//------------------------------// // Chapter 29 // Story: Linkin Pony - Recharge: Revamped // by Kaciekk //------------------------------// Back in camp EchoBeat was overlooking the residences in between his gardening. ThunderCharm called him into a house to get validation on her painting. After he left the building, he could hear very faint pattering of wheels to the west. Echo turned and patiently waited for his team to travel up the path in their cab. As they exited, he noted the new mare with them. “There was a pony there?” Echo mused. “Yep. This is MorningHarvest,” CharmingRhythm introduced as he stepped onto the pavement. “She’s from Los Pegasus. We’ll have to take her back there.” “May as well do it when I go to interview ponies,” FeatherTune added as he fluttered to the ground. “Oh yeah, we still need to set up a request for you,” Rhythm said. He turned to SpinningNote. “Do you think you can do that?” “Huh? Oh yeah. I’m gonna go take these,” Spinning levitated the nodes’ canisters up, “back to the base. And I’ll put in a request for you when I’m there, okay?” “Alright,” Feather replied. FeatherTune’s gaze followed Spinning as he made his way towards the base. Hope he’s alright, Feather thought to himself. Spinning had quite a scare back in the outpost, but he wasn’t one to usually show his troubles. Feather couldn’t even read his friend’s emotions when he spoke to him. “I didn’t even know there was a camp here,” MorningHarvest remarked. The green mare peered around at the houses. “It’s still in the works,” Rhythm told her. “But it’s getting there.” “Speaking of that,” EchoBeat interjected. “We really need a larger tent for gardening. Do you think you can pick one up when you go to Los Pegasus?” Echo spoke to Feather. “I guess so.” Feather shrugged. He spun around and searched for Jet. When his eyes rested on the younger pony, he asked, “Can you come with me? I need a second if I’m traveling.” “Um… sure,” Jet responded, somewhat surprised.  “Rhythm told me to take you,” Feather said blandly. “Next thing you know you’re part of the team,” He joked.  “I think I’m perfectly fine with staying partners with Ash,” Jet said. “I better go find her. I bet she’s interested in what happened.” FeatherTune watched Jet bound into the air in search of his girlfriend. As Feather turned around, the rest of his team had dispersed too. The last bit of Rhythm was seen going through a building, MorningHarvest following. He must have been showing her a room to stay the night. The next day, Jet and Feather gathered with MorningHarvest to set out for the city. Jet insisted that he drove, which Feather was fine with. He had never been a big fan of driving anyway. “Remember, get a large tent. And maybe a mattress if you can,” Rhythm informed. “Yeah, yeah I know,” Feather said with fake annoyance. “A tent, a mattress, a box of coconuts.” Rhythm raised a brow and smirked. “Oh yeah, good luck finding that.” Feather chuckled at patted Rhythm on his shoulder. “Alright, see you later Rhyth. Don’t burn the camp down while I’m gone!” “If anyone is going to burn anything it be you!” Rhythm teased. “Oh, shush!” Feather replied and began cantering towards the cab. “Don’t crash into anything on the way there!” Rhythm called in a lighthearted tone and waved his prosthetic foreleg. “I’m not the one driving!” Feather snapped. Feather was still laughing quietly to himself when he got to his seat. Jet smiled with amusement. “You two are really good friends, huh?” Jet said. “Oh, yeah. We’ve known each other since… what, when we were sixteen? Seventeen? He was my first mission partner,” Feather explained. “That’s pretty awesome. That you’ve been friends for that long,” Jet stated. “Ash is the only pony I’ve been with for several years.” “The more time you work for the Resistance, the more friends you meet along the way,” Feather promised him. He was glad he could make conversation with the younger Pegasus. He would have hated an awkward silence on their trip. Sounds of hoofsteps echoed in the wide hall as FeatherTune and Jet made their way into the building. They had dropped MorningHarvest off at the refugee shelter. From there she would be able to find her way home. Happy to see Heartfelt was on her shift, Feather quickly cantered his way towards her desk.  “Oh, FeatherTune! It’s good to see you. What are you doing here?” “I’m here to interview ponies for our camp. Heartfelt blinked. “Didn’t Rhythm do that the other week?” “We came to get more,” Feather reported blandly. “He forgot to recruit Earth Ponies to grow food,” Jet clarified. Shaking her head, Heartfelt mumbled, “Of course he did.” She began to speak louder, directed at Feather. “Have you put in a request?” “Yep,” Feather replied. Heartfelt did a bit of searching on her computer, looking for Feather’s name. When she found the entry, she relayed, “You’re all set. Your room is A14 in hall B.”  “Thanks Heartfelt!” Feather waved his wing as he trotted to a smaller hallway. A few floors up, the two Pegasi found their way to a meeting hall. While approaching a door, Feather noted a few ponies sitting outside. He stopped. The room appeared to be occupied. The ponies sitting gave him a few odd looks. “Feather, that’s A13, she said it was A14,” Jet recalled. “Oh.” Feather paused for a moment. He shifted over to the right where he found the next door. It was open, and there were no ponies next to it. “Looks like we’re early.”  As they entered the room, Jet wondered, “Did you seriously just forget what room it was?” “No, I probably wasn’t reading the signs,” Feather defended, flicking his bushy tail. “Like that’s any better,” Jet muttered with an eye roll.  While they sat and waited, they listened to a radio that Jet had found in the corner of the room. After half a song, Resistance news was broadcasted. Accounts of Hybrid raids in the North sector of Equestria were reported. Apparently the city of Vanhoover had been receiving many raids for months, and that they were getting increasingly stronger. The Hybrids must have thought of it as a prime target for a citadel.  Sadly there was nothing Feather or his team could do, for it wasn’t a part of their sector. Surely other sectors should help each other when they’re in trouble, Feather thought discontentedly. The first pony to come in was a brown mare with a curly orange and purple mane. Next to her, a brown colt’s head popped up from behind the table.  “I’m Terra,” The mare introduced herself. “And I’m Rocky!” The colt exclaimed. “He’s my little brother. I’m watching him for the day,” Terra said, almost apologetically.   “So you’re good at gardening?” Feather asked the mare. “Yep. I hope it will be enough for your camp.” “I wanna come too!” Rocky cheered. Feather scrutinized the little colt. He had to be no more than 12 years old. Feather shook his head and said, “You’re way too young. I’m sorry, you can’t come.” “I told him that to begin with,” Terra added. “But I could help!” “Are you recruited in the Resistance’s program?” Feather shot at him. “Well… no.” Rocky glanced away. “Then you can’t come. At least not yet. Maybe when the camp is closer to being finished, kids could stay,” Feather explained. Rocky’s eyes glimmered a bit, knowing he could come later. “Okay!” The next pair of ponies to come in we're two mares. Feather was a bit surprised to see a purple Unicorn walk in next to a dark red Earth Pony. Just as the Earth Pony sat, the brown maned Unicorn began to speak. “I know you’re looking for Earth Ponies, but she’s not going anywhere without me,” the purple Unicorn grinned as she placed a hoof on the other mare’s back. Abashed, the Earth Pony glanced away for a moment. She set her eyes back on Feather and pushed her short white mane out of her eyes. “I’m CherryBomb. My talent is, well… normal Earth Pony magic, but amplified. Any plant I touch grows exponentially.” “That sounds perfect! We could really use a great gardener.” Feather clapped his hooves together.  “While I may not be able to help in gardens, I’m well trained for fighting. I’ve got perfect aim,” the Unicorn smirked, causing CherryBomb to roll her green eyes. “Well, I suppose you could come too. What’s your name?” Feather cocked his head. “Oh, I’m sorry. I got ahead of myself,” the Unicorn apologized. “She always gets ahead of herself,” CherryBomb mumbled between her words. “I’m AgileArrow, but I go by Aggie.” She extended her foreleg out for Feather to shake.  “Well, Aggie and CherryBomb, I think you’d make a great pair for our crew,” Feather confirmed. “I hope it goes alright,” Cherry fret, speaking softly. She stood up next to Aggie. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine, dear,” Aggie soothed the anxious Earth Pony. Just after they left, Jet remarked, “What a sweet couple…” Feather glanced over at him. The younger Pegasus obviously had his own relationship in mind. The last pony to be interviewed was a pink stallion named Berry. He was a standard gardener, however he was a bit shy. Feather was sure he’d be able to come out of his shell while on the job. Berry was recruited too. Although Feather was surprised no more ponies showed up, he thought the three ponies he acquired were enough. Maybe I shouldn’t have recruited all of them, Feather wondered, beginning to doubt himself. Perhaps he had been too forgiving, and should have checked to see if they were more qualified. Not everyone was perfect for the job, but it was too late now to deny them. Feather knew that if Rhythm trusted him, he should trust his decisions more too. The two Pegasi reentered the main hall and circled around to Heartfelt’s side of the desk. She glanced up from her work. “All done?”  “Yep. We’re heading out,” Feather said. “You got any messages for me to give to Rhythm?” “Um…” Heartfelt thought for a moment. “No, nothing for Rhythm. But you can tell HyperBlitz that SweetHooves will be leaving for her mission in a few days.” “Alright, got it,” Feather replied. “See you Heartfelt!” Jet followed behind Feather’s brown tail as they exited the building. He then took a few quick strides to become parallel with Feather. “Is that Rhythm’s wife?” Jet asked. “Yep.” Jet didn’t speak anymore. Instead, he stared ahead of himself distantly. Once again, he seemed troubled. “You alright?” Feather inquired. “What?” Jet shot his neck up. “It’s Ash isn’t it?” Feather guessed. “Anything about relationships seems to put you in a bad mood.” “I’m not in a bad mood I’m just…” Jet searched for words. “I just thought this mission would bring me and Ash closer together, but nothing’s changed. She’s as stubborn and irritable as ever.” “Why do you even stay with her?” Feather questioned. Jet’s grey eyes glared at him, and then softened. “I know Ash is a good pony. I’ve seen her when she’s happy. That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve been with her for two years. I’m not giving up just yet. I just wish I knew what to do to make her happy.” “Well, I’m not the best pony to ask for relationship advice from,” Feather admitted. “Maybe talk to Hyper or Rhythm.”  The two stallions stopped on the sidewalk in front of their cab. Feather only stared at it for a few moments. He suddenly remembered they needed to collect supplies. “I need to figure out where we could get a tent…” Feather mumbled. “Maybe ask the ponies in the greenhouse?” Jet suggested. Feather sighed, “That’s too far away.” “Too far away? I thought you first intended to fly here and back?” Jet shot back. Feather shook his mane. He retraced his steps back into the main building. “Heartfelt might be able to find some info about it. There’s something else I want to get, something our camp needs.”