//------------------------------// // Playing with Dolls // Story: The Mannequin of Carousel Boutique // by Emeralddragon2 //------------------------------// chapter 1 - Playing with Dolls In the land of magic, unicorns, and friendship, no other unicorn could be considered as fashionable, as generous or as ravishing as the beautiful Rarity Belle. With her pristine white coat, luxurious violet mane, and elegant curves perfectly defined by a stunning dress of her own design, she was sure to catch the eye of her prince, her one true love, her diamond in the rough, her special somepony, her- “Rarity? Are you playing with your mannequins again?” The young, squeaky, girly voice belonged to none other than Sweetie Belle. Her bipedal, teenage form stood straight on two hooves, arms behind her back with one hand’s fingers wrapped around the wrist of the other. Her coat color was of a very light grayish purple, almost white, while her mane and tail were lined pastels of a pink and purple, styled with soft curls in a messy natural manner. She was wearing dark blue skirt and white sleeveless blouse with a tied red kerchief surrounding her collar. And like her older sister Rarity and those of the same magical type, Sweetie was a unicorn, complete with a spiraled horn peeking out from under her curly locks on her forehead, and a small blunted muzzle on her so called adorable face. A face that was slightly tilted in confusion at her sister before her. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were currently located in Rarity’s home slash business abode known as Carousel Boutique. It was a two-floored establishment decorated as frivolously as it’s namesake, complete with poled ponies lining the rim of the second floor, with fancy colors and embellishments emphasizing a humble sense of professional elegance on the round structure. To be specific, the two unicorn sisters were located on the main showroom floor on the ground level, a room dedicated to showcasing the dresses, creations, and designs fashioned up by Rarity herself. Now there are a few racks, wardrobes, and of course mannequins located in this showroom to assist in presenting Rarity’s creations. Some of the mannequins were simple cloth dummies without arms, legs, or a head. Some had a few more features, like wings coming out the back, or a fake plastic horn coming out of the forehead. One mannequin was even fully poseable, and it was wearing a black suit, black dress pants and a dark green dress shirt that had it’s top 2 buttons unfastened. Also that mannequin’s right arm was gently wrapped around an attractive white unicorn, the cloth hand placed precisely next to a perfectly curled purple tail. And by placed precisely, we mean that the mannequin’s hand was on her butt. Except that detail isn't as important as the unicorn that is being ‘fondled’ by the mannequin. Rarity, the unicorn with the mannequin, was in her entirety the beautiful, ravishing and generous unicorn as described in her self narration moments before she was interrupted by her younger sister Sweetie. She had a tight fitting black skirt emphasizing her thin waist, curved hips, and slender legs. On her upper body she wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves folded up to her elbows with a jeweled bracelet hanging loosely on her right wrist. The dress shirt was a little tight around her bust as seen by the pointed folds pulling at the buttons, and the apparent size of her C-cup breasts. Her neckline was smooth and defined, while her muzzle and facial features were the definition of feminine in both form and practice. She had mascara perfectly outlining her alluring lashes and lavender eye shadow offering a sultry bit of mystique. Lastly, her mane and tail were the most stunning gradients of royal purple, perfectly coiled into the most graceful and exquisite of curls cascading down the sides of her face for the mane, and sensually spiraling past her pert rear and legs for the tail. Actually, Rarity’s tail was wrapped around the leg of her poseable mannequin, but one awkward pause later she had pushed herself away from her adult sized dress up doll and was attempting to sputter out an explanation for her unusually intimate congress with the cloth model. “W-w-why Sweetie Belle! I was j-just uhm.. practicing for a play! Yes, that’s right!” The deep red blush on the older unicorn made obvious the embarrassment coursing through her. Sweetie Belle adopted an unamused expression, responding with a flat unamused voice, “Really Rarity. A play. Starring you?” “Uhm.. Yes?” Rarity put on a very convincing, almost pleading smile, blush still apparent on her muzzle, hands grasping each other nervously. The younger unicorn stared up at her sister with a blank, inexpressive look. Several heartbeats passed as a bead of sweat almost formed on Rarity’s pristine white forehead. Suddenly Sweetie Belle gasped, stars in her eyes and her hands placed under her chin in an excited gesture. She animatedly started speaking. “Ohmygosh can I help!? I could help pose the mannequins or maybe dress them up! Or maybe I could play as Rarity’s friend’s little sister! We could dye my hair magenta then find a pink ribbon to tie it up in a ponytail and then I could work on my accent! Ah betcha ah could lerrrn me up a gewwwd acksent up rrreal quick like!” With a relieved smile, Rarity quickly closed up her sister’s mouth with a manicured finger. “Ah.. Uhm.. O-of course Sweetie! But only if you promise to not tell anyone what we are working on! We wouldn't want to spoil the story hmm?” Sweetie Belle nodded with her sister’s finger still on her mouth, and proceeded to gesture a series of motions that started off with crossing her heart with a finger, and ended with her poking herself in the eye. Rarity smiled at her sister and stood straight with her hands on her hips. She looked towards one of her wardrobes and spoke. “Well first of all, I’d need to find a more appropriate dress for the part, Let’s get started then!” ---- Eventually, after about an hour of picking the perfect outfit, several minutes of rehearsing, and several more of setting up an ‘audience’ made up of stuffed animals from both Rarity and Sweetie’s rooms (along with one or two mannequins), lights were dimmed and the stage was set to begin. The play itself was actually more reminiscent of an improve then any performance one would find in downtown Manehattan. Sweetie kept forgetting her lines, and Rarity was consistently over acting every line she spoke. But the outfits were exquisite and the actresses were gorgeous. And once the protagonists finally found Prince Polite and Charming, Genie of Really Cool Cutie Marks, the pair of unicorns giggled themselves silly, took their bows, and basked in the glory of an applause only they could hear. Brushing back an errant strand of hair, Rarity told Sweetie that it was time for bed, and after much groaning and pleading, the teenage unicorn was promptly tucked away in her room, and after a quick costume change Rarity was left to cleaning up the showroom. The stuffed animals were returned, errant garb put away, and mannequins were wheeled back into their proper place. The last mannequin Rarity had to put away was the fully poseable figure. However unlike her other cloth models, when she approached it she took a moment to examine it. At some point during the “Best Award Winning Performance for Lead Actress” and “Best Costume”, the mannequin ended up in a ‘Captain Morgan’ pose, along with the appropriate naval attire complete with a gaudy feathered tricorne. The white unicorn put a hand to her mouth to suppress her giggles, and commented on the cloth model’s antics. “Why Prince Polite and Charming, You sure know how to make a lady smile!” Rarity sighed in amusement and moved her hand to her chest. She moved her gaze up and down the figure with a forming expression of contemplation. “But I doubt the stallion of my dreams would seriously consider wearing such a hat in public.” Placing a hand on the mannequin's shoulder, she strained on the edge of one hoof to reach the large headpiece perched on the figure. The mannequin did have the more masculine build of a stallion, and to Rarity’s opinion, it had the strength of one as well, considering that it always managed to hold an impressive amount of apparel without losing a set pose, yet when adjusting the limbs she never had to strain to put the model in any position she desired. Soon enough, Rarity managed to grab the hat, but lost her balance with the slight shift in weight. She tumbled into the mannequin with an effeminate, “Waah!” and to her own surprise, managed to fall onto the already outstretched arm of the mannequin with her front facing towards the mannequin’s own. It looked almost as if the mannequin caught the prim unicorn when she tumbled. After a moment of realization, Rarity put on a sly smile and fanned herself slightly with the large hat. “Oh my hero! Prince Polite, Thank you ever so much for catching me! You are truly the stallion I've been searching for all this time!” The theatrical unicorn dramatically placed the back of her hand on her forehead. “You are noble and reliant and ever so strong! But alas, If any of the other princesses ever discovered us together then she would surely tear us apart out of jealousy!” Rarity giggled to herself over the jab. “Yet I cannot just leave my hero without thanking him..” Suddenly with a sultry look in her eyes, Rarity used her magic to cause the mannequin's arm to move, pushing herself close enough to give a gentle kiss on the ‘cheek’ of the cloth doll. “Goodnight, my sweet Prince.” The gaudy hat was placed back on it’s stand, the mannequin set into a more appropriate pose, and with a flick of magic from her horn the lights were turned off. Rarity went upstairs to her room to ready for bed, leaving the showroom in darkness. ---- Several minutes after all noises from upstairs ceased, a figure moved in the shadow of the showroom. This figure was dressed to the nines in a stallion’s well fitted naval attire similar to that of a showy boat captain from the 1600s. It was undressing, hanging the fancy attire on a nearby rack with practiced stealth, causing not a single sound from it’s movements. The form then took a moment to check it’s surroundings, and with a fiery green flash it yawned and stretched with a few soft popping noises. Heading over a nearby couch, the figure smiled and reclined in a relaxed position on the soft cushions. And like every day since the day he arrived at Carousel Boutique, he would awake early and resume his life of being a stallion sized mannequin to a white, fashionable unicorn seamstress..