//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 - Despair and Determination 
// Story: A House is Not a Home 
// by Yosh-E-O 
//------------------------------//

	Pint and Bucky caught up with Fall in what appeared to be a large room tightly packed with bunk beds.  Her face was buried under a worn down pillow on the bottom bunk near a windowless and dimly lit corner.
“Fall?” asked Pint as he trotted towards her.

“Go away!” she sobbed through the pillow. 

Bucky was speechless as all his senses were telling him that this was not a good place to be and that they should get out as soon as possible.

“No,” said Pint.  “We won’t leave you.”

“Why?” asked Fall from within the pillow with a sniffle.  “You’ll only get beat up and treated horribly by staying with me.”

Bucky looked around the crowded bunk room.  He noticed that all the bunks had little stands by them in which had various personal items.  All of them except Fall’s.  Her’s was empty and the bunk above her had a barren mattress.
“What is this place?” asked Bucky with a hint of fear in his tone.

“Yes,” said Pint as he put a comforting hoof upon Fall’s back.  “Why is everyone so mean?”

Fall fought back her tears, sat up, snorted, and wiped her eyes.
“This is a terrible place,” she whimpered.  “You should leave before they come and think you’re my friends.”

“What’s wrong with being your friends?” asked Pint.

“Every pony should have friends,” stated Bucky.

“We’re not leaving,” stated Bucky as he put his hoof over her hoof.  “Not without you.”

Fall sniffled as more tears rolled from her eyes.
“No I don’t,” she choked.

“Yes you do!” insisted Pint.

“We’re going to get you out of here!” proclaimed Bucky.

Fall’s eyes grew wide with fear as she gestured for the colts to quiet down.
“They’ll hurt us all if they find you here with me,” she stated.  “Or they’ll take away more of my headband.”  She then began to cry even more as she tapped her hoof against the headband in her mane.  “This is all I have left of my mother.  Or, at least, that’s what I remember the nicer ponies telling me when I was really little.”

Pint was having a terrible time taking in all the awful things in which Fall was telling them.
“Where is your mother?” he asked.

Fall put her hooves to her face and began to cry uncontrollably.

“What’s going on in there?” snapped a stallion.  The sound of approaching hoof steps approaching soon after.

“Fall?” asked Pint.

“Go!” she cried.  “Out the window!  While you still have time!”

Bucky turned to see a large window on the opposite side of the room.

“But we can’t-” insisted Pint.

“-You must!” sobbed Fall.

“You kids better not be making a mess in there!” the stallion’s voice boomed.

Bucky ran for the window and unlatched it.  It was a short fall down into the house’s yard with a clear shot for the fence.
“We got to go, Pint!” he exclaimed while gesturing to the window he was now pressing open.

Pint looked to his friend and then back to Fall.
“We’ll get you out of here, Fall,” he stated confidently.  “I promise.”

Pint dashed as fast as he could for the window and leapt out of it with Bucky close behind.  Seconds later the stallion was in the room.
“What’s going on in here?” he asked while looking around until he spotted Fall.  “Oh, it’s you.”

Fall was still crying as the scruffy-haired, elderly stallion with a faded blue coat approached her.
“You’re always causing trouble,” he said.  “You definitely don’t act your age in the least.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” she said.

The stallion felt a breeze and then looked to see the window was opened.
“Did you do that?” he asked while gesturing towards the open window.

“Yes, sir,” she said.  “I just wanted to-”

“-You know that’s prohibited!” he interjected.  “Now you stay here in your bunk and don’t come out until supper!”

“Yes, sir,” she said.

Pint and Bucky could hear the whole discussion from where they landed beneath the window.
“I promise, Fall.” said Pint.  “I’m going to get you out of this horrible place.”

“And you can count on me to make it happen,” assured Bucky.