Surrogate Light

by scootalooftw

Loyalty

We waded through a shallow part of the river easily enough. A nearby bend provided the perfect place to cross as we continued our trek through the ever-thickening woods. Past the bank of the river the thicket seemed to push in on both sides of the trail, a testament to how long it had been since anything, pony or otherwise, had traveled it.

“Are we there yet?” Rainbow Dash groaned, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.

“Just a bit further, Dash,” I answered not looking up from my map. “I didn’t think some overgrown brush would slow us down this much, but I think we’re going the right way.”

“You think?” Rainbow reiterated, turning to face me with a look of exacerbation. “You mean you aren’t even sure if you’re leading us in the right direction?”

“Let’s see you try to navigate with thousand-year-old maps,” I playfully shot back. “The woods themselves have changed so much that it’s hard to recognize much of anything that’s marked on the map. We should consider ourselves lucky that even a few of the landmarks are still present and recognizable.”

“I still think you should just let me fly up and take a look myself,” Rainbow Dash huffed.

“And Ah still think it’s a bad idea,” Applejack cut in, giving Rainbow a stern look. “Ya have no idea what might be flyin’ around out here in the dark, and that’s just askin’ fer us ta get separated.”

“She’s right,” I chimed in. “Besides, if we are going the right way, then we should be running into the castle moat any minute now. Everypony keep your eyes peeled.”

Rainbow Dash huffed in annoyance but returned to the ground, and it wasn’t long before we stumbled upon the ‘moat’ that was on the map.

“So… this is supposed to be a moat?” Rainbow Dash asked, eyeing the deep chasm that lay before us.

“That’s what it looked like on the map,” I answered.

Standing at the edge of the chasm, I kicked a small rock into it and waited for the sound of the rock striking the bottom. After several seconds I heard the echoing clack of the rock hitting the bottom, and took a step back with a gulp when I calculated just how deep it was.

“We… should probably be careful crossing,” I said, turning to face the group.

“An’ how exactly are we supposed ta do that?” Applejack asked. “Ah don’t see no bridge here.”

“Really?” I asked. Turning around, I noticed a distinct lack of anything crossing across the gaping hole in the landscape. “According to the map, there should be one here. There’s even the posts for it.”

Approaching the chasm again, I looked over the edge just as Rainbow flew out over it.

“Found the bridge,” Rainbow shouted, just as I saw it.

“Looks like one side came undone,” I called back to the group. “Looks like we’ll have to find another way across.”

“And… why’s that?” Rainbow Dash asked, landing beside me and giving me a funny look.

“The bridge is down,” I answered, turning to face her. “Unless you have some way to.. get over… there…”

I trailed off as Rainbow Dash gave me a deadpan look and flared her wings.

“Right…” I responded, “forget about that.”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow Dash rolled sideways off the ledge and flared her wings open. Gliding down to where the opposite end of the bridge was resting against the cliff face, she grabbed the rope in her mouth and flew it across the chasm. Carefully tying both ends of the rope to the posts on the opposite side, she gave them a hard tug to make sure they were tight before waving for us to cross.

“Should be good to go now,” she called out.

Approaching the precarious looking bridge, the five of us shared a look.

“Are ya sure this thing’ll hold us?” Applejack asked, putting an experimental hoof on the bridge. “It don’t look too sturdy.”

The bridge creaked in response to the added weight, causing us all to take a step back in fear.

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine,” Dash shouted back impatiently. “Just cross one at a time, I’ll catch anypony if they fall. It would probably help if Twi and Pinkie sent their bags over separately, as well.”

The five of us looked back and forth between one another in hesitation before Applejack put on a brave face and stepped forward.

“Ah’m probably the heaviest one here, so Ah’ll go first,” Applejack suggested, “just to be safe.”

We all agreed with her plan rather quickly, none of us wanting to be the first one to cross. Stepping forward, Applejack looked skyward and mumbled to herself before taking her first cautious step onto the bridge. It creaked and groaned in response to the added weight, swaying side to side slightly, but despite its age and appearance, it held fast. When she was nearly halfway across one of the planks gave out beneath her, nearly sending her tumbling into the chasm below, but a quick shift to her center of gravity left her with nothing more than a scraped foreleg and a bruised chin.

“You alright up there, AJ?” Dash asked. The instant she had seen the plank give out, her wings shot open and she was already circling below the bridge, ready to catch the earth pony should she fall.

“Yeah, Ah’m fine,” Applejack responded shakily, gingerly rubbing her chin. “Mah ego took the worst a’ the fall.”

“Well, hurry across so we can keep it that way,” Rainbow Dash suggested. With a slight adjustment to the angle of her wings, she swooped up above the bridge and continued circling. “Just keep your eyes forward and keep moving, I’ll be here to catch you if you fall.”

Tipping her hat to the rainbow-maned pegasus, Applejack slowly continued her trek across the bridge, soon reaching the opposite side without incident. Of the four of us left, Rarity, Fluttershy, and I all silently glanced at each other, tempting one another to cross next. Pinkie Pie, oblivious to the stare down happening around her, happily dropped her bag to the ground, then stepped out onto the bridge and began crossing at a brisk trot. Not even opening her eyes, she deftly avoided the missing plank from Applejack’s near miss and was across in no time.

“Well, if nopony else wants to go,” Rarity said, stepping up to the bridge next, “I suppose it’s my turn.”

Placing a dainty hoof on the bridge, Rarity began her trip across. Due to her poise and natural grace, she crossed the bridge swiftly, barely causing it to sway in her wake. With only two of us left, I looked to Fluttershy to see if she planned on crossing next.

“Why don’t you go ahead next, if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy suggested. “I can fly over if anything happens.”

Seeing the sense in her suggestion, I nodded in agreement and grabbed Pinkie’s bag in my magic before approaching the bridge. Unstrapping my own bag, it soon joined Pinkie’s in floating beside me as I eyed the bridge warily. Seeing me carrying the bags with me, Rainbow Dash swooped down to grab them.

“I can take those off your hooves,” Rainbow offered. “Just give me a second to fly them over to the others before you cross.”

“Oh, sure, thanks,” I said.

Levitating the bags to her, she took one in each foreleg. The moment my aura was no longer enveloping the bags, she zipped off to the other side of the bridge and handed them to Pinkie and Applejack. True to her word, seconds later she was once again circling over the bridge, prepared to swoop down should I fall.

“Go ahead, Twi,” Rainbow called out, “I got your back.”

Emboldened by her words, I placed one shaky hoof in front of the other and began my slow trip across the bridge. Despite the creaking and swaying coming from the bridge, as I neared the halfway point without an issue my confidence began to build, and with it my speed. When I reached the broken plank from Applejack’s crossing I carefully stepped over the gap in the bridge, taking extra care to make sure none of my hooves slipped into it. Nearing the end of the bridge, I sighed in relief.

“Alright girls,” I said, preparing to cross the last few feet of the bridge, “that just leaves Flut-”

I was cut off by sharp crack and the sound of screaming as the world began spinning. Before I could register what was happening, I found myself chest to chest with an irritated-looking Rainbow Dash.

“Alright, I got ya,” Rainbow grumbled, pinning her ears back, “you can stop screaming now.”

I snapped my muzzle closed, blushing when I realized that the screaming had been coming from me.

“Sorry about that,” I apologized. “I just… everything happened so fast, and…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Dash said, giving me a cocky smirk. “I said I’d catch you, and I did.”

Swooping down, Rainbow lowered me onto my hind legs before allowing me to fall forward. Securely on four hooves again, I barely had time to lift a shaky foreleg to my chest before being glomped by two separate ponies simultaneously.

“Oh my gosh, Twilight, are you okay?!” Pinkie squealed, nearly squeezing the breath out of me.

“That was simply horrifying, darling,” Rarity said, squeezing me from the opposite side. “One moment you were there, talking to us, and then the next you were just gone.”

The flapping of multiple sets of wings alerted me to the arrival of both Rainbow and Fluttershy, the latter not wasting any time in joining the hug.

“Oh my gosh, I was so worried!” Fluttershy sobbed into my shoulder. “The bridge just gave out, and you fell, but I was too afraid to act, and… and if Rainbow Dash hadn’t been here, you could have died! You would have died, and it would have been all my fault!”

“It’s ok, Fluttershy,” I choked out, wiggling my pinned hooves in an attempt to pat her on the back. “I don’t blame you.”

“But…” Fluttershy sniffled, leaning back to look me in the eyes, “but, I told you to go.”

Giving the group of us a cocky smile, Rainbow sat on her haunches and began polishing a forehoof on her chest.

“It’s alright, ‘Shy, she’s fine,” Rainbow said, pausing to blow on her now polished hoof, “I wouldn’t’ve let her fall. You girls know I’d never let any of you down.”

“‘Course ya wouldn’t,” Applejack chuckled, “there ain’t nopony more loyal than you in Ponyville. ‘Cept maybe mahself.”

Approaching the group, Applejack placed my saddlebags on the ground beside me before motioning up the trail with a jerk of her head.

“Not that Ah ain’t glad yer ok, but we should really get movin’,” Applejack said. “There’ll be time fer celebratin’ when the sun is back and the princess is safe.”

The mares surrounding me reluctantly broke the hug, allowing me to breathe freely. Igniting my horn, I levitated my bags back onto my back and strapped them in place before signaling that I was ready. The group set off down the path at a brisk trot, and noticing that Rainbow had fallen back towards the back of the group, I slowed down so that I could walk beside her.

“Hey, Rainbow?” I said quietly, trying to get her attention.

“Hmm, what’s up?” Rainbow Dash asked, jumping slightly. “Sorry ‘bout that, was just thinkin’ is all.”

“About what?” I asked, glancing sideways at her.

“Just… all of this,” Rainbow said, vaguely waving a hoof in front of her.

“The forest?” I said, looking around at the trees that surrounded us.

“No… err, yes… I mean,” Rainbow paused for a minute to collect her thoughts. “Just, everything, really. The forest, this plan… I’ve always wanted adventure in my life, and now that it’s happening, it just seems…”

“Disappointing?” I guessed, having an idea of where she was going.

“Sort of, yeah,” she admitted after a moment's hesitation. “I just expected so much more action. Instead, we’ve just been walking for hours on end.”

“Was me almost dying not enough action for you?” I asked jokingly.

“No! Err, yes? I mean…” Rainbow stammered.

“It’s fine,” I giggled. “I understood what you meant.”

“Yeah, it's just…” Rainbow sighed. “It’s a bit selfish, but I’m kinda hoping something pops up, so we have something to do. But then I feel bad, cus if something happens and we do fail, then it isn’t just the end for me, or for us, it’s the end for all of Equestria.”

The two of us continued in silence, both pondering over what Dash had said.

“Don’t feel bad,” I said, finally breaking the silence. “I’m sure you aren’t the only one getting antsy. I know I’ve found myself hoping for something to happen myself.”

“Really?” Rainbow asked, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. “I took you for a bookworm, not an adrenaline junkie.”

“My antsiness has nothing to do with thrill seeking,” I giggled. “It’s just, the longer we go without at least something happening, the worse I expect whatever we run into to be.”

“That’s… one way of looking at it, I suppose,” Rainbow said, frowning slightly. “I mean, we are going against a pony that managed to take down Princess Celestia, so if she knows we’re coming…”

“Then we won’t stand a chance,” I finished for Rainbow, causing her to flinch slightly.

Glancing forward, I noted that the rest of the group had their ears turned back towards us and had been listening in.

“But enough about that, that isn’t why I wanted to talk to you,” I said, attempting to change the subject. “I wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me?” Rainbow asked, looking momentarily confused. I jerked my head back toward the chasm, and her eyes lit up in realization. “Oh, for saving you, yeah. That was no problem, I’d do it for anypony.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you saved my life,” I said, causing Rainbow to flush slightly. “But I don’t really understand why. I thought you didn’t like me.”

“Just because I don’t like somepony, doesn’t mean I’d let them fall to their death,” Rainbow said adamantly. “Besides, I don’t dislike you, I just don’t trust you. There’s a difference.”

“Well, regardless, thanks,” I said, giving her a friendly smile.

“If y’all are done back there, we’re here,” Applejack called, drawing our attention back to the path, and the large castle that sat at its end.

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[Chrome Masquerade]

“You think ?” Rainbow reiterated, turning to face me with a look of exacerbation.

Exasperation.