//------------------------------// // Night 12 // Story: Nights on Horlick's Hill // by RarityEQM //------------------------------// Diamond was lounging on the branch above her, listening to the crickets serenade and watching the cosmos drifting above them. Diamond always seemed to have a wistful, far away gaze when she stared up at the heavens, one that screamed of longing. For what, Scootaloo didn't know, but she imagined it was something beyond the reach of the shooting star she wore around her neck. The orange Pegasus had settled down on a branch just underneath her, their conversation having faded into silence some time ago. Scootaloo couldn't even remember what they'd been talking about, but it really didn't matter very much. She (like Diamond) had both lost their concentration at the sudden appearance of a bright flicker of light dancing across the sky. It was a shooting star of course, and after a hasty wish for flight, they let their attention dip into the blackness above them. "Hey...D?" Scootaloo called. The other pegasus didn't move from her spot. She simply lay there, limp against the branch, staring into the void. "Sup?" answered a lazy voice. Scootaloo sat up a little taller where she was resting. "I've been wonderin' something. You said you were cursed, right? Like, it's in your blood or something? If you wanna talk about it, I'm just wondering, what exactly are you cursed to do?" Scootaloo asked hesitantly. Diamond shifted overhead and gave a mournful sigh. Instantly, Scootaloo regretted the question, regardless of the fact that it had been burning on her tongue for some time now. Ever since Diamond had mentioned it in passing one day, it had bounced around in her head. Cursed? Was that still a thing? Could ponies still be cursed in this day and age? "Live," Diamond muttered quietly. Scootaloo perked her ears. Live? That was a curse? "Live? I don't get it. You're cursed to live? You're immortal?" she asked. She couldn't hide the skepticism in her voice. She doubted Diamond would exaggerate about something like this, but that couldn't have been all there was to it. "That's about the size of it, Also, my blood is black and caustic, but, yeah, live is the main thing, Icarus Syndrome was killing me, and in order to preserve my crystal skin for itself, that thing cursed me to 'life'," the filly squeaked, only a hint of bitterness riding her voice. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't really seem like much of a curse..." she pointed out. Diamond shook her head, but her gaze didn't divert from the stars. "I live. I am ageless. I don't get any bigger than this. I don't grow any older than this. I am forever ten. I get to watch my friends die. I get to watch my brother die. I get to watch any pony I ever cared about die. I get to watch you die. What I don't get, is to date. Nopony falls in love with a ten-year-old. I don't get to fall in love. I don't get to have foals of my own. I don't get to be a mom. I don't get to do anything that adults get to do. I don't ever get to taste anything. I never get to smell anything. I never get to feel anything. I will never be able to fly properly. I will be stuck in this ailing, failing body, on the very brink of death, forever. A life long pass of teasing because I've got these dumb spots all over me and wings that don't work," the filly groaned. Scootaloo winced quietly, her ears folding back against her skull. When she put it like that... "Geez, D, I didn't realiz-" Scootaloo attempted to apologize, but now that she'd opened the door, the rest wouldn't stay in. Diamond cut her off with a quiet groan. "And the thing that cursed me? That nightmare monster thing? It ain't done with me. Ha. Oh, no, one day, it'll come back, and grab my body and eat my soul. It'll rifle through my memories like a card index, and murder everypony I know, if they haven't died of old age, first. I get a front-row seat to the slaughter and there ain't nothin' I can do about it, other than watch. Any friends I do make? I will kill. Anypony that gets close to me will die. I will be alone. Forever. Ain't that a kick in the tail?" Diamond huffed quietly. Scootaloo could feel a whimper building in her throat, and the unmistakable desire to hug the filly above her as tightly as possible. Diamond, however, was too wrapped up in her own persona to accept such a thing though. No, she'd throw Scootaloo off and spout some nonsense about being a fierce warrior of the night who was to tough for 'hugs.' "...So...Why don't you get Luna to uncurse you? I mean, she can, can't she? She's really powerful, so I bet if you asked her, she..." Scootaloo asked quietly but let her voice trail off when Diamond scoffed again. "Sure. Sure. She would if she could. But we'd need to find the nightmare that did it first. It sulked off under a rock somewhere. And even if she found it, even if she killed it, the moment that curse is lifted, I die from Icarus Syndrome anyway. Maybe a coupla days. Maybe in a coupla minutes, who knows. I become just a number in a medical book. A statistic and I ain't gonna make Luna deal with that. Luna gots enough to deal with and don't need the death of no filly on her consciousness. Ain't gonna even go there," Diamond murmured, her voice soft and trembling ever so slightly with a mix of sorrow and rage. "...I didn't...Aww, geez, D...I'm...I'm so sorry, that sounds...that sounds horrible," Scootaloo squeaked. Above her, Diamond waved a hoof and gave a quiet snort. "Naw. It's fine. See, the way I figure it: I gots a shootin' star, right? It grants wishes, so eventually, I'll come across a wish that'll fix everything, and that'll be that. I mean, I've got the time. I bet I can understand how it works eventually. Maybe I can use it to figure out a way to cure Icarus Syndrome too! At least before that thing comes back for me. Luna says Icarus Syndrome can't be cured, since I'm trapped in some sorta, state of suspended animation, whatever that means, and doctors ain't got a clue how to undo what it did So I'm thinkin' it must be magic right? And since the star is magic, I figure there's a solution there. I find it, I fix it, yadda yadda yadda, I get to live a normal life. Easy peasy. I'm just, heh, not quite sure what to wish for yet. In the meantime, Luna's got me runnin round fetchin' stuff for her. I'll ride that as long as I can. And she said she's lookin for a solution, too, so I got an ancient alicorn goin' through eons of knowledge trying to find a cure for lil ole' me. Hehehe, I'll be fine," Diamond chuckled nervously. She waved a hoof again, as if batting away some miserable sensation attempting to prey on her and shook her head. "Sides, if it never comes back for me, and I ain't find no cure I get to have a coupla eons hangin' out with Luna. How many of her subjects can say THAT?! HA! Better up than down, right?" Diamond murmured sadly. Scootaloo nodded her head, forcing a quiet smile. 'Better up than down' was an old pegasus saying, that basically equated to 'Always look on the bright side of things' Was that how Diamond kept going? Was that how she kept her spirits up? Unwavering faith in Luna's ability to save her? Scootaloo supposed if she had an Alicorn goddess looking out for her, she'd feel pretty confident too. "Hey! What's the first thing you're gonna do when you finally get better?" Scootaloo grinned. Diamond shifted above her and chuckled softly. "Find somethin' ta eat! I can sorta remember taste, but it ain't really something that you can experience unless you experience it! I've always wanted to try chocolate! Oh, oh, oh! And smell something! Luna keeps havin' me pick these flowers that only grow at night in Everfree right? They're black and purple and red! They're so pretty! I've always wondered what they smelled like. And, uh...ya know...tween you n' me, I kinda sorta wanna feel one of Bardigan's hugs. Just once. A big brother hug from him would be...kinda the greatest thing ever. But I wouldn't make that no habit or nothing. Got my reputation to keep up! I'm a warrior of the night! A servant of Shadow! We, do not, 'hug,'" Diamond explained. Everything suddenly went dark. Scootaloo blinked her vision back, reaching up to rub the bridge of her nose. Her eyes had rolled themselves to the back of her skull. "You know, I bet you'd like hay burger! They got this tofu meal that's just the best!" Scootaloo pipped cheerfully. Diamond twisted around to peer down at the orange pegasus with a bright smile. "Alright then, but only after we race around Cloudsdale! I, am an undefeated, undisputed champion of speed!" Diamond grinned. Scootaloo blinked her vision back again. Good lord, if this kept up she'd go blind. "Uh huh. Well, if that's the case, I get a head start. It's only fair. And no super speed!" she groaned. Diamond gave an annoyed grunt and reached her hooves up to run through the blue spikes that jut from her head. "Of COURSE I'm gonna use Super Speed, ain't my fault you'se ain't got it!" "Aren't you afraid of tripping again?" "ON WHAT?! Ain't nothin' to trip on up there!" "And yet, I'm positive you'll find a way," "Not when I've got a workin' nervous system I won't! Jus you watch! I used to be super duper agile when I was learning tricks n' stuff. I mean, muscle memory works well enough, but jus you wait till I can do the real thing!" Diamond chipped. Scootaloo wrinkled her brow thoughtfully. "Hey...D? You're a Crystal Pony, right? You think after you get all fixed up, you'll become transparent like the rest of them?" Scootaloo pondered. Diamond cocked her head thoughtfully. "Kay, honestly, I'm gonna afraid of that. I mean, can you imagine looking down and seeing through yourself? Would I see my own organs? What if one of them got all messed up from Icarus Syndrome? I'd freak out n' stuff! I don't wanna see what's goin' on in there! That's gross!" Diamond squeaked. Scootaloo laughed. "Well, none of the other Crystal Ponies seem to have that problem, maybe you won't either?" Asked the lower pegasus. "Yeah, maybe one day I'll actually get to visit the Crystal Empire again and ask 'em myself. I wanna learn more about my tribe. Maybe I can track down where I came from, I might be able to find my parents. Long shot, yeah, but it ain't like I got all that many leads to begin with. I don't find nothing, I don't find nothing. No big deal. But if I find something, well it'll all be worth it, now won't it? Sides, there are other reasons I wanna go there too. I wanna try some crystal berries. I hear they're crunchy. I like crunchy stuff cause I can hear it when I eat it!" Diamond giggled quietly. She let out a lengthy sigh. Her entire life was made up of 'what if's and maybes." "Why don't you ask Bardigan to take you up there?" Scootaloo asked. Diamond, again, shook her head. "Naw. He's too busy workin' on scripts n' stuff. He's got this big holiday show he's putting on for the town this winter. Mayor Mare commissioned it herself and he's been workin on it non-stop. "Gotta get it juuuuust right," He says. " "Aww, I bet you he'd take you if you asked him!" "Yeah. He probably would, he's good like that. But I don't wanna bug him for stuff. I mean, he gave me a roof over my head and a room and adopted me, so I feel kinda weird asking him for even more things, especially to help me find my folks. What if he thinks he ain't good enough, or something? I'd feel super bad. He's like, the very best ever!" Diamond squeaked, flailing her hooves and nearly tumbling from the branch. She grabbed it tightly and pressed her belly against the wood. "I'm sure he'd be cool with it! I mean, you just want to find out about Crystal Ponies, right? If you happen to find information about where your parents might have gone, that's just a bonus, right?" "Hey...Hey yeah! Yeah, that's right! Oh, but I still don't wanna bug him. He gets really in the zone when he's working on a play. " "Say, D, I got a question," "Yet another, shoot," "You're ten, right?" "Last time I checked," "Well, I mean, the Crystal Empire only showed up a few years ago, right?" "Yeah, and?" "Well, you were living in Manehatten, then, right?" "Uh huh, go on?" "Well, how could you be living in Manehatten if the Crystal Empire only just appeared?" "Ahh, that's an easy one. What, you don't think Crystal Ponies settled down in places other than the Empire? That'd be like saying you'd never see a pegasus unless they were in Cloudsdale! My ancestors probably moved away at some point in time to a different town and skipped the whole, Sombra Slavery thing. I mean, ponies don't just stay in one place," "Huh... that actually makes sense," "What I don't get is how I actually ended up in Manehatten, Did my parents live there or something?" "Well, you didn't know you were a Crystal Pony until you went on that mission for Luna, right? When you visited the Empire the first time?" "Right..." "So, wouldn't finding your folks be as easy as tracking down Crystal Ponies living in Manehatten at the time?" Scootaloo asked. Diamond was silent, staring into the sky. Scootaloo cocked her head curiously. "What? You think they got a directory of ponies or something? It ain't like they keep track of every pony who moves into the city. And it's a BIG city. Be like finding a needle in a haystack. Sides, if they were still in Manehatten, they ain't never come to visit me or nothing. I waited forever for them to come back. They never did. So ...It's...easy to think that they ain't there no more. I rather think they ain't there no more, ya know? "...Yeah...I know..." "...You hear from your mom lately?" "Naw. She's always to busy to write," "Orphans of the sky, Scoots. We're orphans of the sky. A sky that don't want us up there. But you got your aunts, I got my brother. We carved ourselves a notch outta nothing. We're still here. We shouldn't be, but we are," "Well, yeah. We refuse to lose. Our wings don't work, but we've got hearts as strong as horses and we fly where others fall," "Ponies like you n' me? Those airheads up there ain't got nothin on us," "What time is it?" "As far as changing topics, that was both abrupt and welcome. Geez, I dunno. Maybe three, maybe four?" Diamond mumbled. Scootaloo frowned and peered up at the lazy pegasus. "Don't the Servants of Shadow have, like, internal clocks or something when it's night time?" She asked. Diamond shook her head. "Only if we've got a moon dial. Why, you gonna run?" '"Well, Aunt Lofty gets up to use the bathroom real late at night sometimes, and sometimes she pokes her head into my room to check on me. I gotta get back before that happens. But, hey, D?" "Yeah?" "I'll catch you in the clouds. "Scootaloo grinned. "And I'll see you in the sky," Diamond said, smiling her bright silver smile.