Chapters The Lonesome Plush
It’s been about a month since you’ve received Patches for your birthday and ever since then things have been pretty easier around your house. Patches would help with cleaning and other chores, she’d cook for you and keep you company. Whenever you felt sad or lonely, she would cuddle with you, and given her small size, she was the perfect size for hugging. Patches herself was a very cheerful plushie. While she didn’t know what a lot meant or was, she was still very smart. But it was a little funny when she would discover something new and would interact with it. It was very adorable when she found your radio and would think somepony was stuck inside the little box.
But recently, she’s been a lot more, slower. She hasn’t been as cheerful and happy as usual. She’s more sad and upset looking. Like something’s wrong, but she won’t say what it is. To solve this little problem, you decide to confront her about her odd behavior.
It’s a slightly gloomy day. Not gloomy enough to look as if it’ll rain soon, but gloomy enough for clouds to fill the entire sky. It’s also a little cold, so you and Patches sit on the sofa, a large blanket covering the two of you as you snuggle and relax on such a chilly day. But the original objective to ask Patches what was wrong popped back into your mind. Why must you ask something like this on such a relaxing moment. But, you decide to bite the bullet and ask her what’s the matter.
“Hey, Patches… You’ve been acting odd lately. Is something wrong?”
She looks up at you, her face seems fine but you can see the depression in her eyes. Even if they were only buttons.
She grabs her little whiteboard and marker and begins to write down her answer. She finishes writing and turns the board towards you.
“I’m fine. Really” You read aloud. You give her a ‘Really’ face. She isn’t the best liar, so it’s easy to see through her little fibs. She lets out a silent sigh and wipes the words off the whiteboard. She writes again and turns it back to you to read.
“I feel lonely.” You read. “Lonely? Patches, you have me. How can you feel lonely?” You ask. She writes once again, when she reveals what she has written, you’re surprised to find it longer than her usual replies.
“Because I’m the only patch pony. I love spending time with you, I really do. But I feel like you and I don’t connect as well as we should since I’m a plushie, and you’re a human. I wish I had somepony who knew what it’s like to be a plushie. I wish I had a patch friend.” As you finish reading, you look at Patches who has a sad expression on her face.
You can’t help but hold and hug the plushie tight. You know how she feels, yeah she has you and you two are the best of friends, but she wants somepony who she can deeply connect with. Somepony who’s a plush pony like her. It was like when you first arrived to Ponyville. You felt a little lonely being the only human in a world of ponies. But Twilight and her gang were so nice to you; nicer than the humans you came across back on earth, to the point where it didn’t matter. You learned to live with the fact you were the only human. But for Patches, it could be harder for her. It was safe to assume that it would affect her in some major way.
“Don’t worry Patches. I’ll find a way to help. I promise, okay? Please don’t be sad.” You beg. You feel her grasp around your neck tighten, she’s hugging you as hard as she can, which surprisingly, is really hard.
She pulls away and picks up her board again and writes. When finished she shows you the message and you read,
“Can we cuddle the problems away?” You can’t help but smile and feel a warm fuzzy feeling from within. You pick her up and pull her close to your chest. You lie down on the couch and you and Patches cuddle. She burrows her head under your chin and hugs you tight. Given her small size, her fore hooves are wrapped around your upper-back, while her hind legs are wrapped around your lower-back. It’s a little cute how she can’t really cuddle you, but latches onto your torso.
Now you had to help her. It would be wrong of you to just let her feel this way. Twilight made sure to help you fit in and feel like everypony else, so you should do the same. Starting tomorrow, you will help the lonesome plushie.
~***~
Today was yesterday’s tomorrow and you were on a quest to help Patches with her problem. You had told Patches you would be home in time for lunch, you said all you were going to do was a little window shopping, but in reality, you were going to the two ponies who you knew could help Patches with her loneliness. The same ponies who created the plush pony in the first place. The first place you knew you had to visit first was Lyra’s shop, where she took orders for ponies to make dolls, and orders for various string instruments. But her best source of income was the doll making. Almost everypony and their grandma wanted a plush from this mare.
You rushed over to Lyra’s small shop, ignoring most of the “Hellos” and “Greetings” the ponies would say to you. In no time, you arrive at Lyra’s shop. As you enter the door, a small bell goes off and alerts the unicorn that she has a customer.
When she comes from the back of her shop, she’s instantly happy to see you.
“Hey Anon! How are you doing?” She asks.
“I’m fine Lyra. How’re you and Bon?”
“I’m fine, Bonnie’s fine. We’re all doing great. So, how can I help you?” She asks kindly.
“Well, I don’t need help really. But, Patches does.” You explain.
“Patches? You mean the plushie I made for you? The same plushie Twilight enchanted?”
“The one and only, and that’s the problem. She literally is the one and only. She told me she feels alone and she doesn’t truly connect with anypony. She told me that she shouldn’t feel lonely since I’m with her, but she wants somepony she could relate to. Somepony like her. Another plush pony” You explain, you notice Lyra with a sad face and you ask her what’s wrong.
“I never thought that she’d feel lonely. I thought Twilight enchanted her to only feel happiness and joy. Not, loneliness and sadness. Maybe we should talk to Twilight about this, she’ll explain what’s wrong.” Lyra concluded.
“But will you still help?” You ask.
“Of course, Patches is special to both you and me, and even Twilight. I’ll help you with her problem. But first, we need to talk to Twilight.” Lyra says seriously. More serious sounding than she’s ever sounded.
You knew that things have gotten real.
She Likes Sweet and Cuddly Things
She Likes Sweet and Cuddly Things
You and Lyra make your way to Twilight’s palace. While Lyra’s insistence on going to Twilight’s wasn’t unsettling enough, the way she walked with a little stomp and frustration in her eyes was really the cherry on top. Something was wrong, and you knew that Lyra was going to go all out on Twilight. Being honest, you didn’t see or know anything that would set Lyra off. Was there some sort of deal between the two? Was Twilight suppose to enchant Patches to only feel happiness? What was there to learn? So many questions ran through your mind as you kept up with Lyra’s walking speed.
‘Geez, for such a laid back gal, the mare can get steamed.’ You think to yourself as you follow Lyra. It doesn’t take long for you two to arrive at Twilight’s palace. You stand behind Lyra as she knocks on the giant doors. A few seconds go by until Spike opens the door.
“Oh, hello Lyra. What do you need?” He asks.
“I want to see Twilight. It’s important.” Lyra says sternly. Surprised, Spike looks over at you, hoping to find an answer. You simply shrug, you’re as lost as he is. The baby dragon directs the two of you to Twilight.
“She’s in here. This is her study, she’s working on some documents for Princess Celestia so try to make it quick.” Spike informs.
“Thanks Spike.” You say, Spike replies with a thumbs up and walks off to complete whatever task he was attending to before.
You and Lyra enter Twilight’s study to find Twilight reading through a pile of documents. She quickly catches glance of you and smiles, but then she sees Lyra and melts in fear.
“Twi. I thought you and I had a deal about Patches!”
“What? What’s wrong?” Twilight asks, sounding alarmed.
“Anon here says Patches has been feeling lonely and sad for the last few days. You said all you would do is enchant her to feel happiness and joy!” Lyra says angrily.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry, but I wanted her to be as realistic as possible. Not some happy robot Anon would have to live with. I wanted Anon to have a real companion, I’m sorry if I disappointed you Lyra but it was for the greater good. Besides, why does she feel that way anyhow?” Twilight asks. You then explain the whole story about being the only plush pony.
Twilight was speechless.
“I knew she would feel like this soon. I knew that if I were to give her normal pony emotions, she would eventually catch onto the fact that she’s the only plush pony and would either take that in a good or bad way. Sadly, she took it badly. So now I have to help, don’t I?” You and Lyra nod. “Well, I wish I could. Really I do. But Celestia has given me so much paperwork to do. Paperwork that’s important for future events in Equestria, if I don’t get them organized and shipped out by tomorrow, we’ll all be lost and unprepared for the next festivals we hold.” Twilight explained.
“Well then how can you help?” You ask.
“Well, Lyra is a unicorn. Lyra, how good are you with spell casting?” Twilight asks.
“I know some tricks here and there. What’s it to ya?”
“Because I’m going to give you the spell that brought Patches to life. Well, there are actually two spells so both spells that brought Patches to life. The Living Spell, and The Emotions Spell. Both are slightly difficult to get right, but when practiced, they’re easy to master. I’m sure a unicorn of your level can handle something like that.” Twilight assumed.
“A unicorn of my level? What’s that supposed to mean?” Lyra asks with an annoyed tone to her voice. Knowing that it will only go downhill from here, you decide to intervene.
“Hey! Thanks for the help Twi, we’ll just take those spells now and we’ll be on our way! Good luck with those documents, c’mon Lyra don’t start something you can’t finish.” You warn. Lyra reluctantly turns and follows you out the door. Before you two leave, you see Lyra do a hoof gesture to Twilight which you could assume is a pony’s equivalent to flipping the bird.
You rush Lyra out of Twilight’s study and palace and make your way back to Lyra’s shop.
‘Oh it was going to turn into some Jerry Springer stuff. I’m talking about two black girls going at it Jerry Springer’ You think to yourself as you and Lyra walk through town square towards her shop. You look through the spells Twilight gave you and to you, it looks like gibberish. But to a unicorn, this stuff could be simple so who knows.
Before you knew it, you were back at Lyra’s and she asks you for the spells.
“Hey, are you OK? You were a little feisty back there.” You comment.
“Yeah, I’m fine now, it’s just I really care for Patches. Even if all I did was stitch her together, I still care about her. She’s special, you know?”
“Yeah, I getcha. But, now we have the spells and you can help her Lyra. You can help her by making her own companion. Think of it as giving Patches a sibling.” You say to Lyra. Her face is blank, she’s only looking through the spells Twilight has given the two of you. She then looks up at you with a happy smile.
“Right, so, tell me how you want it.”
“Excuse me?” You ask.
“How do you want me to make Patches’ sibling? What does Patches like?” Lyra asks.
“Well, she likes cuddling. So, I guess anything cuddly.” You see Lyra taking notes in a small notepad.
“Uh huh, continue.”
“She doesn’t need to eat but, she likes eating chocolate, and marshmallows. Anything sweet really, but her favorite foods are chocolate and marshmallows.” You describe. Lyra is still taking notes, so you continue.
“She likes the color blue, and… That’s all I can think of now.” You say. Lyra finishes up her writing and smiles.
“So, I’ll make this one about the same size as Patches, height wise. I think sometime tomorrow is when I’ll have her finished. So come back at… three o’ clock. Okay?”
“Yeah sure, I can do that.” You say. After some goodbyes, you leave her shop. Excited to what Lyra has in store for you and Patches tomorrow.”
“I gotta keep it a surprise. I’m going to love the look on Patches’ face when she see’s her new sister!” You say to yourself, with a pep in your step as you walk home.
Her Name's Tubby!
After splitting up a potential fight between Lyra and Twilight, and helping describe how Lyra should create Patches’ new sibling, the rest of the day went by pretty fast. When you arrived home, Patches had a nice salad waiting for the two of you for lunch. Afterwards two had a nap on the sofa. Then for dinner, you and Patches shared your favorite meal from Earth. Fried rice and egg. What made it even better, was Patches seemed to enjoy the Asian meal, so you knew you could have this more often. After dinner, the two of you snuggled up in bed and went to sleep.
Ever since your birthday, you couldn’t think of or remember a night where you didn’t snuggle with Patches. She was like your security blanket, as you were to her. She was the type that didn’t like being alone for long. In which case, she would need your attention almost always, and you were fine with that.
The next morning was like any other morning. However, you knew the day would only get better. For both you and Patches. Patches didn’t know it, but she would be getting a “Sibling” today. You were excited to find out how Lyra made the other plush pony, and what Patches’ future brother or sister would look like.
It was almost torture. Lyra told you to meet her sometime in the afternoon, so the day decided to take it’s time getting to the scheduled meeting with Lyra. When it would feel like an hour, only five minutes would pass and it drove you mad. The way Patches would smile at you whenever you two made eye contact just made you even more excited for Patches’ and the future plush pony. You could only imagine Patches’ expression when you reveal to her her new sibling.
You had to find a way to pass the time. Any way possible, even if you resorted to watching grass grow, you had to find something that would pass the time. You thought and thought until you felt a gentle tug on the end of your pant leg. You looked down to see Patches with a pouty face and her whiteboard that read,
‘Out of marshmallows.’
You couldn’t help but scoop her up in your arms and cradle her like an infant. She was just that adorable.
“Alright, I’ll get you some marshmallows at the market. Do we need anything else?” You ask her, she trotted back to the kitchen to check. You thanked the heavens for giving you something to do, and given the fact that you had to go to Lyra’s shop in the marketplace you may as well kill two birds with one stone.
Patches came back with her whiteboard under her hoof. She sat down in front of you and began to write with her marker. Soon after she flipped the board towards you and you read aloud.
“Milk, chocolate chips, and bread.” You take a mental note to remember those items. As you get up from your seat, something in your head clicks.
“Hey, I thought I bought a whole bag of chocolate chips yesterday. How are we already out?” You and her make eye contact and she gives off a sheepish smile.
“Patches, did you eat the chocolate?” You ask in a fake motherly tone. She replies with a wide smile and a nod.
“You cheeky plush you, alright, I’ll get some more but don’t eat them all this time!” You warn, to which she replies with a solute. You walk over to the coat hanger near your door and you grab your coat and beanie. The same attire you wore when you were homeless. You didn’t know why, but you liked wearing the tattered clothing every so often.
You wave goodbye to Patches as you leave the house.
~***~
You walked through town carrying bags of whatever it was you needed. From milk to the chocolate chips. Now you were window shopping just to kill some time. You passed by a sweet shop that was all too familiar. No it wasn’t Sugar Cube Corner, it was Bon Bon’s little shop. The sign in the window did say open so you decided to pay your friend a little visit.
You opened the door and the sound of a jingling bell went off. Alerting Bon Bon who seemed to be working in the back to come to the cash register and attend whoever entered the shop. When she caught sight of you, she seemed to be pleased.
“Hello Bon Bon.” You call out.
“Hey Anon, how’re you doing?” The mare asks as she wipes her hoofs off with a rag.
“I’m fine, what’re you up to back there?”
“Oh nothing, just making some more truffles, can I help you with anything?” She asks as if she suddenly remembered she owned a shop and you were still technically a customer.
“Uh sure, I’ll take some of those chocolate strawberries you have there. Oh, and a s’mores candy bar for Patches.” You say as you dig out whatever bits you owe her.
“Sure thing, that’ll be six bits please.” You’re slightly surprised by the change in price. Usually Bon Bon has lower prices than that.
“Hm, shouldn’t it be three bits?” You ask. Apparently she looked as if she knew that too.
“I know, it’s just business hasn’t been doing so well recently, mainly because Sugar Cube Corner has been having this sale that's beating my prices. Nopony wants a simple candy bar anymore. And when they do, they go to Sugar Cube Corner since it's cheaper.”
“Have you tried lowering your prices?” You ask.
“I did once, but since business has been so slow, and the bills somehow keep rolling in, I’m close to not keeping up! Yeah Lyra helps out with money she earns, but I don’t want her paying for both her shop and mine. It just doesn’t seem right you know?”
“Yeah, I getcha. Look, if you want, I’ll try to help you get more customers. No need to pay me, I’ll do it for free.” You say. You notice Bon Bon getting ready to debate but you insist, leaving her to accept your help.
“Thanks Anon, I hope you can help.” Bon Bon says with a calm tone.
“I hope so too, I wouldn’t want you going out of business or anything. Don’t worry, I’ll figure out something!” You promise. You two exchange more words but after saying your goodbyes you started to leave the establishment until,
“Wait!” Bon Bon called out, you turn towards her and ask what was it.
“Lyra told me to tell you to see her early. She said the sibling was ready, whatever that means.” Your eyes widen in excitement.
‘Was she really finished? A whole half hour early!? I have to get there fast!’
With that thought, you zoomed out of Bon Bon’s shop both bags of food and sweets in hands. It was ready, it was finally ready! You were so excited for Patches, and the best part is she doesn’t even know it was coming! Oh what a wonderful surprise for her you thought.
In record time, you arrived at Lyra’s place and entered the small shop.
“Lyra I’m here!” You call out, you see Lyra emerge from the back of her shop, her mane is frazzled and she appears to have bags under her eyes.
“Woah, Lyra are you okay?” You ask.
“Oh yeah I’m fine! I just stayed up all night working on the sibling for Patches! At first, it was easy, but then I got tired, so I had some coffee! But after a while, the coffee wouldn’t work so I began eating the beans alone! It works SO much better than the actual coffee!” You walk over to Lyra and you put a hand on her head to calm her down. This worried you, if she’s this tweaked out, what if she cast the spell and now the sibling will be hyper? What if Lyra messed up in some way?
‘No, she couldn’t have messed up! She knows what she’s doing!’ You reason with yourself.
“C’mon Anon! Let me show you her!”
“Her? Patches will have a sister?” You ask.
“Yep! Now come on!” She grabs your hand with her left hoof and led you to her little sewing room in the back of the shop. The room was a little cluttered, nothing too bad. But the mess wasn’t what you were looking at. It was what sat in the center of the room.
A plush unicorn with white fluffy mane and a chocolate brown streak running through it. Her main color was a lighter shade of brown and instead of button eyes like Patches has, she had blue stitched eyes instead. However, that wasn’t the only feature that was different from Patches. This plush pony was roughly the same size as Patches, but she seemed a lot more plump. Like a really chubby pony.
“She’s a little, chubby looking.” You comment.
“Yeah, I kinda went to town on the stuffing. You did say Patches likes cuddly things and, what’s more cuddly than a stuffed pillow?” Lyra reasoned.
“So you technically made Patches a pillow?”
“No! I made her a sister… Who’s design is based around a pillow like form!” Lyra argued.
“Well, either way, she’s a cutie! I’m sure Patches will love her! Did you cast the spell?”
“Sure did! She should be alive and walking tomorrow morning! Just like Patches.”
“Okay, cool! So what’s her name?” You ask, Lyra looks up at you with a small smile.
“I’ll let you handle that one Anon.” You smile back and you look back at the plush pony before you. You scratch your head and think. What would be a suitable name for this plush?
“Would it be offensive if I named her something based on her shape?”
Lyra rested her hoof on her chin and thought.
“Hm, no I don’t think so! Just as long as it isn’t blatantly offensive I-”
“Her name’s Tubby!” You exclaim.
“Excuse me, did you say Tubby?” Lyra asked.
“Sure did! I thought it was fitting, plus it does make her look cuter knowing her name is Tubby.” You reason. Lyra looks at the now dubbed Tubby and nods.
“Yeah I see what you mean.” With that you grabbed the plush and thanked Lyra for her work. With Tubby slumped over your shoulder and the two bags of food in position you made your way home.
