//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 // Story: Linkin Pony - Recharge: Revamped // by Kaciekk //------------------------------// It was late afternoon when Team Xero and their refugees made it back to the camp. Ash and Jet had seen the Pegasi flying, and raced off to meet them. CharmingRhythm carefully jumped to the ground and faced the two young recruits. “You took our cab without asking me first?” Ash questioned irritably. “Hey, I asked Jet. He said it was okay,” Rhythm asserted. Ash shot a sneer at Jet and returned to the ponies in front of her. “Well, I hope these are new recruits then.” “Recruits?” Blackout contended. “You’re fucking joking right? There’s no way we’d join you.”  “Now calm down…” Iridescent tried to appease her brother, but he just stomped off further into camp. “I’m sorry about him.” “This is your camp?” ThunderCharm asked. She examined the scene in front of her with curiosity. “It looks so barren. Where are the ponies?” “It’s sort of… in the works,” BlazingFlair clarified. “That’s also why everything is such a mess.” “Used to be worse,” SpinningNote added. “We’ve done a lot of work. And we’ll get more recruits soon.” “I hope you’re right,” Rhythm sighed. “Hey, Spin. You think you can help me take this off?” He dangled the crushed foreleg in front of him. He and Spinning made their way to the base building. “Here, you can stay in one of these apartments,” HyperBlitz offered, pointing with a wing. “Stay? You expect us to stay?” Blackout growled, appearing around the side of a house.  “I don’t mean forever. Just for the night, or for as long as you feel comfortable,” Hyper told him. “C’mon.” Hyper showed them the inside of a building. It was the cleanest one they had after the one they had given to Jet and Ash. Hyper felt a bit ashamed that it wasn’t in any better condition.  “The beds are old, we haven’t gotten around to replacing them. But we do have some blankets to cover them. Hold on-” Hyper dashed back out of the apartment.  Hyper entered into the base building. Inside, Spinning was fiddling with Rhythm’s leg. He used a tool to loosen the grip at the top. Rhythm’s half leg slipped out of the cylindrical clasp. “We need to get you a workbench,” Hyper commented. “You can’t do everything at the computer desk.”  “That’s a good point,” Spinning agreed. “Maybe we can put it over on that wall.” He pointed across the room. “What do you want to do with this?” Spinning asked as he levitated the broken prosthetic limb.  “I guess I’ll keep it. Maybe my dad can salvage some parts,” Rhythm responded. “If you say so,” Spinning said, unsure. “Yes, Hyper? I can feel you staring at me,” Rhythm stated and fluttered his eyes. “I just wanted to know where we keep our spare blankets.” Rhythm extended his left foreleg. “There’s a storage room at the end of the hall. There should be plenty of blankets on one of the shelves.” “Thanks!” Hyper swirled and sped in the direction of the hallway. Picking up the broken leg in his magic, Rhythm began to pull the crystal out of it. After a moment of struggling, the crystal popped out with a clink, into several shattered pieces. He placed the shards on the desk. “Here. We could still use those.” While small crystal shards were not useful for EPDs, the energy inside of them could still be used. They could be found inside generators, appliances and even in the engines of vehicles.  Hyper entered the room with several blankets tucked under his left wing. “I’m gonna try to make the newcomers welcome here, for as long as they want to stay.” “Sounds like a good idea.” Rhythm nodded. “Hey, Hype,” Rhythm added as Hyper made his way out. “I’ve got to go to Los Pegasus to get a new leg. You want to come with me?” A smile broke across Hyper’s face. “Yeah, of course!”  Hyper returned to the apartment and placed the blankets on the bed. There was one queen sized bed, and one twin, in two different rooms. Hyper showed the large room to the siblings, with a friendly smile on his face the whole time. He wanted to keep up his good attitude so the new ponies could feel well received. “I’m sorry it’s not any nicer,” Hyper apologized, speaking to ThunderCharm. “It’s alright,” ThunderCharm said. “It’s better than what was in that gang camp…”  “What do you mean? What happened?” Hyper cocked his head, suddenly concerned. “Why are you friends with those two, they’re a completely different faction than you.” Thunder sighed and shook her scarlet hair. “They came to the town I lived in and stayed for a while. We became friends then. They even came back every so often. Then they invited me to their camp but…” Her eyes were distant. “The gang didn’t really like me, they kept me prisoner there.” “What?” Hyper called out, and then tried to keep his voice low. “They set you up for a trap?!” “No, no! I really don’t think it was like that!” Thunder defended. “Blackout and Iri are nice ponies. But apparently the ponies in their camp weren’t. No, they actually freed me from the camp. We tried running, but then we came across Hybrids.” The young mare looked to the floor. “Oh… I see.” Hyper was saddened by her story. Thunder seemed like a kind mare, she did not deserve that treatment.  Blackout exited the bedroom and gave both of them a heavy stare. “Thunder, what are you telling him?” “I’m just explaining how the Hybrids got us!” Thunder shot back. “They don’t need to know anything!” “Hey,” Iridescent’s voice spoke behind the stallion. “It’s not like they can use anything against us. They’re just trying to help.” Blackout only snorted.  Hyper left them again and returned with some food. “Here. You guys need to eat. You probably haven’t eaten anything the whole time you were in that Hybrid camp.” “Thank you so much,” Thunder replied as she reached for a can of peaches. “And what if it’s poisoned?” Blackout spat. “Come on, you can’t really think that?” Iridescent shot back. “The Resistance has never outright attacked our ponies before.” “Ugh, fine.” Blackout gave in for once. “If you guys need anything else, let me know,” Hyper addressed in a warm tone. “And if you can’t find me, any of the other ponies will be willing to help.” Leaving, Hyper sought out another one of his teammates. Feather approached him, and he lifted his muzzle and groaned. “Why is Blackout such an asshat? All we want to do is help!”  “Hey, I remember a time when you were cautious of us helping you,” Feather reminded with a raised brow. “Yeah, I was cautious. But I was never a fucking jerk.” Hyper shook his head. “Some ponies just express their feelings differently,” Feather said. “You can’t excuse shitty behaviour though!” Hyper exclaimed, waving his hoof back to the apartment. “No, you’re right, you can’t. But if anyone can get around to them, it’s you,” Feather determined.  “I know,” Hyper sighed and made his way towards the base. CharmingRhythm insisted they left the next morning. He stood by the cab, waiting for HyperBlitz to prepare. Once out of the base, he quickly made his way to Rhythm. “Geez, you’re in a rush!” Hyper called. “Sorry, I’m jittery. I want to get a new leg as soon as possible,” Rhythm justified.  They said their goodbyes to the ponies in camp and drove away. Hyper sat in the passenger seat next to Rhythm. He glanced down at Rhythm’s stump leg. “You sure you don’t need me to drive?” Hyper teased. “I’m fine with my left leg, thank you very much,” Rhythm jeered. “Or my magic for that matter. You know you’re a horrible driver.” “Yeah, I know.” Hyper shrugged. “I’m used to flying.”  “And why aren’t you flying now?” Rhythm questioned. “I want to be able to talk to you,” Hyper responded with a friendly smirk. Rhythm smiled and nodded, accepting that answer. “Especially after yesterday. You could have died!” Hyper exclaimed, suddenly more serious. “Hey, but I didn’t die. My stupid leg got crushed instead,” Rhythm commented with an eye roll. “I thought you liked your leg,” Hyper pointed out. “Yeah. It’s better than this.” Rhythm wiggled his stub. Hyper knew he had a point. A prosthetic limb was better than no limb at all. He watched Rhythm shift his gaze back to the desert ahead. Even if he was driving, his eyes seemed to be looking somewhere else, troubled. “You alright?” Hyper asked. “Did yesterday freak you out?” “Honestly, it didn’t even phase me.” The blue Unicorn shrugged. “You’re fucking kidding, right?” Hyper gaped. “I wish. No, it’s just that… I’ve had so many things on my mind, I can’t think straight,” Rhythm answered. “And what’s on your mind?” Hyper wondered with concern. “All the things we have to finish in camp. My Luna, there’s so many things! What we’re supposed to do with those rogues,” Rhythm trailed off. He considered speaking honestly, that he was still worried about HyperBlitz, but he didn’t want to make Hyper feel like he was a burden to him. Instead, Rhythm said, “There’s been so many things going on that I can’t keep track. I’ve been forgetting things. Hell, I don’t even know what day it is.” He quickly turned to face Hyper. “What day is it?” “Uh, Sunday?”  “Oh fuck, thank you! Dad usually takes off Sunday. I was about to go to the workshop.” Rhythm shook his head in shame. “Do you need me to slap your brain?” Hyper joked. “Probably,” Rhythm exhaled. Hyper slowly raised his hoof up next to Rhythm’s head. “Hyper, I don’t mean literally!” Rhythm snapped as he flicked his head around. A smile began to grow on his face. Suddenly the vehicle jumped upward, rolling over a rock. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive!?” Hyper taunted again, also smiling. “I am perfectly capable of driving!” defended Rhythm. “But you’re distracted!” Hyper remarked. “You’re distracting me!” Rhythm quipped.  Both of them spoke in fast, absurd voices. They stopped for a moment and started laughing at their own antics. Rhythm focused back on the path ahead, smirking. “Well, you’re going to have to stay in the city for a few days right?” Hyper told him. “Maybe you can take some time to chill. Spend time with Heartfelt. Clear your head.” “Yeah, you’re right,” Rhythm said with relief in his voice.  After a while, a skyline of tall buildings appeared on the horizon. They began to grow larger as they drove down into the valley. Soon enough they were in the shadows of the towers, where they took the rest of their journey on hoof.