[Appleloosa] Dapper Dan's Barbershop [Open to all to chat]

[Snowshoe]

[This is just going to be a basic little thing. Come in, chat, hang out, get a manecut, whatever. Just go give Dan a thread for his actual job xP]

----

Dapper Dan made his way down the stairs at the back of the shop. It was time to open up, and see who would come by. Business wasn't exactly booming, what with the size of town and the lack of frequency of visitors to the town, but he couldn't complain. He had bits coming in, and a nice place to stay, so everything was fine. His grey shirt was on, with its pockets at the front to hold his tools of the trade, and his glasses were set firmly on his snout. He could barely see without them, and he always had them with him.

The shop was small, and rather modest. A huge window in the front offered a good view of the street, and just one chair, a comfortable one for the ponies to sit in while he worked. Beyond that, there was a little waiting area with old books and magazines, and a few things for sale for personal grooming. He specialized mostly in cutting male manes, but bits were bits, and he would work at a mare's mane...if he had some coaching from her as to what exactly he was doing.

Dapper Dan stepped outside, now used to the heat of the desert, and looked at the barber's pole next to the door. With a soft glow of red ochre from his horn, the pole began to spin, indicating he was open...which he reinforced by turning the sign around in the window with another quick burst of magic. All that done, Dan sat in one of the waiting chairs, slid a magazine toward him, and opened it up. He knew he'd be rather bored, until someone came by...and there wasn't much else to do. He kept the shop spotless, his tools clean, and all that. After a few minutes of paging through the magazine, Dapper Dan started to hum to pass the time, eventually just singing quietly to himself. Contrary to his natural, normal voice, which was a slightly higher than average pitch, he sang in a deep baritone. His love of older music came through as Dan began to sing. "Life could be a dream, sh-boom...if only my precious plans would come true, sh-boom...If you would let me spend my whole life lovin' you, life could be a dream, sweetheart..."

[Boss_Hoss1]

The russet donkey, Thorn, clip-clopped down the wooden sidewalk.

His long ears flicked when he saw the barber shop pole turning.

He trotted into the door as he heard singing.

Thorn chuckled as he took his derby off "I'm in need of a mane trim, or do you need more singers?"

[Snowshoe]

Dapper Dan looked up, laughing as the donkey walked in. "I can always use more singers, friend. Get two more and we'll have ourselves a regular quartet." he said with a grin, hopping out of the chair and extending a hoof toward Thorn. "I'm Dapper Dan, owner of the place. A mane trim, hmm? Just a simple trim, or anything else?" he asked. He wanted to make sure his customers were happy with what they got, so he always made sure his customers told him exactly what it was they were looking for. Mix in a fair price with some chatter about the daily going-ons around town, and he had quite a few regulars.

[Boss_Hoss1]

(OOC; Sorry for the short post, not sure what to add for this part)

Thorn chuckled as he took a seat "A barbershop quartet might be fun to get in on sometime. For the moment though... I do need to keep it very neat and trim for the customers. If you can also help me get my mane to lie back a bit, rather than stick up like a brush when I do not want it to, that would be fantastic!"

[Snowshoe]

[No worries, I understand. I kinda dropped the ball myself.]

Dapper Dan chuckled. Forming a barbershop quartet would definitely be fun to try one day. But that was something for another time. He nodded and nodded a head toward the chair. "Sit on down then, and I'll get started." he said. Once Thorn did, he floated a black cloak-like piece of fabric over, draping it over the donkey's back to keep the cut mane hair from falling everywhere.

"Keep it the same height, or do you want me to cut it down a bit?" he asked, meaning the mane, as Dan levitated over a spray bottle of water and used it to wet Thorn's mane. After he got his answer, he began his usual habit of chatting.

"So, you from Appleloosa? Can't say I've seen you around, but hey, I'm fairly new to the town myself." he said. Small as it was, he didn't know everypony just yet. "And heck, maybe I'm just not awake enough yet to recognize ya." he added, chuckling.

[i also would say don't worry too much about it...it's more of a casual thread anyways.]

[Boss_Hoss1]

The russet donkey smiled as the covering was put around him, and inspected his black mane in the mirror. "A bit short, save for whatever you want to use in styling it. It seems a bit easier to care for that way. It takes a lot of effort to manage a donkey's wiry mane."

He flopped his ears back out of the way when the spray wet his mane "I came here with Madam Bistro to set up her Bed and Breakfast Bistro in town as her store manager, so all this dust and tumbleweeds are new to me, even now." He chuckles "I do seem to remember you enjoying the treats I made for the Hoedown, at least."

[Snowshoe]

Dapper Dan nodded, taking a moment to look at the donkey in the mirror and mentally plan out what he was going to do. Once he did, he nodded at what Thorn said. "I did, actually. You're quite the cook." he said with a smile. He levitated up a comb and slowly brought it through the wiry mane to get it a little less tangled. "I'm still getting used to the dust myself. I was born in Fillydelphia. It's totally different out here." he said, chuckling as well. "I don't think I've ever been to the B 'n' B, but I'll check it out." he added. Once Thorn's mane was worked out with the comb, he brought up a pair of scissors and got to work trimming.

"You two old friends then?" he asked casually, meaning Madam Bistro and Thorn. He wondered what would bring a donkey to this town.

[Boss_Hoss1]

The donkey smiled "Thanks for the compliments. I am always happy to get them."

As he relaxed more and more, he heard the question about Bistro and chuckled "Not old friends, but for about a year or so, since she started a location over in Dodge Junction.

My parents are cooks in the service of Canterlot Palace. I struck out on my own as a gourmet chef and found nopony took me seriously in Manehattan. I was on the train to Fillydelphia when I ran into Madam Bistro, Caramel to her close friends. She was on a trip to personally check on her first location in Manehattan Central Station and shipments of new coffee stock coming in from the zebra lands. She found out I was a fantastic chef looking for work and hired me on the spot."

[Snowshoe]

Cooks for the Canterlot palace? Now that was impressive. Must have been an interesting childhood, growing up around the royals of Canterlot like that. "Sucks that nopony would take you seriously." he said. He knew from experience eating the donkey's cooking that he had some talent as a chef. He stayed quiet the rest of the story, snipping away at the donkey's mane to get it down to proper size.

"Well now, that's an interesting story. You like it out here in the desert then?" he asked. He personally was still getting used to the heat and the dust, but he enjoyed it out here. The weather was at least constant...hot during the day, cooler at night. Nothing changed rapidly like during the winter months in Fillydelphia.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Thorn brayed politely "Its not bad, and the scenery is beautiful, especally at sunset. The heat still takes some getting used to but at least there's no mosquitos. No water, no mosquitos."

He ahhhed happily, enjoying the manecut "At least business should be picking up for you with the new railroad drawing workers in."

Thorn tapped a hoof to his chin in thought "Do you also do styling for the ladies? Madam Bistro may be in need of a trim soon if she doesnt' head out of town on business."

[Snowshoe]

"That is definitely an advantage. I hate bugs...at least the ones here are obvious enough for me to steer clear from. I'd rather be able to see the huge spider on my wall than see a little one shoot out from under the book I was about to read or something." Dapper Dan said. He had finished with the trimming for now, and he dipped the scissors in a transparent blue liquid in a jar on the table to clean it. "I haven't had many new customers yet, but I'm sure some will come eventually." he said. He'd yet to see a rail worker in his shop.

At the question about styling ladies' hair, Dan shrugged a shoulder as he got a finer pair of scissors out to do some tighter, more accurate trimming and styling. "I've never tried it, to be honest. I was trained by my father, and in Fillydelphia, it was rather common to find manestylists that did only one gender...I could try it, but like I've said, never done it." he admitted.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Thorn smiled "Fair enough. There's enough mares in town I'm surprised there isnt' a mane dresser yet. If there is, its not up to Madam Bistro's standards yet. We shall see what happens then."

Meanwhile several Pegasi landed down the street and unhitched from their cart. One was a mare with a light orange hide and a red mane and tail with yellow streaks, wearing a bush hat and vest.

She waved at the other pegasus in Royal Equestrian Zoology livery "I'll catch up to you soon. I might as well see if theres a mane stylist or at least a barber on this supply run. my mane is getting a bit long there.."

[Snowshoe]

Dapper Dan chuckled. "Well, so far as I can tell, Appleloosa's still budding." he pointed out. He kept the comb and razor moving around, cleaning up rough edges and the line at the base of the mane to keep everything clean looking.

"There's a lot of things I haven't seen yet...but then again, I'm from the big city, so you can get literally everything." he added, chuckling. With a click, Dapper Dan closed the razor and set it next to the can of Barbicide disinfectant to clean it later. The comb moved through Thorn's mane. "How's that? Short enough, or needs a bit more work?" he asked, levitating a mirror over so that Thorn could see the back of his mane in the mirror in front of him.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Thorn earperked appreciatively as Dapper Dan was done enough to check his work with him.

The donkey looked at the mane in the mirror, turning his head. He nods in satisfaction "Mmm yes, it looks perfect! What do I owe you?"

Meanwhile, at the door, Candy Catch-em peeks in. "Excuse me, do you also do mare manestylings?"

[Snowshoe]

Dapper Dan nodded, smiling. He set the mirror down and unhooked the fabric over Thorn's back and pulling it away. "Ten bits sounds fair, yeah?" he said. He tried to keep prices as fair as ponily possible, while still supporting himself, after all. The door opened again and another customer stuck their head in, an orange-coated mare. Something amused Dan about that...they'd just been talking about that, after all.

He set his glasses up his nose a little with the tip of his hoof. "Never tried it, to be honest." he admitted, chuckling. He shrugged a shoulder. "If you don't mind being a test subject, I'm willing to try. Can't be all that different, unless you ask me to do something crazy." he said.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Thorn slid down to the floor and happily pulled out the 10 bits for Dapper Dan. "Oh this is quite worth the price, sir."

He did a double take and chuckled as he saw the mare "Yes, quite the coincidence, eh? I was just asking if he also handled mare's manes, for my employer, Madam Bistro."

Candy Catch-em trotted inside with a smile as she removed her lop-brimmed bush hat and put it on a hat rack. "Oh that sounds fine, sir. I've been working with the Canterlot Zoological expedition for several weeks and need a trim at the least while we are here for supplies."

She reached back with her hooves to take the ponytail band off her mane and shook it free.

Candy fluttered up and landed in the chair, her loose mane running down between her wings. "Ready when you are."

Thorn hmmmed and sat down on a waiting chair "Mind if I wait? I want to see how this turns out before I go back to my employer."

[Snowshoe]

Dapper Dan thanked Thorn when he put the bits on the counter, then looked back at Candy and chuckled. "Quite the coincidence." he added with a smile. He nodded at what she said and motioned to the chair as she untied her mane. This wouldn't be too difficult...it seemed to be about the same, just longer. That, and Candy Catch-em seemed to be a little less concerned about crazy stylings.

As he tied the cloth around Candy's neck and back, he looked over at Thorn and smiled. "Go right ahead." he said. "I don't mind if customers hang around to chat." he added, looking through the mirror at Candy and levitating the comb out of the Barbicide, drying it on a nearby towel.

"Anything special? Or just a trim?"

[Boss_Hoss1]

(sorry delay past several days, messed up my ankle bad and the meds keep knocking me out )

Candy smiled sweetly as she relaxed into the chair and kept her wings folded tight. "Nothing special as long as I'm out there in the wilderness, it would just get messed up."

She held out a hoof from under the cloth "Just a trim by a hoof width all around, and a couple hoof witdths off my tail. I've been finding mesquite the hard way."

Then she hmmed in thought for a moment "I dont suppose you do wing preening?"

[Snowshoe]

[Ah, no worries. I know that feel well.]

Dapper Dan readied his tools again, nodding as she spoke. Nothing special, just a trim from both tail and mane, and a wing preening. The last one was a bit new to him but he'd done it before, a memory coming to him of a young pegasus stallion in his father's shop, when Dan himself was just a colt. He tried to remember exactly what to do, and figured it would come to him better as time went on.

"It's been a while since I have, but that shouldn't be much of a problem, miss...?" he asked, before realizing she didn't know his name either. "I'm Dapper Dan, by the way." he added, levitating a comb over, running it through Candy's mane.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Candy almost purred in pleasure as the comb ran through her mane.

"That feels so good to get some proper attention to my mane after a couple weeks outdoors.. Oh, I'm Candy Catch-em, critter wrangler extraordinare! I am glad to meet you Dapper Dan."

She rustled her feathers while they were between her and the back of the barber chair and smiled "I'm glad I can provide some practice for you then, sir."

[Mojo]

(ooc): Here comes some new customers!

Sheriff Silverstar

Doc Holly Day

Sheriff Silverstar and Doc Holly Day argued as they walked through the front doors of Dapper Dan's Barber Shop.

"Yur all wrong, Doc! Ain't NO way yur right about that!"

"Look Sheriff, trust me on this one, I know I'm right!"

"Ya may be an expert on medical stuff, but that don't make ya a genius at everythin'!"

"I know ponyfolk, Sheriff. I've been the town doctor here from the beginning."

"Why don't we ask good ol' Dan here bout it?"

"Fine idea, he'll agree with me!"

"Hay Dan, gotcha a question. What'd make a better gift fer a mare ya like? I say a new setta horsehorses while ol' Doc says I outta git'r some perfume and fancy smellin' soaps. Whatda you think?"

[Snowshoe]

"Critter wrangler, huh? Now that sounds like it could be a fun job." Dapper Dan said, chuckling at her reaction. He could imagine, as an ex-city slicker himself, that being out in the desert for a few days on end without some of the comforts of home would make anypony a little weary, and happy to finally enjoy some of the simple things, like a manecut and a bath or something.

The scissors floated up next, and he began to trim at the ends of her mane. The door opened and Dan looked up to see who was coming through...though he really didn't need to, recognizing the first voice in the heated argument, one he was brought into.

Dapper Dan laughed, thinking it over. What would he get a mare as a gift? He was never really good with gifts, which he informed the two stallions. "But if I was to venture a guess, I would definitely not say soaps. Might give the wrong message, you know?" he said with a laugh. "I guess it'd depend on the mare in question. Don't want to accidentally offend her by giving her perfume...same problem as the soaps. But then again she might like a new perfume, if it's a really nice scent." he reasoned, shrugging a shoulder and looking back at Candy's mane. Even though he'd been looking at the stallions and still cutting away, he hadn't yet made a mistake. "Then again, can't go wrong with horseshoes. Nice and simple, really hard to imply the wrong thing with it..." a sudden realization hit him when he glanced up in the mirror and remembered just who's mane he was working on.

"Candy, say you had a gentlecolt looking to impress you. What would you like more?" he asked. An actual mare's opinion in the matter might go a long way.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Candy was relaxing immensely as the barber went at her mane.

Suddenly a pair of voices she recognized from the recent hoedown made her open her eyes as the argument came through the door.

She smiled as she listened to the stallion's view of popular gifts for mares but did not speak up for the moment as she listened.

Thorn sat nearby, shaking his head and chuckling at the topic.

Suddenly, Dapper Dan included her in the discussion.

She blushed cutely "Well, I would not be put off by perfumes and soaps if they were similar scents to what I normally wear. We mares usually think of shoes as something very personal so unless you are engaged or married, you would be better off offering to take them out to buy a set than picking shoes for them. If you dont' know them well enough to know what they normally wear for a scent, even if by your nose alone, you might be better off getting them chocolate dipped roses or jewelry."

[Mojo]

Doc Holly Day giggled at Candy's response as Sheriff Silverstar began to blush.

"So THAT'S yur game, Sheriff," the unicorn physician chuckled. "Candy nailed yur intentions fer Miss LeMare! Did ya pop the question yet?"

"HAY! Hold yur horses thar, doc!" the mustached lawpony neighed nervously. "We're jist good friends right now, nutin' more."

"Is that so? Well then, why were ya plannin' to buy her new shoes as a gift? I have to agree with Candy, that is kinda personal."

"And soap and perfumes AIN'T personal? Besides, what if'n I DID give'r fancy soap and perfumes and she takes it to mean I think she smells bad?"

"Louise'd NEVER think that, trust me!"

"I sure don't wanna git on her bad side, that's fer sure. Chocolate roses and jewelry DOES sound a little safer. Thanks Candy!"

"So Dapper Dan, how's business today? Sure is hot weather out thar!"

[Snowshoe]

Dapper Dan nodded at what Candy said, grinning. "Well there's your answer, gents." he said, the scissors finished the first bit of trimming, then coming back again to get the rest of the mane hair Dan was cutting off. He didn't want to do the entire hoof's width first, lest he make a mistake.

He laughed at their little exchange. "Well, I must say congratulations anyways, Sheriff. You two seemed fairly happy at the hoedown." he said. At the question about business, Dapper Dan gave a shrug.

"Bit slow. Y'all-" for the first time that day, he'd ended up using one of the Appleloosian vocal tics he'd started to accidentally pick up, drawling just a little on the word "-are my first customers today. And I suspect the hot weather's a bit of the reason why, but hey, I can't even think of a day I've been here where it hasn't been ridiculously hot. I dunno how you Appleloosians do it." he teased, laughing. "I don't mind it though. It's a nice change from Fillydelphia, that's for sure. But hey, how are you two doing?" Dapper Dan added, putting the scissors away and levitating up the straight razor. He pulled a strop tight with a front forehoof, then ran the razor on it a few times before using it for the very precise job of cleaning up the edges of Candy's mane, around her ears and the like. All that done, he closed the razor and set it down, then levitated up a mirror so Candy could see the back of her mane through the mirror ahead of her. "How's it look?"