The Tortoise and the Hair

[Ranger]

Wow, Canterlot was a big city. Ranger was never here, for quite a few reasons. First, though he always wished to see the gardens here, he would probably never be allowed into the interior compound of the castle due to his mask and cloak. Second, because well, it was a big city, too little places to hide.

As he was walking down the streets, his hoofs making a very loud noise against the stone roads, to his dislike, he wondered about the reasons that brought him here on this day.
He was already on that edge of Whitetail Woods, so why not? After all, he promised Fluttershy he'd look his best for that evening. And what a better place to get himself stylish more than Canterlot? He already had his tux, so he only really needed a hairdo, and what a wonder that he actually found a hair salon so quickly?

Just sheer luck, he guessed, it seemed like a rather nice place, so why not? He stopped to inspect the area around it, ponies walking around here and there. Probably not the crowd he'd relate too. But then again, he was Ranger, he got along with everypony, he shrugged it off.
Eventually, he came inside, he removed his hood, looking around to inspect the salon itself. "Hello." He said to no one in particular.

[kimmorz]

Shear Luck came trotting in from the back room at the arrive of her guest. She was a very pale grey mare, with dark stockings and even paler grey flank freckles. The upper portion of her mane had an a-line cut, and had a beautiful turquoise-blue coloring. The lower portion, which was a lovely shade of pink, she wore it parted to the sides; today she wore it in curls. Her tail hung almost to the ground, and shared the same beautiful turquoise-blue of her mane. On her flanks she bore her cutie mark; a pair of thinning shears that matched the color of her mane. She trotted over to her customer, not too fast, not too slow, and had her welcoming smile on. Her large pink eyes peered out from behind the glasses she wore. She stopped just a couple of feet away. "Hello! I'm Shear Luck. How may I help you today?"

[Ranger]

"Oh! Hello there!" Ranger said cheerily, "Well, I guess I need a bit of styling to my mane... I'm going to this fancy party tonight and well..." He'd have puffed the spiky tuft of mane out of his eyes if he wasn't wearing a mask. "I feel my mane style is... inadequate?" He laughed.

It seemed like a very respectable institution, "So, do you think you can do something with it? I really don't want to make a lousy impression. I'm going with my friend, you see, and she's a bit shy and I want her to feel confident, so yeah." He wondered if he was talking too much, so he sat down and zipped it.

He had to make a good impression, he was a super-hero, a one of a kind pony, embarrassing Fluttershy would be out of the question, that would be the same as making her feel bad, which is very much against the superhero code. Also, he wanted to fancy up for once, he was always dirty and never too stylish. Why, even the Batpony had a dashing alter ego, so he might as well try for once? And he had all the reasons to celebrate after his acquiring of the Dragon Crown, only the best tea plant in the world.

So all and all, Ranger had all the reasons in the world to want to look as good as possible. And to him it seemed he came to just the right place for it. The masked pony blinked a couple of times behind his mask.

[kimmorz]

Shear's smile grew a bit. She personally loved it when the ponies that came in seemed a little more cheery, and not like some of the more stuck-up fashion ponies she's had (not saying that all fashion ponies are stuck-up, of course, but for those who do fall into the stereotype). She gave a slight nod. "Sounds good. Hmm.." She walked in a circle around the colt to get a good look at his mane. "Well," she said, walking over to one of the sinks, gesturing him to follow. "Do you have an idea of what kind of look you want to go for? If not, there's a magazine of different hair styles here," using her magic, she pulled out a magazine from a nearby shelf and set it down on a small table next to the lifted bed that was in front of the sink (which she lowered as soon as she set the magazine down). Her horn glowed lightly, as a towel came hover across the room, and landed neatly on a towel hanger next to the sink. She stood next to the sink, ready to get started.

[Ranger]

"Oooh!" Ranger pointed at one of the pictures in the magazine, "I want this curly one! It looks awesome! So elegant, yet masculine, and very stylish, oh I love it, can I get that one?" He hoofed at the picture of a stallion with a fine mane of curly locks, definitely a mane with presence.

"Ooh, now I'm excited!" The pony said, "I don't think I've been to a mane stylist since I was a colt!" The stallion laughed, "Look at me, getting all giddy." He lay down on the lifted bed near the sink and awaited his treatment excitedly, making sure to remove his cloak and saddlebags first, and then, since he had only just repainted it, his mask.

At that, Ranger became much more still and quiet, for some reason. His confidence came from his masked identity, it would seem. But then again, Shear Luck would have no way of knowing who he was. For her, he was Ranger with or without his mask. So he smiled again and returned to himself quickly.

[kimmorz]

She glanced at the picture, already knowing which one he was referring to. "Excellent choice!" She quickly went and washed her hooves. Cleanliness was of utter most importance when it came to any beauty services. She lifted the bed and turned on the water. She carefully maneuvered the shower hose through the stallions mane, making sure not to get any water in his face. The shampoo bottle came floating over from a shelf and poured itself into the stallions mane. Shear massaged the shampoo through with her hooves, which, while she could've done it with magic, she knew how much more enjoyable it was for her customers to get the massage. She worked diligently, working the shampoo through the stallion's mane.

[heartstring]

Heartstring searched the streets of Canterlot for the salon that belonged to Shear Luck. She was a virtual unknown compared to the stylists that normally took care of his mane, but that is why he was looking for her. It would be refreshing to gauge this pony’s talent, rather than going to more well-known stylists as they always seemed to be more passionate about fame than about hair. Besides, he needed a new style for the ball at Dr. Rainlock’s, something that would frame his face as he hid behind the mask.

Heartstring trotted inside and posed before announcing his presence “Good afternoon, my name is Heartstring and I-,“ it was then that he spotted the stylist shampooing another customer’s mane, “…-will just wait my turn over here.” The earth pony stepped to the side so as to not be in the way of the door.

[kimmorz]

"Hello! I'll be right with you," Shear Luck called from her spot next to the sink. She rinsed out the shampoo and quickly massaged in the conditioner, and rinsed that out as well. She wrapped the client's mane with a towel, soaking up all the extra water, and then began to brush and blow dry the stallion's mane. She tried her hooves off, while using her magic to continue drying her first client, and trotted over to the newcomer. She stopped just a few paces in front of him. "Welcome! How may I help you?"

[Ranger]

Ranger was lying on the chair, enjoying the attention his hair was getting, and relaxing as a newcomer entered the hair stylist's. He frowned at the filly entering the room, wondering who she was. Ranger shrugged it off and closed his eyes, desperately resisting taking a nap.

[heartstring]

Heartstring waited patiently as the stylist finished with the customer before him. He looked around the shop at the equipment, pausing momentarily at the magazine rack to wonder if he was in any of them. Eventually he had caught sight of his reflection in the mirror, and begun practicing a few poses, when Shear Luck spoke to him.

“Hmmm, what?” Heartstring snapped out of the distraction caused by his vanity with a shake of his head and cleared his throat “Oh yes, well I am in need of a new manestyle. You see, my current one is far too long and shaggy. I have an important party to attend this evening and I simply must look my best which includes changing this out of style cut. Do you think you can help me out?”