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// No Turning Back 
// Story: Night Fall part 1- Into the Orphanage 
// by Fall 
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It didn’t take long for Pint and Bucky to come up with a plan to get themselves all the time they believed they needed to spend a full day with Fall. This is because, since the boys turned five, they had been allowed to visit one of the hottest spots for colts and fillies in their hometown, The Sleepover Stable.

The Sleepover Stable was located near the center of town and featured special events on Friday’s and Saturday’s where parents could drop their children off for a night of fun while they themselves got to go and enjoy some alone time together. Most fillies and colts never complained about this since everyone who worked there was super nice and the activities that lead up to bedtime were all based off of holidays, fun themes, and various other clever ideas. All a child needed was a signed permission slip, the bits to pay for the event, a sleeping bag, pillow, and a backpack filled with the various needs that filly or colt had.

“And with pickup time at 10:00 tomorrow,” stated Pint as he worked to bring his sleeping bag and pillow over his back. “We should have plenty of time to wake up, leave the orphanage, and be all smiles for our folks.”

“What about the permission slips?” asked Bucky as he effortlessly placed his sleeping bag and pillow upon his back.

“You got your parents to sign yours, right?” asked Pint with a look of concern.

“Yeah,” said Bucky. “But, if we drop them off, the ponies there will be keeping an eye out for us the whole time and will fetch our parents if they don’t find us.”

“That’s why we’re not going to turn them in,” stated Pint.

“What about the bits?” asked Bucky. “Won’t it seem weird that you still have all your bits when The Nightmare Night Haunted Mansion Holiday should cost you every bit you have?”

Pint wobbled as the weight of his sleeping bag and pillow was more than his small body could handle.

“You’re such a pipsqueak,” teased Bucky before effortlessly lifting the supplies from Pint’s back and placing them upon his.

“You just wait!” cried Pint. “My growth spurt is coming and, when I’m taller and stronger than you, we’ll see who’s the ‘pipsqueak’.”

Bucky laughed as he gestured towards his friend.
“Sweet!” he exclaimed. “You still got that lovable, pouty face that Fall never seems to get enough of.” He then gave a big, toothy grin as he said, “I can’t say I blame her. After all, you look hilarious when you’re upset, squirt.”

Pint tried to cast a spell to lift his friend off his feet. But he still had yet to master it. So all Bucky felt was a ticklish sensation under his hooves.

“Hahaha,” giggled Bucky. “I should make you angry more often.”

Pint stopped trying to cast the levitation spell.
“One of these days,” he groaned. “I’m going to throw you over a fence!”

“Then I won’t have to keep lifting you over the one that keeps Fall cooped up in that orphanage,” stated Bucky as he flapped his wings. “Would definitely make life easier on my wings to not have to haul your scrawny butt over there.”

Pint growled as he finished packing all the supplies he would need into his saddlebag.
“You remembered your Backyard Brawlers, right?” he asked with hopes of ending the previous discussion.

“Yep!” Bucky said as he lifted his right wing. “All right here and ready to beat you again-and-again-and-again-and-”

“-Great!” interrupted Pint. “Let’s get going,”

Bucky grew a big smile as he trotted after his pinto-spotted, Unicorn buddy.

***

After saying goodbye and sharing hugs with Pint’s parents, the pair headed off towards the orphanage. However, before they truly set out, they stopped by Bucky’s. Here they took the time to bury all of Pint’s bits in a spot they wouldn’t forget.

“Does this mean they are mine, too?” asked Bucky.

Pint replaced the dirt and patted down the area he had dug up to bury his bits.
“Might as well be,” he remarked. “You always seem to conveniently forget your bits.”

“Hey,” said Bucky. “I can’t help that my parents don’t give me an allowance.”

“They’d probably give you one if you actually listened to them,” stated Pint.

“What do you mean?” asked the taller, yellow Pegasus.

“For as many times as I’ve had to help you clean your room so that we could go out and play even though you knew I was coming over,” replied Pint.

“But I can’t find anything after I clean my room,” stated Bucky. “I like everything in one, neat pile.”

Pint sighed as he checked again to make sure the spot he dug up looked like the rest of the ground.
“Let’s just go,” he said.

The time was now nearly four o’clock in the afternoon. The time when The Nightmare Night Haunted Mansion Holiday for Friday, October 24th was to take place. But they were off to the orphanage. The place where they’d soon discover a night of adventure they would not soon forget.