//------------------------------//
// Chapter 46: Being set straight 
// Story: Our new Friends, Our new Enemies 
// by The Potato Guy 
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Solar did not watch as the bloody corpses of the fallen were dragged away, their golden lifeless forms scraping against the dirt, expensive plate metal liberally scooping up soil and grass as their wearers were taken into the impenetrable Everfree Forest, never to be seen again.

This unlamentable moment was not missed because of gruesomeness, nor because Solar had grown regretful of his violent actions. On the contrary, to know that the perished Guards were to be removed from sight, and evidence of their murder hidden, was a great weight off his troubled shoulders. The ambush had been a success, Ponyville was safe from corrupting influence and Celestia’s faction of treachery had been shown the severity of their continued existence. 

On the face of it, despite surprises in the form of an included Child of the Solstice having been present, the plan had seemingly worked. Having secured an effective defence, the fight could be once again taken to the establishment, and with it, a provoked reaction that would only further push the hearts and minds of the populace into the graceful hooves of the Night.

After the mess that was the battle in Canterlot, finally, Solar could relax knowing his flank was far more secure than it previously had been, and once again focus on what he did best.

Creating severe difficulty for the authorities. 

So what was the matter now? When his mood had dropped, and his troubled reignited.

“Shit! The one time I needed you, Neon!” The timing of Neon Edgy’s entrance, was, as an understatement, terrible. 

“Oh, you needed me, Sol?” The tone of her response, the fanged smile on her face, consisted of a happiness that Solar could not distinguish between playful or flirtatious, if there even was a difference to Neon that is. In any case, it was uncalled for, and especially for this moment, very inappropriate.

“Grow up. What if things went bad? What if it were us walking into an ambush?!” Of course, things had got near swimmingly today, but that was never the point. Solar had called for Neon earlier, and she had not answered. The problem was a simple one. It was a matter of trust.

And yet still, Neon seemed as uncaringly cheerful as ever.

“I wouldn’t have been able to help anyway. I was out.”

Speck, the leader of the Disciples, had wisely chosen to sit this one out, deciding it best to assist her own people clear any evidence of battle, and ensure the one survivor from the forces of the Day, the despicable member of the cult named the Children of the Solstice, was swiftly escorted away into the darkness where undoubtedly, his mental strength would be put to the test, not to mention his resilience to the most terrible of pain. She stood back, instructing her people in that brutal tone that was her native tongue, but not for one moment did she lose track of Solar and Neon. An all seeing eye, fixed upon them, judging silently. Solar just hoped this was for his benefit, in case he needed backup in this show on insolence coming from an apparently treacherously aloof Neon. 

“Excuse me?!” boomed Solar finally, in near disbelief at what he was hearing. 

“I was ou-“ Neon tried to repeat, surely not believing that Solar’s current difficulty was in not hearing.

“YES NO SHIT! I heard you!” Again and again, Solar had to tell himself that things were ok really. Victory had been found, and what all this now was but stupidly on show, a lack of discipline really. That could be rectified later, punished even, should he decide that Neon’s loyalties didn’t truly lie in the fight. Yet behind that repeating chorus in his mind, a backing of a single message.

If he couldn’t even control his own forces, then how would be control a new world, only recently having been violently overthrown?

That thought alone was what was driving him into uncontrollable anger, like he had been struck by some antagonising force, intent on seeing him lose it.  If he did not deal with this now, however he could, then perhaps he, like Speck, need keep an eye not only on Celestia’s shadow, but quite literally his own.

“JUST…just bucking tell me what you were doing, when you were required here, fighting like you’re meant to!” Rage still loomed over him, but this possession of his body and words was permitted, if only for now. Perhaps some vented fury might help him, but while Neon just stood there, lax to the extreme, then it was increasingly seeming likely that this tactic was doomed from the start.

“I was in Canterlot.” She replied, her gaze now often finding something that was apparently far more interesting.

Physically biting his tongue like it was about to shoot out of his mouth, it was a laugh that finally emerged from his mouth, though not one destined to pacify the mood. Dripped in sarcasm, and intended to be as condescending as literally possible, it was now becoming clear that if Neon kept this up, then order and code be damned, Solar would allow himself to descend to something far more primal and dangerous.

“Doing…What?” He replied through grinding teeth, challenging Neon to say what would tip him over the edge.

And only now did she show any signs other than being bored or uninterested in this conversation. Looking him directly in the eye, albeit still rather cheerfully, her smile declined to less than a smirk, and spoke.

“Fighting. Like I was meant to.”

If these were words meant to further antagonise him, then they worked brilliantly. Yet Neon was not so predictable a Pony to do this like they were both foals in the playground, trying to provoke childish reactions from each other. Neon might be trying to elicit some reaction from Solar, but he knew this was not the way she would do it, in a way that any of Celestia’s brain dead Guards could understand. So Solar took the bait, and bit.

“The fight was here, Neon. On the blood stained grass you’re currently standing on.” Now it was Solar’s turn to smile, but in contrast to his astonishingly different friend, only to voice his disbelief and rapidly decreasing patience. “Where you were not.”

The fact of the matter, at least how Solar saw it, could not be overcome, regardless of its simplicity. In fact, this indeed was its strength, for whatever excuse Neon threw back, surely varying in its complication and obscurity, it would only pale in comparison as its ugly form, all too desperate in its form, was reflected back.

“But still fighting!” Neon did not seemed deterred however. Her arguments, stripped of all meaning and use like a dragon’s incinerated victim, continued, almost as if they had a mind of their own, and had corrupted this once noble and deadly weapon of the Night.

It was a sight that Solar could not stand.  The Night had to be kept together, its stability held, by whatever means necessary.

“Don’t insult me Neon!” He warned, a few ominous advisory steps taken towards the far too casual Thestral. “Now’s really not the time for your goofing around!”

A momentary pause occurred, Solar hoping it time enough for his words to sink in and marinade understanding within this ally of his.

“Why not?” 

His face could not be seen. It was a terrible sight surely, with teeth grinding like they were working inside a mill, eyes shut tight as if to produce any tension at all which would prevent an explosion of anger and retribution. Why Neon had decided to mess with him like this, almost as if she wanted to provoke him to regretful error, was lost upon a barely contained Solar. 

A personal ultimatum seemed the only thing to move on from all this, and sort it out. If Neon did not snap out of this foolishness, he was dismiss her, and not just from the area. Any detriment to the war effort had to be discarded, plain and simple.

“Come on Neon, Please?” He pleaded calmly, if only just. “Kindly tell me what exactly you were doing, however bad it sounds.” Be it lazing away any responsibilities, to chats with her Shadow colleagues, Solar could not care anymore. Just an explanation of why she hadn’t been here, where he had wanted her.

“I told you.” Then came his simple and plain reply, little emotion nestled within the words. 

Solar sighed once more, each time feeling his body lessen in understanding for his friends.  Little now was reserved for Neon, who appeared only an obstacle currently. 

“I heard you.” He replied bitterly. “But if you tell me that again, without allowing yourself even a shred of honour or integrity, I swear to Luna, I’ll have you hang-“

“I TOLD YOU!”

After too long suffered within this awkward, far too confrontational interrogation at the edge of the Everfree Forest, a deafening and horrific conclusion finally came, in the form of fangs ripping through the air between where Neon had been previously, to Solar’s exposed throat. So close had Neon come to claiming him as just another bloody victim, and Solar could not hide his shocked concern in anything else then silent and still frozenness. 

Neon had come close to ripping his jugular out, and worse still, had caused genuine interest from his more primal allies. Lessening the opinion of himself, in the eyes of the Disciples, was not the aim today, neither was it the hope of Neon’s confrontation. 

His anger remained, but he would hear her out.

“Go on then…” Trying to defuse the situation, his eyes moved back to the unusually upset face of Neon Edgy, who through her own frustration, seemed as if a hint of betrayal, personally speaking, was glistened in her eyes.

She took her time speaking up again, but when she did, nor was it the sudden surprising explanation Solar had been seeking. On the contrary.

“Sol, please. Remember, you’re not in this alone. The fight isn’t only with you…”

Was he about to be morally scolded? Or perhaps a meaningful and deep story told to him, so that he could occur an epiphany and change his ways? This was not the time for soul searching, whatever it was.

“Ok? That’s kinda how these things work? Despite her infinite faults, I’m not that stupid to fight Celestia alone.” Alas, this lesson had be learnt already. He had learned it through his own hard work upon meeting Luna. Having it reiterated like he was at fault was almost insulting in fact. “Which is why, really, you should have been here with-“

Irony struck hard, with a dash of hypocrisy, as Neon would not permit anypony trying to teach her something. Shaking her head and shutting her eyes, Solar could have grown mad once more at this childish behaviour, but allowed her this reprieve, if only because this silly sight was quite endearing, in a sweet physical sense. 

“No, I mean…” Clearly struggling with the words, Neon kicked the ground, not apparently either caring or noticing that the fact that the dirt kicked now sprayed all over Solar’s hooves, something that a frown would have to suffice for. “We aren’t fighting this alone, one on one in the middle of some field. We are a collective, and no distance with end that, yeah?” 

For a moment, a thought emerged in Solar’s head and with it, a sense of warmth. The way Neon spoke these words, the way that her struggle dictated her inability to properly look him in the eye while speaking, an erasing flood washed over him, correcting any unwanted misgivings and allowing a great deal of very recent resentment to flow away.

It was an alleviating sensation, and inspiration to his better nature. Despite the heated arguments, the betrayal felt at his abandonment, Neon now did not appear that savage beast that almost seemed as if she were about to gut him. Lessened in stress and relieved of isolation, in that moment, it truly did seem that, like she was saying, he was not alone.

Now his turn in his failure to find appropriate words, an awkward silence, if one captivating in terms of its grace, emerged as life returned to somewhat normality, at least in terms of what consisted of such a thing for warriors fighting for a better future. Deciding to ride with this wave of positivity, and to not get in the way of the Disciples, who were working admittedly hard to clear any red evidence, and to bring both prisoner and vanquished into the Everfree Forest, Solar motioned for he and Neon to find a place to sit, and at least discuss things with a bit more civility. 

Finding a sheltered place, still within view of the rest of the action however, Solar took this brief time to formulate a response. Yes, he felt calmer, and whatever Neon had done, it had helped. Crucially though, it did not give him an oven ready response, so while actual conversation was back on the menu, what it consisted of exactly, had yet to be revealed.

“So yes, um…” Solar spoke as if his mind was overflowing with thoughts. “What then were…you know…” He was ashamed of himself. Whipping himself mentally for not alone sounding like a frightened wimp, but one who had returned to where exactly he didn’t want to be, Solar cringed at the fact that he was essentially asking the same question, if only a little more politely. Neon however, shifting around in her spot as if to find a comfortable bit of the bare ground, shot back an amused smile. Flustered, Solar let out an annoyed grumble for himself, one he hoped was not heard by the enhanced hearing of his Thestral companion. If she did hear his embarrassment though, Neon did not allow herself to become undignified by noticing it. Her amber eyes, despite their unnerving pupils, settled on Solar with friendly intent. 

“Ok well you know in Canterlot, there are all those fancy places where you can get the inside of your den changed and made to look better?”

Blinking in confusion, Solar let himself take the bait, if only to keep all this moving.

“You mean…interior decorators?” He asked, a little worried that Neon indeed did not have an excuse, and his anger had been justified.

“Yeah that’s right!” Solar bit his tongue. He only prayed that what came next had mercy upon his rage. “I didn’t go there.”

Wait. What?

“Huh?” Shaking his head, now the real question was whether or not he was going to get mad at all, even if he wanted to. “Then why even tell me this, Neon? What are you talking about?”

“Because after you left your home with the Princess of friendship, I went in search of places like that in Ponyville.”

Was her point that she had then visited Canterlot to extend her search? If this Pony was one far more ordinary, then questions like these, time itself, could have been spared.

“But then I got a tip on some movement about those Goldie’s, so I immediately went to Canterlot to see what was up, and to see what I could do to help you.”

Any information regarding the ‘Goldie’s’, a derogative nickname given primarily to the Day Guard because of their golden armour and attempted reputation as the golden boys of Celestia, appeared little more than a tease to Solar. Nothing to snuff at, any advantage could and would be desired in times such as these and In being devoid of it personally, Solar felt quite the lesser for it.

“Who’s your source?” He asked hungrily, knowing full well that despite the shared effort, and in many cases, shared sources, it was imperative that each individual Shadow had their own secret sources in which were used solely for the solo effort, so that the collective capability of the rest of the Shadow’s need never be fully compromised should anything bad happen. These were the basics of espionage, and demanding Neon name one of her own was simply unheard of, but these were unheard of times surely, and why should Solar, with unprecedented power, not be able to know? 

His answer was answered in the form of a gasp, which was telling.

“Not sure about that Sol, but anyway…” Solar did not lament too much, as his expectations had not been too high, but as a mental note, a desire was laid to ensure that for the sake of them all, and more importantly, to tighten his grip on powers he need to grasp hard should he wish to win. “…Found a nice plump Goldie, alone and all prepared for me, and boy was he a meal.”

Again the cultural barrier that separated them from him revealed itself once more, but if that were the reason alone for Solar’s frown, then today was a predictable if troublesome day. Neon’s insatiable appetite for blood, her predatory instincts, they seemed nothing less than expected, especially now after witnessing the actions of today. Where Solar’s concern instead lie was with her lack of discipline and drift away from her set of priorities. An acceptable switch of his own priorities, as a non Thestrals, who might have turned tail and ran from this blood thirsty monster.

“Oh no silly! I didn’t eat him!” Corrected an amused Neon, who saw the quizzical look on Solar’s face and thought his concern to be like that of a lesser Pony. “He was plump full of information and useful chunks! Didn’t take much to get him to talk. I hope it’s not because they think I’m ugly.”

A dry laugh spilt from Solar, at least now willing to admit that however different Neon was, her humour wasn’t so foreign to his own. 

Alas, the Pony in question seemed all too committed to the joke, and as if she were telling the honest truth, appeared as offended as one could, when vanity and paranoia infected them to the point of worrying over their appearance. 

“Is it my mane?” She asked plainly, but severely, like the fate of the world itself depended of the answer. Only now did Solar realise the joke to be accidental, and Neon truly was as unusual and unrestrained as he had thought of her thus far.

“What? No. Why would you- Whatever. Carry on.” 

Neon, after a brief but severe pout, and casually as ever, described her ‘questioning’ of the Guard, and how he, clearly against his own will, divulged detail of the patrol heading to Ponyville. With this information, she had done her best to delay the expedition and had even informed Luna herself, so that she could send the magical warning Solar had received in Twilights castle. It made for a believable explanation if nothing else, all while Solar pondered on the similarities shared between dealing with Neon, and the wider fight. With both this Thestral and the growing war, one needed to be quick hooved in order to stay ahead of any trouble. Neon was unpredictable in her persona, and the fight, was by nature, equally so. Concluding this mirroring of appearances, a determination to fight asymmetrically, a hard enough task, was set further in stone.

So if anything, Neon’s sudden diversion, her journey not shared with anyone, had befitted Solar somewhat. It had taught him a lesson begrudgingly, and allowed the Thestral in question to enact a tactic that all her comrades should take note of.

Eventually though, an unrestrained Neon only divulged further and further into verbal fluff. Talk of how gleeful she was upon seeing her reflection in a shop window, and a hat on sale that apparently was just far too beautiful to be, according to her. Like a shadow war that could not evolve according to its goals, so now did Neon fly off into the wind of irrelevance, and it was Solar’s job once again to reign her in. 

“I’m done here.” He concluded bluntly, but not without choosing to gift at least some gratitude towards a Pony who he had admittedly accused wrongly of disservice. “Thanks. Ne.” 

Gratitude was a rare gift offered by a Pony who had always been alone and furthermore, always had himself to thank for in surviving. Working as a team, a family, was clearly too new a thing for him, for mentally stumbling over feelings and thoughts like he was blind and dumb, now occurred freely. His ability to instinctively reply became compromised as a result of this, leading to an appreciation that had not been thoroughly vetted, and had resulted in only a mess of a speech.

It then came as no surprise when Neon realised the accidental nickname she had been blessed with, and being quite the fan of unconventional and affectionate way of speaking, could spare little effort in hiding her joy.

More reason then for Solar to make his prompt departure, deciding it best to perform his own interrogation of the surviving Child of the Solstice. Yet it was not this wish to escape social warmth that stopped him.

“Your pet.” She spoke, deathly serious as if was reliably that type.

“Who?” Solar questioned back.

“That little weirdo you kept alive. Want to know why he isn’t a bone dry crisp yet?”

The one Speck had advised he keep alive. Alas, the answer had been found already. It hadn’t exactly been elusive.

“Sure. He will help us. He’ll help us drain the life out of whichever friends he keeps in his disgusting company. Irony like that, I find amusing.” Solar’s effort in appeasing Neon’s, and every member of the NG, more brutal and hateful side did not go unnoticed. A smile, love offered to its target in Solar but glee at the mere hint of her enemies perishing, eluded Neon’s now serious persona. His were endearing words, but they had missed the truth entirely.

“Ugh that’d be so nice…” Neon reacted, almost drifting into the thought of using the forces of the Day against themselves. “But um, it’s a little crappier then that…”

Neon was not a Pony to so easily surrender to despair. Trouble free was simply too great an understatement. In the face of death and carnage, when challenged with panic and difficulty, she simply waved through it like it was just another day. In a way, Solar envied her jovial ability to wade through the bleak reality of the world like it were all an elaborate part of her dreams, and she was just there to play them out. Of course this departure from the necessity of vision and the sincerity of a real dream was not something he truly wished for himself, which was most likely part of the reason behind command of the NG was shared between him and her. 

So when Neon Edgy had difficulty in approaching an equally so subject, then it truly did mean things were probably about to hit the fan.

“Until Celestia is on her knees begging us to not witness the potential sight of her head on a pike, then everything’s crappy.” War was hell, as the old saying went, and Equestria had been through enough hell for as long as Celestia had reigned. As far as he saw it, even the worst of news wouldn’t change the fact that things were awful. Whatever came next, it would not halt the quest for a new better world.

“Yeah, but also no.” Neon replied. “Different type of crap, you know?”

His interest peaked, Solar awaited this news with, once again, impatient ears.

“Go on.” He demanded.

“Have you done your research, Sol? About the Children of the Solstice?” Neon asked.

“You asking if I know what they are?” Solar replied rather frankly, annoyed that all this was happening now. “I only met the bastards the other night, so if you’re asking me if I’ve picked of a book and read their entire history, then no Neon, I haven’t.” His tone had become rather irritable, as if he were being chastised by Neon for somehow not knowing all the ins and outs of an ancient enemy which had only become his own personal foe in recent months. If this were indeed the sole purpose of Neon’s concern, then he hoped his blunt reply had stung her eagerness somewhat.

“I bet you would like to read a book on them though, nerd.”

Solar had to perform a mental double take on that response. Asking himself if he had heard that right, he only wished he could instinctively find the words to reply to that uncalled for and much unexpected remark. Undisciplined didn’t even cut it. Yet his anger wasn’t too high for this unruly but entertaining Thestral, which was something at least.

“Yeah anyway…” Neon continued, surely holding back a giggle at Solar’s confusion. “…They are the big bad guys. The ones we Shadows have hated since, you know, the Lunar Guard days…”

That was a reminder that Solar seldom needed. To know he had effectively reanimated that terrible yet honestly effective group of Nightmare Moon times, into the NG, could so easily become an embarrassment should the public become aware of that comparison. Coupled with the fact that their very literal descendants were with him now, in the form of the Disciples of the Night, created quite the hoof full of ancient troubles he had to deal with. 

Still, he was well aware that those wars of a bygone age had now become his, and that he was fighting the equally old and brutal cult of the Children of the Solstice. 

“And?” He demanded, hoping Neon would make her point soon.

“Yeah, so you’d think they’d know some crazy stuff right? Some really cool and forgotten mysteries yes?”

Solar was no historian. Quite the opposite in fact. His head was split between the wars of the present, and the utopias of the future. All he needed to know was that, under Celestia, the past had been as it always had been. Bad.

“So ask your crazy cousins.” Solar retorted, not at all interested in ancient mysteries. “I need things that are relevant now.”

But of course, Neon had, albeit one of her own making, an answer for everything.

“I think it is relevant now, Sol. At least I’ve heard it is. We need to find out from him.”

Double taking for a second time, a firm end had to be implemented into this dead end of a lead. Not even some convoluted and crusty puzzle from centuries ago had been offered, like he had expected it to be. He had been given, amazingly, not only nothing, but a blank page that he had to search out for first. 

The audacity of Neon had become too much.

“I gave you a chance” Solar concluded unsatisfactory. Truly he did wish for Neon to work with him. The efficiency of their conversations was severely lacking, and after already warning her of her nonsense not but a few minutes ago, the best course of action, to save face, was to simply terminate it all.

“Woah, w-wait!” Solar had little intention of answering Neon’s whims, walking off for good this time as he at the very least, spared the admittedly charming Neon’s from his rage. He said nothing as he turned around and entered the forest, walking nowhere in particular, but with one thing nagging his mind.

“Sol, you never know, it could be good!” She pleaded after him. “And even if he doesn’t know anything, we get to bleed another pet of Celesti-“ 

Neon had missed the point entirely. He was not afraid of effort, especially if it was in service of the Night. Indeed some personal satisfaction could also be gained from inflicting unimaginable pain on such a vicious enemy. He had nothing to lose in making the cultist cry, but the very fact he was here, probing and testing the defences of Solar’s operation here in Ponyville, meant time was of the essence, and only Luna knew how long such a crazy would last under bodily pressure, before he even cracked even further and spurted out actual nonsense. 

“No Neon!” Solar had to stop and shout this denial for it to have effect. Halting for a moment and turning with impatient frustration etched onto his face, it proved enough to not only shut up the Thestral, but to cease that begging look she seemed to adhere to as of now. In times like these, he needed killers and proper informants, not petulant children. “You may be co-commander with me, but I swear to the essence of bucking Nightmare Moon, that I will find a way to send you off on some insignificant but very much conclusive mission in some far off shit hole!”

“Y-you can’t do that!” Neon argued in shock, and indeed she was correct. Solar did not have this power and even if he did, doing so would not truly benefit him in anyway. Neon meant well truly, and dismissing her to an early grave would not only anger and demoralise her fellow Shadow’s but deprive Solar of a vital tool in this war. A dangerous weapon, an experienced operative and honestly, a good friend. Whether he liked it or not, he was with Neon in more ways than he knew, and removing her in terms like he had stated would leave him a lesser Pony. He would inhabit a family devoid of a part of itself.

But anger was always too easily to find in times such as these. He could only hope that this fire of war would just dis-persuade Neon from useless talk. The hurt look on her face however, told another, far more painful story.

“Yes…I can.” Solar replied forcefully, yet perhaps only so strenuously because it was himself he needed to force in saying this. He did not wish to stand by his threats, and attacking one of his own like this, needed true discipline and courage. “I…I won’t have you….” But he could not finish his sentence, and in this moment, he was glad the claustrophobic nature of the Everfree Forest ensured they were alone.

Neon saw Solar had trouble speaking the words. She saw that his pain in participating in these internal feuds was not something he wanted a part in. If she had any doubts of his loyalty to the cause, and his love shared with those who fought by his side, then now, it was all gone. Social norms were not Neon’s expertise by any stretch, but even she could see that it hurt Solar to fight with those he loved. She witnessed Solar’s heart spare itself for others.

“I won’t ruin anything, Sol.” Neon spoke gently, approaching Solar with a fanged smile. Hearing this truly did surprise the Earth Pony, who had his literal worlds taken, despite never even saying them. Neon knew what he was going to say, and if that didn’t tell him that she was on his side, working in perfect tangent with him, then nothing ever would. “We are going to win, and I promise you, I will help you find that victory.”

Was doubting an ally, a friend even, a common struggle of leadership? Many times now had he grown annoyed at Neon’s antics, and perhaps on too many occasions had he butted heads with those who shared the same dream as he did. Stressful as the job was for sure, this could not explain the failures which he inhabited. It could not counter a disturbing reality that was emerging, hidden beneath understanding and realisation.

That he was becoming paranoid. Solar was facing his challenges alone and seeing all but himself as a detriment.

This was something that he could not think upon, even accept in any way, as the only sensation was a comforting hoof on his shoulder. The affection stung hard, causing great guilt in what he had done, but not yet fathomed. Neon, through the bonds of friendship, had pulled him from the pit of despair, yet had inadvertently halted an all too important perception.

That compassion, the aid offered with just the touch of the hoof, gifted Solar not with a sudden realisation regarding the administration of his mental state, but a dive back into the world, and a harsh desire to just get on with work, whatever form it took.

“Yes. Fine. Alright. Let’s go.” He conceded, if only so he may hear the screams of the cultist that he had been denied on the field.

“Yippee!” Neon’s celebration would, unsurprisingly, grind Solar in the totally wrong way, but the hard lesson learned, yet again, was to not leave Neon so idle to thought and monotony. She was best used unleashed, but unlike how she was now, done so in the heat of battle, or the solitary loneliness of an underground mission. “You know, I’m getting tingles already at the thought of you making that little grub squeal!”

That statement did not warrant questioning. Neon clearly was developing something resembling admiration towards him. However strong it was, and whatever form it could take, Solar could not ever say, considering the individual in question. However much he did not wish to dwell on the subject, knowing that Neon was there unconditionally, as any true Pony of bond would be, was a warming feeling.

So perhaps, despite her best uses being put to the hunting of his enemies, having Neon along for the ride wasn’t too awful. 

“Well he either screams what we particularly want, or we send his terrored face to Celestia. We win regardless.”

That statement set the tone perfectly, from there on out. A simple and unavoidable determination to win. All other hardships be damned, for approaching that victory would prove to be a satisfying bathe in the blood and horror of their enemies.