She dug deeper. Her hooves were chipped from the hard surface. Wet cold earth stuck to her coat, covering most of her body. Beads of sweat fell from her forehead. The many hours of work made her energy drain out. Still, she dug deeper.
Maud was nearly done with the new home for Mr. Rocky and his family. A deep hole in the ground will be a perfect place to live for sedimentary rocks.
“Only a few more inches.” She used her remaining strength to widen the hole. I wish I had my own shovel like the other foals from the neighboring farms. But they wouldn't lend me one.
Maud was almost done with her work, when she felt something strike her coat. And it wasn’t just the dirt anymore. It fell from above. Every second there was more of it. Rain. The first drops felt good on her coat, but soon the earth under her became sticky and slippery. More time passed by, and soon, she stood knee-deep in dark slurry.
Maud shook her head. It was time to get out. She hoisted herself up the ladder. The mud made the ladder dangerously slippery.
Maud frowned when she came out of the hole. Dark clouds covered the sky. The rain struck the ground hard as the cold wind whipped through her purple mane.
The ladder had to come out of the hole. But Maud was a little filly. Under normal circumstances, without equipment, it would be impossible. But boredom gave her ideas. Right now, she knew exactly how to pull the ladder out.
She tied the rope to a nearby tree, and started pulling. Sure enough, the ladder slid slowly out of the hole. Maud sighed with relief. All that was left, was to put the ladder back into the shed, like her father had told her.
CRACK!
Maud jumped. The unmistakable crescendo of thunder was followed by a brilliant flash of light. Storm. She couldn't stand storms. She knew her grandfather died in one of those. There was no time to lose. She picked up some branches and covered the hole with them, nearly forgetting about Mr. Rocky and his family. As quick as possible, she scooped them into her saddlebag. Without a backwards glance, she ran towards the house.
When she finally reached the door, the storm has gotten much more intense. The door creaked behind her, as she walked in.
“Oh, Maudie, you’re here!” Granny Pie came out of the kitchen. “I was worried you got lost in the storm!” she said as she examined Maud from head to hooves.
“I didn't.” Maud's voice was shaky from trembling.
“Yes, I see...” Granny Pie said. “Not to mention, you're wet. But why are you so dirty, rocky-pie?”
“I was digging a hole for Mr. Rocky and his family.” She had to admit, she was dirty. Her coat was soggy, water dripped from her mane.
“Hmm… A hole? Is it deep?”
Maud nodded.
"Could someone fall inside?"
Maud nodded.
“Then you’re going to have to fill it up when the storm is over.”
Maud looked at her hooves, her eyes becoming blurry.
“I know you’re disappointed, but someone could get hurt. Now go upstairs, we need to get you clean,” Granny Pie said.
Maud nodded. She dragged her hooves to the stairs, hearing a strange noise beside her. It was something similar to laughing, or whatever Granny called that noise. “Can Pinkamena stay down here alone?” Maud glanced down at her laughing sister.
“Oh, she won’t stay here alone for too long. I’ll only set the water for you, and I’ll be back,” said Granny Pie. “Pinkie's still a baby, but she'll be fine.”
But when Pinkie found herself alone, she started wandering around the room, bumping against the walls and giggling, like little foals do. She gazed at the open door, eyes wide with curiosity, and crawled outside.
“Done, now hop in,” Granny Pie said.
Maud dipped one hoof in the water. It was cold, but felt refreshing and pleasing. Cautiosly, she settled herself into the bath, her head resting above the water.
“Would you like this in your bath?” Granny held up a yellow bottle in her hoof. “There’s not much, but maybe you'd like to try it.”
“What is it?” Maud asked.
“It’s bubble bath. I got it on my trip to Ponyville. The ponies there love it.”
Maud nodded. Granny opened the bottle and poured some of the contents inside the bath. She mixed the water with her hoof. White bubbles appeared on the surface.
“I didn’t know you were a unicorn, Granny,” Maud said.
Granny Pie laughed. “It’s chemistry-” Maud widened her eyes. “-You’ll know when you’re older.”
Maud nodded, sliding further into the water.
They sat for a while, mixing the water to create more bubbles and foam. Maud felt herself drifting off to sleep. The water was soothing, and bubble bath was really magical.
“Granny, don’t you have to go to Pinkie?” Maud finally asked.
Granny Pie gasped. “You’re right! She’s so little. I hope she’s fine,” she said. “Can you stay here alone?”
Maud nodded.
“Be sure to be quiet when you come out. Your mother’s still ill, and she needs her rest,” Granny said.
Maud nodded again.
“If you need anything, just call me,” Granny continued.
Maud nodded the third time. “I’m almost done.”
“Alright, Maudie.” Granny turned away and trotted down the stairs.
Maud sighed. She stayed in the water for three more minutes. Reaching for the towel Granny had set out, Maud dried herself. Slowly, she walked out the door and walked down the stairs
Downstairs, she saw the main door hanging on only one hinge. The wind was blowing hard, some of the dead leaves piled inside the room. Raindrops were dripping, the storm was raging on. Granny Pie paced back and forward looking under the table and chairs in the room.
“Those pegasi and unicorns can deal with their children when they get their surges, but not us! This is worse! I thought she would be over them, but no! And it’s all my fault...” Granny Pie muttered to herself.
Maud's eyes widened. “Granny, what happened?”
“Maud, we’re lucky your mother can’t see this and your father is coming back tomorrow,” said Granny Pie looking more serious than Maud has ever seen her. “Put on your coat, we need to clean up this mess.”
“I’ll get the broom.”
Granny looked at Maud with her eyebrows raised. Maud simply pointed to the file of dead leaves behind her.
“Not this mess." Granny shook her head. "The mess we made, or I made, by leaving Pinkie alone. Can you help me?”
Maud nodded. She walked up to the hanger where her gray as a rock coat was. She slowly put one hoof through the first hole, and then the other.
“Quick, we don’t have time to be messing around.” Granny Pie rushed over to Maud and buttoning her coat. She slid into her own coat, and walked out of the door.
There was a loud clanking noise outside. It was the sound of rain hitting the pipes of the old Pie house. The windmill moved, pushed by the wind. It was gray outside. Everything was gray. The rocks, the ground, the sky, the trees. Finding a bright pink spot that was Pinkamena couldn't be that hard. Could it?
Maud was good at Hide and Seek, but this couldn’t be any different. She used to play it with her Granny and some rocks, before Pinkamena came.
“Maud, you stay over here. If you see Pinkie somewhere near, catch her. She’ll be easy to spot. I’m going to look behind the house and further in the fields.”
Maud looked around. There was no sign Pinkamena. Concentrating, she thought of the best hiding places she could come up with if she was playing Hide and Seek. Just then, she noticed something. A pink spot.
She was a few feet away from her. A few feet too far. Maud only blinked, and the pink spot disappeared. Rain poured into Maud's opened mouth. As quick as possible, Maud raced towards Pinkie. She was closing ground now.
SLAM!
With a loud thud, Maud fell to the earth, her hoof caught on a rock. At that moment, she spotted the pink spot, crawling from behind a nearby rock. She got mad at the slippery rock and Pinkamena, but she still loved them both. She tried to get up, but was too weak. She watched helplessly as the pink spot slowly crawled away.
“Stop, Pinkamena!” Maud shouted.
There was something strange about her hoof. It hurt and stung. A red liquid came out of a small cut. Blood. She got up, rubbed her bruises and bit her lip, trying to stop herself from crying.
Pinkamena was still close. Maud could still catch her. Sliding forward, she grabbed her sister. But she could not stop. The momentum sent the pair sliding over the branches. With a sickening crunch, the branches broke beneath their weight. Before she had time to scream, she slid into the dark pit. Pinkamena fell right into her hooves. No broken bones, good.
But they were lost.
Alone in the dark.
In a small hole.
Her own hole.
No way out.
She cried.
“Maud! Maud! Where are you!?”
Granny looked in the fields in search of Pinkie, but found nothing. When she came back to the front of the house, Maud was nowhere to be seen. She searched for the fillies inside the small house. Her scan of the few rooms proved fruitless. Where could they be?
“Those little fillies will get a cold!” Granny Pie paced back and forward. She gasped. “Or worse!”
Adelaide Pie, or Granny Pie, as her granddaughters called her, considered herself to be an optimistic, smiling, energetic mare, but when it came to family, things weren't that simple. She lost not only one, but two fillies. Her own granddaughters.
"'What have I done?"
There was no time for crying, though. She decided to search the rest of the farm. It would take time, she thought, but it was the only way.
Maud tightened her grip around the tiny foal. Pinkamena's body warmed her. Maud couldn’t see anything or hear anything except her sister’s soft breathing. But Pinkamena was becoming impatient, scared and hungry, which eventually lead into crying. Maud knew something about this.
Pinkamena began the fit. It came out first as a soft sob, then, it became louder and louder, until she screamed, wailed and kicked. Maud thought of every way her mother used to quiet Pinkamena at home. Give her milk? Well, there was no way of getting it now.
“Shh, Pinkamena,” Maud tried. It was no use.
Maybe a lullaby? Yes, that could work. But what lullaby? Maybe I could think of one on the go?
Lullay, little pink spot
we'll see the bright of day.
The moon is out
and so we will be.
Maud liked her lullaby. She thought of thinking up some more lyrics if she ever got out. Pinkie seemed to calm down a bit after Maud's singing, but was still sobbing. Maud repeated her lullaby several times. Somehow, as if by unicorn magic, she felt less lonely and more hopeful to get out soon.
Maybe she could make up a plan?
Or maybe, just maybe, someone would save them.
Granny Pie heard screaming and crying. It sounded like Pinkie, though she could be wrong. As she grew older, her hearing failed her more every day. But the sound remained.
She tried following the crying as best she could. The noise was dying down. Was she going the wrong way? Pressure began to build in her body. She didn’t know if she could take it any longer. Her bones hurt and ached, her back felt as if it was about to snap. The weather did not make the search any easier. Rain poured, her thick glasses were covered with mist. Her age was beggining to show.
After a few more steps she heard a soft sweet voice. Granny pricked up her ears and walked forward. The voice grew more distinct. It was singing. The closer she got, the louder the singing got. As she moved closer, she nearly fell into a hole. Her heart raced as she glanced down.
There, in the hole lay two small fillies, one six years old, the other one about four months old.
“Maud Elizabeth Pie, is that you?” Granny Pie asked.
The older filly looked up. “Yes.”
Granny gasped. “I was worried about you! I told you to stay in front of the house. Why did you run away?”
“I saw Pinkie.”
“Ah, yes.” Granny put her hoof up to her face. “Don't you ever do that to me again. Do you want me dead? Now I have to find a way to get you fillies out.”
"There's a rope on the branch, Granny," Maud said.
"Alright..." Granny turned away and walked up to the tree.
Maud saw Granny’s faded pink mane from below.
“Will you lift us, Granny?” she asked.
“I have to try.” Granny started that weird expression that Pinkie wore so often, and let one of the endings of the rope down. Maud grabbed Pinkie in one hoof, and with the other, she held on to the rope. She was weak, dirty and wet, but if Granny could help her get out, she had to hold on.
Maud and Pinkie started moving up. Slowly, but persistently, they rose up, until they saw Granny. The elderly mare looked exhausted, gasping for air with bags under her eyes.
“It's good to have you,” Granny said, hugging the two fillies. “Now, Maud, put Pinkie on my back. We're going home,” Granny said with relief.
Maud did as her Granny told her to do. They both walked back to the house. Single drops of rain dripped from the clouds. A crescent moon and couple of stars adorned the sky. Pinkamena fell fast asleep, softly snoring.
When they arrived before the wooden doors of the farmhouse, Maud spoke what she meant to say for a while.
“I'm sorry, Granny,” she said. “And thank you.” She came up to her, and gave her a hug.
“It was my fault. I'm sorry.” Granny made that strange expression again.
“Granny, what's on yours and Pinkamena's faces?” Maud pointed to the corners of Granny’s, and then sleeping Pinkamena's faces.
“Do you mean my smile? The way the corners of my mouth go up?”
“Yes.”
Granny smiled. “You don’t see this often, do you? Neither your father nor your mother ever smile. I wish they did it though.”
Maud thought of it. “Do I smile?”
“Well, no... Not really. But it's fine. Don't you force it. A smile should come off naturally, when you feel happy.”
“Granny, am I happy?”
“That’s a question only you can answer,” Granny said.
Maud didn’t understand that, much. Her Granny often spoke riddles that Maud didn’t understand. But she was fine with that, Maud like Granny the way she was. Maybe she even liked her more than Mr. Rocky. Maud smiled, or at least she thought she did. She felt happy.
Maud and Granny were sitting in the living room. They had already put Pinkie to sleep.
“Maud, before you go to bed, I have a question,” said Granny.
Maud looked at her.
“Did you make up the lullaby which you sang to Pinkie in the hole?”
“Yes.” Maud nodded.
“You have a talent. Maybe you want to write songs? I know you’re young, but you can think about it.”
Maud thought about it. “Yes.”
Granny smiled. “Goodnight then.”
“Goodnight.” Maud walked up on the creaky stairs, and to her bed. She stopped midway. “Granny, will you tell father
and mother about what happened?”
“No. I wouldn't want to get in trouble.” Granny winked and gave Maud a wide smile.
What a strange sight it is. It seems so clear, yet the image is blurry. There are little snippets of a black path. The path is covered by thick coal-like branches. Or are they flowers? Dark trees tower above, and cover up the sky. But are those trees? It’s hard to tell. The only thing that’s in the image for sure is a little pink pony. It walks without stopping. But it sees something. A light gleams before it.
It's so bright...
Dark shapes walk before it. One of them is a mare. She came from the moon. The pink pony covers its head. The darkness laughs at it. It hates it, and yet loves it. The pony tries to say something, it lifts its hooves, opens its mouth. But nothing happens. And before the pony can do more, the darkness consumes it leaving only a dark pit.
She’s gone.
Pinkamena opened her eyes. With her heart pumping like crazy, she wiped away the tears that streaked her small face. She burrowed herself deeper in the blanket, wrapped tight around her body. Glancing at the broken mirror before her, she could see her mane tangled up in several slight curls, something so unusual in her everyday life. Sweat covered her coat, and her bed-sheets were wet. And yet, she refused to lift up her covers. Something might have been hiding in the corner.
“Maudie,” Pinkamena whispered, turning around to face her sister. “Maudie! Wake up, Maud!”
There was no answer.
She climbed off her bed and walked up to her sleeping sister. “Wake up.” Pinkamena nudged the blanket. “Wake up, please, Maud.”
The blanket slightly moved. Muttering came from underneath, “Oh my...”
“Maud!” Drops of tears fell down from Pinkamena's face.
“Shh...” The checkered blanket fell off, revealing Maud's shimmering blue eyes . “Ponies are sleeping, Pinkamena.”
“But, Maud–”
“Shh!”
Pinkamena clasped her hooves around her mouth. “Sorry.”
“What is it? It’s the middle of the night, Pinkamena.”
Pinkamena hopped onto the bed. “Well...I had a dream, and… And there was this forest, and I was there!” She lifted up her forearms, wildly gesturing. “And then this black...thing appeared, and it tried to eat me! And I'm really scared!” She hid her face in her sister’s violet mane.
They both sat in silence. The only audible noise was the breeze outside, and Pinkamena's soft sobbs, slowly dying out after a couple minutes.
Maud brushed her hoof through Pinkamena's coat. The tears on her face had long dried out.
“But, Maudie, I can’t sleep.” Pinkamena lifted her face up.
“Of course you can. You just close your eyes.”
“I can’t. I don't want to sleep. I don't want to see that... Blackness again.” Pinkamena shook her head.
Maud’s eyes were set in a stony glare. “You need to sleep.”
“But I can't, Maud. I can’t!” Pinkamena stared at her sister with little tears in her eyes. “And I'm thirsty... Can we get some water?”
Maud nodded, sighing. While sticking to her sister like glue, Pinkamena stepped down the stairs and into the kitchen.
It was a small, gray room, with only two wooden worktops by the walls. A tiny patch of moonlight shone through the broken window, being the only thing that kept the kitchen from staying pitch black. In the corner stood a table for six ponies, but hardly fitting all of the family at once. A dead flower from Parents' Day stuck out of a white vase, with no water inside.
Maud lighted up a candle. The flame illuminated a small patch on the walls. “Water?” Maud made sure.
“Yes.” Pinkamena nodded.
Maud took out a glass from the cupboard above her. “Can you see if we have anymore of it in the bucket?”
Pinkamena glanced to the side. “Some.” She pushed the bucket to her sister's side.
While filling the glasses up, a noise flew above the sisters’ heads.
“Maud, did you hear that?” Pinkamena asked in a hushed voice
“I–”
Another noise resounded.
Whispers.
Chills ran down Pinkamena's spine. Every last bit of her mane straightened out. “Did you he-”
“Don't say anything,” Maud whispered, shutting her eyes.
Pinkamena clutched to her sister's leg, not daring to lift up her eyelids. Thoughts flashed in her head. The forest. The pony. The dark. The two sisters stood in silence and listened. More whispering came from above.
“Maudie, I'm scared!” Tears fell from Pinkamena's face.
There was no answer.
“Maud!”
More whispering.
“What's behind us?”
“Nothing.” Maud shook her head. “It's just wind. It has to be wind.” She nudged Pinkamena’s side. “Just… Let's just go get that water out of the well.”
Goosebumps formed on the sisters’ coat, as they walked into the night breeze. Pinkamena clenched to her sister’s body, walking between the various igneous rocks on the ground. She knew they were igneous rocks. Her father had told her. They were his favorite. Normally, the rocks looked welcoming, but not tonight in the bright moonlight. It felt as if they watched her each and every step, waiting for the right moment to jump on poor Pinkamena. She eyed them carefully, making sure they would not do that.
Pinkamena looked up at her sister. Maud kept looking straight, hardly blinking at all. Was she not afraid of the outside? Pinkamena took another glance at the rocks. The sedimentary rock section started. Those were a lot less intimidating. And better, it meant they were close to the well – their destination.
Sure enough, when Pinkamena looked up, the well was right before their eyes. It was a bit of a scary sight. One time, her Granny told her, that when she was young, she knew a pony that fell inside one of those. But Granny didn’t reveal what happened to the pony inside. I wonder why?
Pinkamena decided to stay a few steps away from the well, just in case. Maud let the bucket fall inside it. Were they ever going to see it again? Pinkamena held her breath, until the bucket came out, completely unharmed, and better, full of water. Carefully, Maud lifted the bucket and put it on a cart next to the well. She used it as a tool to drag along the bucket inside the house.
A gust of wind whipped through the sisters’ manes. More whispers. Pinkamena squeaked, and rushed to her sister’s side, nearly pushing her into the well.
“Pinkamena, watch out!” Maud glanced down at the shaking filly.
“But I heard something. Again!”
Shaking her head, Maud assured, “It’s just the wind, we’re outside.”
Pinkamena felt a strange poke on her back. Something scraped her coat. With trembling lips, she turned around. Just an inch away stood…a tree. That was it. Pinkamena sighed with relief. Really, there was nothing to worry about. Like Maud said, the noises were just the wind, and the poking was just a dried branch of an old tree.
“Let’s go,” Maud ordered.
Pinkamena stepped to her sister’s side. They slowly walked towards their house, dragging the bucket on the cart. Maud hung her head, not bothering to look up or around her. The wind whistled in Pinkamena’s ears, making her squeal even more. It’s just the wind... With every step, dead leaves crumpled beneath their hooves, making loud crackling noises. Just leaves... Those are just leaves... Pinkamena looked up. She noticed a pony on the moon. She recognised it from her dream. But it was a lot worse in real life. She shut her eyes. Maybe it was better not to see anything? She knew where to go. She could spare herself the looks of the crooked trees and the ever-present rocks around her. The only thing that gave Pinkamena some sort of comfort was the sound of the two more pairs of hoof-steps beside her.
What made her panic was the fact that the hoof-steps had stopped.
She slowly lifted up one eyelid, and after a second, she dared to open the other one. It was still dark. And she could see no one around her. Not even a single pony. Worse yet, she was standing in the sedimentary rock west-section. Or at least she thought it was the sedimentary rock west-section. Or maybe it was east? Or maybe these were igneous rocks…?
But that wasn’t the point. She was lost, and no pony was around. She didn’t like that. Everyone crumbled around her at home, worrying that she’d run away or get lost. Like she just did. But it couldn’t be her fault. She always had to stay at home, while Mother, Father and sometimes Maud worked outside. But Granny always talked to her then. She would stay with Pinkamena and talk a lot. But Pinkamena didn’t really like talking. She didn’t really like doing anything. Especially getting lost in the west-east section of the farm, filled with sedimentary igneous rocks. She wasn’t even sure where she was.
With tears in her eyes, she decided to move forwards. Wherever forward was. This time, she had her eyes wide open. Every now and then, she quietly called out her sister’s name. She didn’t dare to shout, or Maud would get mad at her again, saying, “Be quiet, ponies are sleeping!”
But how come Maud didn’t notice her going in the other direction? Maybe it was because Maud got lost, not me. Yes, that had to be right.
Still walking, Pinkamena noticed no signs of her getting closer to the house. It seemed as if she was getting even further. More tears welled up. Instead of walking forward, she was walking backward, if that made any sense. She could definitely hear clattering in the distance. It was like that one time, when Granny decided to make oatmeal in a much larger cauldron than usual. It was too heavy, so Granny dropped it. It made that same clatter when it hit the floor.
Maybe some pony was making some oatmeal? Pinkamena had to admit, she was getting hungry. She trotted in the direction of the noises. A definite smell of something burning filled the air. Burned oatmeal?
Pinkamena stood before some big bushes. She moved the branches out of her face, and stared into the dark. A little house with a flashing light in its smallest window stood at the corner of the clearing. Her heart pumped faster. What could it be? Combined with the smell of burning oatmeal, the whole sight was quite peculiar. Most importantly, though, it did not look like her house at all.
Not thinking about the danger she could face, Pinkamena walked closer to the house. The only thing about it that seemed to resemble her own house, were the old wooden planks, covering the whole building. The rest of it was a lot different. Pinkamena’s house wasn’t that crooked and weird smelling. Of course, there were times that her home did need some refreshing, but it never came to such a point.
Pinkamena peeked through the broken glass of the window. A bright light made her eyes squint. Apart from the constant flashes, she noticed something moving. A blurry figure whipped before her eyes, obscuring the light for just a second. She could feel a strange choking in her throat. Tears slipped into her eyes. It was just like her nightmare. She took a step back. The smell wasn’t burned oatmeal.
It was the smell of burning wood.
The flames stung her coat, even though the fire was far from her. The white light that had flickered before went off completely. Instead, orange wisps of fire began to fill the room. Pinkamena looked at it from afar, crying at the sight. She stepped further back, but tripped over her hooves, landing on a pile of dried up leaves. As she looked up, she noticed the bare branches forming a great dome above her. Its black bark seemed even less inviting than the igneous rocks – and that had to mean something. Tears welled up in Pinkamena’s eyes. It was getting hard to breathe. She coughed. Once, twice, five times. Her eyelids felt heavy. Suddenly, everything went black.
“Miss? Are you fine, miss?”
Pinkamena lifted up her eyelids. Before her, stood a white pony in a bright orange coat. He had a strange red helmet, and his face wore a confused expression.
"Miss?" he repeated again. His eyes glanced straight into Pinkamena's. They were red, as if fire burned inside. "Oh, pony feathers... I'm asking one last time. Are you okay, miss?"
Pinkamena shook her head and turned it away.
"Would you mind telling me what's wrong?" the stallion leaned closer.
It was getting dangerous. Surely, the pony had bad intentions. Otherwise he wouldn't be so cavil. He leaned even closer and nearly whispered, “Kid, I need to know.”
And that was it. Mother and Father always told Pinkamena not to speak with strangers, or else something bad could happen.
Therefore, without thinking too much, Pinkamena sprung up and galloped forward, far away from the shed and the stallion in the strange red helmet.
“Darn it, now I know why Red Tart doesn’t want a foal.”
Yes, he was a strange pony.
After a few minutes of non-stop running, Pinkamena’s heart pumped as fast as the speed of lightning. She took many short breaths, but they didn’t help. Still, she didn’t stop running. A constant feeling of someone watching followed her in every hoofstep. The pony on the moon still stared at her with that angry expression, and the darkness seemed to swallow up her whole. But maybe she was getting close, and finally moving forward.
"No, no, no..." Maud paced around the front porch.
One hour has passed since Pinkamena disappeared. Just gone, no sign where or why. Maybe all of those whispers weren't just the wind? Shivers ran down her spine. But that was impossible, ghosts didn't exist, right? Right?
Oh,couldn't this night just end?
Maud sighed, letting her head down. Oh, Pinkamena, why do you always get lost?
"Maud! Maud!"
That voice... It sounded so familiar...
"Pinka–"
"Maudie, go inside!" Pinkamena galloped closer and closer.
"Wha– Ough!" Pinkamena tumbled down on her sister breaking down the half opened door.
"I'm so scared!" Pinkamena hid her face in her sister's mane.
The wind howled outside, the floor creaked. "Me, too."
It took only one glance for the two sisters to instantly understand each other. They both rushed up the stairs, entering the first room on the second floor. After a short while, they both realized where they were.
“Granny!” They jumped on their grandmother’s bed.
“Who is-- Girls, what are you doing here?” Granny asked, as the two sisters got under the covers.
Pinkamena raised her hoof. “Ooh, ooh, I’ll explain. First, there was this forest and then I woke up and I was scared, and then I woke up Maud, and she wouldn’t let me not sleep. And then we got water, but I trailed off, and there was oatmeal and this pony in a red hat and then I fou–”
“That’s enough explaining.” Granny smiled jokingly.
“Fine, but I will tell you the rest later.” Pinkamena snuggled into her granny’s coat, making a long yawn.
“You fillies better get to bed.”
“We are in bed, Granny,” Pinkamena said.
“Not in our own bed,” Maud corrected.
Pinkamena widened her eyes. “No, no, no, I don’t want to be scared ever again. The pony on the moon stares at me when I’m in my bed, and I don’t like the pony. It gave me a nightmare. And then on the way back home, it kept watching me.”
“The pony on the moon? You mean the Mare in the Moon? Oh, that’s a very interesting story. Do you want to hear it?”
“Ye–”
“No!” Pinkamena interrupted. “I don’t want to hear stories! I will never go to sleep.” The wind blew into the room, causing the door to slam. “I will never get out of this bed!” She hid her head under the pillow and burst into tears.
“Oh, Pinkie… You’ve got to stand up tall. It’ll be alright.” Granny petted her mane.
“Can we go to sleep?” Maud asked.
“I will never go to sleep!” Pinkamena's muffled voice came from underneath the pillow.
“Would it help if I sang you a lullaby?” Granny nudged it.
Pinkamena peeked out and nodded.
“Alright. Lay down and close your eyes, girls.” With that, Granny started a quiet song.
Pinkie… and Maud, you gotta stand up tall
You’ll see that they can’t hurt you
Just laugh to make them disappear
“What’s lau–”
“Oh.”
Whoop it up with the weepy
“I love you, Granny.” Pinkamena’s heavy eyes closed.
Granny gave her kiss on the cheek. “I love you, too, Pinkie.”
