This story is crack, for which I do not apologize. The plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. Despite how much I despise season 6, it's yielded decent story fodder.

Sam the salon owner and xir staff are mine; everyone else belongs to Nick/Rainbow, even Jade and Cerise (aka, 'green elf-hat fairy' and 'red elf-hat fairy'). The salon name and idea are shamelessly borrowed (with permission) from the lovely Chibi_Horsewoman.

Salon de Minion

The Trix coven hadn't felt this elated in years. After scraping the bottom of the barrel for so many years, they were finally starting to win. Sure, the pesky Winx fairies had 'new' transformations (why they couldn't just stick to Enchantix, Believix, or Harmonix, the Trix knew not), but the Trix had cohesive planning, team unity, the Legendarium and, most pleasing of all, minions. In addition to Selina, the freshman witch who owned the Legendarium, the Trix managed to convert three junior fairies during their last skirmish, a feat they never accomplished before. It had taken a few days of practice, but now the three young teens were on the cusp of achieving their basic witch forms.

It wasn't widely known, but 'junior' level magical beings could switch easily from one type to another. The magic itself was neutral and worked equally well for both; it was how the caster channeled the magic that determined whether the caster became a witch, fairy, or mage. And these three young girls—still a year or two too young for Cloud Tower—had made the switch effortlessly. However, they hadn't unlocked their basic junior witch forms yet, and were currently stuck with a wingless form of their god-awful fairy ones. And the hair! That was as much a mess as the elf hats!

"Something's missing with those kids." Stormy commented. "They fight like witches, they act kinda like witches, but they don't look like witches."

"She's not wrong." Icy sighed. At least the little freshman, Selina, acted and dressed like a proper witch, even if her fashion sense lagged a few decades behind the current trends. The new girls hadn't even made it that far. "But is there anything we can do about it?" Darcy snorted.

"Of course there is. I think it's time we took them to the salon." Her younger sister witch perked up.

"I like that salon. They always know how to get my hair to look manageable."

"And just think of what they can do to our new witchlings." Darcy purred. "They've got the potential; just need someone to bring it out."

"Take them out for a spa day, then." Icy smirked. It would cost them a fair sum of credits to do this, but it was worth it to make the girls look more presentable. All the stupid hats and pointy shoes made her cringe. "And take plenty of pictures. I want before and after shots to show them just how bad they looked before we got a hold of them."

The three witchlings followed like baby ducks after Darcy through the crowded streets of Corsair's capital city. Corsair, a moon in the Magix realm system, attracted a lot of less than reputable characters, allowing Darcy to walk freely in public with only the slightest hint of a glamour spell. "Stay close, girls. Wouldn't want to lose you around here; these streets are dangerous."

The former fairies crowded closer together and tried to keep up with the longer sweeping strides made by the older witch. "Where are we going?" Lazuli asked, trotting to stay close to her new mentor.

"A place that caters to a very special kind of clientele." The brunette witch smirked. "Stay with me, now. We're almost there." The younger girls shared a confused glance but said nothing more. They didn't want to lose Darcy in the crowded streets. Soon, however, they spotted a red-painted wooden sign hanging above a store. In red neon letters it proclaimed "Salon de Minion" to anyone who cared to look.

"We're going to a salon?" Jade, the violet-haired girl, asked. "But why?"

"While you've successfully made the magical conversion from witch to fairy, your style is lagging behind." The older woman stated. "These people are the best at outfitting you for our kind of work." She smirked as she walked up to the tinted glass door and opened it. The three teens cautiously entered the building, looking around at the décor. Sleek mirrors and black salon chairs lined the grey walls of the small, narrow space, making it feel more spacious. Black and white tile covered the floors and the same color scheme dominated staff's wardrobes, including the dark-skinned person approaching the group a wide smile on their face. Blue-tipped ebony blonde hair had been spiked into a Mohawk and a face that the younger girls couldn't classify as 'male' or 'female'.

"Darcy, back so soon?" Even the person's voice sounded ambiguous, the girls decided. "You were in here not that long ago."

"Oh, this trip isn't for me; it's for them." She smiled, gesturing to the girls. "We just landed ourselves some apprentices who are in sore need of your expertise."

"Mmm. You're not kidding." The person frowned, studying the group. "I'm guessing you all started off as junior fairies, correct?"

"Yes, but we're over that phase now." Lazuli answered. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Oh, how tactless of me!" the stranger palmed their forehead briefly before returning their attention to the girls. "I'm Sam, the head stylist here at Salon de Minion. Darcy here is one of my best customers."

"I wish I had more time to come in, but that's neither here nor there." The Dark witch shrugged. "Sam, these are the new acolytes of the coven: Lazuli, Jade, and Cerise." She pointed to the three junior witches in turn. "Icy and I thought it in their best interest to get them made-over before their first transformation."

"It will be done, my queen of darkness." Sam offered a sweeping bow to Darcy before smiling at the girls. "Now, let's get you three started off with a shampoo, shall we?"

Lazuli hadn't known quite what to make of Sam, but trusted the stylist to wash her hair. If Darcy approved of Sam's work, it must be good. Darcy always looked gorgeous. The redhead balked, however, when the Mohawked stylist brought out the scissors.

"Why would I need to cut it?" She asked. "I grew it out this long on purpose."

"Yes, but see how fine your hair is, kid?" Sam responded, fingering a section of ginger hair. "This length makes it look like a stringy, wild mess that covers half your torso. Trust me, it will look much better at a shorter length."

"Just go with it, Lazuli." Jade piped up from the chair next door. An attendant named Karen was in the process of whacking off most of the violet-haired girl's long tresses. "If the Trix use them, they must be good at what they do."

"But for all we know it's some weird hazing ritual, no offense to you guys." Cerise frowned.

"We are not well funded enough to waste this much of our recent earnings on a practical joke." Darcy responded flatly. "And Sam and xir staff can't afford to hand out three cut-and-color jobs for free."

"Indeed not." Sam harrumphed. "And let me assure you girls, the look I give you will be far superior to what your year-mates seem to gravitate toward. Grunge-punk-rocker has its place, but it should be a personal choice and not one society foists on young witches as the only 'appropriate' look."

"Which is good; most of our year-mates can't match their wardrobes to save their lives." Lazuli recalled in vivid clarity some of the fashion disasters the girls she went to primary school with called 'trendy'. She sighed. "Okay, you can cut it off, but not as short as hers." She jabbed her thumb in Jade's direction.

"I wouldn't dream of it, kiddo." Sam smiled. "Now, let's make you ladies gorgeous!"

"How did it go?" Stormy asked as Darcy returned to the lair. Icy looked at her sister curiously, but said nothing. She hadn't lost the girls; Icy sensed them loitering in the hallway. They definitely felt more like proper witches now, though whether or not they looked the part remained to be seen.

"Far better than I envisioned it, that's for sure." Darcy smiled. Sam and Karen even helped her coax the teens into their junior witch forms. "Do you want to see them all at once or one at a time?"

"One at a time, I think." Icy answered after a moment's consideration. "I hope the elf hats are gone, at least." Those were an outright embarrassment to magic.

"They are, thank the Dragon." Darcy rolled her eyes skyward before turning to the girls loitering around out of sight. "Lazuli, you're up first."

The redheaded girl eyed the two older witches warily as she entered the room. Stormy's eyebrows rose up to her hairline; the former fairy of lapis lazuli didn't even look like the same person! The subtle changes—from the shorter hair tamed in a side ponytail to the touch of blue eye shadow—made her look more mature. Her new form was nothing to laugh at either. A simple deep blue sleeveless dress fell to her knees and had embellishments similar to what the Trix's old outfits—including her first initial—were in a much lighter hue. Simple blue flats covered her feet and a gemstone-adorned hair tie kept her side ponytail in place.

"I don't believe it. I don't believe this worked." The Storm Witch muttered. "She barely looks like herself."

"Oh, that's nothing." Darcy grinned. "Jade, dear, come show the girls what you look like now."

The blue eyed witchling timidly stepped into the area, wringing her hands nervously. Her waist-length hair had been shorn into a sleek, short asymmetrical bob that accented her cheekbones. Her strapless empire-waist dress was a pleasant green color. A wide brown belt ran around her ribcage just under the bust-line, a light green "J" perched in the center like a buckle. Brown flats matched the belt and complemented the peachy lip gloss she wore—the only bit of make-up on the witchling's face.

"Sam outdid xirself again." Icy purred. At last, witches who looked like modern witches! "Now, where's our little flower girl?" Er, fruit girl? She wasn't sure what to call Cerise quite yet.

Darcy's smirk widened as she silently beckoned the last of their new minions into the room. Stormy openly gaped, and Icy felt hard pressed not to let her jaw fall to the floor. Gone were the ludicrous flower-petals-on-crack dress, pointed shoes, and hat, as well as the childish twin braids. No, this witch's russet hair had been swept into an elegant top-knot and bangs trimmed into something presentable. Her dress—a ¾ sleeve number in a muted shade of red-violet—fell to her knees and matched the striped flats on her feet. A thin green belt with a pale pink C buckle cinched around the center of her ribcage.

"Shadowhaunt, is that even the same kid?" Stormy asked.

"I do believe it is. Remind me to send Sam a thank-you present for all xir hard work." Icy smiled. She wasn't as surprised as Stormy, since Stormy's own recent transformation yielded a similar response. And, the ice witch reflected, her sister witch looked much better with her hair tamed in a ponytail. More mature and dignified than the storm-cloud do of her college days. "You three look like brand-new witches."

"We feel like brand-new witches." Cerise spoke up, green eyes shining. "This is so much cooler than my fairy form was! Why didn't I switch over sooner?"

"And here you thought we were hazing you." Darcy smirked. Lazuli's cheeks darkened to nearly the color of Cerise's dress.

"Just be glad you caught on early and not after you got to secondary schooling." Icy reminded the girls. The switch was infinitely harder to master at that point. Just ask mousy Mirta. "Hmm. Maybe we should let them do an ad campaign for Sam and the salon?" The mage would certainly appreciate the gesture.

"Oooh, that sounds awesome!" Cerise bounced on her heels. "We could do glamour shots and come up with slogans, and get famous!"

"As long as we get a cut of the ad revenue, I don't care what you do." Stormy waved, though she admitted the idea had merit. Allowing the girls to be the faces of a salon would brand them as 'cute' and 'harmless' in the eyes of the public, thus the last people anyone would suspect of plotting and scheming to take over the known realms. "If you want to do it, take it up with Sam on your own time."

The three witchlings shared a conspiratory look that made the older witches proud. After so many years of disappointment, things were finally looking up for Trix.