Light

20- The Light Ride

[Naomi]

I'm too busy thinking about what happened yesterday that I don't notice I clipped Spirit's bow to his ear. He looks at me, almost worriedly, and I snap back to reality. "Sorry, boy!" I say, and clip it to his forelock. "All ready." I lead him to the mounting block and climb on. It's a good thing Spirit's western. These saddles are so much more comfortable.

Spirit starts to walk, and I pull him back. "Whoa," I command, and he turns his head to me. "We're not leaving yet, old boy. We have to wait for James."

As if on cue, he rides up. Not on Mayor Peanut, but still on a pony. I wonder why. He looks uncomfortable. His heels aren't even down. What the fuck. He's wearing sneakers.

"James..." I start. I look at him pitifully. "What are you doing..." I don't think he realizes he's not wearing appropriate riding attire. I mean, Alex isn't any help. She doesn't even wear a helmet. Ever.

"What?" He asks. Oh my god.

"What are you wearing?? Do you not have boots?? Do you know how long the Light Ride is??" I sound like I'm yelling. I should tone it down.
He pets the pony he's on. "No and no.. I'll be fine!" He seems confident. Too confident. Those are fucking sneakers!

I blink. "Whatever you say. Come on, the other Soul Riders are leaving." I kick Spirit gently and we're off. I look back a couple times to make sure James is following. He is. Okay.

[Linda]

I keep having visions of.. something. Of something bright pink and pulsating, nauseating, too much. Or maybe it's somewhere. I don't know, but it's awful, like the one I'm having now. I hear something similar to glass shattering in the vision. It's weird that I can hear it, and that it sounds so real, too real. Meteor is strong. He can guide me while I am not in the real world.

And just as suddenly as I started having it, the vision stopped. The world still feels pink and disgusting, but that's usually the aftermath of my visions. I have a feeling that these are of Pandoria. Could the end be near, already? It feels like only yesterday that we rescued Anne. But.. it's been just about three years.

Concorde isn't even saddle-broke yet. She's just a baby! Haha, I say, as Concorde walks along with Ganymede almost as tall as him. She'll always be a baby to us! I didn't even get to see Meteor as a foal. She is strong, though, I can tell.

Lisa looks over to me, noticing I wasn't following with their conversation. "You okay?" She asks with genuine concern.
I smile. She's so kind. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a vision. It probably isn't anything important." I say, silently hoping that it won't be as important as I feel it may be.
Lisa nods. "Do you guys want to sing something?"
We all yell things like, "Yes!" and "Of course!". None of us except for Lisa have good singing voices, but this isn't about that. It's about having fun. It's about spreading Aideen's Light.
She begins, "I saw your heart right from the start,"

[James]
I have no idea what I'm doing. I think I'm supposed to be wearing a helmet. I'm so unfamiliar with this horse. Pony. Whatever.
"Heels down!" Naomi's looking at me.
I do as they say. It feels unnatural. I don't like it. I don't think I want to ride horses. I'm fine just taking care of Mayor Peanut.

[Anne]

"Together till the end!" We end the song. We may not have sounded very good, besides Lisa, but that was beautiful to me. Concorde trots next to me and Ganymede. This old boy has gotten so much better at riding with me, but I'm so ready to saddlebreak Concorde. We were meant for each other.

She's just about three years old, a few days give or take. I could've started saddle training a little while ago, but I wanted to wait until after the Light Ride.
Strangely, I feel tired already. I feel myself slouching, so I straighten up. Can't do that on a horse. I give Ganymede a kick, hoping a canter will boost my energy. Concorde picks up the pace.

[Lisa]

I worry about the other Soul Riders sometimes. Maybe it's because my circle's magic is so different from all of theirs. Visions of the future, manipulation of time and space, self-defense, they all seem so stressful to manage.

Healing, though... that takes something else, I think. I don't know how to describe it.
I want to take my mind off of that, so I try to make conversation.
"Why isn't Naomi riding with us this year?"

Alex responds first. "They're all buddy-buddy with my brother now. I'm not mad! It's just a little awkward cause.. he is.. my brother... And your friends shouldn't be friends with your siblings..."

Anne slows down so she can talk.
"Good thing my brother is so little. I'd really be mad if one of you was friends with a 9 year old!" She laughs to herself.

I giggle along with her. "Speaking of brothers, did you hear Tan--the bobcat, but not Loretta--is after Josh now?"

[Alex]

"Wait, Josh is your brother?" That's news to me.. I didn't even know she had one.

Lisa shakes her head. "Not biologically, but I kind of, like, 'adopted' him." She smiles brightly.
I like that.
I wonder if Linda feels left out as an only-child. She's too quiet. I guess that's normal for her, but it makes me sad anyway.
We reach the first campsite and settle down.

As I'm taking the bag of marshmallows out of my saddlebag, Concorde walks up to me and bites the beanie right off my head.
"Concorde!" I shout, but she's already trotting away. "Get back here, you thief!" I look around. "ANNE!"

Anne laughs softly and opens Concorde's mouth, letting my beanie fall to the ground. She laughs even harder.
"Now I can't wear it anymore, it's covered in dirt and spittle!" I yell, but not angrily. This always happens and it's still funny even if I have to wash it so often.

[Naomi]

"James, you stay at the campsite with everyone else. I feel fine enough to go on." I say, kicking Spirit gently to speed up.

We pass the campsite. I click my tongue for a slow gallop. We climb the hill carefully, but quickly. Aideen's Light is so bright, physically and spiritually. It lights up the night sky like a lightning strike.

"I am Aideen," I call out. Spirit whinnies. He slows down abruptly and tilts his ears forward. I look around. "What do you see, buddy?" Then I see it too. Her.
Elizabeth.
I smile wide. "Elizabeth Sunbeam." I say.

She looks at me, speaks gravely. "Do not overestimate your strength. You may be That One, but you are mortal. Know your limits."

I open my mouth to reply, but she's gone.