//------------------------------// // Night 3 // Story: Nights on Horlick's Hill // by RarityEQM //------------------------------// "Nuthin," "Nothing?" Scootaloo asked, sitting up from her lofty position on the grass. She gazed over the darkened little hill at her companion, who remained prone and peering up at the billions of stars above. For a long few seconds, Diamond Dancer didn't reply, then she snorted haughtily. "Did I stutter? No, I ain't a'scared o' nuffin," "You must be scared of something! Everypony is," "Geez, I dunno...Taxes...I guess..." "...Taxes? What in Tartarus kind sense does that make?" Scootaloo asked incredulously. If you had offered Scootaloo ten million guesses, not once would she have ever guessed that Diamond Dancer was afraid of taxes. On the other side of the hill, Scootaloo could pick up the sound of shame in her voice, radiating over the grassy rise like heat. Even if she couldn't see it, she could tell Diamond was blushing. "W-well I..I uh...I ain't so good with numbers, see, and taxes seem really super confusing, and there's, like, a gazillion forms you'se gotta fill out, and there's a whole buncha math, like, how many bits you made and if you have deductions, or like receipts and stuff, and there's so much to keep track of, and if you don't get them right, you go to Tax-Jail Scootaloo! IT'S A REAL PLACE AND PONIES ARE SENT THERE!" Diamond squealed in raising panic. A awkward silence drifted between the two of them before Scootaloo burst into giggles, followed, sheepishly by Diamond. "I meant to say water. I'm afraid of water," she added quietly. Scootaloo perked an ear at that. Water? "Wait, didn't you just get finished telling me about your trip to Hebi Island? There are like, a dozen super venomous species of snakes there, I thought? And you're afraid of water?" Scootaloo balked. Diamond gave a rough snort. "Snakes don't bother me. They're cool! Sides, I could get bitten by one hundred snakes, and they couldn't pierce my crystal skin, but that same skin is like, super dense when it comes to water. I don't really know, but I sink like a stone no matter how hard I kick. I can never go no where but down. Water is a one way ticket to Drown-Town," Diamond huffed quietly. A sore spot, to be sure. Diamond liked to brag about her alleged invulnerability, but the idea that she could lose to something that came out of the tap was probably wreaking havoc on her self esteem. Before Scootaloo could change the subject however, or apologize for even asking, Diamond had already seized the reins of the conversation. "And what scares Scootaloo?" Diamond asked, the ever so subtle hint of a snarl creeping along her voice. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and gave a haughty laugh that mimicked Diamond's own. The crystal filly either didn't know what it was that Scootaloo had been fretting about for her entire life, or was simply playing dumb; something that lit a fire inside the orange filly. "Duh. Never being able to fly. Everypony knows that," she snapped. Silence eased itself in between them and the stars twinkled over head, each one brighter than the last, it seemed. Scootaloo frowned quietly, and lifted up, peering at Diamond who sat quietly, staring at the sky. This wasn't how Wish Nights were supposed to go... "You know what I'm really scared of? I'm scared I won't get my wish and I wish my friend, Diamond Dancer, could swim, that way she wouldn't be afraid of water anymore." came a sudden voice over Horlick's Hill. Diamond's ears perked and slowly, her cheeks twisted into a warm grin. "Star light, Star bright, All stars in Luna's night, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish, I wish to night: I wish my buddy Scootaloo, could one day beat my all time highest flyin' record someday so we can race to the stars," Diamond chirped. Instinctively, she glanced down at the pendant dangling from her neck, watching for the tell-tale signs of potential magic radiating from the dangling jewel. When nothing happened, she frowned, and glanced up to find Scootaloo grinning like a maniac. "...What?" Diamond asked quietly, and squeaked when Scootaloo roughly grabbed her head to point it up towards the heavens; where a single shining star soared across the sky.