Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, guys/gals.

Next chapter is going to be a tough one. I know I said it would be this one, but life's been a bitch and I haven't been able to write much, lately. I'm not gonna lie when I say that I'm a little disappointed with this, but I can't do anything else at the moment.

If it feels rushed, or if there's messed up stuff with it, let me know. I'll edit anything that's necessary, or any errors that I didn't find before.

I'm determined not to disappoint you guys again.

~Arwhale

Tension

He was grateful for the darkness; they all were. In fact, they welcomed it. An umbra to hide them from sight, to keep them obscure. Unnoticed. It was why he wore the veil and cloak in the first place.

Unfortunately, the sun had a long way to go before it relinquished its place in the sky.

His breathing heated the thin cloth pressed over his mouth, causing a damp spot to form on the fabric from sweat. It stuck to his chin and nose like an adhesive film, making every breath he expelled a slightly unpleasant affair. But he did not dare take it off, nor would he think of shedding his heavy, mottled gray cloak; he would not sacrifice the sense of protection they brought for the sake of mere comfort.

He could not say the same for his three companions.

"I told you we jumped too early, Hutch," said a voice from his left. "Place looks like the middle of nowhere."

And there it was again. The same stallion, never too shy to voice his opinion. Hutch rolled his eyes, making a dent in the veil with a deep breath.

"Yes, I am aware, " he hissed. "We can all see that for ourselves."

It was the first time he'd uttered a reply. The silent treatment hadn't worked the last three times, and his patience was quickly wearing thin. Unfortunately, he was not the only one.

"Hooves are killing me," he heard the stallion groan again. He scratched under his chin, where a blue veil, similar to the one Hutch wore on his chest, lay crumpled up and not in use. "Nothing but hills and fields for miles..."

Perhaps the worst part was knowing that his disgruntled companion, regardless of how annoying he may have been, was right. They had jumped from the train too early, and now, it looked like they were set to trek over a vast plain of tall grass as far as the eye could see. Even so, he wasn't quite ready to admit it. It would look... weak.

"And I suppose you would have rather stayed on until we were spotted?" he fired back, making no effort to disguise his agitation. "There were guards stationed all over that train. It was only a matter of time before we would have been seen..."

"Even so," a different voice spoke up. They turned their heads toward a third, much smaller unicorn stallion, walking to his right. He gestured to the expanse of field. "We don't even know where we are, right now. And I think it would be a good idea to find out."

He was pointing up ahead. A good ways away, an especially tall line of hills jutted out of the landscape like a set of spines, lush green with foliage. Hutch let a breath escape from between clenched teeth, and nodded.

"Thank you ever so much for keeping us on task," he said. His eyes widened, glinting dangerously over to his left, where his more disgruntled companion still sulked. "We'll get a better idea of where we are when we reach the top."

To his relief, the proposition did actually appear to satisfy the blue veiled stallion, who said nothing in the contrary. Hutch took it as a good sign, sighing inwardly with relief. He set his hooves to a trot, starting forward at a renewed pace...

"Ah, damn it... where's the water at? We still got some with us, don't we?"

More grievances from the left. Hutch rolled his eyes, but wisely bit back a sharp remark before it could escape. After all, it didn't seem like much of anything would stop his complaining. Nothing short of murder, anyhow.

"Of course," he replied, all too politely. "We've got some in the pack."

He spun around. However, his pupils dilated with slight surprise as what he saw was not what he expected. He groaned with exasperation.

"Anvil!" He called out to a fourth stallion, who was lagging behind them considerably. "What are you doing way back there? Our friend here is thirsty!"

His special emphasis on the word 'friend' made said partner's jaw clench. Hutch didn't care. The fourth member of their troop, a lumbering, clumsy fellow, redoubled his efforts, lugging a rather large saddlebag on his back.

"Sorry!" he hollered back. Heavy breathing made his speech difficult to decipher. "Gimme just... a minute..."

"Doesn't matter. Just try to keep up." Hutch waved off his apology, not paying it much attention. He waited until Anvil was side by side before he reached into one of the saddlebag's pouches, removing a canteen. He tossed it to the blue-veiled stallion, who managed to catch it with his mouth before unplugging the top. Hutch continued forward again.

"We need to get to the top before the sun goes down," he stated. "Let's go."

...

The idea had seemed much simpler in theory. But as they all soon came to discover, long stretches of land, monochrome in color and blurred together by the sun's lowness in the sky, had a way of making long distances seem shorter than they actually were. Hutch did not have to guess who would be the first to point this fact out, either.

"Seems like the more we walk, the farther away it gets," whined the familiar voice. Hutch exhaled forcefully, but faced forward.

"We're getting much closer," he assured. "Give it another half hour, maybe..."

"Sun's already going down," came the disparaging reply, almost immediately. Hutch bit his lip to prevent himself from retorting; however, as he took notice of his own shadow lengthening in front of them, stretching out to three times his size, he had to admit that his companion did have a point. At least, he admitted it internally. He sped up to a slow trot, aching hooves thumping rhythmically over the clay-like soil.

"We'll just have to speed up, then," he said in response. Predictably, he heard a low groan from his left, but he blocked it out. Double checking behind him, he saw that Anvil, laden with the burden of their supplies, was lagging behind again. But since it was obvious that he was putting forth enough an effort to keep up with the rest of them, Hutch decided wisely not to push the issue any further, leaving Anvil be.

...

Truth be told, Hutch would have gladly griped about the burning ache in his legs by the time they reached the hillcrest, but he knew that the rest of his group wouldn't do well with the encouragement. Near half of the sky had gone dark by the time he could see the foliage clearing over his head, and in front of them all, a smattering of boulders made themselves evident through the trees. Beyond, there was nothing but open sky. Hutch grinned; they had almost arrived.

"Right up there," he spoke over his shoulder, where the other three members of his group were barely keeping up. Anvil was not even visible. "There's an overlook!"

Gasps of air were all that greeted him in reply. Hutch smiled a little wider. His hooves transitioned from soil to solid rock, and his face was met with the gust of a high-altitude breeze. He skidded to a halt...

Even with the sun lowered precariously at the edge of the horizon, the view was breathtaking. A soft breeze gave the amber rolls of meadow grass the appearance of tumbling waves, reflecting the light's reddish hue like a sheet of frosted glass. Framing it on either side was what appeared to be the beginnings of an expansive forest to the left, and even farther away, a lone mountain, standing proudly with its promontory peak wrapped in a firmament of clouds.

But it was not the view that Hutch was interested in. Instead, his eyes focused in on a smattering of dots on the far away landscape, and with every millimeter the sun fell below the horizon, the faint glow they emitted became easier and easier to see. The grin on his face widened until it stretched from ear to ear, and he gave a breathless laugh of victory as the rest of his companions joined him on the peak.

"See?" He flourished his arm like a showpony at the sight before them. "Look at that!"

The other three stallions had to squint to find where he was pointing, but it did not take long for them to see what he was talking about. Even the blue-veiled stallion appeared to smile with relief at the sight of civilization within reach. Hutch sat down on the rocks, puffing out a large breath of air.

"What did I tell you?" He beamed with confidence. "That's Ponyville over there, maybe four hours away, at most. And you know what that means?"

The question may as well have been rhetorical, but the only unicorn stallion in the group answered it anyway. "The next freight train out..."

"...and supplies," huffed Anvil. Hutch nodded, holding his head a little higher.

"Means we're back in business." The corners of his lips twitched upwards into a creased smile. "Who ever said I'd lead you all astray?"

Another rhetorical question. Or at least, it should have been. But when one stallion in particular spoke up, the triumphant smirk that had been plastered onto Hutch's face instantly disappeared.

"Back in business?" The blue veiled stallion shot him a disapproving glare. "Whaddya mean, 'back in business?' Business is what we did in Manehattan. Business was Fillydelphia. But now? We've been doing nothin' but running for the past week. We ain't had any action since we caught that one mare outta Eastside goin' for a stroll, an' we almost got caught comin' outta Baltimare three days ago 'cause the cops were on our tails," he recalled. "And now you're talkin' about traveling all the way to the west coast! Last I checked, unless we're planning on seeing some more action, that don't sound like 'back in business' just yet..."

"We will be." Hutch refuted him, maintaining an impressive air of calmness on the outside. Though, on the inside, his blood was beginning to bubble up in his veins. "I can promise you that. This town's too small for us, but where we're going won't be."

If his wrinkled brow or narrowed eyes were anything to go by, his partner was not reassured. He stabbed his hoof back in the direction they had come, pointing through the trees.

"We've almost been caught twice, now," he said in a raised voice. "They're onto us. Even you gotta admit that we just got lucky last time. Hay, the way things've been going lately, it's only a matter of time before you take us right into a trap!"

His declaration was punctuated by a short period of silence. Hutch's blood felt thinner, and under the layer of his cloak, he began to sweat. He could feel the droplets trickling down his forelegs and onto the rock as the pair of challenging eyes burned into him.

For a time, he had to take a series of deep breaths to calm himself down, aiming his eyes toward the rock beneath his hooves. It was in this moment that he was beginning to truly regret even inviting this stallion to participate. But that was the past. This was the present, and with his leadership threatened and the other two members of his group looking to him for a response, he had to do something.

Hutch stepped toward his new opponent, lifting his head up higher than ever before.

"First you complain about jumping the train too early," he began. "Then, you complain about not getting enough action. Now, you're scared of getting caught." He pursed his lips with frustration. "Which is it?"

This time, Hutch made sure the question was rhetorical. He didn't give any opportunity to reply, answering it himself.

"In case you haven't realized, close calls come with the territory. So does being on the run. And when we need to run, then that's what we're going to do. It's not always safe, and it's not always easy, but sometimes, you gotta take some risks if you want to have a little fun."

For once, there was no hasty reply from his blue-veiled friend. It seemed that, perhaps, he was actually listening. A fiendish smile flashed onto Hutch's features for the briefest moments before his voice lowered to a dangerous level, sounding almost like a growl.

"This isn't always gonna be a cakewalk. We had it easy for a while there, sure, but now we gotta relocate again. Only this time, we just gotta go further. That's the way it is, and that's how it's going to go."

He stepped forward again, gaining ground as well as confidence. "You and I, and every single one of us here knew what we were getting into." He pointed to himself, and to every other member of their group for emphasis, ending on the one he was addressing. "We knew the risks. And if you've decided that you want out..."

He darted forward, catching the other stallion unawares. Eyes riveted together, their snouts were almost touching as Hutch whispered.

"Then we would all be happy to sign off on your retirement."

And with this, he had said all he that he needed to say. Now, with his eyes never wavering from his wayward companion, he waited. Like a predatory cat, crouched and waiting to pounce; all Hutch needed was for his prey to make the first move.

It looked ready to come to blows. Neither pony was giving ground. The tension was almost tangible in the air, floating around their heads like a electrified cloud...

Then, something that neither of them expected: a harsh whisper, raised in warning.

"Somepony's coming!"

And just like that, the cloud dissipated. At the sound of the alarm, they both whipped their heads around. The unicorn stallion was already in the process of retreating back to the woods, pointing into the sky with his hoof.

"Right there!" He hissed again. Despite the darkness, they could still see his pupils widened with fright.

Without even having to confirm, the look on his face was enough to convince them. Hutch turned back around and bolted, heading for the trees like he was being pursued.

"Hide!"

Within moments, all four of them had made it back to the forest, not even looking back in their haste. Hutch cursed under his breath as he took shelter behind a tall cedar, daring only to poke his head out. He and his other cohorts formed a semi-circle around the clearing, peering out from behind tree trunks and staring up at the open sky, searching...

Sure enough, Hutch saw it. Still a good ways away: a small dot, silhouetted against the sky. The longer he stared, the more pronounced its size and shape became; the wings of a bird, unfurled at its sides, making the occasional flap as it came straight for them. A pair of eyes materialized onto its darkened features, and with this, Hutch breathed another swear.

It was a pegasus. There was no mistaking it. And the way it was coming straight for them, his heart lurched forward in his ribs. He had no idea who this pony was, but if they had been discovered, then there was nothing they could do...

But then, just as thoughts of doom and despair began to worm their way into his psyche, his eyes fund themselves drawn to another detail. One that was most unusual: some sort of deformity, like a pronounced hump that which made itself evident on the pony's back. His furrowed his brow, ducking down lower while keeping his gaze fixed on the approaching figure...

Wait. No... it couldn't be...

Rainbow Dash bent her knees as she approached the hard rock, flapping two or three times to slow herself down. She could feel Scootaloo's forelegs tightening around the back of her neck.

"Don't worry! I'm not gonna drop you," she said with a chuckle. "We're basically already here, Scoot."

Her young charge didn't say anything back, but she did feel her grip loosen a bit. With one last flap, she allowed herself to fall the last couple of meters, landing nimbly on her hooves. Scootaloo grunted from the unexpectedness of the impact, but she didn't seem the worst for wear. Rainbow smiled and got onto her knees.

"Hop on down, Squirt." She nudged her head at the ground. At her cue, Scootaloo slid off her back, hooves clopping onto the rock. No sooner had she landed that Scootaloo was almost airborn once again, wings buzzing like a dragonfly's as she directed her gaze back toward home.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, "You weren't kidding! You really can see everything from up here!" She gazed skyward. "Almost like being on a cloud!"

Rainbow Dash reached over and pulled Scootaloo in, using her other hoof to give the filly an affectionate noogie. The girl gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, but a soft giggle let Rainbow know it was alright. "Told ya. Squirt. No lights, no nothin' to block the sky way out here. Although, it's not quite like a cloud..." She let Scoot go and rapped her hoof against the hard stone beneath their feet. "Clouds are a lot softer..."

Scootaloo laughed. Although, this time around, Rainbow Dash could detect a hint of mischief mixed in with the mirth. She raised an eyebrow, which made Scootaloo back away.

"Yeah," the filly said, trying to contain her laughter, "Guess it's a good thing we're not gonna be on one of those. You'd probably just fall asleep and miss everything."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened considerably as Scootaloo spread her front legs wide, going low to the ground and adopting a fighting stance. A big, cheeky grin plastered itself onto the little pegasi's face.

It took some time for Rainbow to gather her thoughts, her lips parted into a 'O' shape from surprise. But when she finally did, she approached her surrogate sister with a slow, methodical step. Scootaloo stood her ground.

"Scoots..." She tried her best to sound grave, but she failed miserably. "...You just earned yourself one heck of a noogie."

Scootaloo matched her gaze without waver. Determination and mirth shone in her eyes.

"Bring it."

...there were two. Two of them. One small, one big.

From the trees, Hutch could only pick up on bits and pieces of what was being said. He flinched as the sounds of whooping and hollering reached his ears, along with the unmistakable ringing of laughter. Ever cautious, Hutch peered closer to see what was going on, hooves clasped around the tree he was standing behind.

The two pegasi were running circles around one another, with the smaller of the two, a filly who couldn't be more than ten, dodging and hopping away from the other, an older mare whose multi-hued mane was illuminated by the moonlight. She crouched low to the ground, making a playful pounce at the younger filly, who skipped off to the side and ran just out of reach. They repeated this routine several times, and each time they did, the younger appeared to get more and more brazen. She hopped just within hoof's reach, only to leap back just before the other mare's hoof could snatch her up.

For Hutch, intrigue surrounded the sight like a shallow fog, forcing him to peer more closely. However, as the seconds ticked on, he found that there was only one part of the scene that really demanded any of his attention. The merriment, the essence of the scene he currently beheld, was soon lost on him... that is, if he had ever had it to begin with.

The rest of the rock face blurred as his pupils narrowed in on one sight in particular; one pony. It was as though he were rendered temporarily immobile, the palpitations of his heart drumming against his inner ears being the only thing he heard.

Until...

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth in a playful growl, lowering herself down to Scootaloo's level. If she had to admit, Rainbow was slightly impressed with Scootaloo's ability to escape; at first she'd only been joking around, but as she had planned on wrapping things up, she'd been taken by surprise by just how challenging the prospect of catching her had shaped up to be. Scootaloo's smile mocked her, and her tiny wings twitched and buzzed at her sides, ready to dodge her again.

Rainbow Dash smirked. Looked like it was time to show her who was boss.

"Alright, Squirt," Rainbow Dash said with a spread of her wings, giving them a hard flap and taking to the air. "That's it!"

As quick as she was, Scootaloo was no match for Rainbow's air superiority. Her eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates as she found her self enveloped in a cyan blur, and before her wings could so much as flutter, Rainbow had her in her clutches. She clenched her jaw as Rainbow's hoof burrowed into her scalp while the other pinned her to her captor. She struggled to get free, but Rainbow's arm was like a bar of steel, and it wouldn't budge no matter how much she tried.

"Heyy, no fair!" she hollered out with a breathless laugh, eyes clasped shut. "I can't fly yet! No fair!"

"Yeah yeah, you did this to yourself, Squirt!" Rainbow Dash dismissed with a grin, making sure not to leave any place unscathed. Still, she didn't want to get carried away and leave a bald spot behind, so with one last pass over, she set her captive free.

As soon as she felt Rainbow's hooves let her go, Scootaloo twisted herself away, rolling onto the rock and jumping nimbly to her hooves. Strands of her mane poked out in crazy angles like the head of a cactus, and she brought a hoof up to her mildly aching scalp.

The two of them were back to where they had started. However, as Rainbow continued to chuckle, she noticed that Scoot's eyes had thinned into slits. Also notable was that her smile had disappeared, replaced with a shallow frown. Rainbow tilted her head.

"Uhhh... something wrong, Scoot?" she asked, furrowing her brow. Her smile, too, vanished into thin air. A moment or two passed before Scootaloo at last responded, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeaah..." She turned her head away, still rubbing the spot on her head where Rainbow's hoof had dug in the hardest. "Just... I dunno. It's nothing."

Despite her attempts to blow it off, Rainbow Dash was not so sure. She leaned her head forward.

"Y'sure? It doesn't... I mean, I, uh..." she stumbled over her words. "... Hey, I, uh... I'm sorry if I maybe took it a little too far. Wasn't trying to hurt you or anything, I promise..."

Scootaloo's ear perked up at her apology. For a moment, however brief, her facial features lifted, but it was all gone in an instant. Making an apparent effort not to show any emotion, she dismissed her worries again with a shrug, facing the edge of the rock face.

"Pfft, hurt me?" She smiled. A thin, shaky smile. "Nahh. I'm fine, Rainbow. We were just messing around, I know..."

"B--But..." Rainbow raised a hoof up to make a hasty reply, but hesitated. Scootaloo did not turn to face her. Before she could get the words out, Rainbow let her mouth slide back shut. She conceded with a sigh, hanging her head. "Alright."

The silence that followed was nothing like what they had experienced that night. Nothing like earlier; the air of anticipation was absent from it. It was still, dying if not already dead. But then, just before the darkness felt like it had enclosed upon them...

A long, thin, streak of light. It started above their heads, curving parallel to the atmosphere before it took a steep dive, evaporating on the horizon. Scootaloo's and Rainbow Dash's head jerked up simultaneously, following the tendril of light until it disappeared.

And just like that, the air was abuzz once again. Scootaloo gave a sharp intake of breath, turning to Rainbow Dash with a smile slowly spreading on her lips. Rainbow found herself beaming right back at her, taking a deep breath to replace the stale air she had held in her lungs.

"Was that...?" Scootaloo didn't really have to ask. Rainbow Dash affirmed with a nod.

"Oh yeah, Scoot. That was."

...

Hutch didn't see the streak.

Actually, Hutch no longer saw anything in front of him. And what he did see... only the manifestations of his own imagination running amok. His jaw lay slack, and a ribbon of drool trickled out from the corner of his lip and dampening the fabric pressed against his mouth.

But they weren't fantasies.

I can't fly yet!

The vocal protestation bounced around the inside of his skull. He'd nearly lost himself to some sort of catatonic state the moment he had heard it. But even in the midst of his own ravenous schemes, he managed to bring himself back to reality.

Yes, reality. That was what this was. Presented to him on a silver platter like a novelty dish, like some dreamed up scenario so ideal that it couldn't possibly be real, but was.

And it was exciting.

Hutch's head turned like a gear to face his other companions, also lurking in the trees. All three of them stared straight at him.

Their veils were donned.

No words were spoken, not even in a whisper. None were needed. He turned his head back toward the rocks.

The moonlight glowed brightly over the pegasus mare's blue coat. Hutch couldn't tear his eyes away.

Under his veil, he smiled.