The Rift

by Colors

#30 The Rift | 8

I

Nopony responded.

“Th-then that’s great! All we have to do is to keep g-going and we’ll be fine!” Gold Star gulped, not adding that going further was the last thing she wanted.

“Um. Yes. It would be bad to stay for longer.”

“Then let’s go!” Corinne exclaimed, and with a determined motion, she turned around, leading the group. Overruling her protesting instinct, Gold Star followed, not even caring whether anypony was left behind.

“Wait!” Rainbow protested, “We still have a friggin’ changeling here! Guys!”

“Don’t dare hurting her!” Gold Petals hissed, while nopony else even cared to respond. “Let’s go!”

II

The fear was retreating, now. What Sigma said must have been right. Making us afraid to make us turn around. That’s so messed up. I’m kinda impressed it didn’t work. None of us had stayed behind this far. And now that things became easier, surely no-one would.

And so, further into the abyss we went. ‘cause it was rather obvious that we were still going downward, now. The tunnel had been getting steeper for a while. Just what were we going to find at the end?

I think it was also getting more narrow. At the start, I couldn’t even see either wall in our dim light. Now they were pretty close. What if it just kept on getting more narrow until none of us fit through anymore? That would really suck.

I threw a gaze at the changeling. The yellow angel seemed to have made it her task to protect her, now walking beside her rather than at the top. I wasn’t particularly afraid of it, anyway. I could deal with a single changeling just by myself, and she was vastly outnumbered. That, and it made no sense for her to be here for selfish reasons... not exactly a good spot to feed on love.

III

Autumn Wind was more than just a pony who had died years ago. Autumn Wind was whom she had become. Changelings had neither name nor gender, but she had long begun to identify herself as the pony whose life she had taken – not stolen, just taken after it was lost.

Right now, she was in a group where, after seeing her other form, only a single pony wanted to hurt her. That was incredible, and unexpected to say the least. She had never really shared Gold Star’s trust in Sigma and this entire expedition, but now... not only had she seen the angels, but they had chosen to protect her, to even stand up for her against a desperate and mourning pegasus.

She wasn’t angry at Rainbow Dash, either. For one, because most ponies reacted the way she did, and also because of what she had been through. The artificial fear was bad enough, but going through that while suffering the loss of a friend... yeah, she could be forgiven. At least for now.

Autumn could feel herself getting more optimistic as they pressed onward. The artificial fear was now gone entirely, and what little normal fear remained seemed harmless in comparison, almost laughable. They had defected every challenge, Rainbow Dash had made no attempts to pick a fight after the angel had spoken out, and... they were close. At least, Autumn hoped they were close. They had to be. The tunnel was getting more narrow with each step, only two ponies could fit side by side anymore. Soon it would open up, and whatever their destination was, it would be in reach.

Soon.