“Eeyah!” grunted Bucky as he tossed his sleeping bag, pillow, and saddlebag over the orphanage’s fence.
“Stand back, Fall!” he cried while getting Pint’s supplies ready to be tossed over the fence.
Fall’s eyes were wide with notable concern as she watched another series of articles fly haphazardly over the fence and land with very audible thuds near her.
“Uh…” she muttered while tightening her muscles.
“Now for half-Pint!” proclaimed Bucky.
“Wait!” cried Pint as Bucky picked him up with his mouth and tossed him onto his back. “You’re not going to-”
KA-THWUMP!
“Aieee!” shrieked Pint as he was bucked up-and-over the fence.
WHUMP!
Fall tried to hide behind one of the sleeping bags as Pint landed and rolled a few times before coming to a stop.
“Okie-Dokie!” proclaimed Bucky as he reared back and started to flap his wings ever faster. “Now it’s my turn!”
GALLOP
GALLOP
FWOOSH!
FLAP-FLAP-FLAP-FLAP
“Oh, yeah!” cried Bucky proudly as he narrowly cleared the fence. However, in his excitement he forgot to keep flapping his wings as hard as he could, which caused gravity to quickly demand his return to the ground.
“Whoa!” he gasped as he fell flat on his stomach.
“Serves you right,” said Pint.
Bucky could say nothing. The breath was knocked completely out of him.
“Bucky?” asked Pint with concern.
Fall came out of hiding and looked fearful for what may have happened to her yellow, plump, Pegasus pal.
“Buh… Bucky?” she asked as she put her hoof upon his head.
“I’m…,” he gasped while bringing himself slowly to his feet. “I’m… fine…”
“What are you doing here?” asked Fall with an expression that showed far more fear than appreciation.
“We’re here to be with you,” said Pint.
“No,” said Fall meekly. “This place… It’s horrible… You don’t want to be here… Go home.”
“No can do,” stated Bucky upon catching his breath. “I only got one good jump in me and that last one was it.”
“But… You… They…,” stammered Fall.
“HEY!” cried out a mare who was poking her head around the corner. “GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW AND WASH YOUR HOOVES FOR DINNER!”
Fall squeaked at the authoritative tone the mare was taking.
“Yes,” she said nervously. “Of course, Ms. Care Feather.”
“THAT GOES FOR YOU TWO, TOO!” she boomed while glaring towards Pint and Bucky. “GET YOUR FLANKS IN HERE, WASH UP, AND GET SET FOR DINNER!”
Bucky and Pint looked at each other, exchanged glances, and replied, “Yes, Ms. Care Feather.”
Ms. Care Feather didn’t move. She instead kept a fixated watch on Pint, Bucky, and Fall.
“Hurry,” said Fall. “If she has to ask again we’ll get dish duty.”
“Dish duty?” asked Bucky.
Pint looked to his friend after getting a close look at the panic he noticed in Fall’s facial expression and how she was moving as fast as she could towards the mare.
“Whatever it is,” he said. “I don’t think I want it.”
***
Upon entering the orphanage, Pint and Bucky could hear the sound of crying come from almost everywhere. Mares and stallions alike were running around with unpleasant expressions as they raced towards the crying while shouting towards any children who might be between them and the source of the cries.
“Whoa,” said Bucky. “Not even my dad gets that mean whenever I forget to clean my room.”
“Fall!” called out a mare from another dining area. “You and those boys with you better get in here now.”
“Of course, Ms. Powder Puff,” stated Fall. “We were just about to wash our hooves.”
“Snap to it, then!” growled Ms. Powder Puff. “I won’t accept tardiness at my dinner table!”
***
Fall lead Pint and Bucky to a bathroom in which was twice the size of Bucky’s bedroom. It was lined with sinks on one side and open-door stalls with toilets on the other side.
Pint felt his bladder tighten upon noticing the lack of privacy that appeared to be going on with the toilets.
“Where’s the doors?” he asked while gesturing towards the stalls with no doors.
“Doors?” asked Fall.
“Uh, yeah,” panicked Pint. “You know. Umm. So you have privacy when you have to use the little colt’s room?”
Fall blinked, but said nothing.
“Whoa,” remarked Bucky as he dried off his hooves. “It’s not good to be pee shy here.”
Pint felt extremely uncomfortable.
“What, uh, is ‘pee shy’?” asked Fall.
“It’s-”
“-Nothing!” interjected Pint. “Now let’s get to dinner before we get that whatever that punishment is.”
Fall sighed, “Dish duty.”
“Yeah,” said Pint as he held the door for Bucky and Fall to head out.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “they give it to me anyway.”
***
The trio arrived at the dinner table just as Ms. Powder Puff started to place portioned plates in front of the fillies and colts.
“Shouldn’t you be in the Pre-School room?” she asked Pint as she sat down his plate.
“Huh?” asked Pint.
“Fall!” boomed Powder Puff. “Did you let this colt into the school agers room?”
“I…-“ stammered Fall.
“DISH DUTY!” Ms. Powder Puff proclaimed while using her unicorn magic to pull Pint out of his chair and hover him out of the room. “I don’t know what she promised or said to you, but you’re not a big colt and need put in your proper place.”
“But,” Pint tried to say.
“I simply will not have an accident on my clean chairs or deal with your immature desire to fling food or smear it all over your face,” she stated while taking Pint out of the room and into the other dining area where the younger fillies and colts were.
“Thanks, Fall,” one of the kids said. “We can always count on you to get us out of dish duty.”
Fall lowered her head.
Bucky looked to Fall, who was noticeably smaller than Pint, and wondered why Ms. Powderpuff didn’t haul her out like she did with Pint. Something wasn’t right.
The other children laughed and carried on happily upon knowing dish duty was now all on Fall. One even took the chance to take the oat burger on her plate for themselves while dumping a pile of peas from their plate down on her’s to ‘replace’ it.”
Fall sighed.
“Hey!” cried Bucky. “What’s the deal stealing her oat burger!”
“What’s your problem?” the filly replied prior to taking a bite from the oat burger. “She doesn’t mind.”
Bucky looked towards Fall who simply had a defeated look upon her face as she slowly gobbled up the peas.
“You’re a bully!” he cried while slamming his hoof down on the table.
The children gasped upon hearing Bucky’s fierce action.
“WHAT WAS THAT?” asked Ms. Powder Puff as she galloped into the room.
The filly who stole Fall’s oat burger began to cry as she pointed towards Bucky and said, “He. He said he was going to hurt me!”
“Oh, really?” she asked while hovering over Bucky. “Then you, too, shall have dish duty. Perhaps you’ll learn to control your temper after cleaning all of tonight’s dishes with Fall?”
“But…” Bucky tried to say.
“But, nothing!” scoffed Ms. Powder Puff. “Now finish your meals so we can get onto the next item of the schedule and you and Fall can get these dishes done.”
The filly smirked towards Bucky as she took another satisfied bite from the oat burger.
“You lied!” cried Bucky.
“So?” asked the filly.
The other kids glared towards Bucky. Their stares gave him the creeps. So he decided to eat his food, which tasted worse than the food in the school cafeteria, and thought on what could be happening to his friend, Pint.