Chapter Fourteen – Meet the Parents

The orange pegasus filly flapped her wings to propel her scooter through the busy streets of Ponyville. Behind her, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were cantering to keep up. Behind them, was Glass. The white colt walked at a staggeringly slow pace, as if he dreaded every second of this. It was making Scootaloo a little impatient. She slowed down to let her friends take the lead, resuming pace when she ended up next to Glass.

"You okay?" She asked him. Glass brought his eyes up from the ground.

"No." He said in a melancholy voice. "No, I'm not doing so good."

"Come on." Scootaloo said, playfully nudging his shoulder. "I'm sure it won't be so bad."

"Just wait." He said. "It will be."

Scootaloo frowned. She didn't want Glass acting so unhappy. Should she not make him go through with this? No, it had to be done. His parents needed to know he was all right after being on his own for so long. Even if he didn't want to see his father, Scootaloo was sure he was worried about him in some capacity.

"Hey Glass?" Applebloom called back. "How much further."

"Left at the corner." He yelled up front. "First house on the row." Applebloom nodded and shifted focus to following the directions. Scootaloo got the feeling that Glass was about to flat out run away or do his disappearing act if they got much closer. She decided to stick by him for the remainder of the trip.

Glass remained pretty quiet for the rest of the journey to his house. His melancholy attitude didn't improve when the four of them found his building. It was a quaint, one-story home in Ponyville's resident district. Scootaloo didn't see anything that made it stand out from any other house. In fact, if Glass hadn't stopped in front of it she may have passed by altogether.

"Okay." Sweetie Belle said when they had stood outside for several minutes. "Glass, go ahead and knock." Glass blinked once, but merely stared at the ground otherwise.

Scootaloo got off her scooter and put a hoof around his shoulder. He glanced her way and stared into her eyes.

"Please?" Scootaloo asked. The white colt sighed.

"Just… don't think any less of me for what's about to happen." He said. Glass took three steps towards his home, and swiftly hit the door twice before any of the fillies could ponder about what he just said.

It was a moment of silence right before the turn of the knob was heard. The door steadily opened, revealing a chestnut mare with a ruby mane and bright purple eyes. It took less than a second for a mixture of surprise and joy to registered on her face.

"Obsidian!" Her ecstatic voice squeaked out. "I missed you so much!" She wrapped the white colt in a bear hug that made Scootaloo wince just from seeing it. Even Glass couldn't keep his poker face.

Through slightly clenched teeth he managed to say, "Good to… see you too… mom!" He breathlessly managed. Glass's mother realized that she was almost choking her son, and set him down.

"Sorry honey." She apologized. "I just haven't heard from you in so long…"

"It was only a weekend." Glass said trying to reassure her. "I've been fine, honestly."

"But where did you go? Where have you been sleeping? Have you even eaten anything in the past few days? You're looking skinnier." Glass's mother then noticed Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle.

"Mom, these are my friends." Glass said, answering her question before she asked it.

Glass's mother smiled warmly at them all. It was a smile that made Scootaloo feel great on the inside. She walked over to the three of them. As she did, Scootaloo noticed a line of purple dots that were barely visible on her neck. Bruises.

"It's so nice to meet you all." The chestnut mare said. "I'm Glass Candle, and you've probably guessed by now that I'm Obsidian's mother."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Candle." Scootaloo said. The ruby haired mare just smiled.

"I can't stand being called Misses." Glass Candle informed them. "You can just call me Candle."

"Well it's great ta meet ya, Candle." Applebloom said. Sweetie Belle nodded her hello.

"So, I take it my little Obsidian's been driving you all crazy over the past weekend?"

"You could say that." Sweetie Belle said, eyeing her shortened mane. Scootaloo remembered all the events of the past few days, and agreed. It had been crazy… but also amazing.

"Look mom," Glass said, nervously eyeing the door to his house. "It's been great catching up and all, but–"

"Candle?" A gruff voice inside angrily called out. The white colt winced. "That better not be who I think it is." The chestnut mare's eyes shrunk with fear.

"Obsidian, honey, you should go before…" Glass stepped around his mother, a grim look on his face.

"It's okay mom." He assured her. "I know what I'm doing." Scootaloo could tell from his expression that Glass had a plan, one he wasn't proud of.

The door to Glass's home was forcibly thrown open, making a loud clatter as it banged against the inside of the house. The pony that walked out made all three of the Crusaders gasp. Based on Glass's stories about his father, Scootaloo had built up a mental image of him in her mind. That image was shattered when the stallion clumsily walked outside.

The stallion looked exactly like Glass.

Same pale, white coat. Same dark, slick hair. Same silver streak in his mane. Same piercing green eyes.

There were a few differences though. Aside from obviously being taller and older than Glass, his father sported a tipped mug as his Cutie Mark. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot red and had dark circles under them. In one hoof, Glass's father held a brown bottle, probably filled with liquor. As the stallion stumbled forward, and squinted in the sunlight, Scootaloo realized he was drunk. Or at the very least he was hung over.

The stallion who looked like Glass blinked with slow recognition. "So it's you." He slurred. "Come crawlin' back to say you're sorry?"

"Good to see you too, dad." Glass said, voice dripping with so much sarcasm that he practically spat out the last word. "Still putting away the booze I see."

Glass's father grunted angrily. "Now listen here you little punk." He growled. "You've been nothing but a pain in the neck since day one. I'm willing to be the nice guy here and let you return home. All you have to do is admit you're wrong and apologize."

"Apologize? Wow. I'm impressed, dad." Glass said, causing an eyebrow raise from his father. "Impressed that a pathetic drunk like yourself can even say a three syllable word!"

"Glass!" Scootaloo called out in shock. His quip had been funny, but definitely ill-timed. "What are you doing?"

"You little piece of shit." Glass's father said darkly. The white colt didn't blink.

"Onyx…" Candle said, speaking to Glass's father in an attempt to diffuse the tension.

"You've had this coming for a long time." Glass's father said. He moved faster than any intoxicated pony should be able to, striking Glass across the face with a well-placed swipe. The Crusader's and Candle gasped in horror.

The white colt recoiled slightly, but did a fairly decent job of hiding any pain. Onyx tried again to strike Glass, this time with the bottle. The white colt managed to duck down just in time to avoid it, but not the kick that followed.

Glass fell to the ground, seething indecipherable words through his teeth as he clutched his side. Onyx moved closer, ready to strike his son again. Scootaloo however, was through watching from the sidelines.

The orange pegasus ran forward to Glass's side, screaming with fury at his father.

"You monster! What's wrong with you!" She shouted.

"Scootaloo, don't!" Glass cried from the ground.

Onyx regarded her with discontent, and raised the hoof with the beer bottle in it to strike her. Scoots eyes bulged with fear as she realized Onyx wasn't going to spare her simply because she was a filly, or because he didn't know her. Without anytime to dodge, she simply shut her eyes and braced herself.

She felt the bottle swoosh through the air. She heard the deafening crack as it made contact.

But she didn't feel any pain.

Scootaloo snapped her eyes open and saw Glass lying in front of her. Shards from a broken bottle decorated his hair, and fresh cuts lined his face. The putrid smell of alcohol permeated the air as the remained contents of the bottle had splashed over him.

Mortified, Scootaloo looked up at Onyx for his reaction. Glass's father showed complete indifference to what he had just done. The white stallion examined the broken bottle in his hoof.

"That's twice you've ruined my beer." Onyx declared to his son. Glass moaned softly. "Maybe now you'll have learned your lesson." The drunkard pony hobbled back inside grumbling to himself.

Glass Candle immediately ran over to her son, practically knocking Scootaloo down as she did. "Obsidian?" Candle choked out from sadness.

"It's okay, mom." Glass muttered. "I'm fine."

"No you aren't!" Candle declared, horrified. She brushed some of the bottle shards out of Glasses hair. "Obsidian, why do you keep doing this?" She sobbed. "You know how he gets…"

"Candle!" The annoyed voice of Onyx suddenly shouted out. "Get in here!" Candle's head whipped from the door to her son.

"Go." Glass said. "I'll be fine."

Candle sniffled. "Are you sure?" She asked. Glass nodded.

"Don't worry Candle." Scootaloo interjected. "I– we'll make sure he's all right." Candle looked from Scootaloo to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. The other Crusaders had finally come out of their paralyzed shock and nodded along with the orange filly.

"O-okay." Candle said shakily. "Obsidian… I love you."

"Love you too, mom." He whispered. The four of them watched as the sobbing chestnut mare uncertainly walked back inside, glancing over her shoulder constantly. She eventually reached the door and slowly shut it in compliance to the voice inside.

"Glass?" Scootaloo said, returning to his side. The white colt blinked, his eyes out of focus. He was still recovering from the last blow. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom ran up, each concerned.

"Are ya okay?" Applebloom asked. Glass nodded.

"What were you thinking?" Sweetie Belle demanded. Scootaloo wanted to know the same thing. Glass's eyes finally righted themselves, and with some help from the orange pegasus he managed to sit up.

"I'll explain everything." He said. The white colt shot a glance at his house. "But not here."

"Do you want us to take you to a hospital?" Scootaloo asked. Glass wiped some of the blood from the cuts on his face, looking at the sticky, red fluid that was left on his foreleg.

"No." He said.

---

Half an hour later, Scootaloo found herself staring down at a chocolate chip sundae with absolutely no appetite. Sugar Cube Corner was relatively empty for a Sunday afternoon, and the lack of noise in the background was very apparent to her eardrums as she waited.

To her left Sweetie Belle sat with a frozen treat similar to hers. The purple-haired filly poked at it with a spoon, eating about as much as Scootaloo was. Applebloom was to the orange filly's right with a plate of cookies. She had managed to eat some, but it was clear her appetite was also stifled by the events from earlier.

In front of Scootaloo was an empty seat just across the table. Glass had excused himself to the restroom so he could wash away the alcohol stench and the blood.

Your fault. A small voice in her head whispered. Scootaloo winced at the thought. It was her fault that Glass was that roughed up. Onyx meant for that strike to be for her. She knew it. Glass knew it. Her friends knew it. But Glass stepped in at the last possible second and took the beating for her. She was touched that he went that far to protect her, but mortified for the same reason.

Scootaloo had tried multiple times to try and get him to a hospital to have his cuts looked at, but each time he refused. It was just one of the growing concerns about Glass that she had. It also just added to her guilt that he was suffering without medical attention. The orange filly was also curious as to why he staunchly refused to get attention for his wounds. There were a lot of other questions too, and Scootaloo was determined to get answers.

"How long does it take to splash some water in your face?" Sweetie Belle asked, commenting on the abnormal amount of time Glass was taking in the bathroom.

"Ya think he's disappearin' on us?" Applebloom asked.

"No." Scootaloo said quickly. "He wouldn't do that to me."

"Ya mean us, right?" Applebloom asked inquisitively. Both the yellow filly and the white unicorn looked at Scootaloo quizzically.

"Uh…" Scootaloo felt her face get hot. Now was a really bad time for her to give away the secret relationship (it was a relationship, right?) between her and Glass.

Thankfully, she was spared that humiliating moment as Glass seemingly materialized by the table.

"Hey." He said. That one word took the focus completely off of Scootaloo. The three filly's heads swiveled to see the white colt. Glass had cleaned away most of the blood that had coated his face earlier. All that was left was a multitude of small scars across his cheek and one that was right above his eye brow. The wounds were already beginning to close up but Scootaloo knew she would have felt better if she had insisted on taking him to the hospital. The orange filly also knew that she never would have convinced Glass to go.

"Why don't ya sit down, Glass." Applebloom said. "We gotta a lot of questions for ya." The colt complied, filling in the empty seat at the table.

"Wha–" Sweetie Belle began.

"What the hay was all that?!" Scootaloo screamed, interrupting the purple-haired filly. She didn't acknowledge the offended glance her friend shot her and instead barreled forward. "How could you have let us even convince you to go back there? Why did your father beat you? Why didn't you try to fight back? Why won't you go to a hospital? Why did you…" Why did you save me? Scootaloo didn't put voice to her last question. She just let it hang in the silence of the table.

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom turned from Scootaloo's outburst to see Glass's reaction. The white colt waited for her barrage of question to cease. Then he sighed.

"It was my choice to go back." Glass said. "I could have easily said no, but I have my reasons. As for why my father beat me… it's a different reason every week."

"Wait, he beats you every week?" Sweetie Belle asked in shock.

"If he remembers I exist, then yes." Glass said. "That's also why I'm not going to the hospital. There wouldn't be a point."

Silence.

Scootaloo had to wait for her brain to process exactly what Glass had said. When it did, she was furious. What sort of horrible father would do that to his own child? It was horrible. Judging by the looks on Applebloom and Sweetie's faces, they felt the same way.

"Why do ya stay there if it's that bad?" The yellow filly inquired.

"One reason." Glass replied. "And you've met her."

The puzzle pieces clicked together. "Your mother." Scootaloo said with realization. Glass nodded slightly.

"I don't understand." Sweetie Belle said. "How does she fit into all this?"

"I'm not the only pony he abuses." Glass said. Another puzzle piece clicked together in Scootaloo's mind. The bruises on Candle's neck suddenly made more sense. "I don't know why my mom stays with that jerk when she deserves so much better." Glass continued. "I like to think it's because she did love him, once; before he became awful. Whatever the real reason is, she isn't leaving him anytime soon."

"But why don't ya fight back?" Applebloom asked. "We've seen ya take down a timberwolf, yesterday. And today, ya just stood there as Onyx attacked. Ah can't think of any reason why that is, unless…"

"Unless you let him beat you." Scootaloo finished.

More silence.

"Yes." Glass said shakily. A shocked gasp from Applebloom followed, along with a noise of disbelief from Sweetie Belle.

"Why?" The white filly managed to ask.

Glass looked away. "I think I'm done explaining." He whispered. The white colt started to get up, but Scootaloo moved in a blur of orange to block his path.

"Oh no you don't!" She said as Glass avoided looking at her. "You're not leaving just yet. You can't leave us with that without some kind of explanation."

Glass finally faced her, water building up behind his eyes. Scootaloo realized she had pushed him too hard, but it was also too late.

"He leaves her alone when he's beating me!" Glass screamed at her. Water streaked down his face, the salty tears passing over his cuts. "He'll ignore her if I'm around to beat on. That's why I had to go back! If I'm gone for too long, my mother becomes his personal punching bag! I have to let him beat me! I've been doing it for so long I'm surprised it's not my Cutie Mark!"

Scootaloo was speechless for a moment. She now realized exactly who she was dealing with. This wasn't Glass, the enigma with a million emotional barriers. This was Glass, a pony who was in all sense of the word, was shattered.

The white colt stood in front of her, his entire body shaking and tears running down his face. "I… I didn't know." She whispered.

"Of course you don't!" Glass screamed again. "Nopony knows what it's like to let that drunken bastard beat the shit out of them but me, and that's the way it's has to stay. I'm not going to let my mother, or you, or anypony else suffer at his hooves if I can prevent it just by being there."

"But it shouldn't have to be that way." Scootaloo insisted. Glass shook his head.

"I knew you wouldn't understand. Nopony ever understands why it has to be me." Glass bit his lip as he finally managed to stop the steady flow of tears from his eyes. "Goodbye, Scootaloo." He said, and walked right passed her.

Scootaloo watched, unable to move until Glass slammed the shop's door behind himself. The orange filly turned her head to her friends. Both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom's mouths were agape.

Scootaloo turned back to the closed doors in disarray. She shouldn't have done that. She shouldn't have forced Glass open and dissected his life. She shouldn't have forced him to tears in just to make her understand. She certainly shouldn't have done all of that in a bakery of all places.

And as Scootaloo went through all the things she shouldn't have done, she realized something she couldn't do. She couldn't leave it like this. Even though she only known Glass for a short time, been his friend an even shorter amount of time, and been his… something more even less than that, she shouldn't just let him run away like that.

She didn't want last night to be their only night.

"Glass?!"

---

You may have noticed that the K+ rating is now a T, and that's solely because of this chapter. Domestic abuse is a serious issue, and firstly I want everypony to know that I am not trying to satire it in any way. Secondly, I don't condone it in any sense of the word. I have no personal experience on the subject and therefore probably did a bad job representing what situations like these are really like.

On that note, Glass's way of dealing with it is not to be duplicated by anyone. If you are in abusive in a relationship... Get out of it as soon as possible. Glass's actions do not represent the appropriate way to deal with these kinds of conflicts, nor do they represent my personal feelings on how it should be handled. His actions are based on how I think he - as a character in a fanfiction about a show of candy-colored ponies - would react to the circumstances.

This chapter was not easy for me to write, nor was it fun to write. In fact, I've been putting it off for so long because of how I knew I would have to write it, and making you guys wait over a month for it is something I apologize for. There will be no more delaying chapters now, because I am on a stricter schedule. Chapters for my three stories will be written on a weekly basis in a rotating order, with the next one on the list being chapter three of Forbidden.

And now that I've made you sit through the longest author's note in history, I do want to give you a reward. Therefore, in a few weeks when I get to post the next chapter of this story, I am making an Obsidian Glass POV. I'll see you all next time.

In Bronyhood,

Fire Gazer the Alchemist