Chapter Nineteen – Promising

The four fillies found themselves staring at the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse with hesitation. Somewhere inside, Scootaloo knew Glass was waiting for her. She just had to be careful not to push the wrong buttons like she had the other day.

"Your tree house looks cool," Dinky commented.

"Thanks, it took a lot to make it that way." Sweetie Belle said, making her fellow unicorn smile.

"So…" Apple Bloom rocked on her heels. "Do we all go in at once or what?"

"I-I should be the one to go," Scootaloo decided. "It's me that he wanted to talk to."

Dinky and the other Crusaders nodded, each providing a "fair enough" remark, or something similar. Scootaloo took a deep breath, unsure of what would happen. Considering the last "talk" she and Glass had, she was prepared for the worse.

Scootaloo ascended the steps to the clubhouse, giving her friends a short look before knocking on the door.

"Hey Scootaloo," Glass's voice said. "Come on in."

The wooden door creaked open. "How'd you know it was me?"

Glass nudged the door open the rest of the way. "Who else would it be?"

"Fair enough."

Scootaloo walked in, unsure of how to keep the conversation going. Finally she just decided to get straight to the point.

"Why'd you run off again?"

There was a pause as Glass took in a deep breath. When he finally exhaled, he said, "Cheerilee asked me about the cuts."

"And…?"

"And I left. End of story." Scootaloo's eyes narrowed. Glass was clamming up again, but she couldn't let that happen. She had to open him back up gently.

"Was there anything else to it?" She pried slightly. "Anything at all?"

He looked away, glanced back, started to say something, and then just walked over the nearest window, looking out it forlornly.

Scootaloo trotted beside him. "You're making it kind of difficult to empathize with you Glass."

"I don't want sympathy," he firmly stated.

"I said empathy," Scootaloo corrected. "As in, understanding your problems and wanting to make you feel better."

Glass blinked and paused. "Cheerilee wanted to help me."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Scootaloo asked. "I mean, she's a teacher. She could talk to your parents, make get your father some help so he'll stop drinking, or…"

"She wouldn't be the first to try!" Glass exploded. Scootaloo backed up, eyes widened. Glass realized his mistake and calmed down.

"W-what do you mean?"

Glass huffed, and crossed his forelegs over the windowsill, resting his head in them. "Every time somepony thinks they can help, it never works. My father – the drunken bastard his is – was always too smart to be caught beating me or my mom. Whenever a pony finally noticed he… he would just pack everything up and we be gone, off to some new town or city where the cycle just kept getting worse each time." He looked away. "So you can see why I don't exactly want any help."

Scootaloo didn't know what to say. There wasn't much she could say. Instead of trying to think of some words that would undoubtedly fail to cheer him up, Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around him, and nuzzled his cheek.

She heard a faint sniffling noise from the colt.

---

"They sure have bin in there a long time," Apple Bloom remarked. The three of them were sitting in a circle, lazily waiting for somepony to walk out of the clubhouse.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" Sweetie Belle asked. Dinky and Apple Bloom shrugged.

"Did anypony bring a deck o' cards?"

Wayward glances and sighs of boredom answered her question.

"I… I have my bubble wand," Dinky helpfully suggested. She held up the small toy and the bottle of soapy liquid that went with it.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom shared a look. "Why not?" Sweetie Belle said with a shrug of her shoulders. Smiling, Dinky twisted off the cap of the bottle and dipped the wand inside. She swirled it around some. When she pulled it back out, it was dripping slightly.

Dinky brought the wand to her lips and exhaled into it. A small bubble bloomed on the other side before snapping loose and drifting free. The bubble wand dipped back in, and this time when Dinky blew into it, she waved it around in a rather unusual pattern. The bubble broke free, looking suspiciously like a caterpillar.

"Whoa," Sweetie Belle said. "That's amazing!"

"How'd ya do that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"It's nothing," Dinky modestly replied, blushing at the fan fare. "I've just practiced it a lot."

"Ah'm surprised it's not yer Cutie Mark," Apple Bloom remarked as the caterpillar popped. Dinky dipped her wand back into the bottle, and Apple Bloom took note of her bare flank. The Crusaders had discussed asking Dinky to join the CMC before, but never agreed on it. It's not that they never wanted her in, but more along the lines of they felt Dinky wouldn't want to join. After all, in a class with nearly twenty Cutie Mark-less kids, only three ever joined the club, and they were the founding members.

"I like blowing bubbles, but they're not something that would really be a special talent." Dinky sighed, and blew a bubble that resembled a giraffe.

"Well I still like it," Sweetie Belle declared, attempting to cheer their new friend up a little. It worked.

"If ya want," Apple Bloom mentioned. "We could let ya tag along on a few crusadin' adventures. Who knows, maybe you'll turn up somethin'."

"I don't know," Dinky began. "I wouldn't want to get in the way."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared a look. "What would make ya think somethin' like that."

"No reason," Dinky looked away, setting her bubble supplies down.

"Oh come on, Dinky," Sweetie Belle protested. "I'm sure you'll like it if you just tag along. Can you at least give it a try?"

"…O-Okay."

---

Scootaloo wasn't sure how long she'd been holding on to Glass, but she wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon. His breathing was a little shaky; he was likely trying to stifle anymore sobs from coming out.

"You okay?" she asked him.

"Maybe."

Scootaloo was silent. She wasn't really sure what to do or say, and decided to just blurt out the first thing that came to her mind. "Glass, I can't fly."

"What a coincidence," he replied. "Neither can I."

Scootaloo smiled. There's the old Glass. "I'm serious," she whispered. "I… I can't even get off the ground. It scares me sometimes. Foals half my age can at least hover, but my wings just don't work."

Glass looked up at her. "Okay…" he clearly couldn't see where she was going with this.

"I didn't want to admit it to anypony," Scootaloo continued. "I was just embarrassed. I thought I would be laughed at, or made fun of. But also, there was a part of me that just didn't want to ask for help. I felt I could learn to fly on my own and I pushed myself way to hard under that mentality. It got to the point where I stayed up all night one night just trying to get off the ground."

"So what did you do?"

"I got help. I talked to this one really awesome pony named Rainbow Dash, and she's coaching me through it. Every once in a while when she can fit it into her schedule, she helps me work on my wings, and you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm getting better. Rainbow Dash thinks I'll be able to fly any day now, and I believe her. And I never would have gotten this far without asking for help."

Glass blinked away a few tears. "What's your point?"

"I'm saying, maybe getting help can actually work this time. Maybe if you told Ms. Cheerilee, she'll be able to find a way to help you. I know she will. She's a good pony, and all she wants to do is help you."

The white colt bit his lip. "I'm still not sure, Scootaloo."

She was about to open her mouth to respond, but paused. She couldn't risk forcing the choice on Glass. "Alright," Scootaloo said despite how much she wanted to convince him. "You don't have to tell her until you're ready." She kissed him on the cheek, sealing the promise.

He smiled lightly. "Thanks, Scoots. You're amazing."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She grinned. "Come on, we'll probably have to go home soon."

"I doubt I can stay over at your place. Derpy seems pretty cool and all, but…"

"It is a lot to ask," Scootaloo admitted. "Don't worry, Apple Bloom probably has a nice, cozy barn for you to sleep in.

"Cool." His stomach growled furiously. "A-and maybe some apples too?"

Scootaloo laughed. "Sure."

They stood, neither really wanting to leave the comfort of the clubhouse and face the realities of their worlds, but they knew they couldn't stay there forever. Scootaloo started for the door first, and Glass was soon to follow. When they walked outside and down the steps, the others were waiting for them.

"So… everything worked out?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"More or less," Glass responded. "Hey Apple Bloom, can I bunk in your barn again?"

"Absolutely."

"We better be getting home," Scootaloo told Dinky. "You're mom's probably wondering where we are."

"I guess we should go." Dinky picked up her supplies and the five of them began to disperse.

"Oh, hey Dinky!" Sweetie Belle called back.

"Yeah?"

"You're going to have to teach me how to blow bubbles like that someday soon."

"S-sure. Totally!" Dinky smiled. "I can do that." She whispered to herself.

Scootaloo waved goodbye to Glass, wishing she could walk him home. She knew that she needed to get back to Derpy's place though; Glass would be fine for now. Besides… Derpy might have some fresh muffins for them.