Waking Eyes

Flare's ear perked up. "Are you serious?" Flare asked.

"Why would I not be?" Scootaloo said answering a question with a question. She got up and flinched for a second. She felt her arm, she could feel blood.

"Yes! Alright let us... uh, Scootaloo, are you alright?" Flare asked, noticed Scootaloo holding her arm.

"What, oh, I'm fine. It is just a scratch." Scootaloo said trying to be reassuring, but Flare saw she was hurt.

"Scootaloo, can I maybe see that cut for a quick second?" Flare asked as he moved closer to remove her hoof from her arm. Scootaloo, however, moved closer to her scooter.

"There isn't anytime for that Flare! We need to make sure Arrow doesn't go anywhere." Scootaloo said, getting onto her scooter, and angled herself so Flare could not see her still bleeding shoulder.

Alright, fine, somepony is going to see the doctor after this. Flare sighed. "Okay then, just lead the way."

Flare followed Scootaloo the streets. He was just glad that the two could travel freely without being wanted.

After quite a few road turns, Flare began to think Scootaloo had no idea what she was doing.

"Scootaloo!" Flare called her, and they both slowed to a stop.

"What Flare? We are almost there." Scootaloo said. She sounded slightly tired.

"Are you sure?" Flare questioned while panting slightly. "You seem to just be running around like a chicken with it's head cut off."

"What?" Scootaloo was a little surprised at that comment. Oops, I guess that is a bit too graphic for her.

Flare sighed. "It just means you seem lost, or you just don't know what you're doing." Scootaloo didn't like to hear this at all.

"Okay, I admit it, I made a couple of wrong turns!" Scootaloo said with haste. Flare drew back a bit.

"Look, Scootaloo, chill." Flare stuttered. "I didn't think you would get mad at me. Look, if we are lost, let me just check the map." Flare reached for the map. What the? Where is... uh oh...

"Flare, why are you making that face?" She got worried, seeing that Flare had a confused and worried look on his face. This was soon replaced with a lying smile.

"Oh, nothing. Here it is." He held out an empty hoof. "Let's take a look, shall we?"

"You lost the map, didn't you?" Scootaloo said, not surprised in the least. Flare just continued his 'innocent' smile.

"What? No, silly Scootaloo. It is right here, I just turned it invisible." He chuckled slightly. "You thought I lost it, that is funny."

Scootaloo did not seem amused at all. "Whatever, let's just go." She said and turned around to get going again. Well, it seems I have pushed her nerves too much. At this point, I'm an annoyance to her.

After a few more minutes, the two got back on track. Flare stay silent through this, he didn't want to make Scootaloo anymore annoyed.

After the next few turns, they started towards a pond. There was a unicorn sitting on the edge of the water. Flare realized it was indeed Arrow.

"Alright, there he is." Scootaloo announced. "I did it." She turned and looked at her flank. Disappointment appeared on her face.

"Flank still blank?" Flare asked and only got a depressed sigh in return. "Hey, don't be sad. Think, you helped me a lot more than a lot of ponies have or ever will." He looked at her directly. "I will get you your mark, or at least assist you in getting it."

Scootaloo smiled, but before she could say anything, Flare spoke. "Hey, do you wanna see something that is hopefully funny?"

"Sure" Scootaloo said as Flare turned to look at Arrow. Flare dashed at Arrow.

"Arrow!" Flare yelled, completely unconcerned that ponies could be sleeping at the moment. Arrow turned and saw Flare coming in fast. "Come at me bro!" He yelled and leap towards Arrow.

Arrow ducked just enough to dodge Flare. Flare ended up gliding straight into the pond. He hit the water with a mighty splash. Scootaloo busted out laughing.

"What the hay is going on?"Arrow asked. Scootaloo tried to answer, but couldn't get the answer out right away due to laughter. Scootaloo rode over to Arrow. Flare reappeared from the water.

"Ah, This is cold! Arrow help!" He said as he began to swim to the shore.

"You!" Arrow replied and levitated a rock. Using his magic, he shot the rock at Flare. The rock glided through the air, and it struck Flare in between the eyes.

Scootaloo's slight laughs turned to small gasps. Flare went under the surface of the water.

"Arrow, what was that about?" Scootaloo turned to Arrow. He was watching the area where Flare went under.

Here it is...

Flare's upper body shot out of the water. He had the exact rock that Arrow hit him with in his hoof. He launched the rock straight towards Arrow.

"Nope." Arrow said as he stopped the rock inches from his face with magic. Arrow then shot the rock at Flare again.

This time, Arrow hit right above Flare's right eye.  Flare went under again. Oww... Okay, that one hurt...

Flare sunk to the bottom of the pond. Flare began to try to swim upward, however it was becoming very difficult to so. His wings were getting weighted down by the water. Crap...

-

"Flare." Scootaloo called out. Arrow was scanning the water for movement.

Where is he? Arrow thought to himself.

"Arrow you have got to help him!" Scootaloo commanded, her voice full of worry.

"He'll be fine." Arrow replied, but was slightly starting to believe that Scootaloo could be right.

Scootaloo glanced back and forth, unsure what to do. She found herself jumping for the water. "Flare!"

Arrow stopped the filly with his magic. "Woah, wait and calm down." He told her.

"He is going to drown!" Scootaloo exclaimed. As if on cue, an great amount of bubbles arose from the water.

-

Come on... Almost there... Flare had almost no air left in his lungs. His wings were heavy. He could feel that his last strength was fading fast. No... I-I'm going to die here... Even in Flare's situation, he managed to smile. Flare finally gave in and quit struggling. He gradually sunk deeper.

I guess it isn't such a bad thing... dying down here... I'm actually okay with this... Sorry Scootaloo, I guess I can't help you with that mark... poor filly... Flare closed his eyes. He could feel himself drifting through the water.

Flare heard very mumbled voices above the water, they were also quite loud. He couldn't make out a single thing, but what really was the point? He was out of air and couldn't answer if he wanted to. He slightly opened his eyes, that is all he really could do at this point.

He couldn't see a thing really, it was dark outside with only the moon and stars for light. That and he was about to pass out due to oxygen. Even though he was close to unconsciousness, he could feel something was weird.

What surprised him, was the fact he was now drifting upward at a bit faster pace then before. How am I... Arrow..? It was going to be really close. Either he was going to drift out of consciousness or he might have a chance to breathe. Which one? That was the question that haunted him.

To Flare's luck, he could feel that he was free from that water's grip. He started coughing up water, it was painful but he was okay with it. At least he could slightly breathe once more. Arrow levitated him over to the shore and set him down. All he could do is continue to cough and try to breathe.

"Flare, are you alright?" Scootaloo asked hastily. Flare was still coughing pretty bad, and all he could do was nod slightly.

Arrow came over and began to examine Flare. Over Flare's right eye was a small cut. Flare was soaked, and it was difficult to tell if he was bleeding or not.

"Well, it looks as if you are fine." Arrow commented. Scootaloo turned to him.

"Fine!? He almost just drowned! Why would you throw a rock at him anyway?" Scootaloo questioned. Flare wheezed trying to answer for Arrow, but nothing came out. "Well?" Scootaloo continued.

"He almost tackled me into a pond." Arrow responded calmly.

"So you almost drown him?" Scootaloo said, almost to the point of yelling.

"Scootaloo..." The two turned to Flare. "You need... to calm... yourself..." Flare managed to say with small breaths. He was still coughing little bits of water out.

"Flare, you almost died." Scootaloo told him. Oh really? I would of never guessed.

"But... I'm fine..." Flare explained. Arrow looked down at Flare.

"Regain your breath, she is right, I almost killed you." Arrow admitted. He looked as if he had more to say, but he didn't. He glanced at Scootaloo, who was sitting next to Flare. Then turned his gaze to the pond.

Flare turned his gaze as well. He tried to calm his breathing. He also noticed that Scootaloo was staring right at him. Poor filly, I really messed up. She is still shaking, I'm gonna have to apologize. This is my fault anyway...

Scootaloo still was a bit shaky. She was almost crying. It was painful to see Scootaloo like this.

After gaining enough breath to talk clearly, Flare spoke. "Scootaloo, I'm sorry I scared you."

"But it isn't-"

"Yes, Scootaloo, it is my fault." Flare turned to Arrow. "What was your rock launching problem?" He asked.

"Well, why were you trying to knock us into the water?" Arrow questioned. Well, for starters, both of us had really no chance in dying.

"Well, for one, we both would be soaked , and cold." Flare replied, giving 'cold' a greater volume then the rest of the sentence.

"You wouldn't be cold if you didn't decide to take an underwater swim." Arrow shot back. Flare glared at Arrow.

Scootaloo looked as if she wasn't going to deal with these two fighting. She was really surprised when she heard Flare laughing.

"Arrow, you could be a soulless monster if you tried." Flare paused and turned away. "Thank Celestia that you're not."

"You should be more thankful that you're alive." Arrow commented. Flare chuckled.

"You have saved me like four times now right?" Flare laughed. Scootaloo didn't understand, why was it funny that Flare has almost died multiple times?

"Yeah, and what have you done to repay it?" Arrow asked. Flare had to think of something he had to suffer through because of Arrow.

"I gave you a piggyback ride and let you vomit on me. I didn't say anything about that." The two laughed while Scootaloo looked a bit more disgusted then anything.

"Yeah, I don't know who that was worse for. I'm surprised that you are laughing about too." Arrow added in.

"Yeah," Flare's attitude made a swift change. "Arrow, thanks"

Arrow  looked towards Flare. "No problem." The moment after was silent, nopony seemed to know what to say next. Thanks you Arrow, a lot. You don't know what that actually means to me...

"Flare." He turned to Scootaloo. "Are you okay now?" She asked. Flare admired her for a second. She really is cute, even though she looks a bit scared and shaky still.

"I'm fine, thank you." He replied and turned back to Arrow. "As for you, I have a question."

"Is that so?" Arrow asked, and Flare just confirmed with a simple nod.

"Have you been in Ponyville before? Or is this your first time?" He asked. Arrow stayed silent for a moment before answering. His eyes closed.

"Yes, when I was very young. It was a family vacation and one of the few memories of my father." Arrow looked towards Flare and opened his eyes.

"Pinkie didn't recognize you?" Flare asked.

"No, I was different back then. You see I had a light green mane, almost lime. My coat wasn't blue, it was a shade of purple." Arrow paused, as he thought of the way he used to look. "That is why nopony recognized me."

"What happened?" Scootaloo asked. Arrow turned his gaze towards her.

"My father didn't like the way I looked. Said I looked ugly and poor." Arrow looked downward at his hooves. "I liked the way I looked, but it wasn't like that for him. One day, my father woke me up and took me away from the house. When I asked him where we were headed, he told me that we were going to fix something." Arrow answered. Each breath that Arrow took was suddenly easy to hear.

"So he took you, to change you." Flare whispered.

"Yes, he took me to a group of unicorns. We were in the middle of nowhere, and even if it was the middle of the night they hid with hoods and masks. I was already afraid, and then they chained me to the ground. I looked towards my father for an explanation, he said nothing. Instead, he nodded to the unicorns and they all circled around me. They were whispering something. Something I couldn't make out, my only guess is that it was pure evil. Chants or insults, something like that." Arrow gritted his teeth together, reliving the moment in his head. Flare was frozen in spot. What happened to him? Scootaloo was scared of what happened next, and didn't really want to know.

"Then they began casting the spell, or at least the first part of it. The first step was to burn everything that they wanted changed. For me, that was everything." Arrow said, immediately afterward he put his hoof up to his forehead. Flare was shocked. Scootaloo was about to start crying. Tears of sorrow or fear, Flare couldn't guess. Arrow took a breath.

"My entire body was set ablaze. It hurt more than anything I can even imagine. It was maybe like if somepony had stabbed you thousands of times and you lived through it. They needed to make sure there was no trace left, so I was left there to burn for a minute. My screams were loud, screams that begged for mercy. As my coat and mane burned into nothing, my father just sat by and watched me scream for them to stop. He was getting what he wanted, why would he stop it?" Arrow continued.

Flare's mind was racing. His specialty was dreams, and memories are linked to dreams. Flare could pick out memories from dreams, and form dreams with memories. He was absorbing Arrow's memory and his mind was putting every detail into a daydream. Mentally, He was watching his brother burn and yell in pain. Flare began to have a hard time breathing.

Scootaloo had tears running down her face now. This was the worst thing she had ever heard. The fact she wasn't asking Arrow to stop was unbelievable.

"He was happy to watch me burn. Right after everything was burnt off, they could continue. I was bare and my body was weak. Anything that touched me hurt, even if it was a slight breeze. If I shifted in the slightest, I would feel unbearable pain." Arrow paused, it was painful to remember this. "The next part was even worse. They needed to change my DNA." Scootaloo gasped.

"What suffering did your father make you go through?" Flare asked. He was truthfully scared to hear the answer. He wanted to cover his ears and scream. Narration was just worsening Flare's nightmare.

"They began to force magic through my bare burnt skin. I could begin to feel it in my bloodstream. It was spreading out through my inner body. Soon, I couldn't control my body, it locked up due to the magic. It began to burn worse than the step before. I went to scream, but couldn't." Arrow paused and looked at Scootaloo. "Never mind."

"No, what happened?" Scootaloo asked through a very shaky voice. She was strong, but scared. Flare wasn't ready for what was next.

"Alright, if you really wanna know" Arrow closed his eyes again. "I went to scream, but the burning blood and their magic cut off any attempts to scream. Blood began to fill my mouth. I coughed painfully as the blood tried to make it down my throat. No matter how much I coughed up, it got down and into my lungs. I started having trouble breathing, and my coughing became worse. Each cough brought more flying blood. My body lost faith in air at that point, so I couldn't do anything. My mouth was filling with blood and soon it began dripping from my nose too. I had no control of my body, and there was no way to stop it." Arrow heard slight sobs, so he opened his eyes. To his surprise it wasn't Scootaloo, it was Flare. He was on the ground, holding his forehead with both front hooves. Other than those small sobs, he was silent. "Flare, are you okay?"

Flare didn't change. "Flare?" Scootaloo repeated. He was gone, trapped in his bloody nightmare. "Flare!" Scootaloo shook him a little. When he didn't respond, Arrow just sighed.

"Alright, let's just continue shall we? It is the only thing we can do to help him." Arrow knew. Arrow was the only one to know that stories of memories could mentally affect Flare. He didn't think about it, and Flare was suffering for it. Scootaloo was panicking, but agreed.

"Blood was everywhere, it was disgusting to see. But I didn't see it for too long, my vision began to burn and blur. It wasn't because they were being changed, I had something in them." Arrow said, watching me intently.

"Blood, you had blood in your eyes. It was causing both the burning and blurring." Scootaloo interrupted, and Arrow confirmed with a nod.

"Yes, it was the blood burning and blinding me. My eyesight was blurring and it was slowly becoming a tint of red. I was forced to close my eyes due to the pain. I was burning, hurt, and now blind, and there was no escaping it. It took another moment to lose my hearing. I couldn't see it, but could free blood coming from my ears and running down the side of my head." Arrow took a moment to make sure Flare was alright still. "I must of looked pitiful. I was covered in my own blood, too weak to scream or cry. I imagine I was pitch black from being burned for so long. Eventually the pain was just too unbearable. I passed out, and couldn't feel anything. Surrounded by only darkness, I thought I was dead."

"But you weren't, because you're still alive." Scootaloo said, tears running down her face.

"That I am, and I'm thankful I am now. A lot of things would have been different if I had died. Flare would have-" Arrow was interrupted in the middle of his sentence.

"What happened afterward?" Flare asked in a shaky voice. He wasn't back, he was still trapped in the nightmare of his mind. He didn't know he asked Arrow to continue. Arrow turned to Scootaloo, who nodded with fearful eyes.

Arrow sighed. "If you insist Flare. When I came to, I was in my bed at home. I felt sick and extremely sore. I could see mostly clearly, and could hear birds outside. I thought about everything that happened. As if to ensure what happened, a small spike of a white mane fell in front of my eyes. I went to look at my hooves and a huge surge of pain flowed through my body. I had to lay there limb or else I would feel the pain again. I thought the pain was mostly over, but I was wrong. Turns out when they remade my DNA, it wasn't allowed to mix with my blood. No, they were forming separate blood. That is why I lost so much blood and was still alive the next morning. But they didn't get all the blood out, so for another six weeks I had to cough or vomit up blood. I wasn't allowed to go to school afterward, and was forced to be home schooled." Arrow paused.

"I-I'm sorry..." Flare whispered. His body became less tense, but a bit more shaky in return. He shifted on the ground, but not in a relaxing manner. He was exhausted and didn't want anything holding him up. He didn't wanna move, so he let his body go completely limb.

"Hey don't be, bad memories suck. That is why I'm here, for happy memories." Arrow explained. "Come on Flare, you gotta have something to say."

"I have a funny story." Scootaloo spoke up, still recovering from Arrow's story.

"Care to share?" Arrow asked. Scootaloo nodded and began. The story was about the Cutie Mark Crusaders and some other stuff. Flare, however, was unintentionally not listening. Flare's mind started to drift around.

Flare thought about Arrow's story, and how he might have died because of his father. He then slowly drifted into the thought of him almost dying right in that pond. He thought about why he gave in.

-

Every good memory begins with a little unhappiness. This one began with Flare's mother being sad about something when she was young. By the end of the night, she had met someone she would never forget.

"Why were you sad mom?" Flare asked.

"That really isn't important. It was just me being overdramatic." His mother answered him.

"Ohh, you mean like that time I was crying and screaming about how I couldn't fly?" Flare asked, and his mother shushed him.

"No Flare, that was understandable. You had something taken from you that every pegasus has." His mother told him, and all he did was nod.

"Oh, okay, then what happened?" Flare asked, turning his attention back to his mother's story.

"Well, I was sad and crying slightly. It was a bit late for a filly of my age, but I didn't care. You see, the moon had risen and I was running. Running from my problems. I kept running until I couldn't really do it anymore. I began to look where I was, and then I saw something truly beautiful." His mother told him.

"What was it?" Flare asked, slightly excited to hear what it was. His mother only chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Well I can tell you faster if you wouldn't interrupt." She smiled.

"Oh, sorry. But you need to tell me, I wanna know!" Flare exclaimed.

"Alright, the thing I saw was Ponyville's pond." She told him.

"Ponyville's pond?" He questioned.

"Yes, it was the middle of the night, and it was beautiful. The water was completely even, not a single disturbance. The moon was reflecting onto it. It really is hard to describe."

"It was really that beautiful?" Flare asked.

"It had enough beauty to stop and calm me down." His mother answered back.

"Oh..." Flare replied, trying not to interrupt his mom anymore.

"It was so calming, I didn't notice that there was any other pony there. It was a colt, he was lying on the edge of the water. He was a pegasus, and he seemed really depressed. He was just poking the water lightly with his hoof. It was quite difficult to watch this so I went to talk to him." His mother paused, expecting Flare to have questions. Flare just sat there.

"He didn't notice me until I was right next to him. He didn't jump, move or shift at all. He didn't even seem surprised.  I sat down and he glanced at me, then right back at the pond. I got a simple 'hey' out of him. It was unemotional, and quite depressing."

Flare was quite interested at this point, many questions ran though his head. He decided it was best not to ask.

"I asked him what he was doing." Flare's mother continued. "He gave me a 'meh' and then returned the question. Unlike him, I told him everything. I don't know why, but he just asked and it all came out. I didn't seem to have a care in the world."

"What did he do?" Flare asked.

"He walked away." His mother answered. Flare was surprised, this was supposed to be happy and it was not at all.

"He just left?" Flare questioned. "Without saying a word?"

"At first, I thought I annoyed him or something." His mother answered. "But after a few steps away he stopped. He shifted his head towards me and asked me if I started school soon. I told him the answer and he followed up with 'see you there'. He then took his leave."

"So, he didn't say goodbye?" Flare asked.

His mother chuckled. "Believe it or not, your father was quite shy back then."

"That was dad?" Flare asked, quite surprised to hear this. All his mother did was nod. "But, why was he so shy?" He wasn't that shy, neither was his mother. Why was his father?

"I don't know, some people are just born that way. Most can't change that, so you have to change slightly to get them to feel alright around you." His mother concluded.

"Can you change how you're born?" Flare asked. His mother looked at him and saw hope. She knew what he wanted to change and she wanted to tell the truth. It would be to painful to tell Flare that he'll never fly though.

"Yes, of course. Sometimes you have to." She told him. It hurt to lie, but she couldn't tell him that he was earthbound forever.

"Really? Do you think I'll ever have to change?" Flare asked.

"Yes, you will need to one day. Everypony does." His mother answered. Flare then got up and began walking away. "Flare, where are you going?"

Flare opened the door to outside. "Preparing for the change." He said and walked out the door, leaving it wide open.

"Flare!" His mother called out.

"Yes mom?" He said, his head popping out from around the side of the door. His mother was smiling, so he wasn't in trouble.

"You can start by remembering to close the doors you walk through." She said.

"Oh, sorry." Flare said. His head disappeared and the door closed.

"Good Luck."

-

Well, you didn't lie mom. I have had to change a lot, way more then I got ready for...

"And then Applebloom crashed right into the ice cream cart!" Scootaloo was just finishing her story.

"I bet you didn't let them try to use your scooter again." Arrow said chuckling.

"Yeah, I'm the only one allowed to touch this thing." Scootaloo said, looking at her scooter.

"I don't think they wanna try again." Flare said, trying to cover the fact that he didn't listen one bit.

"Yeah, well I got to drive them around tomorrow. I guess that means I should be going." Scootaloo said, yawning slightly right after.

"You're probably right." Arrow said getting up. "Flare, you can walk right?"

"Of course." Flare stood up.

"Well, I'll see you later." Scootaloo said. She was about to ride off until Flare asked her to wait up.

"What is it?" Scootaloo asked. Flare looked at Arrow and sighed. Oh well, I'll deal with his questions later.

"Hey, I need to thank you for helping today." Flare said.

"Oh yeah, no problem." Scootaloo said and turned to leave.

"Mind if I go with you?" Flare asked. He felt everypony around him questioning him.

"Why?" Scootaloo asked.

"It is the least I could do after making you deal with what I did." Flare told her.

"What did you do?" Arrow asked from behind Flare. Flare turned to him with his 'innocent' smile.

"Just ran into some trouble with the local authorities." He told him.

"Oh." Arrow said and after a second of letting it sink in, he continued. "Wait, what did you do?"

"Oh you know me, just being a little thief is all." Flare replied.

"Great, what did you steal this time?" Arrow asked.

Flare laughed. "Don't you wish you knew?"

"Yes, I do. But I'll find out when you're locked up and I refuse to help." Arrow answered with a smirk. Is that so?

"Ahh, come on don't be a playa hater." Flare said. Scootaloo giggled slightly, she never thought she would hear Flare say something like that. Arrow trotted up to him and hit him on the head.

"Don't talk like that, you know how much I hate it." Arrow said.

"Well sorry I offended you so severely." Flare said with great sarcasm.

Arrow smacked him again. "Do you wanna continue this?" Arrow asked.

"Yes!" Flare smirked and put his face right into Arrow's. Arrow hit him hard enough to make him lose his footing. (hoofing?) Flare caught himself before hitting the ground.

"Alright, stop it!" Scootaloo jumped between the two. "What is wrong with you two?"

Flare and Arrow stared blankly at Scootaloo. Neither knew a good idea on what to say.

"What do you mean?" Flare asked.

"What do I mean? You two are constantly fighting!" Scootaloo said. Her voice had anger in it once more.

You're lucky you are so young or else I would drag this on for hours. Flare sighed at all the things he could say to drag this on. "No, we really don't. Tonight is just apparently fight night. Why that is, I have no idea."

"Instincts." Arrow said. Both of them looked at him. "It makes sense really. Flare and I fight every time one finds the other. He has began to get used to me being here. The only reason he hasn't left Ponyville already is because of the extremely pink pony and now knowing everypony. There might be more, but that is all I can guess." Flare knew he was lying, he knew if Flare ever made it to Ponyville it would change him. Those changes were slowly creeping into Flare's head.

"Scootaloo." Flare called. Scootaloo clicked instantly where he was. "He is correct. There is no doubt in my mind." Flare paused and took a small breath. "Let's get you home, shall we?"

Scootaloo seemed a little unsure, but agreed."Oh, right." She said.

"Arrow, I'll see you in a bit alright?" Flare said.

"Right." Arrow said. He went back to the pond and sat down. Flare stared for a second.

Huh, you were always right mom. It really is a beautiful sight... Flare turned to Scootaloo.

"Lead the way." Flare said, and the two began their way back into and through town.

They were going slow through town. It felt a little weird to Flare, but he just passed it off as the filly being tired. She went through so much today, I owe her a lot. Maybe I can help her get that mark, hopefully...

All of a sudden Flare noticed where they were passing through. "Scootaloo, mind if I do something really quick?" He asked.

Scootaloo stopped and turned around. "What is it?"

"It's just right over there, come on." He told her as he made his way to a nearby house.

"Do you know who lives here?" Scootaloo asked and Flare knocked on the door.

"Of course I do. I promised I would stop by and say hi." Flare replied.

"You know it is like, really late, right?" She asked.

"Better late than never, right?" He said.

"Right." The two slightly jumped at the third voice.

Flare chuckled. "Clouded, how are you this evening?"

"I'm good, but I have a couple questions for you. Do you both mind coming in for a second?" Clouded asked.

"Ummm..." Scootaloo began. Flare stepped into the doorway and turned to her.

"Come on, it's safe. She didn't kill me when she had the chance." Flare said and continued walking into the house. Scootaloo felt very unsure, but ended up stepping into the house.

"So Flare, I'm guessing you found him?" Clouded asked, and Flare heard concern in her voice.

"Nope, she did." Flare said and turned to Scootaloo, who had finally made her way inside.

"Oh, so that is why she is with you." Clouded responded.

"Wait, what is happening?" Scootaloo asked when she realized they were talking about her.

"Nothing really." Flare said, "But I brought you here for a reason actually." He told them.

"Why?" The two said synchronized. Scootaloo was concerned and a bit panicked, while Clouded was calm and ready to hear why.

"Your cut." Flare answered. Scootaloo looked at it like it was nothing. "We can't let it get infected."

"It isn't that bad..." Scootaloo began, but was cut off by Clouded.

"Well, let me see it. I can fix it." She said. Scootaloo resisted at first, but after a moment she held the cut out for Clouded to see.

"It can be fixed easily." Clouded said.

"But it'll sting won't it?" Scootaloo asked, Flare just nodded.

"Yes, but if close your eyes and think happy, it'll help" Clouded said. Scootaloo listened and closed could feel intense stinging.

"It's going to sting for a moment longer." Flare said.

"I'm fine." Scootaloo lied. It was obvious that she was lying. No, it is stinging. I know it is.

"It's almost over." Clouded reassured, as the last of the cut began to close. "And... done!"

"Is it going to be alright?" Scootaloo asked.

"Is what?" Flare asked.

"The cut..." Scootaloo paused as she looked at where the cut was. "...is gone." Scootaloo said in amazement.

"Yeap." Flare said.

"How?" Scootaloo asked.

"Magic." Flare responded.

"Well, no duh, but what kind of magic?" Scootaloo continued.

"The good non-lethal happy healing magic, obviously." Flare answered as he continued to smirk.

Scootaloo was silent, thinking of what to say. Clouded knew exactly what to say.

"Well, I'm beginning to see why Arrow needs to smack you around." She stated and Flare looked at her

"You really think that?" Flare asked. Clouded nodded. "Well, you're probably correct." He said agreeing.

Scootaloo looked in between the two. She just didn't understand. Sure, she and the other crusaders had scruffles every now and again, but it never seemed as bad as when Flare and Arrow fought.

"Huh? What is that?" Clouded asked walking towards Flare.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You're cut too." She said pointing to the cut on his forehead.

"Oh, well it was just a scratch." Flare told her. She knew he was lying, but she wasn't going to ask. Instead her horn start glowing again.

"This might sting." Scootaloo said and smiled. Flare glared at her. I think I know that...

Without warning, Flare's cut started burning. Flare didn't like it one bit, but arguing was pointless. He just sat there, flinching slightly as the cut closed.

After about a minute of burning pain, Flare's cut was gone. "There all better." Clouded told him.

"Thanks, you didn't have to." Flare told her.

"But Flare, we wouldn't want it to become infected." Scootaloo said.

Flare chuckled. "Well, you're not wrong. But, I believe we should get going before I get in serious trouble." Flare said, half sarcastic.

"Yes, don't want to keep her up too late." Clouded commented.

"Well, come on Scootaloo." Flare said. Scootaloo got up and nodded. The two walked to the door before saying goodbye. Scootaloo also thanked Clouded.

"Not a problem, and goodnight you two." Clouded said as they walked outside.

Once they got outside, Scootaloo seemed actually tired. Well, her energy actually fades eventually. Scootaloo yawned slightly, which confirmed Flare's thoughts.

"You tired?" Flare asked.

"Maybe a bit, but it doesn't really matter." She answered him.

"Are you sure?" Flare thought for a second on how to help her. "I'm willing to carry you if you want. All you would have to do is point me directions." Flare offered and smiled.

"No, it's fine, really. Besides it shouldn't be that much longer till we're there." Scootaloo said.

"Alright then, but the offer is there if you decide to take it, okay?" He told her and she nodded in response.

"Okay, are you ready to go?" She asked.

"I guess so." Flare said. They began down the road again. After a few more turns, but not twists just turns, Scootaloo stopped.

"Okay, wait here a second. I have to do something." She said before running into an alleyway. Flare was left to sit and think, again.

I wonder what she is doing in there. The question is should I go check? I feel like I should, but there is the chance she is going to the bathroom... Flare thought about that for a moment. I'm sure she is fine. There is no need to get arrested for peeping... I may be a thief but I would never-

Scootaloo then appeared out of the alleyway. "Alright this should work, come on." She said.

"What should work?" Flare asked her following her back into the alley.

"This will." Scootaloo said as she unfolded a box just big enough to fit her. Flare was stunned.

"Scootaloo, you aren't saying what I think you are, right?" Flare asked. When she didn't answer and just started removing things from the box, he knew the answer. "Why?" Flare was confused. Scootaloo stopped and looked away.

"Why are you so surprised? You know I don't have parents." She said. Flare had never heard Scootaloo talk like this. Her voice was filled with hatred, but for who?

"But, I thought you were staying somewhere. I didn't think you were completely alone." Flare answered.

"Well, I have been." She said. Hatred... There is so much of it, I can almost feel it... Why..?

"Scoot..." Flare paused. "What happened to your parents?"

"They abandoned me." She told him and finally turned to him. "They left me to die!" Her voice was full of emotions, but not a single good one.

"I'm sorry Scootaloo." Flare said. "How? How have you been living like this?"

"They lied to me, I don't know what I did wrong!" Scootaloo was now crying. "It seemed so good, and then they just left!" Flare sat down, he extended and wing and held out a hoof. Scootaloo ran over and embraced him.

"You can tell me what happened." Flare whispered to her. He wrapped his hoof and wing around her, protecting her from anything on the outside.

"It was all okay at one point. We had just gotten back from a vacation, and everypony seemed happy. But after a few days my mom woke me up in the middle of the night. She brought me downstairs and dad was sitting at the dinner table. Him and mom sat on one side and they sat me at the other..." Scootaloo began.

-

"Scootaloo."

"Yeah, dad?" Scootaloo answered. She yawned slightly, still a bit tired.

"We can't do this anymore." Her father stated.

"Do what?" Scootaloo asked.

"Me and your mother are leaving."

"Oh, where are you going?" She asked.

"Away." Her father answered.

"Away?" She was confused.

"Yes, and you cannot go with us."

"Wait, what? You are leaving me?" Scootaloo asked, now panicked.

"We have to." He told her.

"But, there isn't a way you could stay, or at least take me with you?" Scootaloo pleaded. Tears were rolling down her face.

"No, we can't!" Her father shouted. Scootaloo was scared and stunned by her father's sudden rage. "There is no way you can come and no way we can stay!" With that, her father got up and stomped out. Scootaloo turned to her mother, who was slightly crying. Scootaloo ran over to her.

"Mom, what's happening?" Scootaloo asked through many tears and sobs.

"Your dad and I have to leave. But Scootaloo, look into my eyes." Scootaloo did what her mother told her to do, even if she couldn't see her really. Her eyes were too watery. "I'm going to come back for you, do you understand me?"

"Why do you have to go?" Scootaloo asked.

"I can't tell you, but I can promise that I'm coming back for you." Her mother told her. She wrapped herself around Scootaloo. "I love you, and I just want you to be happy, and..." Her mother began crying so much, it became hard to speak.

After a few minutes and possibly hundreds of tears, her mother spoke again. "Just try to go to bed, I'll be here in the morning."

-

"But, when I woke up the next morning, they were already gone." Scootaloo said, still slightly crying. "No note, no nothing, they just left."

"Scootaloo, how have you hid this?" Flare asked.

"I sleep somewhere different every night, In an alley, a ditch, under a bridge, wherever really." She answered him.

"Every night..."

"Yeah, sometimes I get cold or hungry. I don't have a blanket or anything to keep me warm. I have Sweetie Belle hold onto my crusader cape. I usually only eat with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. I feel really bad about it too, they never seem to mind spending their bits on me when I have nothing in return. And every time I get the chance, I spend the night at one of their houses. I eat, bathe, and sleep there and they ask nothing in return." Scootaloo said, still sniffling.

"Scootaloo, that means that they are true friends." He explained. "They are willing to take care of without thinking twice. You should feel grateful, not useless."

"I guess." Scootaloo said. There was a moment of silence before Flare spoke up again.

"Scootaloo."

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna promise you something. I promise that as long as I'm still alive, that I will help you and take care of you. If you need help finding a place to sleep, I will have room reserved. I'll keep you fed, dry and generally alive." Flare promised.

"You don't need to..." Scootaloo began, but was interrupted.

"Yes, I do. I owe you so much, and nopony should ever suffer like this. I definitely don't want you to." He told her.

"I'm fine." She said, being protective of herself.

"For now, but what if some other pony finds you. They'll report you and you will be taken away." Flare said. Scootaloo heard this and began to cry again.

"I don't wanna go..." Flare heard the saddest, most innocent voice come from the filly. She didn't deserve this, she shouldn't suffer. I scared her... What was I thinking?

"Hey, hey, it'll be alright. Do you know why? Because I'll make sure they can't take you away. I'll protect you, I swear." Flare said, his voice calm and convincing.

"Why do you care so much?" Scootaloo asked, and caused Flare to think.

"I went through what you are going through, and almost died. I'm scared it might happen to you. I'm not willing to find out or fail anypony I care for." Anypony that I love...

There was silence between the two. Neither had an idea on what to say next. Flare released Scootaloo and walked up to the box. He circled around it and examined every piece.

"Flare, what are you doing?" Scootaloo asked. Flare then tore the box a little.

"Trying to make more a bit comfortable." He answered. After a couple a tears, he looked a bit more satisfied. "There, try it."

Scootaloo did what she was told. The box was able to fit her quite easily. It was torn so she wouldn't have to crunch up. "Well, it is a lot better than I normally sleep."

"Well, at the least it is better." Flare said.. "You will be alright tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She told him.

"Alright." Flare turned away. "Well, If you are okay I guess I need to make sure Arrow is still inline."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. Well, I guess this is goodnight then?"

"By now, it might be morning technically." When Flare looked at her, she was giving him a face that read 'Wow, are you serious?'. He just chuckled at this. "Alright fine. Goodnight Scootaloo, maybe we'll try and get you that mark tomorrow."

"Goodnight Flare, that would be awesome." Scootaloo yawned. Flare couldn't help but smile a bit. She is so cute, but I'd never tell her that... She'd kill me.

"Alright, maybe we'll even try today." Flare said. "See you, Scoot." He said as he started trotting away.

I'm sorry Scootaloo. I'll make sure you have a roof over you're head... or at least something... some day. Soon, it needs to be real soon. I need to make sure she is going to be safe until then. But... Flare began his way towards the pond he almost drowned in.

It took him a while, but he got there. He sat at the edge of the pond.

What am i going to do? Flare started speaking out loud without realizing it. "I am no where close to a good legal guardian. I can barely provide for myself..." Flare began to tear up. "I can't provide anything I promised. She can do better on her own, I almost died if it wasn't for Arrow. Arrow..." Tears began to fall.

"How was everypony able to cover for me? Arrow took care of me, Mom and Dad were killing themselves for me..." Flare flinched slightly. "Mom... Dad... I wish you guys were still here sometimes. I don't know what to do. I need help, I can't let this happen..." Flare went into a begging position towards the water. "I miss you Mom... and I miss you just as much Dad..." Flare became silent and he closed his eyes. Tears were frequent, and hope of success was fading rapidly. "I... I can't do this..."

"Flare." His eyes shot open. He heard hooves hit the ground from flight. Slowly the hoofsteps got closer and louder. Flare turned to where the hoofsteps came from. He was surprised from what he saw. One final tear fell.

It's her...