Waking Eyes

Flare made his way back through the Everfree towards Ponyville. The sun was bright enough that he could easily see what was in front of him. He emerged from the Everfree and took a moment to stop and get some fresh open air.

I really hope he was kidding. I don’t know where to get any food, other than the farm. I don’t wanna buck apples though… Flare thought to himself. He disregarded it as joke with the conclusion that if it wasn’t, Arrow would just need to get some food himself.

He continued towards Ponyville using the path near Fluttershy’s cottage. Flare began to think about his dream from last night. There were few questions that still needed to be answered, mostly revolving around who that mare actually was.

I don’t know… Who or what was that? I couldn’t control anything and it all happened so fast. Then the questions… How did she know about some of those things? Flare became so lost in thought that he didn’t realize what was happening around him, or how far he had walked, so the first houses of Ponyville took him by surprise. He shook his head to clear it from troubling thoughts and entered the town proper.

The ponies of Ponyville were out and about. Flare didn’t recognize any that he had met so far. He had no idea why he was trying to spot anypony in particular, nor did he know why he even went to Ponyville. He was there though and didn’t feel like leaving.

“Flare.” A voice came from behind him. It sounded familiar so he turned around to see who it was without warning. Clouded was behind him. “What are you doing?” She asked.

“Taking a walk.” Flare replied. Clouded only looked at him.

“I don’t think that’s the truth.”

Flare looked at her confused after she said that. I’m just wandering around aimlessly, how would I be lying?

“Why?” Flare asked.

“Because, just walking around doesn’t seem like you.” Clouded responded. “You don’t seem like one of those who just take walks.”

Flare was withdrawn. “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“All I’m saying is that you seem more like the actionable type. Always charging head on. I’m not saying you don’t think, just saying you seem to get yourself in trouble a lot for not thinking enough.” Clouded told him.

“Yeah, well, I can’t afford to do that anymore.” Flare replied, reliving last night’s dream. He shook it off. “What about you? What are you doing right now?” he asked, changing the subject.

“I’m out on a walk.” Clouded stated.

Flare just looked at her. Really? Is that so? After a moment, Clouded laughed at Flare.

“What?” Flare asked, not realizing what was funny.

“Just your reaction to my answer.” Clouded told him. “Anyway, if you’re not busy right now I’d like to talk to you.” Flare knew she was serious, even though she seemed at peace.

No doubt about it. This ‘talk’ is about last night…

“Yeah, I can talk right now.” Flare said. His stomach growled at him. Clouded gave a questioning look at him as he nervously smiled. She sighed.

“Come on.” she said, heading down the road.

“Where are we going?” Flare asked as he followed.

“To my house, to talk in private and feed you it seems.” Clouded answered him.

“Or to try and pry your way into my head again.” Flare whispered to himself. Clouded turned to him right after and Flare thought he had been heard. All Clouded did was smile in his face. Yeah, she definitely heard that…

It was a short walk of complete awkward silence the rest of the way, both ponies lost in thought. Clouded opened the door and walked in, Flare followed.

“So, you just don’t lock your door?” Flare asked. “Aren’t you afraid of getting robbed?”

“No, this area is generally safe.” Clouded replied, as Flare closed the door behind him. “Make yourself at home in the living room. I’ll get something for us to eat.” she said, going towards the kitchen before Flare could stop her.

Flare followed his orders and found a spot comfortable for sitting. Clouded entered the room levitating two plates with hay sandwiches on them. Setting one in front of Flare, she immediately began interrogating him.

“I’m going to get right to the questions. Who was she?” Clouded asked. Flare took a small bite and smiled.

“Well then, I didn’t realize how serious this relationship was to you.” Flare commented. Clouded glared at his with dagger eyes.

“Flare, this is serious. I would like it if you took it as such.” Clouded told him. Flare’s smile wore off.

“Alright, ask away then.” Flare responded.

“You came to my house twice last night. Once looking for Arrow, the other claiming you found Arrow with that foal. You said that she helped you find him. How did she help you?” Clouded asked. Flare thought for a moment about what to say.

“She was the one who found him. I followed her to where she said Arrow was, and it turned out he was.” he responded.

“Okay, so she was involved in all of this the whole time. You must know her from somewhere.” Clouded inferred.

“Not exactly, she just kinda slipped into the whole mess.” Flare admitted.

“Oh, and how did that happen?” Clouded asked.

Flare realized he had been set up. She’s playing games with me… He thought for a moment on how to answer her. “She crashed into me.” Flare stated.

“She got involved by crashing into you?” Clouded asked.

“Affirmative. She was going home when she crashed into me. She asked what I was doing and after I told her, she asked if I wanted help.” Flare told her and took another bite from his sandwich.

“And you declined, right?” Clouded assumed.

“Not exactly. If I did, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Flare said, bringing up a valid point.

“Right. So you’re to blame for everything that happened to her last night.” Clouded said.

“Yeah..? What’s so bad about that?” Flare asked.

“If I were to report you, you could get into a lot of trouble.” Clouded said, taking the first bite from her sandwich. Flare became very serious at this point. I see where she is going with this. I can’t afford to get into trouble with the law. Especially not after last night…

“Yes, this is true. However, what would that do for you?” Flare asked in response.

“That would fulfill my duty as a pony of Ponyville. Reporting suspicious actions and with evidence, you could be in deep trouble.” Flare flinched, she had him trapped in a corner. “Instead of doing that immediately, I decided to give you a chance. I’m sorry Flare, but a grown colt randomly appearing with a young filly just raises some red flags.”

Errgh, she is doing this to protect Scootaloo. If I get locked away, I can’t keep my promise and Scootaloo will be taken to an orphanage. But if I break and tell her everything, not only will Scootaloo never trust me again, but she’ll still be taken if Clouded reports it.

“I understand Clouded, thank you for the chance to prove my innocence.” Flare said. If you didn’t, nothing good would happen…

“It’s only fair. Now she was on her way home? Alone?” Clouded continued. Yeah… That’ll be bad to say though… I shouldn’t, but...

“Yes.” Flare simply answered, fearful to give anymore information.

“Why?” Clouded asked. “You know why, I’m sure of it.” I know you’re sure… That’s my problem.

“Because it wasn’t that late when I found her.” Flare told her.

“Oh, how long did you have her with you then?” Clouded asked. Flare wanted to facehoof because of what he said. What’s done is done, now let’s work with it…

“Soon after I left your house.” Flare explained. That’s a large time frame though…

“That’s quite a long time. You didn’t find Arrow right away then, did you?” Clouded suggested.

“No, we didn’t.” Flare admitted. And before you use this… “As I said before, it took a good while to find him, even with the two of us. However, even with the extended amount of time I got her home, safely too.”

“You never left her side?” Clouded asked. I did…

“No, she was always around me.” Flare lied. Sorry Clouded, but I can’t afford to mess up.

“Okay, then how did she get that cut on her shoulder?” Clouded asked.

“She crashed into me. When she did, she kinda flipped over and hurt herself. I tried to make her let me see it, she wouldn’t though.” Flare answered.

“Do you know why?” She pushed.

“It’s because she was too excited when she found Arrow.” Flare said without a second thought.

“I see, so how did she do it?” Clouded asked.

“Do what? Find Arrow? She did that when…” Flare drifted off. No, I just didn’t…

“When?” Clouded pushed Flare for an answer. “If she was near you the whole time, how did she find him first? Why would she have to crash into you instead of just pointing him out?”

...I don’t know… Scootaloo… “It’s because, she left my side at one point…” Flare admitted.

“For how long?” Clouded asked.

“Enough for me to get a bit of info on Arrow, then almost get arrested.” Flare told her.

“Arrested?”

“I broke into town hall. The mayor caught me. I stole a map of Ponyville. I was later caught by them and was almost arrested on the spot.” Flare told her.

“What stopped them from doing so?” She asked.

“I only stole a map, nothing serious.” Flare told her.

“I see… So you left her alone for quite a while. In the middle of the night?” Clouded continued. I’m sorry Scootaloo…

“Yes.” Flare admitted. He stared down at the floor. He had failed, again.

“You put her in a lot of danger Flare.” Clouded commented. Flare stamped his hoof in frustration.

“Clouded. I don’t want her hurt. I would never endanger her.” He stated firmly. I would never put her in danger…

“Flare…” Clouded started, but was interrupted.

“No, just give me a moment.” Flare said.

I failed her again… Dangit! I admitted almost everything and Clouded won’t chance it. I’m getting arrested and she’s going to an orphanage… He thought hard on anything he could do. Memories of his dream from the previous night appeared. I’m overwhelmed. Scootaloo… I’m not going to let you go. Flare’s head clicked as something came together in his mind. No, I won’t let you go. In fact, I choose you. Over anypony else, you are the one!

“Clouded. You can’t just accuse me of endangering her.” Flare said.

“What do you mean?” Clouded asked.

“You can’t say she was in danger.” He stated again. “You can’t prove she ever was.”

“You left her alone long enough to find Arrow.” Clouded brought up. “That’s a large amount of time.”

“Ponyville is safe. I know it is. She’s fast and found Arrow. If she was ever in any danger, she’d be fine.” Flare told her.

“You can’t ensure Ponyville’s safety.” Clouded replied. “It’s illogical to think this place is safe just because it seems that way.”

“Clouded, please don’t be a hypocrite.” Flare said. Clouded looked at him in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” Clouded asked.

“Remember? You don’t lock your door because Ponyville is ‘safe’.” Flare commented. Clouded’s eyes slightly widened.

“Leaving your door unlocked and letting a young one roam around in the middle of the night is completely different.” Clouded said, defending herself.

“Yes, but they lead to the same conclusion. That Ponyville is safe.” Flare shot back, reversing who was on the offensive. “If she would have screamed, all the ponies here would have awoken and helped her. I wouldn’t care where I was, what I was doing, nothing would stop me from getting to her. It was my job to protect her, and she got home with only a scratch.” He added up. Scootaloo, I will not fail you. Right now, you’re my everything.

“Even so, what if she didn’t have time to scream? What if she never returned home?” Clouded asked. Flare went silent for a moment.

“Clouded, I wouldn’t dare let anypony die because of me. I trust she knew what she was doing and look at that, she did.” Flare sighed. “Clouded this may be difficult to understand, but I knew she could handle herself.”

“How can you be so sure you didn’t endanger her?” Clouded asked.

“You can learn a lot about somepony just by how they talk, how they move, how they act. When I was her age, I was fighting to survive. I know when somepony has the qualities to stand up to challenges that endanger them. She meets them.” Flare told her. I can’t tell her everything though… “I don’t know where she got it from, maybe chasing her cutie mark or after Rainbow Dash made her see how quickly life can end. I’m sure they’ve been harmed by that much worse than a scratch.”

“You can tell how a pony would fare in a life dangering situation. Is that so? What about me?” Clouded asked.

“You’d be fine. You have healing magic and your quick wits would help you avoid as much trouble as possible. If anything happened to you, you could easily counter it. But, I feel you learned to be careful like that the hard way. I can’t help but to feel you can relate to me in a way.” Flare explained. Clouded opened her mouth, but then closed it back shut. “She is more like me. She is able to move, even if at the last second. That scooter she has can provide decent practice. However, she lacks the ability to stop. In some situations, this could be a downfall or your best advantage. It all depends. Speed won’t get you through everything though, that too is true. Neither me nor her are as smart or quick witted as you, but give us just a bit of time and we can form a good plan.” Flare thought about what he said. I’m sure, she is as talented as I was at that age… Maybe better even… The room went silent, a weighting feeling hung over the room. Scootaloo, I think I kept my promise… I think I did it…

“Flare, you’re smarter than you think. You say I can relate to you, how did you know?” She asked.

“I can tell when others have had it rough. For a pony to go this far to protect somepony they don’t know. It seems like you want to protect everypony around you dearly. I’m a newcomer and then this happens. It screams I’m dangerous; you don’t want anypony hurt, so you try to protect them by getting rid of me. For some reason, you didn’t report me immediately. Why? Because you also felt I could relate and so you gave me a chance.” Flare explained more in depth. “Am I wrong?” He asked.

“No. You figured me out. When I met you, I had a strange feeling that you knew what I’ve been through.” Clouded admitted.

“I don’t exactly know, but I can empathize with you.” Flare said. “My parents were murdered in front of my eyes.” Clouded looked into Flare’s eyes. “I couldn’t do a thing to stop it. I tried and almost lost my life for it.”

“I killed mine…”