Nighttime's house was a small one. Not too small; there was plenty of room for a bedroom, kitchen, and even some space for a few toys. Most importantly, it was enough to protect her from the elements. There was a considerable downpour tonight, yet she was safe inside, enjoying a hot cup of tea. Her ear suddenly twitched as she heard a loud, desperate knock on the door. She pursed her lips as she trotted over to it, peeking through the peephole. Gasping as she recognized the figure at her doorstep, she quickly opened the door to let her friend in.
"Flame Storm, what are you doing here?" she asked, quickly closing the door once he entered.
"What does it look like?" he snapped, turning toward her. "It's pouring out there, and your house was much closer than mine."
"Well, make yourself at home," she replied. "I made some tea if you want any. Just make sure to dry yourself off first." Flame grumbled in agreement, walking toward the bathroom. Nighttime sighed to herself as she went back to the kitchen to grab another mug for her unexpected visitor. As she poured the tea, Flame came back out with a towel wrapped around his head.
"That was fast," she commented. Flame shrugged and sat down at the counter.
"Yeah, whatever." He scowls, shaking his head.
"I think I found a new species of mold on my fur, ugh..." Nighttime chuckled, passing over his mug.
"Well, here. Something to take your mind off it." Flame looked at the mug, raising an eyebrow.
"What, is this thing spiked with whiskey or something?" Nighttime rolled her eyes in response.
"Just drink it," she said. Flame rolled his eyes in return, taking a swig.
Several hours pass, the two passing time by telling jokes and stories. Flame chuckles to himself after one of his tales. "...And that's how I broke my horn. Any questions?" Nighttime opened her mouth to say something, but noticed the clock on the wall.
"Oh! It's gotten so late already," she started. "And it looks like the rain died down..." Flame frowned, knowing exactly what that meant.
"Aw, come on! Don't leave me hanging like that! I told you plenty about myself, I wanna know more about you!" Nighttime shook her head.
"No, you don't want to know all that. It's kinda boring."
"No way!" Flame retorted. "I bet your foalhood was a thousand times cooler than mine! I mean, look at you!" He gestured toward her, only for Nighttime to frown.
"I'm not that interesting..." She mumbled in return. Flame scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, come on, don't sell yourself that short." Nighttime huffed in response.
"Fine. I was put into an orphanage as a foal, never got adopted, and mostly grew up alone. Is that enough for you?" Flame stared for a few seconds, mouth agape.
"Alright, you can't just say that and not expect me to want more." he said, shaking his head, "I mean, why weren't you adopted? Why were you given up for adoption in the first place? There's so many questions I need answered!"
Nighttime groaned, shoving her face in her hooves before looking toward her friend in annoyance.
"If I tell you everything, will you go home?" Flame shrugged in response.
"No promises."
Many years ago, two pegasus foals were born in Ponyville. One was a blue filly with a snow-white mane, while the other had a more maroon-shaded coat with a pink mane. They were both unique from the other foals, as their ears were considerably more fluffy, and if one looked closely, they could see tiny fangs extending out from their mouths. Unfortunately, their parents had only the means to raise one foal. They eventually came to terms that they would have to give one of them up for adoption.
"But which one should we keep, and which one should we give up?" they asked themselves. They loved both of them equally and couldn't imagine abandoning either of them. After several hours of struggling, they finally decided on keeping the older one. The next day, they walked to the orphanage with the younger filly in their hooves.
"Don't worry," said the mare behind the counter as she took the foal into her hooves. "I'll take good care of her." With heavy hearts, the two said goodbye to their foal and left to look after the older sibling. The orphanage mare looked down at the filly in her hooves and smiled as she finally opened her eyes.
"Hello there... Berry."
Several years later...
"Berry... Berry! Wake up!" I awoke with a start, tossing in my sheets.
"I'm awake, I'm awake! S-Sorry, Ms. Bright!" I shout, grunting as I fall onto the hard floor. The mare in front of me shook her head in disappointment.
"Honestly, Berry... You shouldn't sleep in so late. You missed Morning Activity!" she scolded. I frowned, looking down at the floor.
"I-I know, Ms. Bright. I'm sorry, Ms. Bright." She then dug through my closet, pulling out the same tacky clothes she always threw onto my bed.
"Now, get dressed for breakfast. If you're lucky, you'll finally be adopted today." She scoffs at me, turning to walk out.
"Yes, Ms. Bright..." I drone in a monotone voice, changing out of my pajamas into the itchy, uncomfortable clothes. I've always hated the feeling, but I still forced my way to the cafeteria, where they were serving another helping of plain oatmeal. I groaned, shuffling toward a table to eat next to the only friend I've ever been able to make: a short, pink filly who went by... Pinkie, of course. She noticed me from across the cafeteria, smiling and waving at me as I made my way over to her. I couldn't help but smile and wave back.
"Hiya, Berry!" she says as I sit next to her.
"Sleep late again?" I grunt in response, nodding as I eat a spoonful of the oatmeal. I groan as I take a bite.
“Bleh, I hate oatmeal…” I whine, trying to stuff down as much as I can without gagging.
"That's just because it doesn't have any flavor, silly!" she giggles before looking in both directions. After making sure the coast was clear, she reaches into her tail, rummaging around for a second before pulling out a small container of cinnamon powder and sprinkling it into my bowl. I stared at her in surprise for a few seconds.
"Where did you get that, and how did you do that?" Pinkie stuck out her tongue, winking playfully.
"It's a secret, Berry!" she simply responded before digging into her own oatmeal. I blink twice before deciding to ignore it, mixing the cinnamon into the oatmeal. I've learned not to question her behaviors over time, and this was no exception. Another spoonful proved it was a definite improvement.
"Thanks, Pinkie." I mumble in-between spoonfuls.
"No problem, Berry!" she responded.
"Wait, Pinkie was an orphan, too?" Flame asked, surprise clearly in his voice.
"Yeah," Nighttime replies, nodding in response, “it's actually kinda surprising. She seemed so friendly and kind. I don't understand why she would be given up like that. Or why she was never adopted."
"Okay... So I know you were given up for adoption and made a single friend... What happened after that?" Nighttime thought for a second.
"Well, a lot of nothing for a while. And then I kinda... Escaped, I guess." Flame blinked in surprise.
"Wait, what? I thought you said you were never adopted." Nighttime nodded.
"Yeah, because I escaped." she said casually, pouring another mug for herself.
"...Well, could you get to THAT part?" Nighttime rolled her eyes, shrugging.
"Fine, Mr. Impatient..." she huffed, taking a sip of her tea, "ugh, it's cold..."
"Berry!" Ms. Bright shouted in my ear, causing me to jump out of bed again.
"Ack! I'm up!" I yell, groaning as I hit the floor once again.
"I can't believe you're STILL waking up much later than everypony else!" she shouts, glaring at me.
"It's not my fault..." I mumble quietly, "I can't fall asleep at night."
"Well, figure it out. I swear, you're never going to get adopted at this rate,” the older male rolls her eyes.
She threw the same uncomfortable clothes at my bed and walked away, shaking her head once again. I stared at the clothes for a while, grumbling as I reluctantly put them on. I've decided I've had enough. I couldn't take any more of this. If I wasn't going to be adopted any time soon, then I would need to leave on my own terms. But how would I do so? It's not like I could just ask Ms. Bright if I can leave... No, I had to get crafty. I needed help. Luckily, I made friends with the craftiest, sneakiest pony in the entire orphanage. I just needed her to help somehow...
I saw her again in the cafeteria and sat next to her, saying nothing. Pinkie frowned and looked toward me.
"Something wrong? Is it the oatmeal again?" I shook my head, sighing softly as I turned my head toward her.
"Pinkie, I need your help with something."
"What is it?" she asked, looking me dead in the eyes, her expression uncharacteristically serious. I blinked in surprise, but carried on.
"I need you to distract Ms. Bright so I can escape."
She remained silent for a while before nodding.
"Got it."
Well, that was easy. I turned back to my bowl of oatmeal before she placed her hoof on my shoulder, turning me back toward her.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, concern in her eyes.
"Of course." I nodded in return. She frowned for a second, then nodded as well.
"Well... fine. We'll do it tonight. It'll be harder to get caught that way," Pinkie said, going back to her oatmeal and eating in silence. I stare at her for a while before returning to my bowl as well.
"...Hey, Berry?" She suddenly turned toward me again.
"Yeah, Pinkie?" I replied. I could see the sadness in her eyes as she muttered out an "I'll miss you" before finally picking up her bowl and putting it with the rest of the dirty dishes.
That night, Pinkie and I enacted our plan. Pinkie distracted Ms. Bright in her own usual style, and I managed to sneak out through a window, making sure I pretend I'm still sleeping by shoving a couple of pillows under my blanket. I was free. I just needed to run away and I'd be free from Ms. Bright forever. But... something kept me from running. At least, for a little while.
I stared at the window, half-expecting Pinkie to jump out to join me, but she never did. I couldn't stand there waiting to be caught, though, so I ran. I galloped away as fast and as far as my little legs could take me. Tears were streaming down my face as I left my only friend, but I was free, and I needed to stay free as long as I possibly could. It wasn't until what felt like an hour later when I finally took a break to catch my breath. My heart was pounding, my breath was ragged, and my legs were killing me. I took this time to take in my surroundings. Somehow, I had ended up in a forest. That's strange. I never knew there was a forest in Ponyville… and then I heard howling.
