Night Fall part 2- A light in the Dark

by Fall

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Sad, Romance
Length: 2236

Pint tries to find his friends and make the rest of the night better for them all.

Pint is alone in the preschool room due to his small size. He tries to escape and find his friends.
The boys find out that Fall is not exactly as they thought she was.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-04-23 13:37:09 UTC

A Culture of Control

Pint distanced himself from the misbehaving preschoolers. He couldn’t believe the stallion wasn’t saying, or doing, anything. He just kept reading his newspaper while occasionally telling the children to behave without so much of a glance.

“Perhaps,” thought Pint as he crept closer to the stairs. “Nobody would notice if I…”

CLICK-CLOP

CLICK-CLOP, CLICK-CLOP

The spotted Unicorn was taken from his thoughts as a sky-blue mare with a white and grey mane came up the stairs. Behind her was Bucky and Fall.

“Whoa,” said Pint upon noticing how Bucky appeared as if he had just gotten into a fight. His amber-colored mane was sticking up in places and looked as if it had been run through a mud puddle. The same went for his tail and yellow coat. Bucky also appeared to have a limp as he mindlessly followed after Fall, who didn’t look much better than Bucky.

“Keep moving!” snapped the sky-blue mare.

Bucky and Fall both replied, “Yes, Ms. Powder Puff” in a tone that was more out of defeat than respect.

“I’ve got to follow them,” stated Pint as he crept ever closer to Bucky’s behind. His Pegasus friend didn’t notice him approach. But neither did the newspaper stallion or Ms. Powder Puff.

***

Upon reaching the third floor, Ms. Powder Puff shouted at a volunteer to head down to the second floor and get the kids to bed. The volunteer complied while the older children grew eerily quiet.

“Okay, scamps!” she called out. “Lights out in ten minutes! Every pony who needs the bathroom better use it now!”

Some of the older children grew frightened expressions as they darted towards what Pint only could assume was the bathroom.

“There’s the False Foal!” called out a green-colored Pegasus.

“Thanks for doing the dishes, again!” shouted a purple Unicorn.

Fall said nothing. She was too tired and too used to these sort of remarks.

“Who’s up for a dogpile?” asked a colt with a white mane before charging towards Fall.

Fall gasped as she knew what was coming. The black colt with the white mane was going to leap and put all his weight on her as those who wanted to participate would do the same. Fear showed in her eyes as she could already feel the pain that was about to come.

“NO!” cried Bucky as he stepped in front of Fall.

BOOF!

“Ow!” the colt cried as he slammed into Bucky, fell to the floor, and found a herd of fillies and colts soon tripping and falling on top of him.

Bucky grimaced from the pain of the impact. His knees buckling as pain shot through his body from a combination of the impact and all the intense labor he had just completed with Fall.

“Run…” he groaned.

Fall was frozen in place. Her mind and body convinced she was going to be hurt immensely at any second.

Pint, seeing Fall standing there and shaking with fear, dashed towards the quaking, pigtailed Pegasus.

“Come on, Fall!” he called while grabbing her hoof. His eyes quickly looking for a place to escape to. He then spotted an open door and pulled Fall towards it as he exclaimed, “This way!”

“Pint?” asked Bucky upon noticing his Unicorn friend leading Fall towards an open door.

“You,” growled the black colt. “You’ll pay for that!”

Ms. Powder Puff finally took notice of what was going on.

“You two!” she shouted. She then recognized that the one she was shouting at was Bucky and stated, “You can’t keep out of trouble, can you, chubby?”

“What?” asked Bucky.

“Garbage duty for you tomorrow!” she boomed.

The black colt grinned at hearing Bucky’s punishment.

“And you!” snapped Ms. Powder Puff. “You’ll be doing it with him, Moonside!”

“But…” Moonside tried to say.

“But nothing!” snapped Ms. Powder Puff. “Now you and chubby better take this opportunity to use the bathroom like the rest of you urchins before lights out!”

The green Pegasus walked alongside Moonside towards the bathroom. Both with their heads down.

Bucky, wanting nothing to do with the two troublemakers, tried to make his way to where he saw Pint take Fall. But he was stopped before he could by Ms. Powder Puff.

“We have a rule here,” she said. “No accidents.”

Bucky watched as Ms. Powder Puff pointed towards the bathroom.

“Get it out of you, wash your hooves, and wait here like the rest of you little ingrates.”

Bucky watched as two fillies exited the bathroom. Both had noticeable frowns on their faces. He then sighed and obeyed Ms. Powder Puff’s command.

Revelations at Sunset

“I think we’re safe,” stated Pint upon entering the room with Fall.

Fall was still shaking with fear. Her muscles were tight and her eyes closed. Her underdeveloped wings couldn’t even be seen for she had them pulled so tightly against her trembling body.

“Fall,” said Pint. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

Fall continued to quiver as she slowly opened her blue eyes.

“Sa, sa, safe…?” she asked.

“Yes,” assured Pint. “Bucky blocked the bullies so I could get you in here.”

Fall’s eyes fully opened as she took in how she was now in the bunk room.

“Buh, Bucky…?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Pint. “We’re friends.”

“Fa… Friends…?” asked Fall. Her body had now stopped shaking as she allowed her tiny wings to unfold.

“Yes,” confirmed Pint. “Bucky and I are your friends.”

Fall stared towards a window on the far side of the bunk room. She then darted towards it without saying a word.

***

Pint took notice of all the bunks in the room. They all had the same bedsheet, comforter, and worn out pillow. There were little stands by each bed in which he only could assume were places for the children to keep their material possessions.

“Wow…,” he awed upon noticing how little each of the colts and fillies in the room had.

***

Upon reaching where Fall had darted towards, he noticed that it was a bunk unlike all the others. It had a stand for personal items, but none appeared to be placed on it. The pillow and blanket missing from the bed and clumped up along the windowsill with Fall laying atop of it and staring outward.

“Fall?” he asked.

The small, brown Pegasus gingerly used her hoof to open the window’s lock and opened it ever so slightly.

Pint jumped up on the bed, which felt and sounded like an old see-saw at the park, and sat alongside Fall.

“I…,” said Fall meekly. “The sunset.”

Pint looked out the window and admired how the sun was about to set over the horizon. The sky bright with various hues of red, orange, and purple as the moon prepared to rise up from the horizon from where the sun was setting.

Fall took in a deep breath and sighed.

“The air,” she said without facing Pint. “It’s nice.”

Pint took notice of how thin and scratchy the blankets he was lying on were. He also thought he could see a pillow under Fall, but it seemed too smooshed to be an actual pillow.

A breeze blew in that gently teased at Fall’s pigtails as she asked, “Will I… Will I ever be free?”

Pint moved in closer and put a hoof over Fall.

“Yes,” he said. “Bucky and I will get you out of here. I promise.”

“Where will I go?” she asked while keeping her eyes focused on the sun in which had now set.

Pint didn’t know how to answer. So he decided to position himself over Fall’s back so that he could comfort her.

“Do you know why they don’t like me?” she asked.

Pint was again speechless.

“It’s because I’m a False Foal,” she said.

“A False Foal?” he asked.

“Yes,” she sighed. “I keep the fillies and colts who are my age from getting adopted.”

“That…,” said Pint. “That doesn’t make sense.”

The stars began to appear in the darkening sky as Fall answered, “It’s what they say. It’s what’s true. It’s why I am punished.”

“No,” assured Pint as he held Fall tighter. “That’s not true.”

“A foal like you wouldn’t understand,” stated Fall.

“A ‘foal’ like me?” asked Pint. “I’m not a foal.”

Fall said nothing. Her eyes fixated on the first stars of the night. It was as if she were calling out to Princess Luna for help.

“I’m going to be seven in a few weeks,” stated Pint. “I’m definitely no foal.”

Fall gasped as she turned to face the brown-spotted Unicorn.

“You…?” she inquired. “You’re almost seven years old?”

“That’s right!” Pint stated proudly.

Fall gestured for Pint to get off of her. She then eyed him from head-to-toe.

“So…,” she struggled to say, “You’re… Like… Me?”

“Huh?” asked Pint.

“A False Foal,” she said.

“What?” wondered Pint.

“I’m…,” she stammered. “I’m…”

“What?” asked Pint.

“I’m…,” gulped Fall. “I’m seven years old, too.”

Pint’s jaw dropped upon hearing Fall state this.

“You,” he said. “You’re older than me?”

Fall nodded slowly.

Pint was surprised at what he was hearing. There was a part of him that couldn’t believe that Fall was older than both he and Bucky. But there was another part of him that felt a sense of relief in knowing this as it meant he wasn’t the only one who was accidentally believed to be a foal due to his small size.

“LIGHTS OUT!” cried a mare’s voice from outside of the room.

Fall gasped with panic.

“Quick,” she said while closing the window. “Hide.”

Pint took notice of the blanket and comforter they were sitting on. So he hid himself under both while Fall took the pillow, slipped it under her head, and slid herself into the blankets to give the illusion she was already ready for lights out.

“I hope this works,” thought Pint as he heard the sound of many hooves trotting into the room.

Lights Out

The lights out process reminded Pint of what it was like to be sent to bed for doing something his parents were really unhappy with him about. All he heard was a mare snapping commands and the occasional insult to the fillies and colts. Most of which she either didn’t know by name, because there was a lot of ‘Filly with the red mane!’ and ‘Tree colt!’.

“Hey, you!” she shouted after what seemed like all the other fillies and colts were in bed. “Chubby new colt! We’re out of space so go find yourself a spot on the floor!”

“The floor?” wondered Pint from beneath Fall’s sheets.

“Where are the blankets and pillows?” asked Bucky.

“Bucky?” gasped Pint softly from within his warm hiding space alongside Fall’s torso. His muzzle was right at her shoulder level beneath the sheets. It felt a bit awkward but Fall wasn’t moving and he was too scared to be spotted by whomever was being so mean to all the children.

“Any of you squirts want to give chubby here a pillow or blanket?” the mare asked.

There wasn’t a word spoken.

“Tough luck, chubby,” she said. “Now go lie down somewhere.”

Bucky sighed as he tried to find a space to curl up in.

“Wait,” said Fall.

“What is it, Fall?” the mare snapped.

“He…,” she said while throwing the very worn out pillow she was resting on to floor. “He can have my pillow.”

“Lucky you, chubby,” stated the mare with the white-and-grey mane. “Now go lie down before I give you another day of garbage duty!”

Bucky made his way alongside Fall’s bed, laid himself upon the hard, dirty carpet, and placed his head on the pillow that barely provided any comfort from the floor itself.

“Lights out!” the mare cried as she shut the door, locked it, and then shut another door and locked it before closing one more door, locking it, and making her way up to what could only be the fourth floor of the orphanage.

***

Some time passed and neither Bucky nor Pint could get to sleep. The floor felt like it had little spikes in it that continually poked into Bucky’s fur and Pint had to use the little colt’s room.

“Bucky?” whispered Pint as he poked his head outside of the blankets. “Are you awake?”

Bucky rolled over to look up towards Pint.

“Yes,” he moaned softly.

“I…,” said Pint. “I need the restroom.”

“I don’t think we can get out,” stated Bucky. “Ms. Powder Puff locked the door.

“What?” gasped Pint. “But I can’t hold it any longer.”

CA-CLIP

CA-CLOP

Bucky and Piint’s discussion was interrupted by the sound of hooves softly moving towards what seemed to be the bunk room door.

“Ready?” asked a colt.

“Ready,” replied another Colt.

FLICK-TICK

TICK-TICK

CLICK

“Got it,” stated the first colt. “Now it’s your turn.”

FA-SHEW

“Remember,” said the second colt. “Quietly.”

Bucky and Pint could only make out shadows. But they were all by what had to be the bunk room door doing something.

“Good job,” said the first colt as he appeared to step out of the bunk room. “Now let’s do this.”

Bucky and Pint watched as at least four shadows made their way out of the bunk room.

Fall was still fast asleep as Pint slid himself down alongside Bucky.

“Let’s follow them,” he said.

Bucky nodded as he slowly trotted towards the opened door.