Dear journal things have changed over the years. Root and Blossom have found stallions and they finally got married. My wife and I got remarried ourselves. Over the years our land has been slowly rebuilding everything which has been lost.

Newspapers have returned but sadly the land is still sick and unable to heal. We learned from a few creatures in the new Antler that it would take powerful magic to restore the soil to be able to grow like it used to.

I remember the magic witch went into the ground when my son died. The power went back into the ground and I wonder if the magic is slowly working through the soil to return the soil to normal. Big issues though ever since the land became normal again we have had issues from outsiders known as raiders and slavers.

I lower my journal after I hear a knock.

“It’s open.”

Moonshine opens the door.

“A mare is waiting for you downstairs,'' she said a group of raiders has taken her son. She tried getting help from the gangs but they were busy dealing with the slavers. What are your plans with this Smoke pipe?”

I put the journal down, putting my hat back on.

“I can handle it. From what I have been told about these raiders they’re too dumb to understand one like me.”

_______________

Nine years later

Well, I learned Scootaloo has been found and revived from a frozen tube. I worry about what is going to happen. The news coming to us is a few days old. But there is a new issue with the Enclave. A group known as the Hardliners is causing a big stir over an old weapon.

I lower my journal seeing Blossom come in. She is beside herself from the look of her messed-up mane.

“Oh, the Enclave has upset me now. Blaze Storm told me to stay here and not follow the rest of them back to deal with this. It’s gotten bad enough that the Alliance used Celestia one on the pegasus.”

I look down at the book written by the one known as Little Pip. I just recently got to the part about Celestia one and what it could have been used for. A weapon like it and no way to stop it. The place we live in though it’s not my fight I can’t stop it.

“Blossom he is correct it is not our fight. Besides they don’t need a detective, they need a pony to play fake hero to use their hearts and minds and then vanish from sight when the time calls for it.”

Blossom snorts sitting in another chair I bought recently. Since Root needs to vent about how her husband tends to anger her. Of course, he angers her he is a stallion who is a ranger. Of course, he is not always going to see her.

“I can tell Root was here. She and her husband are having issues again?”

I chuckle.

“Na it was him this time. I told him you got her pregnant, you married her now you deal with it. I may have known her most of my life but I can’t read her for you. Blossom look I am very sorry but this fight with the hardliners is not our fight. Those who wish to fight can join in on it. But I had enough of it to last a lifetime.”

Blossom sighs, groaning, and strokes her head with her hoof.

“I am sorry Smoke Pipe it’s just I feel I have to do something. My family could be dead for all I know.”

I nod.

“I know but you left the Enclave you made yourself impure in the eyes of many of them for breeding with a pony on the ground. Granted he is a Dashite but still, he is a pony who some of the Enclave would say is impure. We got to let the real heroes do their job and then fail to keep up the facade of a hero.”

Blossom lays fully on the chair sighing.

“I will never understand your issue with the hero's Smoke Pipe.”

I chuckle weakly.

“It’s from a lifetime of watching those so-called heroes break their friendship and many other heroes break their friendship in the name of peace. Look how about I buy you a drink and you can go back to your hubby.”

Blossom gets off the chair nodding and heads downstairs. I sigh deeply looking at the other book beside Little Pip's book. I have almost finished this one too. I lift it in my magic.’The Howling Dance Written by Silver Gunner.’

I set the book down heading downstairs.

____________

Twenty years later [The Story Rainfall.]

I am sitting in my chair reading one of my newspapers. The news hasn't gotten pretty slow over the years. Things have calmed some raiders are still around some slavers still find their way into the mountains. A knock sounds on my door. I pull my pipe out of my mouth.

“It’s open.”

The door opens and I see my earth pony friend Root and Blossom both of them now married. They help raise their foals and I take care of them when they need a foal sitter. Root closes the door and the two middle-aged mares sit in my chair.

“What brings you two here?”

I don’t even turn to look at them. The two don’t say a word at all for the longest time till Root speaks.

“The Storm King has returned. The news is making the gangs on the border gather heavier weapons and rumors of locking down the border again. But that is not the biggest thing there is a zebra ghoul in the bar downstairs. She said she wishes to speak to you."

I lift the letter Poison Rose sent me. I think I know what she wants from me. I put the letter in my pocket. Looking up into the sky as the rain falls into the gardens below. The gangs protecting the gardens. After the war 20 years ago we all agreed this area of Equestria will work together till peace is finally back in this world. The Lightbringer may have brought peace back to some areas. But not every area.

“I would ask how your children and husbands are. But I see them down there.”

I wave to the two stallions who fell in love with the former enclave pegasus Blossom and Root my dear friend. I turn to look at my two friends. I see how old they have become after the 20 years of our greatest mystery.

“As you say the Storm King returned. I am starting to see why the security of this land doubled. But first. I must talk to an old enemy and a friend.”

I head down the stairs a jazzy song playing while a blue mare sings in the microphone.

“There's a moon over bourbon street tonight

I see faces as they pass beneath the pale lamplight

I've no choice but to follow that call “

I sat down at the bar. Moonshine is still running this bar after 20 years. Her beauty hasn’t left her. The beauty of her dark moonlight fur. She has helpers now since many of the gang members of many towns are wanting to bring this land back to normal after 220 years. Moonshine doesn’t even ask what I want. She puts down a large bottle of Whiskey. I hear someone sitting on a stool next to me.

“I didn’t think you would show..”

I didn’t even need to look to know who it was. I know from her walk and how she presented herself. A mare of style, a former commander. The two of us have known each other since the end of the war. She told me one day she would need a favor from me. While the peaceful jazzy song plays in the background while the two of us talk. An old ragged hoof slides a photo for me to look at.

“This is a new photo of them. They call themselves the Sand-hooves. I need you to find them. I need you and any who can protect you to go to that desert the Storm King has returned. It may take you a year or two to get there. On how you go about it but I need you to find them.”

I didn’t look at her, just stare at the photo of a group of zebras that live in a desert wearing old war armor. I take a long drink from the whiskey the music slowly ends and just goes to jazz music with no vocals.

“Why are you so keen on having me find them?”

I finally turn around to look at the old ragged zebra ghoul. The poor mare has been through a lot so have we all. But she is wearing the old commander armor that I met her in. The armor is tarnished and hasn’t been cleaned for years. It looks like she lost her want to care to clean it up.

“I didn’t leave with them on good terms Smoke Pipe. The Storm King's return has caused a big stir over there. It got bad enough that the hero that they had over there. Got killed by him and he judged the friends of the hero. The land is under his rule now.”

So the Storm King got what he wanted. From the sounds of it but why me? Can’t someone else go that would do much better I thought in my black and white mind? It’s not even normal for a simple detective to even go into a war zone. Maybe there is more to this than she is letting on.

“You’re not telling me the full truth are you?”

The mare sighs looking back to the bar. I could tell there is more to this. I am not a detective for nothing after all. Even after Slice returned to say he is sorry for all he caused me. I didn’t let him off the hook even though I feel bad for what happened to him.

“My daughter and I didn’t see eye to eye. I know the leader of these desert-dwellers they call themselves is led by my descendant. I want you to go find them and fight with them to protect that land.”

I sip from the whiskey bottle looking up to Moonshine.

“Is there a deal you can make with the remaining Blue hats to get me into Windowmaker Desert in three years?”

Moonshine cleans the table. She takes the caps and other money that we use on this land. She then turns back to me looking at me like I am crazy. I know her history with the blue hates and everyone’s history with them.

The jazz gets louder while they play a song called paint it red, no singing just a mare gently tuning her voice in the song. It took a while for Moonshine to fully talk to me about this. I look over to Poison Rose.

“I will do this at no charge, my friend. I will not expect any pay. I will do this for you so you can see if they’re alright. I already need to go there anyway. An old friend wishes me to come for another reason. The deals I can make to get souls ready for battle.”

Moonshine finally comes back to me. I look up at her as she singles with her hoof for her helper to take over. She leaves the bar soon after to do this deal for me. She walks down the road to a home near Zoonies home. The zebras of this land are still heavily defended here. Since we learned after my adventure. That there is more to the poison that the blue hats did to the ground of this land. It may take even longer for the rain to cleanse the poison from the soil.

I get off the stool putting the whiskey bottle in my coat. Give Poison Rose a tip of my hat. She gives me a quick nod while I head back up to my room. I see Root and Blossom talking to each other while they look at me.

“How would you girls like to go with me on another adventure?”

The two mares look at each other. The adventure we went on was 20 years ago. We found out the secrets of the blue hats. We fought a war but more happened. The idea that we haven’t been on an adventure since then and allowed the world to pass us by.

“Well, it’s been 20 years. I can no longer randomly screw around like I used to. I am still a guard of this town even if I am married and have children. Soooo I wouldn’t mind going on another adventure.”

Blossom looks to the closet that holds their old clothing. The old clothing to hide in this land. Opening the closet brings out the old outfits and offers them to the two mares. They both look at each other.

“I am unsure my husband will let me go on an adventure. I will go talk to him real fast.”

Blossom flies out of the window to go talk to her husband. I sit down in my other chair smoking from the pipe. Lifting an old magazine that is the history of what is known about this desert I am asked to go. It’s old and not well kept like most of my old books.

“I will go talk to my husband.”

Root steps out of the chair and heads downstairs. Moonshine comes up after a while and sits in my chair. I look up from the book. The bartender is always being herself of course she looks drained. Of course, knowing her she had to go through harsh treatment just to get to see the blue hats.

“So what did they do to you this time?”

Moonshine snorts.

“They took as much blood as they could from me. To see if I wasn’t some changeling that would wish to use their tech of evil. Of course from what I am told by that wife of yours that it’s nothing to do with changelings just stupidity and some can’t get over that the world ended.”

Ah yes, my wife. Thanks to her help and learning more about myself during my adventure back 20 years ago. Looking back on what I can remember and I shrug just remembering that 30 years from now something will happen. Looked at that tablet I took with me and the time slowly counted down to something that will happen.

“Did they agree to help me get to widow-maker?”

Moonshine nods, tossing a note to me, taking it in my magic. I read what it saids. ‘In six days we will take the old railways to get as far as we can take you. It will cut at least a year off that walk and you would have to go the rest of the way on your own.’

“This is fair.”

It took us six days to get everything ready. Root and Blossom did come along with me. I told Rolex since he was in jail since I finally beat him in the game. I told him what is going on and he is worried about the issues this could cause for our land. I told him if I don’t return he is free from his guilt. He for one didn’t enjoy hearing that. I remember what he said to me.

“You come back, detective, we got a game to still play. When I am free I am going to prove to you I can change. I am going to reopen my old casino and clean it up. I will prove to you I am not a creature of habit. Survive detective, the game is not over yet.”

It would take us close to three years just to get to this land. We have time but for now, I must rest. I feel strange magic coming over me. The girls have already passed out from it. I don’t know why this magic is starting to affect me. Just I am warned this magic has been hitting anyone who tries to get to this land.

____________

Three years later Widow-maker Desert

I did my task for the zebras and now I have another task. To talk to an old friend I haven’t seen for years. Blossom, Root, and I did odd jobs for the Storm King's minions and some of the judges. Blossom worked at bars and Root did guard duty for them.

I did detective work for them like always. They wanted me to hunt down a rebellion and It wasn’t hard but the rebellion is small and I could have turned them in and all I told them was just kids hoping for a better life.

I was told though they don’t want to hurt them they want to convince them accepting the Storm King's way of life is the best way. After all this, I asked them if I could go to the Project known as Rainfall. With my two friends, we went on a small little ship. A ship the Storm King himself brought to us.

“So a former monster wants my help?”

The Storm King turns to look at me as he flies the ship up the creation known as Project Rainfall. We see a giant fiery cloud larger than a moon hoovering beside the big creation. I see many powerful runes float through it.

“Wheel Tread is doing things such as a summon of a powerful being as you can see. I don’t know his end game but he keeps saying the truth by flame. I worry about what he is summoning. It’s a powerful zebra spell he found.”

As we get closer we hear roaring inside the stormy orb and strange sword-like bolts jutting out of the orb and hardening. I take a deep breath unsure what to think. I look at Root and Blossom.

“You two don’t need to follow me if you don’t want to.”

The Storm King smiles.

“Don’t worry I will make sure nothing happens to them.”

I get a good look at his chest again. The orb in his chest is glowing brightly. I know from the stories that are the Howling Dance. It can hold the memories of those who held it before. It can do strange things to you if you’re near it for too long.

“Do you regret what you did in the past?”

The Storm King goes silent for a few pregnant moments and when we dock to the creation. He turns to look at me shaking his head.

“I do but I have a feeling I would have done it worse if I wasn’t so dumb into trusting a pony like Tempest. But after being near this orb in my chest. I am starting to see where I failed. Instead of taking over by force. I should have won the hearts to show I am on the real path.”

I roll my eyes great. He is becoming a hero like this Ruby I heard about when I came here who got her judgment. I have a feeling though when things are all said and done things aren’t going to go to his plans.

We get into the station and the Storm King stops in front of me while Root and Blossom look around. He looks down at me kneeling looking into my eyes.

“You don’t approve, do you?”

I shrug my shoulders.

“I have seen it all before. One who wishes to change minds and then those around them refuse to listen. But take me to him. I will try my best to stop him.”

The three of us follow the Storm King and he nods to a mare who is guarding the door into the main computer bay of the large device.

“Commander Rot, they're safe. I doubt the detective wants to cause any problems.”

I nod.

“If I wanted to, I wouldn't have offered help to you and yours. After we are done here we are going to leave and head back home. I have to try to talk to my old friend if I can.”

I look at Root and Blossom telling them with one look I better go in alone. The Storm King nods as the door opens. I walk up the stairs hearing the grumblings of a mad pony who has done so much in his life.

I walk up to the pony putting my hoof on his shoulder.

“Neighsay it’s time to stop this.”

The pony in the glimmer of the one formerly known as Wheel Tread. Freezes at my hoof touching his shoulder. He doesn’t say a word while I wait to see his reaction. He just stares at the computer, no words coming, just sadness in his eyes.

The end

Author's Note

Conversation at the end to be continued in the next chapter Forty-Six Welcome to Junk island.