Scootaloo frowned as her scooter rolled to a gentle stop at the base of Horlick's Hill. Diamond did not greet her with a loud, boisterous hello or an exaggerated wave of her hoof. She sat at the far side of the hill, quietly hunched over with her back turned to Scootaloo. She knew immediately something was wrong. The quivering shoulders and the echo of a running nose screamed in volumes a song of sorrow; a familiar record Scootaloo had heard one too many times before.
She approached quietly, unsure if she were doing the right thing in disturbing the obviously distraught girl. Something inside of her pressed her forward, though. Quiet as she tried to be, she must have made a sound, or perhaps it was the various training the Servants of Shadow did, but somehow, Diamond knew of her presence. She turned to glance over her shoulder at Scootaloo before turning away with another silent sob, immediately trying to force herself back into her invulnerable, and brash persona.
Scootaloo winced quietly. She didn't need to ask what was weighing on Diamond's mind. The dishoveled wings sprouting from her back looked particularly rough tonight, and the girl held a shaking hoof-full of dead and blackened feathers. Ones that had come off of her wings far, far too easily.
Diamond stared at them through bleary eyes and did her best to dry her tears and greet Scootaloo with a smile, but the sight of her stained feathers shattered whatever pretense of 'fine' she was trying to pretend she was. Her beautiful silver feathers. Blackened and scraggly, the quills were bent and crooked, twisting in every direction but 'straight'. Her beautiful, wonderful wings, lost forever to the marring ebony stains that plagued her and would plague her for the rest of her short, terrible life. The tears surged through her defenses again and a fresh round of sobbing bubbled to the surface. Even when Scootaloo wrapped a foreleg around the shuddering filly and squeezed tightly.
"It's not so bad," Scootaloo sputtered and immediately winced as the words exited her mouth. She didn't mean to say that, really she didn't. It was just the first thought that popped into her mind to try and comfort the girl. She knew all too well the pain of not being able to fly, but could she even fathom the suffering of having the ability and then losing it? Was never again tasting the joy of flight worse than never having the joy to miss? Scootaloo sighed. Somehow they were both trapped in two different versions of the exact same Tartarus.
"I tried to get up to Cloudsdale this afternoon. I couldn't. This is ten days in a row," the silver filly lamented. They sat that way for a long few moments before Diamond pulled away. She lifted her hooves and bitterly watched her feathers float silently to the ground. She gave a harsh little snort and pointed her gaze towards the sky.
"It'll...It's gonna be okay, Diamond," Scootaloo said softly. To her dismay, Diamond twisted towards her with another violent snort, blowing hot steam from her nostrils. She rose to her hooves slowly and glared the Devil's Glare in Scootaloo's direction.
"What exactly are you basing that one on, Scoots?" Diamond growled. Scootaloo sighed and shook her head quietly, reaching a tentative hoof out resting it gently on Diamond's shoulder.
"The fact that your wings aren't what define you. You think Luna wants you because you can fly? You told me the story of your first mission; The one where Luna instructed you to reignite the star around your neck. You went underground and participated in a war between Diamond Dogs tribes. Under. Ground. Most pegasi are super messed up just being on the regular ground, but underground? Where any and all flight is limited? You went down there and you fetched an Ember Gem and none of that required you to fly, DD. You helped end a war and returned with a rare piece of a rock and your wings had nothing to do with it! Luna could pick from several dozen pegasi for missions if flight was the only thing she was concerned about! She picked YOU because you get things done. Cause you're crazy loyal to her. Cause she trusts you. I mean, she doesn't just go around handing out Royal Runes and boons to just any filly, right? You told me you were the youngest filly ever inducted into the Night Court, and you think she decided to just pick a random little filly to be her errant simply because she had wings? If you never fly again, Diamond, you still have an older brother to go back to, a laundry list of titles and achievements, and let's not forget, THE UNLIMITED POWER OF THE COSMOS AT YOUR HOOVES. Your value does not begin or end with your wings, it never has and it never will," Scootaloo cooed softly.
For a long time, Diamond let silence fill the void of conversation between her and Scootaloo. They simply sat under the stars with the smaller filly staring up at the bejeweled sky.
"Why us? Why us, Scoots? Why us?" Diamond sighed miserably. Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders.
"Life sucks," the orange pegasus said simply. Diamond tilted her head, tossing Scootaloo a sidelong glance before she gave a bitter chuckle. She could appreciate Scootaloo's brutal honesty.
"Yeah. Yeah, it does," she murmured softly. Scootaloo slowly reclined until she mirrored Diamond on the grassy hill and peered up at the stars.
"It sucks a little less if you've got friends, you know. You give any more thought to hanging out with Applebloom and Sweetie? They're really cool and think you guys would get along," Scootaloo offered hesitantly. Diamond drew in a gentle sigh and shook her head quietly. How could an earth pony and a unicorn possibly understand what she was going through?
"Maybe...but I doubt they'll be too keen on being dragged out here at midnight jus' to look at a buncha stars,"
"You'd be surprised; Sweetie's weird," Scootaloo said deadpan. She grinned when she heard the other girl chuckle.
"Sweetie's weird? Have you met me? Heh...You'se is right, cha know? I'm 'Da Miracle Mare from Manehatten' after all! I guess I get a little bit freaked out seeing my own feathers like that. Sorry for uh...losin' my cool like that," Diamond coughed sheepishly from the other side of the hill. Scootaloo beamed quietly and waved a dismissive hoof.
"It's okay, Diamond. I mean, you know, I get it," Scootaloo mumbled.
"I know," said Diamond.