Through the Eyes of an Orphan

A gasp resounded from the two young ponies as Chestnut continued to tell his harrowing tale. “Wow! What happened after the princess left?” asked the small colt.

“Well Sapphire,” Chestnut said, “I had started to listen to her and go find the two old stallions that were looking for me. But I changed my mind after I watched her fly off.”

“But why? What made you change your mind?” Asked the little purple filly.

“I don’t know Velvet. She meant well, I know, but I just didn’t want to get put in a safe place. I found out I enjoyed the thrill of the adventure.” Chestnut said smiling. “It wasn’t my brightest idea, but it was fun while it lasted.”

“What happened then?” They asked in unison, laughing as they looked at each other in surprise.

“Weeellll,” Chestnut said, smiling as he looked at his grandponies. “I started to head for my home when all of a sudden, this thought occurred to me, ‘Why go home, when you can go to a new place?’” Chestnut sat back in his chair as he continued his little adventurous tale.

Chestnut walked over a small hill to watch the princess fly off. “She’s so nice… but why would they send those ponies after me?” He asked himself aloud. “I know.. I’ll just go somewhere else. I don’t have to listen to her.” he said as he trotted off towards the east.
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A day passed and no city was in site as Chestnut began to grow tired. Letting out a yawn, he looked around nervously. “It’s getting late, I haven’t slept.. I need to find somewhere *yawn* to sleep.” He said, his eyes already drooping as he continued to walk.

As the sun began to fall, so did Chestnut as his legs began to give out. “I.. I need to find.. *yawn* somewhere to sleep.” Chestnut said, slowly collapsing to the ground, his eyes closing. His small body quickly went to sleep as the sun’s final rays hid themselves away. His eyes began to close as the last thing he saw before he slept, was a two pairs of legs walking towards him.
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Chestnut woke up late the next evening, stretching his legs as he yawned. Opening his eyes he smiled as he looked out of a window at the beautiful city. Jumping out of bed, a sudden realization snapped in his mind. ‘Wasn’t I in a field before I fell asleep? Where am I?’ he thought as he looked around and absorbed his surroundings. A small room with a bed and a desk was all he could see in it. “Wh-where… what happened? Where am I?” he finally asked out loud.

“Maybe.. I think I saw.. But… No, It couldn’t have been.” he said as he thought back to the night before. “No! They did find me.” he said as he realized that he saw the two stallions as he fell asleep. Quickly he ran to the door and pulled, only to find it locked from the outside with no way of opening it from inside. “No!” He shouted as he ran to the window and tried to open it. “Grrugh!” He said as he fell backwards onto his haunches, the window refusing to budge. “I’m. I’m trapped.” Chestnut said, tears swelling in his eyes as he looked around. “I.. I miss my mommy and daddy!!” he cried as the tears fell quickly. Covering his face, he crawled back into bed and cried into the pillow.

“Come now dear. Come give me a hug.” Said a mare’s voice sweetly from the door.

Chestnut looked up with a start to the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway was none other than Susan. “Susan!!” Chestnut cried as he ran to the old brown mare’s legs. “I.. I’m sorry I ran off!” he cried, burying his face into her soft fur.

“Shh. It’s ok Chestnut. It’s ok. I’m here for you.” She said as she held him close, petting his tan mane.

The two ponies sat there for several minutes before a stallion cleared his throat. “I’m sorry but you can’t stay. We’re about to close for the evening.” he said, frowning slightly as he looked at the pair.

Susan hugged Chestnut one last time before she stood up. “I’ll be back later Chestnut, I promise.” she said, walking out the door past the stallion.

Chestnut sat on the floor, watching her leave with tears stinging his eyes. “What am I doing here?” He asked, looking to the stallion in the doorway.

“I’m sorry son, I can’t tell you that.” said the stallion in a soft voice. “But don’t worry. You’re safe, we’ll keep you warm, fed, and dry. You’ll have a soft place to sleep.” he listed, smiling as he started to close the door. “Now get some rest, big day tomorrow.” he said as the door closed fully.

“B-but…I…don’t want to be here.” he said whimpering as he laid on the floor, hoping the night would be over soon.

The night passed slowly for Chestnut as he lay awake on the floor, waiting for the sun to rise. When it did, he found himself on the bed, the sun shining brightly against the wall. “Hmm…” he thought loud, wondering how he got on his bed. Getting up, he walked the short distance to the door and tried it.
Surprised he found it unlocked, he opened it slowly to reveal a long dark hallway. Peeking out, he looked down both corridors, only able to see doors and a vast darkness.

“I should see where this goes.” He thought aloud again, walking out and down the left corridor. Walking slowly, he tried to determine who lived behind each door. With nothing but numbers on the doors, he finally gave up until he reached the far end of the hall. “What’s this place?” he asked, looking for a sign on the wall. With no number and no indication of what it was, he opened the door slowly.

With a slow creak of the door opening, he walked in. “Oh…it’s the cafeteria.” he said as he spotted the many rows of chairs in front of a serving line. The dim lights made it hard to tell if there was anypony in the kitchen, so he walked towards the small serving counter. “Hello? Anypony back there?” he called out into the black void of the kitchen.

“Hello dearie.” A voice said from behind him, it’s cheerfulness oddly terrifying.

Chestnut turned slowly, looking for the source of the voice. “H-hello?” he asked trembling. “Wh-who’s there?”

“Oh it’s just little ole me.” Said the voice. “I’m up here.”

“U-up?” Chestnut repeated, slowly tilting his head up. In the shadows, many eyes could be seen glowing in the dark. “Wh-who are you?” he asked.

“Oh.. I’m just here as a guest. I came for dinner!” the sweet voice said as a giant, black spider descended in front of him.

Screaming as he realized what he was talking to, he ran towards the door, only to find it gone. “N-no! G-get away from me!” he shouted, cowering in the corner.

“Why, you’re so cute I could just eat you up!” The spider said, smiling as it walked towards him. “In fact, I think I might do just that!” it said in a sing-song voice.

Chestnut screamed as he shot up from the floor, his eyes wide as he looked around, only to see he was back in his room. “Phew, it…it was only a dream.” he said with a sigh of relief. “That…that was terrifying.” he said as he walked towards his bed.

Suddenly the door burst open, revealing the stallion from yesterday. “What?! What is it?!” He asked, looking at Chestnut with worry.

“I-it’s.. it’s nothing.” Chestnut answered, his ears going flat as he backed away from the stallion.

The stallion’s face lightened up as he realized Chestnut only had a bad dream. “So…a nightmare I presume?” he asked, smiling as he sat down in the doorway. “Yeah, that’s a usual thing for new ponies here.” He said as he continued to watch Chestnut.

“N-no.. I just…I was…R-really?” he stammered, wanting to lie but failing.

“Really. In fact, there was another young colt, such as yourself, who had one to.” The stallion continued. “Would you…like to meet him?” he asked, smiling at Chestnut as he stood up.

Chestnut nodded and walked slowly towards the pony in his doorway.

Sapphire and Velvet sat starring at Chestnut, waiting for him to continue. “Well?!” They asked in unison.

“Well what?” Chestnut asked with a smirk.

“What happened?! Who was the colt?! Where did you go?!” Sapphire asked, standing up wide-eyed.

“Patience.” Chestnut said, “It’s getting late. And young fillies and colts need their sleep.” he said standing.

“Awww!!” resounded when he said that. “But we don’t want to go to sleep yet!” Velvet said with a pout. “Can’t you tell us more?”

“I can, and I will.. Tomorrow.” Chestnut said, smiling as he lead the pair inside. “But for now, you two need sleep. Now go get cleaned up for bed.” he said, pointing them to their bathrooms.

Soft grumblings could be heard as the two young ponies walked to their rooms, sad to be missing out on the story.

Chestnut smiled, wishing they could stay up later. “It’s ok.. You can finish the story tomorrow.” he said quietly to himself. “If only you were here with me, this would be an easier story to tell.” he said, looking at a picture of his beloved. “Oh Snowflake, I miss you.” he said, a single tear falling from his eye as he went to his own room, preparing himself for the next part of the story that he would tell tomorrow. Climbing in bed, he smiled one last time as he fell asleep with his memories of his foal hood sweetheart.