Fallout Equestria: Mountain Mystery.

There are many stories of the long road. A road on which many tend to lose themselves and try to find themselves again. These days everypony loses themselves on those roads and most never wish to return. The times are coming when we need to fight on those roads and never end those fights.

Written by a Zebra commander.

Roots journal it’s been at least two days since we left the bunker. Smoke Pipe and Bumble are still out of it but at least they’re breathing alright. We have many with us including Salt scales. Draco and Globe eyes and their race. But we are worried since many are running away from Buffalo they didn’t come from it though. They’re saying the Enclave made a camp not far from Buffalo but no battle or attack has happened yet.

“Root we need to make up a plan before we get there. If we have to run, We should get our guns ready just in case.”

I glance at Globe shaking my head.

“I trust Blossom to do her best. I am sure she is in a meeting with them now.”

Globe eyes sigh.

“I know I know I just can’t seem to trust pegasus after what they did to me and Draco. They’re the ones who pushed us into becoming these weapons to fight for them then we got trapped in there.”

Draco nods.

“Yeah, it wasn’t a pleasant first few years. Since we had to learn to become these creatures and it took ponies to help and they started vanishing over time. Then we heard bombs were dropping and we thought we would die but we lived through the entire time.”

I am worried about Smoke Pipe, he has used up his magic core before. But he has never been out this long. He is normally out of it for an hour and then gets back to it. Oh goddess I would love to have some bourbon or something to drink to wake him up.

“Does anyone have any liquor?”

Salt Scales stares at me opening her bag bringing out a flask

“I make my own. Is this the time for a drink?”

I laugh, shaking my head.

“No open it up and put it near Smoke Pipes's nose. It may wake him up if not then he is really out of it.”

Salt Scales shrugs her shoulders, slithering her body along with the caravan we made from the remains of what was left of the bunker. She opens the cap of the flask by putting the open flask by Smoke Pipes's nose. After a while Pipe opens his eyes grunting, opening his mouth for a drink.

“Drink please.”

Salt scales just hold it in front of him.

“Use your magic.”

Smoke Pipe struggles while magic doesn’t even form on his horn he pants as it seems to hurt him to try to use his magic. Salt Scales helps him drink a long sip as he laughs after the drink is over.

“Pipe what in the world happened?”

Pipe smiles weakly looking like he is about to pass back out.

“Did the spell called winking?”

I heard of the spell called winking. It's a lost spell from the ponies of old. Only some ponies know it and if they use it without training they could lose their magic for days or even forever. Their magic cores get so drained they could even die.

“Now if you excuse me.”

He lays his head back down, passing back out. I sigh, shaking my head.

“What is winking?”

Salt scales close the flash after she asks her question. Placing the flask back into her bag. She looks at me and the others Draco shrugs his shoulders. Globe just doesn’t answer. I am sure she knows but she doesn’t want to worry any of us.”

“Winking is an old unicorn spell many unicorns knew in a land called Dream valley. Now many call Dream Valley a legend but so many books and old spells come from this so-called land of legend. If you don’t train enough or get used to it. It could kill you or deplete your magic core forever.”

Salt scales stare at me with a look of horror on her face and in her eyes.

“What is it with ponies and making spells which could kill them and others around them? I will never understand your species.”

I just shrug my shoulders and laugh loudly enough for the others to hear.

“Trust me I will never understand unicorns and I have known Smoke Pipe pretty much my entire life since I moved here after leaving the place I used to live in. I have tried my best to keep him from doing something stupid like this. He told me years ago he knew the power called winking and how if a unicorn is not trained it could kill them.”

We head down to New Antler to at least get a day's rest. Before we even get close to the dirt road that heads down into New Antler a bunch of guards stands in front of us to stop us. One of them looks at me and then at the others. She then heads to the caravan seeing Smoke Pipe and Bumble Bee.

“Did you find what you were after?”

She looks at me then at the other creatures.

“Yes, we did. Now we need a day’s rest at least before following the path back home. Can you at least let my friends here join us? You can let them stay outside the city at least.”

The guard sighs.

“We were told to allow Smoke Pipe and whatever he finds come into the city. Oh, the leaders are sure going to love this. Oh, I got news from Buffalo. The Enclave made camp and from what many have said it’s a lot less than they thought. I guess from what the commander told them. Most of them crashed in the mountains heading this way.”

I feel horror wash over me. A bunch of ponies is dead because of the mountains? I don’t understand why they would bring their flying vessels to this land when the mountains could cause a lot of problems for them.

Salt Scales sighs.

“I think I know where I will be staying. I will become a citizen of this place here. If I will be welcomed.”

She looks at the female guard. The guard shifts a bit looking at the naga and a weak smile forms on her face.

“I heard stories of you desert dwellers going anywhere to find water or enough water to help your community. Why do you want to stay here?”

Salt Scales smiles weakly.

“The words you say are true. But I haven’t fulfilled my duty. To protect my community and to keep the water fresh and pure. I need to find a way to break the curse Nightmare Moon placed on the Widowmaker so I can help the rest of the desert. I doubt I will find it in the lifetime of many of the ponies there. But I could find it in the lifetime of the camels and other races.”

The guard nods.

“Come with me then we will take you to the leaders. Root the others will take you and your friends here to the inn. I doubt they will be able to house every single one of your friends here. I am sure most of them won’t care about staying outside?”

Globe eyes chuckles.

“I don’t mind staying outside with my pack.”

Draco nods.

“I don’t mind either. We will put the mothers and their cubs in the inn with them. So they don’t get nasty looks from those who have problems with creatures like us.”

The guard nods.

“I understand perfectly. I am known as Flower Horns.”

She sighs, shaking her head.

“My parents thought I was going to be a male Elk but I was born a female Elk. So yes the name is strange when you don’t have antlers like the males.”

She chuckles. Flower Horns escorts Salt Scales to the leadership of the community while the other guards bring the rest of us to the inn. We do get some nasty looks from moose, other elks, and deer. Some of them do wave at the creatures and me but from the stories Smoke Pipe told me about old Antler, it was normal for their xenophobic ideas.

One of the guards looks at me when we get to the inn.

“We will carry the detective and the mare into a room. Don’t worry about paying for the rooms the leadership will pay for them. Now if any one of these creatures causes problems it will be on them.”

A weak smile forms on my face watching the moose and elk guards lift the two other ponies out of the caravan heading to some empty rooms. I turn my head to see Globe Eyes and Draco talking to mothers of their species. The mothers nuzzle or kiss their husbands heading inside.

Draco glances at Globe Eyes and shrugs his shoulders.

“I hope we can leave soon. I don’t feel safe here at all.”

Globe Eyes nods.

“I don’t either, we will have to get used to this feeling if we want to become citizens or part of the community of these mountains. At least we will have each other and our species will work together to find a place in this land.”

I felt my stress leave me after the words they said. I haven’t been this stressed since I met Smoke Pipe for the first time and it was during a heist. I chuckle to myself remembering he thought I was the one who stole all the money from the bank vault. It turned out the banker just misplaced it.

I head inside the inn looking at the bar full of citizens of Antler they’re being very respectful to the females and the children who came in here. From what I see they’re buying them food and water and talking with them. One of the children looks crippled and her left leg is lame. I come closer to listen.

“Is your daughter okay?’

The claw walker looks down at her daughter. The creature is a mix of her race and what looks like a pony. I am wondering if this female found a stallion to sleep with. The mother coughs to speak, coughing out a bunch of dust.

“Sorry, we don’t speak much to outsiders. So our voice pipes without our tongue tend to hurt.”

She coughs again, shaking her head.

“Her father was a stallion pony. He left soon after she was born. A stallion like him invaded our home and then expected me to raise this little one on my own. I got pretty upset with him but Draco and my pack leader Globe Eyes didn’t want me to hurt him.”

The moose looks at the little creature. She has soft, gentle eyes. The moose smiles leaning down to hug the little creature. The bug dragon creature chitters using her many arms to hug the moose.

“Friend?”

The little creature spoke up and the moose chuckled.

“Yes, I am a friend. Maybe I can convince the leaders to help build another community in the forest just for you and the others.”

The large claw walker stares at the Moose.

“Why would you do that for us, sir?”

The moose weakly smiles. He bows his head to her and the little one. He brings out a card to them.

“I am the blacksmith of this community. I tend to have a big pull in this place. Oh, and before you go, is there anything you want from this. I haven't seen too many families broken and lost these days. It’s happening even more now with the war outside of the mountains.”

The mother looks down at her daughter.

“So you’re doing this out of the good of your heart?”

He nods.

“I do not need to lie. When I was younger I was a pickpocket and did many awful things in my past. It took the detective you came with to sit with a young moose full of anger and hate. A chip on the shoulder thinking he was a worthless piece of trash to everyone around him. But the detective showed me otherwise. So I cleaned up took up the job from the sick blacksmith before me and he showed me all he could before sickness took him.”

The creature smiles weakly.

“I am known as Lava Heart. I was told the name is because of our lizard, Dragon, bug mix creation. So It’s strange I have to have a dragon head with bug lizard features.”

The moose chuckles.

“I am Anvil, please come with me and bring your daughter. I will go talk with the leaders.”

Anvil turns leading the two out looking at me and he smiles.

“Root please tell Smoke Pipe thank you for what he did for me. I will never forget the kindness the ghoul showed me.”

I smile and nod to him heading to a room to rest. I went into the room where Smoke Pipe and Bumble are in. There are more than two beds. I lay in the empty bed to lay down hoping our home is peaceful and not under attack.

I fall asleep feeling my world drift into the darkness.

__________________

Smoke Pipe.

I open my eyes, noticing I am on a bed. I have no idea where I am at getting off the bed and getting on my hooves. I need a smoke focusing on the magic in my core and my magic brings out the pipe. I light it heading outside of the inn and seeing Draco and Globe Eyes sitting with the others of their species.

“Well hello.”

I sit beside them smoking from the pipe.

“Hey Smoke it seems a blacksmith convinced the leaders of Antler to help us build a community just for us. They’re giving us another part of the forest and they will let us build whatever we want. They also offered to let our community be part of Antler. We told them it will be till we can get our government going.”

Wait what happened when I was out? Speaking of which I have no idea how long I was out. I look around and wait. I am in Antler and why can I use my magic? Huh, I must have been so out of it that I didn’t think my magic core would ever come back.

“Sooo how long has it been since Bumble and I did what we did?”

Globe eyes chuckles.

“Oh, almost four days. We got here almost ten hours ago. But we need to talk to you about your home. The Enclave built a camp and on the rumor mill, most of the army coming died because of the mountains. Also, I guess zebras cast a spell on them in Story and destroyed most of their troops. They came in peace at the start and the commander was almost killed when he came with a flag of peace.”

I took a deep breath feeling the air fill my decaying lungs. Then why did they not stop the ponies from hurting other cities? I wonder if most of the enclave that was coming didn’t come for peace they wanted to come for the weapons.

“I wonder what changed. I remember Blossom telling me they were coming for the weapons. I wonder how this land made them change their minds. Maybe we will know when we get back home.”

Draco leans to look at me.

“Smoke only I and Globe eyes will come with you the rest of the way. The others will be staying behind to help build our new community. Globe eyes and I worry about bringing them all the way and having children with us. I am sure you agree.”

I nod.

“I agree, what about Salt Scales?”

Globe smiles.

“She will be living here too.”

I take a deep breath sighing.

“I need to go for a walk to get the kinks out of my body.”

I stand up on my hooves heading out of the town. I need to think to myself and I know I can think more on my own. I have a feeling my journey is close to its end. At least this journey is of many but this one changed me more than others. I stop in my tracks feeling I am being watched. Hearing creatures around me howl full of anger and seeing a dark red mist floating around me.

I turn to stare face to face with the old Goat. I just stare right into his red eyes. How is he able to break out of his prison so easily? But while we stare at each other I see the magic seep around me. I feel anger and hate taking me over. I take a deep drag from the pipe feeling the anger subsiding.

“What brings the father of monsters to a lovely forest like this?’

The goat snickers.

“I want to thank you for helping to give at least a tear into my prison. You and that wife of yours using the winking magic put just a little tear that I can play with to do things at least in your area. I am sure sometime I will find a way to break into more lands.”

I snorted smoke flowing through my nose. I watch the hate sickness spread through the land hearing more creatures howling in anger and creatures around me killing each other. I did my best to stay relaxed.

“Now now detective you’re not going to accept the praise? I see of course I don’t expect you to accept anything.”

I am starting to notice the portal he has opened slowly closing and he struggles to keep it open. The red mist no longer flows through the land and the creatures stop their screams of hate and anger as everything goes back to normal and some cry in howls of pain and sadness for what they did.

“I see you can’t keep the portal open. I wonder if you’re just boasting. But I know full well I can no longer stay in this forest or Antler. You have an interest in me and just me for the moment.”

The goat laughs.

“I have an interest in you, dear detective, for how many times you have failed in your life. The one fails the big fail, never-ending your game with the one known as Rolex and never bringing him to justice.”

He is correct after so many years I gave up chasing him and he gave up on his game for the time being. He has told me how he misses the game, the chase, and the hunt. Maybe when all this is said and done. I can finally do the promise to him I did years ago before I died.

The portal closed. I quickly put out the pipe and trot quickly back into Antler. I see the guards on edge from all the creatures. I run full sprint getting back to the inn and finally getting back to Globe Eyes and Draco who look ready to battle.

“We need to leave now. I have no time to explain. I am going to wake up Bumble and Root, get to the road, and don’t look back. We need to make sure he won’t open a portal here and cause more problems.”

Draco and Globe Eyes nod they both run outside of Antler as I trot quickly into the inn heading up to the room shaking Root and Bumble awake the two mares wake up. They both get off the beds and yawn.

“Love what's wrong? I am finally able to move again.”

I smile and sigh.

“We need to go, '' Grogar opened a portal not far from here. We can’t allow him to find a way to open a portal here and release some of his sicknesses here.”

The two mares look at each other. We quickly ran out of the inn nodding to them to head outside finding the guard who helped us get in here.

“Listen I am sorry but we can’t stay any longer. You need to have your leaders use your magic creators to protect your home from Grogar.”

The guard stares at me.

“What do you mean Grogar is in his prison?”

I shook my head.

“He can open portals in his prison and talk to us and release his hate sickness. Don’t waste any time and we are going to leave hoping he will not hurt you or your new friends.”

The guard quickly gets out of the inn and I trot quickly back out of the inn and head down out of Antler to the road further from the forest. The others are waiting for me and I nod to them and we know we aren’t far from Buffalo now.

“Globe eyes Draco can you take us the rest of the way on a caravan so we can get there faster?”

Globe eyes and Draco nods. Draco pickles me up and gets me on his back using his spines to keep me from moving. Globe Eyes lifts the two mares, putting them on her back using her bug-like arms to hold them.

“Hold on.”

I look back at Antler seeing the leaders wasted no time. I see a magic spell being cast and a magic shield forms around the entire forest. When the shield stops glowing it vanishes. I am not surprised they didn't waste any time the hate sickness is not wise to have around. I watch the road ahead.

The two large creatures run down the long road known as the lone road. This road is only used when it’s needed I open my bag to look at the orbs in it and I sigh. I feel hope filling my heart knowing we are almost there.

It takes us at least an hour to get there. The two large creatures were getting winded and it wasn’t easy for them to keep running so they went to a short trot when we finally got to Buffalo the community is now surrounded by a mental walk. A gate leading into the town opens up and the commander of the Enclave army comes out with Blossom beside him.

Draco puts me down and I stand in front of the two.

“Is this him Blossom?”

Blossom nods.

“Yes, sir he is Smoke Pipe.”

The Enclave commander tosses away his weapon coming up to me. The stallion looks like he hasn't slept in many days. He looks into my eyes as I look into his. He looks at me a weak smile forming on his face.

“Well, Detective, you wish to sit and talk? I know you may not wish to talk since we did come here to take over. It seems this land had other ideas for us. So I am told there is a bar we can sit and meet at if you’re still willing.”

I nod.

“First your name.”

The commander chuckles.

“I am Blaze Storm. I was allowed to take at least a few troops to come this way. I wasn’t warned though about the magic in the air and how zebras have powerful spells here. Now is it true what Blossom saids he has returned?”

I silently nod. I lead him to the bar with the others following me. I am unsure how to talk to him about this. I can’t think though when I need a heavy drink before I can even think of how to tell him for now we need peace. I open the door to the bar heading inside.