Pipp never thought she'd dread having to check social media. After all, social media was where she thrived. It was a place where Pipp prided herself on staying on top of the latest trends, and sometimes not so secretly doing her part to influence them. Yet that compass which had so often guided her and steered her in times past had now resulted in something the pastel pink pegasus princess was dreading: Social infamy.
Ever since that "Mane Smelody Challenge", Mane Melody had become quite a joke among ponies. The challenge had gone viral, and ponies were now taking to social media platforms to voice their dismay that the challenge was no longer doable. Still, it seemed like ponies couldn't get enough of the videos taken of other ponies reacting to the foul smelling hoof polish Pipp had created.
"This is terrible!" Pipp exclaimed as she shut off her phone and slumped onto a couch in the corner of Mane Melody. So far, business today was unusually slow. And now the pop star princess had a pretty good idea why that was the case. No more social media challenge meant ponies in Maretime Bay had no reason to seek out the boutique. They were all looking for the next big thing viral sensation, regardless of where it came from.
Jazz trotted over to Pipp, trying to reassure her business partner. "I'm sure this will all blow over eventually, Pipp. You've said it yourself, trends change. Ponies will forget about the 'Mane Smelody Challenge'. After all, ponies forgave you for lying about being able to fly."
Pipp unhappily sighed, putting a hoof to her forehead. "That was luck on my part. If I hadn't gone with Sunny and helped her bring back magic, I would've probably ended up in jail right alongside Mom," She proceeded to lament. "No wonder Zipp's going to take over the throne instead of me. Nopony will ever take me seriously as a ruler after this fiasco. And what's even worse is that if this keeps up, Mane Melody will go out of business."
"That will never happen, Pipp," Jazz insisted in as firm a tone as possible. "And you shouldn't keep beating yourself up about that hoof polish. You made a mistake, it could've happened to anypony."
Pipp sat up and snorted. "Really, Jazz? Izzy of all ponies knew what the problem was. All I would've had to do was ask her about the flower, and she would've told me that my hoof polish made from it was a bad idea. If even Izzy could see what the problem was before I could, I have no excuse. It seems like I can't do anything right: With my phone or without it. All I ever do is complain or cause trouble. I feel like you and Rocky are always having to clean up my messes here, whenever I'm not dumping managing Mane Melody onto you because I'm off traveling with my friends to... hoofness knows where!"
"Well, what about Bridlewoodstock?" The earless earth pony suggested. "That worked out pretty well, didn't it?"
The pegasus princess frowned. "Did you forget about the Troggles and the panic that they caused?!" She bitterly remarked. "All I could think about was that silly rock concert I wanted to put on, nothing else mattered. All the unicorns kept warning me that it was a bad idea. But did I listen: No! It was pure luck my friends and I were able to defeat them. Besides, even without the Troggles' attack, the concert was almost a complete disaster. I didn't even plan out who was going to be the opening act and who would be the headliner. Can you imagine how badly that would've looked if the Troggle attack hadn't made everypony forget that?"
Jazz could only sigh. She really didn't know what else to say or do to get through to Pipp. It seemed like her business partner and more or less boss was in the kind of funk that you couldn't be talked out of. "If only Rocky were here too," She thought to herself. "He's always much more confident and self-assured. Plus, he seems to have a way with words that I don't. I mostly just nod my head and go along with whatever everypony else wants." Alas, the pegasus stallion was absent, it was just Jazz and Pipp, like it had been the day before.
With a long, drawn out sigh, Pipp rose from her seat on the sofa and trotted to the door. "Well, no point sticking around here if nopony's coming in. Might as well find something else to do with my time. Hopefully, something that doesn't involve me making a complete fool of myself and everypony else." With that, she departed Mane Melody without another word and without even looking back at Jazz.
Pipp trotted through Maretime Bay with her head hung low, too ashamed to look up since she was sure she would see everypony laughing at her. Surely, they would mock and tease her as a result of how badly her hoof polish had turned out. And who could blame them? When something had been reduced to a social media challenge, laughing was all you could do.
"I wish there was a way I could turn it all around," The pastel pink pop star princess thought to herself as she wandered through town. "I don't even really care about my own reputation. If I have to be a laughing stock for a while, so be it. But it's not fair to Rocky and Jazz that they should have to suffer too. It wasn't their fault my hoof polish was a bad idea. They're the ones who keep Mane Melody running smoothly all the time. But how can I possibly make everypony forget about that 'Mane Smelody Challenge'? That's not something you can just forget about."
Then the somewhat pudgy pegasus' thoughts were interrupted rather abruptly by the sound of somepony shouting her name. Somepony whose voice sounded vaguely familiar to her for some reason, since it was so high pitched and young sounding. "...Pipp? Pipp?"
Pipp lifted her head very slowly and turned to look. Much to her surprise, she could see the rapidly approaching form of Seashell: One of her youngest and most devoted Pippsqueaks. But Pipp hadn't seen the filly since the Cutie Blossom Bash in Zephyr Heights, which had to have been several weeks ago by now (if not longer).
Immediately, a knot formed in Pipp's stomach that filled her with dread. "Oh hoofness no!" She thought to herself! Of course the Pippsqueaks had learned of the "Mane Smelody Challenge", of course they had heard about what had sparked it. More than anything, Pipp wanted to turn around and take to the skies. But she found that her body wouldn't cooperate. She could only stand there, frozen helplessly to the spot.
Seashell either didn't notice the terrified expression on Pipp's face, or didn't care about it. Regardless, she came trotting up to the pegasus she so often looked up to (both figuratively and literally). "Hey, Pipp!" She cheerfully and chipperly greeted with a smile.
"Oh, hello," The pop star princess commented as she did her best to hide her feelings from the filly. "You're Seashell, right? The one who got her cutie mark?"
Seashell nodded. "Yup. And don't forget, I'm one of your biggest fans! I've been a fan of you ever since you moved to Maretime Bay with your far less cool older sister."
"Hey now, Zipp is perfectly cool in her own big sister way," Pipp protested. "Besides, she's going to be queen someday. Then you'll be looking up to her more than you'll be looking up to me."
Seashell shook her head from side to side. "Nu-uh. I'll always look up to you, no matter what. You're the coolest, Pipp! Your Youhoof videos are the best! And you're always making a scene on other social media websites. What's your secret? How do you do it? Because I wanna grow up to be just like you."
The pudgy, pastel pink princess protested. "Trust me, no you don't. All I ever do is cause trouble, and not the good kind of trouble either. Honestly, I'm surprised your parents even let you watch my videos. I've probably been a bad influence on you and your friends."
The earth pony filly protested back. "That's crazy talk, Pipp. You just made a bad decision, that's all. But I speak for many Pippsqueaks when I say that one mistake isn't enough to make us stop admiring you," She then giggled. "Besides, that 'Mane Smelody Challenge' was so funny! I was gonna dare my parents to do it, but then you pulled the hoof polish before I had the chance."
"See? You proved my point," Pipp lamented. "Ponies came close to passing out because of how bad the smell was. Somepony could've gotten hurt because of me! Now, thanks to me, Mane Melody is the laughing stock of the town, perhaps even beyond with how viral that challenge went! At this point, I might as well shadow banish myself. At least then I'd actually be doing the world a favor by ensuring no more stupid social media stuff gets posted because of me."
Seashell let out a gasp, immediately throwing herself at Pipp's hooves! "You can't shadow banish yourself, Pipp! Think of your Pippsqueaks! What would they do without you?!"
The pegasus princess replied. "I'm sure they would forget and move on. Even you would find somepony else to follow, somepony much more worthy of that honor."
Seashell only tightened her grip on Pipp's hooves, refusing to let go. "No! Please, Pipp, don't shadow banish yourself because of one mistake! You've always been one to never give up!"
"Well, there's a first time for everything," Pipp lamented. "But enough about me. I don't wanna bother you with my troubles, Seashell. I've got enough on my hooves as it is without dragging you into my messes," And she tried to steer the subject in another direction. "How's life been for you since you got your cutie mark? Have you done anything interesting?"
At that the earth pony filly glumly replied. "No, not really. It's just been school, and homework, and tests, and all that boring stuff. I've barely had any time to watch any of your content, especially since Mom and Dad insist on taking away my access to screens an hour before bed."
The pudgy pink princess commented and murmured to herself. "That's a smart decision on their part."
The earth pony filly, meanwhile, prattled on. "My class was gonna go on a field trip to Zephyr Heights, even tour the royal palace and visit that old flight station beneath the city," Then her lips quivered and morphed into a pronounced frown. "But our teachers said we can't go."
"Whyever not? Zephyr Heights is perfectly safe." Pipp commented in surprise.
Seashell explained. "Well, after what happened on our field trip to Bridlewood, our class' parents started to grow worried. They insisted that every field trip outside of Maretime Bay from now on has to have chaperones. And our school doesn't have enough money to pay for them, and nopony will volunteer. So without chaperones, we can't go to Zephyr Heights. It totally sinks, I was really looking forward to seeing the whole city."
"Oh dear," Pipp remarked in a sympathetic tone. "I'm really sorry to hear that, Seashell. I would take you and your class to Zephyr Heights myself in the Marestream, if I were a better pilot. I swear, I don't know how Zipp is good at flying The Marestream. She's given me lessons, but I can never figure out how to steer or land that thing."
"It's okay," Seashell glumly replied. "At least I got to see some of the city when I attended the Cutie Blossom Bash. Maybe someday when I'm older, I'll be able to go to any place I want to all by myself." Then she released her hold on Pipp's hooves and slowly trotted away.
Watching one of her youngest and most devoted Pippsqueaks slowly sulk away stirred up something inside of Pipp. She always prided herself on doing whatever it took to make her fans happy (within reason, of course). And the pastel pink pop star pegasus was now deep in contemplation. There had to be something she could do for Seashell's class, some way to help.
Suddenly, it hit her! That spark of inspiration that so often guided her! Pipp knew in an instant what to do! And if it all worked as she hoped it would, it seemed like just the thing to redeem Mane Melody's reputation!
Pipp decided to think over the details, wanting to make sure she carefully weighed any pros and cons this time around instead of just jumping into something as soon as the idea came to her. So it was that the pink pop star pegasus waited until the next day to return to Mane Melody, and pitch her idea. And by a stroke of luck, she saw that Rocky was back to work today at very long last.
Jazz was delighted to have her constant companion by her side once more. "Hello, Rocky," She cheerfully greeted the stallion. "Finally gotten over that cold of yours, I hope?"
Rocky nodded. "Yup. All it took was a few days of bed rest and the cold ran its course. Now I'm refreshed and ready to get back to work."
"Oh, haven't you heard?" Jazz glumly explained. "We've entered into kind of a slump. A product of Pipp's backfired."
"You're talking about the 'Mane Smelody Challenge' and Pipp's hoof polish, aren't you?" Rocky guessed, and received a confirming nod from Jazz. "Yeah, I heard about it. Can't believe ponies would do something so stupid. I wouldn't have done that challenge even if you'd paid me to!"
Jazz could only sigh. "If only more ponies in Maretime Bay were like you, Rocky."
The pegasus stallion smiled. "Well, I'm sure business will pick back up again soon. After all, Nightmare Night is coming up in a few weeks. Ponies will want to look their best for the holiday, even if many of them will be dressing up."
"I don't know if we can hold on for that long. That hoof polish disaster really set us back." The earless earth pony mare bit her hoof.
It was at that very moment that Pipp chose to make her grand, overly-dramatic entrance! "Not to worry, Jazz and Rocky! I, Pipp Petals, have come up with an idea that will put us firmly back in business! I may have tarnished the good name of Mane Melody, but I will soon right that wrong!" She spoke in a booming tone of voice, swinging the doors open and striking a pose.
Jazz hesitantly asked. "What is it this time, Pipp? Please tell me it's not another product you're going to peddle."
The pastel pink pegasus princess proudly protested. "Of course not, Jazz," She trotted forward with a bright smile on her face. "My idea is really quite simple. What's the fastest way to draw attention to a good cause? Have a promotion for it of course!"
"And what are we promoting?" Rocky questioned.
Pipp's smile grew wider as she explained. "Why, we're going to be raising money for all the school children of Maretime Bay. That way they can hire chaperones and have a field trip to Zephyr Heights. It's the perfect plan!"
Jazz wasn't so sure, memories of the hoof polish disaster still fresh in her mind. "How are we going to raise money for the children, Pipp?"
The pop star princess explained further. "Isn't it obvious? We'll be doing a charity event. Heck, I'm going to livestream the whole thing! Ponies can come in here for mane stylings or haircuts, and all the proceeds will go to the children. And as a bonus, I'll have contributors lined up to match all the donations we receive. With the word of mouth we'll generate, Mane Melody's reputation will be restored!" Then she asked her business partners. "So, go ahead, be honest. Is it the best idea I've ever had or what?"
Jazz and Rocky were silent for a moment, exchanging nervous glances at one another. "You really think this will work, Pipp?" Jazz finally worked up the courage to ask. "Rocky and I can only do so much."
Pipp chuckled. "Well don't worry, I'll be there to help too. It's only fair I do my part this time. It's the least I can do after all the times I've left you two to run Mane Melody without me. This is my saloon too, after all. We all agreed to run it together, so I've gotta start contributing to it more directly."
Rocky (and by extension Jazz) still wasn't entirely convinced. "Are you sure ponies will come, and that they'll actually want to get a styling or a haircut?" He asked Pipp. "Shouldn't we wait until closer to Nightmare Night and tie it in then?"
"Rocky makes a very good point," Jazz insisted. "If we wait a while to do something that big, ponies won't be as tempted to think we're just desperate to distract from the 'Mane Smelody Challenge'."
Pipp would not be deterred or persuaded otherwise. "I want to do this! I know I don't have the best track record on promotions like these. But this time I'm sure I can pull it off, and that it will actually be successful without bringing the wrong kind of attention. If it fails," Her lips quivered. "Then at least we can say we tried our best to keep Mane Melody afloat. And I'll take full responsibility for making up the difference if we come up short. I don't think the goal will be too ambitious. At this point, do we really have much else to lose or risk with something like this?"
Jazz was still far from sure about Pipp's proposal. But before she could say anything, Rocky spoke up and expressed his sentiments. "...I guess it really can't hurt to try. Charity is a noble sentiment and a noble cause for anypony to contribute to."
"Splendid!" The pastel pink pop star pegasus proudly proclaimed! "We can host the stream this weekend, that way we can guarantee the biggest audience possible. I really do think this is going to work!" And so, everything was set into motion.
Over the span of the next few days, Pipp's overall posture and mood seemed to change for the better. Gone were the nagging self-dobuts that had plagued her in the aftermath of the "Mane Smelody Challenge", replaced by a newfound optimism and a belief that things could and would get better. It helped that she went about talking up her planned charity livestream to all who would listen. The more ponies that knew about it, the better.
At last, the weekend came, and with it came the day when the charity livestream was to take place. When that day came, Pipp woke bright and early, and after a quick breakfast she strolled to Mane Melody with a spring in her step. Upon entering the saloon, she first checked in with Jazz and Rocky. "Is everything ready? Are we all set?" She asked them, barely able to contain her excitement.
"We're as ready as we'll ever be." Jazz said with a gulp.
Rocky, however, had a smile on his face that could rival Pipp's. "I have a good feeling about this, Jazz! Not since the Maresquerade Ball have I been this excited about something!"
"Great! We're all set, then!" Pipp proudly proclaimed. "So without further ado, let's get this show on the road!" She fluttered to the doors, flipping the sign from "Closed" to "Open". Then, she whipped out her phone and turned it on. With a few taps on some buttons, she had it set up and ready to record. "Hello, Pippsqueaks!" She greeted, flashing her smile at the camera. "You're in for a real treat today! This is Mane Melody, where I work when I'm not on adventures or making videos. And today, we're hosting a special charity promotion: All proceeds go to benefit the school children here in Maretime Bay. So come on down to Mane Melody: Get a mane styling, or a haircut, or even just a hooficure. And help us raise some money for a good cause."
Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky then waited for their first customers to arrive.
The three didn't have to wait long, soon the bell above the door rang out loudly, and ponies began trotting in from all walks of life. Some of them were longtime residents of Maretime Bay, others visitors from Zephyr Heights or Bridlewood, and even some of Pipp's friends showed up.
In no time at all, Mane Melody was packed with ponies: All of them either in the process of having their manes styled or cut, or waiting patiently until it was their turn for a treatment. Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky did their best to manage the crowd and keep them happy. All the while, Pipp occasionally checked her phone and checked a box set up to house the donations. Everything was going well: The stream was drawing in hundreds of thousands of views, and more importantly money was being raised at an astonishing rate!
The pop star pegasus princess could hardly believe her luck! Everything was working out, for once an idea of hers hadn't backfired horribly in some way, shape, or form.
Suddenly, as Pipp turned her attention back to the crowd of ponies, she was surprised by the appearance of somepony she had never expected to see: Her sister, Zipp! Immediately, Pipp dropped everything she had been doing and rushed over to greet her big sister. "What are you doing here, Zipp? You didn't even want to get your mane done for Portrait Day." She questioned her fellow pegasus.
Zipp responded in a casual, relaxed tone of voice. "What can I say? It's for a good cause. Besides, I know how much this probably means to you."
Pipp gave her sister a big hug! "Oh, Zipp! You didn't have to do this! But I'm so glad you did!"
"Yeah, yeah," Zipp replied. "Just don't get carried away, or anything. And try not to make it too fru-fru."
The pastel pink pegasus giggled back with a wink. "No promises."
Zipp could only sigh. "The things I do for the sake of my little sister." She thought to herself.
The day seemed to fly by in a blur for Pipp, as well as for Jazz and Rocky. Mane Melody seemed to be packed with more customers than the trio knew what to do with. Yet somehow, they managed to tend to all the customers and their needs, until finally the saloon was closed and the last ponies went away satisfied.
Pipp wiped the sweat from her brows. "Boy, that worked even better than I hoped it would!" She said, her eyes peering into the camera. "You Pippsqueaks were incredible! And thanks to everypony who helped spread the word! Without your help, this livestream and promotion wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful."
"I guess I shouldn't have been so quick to doubt you, Pipp," Jazz sheepishly admitted. "When you have a good idea, you really have a good idea."
But the pastel pink pegasus protested. "Jazz, you had every right to be skeptical of me after what happened with the hoof polish. That's why I didn't want to do this unless you and Rocky were on board with it," And she added. "I'm just glad it all worked out. With all this money, Seashell's class should easily be able to afford chaperones. Their field trip to Zephyr Heights should be saved."
"All thanks to your brilliant idea, Pipp." Rocky pointed out.
Pipp shook her head from side to side. "No, all thanks to the Pippsqueaks. In fact, if it hadn't been for Seashell, I wouldn't ever gotten the idea to do something like this."
Rocky smiled, trotting over to the box that housed the donations. "Well, it was your idea to put this all together on short notice. And all because you wanted to make a difference in Seashell's life. I'm sure she and her class will greatly appreciate these contributions."
Jazz found herself adding to the sentiment. "Indeed, Pipp. It seems like those Pippsqueaks really bring out the best in you, even more so than your sister or your friends," With a smile, she suggested. "Maybe you should consider being one of the chaperones for that field trip to Zephyr Heights. You do seem to have a way with children."
"Well..." Pipp pondered the proposal. "If no big emergencies pop up, I suppose I could do it. My experiences with the breezies taught me that I need to start making more of an effort to unplug, after all."
Author's Note
I know I already did a concept like this for another fic, but this is a more SFW take on the concept of Pipp doing a livestream for charity. I don't know for sure what Chapter 6 of Make Your Mark will include, but it seems like it wouldn't be possible to set a story like this before it but after the end of Chapter 5.
Rocky's cold is my explanation for his unexplained absence in "Mane Smelody".
