A bit after the race, the camp began to calm down. HyperBlitz had treated his scrapes and was now looking for something to do. His ears flicked as he heard a shout.
“HyperBlitz!” Spinning’s voice sounded from across the camp. Hyper twisted his neck around to peer at him. “Meeting!”
Hyper dashed inside, trailing behind Spinning’s black tail. Both of them entered the meeting room and gathered with the four other stallions.
“Alright, I brought some more supplies back from the city. Another mattress too,” CharmingRhythm began. “I also have some good news.”
“Aren’t the supplies good news? So that would be more good news?” FeatherTune pointed out.
Rhythm sighed. “Yeah, yeah. But for real. I interviewed some ponies when I was in Los Pegasus. I recruited a few for this camp!”
“That sounds great!” Blazing responded. “How many?”
“Three at the moment. But there will be two more later down the line. They have to look after their children. A Unicorn, Pegasus and Earth Pony.” Rhythm realized in his mind it was one of each species.
“Will the Earth Pony help with gardening?” EchoBeat spoke up.
“I, uh-” Rhythm hesitated. “He does construction so um… no.” Rhythm replied with a smile that was almost a grimace.
“I need more help with gardening,” Echo asserted. “There’s plenty of Pegasi and Unicorns in camp, but I need Earth Ponies. I can’t do everything on my own!”
“I understand, Echo.” Rhythm dipped his head, and then shook it. “I guess I didn’t think of that. I’ll write that down.”
For a moment, Rhythm hopped off his stool and reached for a cabinet. He levitated out a notebook from it. Returning to the table he began writing.
“Shouldn’t Blazing be helping Echo?” Spinning remarked.
“I… yeah, I should be. Sorry. I haven’t been doing that as much as I should,” Blazing apologized, his eyes shifting over to Echo.
“Well, someone’s going to have to go back to Los Pegasus to interview ponies then,” Hyper pointed out.
“Hmm.” Rhythm bit the tip of his pen. With a flick of his magic he pointed it at FeatherTune. “Feather. Do you think you could fly there and interview ponies?”
“Me? You’d trust me to make decisions?” Feather cautioned.
“Of course I do! But it may take a couple days since you’ll have to put in a request…”
“We can put in a request from here,” Spinning said confidently. “We’re connected to the Resistance’s system now.”
“Really? That would be awesome. We’ll figure that out after the meeting,” Rhythm smiled.
“But, do you really want me to go alone?” Feather interjected before Rhythm could continue.
“I- well,” Rhythm’s mind turned once more. “Maybe Jet could go with you. I want Hyper in camp.”
“Wait, why?” Hyper cocked his head.
“Just because. And since you’ve gotten along with the newcomers the best,” Rhythm clarified.
Understanding, Hyper nodded. “Actually, there was something I wanted to report, if I could,” Hyper stated.
“Yeah, of course. I was getting around to that,” Rhythm smirked. “Go ahead.”
“When we were racing I saw a Hybrid outpost with a node. It was a bit farther than the other nodes we have dealt with in this area. I wasn’t sure if we should take it out or not.”
“Well, we took care of that Hybrid camp,” Rhythm considered. “We may as well.”
“Are we doing that before I go to Los Pegasus? Or do you even need me?” FeatherTune asked.
“Uh… Well, do we need a whole team for it?” Rhythm questioned, looking to Hyper for clarification.
“I think so,” Hyper confirmed.
“That answers that question. Anything else to report?” Rhythm glanced left and then right. When no other pony spoke he said, “Alright. That’s it for now. You’re all free.” Rhythm began to step away, but then casted his gaze to the opposite end of the table. “Except Hyper. I wanna talk.”
Hyper stood in his place as the others passed around him. Once the door had finally closed to the last pony, Hyper took a few paces closer to Rhythm.
“Is this about the outpost?” Hyper wondered.
Rhythm shook his head. “I just wanted to check up on you. I haven’t seen you in a few days. Are you doing any better?”
Hyper was a bit surprised by his concern, yet warmed at the same time. “I think I am, yeah. Knowing I’m still pretty fast with this wing is a relief. And the fact that you trust me enough to look after the camp.”
“I put you in charge because I know you’d know how to control the rogues. I think that should be your job.” Hyper tilted his head as Rhythm explained. “You’re good at making ponies feel welcome. I want you to situate any newcomers we get.”
“I can definitely do that,” Hyper smiled.
“Awesome. And I’m glad you’re doing better.” Rhythm wrapped his new leg around Hyper’s neck and pulled him in for a hug. “But don’t be afraid to open up if you need to.”
“I’ll try,” Hyper promised. “Thanks for trusting me with these kinds of duties. I think knowing I can help others will help me. It’s good to know I can have a purpose.”
“Of course you do. You’re a part of this team for a reason. And a part of this mission. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Rhythm returned him a smile and then left the meeting room. Hyper followed after him, ready for the rest of the day.
Another day came in the camp. Hyper was watching Rhythm reattach a door to it’s frame. Hyper was a bit frustrated that Rhythm did not accept his help. Even then, he knew it wasn’t because he didn’t trust Hyper, but because he preferred working alone. Although Rhythm’s refusal for help hadn’t always gone his way in the past.
Angling his eyes upward, Rhythm scanned the sky past Hyper and the row of houses opposite their side of the street. Hyper turned to see what he was looking at. Two Pegasi were circling around the camp at a high altitude. Are they the same ones as before? Hyper wondered. What did they want with their camp? Soon enough, the Pegasi began retreating north.
“What do they want with us?” Rhythm echoed Hyper’s thoughts.
“I need to find out!” Hyper said through bared teeth.
He took off running down the street and outstretched his wings. With a quick thrust of wings and a leap, Hyper was airborne. Rhythm stood up on all four hooves and tried calling out to Hyper as he flew over the camp.
“Hyper! Wait! You can’t just follow them!”
Hyper didn’t hear him and continued to fly over the base. The two other Pegasi were still in sight, but appeared tiny on the horizon. With luck, Hyper would be fast enough to catch up with them. The gap began to close between them, but Hyper did not want to alert them of his presence, so he kept his distance.
Scanning the ground below, Hyper kept his eye out for any Hybrid activity. There were no traces of active Hybrids, although there was an already dissabled node. We didn’t get that one, Hyper thought. There must have been other ponies in the area, or perhaps a different Resistance team was sent on a bounty mission.
The flight following the Pegasi was a lot longer than Hyper had expected, but he was not ready to give up his chase. The ponies he pursued began descending as they traveled over hilly terrain. Mountains lined the right side of the desert. Between a valley, Hyper could make out a small gathering of houses. It was a village, and the Pegasi were dropping there.
Hyper kept his altitude as the ponies landed. Circling around the village, he was on the lookout for any evidence of the Resistance. There was no flag with the Resistance emblem that many camps had. No, this village appeared to be a run down neighborhood, but with plenty of ponies inside of it. On the outside of the village, a fence protected the perimeter.
Suddenly, a crack-boom sounded. Heart pounding, Hyper recognized the sound of gunfire. That was not the sound of Resistance weaponry. It was rogues, and they were shooting at him! A pair of Pegasi shot into the sky, darting towards Hyper. He could not tell if they were the same ones he had been following. Below, gunfire still rang out, but no bullet reached Hyper. They’ve got bad aim.
Swirling around, Hyper made a break for it. He hoped he could fly fast enough to outpace his pursuers. Glancing behind his shoulder, he could see they were still following him. Peering below again, Hyper looked for a way to lose their trail, but everything below was barren desert. Here and there were some shrubs or small trees, but nothing to hide behind.
Hyper glared upward. The puffy wall of clouds was just as far from him as the ground. Tilting his wings, Hyper rode the wind upward. He began beating his wings fast, and took in a sharp breath. Fuzzy grey shapes filled his vision, and he could feel dew beginning to collect on his fur. With one more thrust, Hyper shot upward, closing his eyes and mouth.
What felt like an eternity passed. Bursting out of the wall of clouds, Hyper entered the skies above. He drew in a breath of fresh air and opened his eyes. His eyes squinted at the harsh, bright light above the clouds. Everything was disorienting, but Hyper’s brain began to make sense of his surroundings, his eyes easing.
Endless waves of clouds stretched out in every direction. Blue of the brightest kind blanketed the sky. It was beautiful. A color so rich that it made everything else meaningless. The sun shone bright in the sky, burning yellow. Light scattered across the clouds, creating pigments of blue shadows. It was not the first time HyperBlitz had been above the clouds, but the last time was so long ago he forgot what it was like.
He gazed around in awe. It was a shame that non Pegasus ponies would never be able to see such a wonder. Hyper wished he could take a piece of the bright blue sky below and give it to his friends. He felt as if he was robbing ponies of this spectacle by just existing in it.
After a few moments, Hyper forced his brain to work past the pleasant visuals. He had to move and make sure the Pegasi weren’t still following. He trailed over the clouds, and began running along them. He felt sprinkles of water tickle at his legs. Despite the clouds having been tarnished by pollution, they still held magic that connected with Pegasi. He could walk on clouds!
Hyper took flight again, a vapor trail flowing behind him. He arched his path up and then downward again. Once again he closed his eyes and held his breath. Barging out to the world below, Hyper took in the sight of the desert. Everything was so dull and grey compared to the sky above. Nothing could quite compare to it, not even the brightest paints. Perhaps the closest thing to the brilliant blue was that of an energy crystal.
Shooting a glimpse behind himself, Hyper saw that the Pegasi had retreated. It was safe to fly back to the camp now. He relaxed his wings, knowing he did not need to rush anymore. The flight back felt excruciatingly long.
Back in camp, many ponies stared up at the sky as Hyper returned. As he landed, CharmingRhythm raced towards him.
“Hyper! What were you thinking?!”
“Sorry! I had to find out what they wanted!” Hyper snapped back.
“And did you find out?” Rhythm pressed.
“Well- no. But I did find another camp. I think it’s a rogue camp. They began shooting at me!” Hyper exclaimed, extending a foreleg.
“With guns?” Blazing gawked.
“Yeah! They almost followed me back, but I was able to lose them,” Hyper said.
“Great, now they know we’re here!” Feather spat.
“They already knew to begin with! They flew over our camp,” Hyper countered.
“Well, I guess they know now that we're interested in them too,” Rhythm stated. “Can’t really do anything about that now. We better be ready next time they fly over here. For right now, let’s just get back to work.”
As the ponies began to disperse, Hyper trotted up behind Rhythm, “I’m sorry. You’re right, I shouldn’t have done that. It was stupid.” Hyper shook his head.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Rhythm assured him. “I get you wanted to know what they were up to. And at least we know there are rogues around that we have to look out for.”
Hyper huffed, frustrated with himself. Rhythm patted his shoulder with a prosthetic hoof.
“Don’t beat yourself up dude. I know you sometimes act on impulse. Why don’t you go rest? You were out for a while there. The flight must have been tiring.” Rhythm addressed with care.
“Alright.” Hyper nodded and headed towards the base.
What do those rogues want? Hyper wondered. Are they just checking to see if ponies live here now? Like Rhythm had said, there wasn’t much they could do now. All there was left to do was wait.