Linkin Pony - Recharge: Revamped

by Kaciekk


Chapter 15

CharmingRhythm trotted down the streets of Los Pegasus. He looked up to the tall apartment buildings, where a pony shouted out of a window. Rhythm tried to remember why he came back here. Certainly he needed to get more supplies, but he did not know which ones. He found himself arriving at his old apartment. The door was not locked, but it did not bother him. 

The inside of the apartment felt off to him. Objects were arranged in places he did not remember seeing them before. Maybe Heartfelt was in the process of moving. Just as he thought of her, the mint green mare entered the room. Rhythm greeted her with a smile, but she did not reciprocate. Instead, her eyes appeared dark and perturbed. When she finally looked at her husband, her brow was furrowed.

“Heartfelt? What’s wrong,” Rhythm asked in a soft voice.

The mare did not respond. She puffed and turned tail on him. Rhythm was confused. What was wrong with her? They had made up not too long ago. Why was Heartfelt upset with him? Rhythm decided to head out.

Not even a few steps outside the door, Rhythm sensed something wrong. Just a meter in front of him was Hyper’s severed wing. Rhythm’s heart jumped at the sight of it. His gaze slowly angled upward and saw Hyper standing on the other side of the street. His wing stub was bleeding profusely. Even Hyper seemed angry at Rhythm.

“Hyper! You need to wrap your wing!” Rhythm cried, not wanting him to lose too much blood. The sight of it made Rhythm feel sick. He tried to look away.

When he glanced down again, the wing was gone. So was his leg. Blood poured out of his right leg at the knee. The whole world was spinning around Rhythm. He felt himself collapse, into the pool of blood. He tried yelling for help, but nobody was there.

Rhythm’s eyes flew open. He was staring sideways at the wall on the other side of the room. It was another dream about losing his leg. But this one was different, it had to do with Hyper. He had no idea what Heartfelt had to do with it. He guessed it was just his mind spurring up random scenarios. Even so, he knew he was dreaming about Hyper for a reason. He was worried about him. Maybe Rhythm was afraid that Hyper would blame him for losing his wing.

Rhythm pulled himself upward, but he still felt dizzy as he moved. His heart was racing and his stomach was queasy. The stallion felt cramped in his own room. He needed some fresh air, and to shake off the dream, badly. As soon as he felt competent, he headed for the hallway. 

Rhythm stepped into the main room and saw Echo and Blazing gaiting quickly across the floor. They each had buckets held in the teeth. Blazing vanished out the door before Rhythm could enter into the room fully.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

Echo placed the bucket down. “Feather says there’s rain coming. We’re trying to get as many buckets as we can so we can collect water. Then we’ll have plenty of water to filter.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Rhythm approved. “You found some buckets out in the village?”

Echo nodded after he picked up his own bucket. Rhythm watched him leave. The Unicorn wanted to walk around a bit before the rain came. He exited the base.

To the west, surely there were darker clouds gathering, blowing in from the ocean. Rhythm glanced the other way and began moving. To the east, past the cellar door was a forest. They had not explored past the first trees yet. Between the trees, Rhythm could just make out the outline of mountains on the horizon. 

“Whatcha doing?” 

Rhythm jolted as he heard FeatherTune’s voice. He looked over to the left and saw the Pegasus standing on the hill that covered the energy mill. 

“I just wanted to stretch my legs a bit before the rain comes,” Rhythm assured him.

“Alright, but be careful. We don’t know what’s in those woods yet,” Feather said, pointing with his muzzle to the trees.

“Don’t worry, I will,” Rhythm replied with a curt nod. 

Rhythm lurked into the forest and admired the overgrown plants. Despite Equestria being mostly wasteland, there were a few treasures of wildlife. Even in the horrible conditions of the world, the heat, the lack of sunlight, the smog, life still sprouted. There were even parts of the country that were covered with out of control forests. In southwest Equestria, no places like that existed, for it was mostly desert. 

Rhythm caught sight of something orange fluttering from one tree to another. It was so bright compared to the dark sky and dull trees. A phoenix? Rhythm wondered. The sight of a phoenix, while also was a symbol of renewal, was always regarded as good luck by ponies. Rhythm needed all the luck he could get right now, he determined. 

Peering back at the ground, Rhythm saw he was nearing a mound in the soil. He could make out a hole in the side. It was a den, a large den. Rhythm wondered what kind of creature lived in there, but was almost afraid to find out. Or perhaps it was abandoned. He drew closer to the hold, and thought he could make out movement inside. A low growl began to sound. 

Rhythm’s blood ran cold, and he spun around in the direction he came. He raced through the trees and saw that the dark clouds were above him now. A few droplets of rain came down and clung to his fur. Rhythm looked behind his shoulder to make sure whatever was in the den had not followed him. The path was clear. He steadily made it back to the base and entered the door to the meeting room.

SpinningNote turned his head from his lunch at the sound of the door closing. “What’s up with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Rhythm said, catching his breath. He passed behind Spinning and walked to the door on the other side of the room.

As he left Spinning behind, Rhythm realized he should have been honest with him. They may need to deal with whatever was in the forest in the future. It could be a dangerous and destructive creature. Rhythm decided he’ll bring it up at the next meeting. Perhaps I should hold a meeting now, he considered.

CharmingRhythm entered the main room and almost instantly Blazing called, “Rhythm! They’re playing our song!”

Rhythm turned his attention to a radio that sat on the desk, next to the computer. Feather was in the chair, listening along. Even though it had been a while since he heard it, Rhythm recognized his own song. He found it a bit odd hearing himself rapping on the radio. The verse turned into a chorus, and the sound of Hyper’s voice echoed through the room. I tried so hard, and got so far...

The thought of HyperBlitz panged at Rhythm’s heart again. It had been almost three weeks since Hyper left for Los Pegasus. He could see that Feather and Blazing were thinking the same thing. 

“I miss Hyper,” Feather sighed. 

“Yeah, me too,” Blazing agreed. “He’d find something fun to do on a rainy day.” 

Rhythm waiting until their song finished before announcing that he wanted a meeting. Blazing went back into the hallway to inform EchoBeat. They all gathered in the meeting room.

“This will be short, I promise,” Rhythm told the ponies in front of him.

“Hey, did you hear,” Blazing said, directing towards Echo. “They played our song on the radio!”

“Really? That’s awesome.”

Rhythm just blinked at them, waiting for them to return their attention.

“Oh- sorry,” Blazing murmured.

Rhythm explained to them the den he had found, and the growling he had heard. 

“Maybe if we don’t bother it, it won’t bother us,” Blazing spoke hopefully. “Whatever it is.”

“But what if it comes out?” Feather countered. “We may have to take care of it if it comes any closer to the base.”

“I guess we’ll have to figure it out then,” Spinning shrugged. “Especially if we don't know what it is.”

“I suppose that’s true. All we can do is wait,” Rhythm mumbled. He placed his cheek on his left forehoof. 

“You alright Rhyth?” Feather asked him, picking up on his discouraged behavior. “You’ve been acting off ever since you got back from Los Pegasus. Well- the first trip, not the second one.”

“Yeah, what happened to your usual cheery self?” Spinning cocked his head.

Rhythm sighed. He knew his friends would ask him eventually. “It’s just- I keep thinking about Hyper. How can I not? I feel like it’s my fault he lost a wing.”

“What? Why?” Feather questioned, shocked.

“Well, I brought him on this mission to begin with. I’m starting to think this place is cursed…”

“That’s ridiculous,” Blazing assured. “You didn’t know that was going to happen, and Hyper didn’t know either. It was that damn Hybrid. Don’t blame yourself. Hyper wouldn’t.”

“I don’t know. I just feel like I let him down. That I let you guys down. This mission is a lot more than I thought I could handle,” Rhythm admitted.

“Are you kidding? We’re having fun!” Blazing let out. “Well, except for the part about Hyper. But I’m sure we’ve all found something to enjoy here.”

“Yeah, I love restoring old tech,” Spinning added.

“And I like gardening,” Echo commented.

“I like exploring, and spending time with you guys,” Blazing told with a smile.

Rhythm peered at Feather. The Pegasus shrugged and said “I dunno. I’m just here. I’d be bored without you guys.”

“Of course this mission is difficult,” Spinning said to Rhythm. “But I’ve never seen you back down from a challenge.”

“We all miss Hyper,” Echo spoke, “And wish what happened didn’t. But he’ll be back, with a new wing. We have to keep going forward.”

Rhythm perked up a bit. He was glad to have a group of friends like this. Their encouraging words made him feel less gloomy on the rainy day. “Thanks guys,” he addressed them, and then brought the meeting to a close.

It rained throughout the rest of the day. The desert needed the rain badly. Rhythm watched the water pour down from inside. The image of HyperBlitz came back into his mind. He hoped his friend was doing alright, as alright as he could without a wing. 

Rhythm thought of writing down some feeling into lyrics, but nothing came. Instead, he found himself sketching out drawings for the rest of the afternoon. The art was therapeutic for Rhythm and he felt a lot better after he filled a few pages with doodles. 

The rain continued to patter against the roof. There was not much else to do that day.