Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: happy
  • Music: Bree Sharp, "America."

Sometimes all you can do to beat the dark is shed a little light.

As most of you are probably aware by now, I collect generation one My Little Ponies from the 1980s. I have something on the order of two hundred plastic horses, a bunch of the playsets, and an open door policy toward boxes of Ponies found in attics of childhood homes. (Seriously. It's amazing how often people write me and go "I found this box, do you want it?" I have several Ponies I love very much that I acquired in this manner.)

As I slowly prepare to move, I've been sorting, indexing, and packing large portions of my Pony collection. I don't actually have a comprehensive list of what I do or don't have; a lot of my Ponies came from eBay job lots, or from the aforementioned attic finds, so there are duplicates, and Ponies whose names I don't know.

I mentioned on Twitter that I was doing this. And one of my Tweeps, a very lovely paranormal romance writer named Delilah, asked if I had her favorite, a yellow Rainbow Pony Pegasus named Skydancer. She lost her Skydancer in a fire when she was a kid. I understand losing Ponies. Part of why I collect is because I lost my childhood collection before I was ready to part with it. I affirmed that I did have Skydancer, and more, that I had a duplicate, and would she like her?

She would like her.

Skydancer has reached Delilah, and is finally home. I have reunited someone with their favorite Pony. And it strikes me that this is the thing we often don't want to understand about fear, or pain, or grief, or loss. Sometimes, we need to focus on the little things to survive the big ones. When a house burns down, we mourn a toy. When a grandparent dies, we get upset about missing a TV show. It's not being petty. It's coping with small so the big doesn't break you.

To quote Delilah: "I have Skydancer again. It's like a tiny little wound in my soul healed, risen like a rainbow-haired phoenix. What is lost can be found."

I feel like the world is going to be okay today.
Tags: contemplation, friends rock, giving stuff away, good things, toys are nice
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apocalypso23

July 19 2011, 14:41:41 UTC 5 years ago

<3 I so needed to hear this today. <3 Thank you.

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 14:43:38 UTC 5 years ago

Very welcome.

tithenai

July 19 2011, 14:42:07 UTC 5 years ago

*actually bawling*

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 14:43:45 UTC 5 years ago

*hugs*

autographedcat

July 19 2011, 14:44:39 UTC 5 years ago

You know, sometimes you rock so hard. Thank you for being in my world.

Love you. *hug*

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 14:47:53 UTC 5 years ago

I don't have anywhere else to be, darlin'.

cbpotts

July 19 2011, 14:51:29 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you for this story. It totally made my day. Maybe because my daughter is 7. It is a good thing to fix old pain :-)

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 14:53:10 UTC 5 years ago

Just remember: don't make her give up her toys before she's ready, even if you think she is, or she'll grow up to be a scary collector like me. :)

cbpotts

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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iuliamentis

July 19 2011, 14:53:46 UTC 5 years ago

This made me cry at my desk. Thank you so much for sharing. As someone who collected My Little Ponies as a child, and who is emotionally invested in my toys in general, this was the best happy ending.

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 15:00:50 UTC 5 years ago

I'm so glad I had two of Skydancer. It was meant to be.

eilan

July 19 2011, 14:53:54 UTC 5 years ago

This made my heart feel all warm & gooey inside.

I still have a few of my Ponies from when I was a kid. And I have a stage thing that they would stand on, and then they could turn in circles. (Did that make sense?)

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 15:01:06 UTC 5 years ago

You have the Baby Bonnet School of Dance!

eilan

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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eilan

5 years ago

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eilan

5 years ago

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taldragon

July 19 2011, 14:54:07 UTC 5 years ago

aw, bless you!

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 15:01:20 UTC 5 years ago

Pony love is true love, yo.

taldragon

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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firebirdgrrl

July 19 2011, 14:54:47 UTC 5 years ago

That is so wonderful. I am tearing up.

"Part of why I collect is because I lost my childhood collection before I was ready to part with it. "

I understand that. It's part of why I have dolls now.


(This is completely off topic, but I didn't know if you'd seen the "Daydream of the Dead" Monster High cartoon--it is all Ghoulia and all comics and squeeful and I thought of you right away:) (I can't link directly but it is the first in the bottom row( http://www.monsterhigh.com/videos ).)

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 15:02:35 UTC 5 years ago

I love that cartoon so much.

firebirdgrrl

5 years ago

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ohari

July 19 2011, 14:55:54 UTC 5 years ago

You are a nice person. I like you.

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 15:02:47 UTC 5 years ago

I try to be. Sometimes it is hard.

I like you, too.

ohari

5 years ago

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ohari

5 years ago

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sweetmusic_27

July 19 2011, 14:59:22 UTC 5 years ago

*wibbles*

*pets the fiddle case that survived our fire*

*opens it, hugs fiddle*

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 15:03:02 UTC 5 years ago

*hugs fiddler*

*sees you tomorrow*

naamah_darling

July 19 2011, 15:04:02 UTC 5 years ago

Goodness. There might, like, be something in my eye. *sniff* Something sparkly.

<3

If you ever do get around to coming up with a list of ponies you want and don't have, I'll be happy to see what I've got.

I think when I was a kid I had around 150 ponies, and I recently found about fifty of those in my parents' house, original play-wear intact. Going into that box was a magical experience. I still remember the way they smelled right out of the package (the new ones don't smell the same) and how I would introduce them all to the rest of the herd.

I never did get Skydancer, sadly. My favorites were Moondancer and Starshine. <3

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:49:40 UTC 5 years ago

I'm working on my list now; it's part of the indexing process. I love Moondancer. I had her, a Baby Moondancer, and a pearlized Baby Moondancer. I called her "Moondreamer."

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seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:49:59 UTC 5 years ago

:)

onlyonechoice

July 19 2011, 15:17:48 UTC 5 years ago

Here from Shakesville, and wibbling at my desk at work.

Part of why I collect is because I lost my childhood collection before I was ready to part with it.

My ponies were my prized collection when I was 12. I bought one each week with my allowance and saved for TEN WEEKS just to get the Dream Castle for my herd.

My parents once made me sign a contract that, if my grades didn't improve, all my ponies would be donated to the Salvation Army. If anyone reading this has kids, don't ever do that to them. My grades improved, but it showed me that even things I bought with my own money weren't safe from my parents.

I clung to that collection all the way through high school and, alas, lost them all when my mother divorced her second husband and moved while I was away at college.

Thanks to eBay I've regained most of my favorites back, and seeing stories like this make my heart glad that there's still this kind of love for these little plastic horses.

I still miss my Slugger, though, the only boy pony in my herd. He would have been a stud.

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:50:28 UTC 5 years ago

...oh my sweet Great Pumpkin I would have killed my mother if she'd tried to pull that. Killed her.

And Slugger is mad awesome.

scamis

5 years ago

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reedrover

July 19 2011, 15:27:27 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you so much for the happy story, and thanks for linking to her original post. I'm hurt for her lost innocence in the cabin fire (though I'm glad the baby made it out!) and I'm glad that you had a chance to heal that hurt. I hope your day is brighter and your heart lighter because of it, too.

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:50:43 UTC 5 years ago

It has made this a better day. :)

vulpine137

July 19 2011, 15:29:17 UTC 5 years ago

Yay for the finder of lost ponies. Yet another reason you rock. *stealthily wipes the tear from his eye*

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:50:48 UTC 5 years ago

Aw.

silvertwi

July 19 2011, 15:30:32 UTC 5 years ago

What is lost can be found.
That strikes me as very profound. And maybe the seed of a story...

Thank you for being you and brightening people's days. :)

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:50:57 UTC 5 years ago

Very welcome. :)

tikiera

July 19 2011, 15:35:32 UTC 5 years ago

Due to an incident on the train, I was all cynical and hating the world.

Then I read this.

I have lost most of what I owned twice in my life, so I can relate...

... and you made my day. Suddenly, not feeling so cynical anymore.

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:51:05 UTC 5 years ago

Yay!

ladymondegreen

July 19 2011, 15:44:45 UTC 5 years ago

I'm so glad for Delilah and Skydancer. Sometimes there are wounds we don't know can be healed until someone steps in and stitches them up with the right thread. In this case, rainbow.

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:51:21 UTC 5 years ago

Yes.

nightfalltwen

July 19 2011, 15:53:49 UTC 5 years ago

I teared up. Luckily I'm at home and I didn't have to break my "no crying in public" barrier. This was a sweet story and I think you're a great person for helping someone else be happy. <3<3

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:51:40 UTC 5 years ago

Making people happy is key.

aliciaaudrey

July 19 2011, 15:53:53 UTC 5 years ago

Remind me to remind my mom when she cleans the basement to hold my ponies aside, if you'd still be interested in a random box of them (assuming they didn't get lost in a move, which is possible: dad was in the Air Force and we moved an awful lot.)

seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:51:52 UTC 5 years ago

I am always interested in random boxes of Ponies.

aliciaaudrey

5 years ago

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sheistheweather

July 19 2011, 15:56:37 UTC 5 years ago

I needed to hear this today. Thank you for putting some good into the world, through this and other things.

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seanan_mcguire

July 19 2011, 17:52:12 UTC 5 years ago

*hugs for you*

lysystratae

5 years ago

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paksenarrion2

5 years ago

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lysystratae

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

November 18 2011, 15:45:14 UTC 5 years ago

Awesome!

roadnotes

July 19 2011, 16:08:00 UTC 5 years ago

Your existence brightens not only my universe, but that of so many others. Thank you.

seanan_mcguire

November 18 2011, 16:47:56 UTC 5 years ago

You are very welcome, dear, and happy birthday.

deire

July 19 2011, 16:15:57 UTC 5 years ago

Your kindness sheds light past that one action.

Sometimes I really need the reminder that humans can be good.

seanan_mcguire

November 18 2011, 19:49:45 UTC 5 years ago

I am glad to help.
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