chapter 4 - Convincing Arguments
There was a wide selection of ropes, ribbons, straps and cords Rarity had on hand at Carousel Boutique. Now these various lines had various uses, from decoration, to providing support, or in this specific case, as a temporary binding.
At first, the shapely unicorn was quick in hogtying the changeling with a pink acetate ribbon when he sprinted for the door after a brief stare down. The shiny black changeling had almost escaped, his reflexes quick and his carapace thick. However, the barrage of pins, needles, scissors and a menacing hover cactus to the head had pinned his thin wings to his body and forced him to keep his eyes closed. As a result, his blind dash through the door meant he didn't see the curl of ribbon entwine around his ankle, violently jerking him to the floor, and dragging him backwards with a surprised look on his face. While securing the ribbons on the changeling with her magic, her dexterity, and her experience with knots, Rarity was berating the changeling for his attempt.
“Now it was brave of you to try and run Mr.. Mr Changeling, but Rarity Belle is no pushover to simple threats.”
Rarity finished tying the knot securing the changeling’s hooves to his hands. His belly was flat on the floor and his face was facing towards the workroom door with a scowl. Rarity kneeled in front of his face but he made no movement to look at her face while she leaned down.
“No need to look so glum,” she continued. “Equestrians take very good care of their criminals, in fact, I’m su-”
A soft knock could be heard at the front door of the boutique. Rarity gasped, and for a second she had a panicked expression. She looked up at her clock and in a whiny voice said, “Oh drat, is it noon already?”
She quickly balled up a piece of fabric and jammed it into the changeling’s maw followed by a tie of ribbon to keep it in place. He groaned in protest and glared toward Rarity as she got up and brushed off her tight jeans.
“Hush and be quiet, I apologize about the rough treatment but I need to answer the door.”
Rarity briskly strode to leave her sewing room, and looked back at the changeling through the crack of the door before closing it. In his uncomfortable position, he faced his muzzle towards the white seamstress and waggled his eyebrows.
Bafflement crossing the dainty unicorn’s features, she shut the door and headed towards the main entrance of the boutique. She announced her arrival with her refined enunciation of, “Cooming!” then opened the entrance with enough room for her head to peek through.
----
Back in the sewing room, the changeling had a devious grin, or as devious as one could get with a colorful ball of fabric scrap secured with a pink ribbon tied in an elaborate bow. In such a restrained position, it made it difficult for the changeling to shape shift into any creature of use, considering that the result would still be imprisoned in it’s effeminate hog-tie. One could say that he could possibly shift into something smaller, like maybe a rabbit or a squirrel to easily escape his bonds, but that was a tiring and expensive drain on his own magic reserves.
However, he actually had a good grasp on the situation, a very good grasp. His plan only required a minuscule bit of effort on his part, and if everything went well, the pretty white unicorn of Carousel Boutique will go back to being happy with her poseable ‘mannequin’.
A small blaze of green flared up around the colorful gag in the changeling’s mouth.
And after a swift chomp, two coughs, and a bit of spitting threads and shreds all over the sewing room floor, the changeling grinned with a mouth full of sharp pointy fangs.
“Never gag a changeling, Maybe next time Rarity will remember to put the pretty bow around my muzzle.”
----
Fluttershy, a yellow pegasus mare with a long pink mane and tail, was at the entrance of her friend’s abode and business known as Carousel Boutique.
This pegasus mare had what many considered the body of a supermodel, a heart of gold, and the courage of a dust bunny. Attractive long legs ending at a sensational flank, large fluffy wings, D-cup breasts, soft hands, tender warm smile, and eyes captivating enough to bring a dragon to it’s knees. She wore a modest, fuzzy jade colored hoodie, with a long ruffled blue skirt, and was currently holding in her arms a fwuffy white persian cat. The cat’s name was Opalescence, or to those who were close to her, Opal. The long haired furball wore a purple jeweled collar and a purple bow affixed to a tuft of hair from the top of it’s head, along with an expression of boredom that would put a hipster to shame.
Fluttershy had just completed the scheduled weekly grooming of the feline and was returning the pet to Rarity, the pet’s owner.
Rarity had just opened the door to her abode, but only slightly. If Fluttershy was curious to the unusual action, she did a good job of not showing it. The white unicorn greeted her friend heartily.
“Why Fluttershy! Hello! I hope Opal wasn't any trouble!”
The yellow pegasus smiled at her friend and spoke in her usual timid and hushed voice.
“Oh of course not! She was a darling, just like always.”
“I’m glad to hear that dear, Same time next week?”
Fluttershy nodded and handed off the prim cat over to her owner, who proceeded to place the feline behind her to do the very important things that cats do.
Suddenly, a loud clear voice was emanating from somewhere in Rarity’s boutique.
“She hasn't returned your favorite tea set because she broke it while dancing to ‘Hoofloose’!”
If Rarity wasn't already a white unicorn mare, her face would've been paler than Luna’s moon. Fluttershy however, had a look of surprise masking her face, and she spoke out questioningly.
“Uhm.. did you hear that?”
Rarity put on an innocent face and replied, “Heard what dear?”
“Uhm.. that uhm.. that pony shouting about a broken tea set?”
Feigning surprise, the white unicorn replied saying, “Oh! That! That isn't a shouting pony! That’s just the uhm.. the.. th-the radio! Yes that is the radio, I’m listening to radio dramas.”
She then put on an enchanting smile and fluttered her eyelashes innocently.
“Uhm.. Ooh kaay then.” said Fluttershy with an apprehensive slowness. “Well uhm.. I was wondering if you uhm.. would like to take a break and join me for lunch?”
Rarity opened her mouth, but then the loud voice from before starting speaking again.
“Rarity keeps the remains in a shoebox under her bed!”
The white unicorn had a blank face. The yellow pegasus had a raised eyebrow.
Fluttershy’s hair gently shifted slightly in the wind caused by the force of a door slamming shut.
“Oh.. I guess you’re too busy then.”
----
The door to Rarity’s work room opened with a room shaking bang. In the space it once occupied, stood the embodiment of generosity and the rage of a thousand suns.
Her face was puffed up in anger, and her hair fell in loose curls around her face. Somehow the professional bun it once was had become untied. The livid unicorn’s shoulders were tensed up, her hoofsteps were sharp and deliberate, and her hands were balled up into fists.
She stepped up to the smug looking changeling on the floor, kneeled to one knee in front of him, pointed at his face with her perfectly manicured finger, and spoke in a voice dripping with malice.
“You.. you’re no monster.. YOU’RE AN ABOMINATION!”
The changeling maintained his smug smile, but was having trouble lifting his head due to his hogtied position on the floor. His voice spoke in the quiet tone he was enunciating from earlier.
“You should be glad that Fluttershy would be forgiving on that one.” He smacked his lips together before continuing, “But this is nowhere near the worst I can do. You know how fast words can travel, how quickly they can reach the ears of those you care about.”
The changeling shifted from side to side slightly so he could angle his face and look at Rarity’s own. He saw her expression, how it had dropped slightly, how his earlier display was finally getting under her skin. His voice lowered slightly as he continued.
“I didn't want to bring it to this.. but you forced my hoof.”
Rarity stared back into his solid blue eyes. Her posture had stiffened slightly, her brow was furrowed.
A full minute passed, with Rarity staring at the changeling, and the changeling staring back.
The first to speak was Rarity.
“So you just want things to go back to how they were, where you were impersonating my mannequin?”
The changeling’s head dropped to the floor, aching from the exertion of the awkward position. He closed his eyes and said, “Yes.”
Rarity bit her bottom lip in consideration, then said, “Why?”
The changeling opened one eye, closed it and replied.
“I.. want to see what it was like, to see the world pass by without making waves.”
“Oh.. Uhm, I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“It’s.. it’s not important. Let’s just say I want to take a break.”
Rarity just looked at the changeling, his uncomfortable posture on the floor, the errant needles and pins stuck into his exterior, and his whole pitiful situation.
Still kneeling, her horn glowed slightly, and the pink ribbon binding the changeling’s hands and hooves came loose. Rarity then began to gently pull her pins and needles out of her former captive. She spoke in a sympathetic tone.
“Alright, you've convinced me, I’ll give you a break.”
“Thank you, Rarity.”
“You know that you are unbound correct?”
The changeling went limp, then said, “Ah, I’m guess I’m just used to keeping to how I’m posed”
Rarity smiled at this, then she asked, “I have one question.”
Two solid blue eyes looked in her direction.
“What is your name?”
Getting up off the floor, the changeling switched to a cross legged sitting position and asked back.
“Must I answer? I don’t see how it’s important.”
“Well, Even if you are just going to be my mannequin, I’d still like to know.”
The changeling seemed a bit unsure, his gaze wandering off to the side, but he soon replied in his usual quiet tone.
“Outside of the hive, I was Rabble Rouser.”
He stood up, his arms going out to form a capital T like stance, green flames curling up his legs as he said one last thing.
“You should get back to work Rarity.”
Rarity continued to kneel on the ground. She sighed, and started fixing her hair back up with her hands while her horn glowed and began to sort out the mess in her work room, her mannequin standing silent with it’s arms straight to the sides like a capital T.