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Pink in the Dark2,733 words
Fear2,917 words

Pink in the Dark

Pink out in the dark.

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.

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Dragonroar

Dragonroar #1 · Mar 29th, 2014 · · ·

Aww, that's the cutest chapter I've ever read. I'm so tracking this.

Leafall

Leafall #2 · Mar 29th, 2014 · · ·

4152041
Thank you so much! Your comment really means a lot to me, due to the fact that I'm pretty insecure on the internet, heh...
I'm glad you liked it My hands were trembling when I clicked the "publish' button, so seeing that someone likes my work is very, very nice.

Bluegrass Brooke

Bluegrass Brooke #3 · Mar 29th, 2014 · · ·

Great story. I really love how you're developing Maud and Pinkie's relationship. Your OC Granny Pie seems really realistic, a difficult feat for OC's, especially on your first story. I especially love the fact that her personality is like Pinkie's, it explains where she got her humor from. I adored how Maud was so concerned for Pinkie. I felt so bad for her when Pinkie fell into the hole she made

Your wording and grammar could use some help, but it's not terrible. Mostly it was the repetitive wording that bothered me (for example you used 'Maud' like 6 times in one paragraph). Another thing, you use a lot of 'said-isms', it's where you tack on 'said' after a character's lines. There's no need for them, and it's a little distracting. It's all really easily fixed errors that make the reading a bit rough.

Would you perchance like an editor/proofreader? I like your story and would love to help out. I may not be the best with grammar, but I can certainly point out and smooth over the other parts. Oh, I'm also part of author's helping authors so I'd love to do a review exchange with you. Let me know.

Leafall

Leafall #4 · Mar 29th, 2014 · · ·

4152629
First of all: I am so grateful for your comment! I really appreciate that you took time to give me such an informative piece of advice!
Second: I'm glad you noticed that about Granny Pie, it was my goal to make her similar to the present-day Pinkie.
Oh, thank you for pointing that out. I'm still a new author, so I am learning those things...
I'll take a look at the repetition. And about the 'said tag'... I'll also take a look at it, but I've read in many places that it's OK to use them. But maybe I did overuse it...
Third: Would you really like to edit for me? That would be so awesome!
I'm overwhelmed by your proposition. I'm not from an English-speaking country (though I do speak it fluently), so it's a bit of a difficulty for me.
Great! I would love an exchange on reviews!

Once again, thank you so much for the comment!

Bluegrass Brooke

Bluegrass Brooke #5 · Mar 29th, 2014 · · ·

4152707 Yeah I'm serious. WOW English isn't your first language? I wouldn't believe it reading your story. I'm impressed! I'll PM you with my corrections and thoughts. Look forward to it

Leafall