//------------------------------// // Night 8 // Story: Nights on Horlick's Hill // by RarityEQM //------------------------------// "So whats the deal with these Sol guys?" "Sol?" Diamond asked quietly, the tiny filly perking an ear at her companion sitting on the other side of the tree. Scootaloo quietly nodded her head, even if Diamond couldn't see her doing so. The two of them had found the time to meet again, Diamond's evening filled with innocuous tasks that could be easily accomplished, and Scootaloo's summer vacation left her with no homework that was required, and in turn, left her nights open to spend with the silver-coated filly she'd come to call a friend. The evening had been warm and inviting, speckled with the occasion firefly, and bathed in a warm summer's breeze, yet neither of them were particularly talkative. Diamond was enjoying the warm summer night while Scootaloo simply relished in not having school in the morning. Still, utter silence did not sit well with Scootaloo (or Diamond for that matter) which prompted the question in the first place. Diamond tilted her head curiously to one side before she frowned. "Yeah. I heard you mention them once or twice. A group of jerks or something. I jus' wanna know what the deal is? You mentioned, once that you had to deal with them, but who are they?" barked a question from the other side of the tree. Diamond shifted her position as if the question had caused her some amount of discomfort. She'd been resting with her hooves on her belly and her head supported by the wide trunk of the single tree that stood atop Horlick's hill. "Yeah. That's about right. Buncha jerks. Way back in the day, right? Celestia sends Luna to the moon. Everypony knows that story. But there's more to it," Diamond grumbled. "Yeah?" "Yeah. So, after Luna's gone, Celestia breaks off part of her sun guard. A special task force created just in case Luna manages to break free from the moon and return with a vengeance. Designed to protect the townsponies and the Celestia herself, she calls them Sol, or, the Soldiers of Light, " Diamond snorted. Scootaloo winced. Just from the voice alone, she could tell Dimaond felt a certain way about the entire 'banished to the moon' situation. Still, she kept quiet, letting the other filly continue. "So bout a hundred years pass, right? Maybe Celestia drops her guard and doesn't think Luna will escape, maybe she decided she deserves whatever punishment Luna inflicts. Regardless, she disbands Sol. Sol decides, however, that their mission is too important. Luna poses too much of a 'threat' so in secret, they continue operating and recruiting. They were convinced Luna would come back and tear the realm asunder. Jump to a coupla years ago, and Princess Twilight breaks the spell, and now Luna's back. As you can probably guess, Sol isn't totally cool with this," "Ok. So this group thinks Luna will go all 'Nightmarey' again and they're trying to put a stop to it? That's not fair! She didn't do anything, and she even saved the town a few times! And what does any of this have to do with you?" Scootaloo huffed quietly. "...Way back when, Luna used to have, children of her own. Fillies and colts she'd pluck from orphanages and take to her garden of shadows. One night where they could escape the horrors of their situation and be at peace. In the darkness. Just once a week. Or month. Or whenever she could find the time to brighten their dismal lives. Then she gets rocketed off to the moon and the foal are screwed again. But before then, she called them her 'children of the night'" Diamond murmured. Scootaloo's ears perked curiously. A tale she'd never heard before. Luna had kids? Wait... "Diamond...Are you...?" she paused. She didn't even need to finish her sentence. She could feel Diamond's prideful grin from clear across the trunk of the tree. "The first 'Child of the night' in a thousand years. Teeheehee, yes!! Then Dawn and Dinky had to come along and spoil it, but for a while there...I was her only one. Which is why Sol wants me, I think. See, they don't think any pony would willingly put themselves into Luna's company. I guess they buy into their own hype since she's got a lot of vicious rumors about her. Probably started by them. So I pop up, right? An mysterious orphan from another city, strange black markings all over, and devoted to the stars in the sky and the night itself. Of course, they come after me. They think I'm a conjured up dream demon or puppet or something. Created from the night itself and made to serve Luna," Diamond said with a haughty snort riding her voice. "That's just...thats crazy! You're totally normal! You're not some demon!" Scootaloo snapped. "Hahaha! Sure, Scoots. The next time they decide to try and have a chat, I'll let them know you said that. On the surface, they're trying to claim Foal Endangerment. They're trying to claim the princess is the one who cursed me, but underneath, I think they're just trying to deliver a blow or something to Luna. Taking out the first 'child' she's had in a long time would probably do that. They want to tell them everything I know and they think I'll start spilling the beans cause I'm just a filly. Humph! They can foal-nap me a thousand times and I won't say nuffin!" Diamond erupted suddenly in a fierce bark that made Scootaloo's fur heckle on her neck. "They...They foal-napped you?! Real talk?" Scootaloo winced. Diamond suddenly became quiet. She shifted against the tree again and stared up at the sky, losing herself in darkness and memories. "...It's a long story. Luna...Luna made sure that....that would never happen again. They will never do that again'." Diamond mumbled quietly, quivering where she sat. "You're lucky. I wish I had something like that," "Something like what?" "Something to devote yourself too. Some pony that has your back no matter what," "Well, what about the crusaders?! Heck, what about me?! I'VE got your back Scoots! If Sol ever decides to mess with you, they mess with me, and if they mess with me, they're messing with Luna, and, Luna, don't, mess, around!" the silver filly laughed. Scootaloo found herself grinning despite of the conversation and it turned into a legitimate smile with Diamond boisterous announcement of protection "Yeah?" "Totally Scoots. Totally. " "Then I've got yours too."