Linkin Pony - Recharge: Revamped

by Kaciekk

Epilogue

CharmingRhythm’s camp saw even more success within the months following it’s verification for the Resistance. The new year passed, which everyone celebrated. It truly was like a new start. Now it was spring, whatever spring may be in a desert wasteland. ThunderCharm had passed her training assessment, and was continuing to learn about the Resistance in camp. New additions were given to the camp. More gardens, more finished apartments, even a tall wind turbine. They were even beginning to add more buildings. There would never be too much room. There were ponies to shelter, and families to raise.

Of course, all of it was not without complications. There were still Hybrids to fend off, and things to be fixed. Generators and appliances broke. The piping to the outer apartments was quite tricky to complete. Setting up the wind turbine was anything but easy. It came in parts on a train, where it had to be dragged up the slope to the camp. All of the Pegasi gave effort in lifting it.

Most of all, the ponies decided to name the camp. Simply “North Hills”, as it lies directly north or Los Pegasus. Something easy to remember.

Currently, CharmingRhythm was helping some Earth Ponies plant new trees at the forest’s edge. They wanted to make up for the trees that had been torn down to make room for gardening tents. Rhythm was just finishing patting down the earth around a sapling. His ears flickered as he heard a voice from somewhere in camp. He stood up, and trotted off to meet the pony who called him.

At the edge of the first road Rhythm stopped to face SilverFlash. It felt like it had been forever since he last saw his brother. Even if he did live in camp now. He remembered how excited Flash was when he had offered to give him an apartment.

“Hey! Where have you been? It’s been like… almost a month!” Rhythm recalled.

“Yeah… we meant to go to the Citadel, but we had some issues. The EPD in Lance’s armor ended up breaking… still kinda prototype,” Flash replied. “So we stopped in Walnut Creek. Then went back to the Citadel.” Flash waved his hoof around as he explained. “Then went back to Walnut Creek. Oh- and we picked up a pony. Brought her with us here, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, of course. You know this is a place for refugees,” Rhythm said.

“Oh, and I see you guys got a windmill while we were gone!” Flash craned his head up, looking to the south. Just as he said ‘we’, Lance took his place next to him. The tan Unicorn kept his eyes on Flash who was admiring the wind turbine.

“Yep. Even though we could have really used your help setting it up! But you were gone!” Rhythm accused, half scolding, half amused. “Instead we had to let the Pegasi set it up!”

“Eh… sorry,” Flash smiled sheepishly. After a silent moment, Flash spoke up again. “Can I spin it?”

“W-what?” Rhythm expressed, confused.

“The windmill! I can spin it and give you extra energy!”

“I- um.” Before Rhythm could say anything, Flash was already galloping over to the wind turbine site. He and Lance followed after him.

Stopping about ten meters before the turbine’s tower, Flash gazed up at the blades, several stories above him. His horn began to flare magenta, which now matched the outline of the turbine’s blades. They began to rotate, steadily gaining speed. Flash gave an almost crazed grin as Rhythm and Lance watched him. The latter threw his head down and began laughing, his shoulders shaking as he did. Rhythm didn’t even try to keep in his own laughter.

From behind them, near one of the apartments on an outer street, SpinningNote dashed towards Flash. He called out, “Stop! Stop! You’re going to break it!” Spinning used both of his hooves to hold the other stallion.

“Oh come on!” Flash bantered playfully. “These things got auto locks when they get too fast!”

Spinning grimaced. “For wind! Not magic!”

“I don’t see what makes the difference. It’s practically the same thing. Spinning,” Flash replied wittily.

“Eh, now you’re learning!” Lance remarked, tapping a hoof on the grey Unicorn.

Spinning just groaned and swiveled around. He flicked his tail and passed by Rhythm. “I’ll be waiting at the cab.”

Rhythm nodded acknowledgement, but was still grinning wide. As his gaze drifted past where Spinning had been, he noticed a hint of mint green.

“Heartfelt!” He called. As the mare’s face turned to him, he motioned with a hoof to draw her over. Heartfelt’s warm brown eyes caught sight of SilverFlash and then she excitedly looked to Rhythm.

“Did you tell him?” Heartfelt wondered as she reached the stallions.

“Nope,” Rhythm replied, trying hard to suppress a smile, which ultimately turned into a wide grin.

“Tell me what?” Flash looked between Rhythm and Heartfelt.

Heartfelt took a step closer to Rhythm, their shoulders almost touching. “I’m pregnant.”

Flash’s eyes widened. “Wait, seriously?” He reared up and grabbed Heartfelt and Rhythm with each of his hooves, pulling their necks in for a tight hug. “Congrats! Oh, you guys are going to be such great parents!”

He let go and recomposed himself, smiling. “And that means I’m going to be an uncle.” Flash took a peek at Lance and poked him with a hoof. “Hey, and you can be an honorary uncle!”

“I, uh-” Lance blinked, unsure what to say.

Rhythm dipped his head to Lance. “Don’t worry. They’re going to have a lot of honorary uncles. I got my team, y’know?”

“Oh, and speaking of team,” Rhythm let out, his mind turning. He peered off to the left, as if trying to glance over objects. He returned his gaze to Flash. “Hey, you’re not hopping out of here right away are you?”

“Nah, we gotta rest after our mission. Why?” Flash wondered.

“Good - ‘cause I need to ask you a favor. Can you watch over the camp for a few days? Maybe a week or so. I got Aggie on duty but I’d be nice to have an extra set of hooves to help. Xero’s got a mission.”

“Really? Where are you going?” Flash asked, intrigued.

“Haythorn,” Rhythm stated confidently.

“That should be interesting. And yeah- I can help watch the camp,” Flash agreed.

“Thanks dude. I trust you,” Rhythm said honestly.

“You really shouldn’t,” Flash claimed, shaking his head.

“Oh come on,” Lance countered, tapping his hoof on Flash’s side. “You’re a lot more responsible than you think you are. Even if you do like spinning wind turbines.” The stallion smirked, which only got an eye roll out of Flash.

“I better get going,” Rhythm announced. “It’s great seeing you guys!”

“And you too! Good luck!” Flash called back.

Rhythm trotted past the wind turbine, Heartfelt close behind them. He found the rest of team Xero standing besides their cab. A few gave Heartfelt a greeting. Standing next to the vehicle, Rhythm faced his wife in farewell.

“Please be careful, okay?” Heartfelt requested.

“Eh, I’ll try.” Rhythm shrugged, grinning. “This is a different type of mission, remember? We aren’t exactly going to be dealing with Hybrids.”

“We might,” Feather added from the side, his head poking out from behind the cab.

“We might,” Rhythm said, still focused on Heartfelt. “But that’s not our primary focus.”

“Rogues can be dangerous too,” Heartfelt remarked.

“Yeah, but we’re going to try to go about this as peacefully as possible,” Rhythm assured.

Heartfelt gave a slight sigh. “Just… come home in one piece, okay? I need you… we need you.”

Rhythm’s eyes softened with fondness, but there was still a glint of playfulness in them. “Don’t worry. I’ll try not to lose any more legs. If anything, I’ll just lose this one again.” He raised up his right foreleg.

“Oh yeah, and that will really piss off your dad,” SpinningNote muttered to the right, already seated.

“Shush,” Rhythm quipped, then whipped his head back to Heartfelt.

“You know I worry,” Heartfelt let out, her own expression softening.

“I know,” Rhythm replied, then rested his horn on hers. “And that’s okay.” He pulled away, eyes locked on hers. “It’s good to know someone’s always thinking of me.”

Heartfelt didn’t speak, but instead replied with an affectionate smirk.

“We’ll be back, ‘kay? I gotta go,” Rhythm said and then kissed his wife.

“I love you,” Heartfelt told him as he backed up.

“Love you, too.” Rhythm stepped near the cab, placing his hoof on the door. He turned his head once again. “Remember, I’ve got my team looking out for me.”

BlazingFlair, from the driver's seat, tilted his head to look past Rhythm. He gave Heartfelt a warm smile.

Heartfelt returned the smile. “Good luck, all of you.”

“Thanks, babe,” Rhythm said as he sat down.

The wheels of the cab began to roll, and they drove away. Rhythm’s sight was still glued to Heartfelt for a few moments as she became smaller the further they went. HyperBlitz and FeatherTune flew overhead, leading them just slightly.

“Next stop, Haythorn!” the voice of Hyper declared from the intercom speaker. The yellow Pegasus was now equipped with his own radio and headset. “Well, that is if we don’t stop on the way there.”

“We better not,” Feather retorted.

The wind ruffled Rhythm’s black and blue mane as he watched the desert landscape pass by.

“Anyone want some music?” BlazingFlair asked, hoof near the radio dial.

“Here,” Echo said, and poked Rhythm’s shoulder from behind.

Gazing at his side, Rhythm saw a tape held in Echo’s hoof. His magic picked it up so he could inspect the “Xero” written on it.

“Hell yeah,” Blazing commented. “That’s much better!”

The tape contained new music Rhythm and his team had created in the past months. Hyper’s proposed No More Sorrow was completed, and was as awesome as any of them could hope. Rhythm had also completed the song he had started writing over a year ago, In Between. There were a few more songs on the tape, including one without a name, and one that was only instrumental.

Rhythm injected the tape and let the music play. He felt a surge of pride at his and his friends’ creations. He picked up the communication speaker and faced it’s microphone to the cab’s own speaker. Rhythm turned it on to let the Pegasi hear their own music.

“Fucking awesome,” was Hyper’s response.

CharmingRhythm was glad to be going on a mission again with his friends. It was refreshing to be out of the camp, even if they didn’t know what to expect on this mission. That was half the fun, wasn’t it?

Team Xero had picked up this mission from headquarters after seeing no other teams would pick it up. The goal: go to Haythorn to assist the civilians and help stabilize the city. Since North Hills’ completion, Haythorn had restored their communication lines with the rest of the Resistance. Their rogue problem was getting closer to resolution, but there were still a few suburbs in trouble. Rhythm didn’t want to let down a chance to help ponies.

This new mission was a lot like the assignment to complete a camp. They didn’t know exactly what they were getting into, but knew they all had each others’ backs. The road ahead was uncertain, but Rhythm knew they could find a solution together as a team.

It’s time to take back Haythorn for the Resistance for good, CharmingRhythm aspired. One more step to take back the rest of Equestria. One more step towards a better tomorrow for ponykind.

The world had been depleted long ago, but there’s still hope. It’s time to recharge.