Return to Equestria

by David Silver

17 - Always a Price

"Alright, fine." David leaned against Joypad on the way to turn around. "We'll be back tomorrow when you're ready. Oh, thanks, really. Not trying to come across as an ingrate on the way."

Back Story took up his other side with one wing offering a third point of support. "Let's get you somewhere soft to sit down, hm?"

“You’re far from my first prickly patient.” The doctor smiled. “There’s no charge of course. You’re doing this community, not to mention Unicorn Medicine as a whole a great service, sir.”

“You’re welcome to stay at our cottage.” Gloomy Sonnet offered with enthusiasm of sharing a bag of her third favorite potato chip.

“Yeah, we got a guest room for when Gloomy’s parents never come visit.” Ragdoll nodded enthusiastically. “And a couch. So that’s two extra beds and a couch. Her parents are weird, don’t ask.”

"Huh." David did not hide that this raised more questions very well. "Onwards." With the support he had, he made it to the safe place without much difficulty. Though he headed first for the couch, he was intercepted by two frowning ponies and guided instead to the bed. "Alright."

"Yes, alright." Joypad snorted softly. "They don't warn near often enough on the challenges of keeping an eye on a graymane."

"Huh." Back squinted at David appraisingly. "He is kinda gray… I thought that was something of a pet name and never really looked."

“Charlie…” The gray mare pawed the floor with a hoof nervously. “I know you like having your own bed now that… Can we have doll cuddles like old times? After what we did tonight…” Her voice dropped to a whispered hush. “I’m afraid those words are going to take you away…”

"What are you two whispering about?" Joypad emerged with Back Story behind her. David had been abandoned to his new bed. "Something we should know, or specifically not know?"

Ragdoll heaved a heavy sigh, despite his complete lack of lungs. “I ain’t gonna lie. We laid a jinx before we ever ran into you to find someone who could test the medicine. The filly who needs it is a regular at the tea room. When the path led to David… we pushed to try and make sure it would work. And truth is, we pushed something way bigger than we had any business pushing. And it’s gonna push back.”

“To win there’s a cost.” Gloomy tapped a rhythm with her hooves. “Something might be lost.”

Joypad leveled a hoof at the doll, but Back Story came in before she could speak. "Is this a human thing? Is this human magic?! Tell me!" Her wings were mostly unfolded, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"This is what you focus on?" Joypad chuckled at her eager new friend.

“You’re not… wrong?” Ragdoll shrugged, fixating his vacant button eyes on Back Story. “Does your ‘classical’ mythology even talk about words that meddle in ponies’ and humans’ lives? I’m not sure how else to describe it…”

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Back leaned in all the closer. "Which is why I want you to explain nice and slowly for me." She sank to her haunches in front of him. "Start with the basics. Assume I'm five and don't know anything. Tell me a story!"

“All the world is stories, Miss.” Ragdoll sighed. “Pretty sure every world is all stories. And all the stories are just made of words. We normally can’t see it because we’re right down in it. We’re the words living in the story, do you follow me so far?”

Back inclined her head. "Just to remind, I am a background narrative writer. It's my job to help bring worlds to life for others to live in, half the time other writers." She flashed a big grin. "So you're preaching to the choir there! What, waiting to spring the 'this is a story too!' on me? Maybe, but I ask, does it matter? I vote not so much. Now spill the story!"

“Okay so we’re on the same page.” The doll nodded solemnly. “You’re a writer, and it’s safe assume you’ve first walled you characters… at least twice?”

"Walled?" She lifted both hooves in a grand shrug. "I said pretend I was five."

“Have you ever tried to talk to your own characters, in the narrative you were writing?” Ragdoll Charlie asked plainly.

"Oh! Right. See… It's my job to... " Joypad poked at her. "What?! Ugh… alright, maybe once or twice." She colored with the admission. "When I got stuck."

“Did they ever talk back? Try to bargain with you?” The doll's sewn on smile was as impassively cheerful as ever.

"I've pretended they did, but if you mean did one, like, stick their head out of the page and yell at me, not yet." She snorted softly. "Pretty sure I'd have to go to the loony bin." A new thought came. "Not sure they have that. Where do they send ponies like that?"

“They send us to doctors.” Gloomy droned tonelessly. “To give us medicine that makes us feel good… or at least better.”

“Thing is, they don’t poke their head out of the page, Miss Story.” Ragdoll's tone was level and stern. “They just see you the same way you see them. As words.”

Joypad offered Gloomy friendly pats without words, watching the two others trade words.

Back Story inclined an ear. "Alright, we're getting somewhere. So… this jinx? A human spell?"

“Again, not entirely wrong.” Ragdoll nodded. “Humans were brought into this world by the Text. Their writers in the next layer up from the story. They make a deal of sorts with the Text to come to Equestria. Thus the writer is paying attention to them. This can be good or bad, given that the writer isn’t worried as much about your well being as they are in making an interesting story. Do you follow? The jinx is kinda me and Gloomy using that with her special talent for controlling the rhythm. We normally play it out like we’re telling fortunes in the tea room.”

Back waggled a hoof at the doll. "I don't mean to pick at your religion, but this sounds like a religion. It's easy to put faith in higher powers, especially with such big stakes. Got any physical proof of your god, or do I have to take them on faith?"

The gray unicorn passively filled a shot glass with bitter ale. Handing it off to Back Story. “You have to give it to Charlie yourself. The Text imposes its own price. Are you sure you really want to see the words behind the wall?”

Back raised a brow. "Uh. This is your god. Again, not trying to disrespect! If they want to say hey, go for it. That'd be kind of cool. I'm an atheist though." She shrugged softly. "The universe is exactly as mysterious as we allow it to be."

“It’s not a god.” Gloomy responds with the straightest of faces. “It’s words. You asked to be shown.”

“I know it’s ritualistic, but it’s how it works.” Ragdoll shrugged. “I blame unicorn magic. What?!?! Dammit Gloomy don’t look at me that way, we both know the superstitious parts are probably unicorn magic!”

Back rolled her hooves over one another. "Okay, great. I can do rituals. Grand Text of Ragdoll, speak to me in your silent verbiage! Spook me with your sternly written font choice!" That she wasn't taking it entirely seriously was not concealed.

Rag doll dunked his head into the offered glass as Gloomy tapped a very precise rhythm with her hooves, dancing in place. “You wanted to see. You didn’t even ask the cost.”

Gloomy began her chant, “Wing, Feather, Mayonnaise, around the corner magic’s made…”

Back inclined her head left and right. She fished out a pouch and set it down, digging out a shiny coin from within it and setting it down. "Ta da! Price is paid." Her logic was unassailable!

The world exploded into words. Back Story was no longer a pegasus game writer, she was a description of a pegasus writer being described standing in a vague description of a two bedroom cottage. The world was a void filled with nothing but words. But suddenly certain words stood out, as if written on a wall…

But she was not aware of this. She was sitting there, waiting for something to happen. In this nothing, other words appeared, not that she could see them.

It is not in her plan to see her god. At least this one. Maybe some other one? I can't rule that out. My rule is simple. Only the human interacts with me.

Your Text said “No.” But then he basically gave me permission to play around. Can’t make deals. You are not one of mine…

"So when does something happen?" Back Story pouted a little. "I was hoping you'd at least do some scary whispers or something."

I'm right here. You know that, right? She's mine, not yours. I'm not giving her to you. I tend to lose ponies that way.

That happened ONCE!

Once is quite enough. She is not an imported human. This is her world. She has no need to see us, or speak to us.

"Seriously, nothing. I'm calling backsies." She slid her given coin back to herself. "Alright, I think I get it though. Human religion! That's cool."

Fine, don’t be fun! But mine still made a deal.

Ragdoll was suddenly gone. Gloomy screamed, tapping her hooves maddly, only to reappear as if skipping frames without actually disappearing and fell to the floor in a sobbing inconsolable mess.

Back slid the coin back with a nervous laugh. "Um… you can… keep it if it means that much to you." She drew her hoof away from it. "Didn't mean to upset you, really."

"Hey." Joypad was squinting at the spot Ragdoll had been in. "Where's the doll? Gloomy… Where's the doll?"

“The words…” Gloomy’s voice was barely above a sobbing whisper. “We pushed the words, and they pushed back. They took him away from me!”

Back nudged the coin forward an inch. "I said they could take it back. Why are they punishing not-me? Strike me down, oh vengeful gods!" But no lightning bolt came to smite the heathenous pegasus.

Joypad let out a hissing breath. "I am so lost… Gloomy, pull yourself together, and tell us what happened. In Ponish, kindly."

“We make deals…” Gloomy explained between sobs. “...With the story we’re in. There’s always a cost, but my jinx always made sure the price fell on the pony we made the deal with. When Blue Sky came to us asking for a deal for her medicine, Charlie said he’d pay the price. We didn’t know the path would lead to his friend testing the medicine. So we pushed the words… but your words were from a different story…”

Joypad rubbed behind her head with growing confusion. "Alright… This evening has only gotten more confusing by the second. I motion we're all wigged out, so how about we have something to eat and approach this like grown ponies, maybe with a snack or something."

“I have things for salad in the fridge.” Gloomy intoned tonelessly. “And Peanut butter. He swore he could taste it. We… I have food.”

I told you at the start this was the price. Don’t make that face at me. You took on the story and you won a point.

This is just what that costs.

“So salad and peanut butter crackers is okay with everypony? Because I also have crackers.” Gloomy recited like a bored child reading shakespeare.

I can’t even tell if you can hear me?

“I also have canned fish salad. From Maritime bay” Something approaching a smile appeared on her face. “With Mayonnaise.”

Beep Boop?

“We really do just need to sit down and talk.” An unnatural upturn came onto Gloomy’s lips that day…

Joypad nudged against Gloomy gently. "C'mon. I know you're not feeling good right now." She wondered how she ended up with a pegasus and a unicorn. Was that the natural unit for ponies, with nothing in the way?

Author's Note:

Still being collabed with No One is Here. I did David + Joypad + Back Story.

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Hope Ragdoll is ok, and not having to face his second worse nightmwarre, Dip, or his worst nightmare, Tipex?

[terrycloth]

Don't understand this chapter at all.

[David Silver]

11200004
Was it me?

[terrycloth]

11200044
I don't think so. The whole 'you made a deal and now poof you disintegrate' was kind of weird because I didn't see any deal being made?

[David Silver]

11200059

ERag Doll

• MLP Gen 5
• Drama

It started with an old man who just wanted a fresh start. He knew what kinda deal he was making. Gloomy Sonnet was just another sad unicorn. Charlie was just her rag doll. And then magic came back... they were NOT ready...

• Human
• Alphabittle

No one is home · 52k words  ·  92  8 · 2.1k views

[harts fire]

pore Gloomy Ragdoll was taken for a price.
but will he find his way back.
a great chapter for a amazing story.

[David Silver]

11200272
Beat you