//------------------------------//
// What I have learned. 
// Story: A Game of Homes. 
// by Lethrael 
//------------------------------//

It was a strange feeling.
The sobbing filly nestled against her chest and trembled in the embrace. Scootaloo looked over her mane, the little horn and her back. She petted  her mane, insecure, if she was too soft, or too firm. If the filly would be able to feel it in the first place, or if it was too hard for her.
She looked to Cheerilee and put on an inquiring expression. She opened her mouth, but a smile on Cheerilee's kept her silent. The mare whispered encouraging:
“You're doing great, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo focused onto the younger unicorn and petted along. She just stood still and felt, that tears soaked warm into her coat. 
But quite different than before, she wasn't affected by the sobbing or the tears, so she didn't start to cry on her own
Something deep inside of her blocked out every little tear and a strange warmth floated through her whole body. She didn't tremble and was so calm, that she asked herself if she should be afraid or sad.
She thought, that she should do more, that she had to do more, but she didn't know what she should actually do. She looked to Cheerilee again after a few moments, where she just petted her mane and didn't say anything else. The mare had turned her back on her and talked with Sweetie Belle in a gentle tone.
Scootaloo had to get louder, than she wanted too. So she had to relied on, what she experienced herself. Who could she model herself on? How had she been comforted in the last days?



“Twilight? No, I don't believe, that I can do it so good. She is way much smarter than me.
Fluttershy? I'm not like her. I can't do this!
Spike? I don't even know, why I do feel better around him.
Aunt Sunny? She's family and I'm not for her.
Mum? She is just mum and knows what to do and I don't know how, I just can't do it.
Luna? She had said, that I should ask mum and...”



“Do...you...think...I...can...”
The filly spoke every word in a snatchy matter, after she gasped quickly into the hug and ended her sentence with a staggered gasp. Scootaloo felt another sob, who drew her out of the sceptical thoughts. She opened her mouth, without any more thinking and lowered her voice into a whisper.
“I think everything is getting better soon, Dinky.”
The filly looked up and her great, tear filled eyes looked so insecure, that Scootaloo wasn't sure, that her expression would be convincing enough. She tried to put on a smile, but didn't feel if it was appearing actually.
“Really?”
The word fled the filly's mouth and reminded Scootaloo on her own talk with Twilight, where she sounded equally distraught and insecure.
First she wanted to say, what Twilight had said to her, but would it be enough?
“I hope so.”
That was wrong. Scootaloo knew it the moment the words had left her tongue and the filly tore up more. 
She frowned and cursed herself in her thoughts. The filly nestled closer to her and that confused Scootaloo.
The answer was wrong? So why did she stay? She should run away!
Scootaloo had prepared herself to gallop after her, but the filly didn't run away. She just got closer and nestled closer to her.
Why would she do that?
Scootaloo started to look back to Cheerilee, but stopped, as she remembered something, that Fluttershy had told her.
“I have seen myself in you, sorry.”
That was it, the error of her.
The filly wasn't like herself. She would run away.
The filly was seeking for help and was so clingy, because she wanted it from her.



They skulked backwards, away from the desks and closer to the wall. As she felt the wall behind her tail, she laid slowly down and pulled the filly with her.
A blanket would be great, so they would be screened from everypony. Her wings weren't as big as Fluttershy's and wouldn't work that way.
Scootaloo looked around, but she didn't find any blanket beside her, or nearby. Somepony sneaked closer very quietly and laid a blanket over the little filly.
“I think, you're looking for this, right?”
Scootaloo heard lisping words and than the cream coloured filly laid the blanket over her too. So everything went into a yellow soft light.
“Thanks Twist.”
Scootaloo was able to mumble this, before she looked down to the little filly again.
She waited, till the filly was ready and had calmed down a little bit. It was uncomfortably warm under the blanket and her hooves laid trapped under her body, as the filly continued to hug her firmly and she couldn't move them.
Did her left back leg go numb? Yeah right, there was the feeling of pins and needles there. 
She tried to move herself slowly, but Dinky stopped her with one sentence.
“Do you think mummy is badly hurt?”
How could the filly think, that she was able to answer that?
It was impossible for her, she hadn't seen her mummy and didn't know anything.
How should she answer that question? There wasn't the point!



Scootaloo pushed her hooves to the right, slid a little bit to the side and lower to the ground. 
She pushed Dinky gently away from her, so that her face would rested directly in front of her face.
First she didn't want to allow it, but as she noticed, that Scootaloo went closer in that way and was easier to hug, she let her go and stared directly into Scootaloo's eyes.
The elder filly could see many tears in her yellow eyes and as Dinky blinked they were drifting down her cheeks. 
Scootaloo made an effort to put on a smile back on her face and laid a hoof under the little filly's chin.
“Certainly not!
You see, she will get better really soon.
If you want to, we can paint together, so you can give it to her,
when she would come and pick you up.”
Scootaloo tried to sound strong, certain like Spike and warmly like him. It worked quite well. Dinky raised her hoof, it banged against Scootaloo's and brushed away her tears with a sigh. Her voice sounded a little bit raspy, but was more calmed down.
“Do you think she would like that?
That she would come surely?”
Just more questions, right, but this time Scootaloo knew, how she had to answer.
“I think she would be very happy about that.
And yes she will certainly come soon.”
A snuffle, not a sob escaped the little unicorn and she hid her face in Scootaloo's coat again.
“Thanks Scootaloo.”
She looked up again and now could bring herself to smile. Was it so easy to do the right thing, to console somepony?



It took her a little bit time, before Dinky was able to left the blanket and started her picture.
She drew the outlines of three ponies with the pen in her mouth, one in bright purple, like her own coat, one in grey and one in bright orange. 
Scootaloo saw that she would be on the picture herself, not until the filly put a dark red pen into her mouth and lined out the mane with it.
“Shouldn't you really paint your Daddy, instead of me?”
Why couldn't she just shut up?
The filly dropped the pen, it rolled over the desk and felt unnoticed from her on the ground. She bit her lips and a quick sob escaped her.
“I've none.”
The little unicorn whispered it already inaudible, looked to her mum on the picture and focussed onto her. Her mood went down and Scootaloo had to do something. Dinky would start to worry or  to weep again otherwise.
“I'm sorry, that was wrong from me.”
Scootaloo picked the pen up, turned it around in her mouth and sat down beside the little filly. She hugged her with one hoof and started to outline her own mane. 
She tried to say something at the same time, but it didn't work and she even dropped the pen again. It rolled again over the ground.
“Fizzled feathers, why do I drop it again?”
A snicker sounded beside her, as she whispered the curse.
“Mummy said this every time, when she dropped something.
And she dropped many things.”
Dinky took a bright yellow pen into her mouth and painted along on her and her mum's mane. 
Scootaloo just looked at her for a while and thought. 
The smile on her small face widened and the filly nestled closer to her.

“You know, I didn't have one either.
Daddy I mean.
But I've my Mummy.
And I do love her a lot.
You do too, right?”
Dinky nodded eagerly and painted happily along. Her eyes started to lighten up and as she finished to draw her mum's mane she even smiled happy. 
Scootaloo let her loose and stood up. She walked around the table to pick up the pen again.
She looked around in the classroom and saw, that Sweetie Belle, Dinky and herself were the last fillies and Miss Cheerilee looked worried from her desk to all three of them.
It was almost night and the grass before the window got more and more colourless. 
Scootaloo raised her head a little bit and looked to Ponyville, where she saw multiple lights.
Magical lights indeed were floating everywhere, purple, yellow, green and any other colours lighten up the emerging night. 
The light was only disturbed by small shadows, small flying shadows to be exactly. They were cleaning up, everyone cleaned up. 
But where was Sunny? Didn't she want to...?
Scootaloo sighed and picked up the pen finally. 
She laid it direct for Dinky's nose, who picked it up excited and started to paint Scootaloo's mane. The picture looked already very nice.
The three ponies were standing around a huge picnic-blanket. It laid on a greenfield with a few colourful spots, presumably flowers. 
A wonderful yellow sun, a few birds and trees in the background completed the imagery.



Somepony knocked on the door. Dinky dropped the pen immediately and galloped to the door.
She laughed nervously and shouted.
“Mummy you're finally back!”
The door opened slowly and revealed. Not her mummy, but Sweetie Belles mum.
She stepped into the room with a sigh and smiled gently to Dinky. The filly frowned and trudged back to the picture. 
A sob escaped her again and she tried to fight back the tears, but wasn't successful with it and had to brush away tears from her eyes.
Sweetie jumped up, galloped into her hooves and hugged her tightly. She stayed nestling close to her and babbled very relieved. 
Her mum smiled to Scootaloo, who answered with a mixed expression, both confused and happy for her friend.
“Miss Cheerilee, I'm here to take Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with me.
Sunny Rays had asked me about that. Their home is in very bad shape and heavily affected by the Parasprites.
It has to be secured properly to be honest.
So I will take Scootaloo to my home instead.”
A sleepover with Sweetie Belle.
That was perfect. Sweetie Belle laughed and Scootaloo joined quickly in. 
She jumped to her hooves, picked up her saddlebags and looked finally to Dinky. The filly was.
Well she sat on her desk again, sobbing, sniffing and brushing her tears away with a trembling hoof. 
One tear dropped down to the picture, ran down over her mummy and over the wonderful greenfield. 
Scootaloo stopped, her smile faded away quickly and she took a deep breath.
“Cou...could we please take Dinky with us?”
The question sounded so clearly and Scootaloo turned around to face Miss Cheerilee. 
Her tail moved from one side to the other and she looked directly into her teachers eyes.
Sweetie Belle's mum looked to the smaller unicorn, who did fight back more tears. 
The mare approached slowly and looked down to the picture. Sweetie Belle followed her closely on her side and looked to Scootaloo with a very strange expression. 
Halfway puzzled and happy.

Cheerilee raised her hoof and shook her head slowly.
“I'm afraid this is a bad idea.”
Scootaloo interrupted her quickly, pushed herself past the unicorn mare and hugged Dinky with one hoof. 
The filly nestled closer to her, raised both hooves and hugged her. She sobbed into her coat and Scootaloo felt tears in it again.
“Please!
We can write a letter for Derpy, that we will look out for her.
Pretty please!”
Scootaloo sounded very raspy and she stared so imploring into Cheerilee's eyes. She evaded her look, tried to think about it and nodded finally.
“Well alright.
If you're okay with it, we will write Derpy a letter and you're going together.”
Miss Cheerilee looked to Sweetie Belle's mum and she smiled. 
She laid a hoof on Scootaloo's back and her magic pulled slowly the picture from Dinky's desk.
“How could I say: “No” to that? I wouldn't leave a friend in need either.”
Scootaloo looked to the mare and her expression changed into a very thankful one. Sweetie's mum answer was a so gentle and encouraging smile, that she just could say a silent thank you.

“We will have a sleepover with you, Dinky.”
Sweetie Belle cheered with a squeak at the end and grinned widely.
Scootaloo sighed relieved and smiled gently down to the sobbing filly on her chest.
Dinky didn't noticed the whole discussion and cried along into her fur.