Fallout Equestria: Mountain Mystery.

It’s been at least three days since the battle in town. I stand with the others at our newly made graveyard. A larger grave has the name Diamond engraved on it. With the words ‘Grandmother, Mother, and leader,’ Many of her gang members decorate it with stripes, and her younger daughter Gem Cutter takes over putting her hoof on her mother’s grave

Gem Cutter looks at me. They consider me their grandfather and she gives me a nod. Leaving with the others of the gang heading back to their home. I look at the other grave, Zoonie. She did so much for us. Before she died she left instructions on how to find the best way to help the gardens.

Root comes up beside me most of her fur is burnt off her side and chest. I glanced at my friend who got shot through her armor and the magic looks like it destroyed parts of her nerves. She was told she may never feel anything again in those spots but she will get her fur back.

“Smoke Pipe will you be okay?”

I shrug my shoulders.

“I must move on. I got one more task and then maybe my simple life. Can go back to being peaceful again. These orbs need to be placed in their home and we can finally learn so much. Are you willing to come with me?”

Root chuckles.

“I have been with you on this journey since you found these orbs. Blossom and I are with you all the way. But I learned how many died during the battle.”

I look back at the graves. I know how many died; it was mostly the gangs who lost many of their followers. I don’t need to know the number. Blossom lands beside me and Root. She smiles weakly at the two of us.

“My commander is ready to follow you to the computer to understand what’s on these orbs. But Rolex gave me something. He said you would know what this means.”

She lifts a poker chip from her wing. I take it in my magic staring at it. I know what this is from and I know what this means. I place it in my pocket. I will follow up on it before my journey ends. Then I go back to being a detective and not a hero.

I walk away from the graveyard heading up the hill back to town looking down. Hundreds or more graves are lining up. So many died just for what to get at me? I highly doubt it was to get at me, it was to get at the community and it didn’t work.

I walk back into town seeing the zebras honoring Zoonie and another takes over. I glance at the new zebra who is going to take over for her. Her name is Sugar Mane, a mare who recently came here from the war in Equestria she offered to help.

Sugar waves her hoof at me. I walk over to them as the zebras move away. The mare looks at me, bowing her head.

“You don’t need to give me any respect Sugar. I am just a simple detective of this community. You do understand what this job will ask you to do right?”

She nods

“I think so I know from what I am being told. I am trying to find a cure for the sickness in the soil.”

I nod.

“It’s not going to be easy. It may never find a cure. It could fix itself through the years but you do what you can to heal this land. I wish I could say it will be easy for you. But it won’t be as easy. But I will support you as much as I can.”

The mare bows her head. She has jagged stripes and I don’t know what zebra tribe she is part of. But at this moment I don’t care. Each zebra to me is a zebra who wishes to help this land they’re fine with me.

I gather the bags looking at those who are following me to the final path. One is the commander stallion Blaze Storm. Blossom, Root, and the ranger Soda Pop. I stop walking looking at the ranger. I am confused why he is following.

“Soda why are you coming?”

Soda removes his helmet looking at me. He smirks, laughing softly.

“I have been wanting to see what is up with these orbs you have been finding detective.”

I was about to say something and I hear a strange sound looking up. Seeing green lighting and the clouds slowly move away. The sun shines down on us after all these years. I finally see the sun again.

“So I guess the attack I heard about was happening. Who would have guessed.”

Blaze Storm laughs, shaking his head. Maybe it can be explained to me what is going on. While we walk to the memorial which holds the computer the orbs are for. Blaze tells me what has been happening over the last few days

A mare he never got her name though he called her the Lightbringer and she caused a big stir with the enclave and promised to bring back the sun. He couldn’t go deep into what happened, just a battle happened and it was pretty big.

I am surprised a hero did what they promised. Of course, I see things getting worse for many. It took at least an hour to get to the memorial and standing outside it is Bumble waiting for us. She sighs shifting on her hooves.

“Seeing the sun again bothers me.”

I don’t blame Bumble for having ill feelings at seeing the sun again. The sun has been gone for so long just to see it now. I doubt it’s going to be easy to handle seeing it again and feeling how cold it’s going to get. Before I go inside Bumble stops me looking at me. She kisses my cheek but the look on her face is fear. I think she is scared of what we are about to see.

“Smoke Pipe we can do nothing, we have no idea what will happen if we put them all in.”

I smiled weakly. I would listen to her about this. But after what happened and all those who died for these orbs and Grogar wanting to come after us. I have a feeling these orbs are bigger than we know.

“We need to know Bumble. I am sorry I want to know what uprooted my simple life.”

Simple detective life I have been loving over the years. I may get jobs over the years but just relaxing and enjoying my life. Helping families grow up and finding stuff for them when they need me to. But when this happened I wouldn’t have seen all this. Draco, Globe eyes, and the spider creature left after the battle was over to head back to Antler.

Draco did his best to tell me he is sorry Globe Eyes just left after everything and the spider he left after the battle was over. My brain is drifting again to my granddaughter seeing her laying there dying or dead. I want to rage at Grogar but it won’t do any good. I feel a hoof on my shoulder looking at Root.

“Come on, let's go.”

I sigh deeply as we head into the memorial heading to the bottom of it while we are being cheered on by everyone. Before I could fully get down there Rose gave me and the others a hug. I smile weakly at Rose. All I can do is smile or I would finally lose it and sob my heart out again.

Rose moves out of the way. I give her thanks with just a nod of my head. We finally made it to the control room. I see I have all the orbs now I place one in before I place them all in after I place one in. A voice comes over the computer.

“We have learned some worshipers of Grogar have infiltrated at least one of our military complexes and might be getting ready to aim their weapons at us. We need to work quickly, my friends. This is the last recording I may ever make whoever finds these orbs. I want you to know not to rely on the weapons we have. Grogar is going to return no matter what we do.”

I place the other orb in and it just brings up one of the targets. The target is the salt flats in the widow maker desert. A desert Luna corrupted years ago when she was Nightmare Moon, interestingly, Grogar’s minions are scared of it.

“Okay, the moment of truth is the bigger one.”

I place it in the orb when I do the screen goes blank and up comes a countdown. Fifty years from now. I look at the name of what is saids on the screen

“Project Rebel.”

Words come up on the screen Bumble stands beside me to read them.

“To those who have come this far. I am sorry you couldn’t have been warned sooner. Our hubris and our war. Our foolishness would have never seen a threat coming. The threat of the real Grogar’s return. Most of us knew this but no one believed us since we focused too much on war and hate.”

Another set of words comes up.

“Some want to believe Grogar was the cause of this war. No, he wasn’t the hate between us was there all along. He just used it for his gains. The hate sickness is the hate we have deep within us. The hate we wish to hide he doesn’t need to use his mist to control our hate. It’s what we accept within ourselves.”

One last set of words comes up. I look over to Bumble as she reads it.

“Heed my warning my friends. Gather your friends and gather those you trust. If we don’t have friendship or the will to battle all may be lost. I wish I could say more. I wish I could have done more for everyone. But I failed, I failed.”

No name comes up and it goes back to the count down. I turn away the mystery is over now it’s time for the last and final thing I must do. Before I can go back to my life of nothing. I doubt even fifty years I am going to care about another war.

“Pipe where are you going?”

I look back at Soda and the others.

“The mystery is over, it's time to move on and I can no longer care about everything which happened. I have something else I need to take care of. Don’t worry we have fifty years to get ready, it's not like things are going to get worse.”

Soda sighs putting his helmet back on and he swings his head to the others calling some other rangers to come and guard the computer. I head back out with Root and Blossom getting in front of me to stop me.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

I glance at Root.

“Root I must do what a detective must do.”

Root stares at me and I look over to Blossom.

“I promise you both I will be back. I promise I will watch you make families. I will watch your children grow. I will stand there watching you two die as I never age. I will watch the world around me die. Till I am unable to live without the radiation of the world to help me stay alive. Then I will finally be able to die. I will be able to finally have the timeless walk with you all.”

They look at each other knowing what I mean. I walk by them lifting the poker chip. I hear the words from my past and remember that day. I went inside the casino and soft music played. I walked into the back smoking as I was making sure I could find this sister. I got in the middle of a large group and many guns were cocked and the mare that gave me the job stood up there with him and I chuckled.

"Hmm bringing one of your whores now mister Rolex you know better ways to get me here than sex appeal."

Rolex flew down and chuckled and he had a Tommy-like gun strapped to his side.

"Ah... but Detective... if you have the money... why not use it? Maybe this game between us will finally end. Back and forth for all these years."

I chuckled and just stood there not even getting my gun...

"Hmm, but I always had fun chasing you Rolex."

We ran into the sewer firing at each other and he was trying to find a way out. I rushed far after him. My old bones are still able to chase him. As we got in the middle of a large sewer he laughed.

"We will be doing this for all our lives, Detective... I can do it all my life... Can you?!"

The walls of the sewer blew in on us and the screams outside as we both lay in the burning rubble as the world around us ended. I remember waking up a few days after this creature, this ghoul. Then we gave up on the chase now it is time to end.

It takes at least a few hours of a walk to get up to the old run-down casino Rolex owned. The PA systems around the old casino blare on. I am amazed after all these years they still even work. I hear his voice trying to speak as it gives feedback a second.

“So you did come. I don’t know about you but this life of endless torment is not fun. How about we do this my old enemy. We let the game finally end. If I win I will finally get to kill you and put you in the ground. If you win you finally get to arrest me for every crime. For everything, I did in the past. Detective, I am weary of the chase come on let's do it the game is afoot.”