No, what I'm referring to is when I did give up My Little Pony. When I 'grew out of them', or so I thought. I had about a hundred ponies when I was little. They lived in what my Mum called an 'Ali Baba basket', that is, a tall wicker laundry basket that looked like one a snake charmer would have. They lived in there when I still played with them but they had been sat there for a very long time, untouched, in my bedroom. I was happy for them to just stay there, they weren't in my way. I never did anything with them any more, they were just there, part of the fixtures. My Dad has a thing about getting rid of things that are no longer of use and had pestered me to think about giving them up for some time. I finally conceded and didn't think too much of it, except for I couldn't let my favourites, Applejack and Fireball go, they stayed in my box of memories. So off my girls and boys went to the charity shop without much of a second thought.
Oh how I regret that now! If only I knew! Well, I say 'regret', I don't really 'do' regrets, there's just no point. What's happened has happened and there's no changing it so regret really is a wasted emotion in my mind. That said, do I wish I'd kept them? Yes, of course I do. They were some of the most loved and played with ponies imaginable so as a collector I would of course have had to get some upgrades as well as my childhood ponies, but I would love to have them now. They'd have their own little place, for all the hair-cut and mega-frizzy girls who'd spent hours with me in the bath! They'd be their in all their rusty mangled glory! I remember one time me and my cousin decided it was a good idea to see if they could fly and proceeded to throw them out of my bedroom window when my parents weren't looking. The same cousin took it upon himself to post them all through my Grandma's letter box. You know who you are - Daniel!! Excellent memories made for very baity ponies. I only hope that some other collector discovered them and at the very least customised them into something beautiful again. I'm going to choose to believe that happened, I don't relish the thought of them in a landfill somewhere.
The two ponies I kept, Applejack and Fireball, sadly I have no idea what fate befell them. I know I kept them but for the life of me I cannot find them. I've moved house four times since I last saw them and although my parents still live in the house I played with them in, we still can't find them. Even as recently as last year I got upset about them, wishing I could find them, which has a lot to do with the fact that my Granddad bought Fireball for me, but Joe has helped me accept that they are gone. It's such as shame. I can cope much better knowing that I gave up the majority of my childhood ponies because, even though there was gentle persuasion from my Dad, it was my decision. I chose to keep Applejack and Fireball and now I don't know where they are and I just want them back, I didn't choose for them to go. Alas, I know I'm not going to get them back.
My new Applejack and Fireball, along with all the other girls and boys who keep them company in the pony room are, however, very much here to stay!
