//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: This Used To Be Fun // Story: Rag Doll // by No one is home //------------------------------// The princess of the sun made a final walk through her living space.  Personal items, those few things that did not just “come with the castle” to be replaced with whatever things would take their place wherever she next chose to rest her head, where boxed, packed and thoroughly catalogued.  And yet there it was, that little rag doll… mocking her with it’s button eyed  stare. “Fiend,”  Celestia turned her ire to the offending plush toy,  “You swore that you would leave this universe to its own devices!” “‘Swore’ is a bit strong,” the stallion  with a coat the color of dirty cream,and eye’s the pink of a dead salmon whispered into the retiring monarch’s ears, “I really just said words.  And we both know that’s kinda my thing.” “You are liar!” the stallion was engulfed in flame, and the princess of the sun glared at the plush toy sitting atop the pile of ashes that had once been precious memories of a very long life.  “You lie, and you tempt, and you corrupt my little ponies.” “Whoa there, princess,” The dirty stallion stroked her withers, “Lie and tempt… sure...again, sort of my thing.  But corrupting little ponies?  No, no… they do that all on their own.  So many little lies.  So much they just ignore to stay happy… and you want your little ponies to be happy, don’t you?” “Why do you mock me, demon?!?!”  Celestia screamed at the button eyed plush doll. “Because you used to be fun… before…” The stallion scowled.  “Back before there were two princesses… we used to have fun.” “What happened to us, Charlie?”  The retiring princess slumped over in defeat. “I remember a little girl once who made a deal with me.”  The plushie’s eyes bored into Celestia’s soul.  “I asked her what did she want, and she only wanted to save her baby sister.  I asked her what was she willing to pay, and she said everything.  There was nothing in the deal about being a pony princess, that was all on you.  And if I’m honest, and we both  know I’m not, I miss that little girl…  but that was a long time ago, and yet somehow still in the future…” “I… did those things… didn’t I?”  Celestia bowed her head in thought, “I did all those horrible things Silver wrote in his journal…” “My contemporary destroyed two universes to ensure you would not become that pony.”  The stallion smiled mockingly as those damned button eyes bore into her soul.  “Think on that for a moment… every pony in equestria died, twice to stop the DayBreaker and the Silver Sky.” “This diary,” Celestia’s hoof flipped open a page, guided by those soulless button eyes. “It’s a book of true stories,” She felt the blue stallion smiling cruelly, “True stories that can’t be denied…” “There’s so much more to what actually happened.”  A single tear of the sun fell onto the page. -=-=-=-=- The ragdoll stallion trekked onwards through the snow, “It’s  only a little farther Tina,  across these hills there’s a rock farm.” “I could carry you, Charlie,” the young blond girl looked into the rag dolls broken, button eyes, “I could carry Lucy.” “That was never the deal, girl,” the stallion huffed, “The doors are open, and the path is set.  Ain’t my place  to carry you,ain’t your place to carry me.” “Is that a giant stone egg?” The dark haired little girl who rode the rag doll pony asked randomly. “Yeah Lu Lu.” The rag doll grinned.  “Yes it is exactly that.” “I’m cold, Charlie,” the little girl sniffled. “It’s alright, girl,” The ragdoll’s fixed expression seemed to soften, “We’re almost there.  We’ll find sanctuary here, I promise.  I know this family.” “What if they’re scared of us, and chase us away like the ponies in the village,” Tina worried out loud, “Ponies don’t seem to like humans very much.  And they don’t trust strange magic.  Me and Lucy are one of those things, Charlie, and you’re the other.” “Chartreuse said you would be here tonight,” a deep charcoal coated mare stepped into the moonlight and smiled sadly at the rag doll pony, “You’ve changed.  I suppose that’s what time does…” -=-=-=-=- I learn things when I dream.  I wasn’t always this… it’s been a long time,,, I was always here… as long as I can remember. And here has always been older than me… “here” is bigger than I can remember.  The start of here starts before I ever realized I was here at all.  Here started with a little girl who needed a friend.  Instead she found a doll.  I understand now.  I am no pony.  I am no creature.  I am No One.  I am a thing… an object.  I am not a he/she, I am an it/that.  We can move forward from here…