return. Sunny splatted the kiwis into Phyllis’ glasses, blocking her vision.

"Ugh!" Phyllis cried out in surprise at the Kiwis. "Oh, good, now there's food on my face," she groans, never having done that part of a salon before.

"They're fruit!" Sunny corrected her as she laughed nervously, pretending it was part of the salon. "And very good for all those wrinkles!" she added, waving her hoof in a cheer.

"Huh!?" Phyllis asked in shock, and Sunny realized what she said as she chuckled nervously, trying to buy enough time for Sonic and Zipp to find Pipp before things got worse.

Zipp and Sonic were looking for Pipp, trying to find where she went, and they searched the front of the salon. They turned to the left side of the salon after hearing a distressed painting, then turned to the left again and saw Pipp hiding in an alleyway next to the salon.

"Pipp! There you are," Zipp said, relieved that her sister didn’t go that far. "You have to come back inside!"

"I can't!" Pipp cried out as her mane was a little messy, and she had a mental breakdown from her screw-up. "You saw what happened--I took a huge chunk out of her mane!" she sighed and continued. "Who's the style icon now?" she asked sarcastically, hitting her head against the wall.

Zipp and Sonic looked at her with sadness and worry, but then Sonic sighed and smiled. "You are, princess," he said, surprising Zipp. He smiled and looked back at her sister. "Always have been, always will be," he finished.

Pipp turned a little to face her sister and her crush, still feeling down.

"So you shaved one bald spot... Big whoop!" Zipp exclaimed. See all that confidence and swagger?" she asked. Then she, Sonic, and Pipp turned around, and Zipp pointed out the crowd of the ponies Pipp had styled their manes from her salon.

A unicorn pony then squeals in delight at the mane style, while the ponies around Maretime Bay admire Pipp’s work in style and love it.

"You brought that to Maretime Bay!" Zipp added. "You did that," she cheered on Pipp's styling skills.

"I did...?" Pipp questioned while still having her face on the wall. Then she looked at Posey, looking in the mirror to check her spiky mane style, and admired it.

Posey was busy looking at her mane, but a Pegasus mare named Maverick came flying down. "Hey, nice new 'do, Posey!" she complimented, but Posey trotted away scared.

Pipp smiled at seeing that her styling skills were great for every pony. "I did!" she cheered as she got her head off the wall.

"Why, of course," Sonic said, pushing Pipp a little on her shoulder. "And I gotta say, I'm one of those people who hate when their hair is touched, but thanks to your wonderful work, I think I'm going to start touching up my style now and then, so don't be surprised if you see me around sometimes" he admitted, then winked at her and left back to Mane Melody, leaving Pipp behind with sparkling eyes and blush.

But Zipp suddenly cleared her throat, and Pipp quickly focused on getting into her salon and working her magic.

Sunny had been busy keeping Phyllis in the salon, using a brush and a hairdryer on her mane. However, since Sunny is not as stylish as Pipp, this resulted in her mane being all poofy.

"Then there was the Museum of Unnatural Hoof-story, the twenty-four-hour tramponyline park, the Golden Tree of Knowledge…" Phyllis said, listing even more of the businesses she saw and shutting down from her reviews, not knowing that Sunny messed up her mane since she still had kiwis over her eyes.

Behind her, Rocky and Jazz watched Sunny's job nervously and then looked at each other in fear. Sonic, who had entered back a few seconds ago, was standing next to them, and he was just as afraid as the ponies since he wasn't sure how Pipp would fix that mess.

The door suddenly opened, and Pipp came in with a determined look, ready to finish what she started.

The ponies and Hitch gasped at Pipp's return and determination. Sunny gasped and smiled at Pipp’s return, and the pegasus walked to where Sunny and Phyllis were. Zipp looked at her with a proud smile.

Sunny laughed, glad Pipp was back. She stepped back to let Pipp take charge. The pegasus cracked her hooves and stretched, then grabbed the haircutter and hairdryer, ready to start.

One, two, three, four
Bring that tail right through the door

Pipp then reclined Phyllis's seat and wet her mane with soap and water, washing it down to remove the poofiness.

Five, six, seven, eight
You're not leaving here 'til you feel great

Pipp brought more tools as she ruffled Phyllis’s mane in determination, styling the CEO’s mane with four tools simultaneously.

Shine bright, sparkling glow
Flick that mane with a flow like woah

She bit down the mane, straightened it out with the straightening iron, and cut a piece of loose hair sticking out.

Vibe... you're on it
You're a brand new pony so flaunt it
Hey

Pipp smiled at her progress, then continued to brush, comb, blow, and straighten until she covered Phyllis' mane and got the hair dryer blowout machine on top of her. Pipp twirled Phyllis around and did some style as the ponies in the shop gasped at Pipp’s amazing work.

Zipp smiled at her sister’s inspiration as she looked into the mirror, thinking she should get Pipp to do her mane. She started to like the idea once Sonic confessed that he usually doesn't like to change his hairstyle, yet he tried it out and liked it.

Pipp then removed the kiwis from Phyllis' eyes, and the CEO looked at her reflection as she tried to process how she looked. "It's... it's...!" she tried to find the right words.

Sunny was biting her hoof nervously, and then Jazz came to Sunny's side, filing her hoof that she had been biting earlier, as she was also nervous.

"It's... exactly the same…" Phyllis pointed out as Pipp brought her mane back to how it was before it was messed up. Phyllis looked carefully at the mirror, then brought out her phone for the review stars, thinking over her mane style. At the same time, everypony and Sonic were nervous, san Pipp and Izzy because Pipp was smirking, and Izzy couldn’t see anything with her mane blocking her sight. "Just the way I like it," Phyllis announced, then pressed the five-star review, making Pipp's business good. Phyllis walked out the door, her bald spot covered with curls. She flipped her mane, but the curls behind her head fell, revealing the bald spot.

The rest gasped in fright, hoping that Phyllis wouldn’t notice it. But to their relief, Phyllis walked out the door as it closed. The whole salon cheered and shouted in victory over Pipp’s success since she got all the perfect reviews she needed for her salon to keep running.

Sunny, Sonic, and Zipp came to Pipp’s sides. "That was amazing, Pipp! I knew you could do it!" Sunny congratulated.

"Way to go, Little Pipp!" Sonic said jokingly, smirking at her. "That was a show to remember for sure!"

Pipp sighed in relief and smiled. "Thanks for covering for me, Sunny. Thanks for giving me some motivation, Sonic. And thanks for always being there for me, Zipp. You're the best sister ever--" she was saying, but then gasped as her eyes sparkled at seeing Zipp sitting in a salon chair with a smile. Pipp came straight to her sister’s side in disbelief. "Really? You never let me style your mane!" she cheered, still unbelieving that her sister was not hiding this time.

"Mmh," Zipp said with a smirk, letting her sister style her mane for once.

Pipp inhales in excitement. "Oh, my pony!" She called out, then brought Zipp to a mirror to see which option she would style her sister’s mane. "I always thought you'd look amazing with a pony perm, or like, okay, a manehawk or maybe in a different color!" She selects the options of mane styles for Zipp, who cringes at the sight of them, having second thoughts about this. "Okay, okay. How do you feel about bangs?" Pipp suggested to Zipp, which caused her to regret letting Pipp style her mane.

THE END

Author's Note

Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!