CH0: Where the heart lies...
Where the heart lies...
Fallout: Emerald Ranger…
CH1: Where the heart lies...
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AN: Before I start, this is going to have gore, moderate language, and some other themes, this is Fallout after all. Also head's up this is Anthro, and I know how people take to Anthro works, I'm giving this warning out because there were complaints in the past of Anthro work I've done.
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Night was so beautiful, the stars brightly shone; there was so much to look at above, but it was so lonely, neither receiving a hello from the stars or a warm bath of light from the moon. It was so quiet here, in the dark. Spike shivered a little as he hugged himself from the cold; his nylon jacket over his clothes seemed to do nothing about the cold of the night.
Autumn was fast approaching and he could tell it would be winter soon in Equestria, he hoped he made the trip to the dragon migration fast before the season started, or at least find the few merchants and travellers who make the trip early in preparation for the migration. He wanted to go there, heck he wanted to go anywhere.
Spike's heart still ached from the loss of all he loved in Ponyville, Twilight found herself a replacement for him, and she didn't love him for who he was. He brooded in his own self-pity for failing to meet her expectations of him. Another gust of wind blew on him as he continued to trudge towards the forest of Everfree.
This was to him the only safe haven from ponies; he knew that they'd never bother to go after him, and why should they? He wasn't damn appreciated by them; to him it was always the same thing, Twilight, tell him to do what she needed him to do. Moving books, sorting shelves and making him do most of her chores.
The more he thought about it the more he hated it all, but then something did click in him, she also was the one who cared for him. She always was there, even as she was an egghead she tried, didn't she? His heart was breaking, but he refused to turn back, he honestly didn't want to turn around or he might just wander right back.
He then finally strode past Sweet Apple Acres, he could see the lights from the Apple Family Ranch, he wondered if AJ would have ever asked him to help with Applebuck season, or if Applebloom would ever drag him into a fun adventure looking for her cutie mark. He blocked it out, none of it mattered to him anymore.
Spike didn't see AJ who was looking from her window only catching a glimpse of him; she didn't recognise him from the stark darkness outside. Spike continued on his way in a straight line to the forest, his mind kept wandering about what he did that he lost the love of his adopted sister, caretaker, and friend.
It took another half an hour before he strode nearby from Fluttershy's cottage it was a funny thing when he talked to Fluttershy about his life to her, she loved animals and she loved to talk to him. He liked her for her apt attention to him, and also because she was cute, and she probably considered him the same thing when they met. He figured that he might have been able to live with her for a while; she did care a lot for those in need that was her element, kindness.
But he shook the thought from his mind; he knew she took care of various animals, and the one he disliked a lot, Angel bunny. He disliked Angel with a passion, the rabbit wreaked havoc on the library a number of times Fluttershy came with him. Spike honestly believed living with that rabbit was a worse curse than having to write everything for Twilight, including her checklists.
He wandered onwards till he reached the tree line not long after. He found himself on a dirt path with patches of gravel leading into the forest, moss grew on some rocks nearby and the sounds of wildlife had increased, he wondered if this was the safest route to the fire mist summit. There were plenty of longer routes, but having to travel this way seemed reckless, there wasn't many of the local creatures here, only because ponies lived closer to this location.
But once he got deeper he'd be faced with the chances of running into timber wolves, cockatrices, manticores and other drakes, he knew better than to encounter other dragons in the wild, feral dragons were dragons he didn't want to meet. They'd go out of their way to kill him or ignore him, as for more capable dragons they might decide to enslave him.
He recalled stories of dragon and griffon slavers, dragon ones had some sense of respect for their kin; griffons didn't, mostly because griffons and dragons had over a dozen wars in the past for territory and resources. Clans had a number of families near Everfree, mostly because the mountains and forest of Everfree had a large stock of minerals.
Dragons of the wild however were most numerous though. He didn't back down though, he was still a baby but he was soon to become a drake, and as such he would be able to take on most other nasty creatures of this damned place. But first he had to reach fire mist summit, when he did so he'd be able to go to the dragon lands across the vast ocean to Neighpon and then to Draco, the land of the dragons, named after the Emperor dragon himself.
Spike stepped into the forest his senses active and his wits about him, it was just a day's travel and he'd be there, the dirt path into the forest seemed okay. He strode on quietly careful to not make as much noise; he didn't like the idea of travelling the forest at night. He made it a fair ways when he started to get into the dense shrub.
Here he found the trees blocked most of his view, the dense bushes made it difficult to negate, he travelled on still, but he was starting to regret coming here so late. It wasn't until he reached a small clearing where the trees branched off. He travelled until he came across a fork, there was a path heading off to higher ground the other turning inwards into a dense part of the forest.
He decided to take the path to the dense part of the forest, only because he had a feeling that the other one might lead through higher paths, and he didn't exactly have the ability to fly if he came across a cliff as he recalled what happened when Twilight travelled in this direction. On his way through the dense section of the forest, he noticed that the trees here seemed to emit a low amount of light.
He couldn't see any sort of fireflies, or light bugs, but it was less of a hassle tripping over logs and getting caught on roots. It was then he came into a clearing, and before he knew it, he found himself staring at a tree house, not like the library, but still impressive. It was slightly bulbous at the bottom and had windows with lights.
He could hear someone speaking in a foreign tongue, it sounded familiar, but he couldn't tell whose voice it was, but it sounded familiar. He didn't know if he should go to the house, but he wouldn't mind stopping for a bit. He approached the door and carefully knocked a few times. The voice stopped and a few footsteps before he noticed a small glass spyhole.
There was a clicking of locks and the turning of the handle before the door swung open, and before him 'she' stood there. He suddenly regrated coming here now.
"Ah a familiar face, what brings you to this place?" Zecora greeted him.
The zebra from a while back, he only met her once out of curiosity and also a few laughs when he wanted to show her the list for the names of the cursed six, Zecora baffled him more than him sticking his head inside the washing machine for a full minute and trying to stand up straight.
He smiled awkwardly and replied.
"Oh hey there Zecora, I didn't realise that this was your home. I never knew it was this far in the forest actually."
Zecora raised an eyebrow and then smiled sheepishly.
"An oversight by my part you see, I haven't expected many visitors to come and visit me."
"Okay, well I better get going again, sorry for intruding; I should really be trying to get to Fire Mist Mountain." He replied hastily.
The look on the zebra turned a bit concerned.
"Travelling to Fire Mist Mountain? Have your lost your mind little dragon?"
He was suddenly confused.
"Zecora that didn't rhyme at all."
She face palmed. "Only the most serious situations I never rhyme, for a clear message I spend not time." She replied seriously. She then asked.
"Why are you going young drake? Do you miss your kind already?"
"Not exactly, I want to go there because, I don't know where else to go, I left Ponyville." He explained.
"Running away… I see such a tragedy." She said sombrely. But she gestured.
"Please come inside before you leave, I'd like to give you my help before you leave."
He was about to decline, but she threw him a concerned look that meant she was being quite sincere. He finally gave in.
"Okay, I'll stay for a bit, but I need to go on the path again."
He stepped into Zecora's hut; it was warmly lit with a fire in the middle of the place, a small cauldron boiling away. When the zebra closed the door behind him, he noticed how different she looked; her mane was in a thick mess of locks rather than her usual Mohawk. She was also dressed in a night gown of sorts, wearing only her underwear with it.
He felt his body flush in embarrassment but he didn't show it. She gestured him to take a seat on a cushion nearby, he dropped his backpack and did so, and Zecora took a seat across from him near the fire. She spent a moment opening the cauldron and examining the contents as she began.
"Why have you left Ponyville young dragon of ponies?" She asked.
Spike wasn't sure he wanted to explain it.
"I'm not welcome there anymore, let's leave it at that."
She looked at him curiously and also calmly.
"What makes you believe that you are no longer welcomed alongside ponies?"
Spike wasn't sure how to respond, he began with.
"Twilight doesn't want me to be with her anymore, she found a replacement for me because I couldn't keep up, figures that I was only her servant for so long." He simmered in his tone.
Zecora simply nodded.
"So it is jealousy?"
Spike felt his temper flare.
"JEALOUSY? Why would it be jealous, for a family member a friend who spent his entire life doing as she wanted to be jealous of an owl…" He then realised she was looking at him convinced of her assumption.
He calmed down, she was right, why else had he left? He squirmed at the thought that he left Twilight for such trivial reasons, but he remained adamant about going off on his own.
"Okay, I'm selfish is anything wrong with that?" He replied.
"Yet your selfishness blinds you of all the things you love, can you not see that young one?" She asked.
She was right on all notes, even without her rhymes it made clear sense, but he wanted to think about what he wanted.
"All I ever wanted was to be with Twilight, and now I want to be alone." He stated.
"Isolate yourself or isolate others, you make who you become, be weary though of who you become, you may not like what you see young one." She said as she stirred the contents of the cauldron.
She pulled out the ladle from the cauldron and then poured it into a vial, she then corked it and it soon glowed with luminesce. She looked sad, she pulled a box case filled with vials of potions, and he hadn't even noticed how quietly she had been doing this while he talked. The case held 24 vials, and she then packed it with feathers and closed it.
She placed the case next to herself, while she retrieved a few other items. Spike then inquired.
"What are you doing?"
"Preparing for a trip you have not, making sure you live, I hope to achieve. Your journey will be a tumultuous one for sure, there will be many challenges you will face alone." She cryptically said as she searched.
She found what she was looking for a small sack of objects, inside of it he heard jingling of what might have been coins, and a small cutting knife, he hadn't been sure if he wanted a knife, he wasn't the one to harm, but it might serve a better use in cutting herbs and such he might find. Zecora pulled a few spare herbs including a large number of medical roots and herbs, a few sticks and a bunch of sharpened mineral quartz.
Finally she pulled out a bracelet; it had strange engravings of sorts.
"This is a critical for you young one, it is a compass and a watch, it is something from faraway lands of Neighpon, they are great navigators and hunters of all kinds, they know of the wild far more."
He put the bracelet on his arm and said.
"Thank you Zecora, I guess I'm in your debt." He replied.
"Do not thank me young one, you'll need this more than I, for the journey is more than miles." She stated.
He checked the rucksack; there were a few kilos of things in here, some food for the trip, the medicine and tools, it was as if she packed him for the next 4 days which seemed more than enough. He put a strap around it and secured it to his backpack.
"Thank you Zecora." He said gratefully.
"Do not thank me…" She said as he got up to leave.
As he stepped back out into the forest he heard her just whisper. "I may have just decided your fate, be weary of the path young one." She muttered.
Before he could ask the door shut behind him and he stared at the door baffled at what she had said about the 'path', he turned to the darkness of the forest and began once more, leaving the hut behind him. He wasn't sure but he had a feeling that he'd be faced with more than he bargained for when he took up leaving.
He found his way back on the right path this time going up the high way, he travelled for about 15 minutes from what his watch told him, and he found himself treading carefully around the edge of a high cliff. He nervously continued on, avoiding a certain break in the path before descending to the forest floor once more and heading to the thickest part of the forest.
Another 10 minutes later he found himself somewhat lost, he couldn't tell where he was anymore, the path was so dark, and he could only make out the dirt path ahead thanks to illumination from above by the small amount of moonlight. But soon he found himself in near pitched black as he stumbled through the deepest part of the forest.
It was then he began to fear the darkness around him, he then remembered that he did have something to help with that, he pulled out a small pen torch and twisted it to turn the LED on; in a blinding flash he had light once more. He brought the light onto the path ahead; the dirt path had almost vanished only the worn smear of dirt in front of him indicated the path.
He walked through the dense shrub till he reached the other side, he then found himself on another dirt path this time it had parts of the cobblestone road with it, it seemed as though he was heading in the right direction. He soon located another fork in the road, this time it was easier to see where each one went.
One seemed to arc towards a small structure that he couldn't really see beyond the dense foliage, and the other led down a slightly darkened path that led further to what seemed like a small stream and beyond that he couldn't tell where it led. It was then that the night lit skies darkened dramatically above him.
He looked around noticing the clouds thick and dark suddenly begin to thunder, he found himself reaching for a rain coat, well it wasn't really a rain coat, it was an enchanted carpet with a hole in the middle for someone to put their head through. He burned the hole while he was cleaning up at one time which led to Twilight having to buy it from the owner at Canterlot.
It began to rain above him and then it began to bucket on him, he made his decision then and decided to chance a bit of shelter till he could travel again, he knew that stream over by the other path would probably flood, he'd be swept away if he travelled that direction. As he ran for the structure he found himself at a creaking looking bridge.
He could barely see beyond it thanks to the heavy mist from the rain, but it seemed that the building in front of him was fairly large, he gulped as he tried to get an estimate on the size, but he couldn't stick out here, the rain was slowly intensifying. Thunder claps above made it clear that he didn't want to stick outside longer than he wanted to.
He sucked up his fear and slowly began to cross, testing the planks beneath his feet, he made it half way when he stepped on an weakened plank and split it in half, he nervously gulped and continued on. He made it to the other side more or less fearful of heights and more fearful of what lay below in the canyon.
He took a breather before he looked at the structure before him, and then he took a step back in surprise and fear. The castle before him was the castle that Twilight had told him about when she defeated Nightmare Moon, it startled him, he expected it to be large it was the castle of the original kingdom. But something made it seem so ominous to him.
The thunder claps above seemed to make a cheesy impression of some old movie flick, but it was enough to jolt Spike into moving. He headed to the castle gates, where he found them open, the rusted gates had been left as they had 1000 years previously, as he entered the garden he noticed the lack of mist and rain, he looked above to see the inner walls of the castle were protected by magical fields.
He looked around the garden to see where water came from, the fountain wasn't functioning but the aqueduct beneath it was as he noticed a small hole in the bottom of it. The water was coming from outside ducts places to gather the most rain and funnel it into the castle grounds. He took a small bottle that was empty and filled it with water. He felt as if he had to make sure it was clean before he drank it, but packed it inside his bag once more before continuing his path towards the inner sanctum of the castle.
He didn't take long before he found himself in a large empty chamber, there was a stone masonry where 6 large metal holders stood orbiting a single large sphere, the inscriptions were worn out and unreadable, but it was here that he found that there was shelter from the cold night and rain. He decided to set up camp in the castle.
Laying out all of his things he unpacked a sleeping bag and small fire stove with an enchanted fire gem, it ignited and allowed him to fare the cold better. He looked around the dark room, it was dimly illuminated in patches from holes in the roof above, the grey clouds couldn't block out all of the night's luminescence allowing some reprieve from the darkness.
He remained sitting at his small stove thinking about what he planned do to when he got to the draconian kingdom, but his mind seemed to endlessly drift towards the constant nagging in his mind. 'Why not just go back?' His mind asked him. "No, I can't, she doesn't need me anymore."
'Say's you.' His mind replied. Spike grumbled. "When did my own brain decide to argue my feelings with me?"
'Since you started questioning yourself.' His mind deadpanned.
He face palmed and decided to eat something; he pulled some berries and bread, and a bit of cheese and cooked beans. It kept him distracted for a while, until he felt the night begin to close in around him, he felt tired. It was then his eye lids began to feel heavy, and the subtle darkness of oblivion take him…
His mind asked him one last question.
'What is it that you want?'
He replied tiredly as he was dragged into nothing. "I want to be alone."
Spike didn't know it but as he replied his wish came true, and the only person to know where he went was Zecora, she heard the sound of thunder but no lightning and a dream a dream about an empty place. She could only hope the spirits guided him the right way; he would be faced by more than his share of challenges.
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Spike had felt the warmth of his stove disappear and cold begin to chill around him; he closed his sleeping bag tighter around him. He however continued to sleep as the night continued to close around him, he was oblivious to the odd dry winds blowing around him or the fact it was no longer raining around him.
As morning broke outside his shelter, he woke to felt the sun begin to warm the earth outside. He woke feeling the last night's cold vanish, he felt the darkness of the place he was in he couldn't tell where to go aside from the light that was illuminating the cave dimly. Then he paused and noticed that the place he was in didn't look like the castle.
"Huh?" He said to himself.
He looked around and could see nothing familiar, there was nothing, not even the standing stone dais of the elements or the large space of the castle; he stumbled about wondering where he was. He could only see the small camp spot and the light; it was coming from a tunnel that illuminated his temporary home.
He stepped into the light and walked towards it, he soon found himself blinded by light, he stared out into the open landscape before him, and it was desolate, all around him. The earth was sickly dry with patches of dead grass and trees, he looked around confused. He stared around bewildered as to where the heck he was.
He then heard a sharp crack before he saw a bit of ground suddenly exploded around him, he turned about to hear a sudden rapid cracks of sound like thunder as the ground began to explode around him. He saw just a glimpse of what looked like armoured creatures something like ponies, but they seemed to be bare and looked grimy and dirty and rather aggro.
He fell into his cave as desperately tried to get to his camp, as he got down to his little camp, he packed his things and looked around for another exit in the cave, he couldn't see anything aside from the dimness thanks to the light. He decided to instead to go deeper; he'd rather risk getting lost in this cave than getting killed by whatever those creatures were.
As he ran into the cave, he found a few spots where there were hard surfaces like metal, he couldn't tell be he felt as if he was getting somewhere, it wasn't until he stepped on something like glass, and rocks, he staggered until he came across what felt like a door frame. He stepped through the frame and then it suddenly closed behind him.
"Wha-." He was startled, but heard the sudden dull whir of something nearby.
"Greetings, you are in time for the party." A voice greeted him.
He couldn't see anything, and then he saw a glimmer of something green, a sharp roar of what he could tell sounded like an engine and a floating bulb illuminated the room. It was gunmetal green and half a multitude of arms; it had 3 eyes and had a buzz saw and a few sharp looking needles. He panicked and froze in fear.
"Welcome guest-28, you are late approximately, 194 years, 3 months and 8 days, welcome to the Clubhouse." It chimed.
He remained fearful of the thing in front of him and then realised it wasn't going to horribly mutilate him.
"Umm, ok." He said uncertainly.
"Good, the party has not ended and you may join the others down in the primary Clubhouse, I shall tend to any further guests." It replied and moved aside for him.
The room's lamination turned on and he soon found himself in a metal room filled with pipes and concrete, it looked dusty, and he looked around to find scatterings of rocks and some dirty papers. He wondered where he was, but he didn't want to talk to the floating metal ball. He stepped around looking at things around the room.
There were a few posters that were horribly worn, but still readable, there was one about a small family and something about a 'vault', he wasn't sure about it, but he wondered why any family would need a bank vault. He then noticed a few tables with items scattered on top of them, a few party hats and plastic cups.
And then there were a few odd toolkits lying around, he popped one open and found it filled with nails and scrap, and some other things, he wondered if he should take it, but he didn't want to steal from the owner of it, especially if they were inside this 'clubhouse'. He carefully stepped to another doorway and saw the flight of stairs leading to a landing that then descended to another flight of stairs.
He walked down carefully on the metal floor and noticed some of the lights were worn out, the whole place smelled of old wet cloths and eggs, it didn't smell nice, but at least he was safe for now. He finally got to the bottom of the floor and found a door with a cross handle, he grabbed it and felt it turn with a hard screech.
The door opened and he found himself inside a room filled with skeletons, he finally figured out why it had been 194 years since anyone came down here. All the people here died a long time ago, it seemed like they attempted to try and get to the door, as their skeletons crowded the doorway. He stepped carefully over them.
He hadn't seen anyone die in his lifetime and surely this was a new experience to seeing actual skeletons, but he held his nervousness in and looked around the room. He found a door into a room filled with bunks and lockers and a few footlockers and a few TVs, he was surprised to find the TVs. He got into another room where he found a mass of tables and chairs, and what looked like a kitchen, it must have been a cafeteria.
The next rooms he found were locked, but the bathroom was thankfully not, and then last room which seemed to hold what looked like computers like the new ones at the library back in Ponyville just not newer. It felt strange but this seemed more like a shelter than a clubhouse, it was then he stepped on something and a noise began to play.
"Day 23, the vents have been sealed shut, damn we can't reach the clog inside them, how the hell did we over look this? The clubhouse ventilation system was supposed to be the next best thing to a vault; how the fuck did we screw this up so badly? We don't know how much time is left. [People screaming and shouting…] But it seems like another 2 days before we run out of air. Molly's trying her best to make her last moments memorable and Gary's trying to clear the blockage with a spray, it's hopeless, we need a flame thrower to burn away the blockage, and then restart the fans. I doubt we have a workable one even in the armoury, we can't even fit the flamer in there, and the doors are sealed shut for another 10 years, we won't last that long without any air. The failsafe emergency open was only activated from the outside by anyone coming in, and by Jamie, but he's gone missing along with Ralph. The two people who weren't supposed to be late missed the window, and they're probably dead. [Gunshots…] I guess there's only one other way." The recording ended.
Spike looked at the metal object on the ground, it was attached to the arm of the skeleton to which he grabbed and pulled off, he looked at it with a curious look before he heard something, the blast from outside and the shouts and screams of something feral. Then the alarms kicked in and the PA from somewhere announced.
"Emergency breach, doors sealing…" He heard and saw the doors he entered through suddenly begin to close by themselves.
He tried to get back to them but he saw a creature with an angular wood and metal object that looked like an old arcane rifle the royal guards had, he only seen a few in museums, but still he knew with enough common sense to not look at the hollow end of the thing. A burst of fire from the weapon spat out a .32cal bullet which thanks to horrible maintenance of the rifle travelled and missed and struck the table behind Spike and bounced.
Spike felt a hard impact strike him on the back of the head. His mind exclaimed. "Agh the back of our head!" He staggered forward and his face slammed into the metal floor and falling into unconsciousness. The little voice in his mind told him. "Well you got what you wished for."
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Ponyville-
Twilight looked around the library twice no three times, damn it half a dozen times, she couldn't find Spike and she began panicking when Owloysius returned with no trace of the young dragon, the tracks had all been erased in the storm that mysteriously followed in his departure. There was no way for her to find him, and she decided to send Princess Celestia a message for help.
She only hoped he was alright wherever he ended up. She could only hope, the dread in her heart made her fear what might have happened to her Spike.
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Elsewhere, at an unprecedented time and location…
A group of raiders packed the street before him, well had packed, their bodies strewn across the length of the road between Nuevo Hills and Dead Drop Valley, another pack of filthy scum determined to kill and pillage just like all the others, at least they tried. The stranger stepped over the bodies and searched for any survivors.
He came across one whimpering man, his legs busted open by the HE grenade he bobby trapped on the road where the raiders attempted to hit the nearby settlement from.
"M-man, what the hell are you?" The raider stuttered in pain and fear.
The red glowing eyes illuminated by the dying afternoon sun, the stranger crouched down and replied. "Call me Drake." He replied before he reached out and grabbed the raider.
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AN: Well the pilot chapter is done and now for the next 5 other stories I need to get done.
Also for the love of flip can someone help me with Zecora? I don't know how to rhyme very well.
