Waking Eyes

Flare stood up tall and turned to where the voice had come from.

“Show yourself.” He demanded firmly. “I won’t play any games with you and you are going to answer all my questions.”

“It wouldn’t change anything if you were to see, but I will show you anyway.” The female voice said. Seconds later, an almost completely shrouded pony stepped out. The only thing that Flare could see was that her muzzle was white.

“Who are you?” Flare asked and glared towards where the eyes would be located behind the hood.

“That doesn’t matter. What really matters is that you failed and lost them both.” She answered, her voice having close to no emotion in it.

“What do you mean?” Flare asked, confusion substituting anger. His body stiffened as he saw a small smile form on the pony’s face.

“That is a good question. I mean that if this had been real, she would’ve died,” She stated and pointed at the cliff Flare himself was on the edge of. “and the other would never want to see you again. You would have lost about everything.” She finished putting her hoof back into the water.

“That isn’t true, I wouldn’t allow this to happen.” Flare said with frustration in his voice.

“That is why I tested you on it. Your words mean nothing, Flare, your actions just proved you let it happen. You allowed it to happen, not to just one, but to both.” The small frown returned to her face. Even in Flare’s unnerved state, he could sense her disappointment.

“Shut up! I don’t care to hear what you have to say if you want to tell me I’m a failure.” He told her. “I care for why you had to ‘test’ me in this in the first place.”

“It’s simple really. In one day, you made a promise you aren’t sure you can keep and planned to keep a mare, whose emotions and words can change you, around. And now you saw how trying to protect the filly made the mare hate you and in turn her words stopped you from protecting the filly. In the end, you lost them both.” The hooded pony explained.

Flare looked down towards the water and was surprised to see a small ripple effect happening below him. He watched a tear fall from his face, producing another ripple in the water. “No, no I can do both. I can protect her and make sure Derpy doesn’t hate me!” His voice grew louder with each word. He looked towards the mare and gritted his teeth.

“There is no reason to shout. I’m not calling you a failure, I’m only showing you that you can’t handle it all.” The mare told him calmly. “You don’t want this to happen, and the best thing you may be able to do is for-”

“Shut up!” Flare yelled, interrupting her. “You are warning me, telling me to give up on one of the two. That it would be better for everypony. I strongly disagree.” He stated, holding back the urge  to yell again.

“Then explain what you plan to do to make sure this doesn’t happen.” The mare said.

“I will make sure Scootaloo eats and gets a place to sleep every night.” Flare began.

“How do you plan to do that?” The mare asked.

“I’ll convince her she is safer with me. I can watch over her then when she isn’t out crusading.” Flare smiled a small smile when he said those words. “I care for her and will protect her from anything she needs to be protected from.”

“You do realize that you sleep in the Everfree forest, right? That place is more dangerous than it would seem. You could never convince her to stay there.” She questioned Flare’s tactic for protecting the younger one.

“I realize this perfectly. Do you think I would just let her stay with me without an idea about what’s around us? She would be next to me the whole time, I’d show her she had nothing to fear.” Flare explained. “And if by the chance we were attacked by something, I’d protect her from it.”

“What about the everyday issues she has to deal with?” The mare asked. “What are you going to do about those things?”

Flare thought for a moment. “I believe she can protect herself from anything she has already faced.” Flare’s small smile grew to a more confident one. “Any risks I could put her in, I will teach her how to deal with.”

“You aren’t going to teach her anything violent, are you?” She asked. Flare, now more calm and concentrated, heard small worry in her.

“I said, I would teach her how to deal with anything that could harm her there. Calmly asking timber wolves to leave won’t work and if she is attacked, she will know what to do.” Flare said. “I believe she will only ever use it if she is required to.”

“You put a lot of trust into her.” The mare announced. “Too much can be a bad thing, so can be too little. You must understand this.”

“I do, but she has been through enough to understand what and when something is required. I will explain that what I teach her is purely a self-defense, and trust that she will listen.” Flare said.

“You don’t use violence for self-defense half the time though.” She pointed out.

“I know.” Flare admitted. “But I’m not teaching her to do what I do. I’m teaching her to do what I say instead. She’ll be the better pony that way.”

“You really want to keep your promise to her.” She stated. Flare looked at her, confused by the statement she had just made.

“Of course I do. She deserves better than what she has or has had. If I can give her happiness, care and love, then maybe she won’t end up homeless and useless.” Flare said. He really wanted to see Scootaloo truly happy.    “Maybe then, I won’t be so useless myself.” He whispered to himself.

“You’re useless you say? We can address that problem later.” The mare said.

“What are you talking about?” Flare asked.

“Your sense of self isn’t what we’re are dealing with at this very moment. Now, I guess you have some plan to keep your promise to the filly. I feel like you are never going to discard that.” She said.

“I promised I’d protect her, from anything. No cost will stop me from doing such… Never again.”  Flare said, remembering what had just happened.

“I see you are coming to terms with what the test results were. You don’t seem angry about them.” The mare brought up.

“I failed, but thankfully this time it wasn’t real. This showed me that I need to make sure that nothing should stop me from protecting her.” Flare told her.

“Even if the mare you have a crush on announces she hates you?” She asked.

“I would hate that, but I would never forgive myself if Scootaloo suffered because I felt hurt. She fell off a cliff and neither of us can fly. If this had been real, she would… would have just died…” Flare managed to say.

“I see. I hate to bring this to your attention, but what if Arrow was in trouble as well as Scootaloo?” She continued.

“Arrow and Scootaloo?” Flare’s mind began processing what he would do. If they were both in life threatening trouble at the same time, would I be able to help both? Would I be able to save even one? I wouldn’t be able to pick between them… would I? Flare laid on the ground, uncaring of the water, and put his hooves behind his head. “In all honesty… nothing.” Flare said.

“They would both suffer, but that is why I didn’t bring Arrow into this test. I knew that it would be too much.” The mare said. “You need to realize what exactly you are getting yourself into, Flare, or you’ll just hurt the ones you care for.”

She’s right, I believe Arrow could handle himself. But everypony needs assistance at some points. If it happened right at the same time Scootaloo needed help… “I... I would help Scootaloo.” Flare said, slowly rising again.

“Hmm?” The mare wasn’t sure what he meant.

“I would help Scootaloo first, and together we would save Arrow!” Flare exclaimed. “We three would be there for each other and would make sure we would be never alone!”

“You believe that the three of you could watch out for each other?” The mare asked.

“Of course. Arrow is older and can hold his own in almost all cases. If he needed help, it wouldn’t be immediate. Scootaloo would though, making her the right choice to help first. After that, we could make sure Arrow was fine. We’d have his back to the end.” Flare said, his smirk of confidence reappearing upon his face.

“Well then, I guess I can’t change your mind. I can only show you what you’d be up against.” She said.

“What do you mean? I am getting really tired of asking that, so explain everything. Who are you?” Flare asked in a serious and no longer cocky tone.

“I’ll answer what I am, if you can tell me what you are going to do about the mare now. You seem to be happy with what you want from Scootaloo, but what are you going to do to balance the mare in this?” She asked.

“By ‘the mare’ you mean Derpy, correct?” Flare asked.

“Indeed.” She confirmed.

“That’s a good question actually. If I avoid her too much, she’ll stop caring. If I give her too much attention, she might think I’m a creep or something.” Flare thought aloud. “Not only that, but making sure I can balance her in with everything is risking my friends at some times.”

“Family.” The mare said.

“Huh, family?” Flare didn’t know what she meant.

“You mean family. You and Arrow aren’t blood related, but the bond between you is strong enough to be. You also love and care for Scootaloo and plan to protect her, even if your life is ended in the process. You don’t have friends, you have family.” The mare explained calmly.

Flare was taken aback by what she said, but it was true. He loved Arrow like a brother, and wanted to protect and care for Scootaloo like a younger sibling. He seemed to have trusted Clouded enough to follow her into her house. Even after that, he took Scootaloo to get her cut healed. His trust in her was enough. Derpy, with just a few words, had helped him many times already. All the ponies he had met since he arrived in Ponyville had been so nice to him. Too nice to consider only friends.

“I do. I have family, and I wish to include Derpy in it.” Flare stated solemnly. “May I ask you a quick question?”

“You may ask, you may not like the answer.” The mare stated.

“Why are you helping me realize somethings, but not others?” Flare asked. “It’s come to my attention that you warn me, and then do nothing.”

“I can’t pave your path or plan your future, that’s up to you. I warn you of what you must watch out for, that is all.” She answered.

“As I thought. So I guess I need to think how to balance Derpy in this by myself.” Flare concluded.

“Yes, you do.”

“Alright.” Flare sat down and closed his eyes, trying to focus only on his thoughts. This is going to be difficult. I’m sure I can do it. How, that is the only thing stopping me.

“You love her, right?” The mare asked, causing Flare to open his eyes.

“Of course I do. I just got to prove it, without all those gifts, nicknames, and other things.” Flare said.

The mare walked up to Flare and put a hoof on his chest. Flare looked at her in confusion, but didn’t question. “Do you trust your heart?” She asked.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Flare informed her.

“Do you or not.” She repeated.

Flare closed his eyes again, trying to figure out what antic this mare was doing now. “Yes, I trust it.” His eyes reopened. “Why?”

“If you trust it, then why don’t you believe in it?” The mare asked as she took her hoof off where Flare’s heart would be beating.

“What?” Flare was completely lost.

“Your mind can’t always find the answer. You have to learn to sometimes go with what your heart says.” The mare told him. “Otherwise, your heart will become cold and hateful as you grow older. It would appear this mare has revived it, but it’s up to you to make sure it is cared for.” Her words made him realize what was right in front of his eyes the whole time.

I must believe in my heart and leave my mind to sit this one out. If I follow my heart, I should be fine. Flare smiled slightly. “I understand, I will use and care for my heart.”

“Flare, you truly are a smart stallion. I can’t do more than provide warnings, but you seem to have figured out almost everything.” The mare commented.

“Almost?” Flare asked.

“I’m afraid I have to ask one more question.” She told him. Her emotionless voice worried Flare.

“Ask it, there is no use holding it back.” He replied.

“What would happen if Arrow died?” She asked. Flare felt his breath leave him at the thought, even if just a dreamed one. He suddenly felt cold and it was hard to breathe.

“Arrow dying...” Flare said. “No, no it won’t happen. He won’t die, nopony will. I’m sure he will live till he is an elder. Arrow won’t die!” Flare was panicking, he was worried about the mere idea she suggested.

“It’ll happen someday.” The mare stated.

“No! No, it won’t! Scootaloo, Derpy, Arrow, they will live on happily!” He told her, his voice growing with panic and worry.

“Flare, did you listen to my question?” She asked him. “I didn’t ask if it would happen. I asked what would happen if he was to die. What would you do afterward? Would you still remain strong enough to care for your family?”

“Why would Arrow die, huh? Tell me why!” Flare retorted and refused to answer.

“Because you weren’t there to help. You weren’t there and he died. His goals unfulfilled and dreams never accomplished.” The mare said.

I wasn’t there… That was all of yesterday… I wasn’t there, if he had been in trouble, I wouldn’t have been there. I’m not even the one who found him, Scootaloo did. Flare’s breathing slowly began to calm. If he were to die, would I be able to carry out what promises I’ve made?

“If Arrow were to die, I’d avenge him. I’d carry out his hopes, his dreams through me. They may only seem like words now, but I carry and have carried the same hatred, blood and determination as he has. We, with no doubt, are brothers even after the end!” Flare said. He didn’t smile or act cocky in any manner. He was completely serious.

“That’s good for Arrow. So, you would throw away the rest of your family for revenge?” The mare concluded.

“I wouldn’t throw them away, but it would be better if they didn’t follow. I wouldn’t dare endanger any other pony in my quest for vengeance. They would be better if I left.” Flare stated. “Of course, I would still love them, but sometimes you must say goodbye to the ones you love. It would be better than having to say goodbye because they tried to help me and were harmed in the process.”

“You would leave in order to protect them.” She said.

“Yes. And it would hurt to do so. In the end, they would probably never forgive me for leaving, but I’d have to anyway.” He elaborated.

“Why are you so sure about you having to avenge him?” The mare asked quizzically.

“Because I couldn’t do it with my blood-related family. I was small and weak then. Not anymore.” Flare said.

“I see, you still can’t fully accept what happened to your parents. You let them go, but want to make sure you never have to again.” The mare said.

Flare sat down and closed his eyes once again. His head faced towards the ground. “I let them rest, I was the only burden holding them to this world. It was better I gave up any thoughts of vengeance for them. They got to move on, and in the end I feel better about myself.”

“You say you let them move on, then why make Arrow suffer?” She asked.

Flare let a tear fall. “I don’t know… I just don’t know what I’d do if Arrow died.” He admitted.

“You said you’d leave what family you had left behind for revenge, what would happen if you failed?” The mare continued to question.

Flare felt more tears fall, the water absorbing them. “I… I don’t know… I would lose everything for nothing… That’s what would happen.” Flare was crying and sniffling at this point. He didn’t want  to fail again, nor did he want Arrow to die. Those are all possibilities… They can and might happen…

“Flare, you are a strong stallion. However, you alone cannot handle this. Maybe if you let somepony help you, everything you want will come true. You can’t be so stubborn all the time.” She told him. “Allow your family to help, that’s what they are there for.”

Family is there to help… Flare tried to calm down, and after a bit he did.

“I think I need time to think about some of my answers and your questions.” Flare said.

“I expected as much. Flare, you have great potential. Do not waste it, and do not throw away your family.” The mare warned. An order and a plea mixed in her voice. “I will leave you to your thoughts now.”

Flare felt numb, and when he opened his eyes everything was blurred again. This time it was also fading, leaving Flare to sit there in nothing but darkness. He sighed.

Scootaloo, I swear I will protect you. Derpy, I will care for you. Arrow, I’ll have your back till the end of time. Clouded, I will repay the favors I owe you.  I promise this, to all of you…

-

The sun was near the middle of its journey when Flare began to shift around. He didn’t want to wake up, but it was better than sitting in complete darkness that his dream had become. He opened his eyes and saw a small red bug sitting upon the tip of his snout.

“Ahh!!” Flare shouted as he shot up and tried to swat the ladybug away. “Get away!”

Arrow awoke to Flare shouting and looked around worriedly. He spotted Flare with his back against a tree breathing heavily to the point of hyperventilation.

“Flare, what is the matter?” Arrow asked, getting up. Flare pointed to the ground near his hooves.

“Get rid of it, Arrow!” He shouted in a voice decidedly higher than usually, his breath not slowing a single bit. Arrow looked over; there was a patch of dirt and in the middle sat a ladybug. Arrow walked over and smiled. He allowed it to climb onto his hoof.

“Come on, Flare, it’s just a ladybug.” Arrow said with a sly grin.

“Arrow, get it off you and out of here.” Flare commanded. Arrow turned around and slowly crept towards Flare.

“It’s only a little bug, it won’t hurt you.” Arrow’s smile grew as he got closer. Flare’s ears fell and his eyes focused on the ladybug climbing on Arrow as he was approaching.

“Arrow, don’t. Please do not.” Flare pleaded, his heart beginning to beat faster and panic resonating in his voice. Arrow continued to make his way towards Flare. “Arrow seriously, please don’t come any closer with that.” He begged.

Arrow stopped about 2 pony-lengths away and extended his ladybug-bearing hoof towards Flare. Flare looked horribly scared and was staring at the bug on Arrow’s hoof like it could open enormous jaws full of pointy teeth and gobble him up at any moment.

“Well, little guy, it would appear you have driven fear into Flare.” Arrow spoke to the ladybug. The pause effect he used was great torment to Flare. Suddenly, Arrow flinched his hoof upward and the ladybug flew off. “So shoo.”

The ladybug seemed to tease Flare by flying right next to his face. Flare dove in the opposite direction and covered his head with his hooves. He gave himself a moment before speaking.

“Is it gone?” He asked from under his hooves. Arrow rolled his eyes and walked over to Flare.

“Yes, it’s gone.” He said.

Flare rested his hooves and a sigh of relief escaped his lips. “Thanks.” He said as he began to calm down.

“You really are afraid of them, aren’t you?” Arrow asked with compassion. Flare’s body shook and it seemed to relieve him the last bit of fear.

“Yeah, I am. I can’t stand them and that one even touched me.” Flare complained, relaxing his body once again.

“Well it’s gone now.” Arrow said. He bent down and began to drag Flare up from the back of his mane. Flare’s natural reaction was to push him off.

“What the hay!” Flare said, as he was forced off the ground. Arrow dragged him up to a sitting position, then released.

“You woke me up with your screaming. Therefore you are getting breakfast for us.” Arrow stated. Flare shook his head in a joking manner.

“Fine, but you are stuck with what I get.” Flare pointed out, standing up.

“Fine with me, just wake me up when you get back. I’m going back to sleep now.” Arrow said, laying back on the ground.

Flare chuckled at him and stretched once before heading towards Ponyville. I hope he realizes I don’t have any bits. Flare smiled at this thought.