Fallout Equestria: Frozen Clock

There are stories about a strange robotic creature made from parts of pip-bucks. Many think this robotic creature was not only made from these parts and some of these parts don’t even look like a Pip-buck I found this robot though. The robot is attached to the leg of a zebra mare. This mare doesn’t even know the power of this robot. They call her Maria. I didn't even think it was a real pip-buck. Till she said the words Frozen clock attached to her leg.

I wish I could ask you to come and recruit this mare and the frozen clock. But they saved my life and I will not tell you the truth. Maybe someday I will tell you the truth. Or maybe I won’t. It’s time for me to do what I feel is right.

Ripped up old letter written to Wheel Tread from Dunewalker.

It’s been at least a day since I got the job to go with the ghoul. I learned it is named Shadow Bloom. From the stories, she told me she used to be part of the military before the war ended and went awol after many of her friends got murdered during an attack. She won’t go too deep into it but she is not going to. Mostly out of respect for the fact I am a zebra.

“Now Miss Rose, I see you’re having no problems surviving in this new world. I wonder though why would the Black Hooves pick you and your friends for those robotic upgrades?”

I look down at Maria and wonder if Deco could explain. But right now Maria is still charging. I am wondering if she is having issues keeping her battery charged.

“The Ai who I speak to now and then who I named Deco. Has no idea why we were even picked for these upgrades so to speak. She doesn’t even remember why she was placed inside our upgrades and the start of everything only be allowed to talk to her.”

Shadow chuckles.

“Sounds like a pain in the ass.”

She quickly stops crouching in a way to sneak and I follow her. Even though my hooves make a soft metal clomp. We hear a battle going on of swords and even guns going off. We lift our heads around a building and we see the factory we need to get to for the water. But right now there are many robots and camel fighting creatures. The robots though are yelling one thing.

“He rises he is returning from the dead.”

The camel laughs while swinging a strange sword that is attached to a shotgun. Her eye is cybernetic and the rest of her is fleshy. On the sword, I see the name Dunewalker.

“OI!!!

The creatures attacking them are hard to see what they are. They look like mutated lizards holding heavy weapons and guys firing back. When a robot falls another rises to take on the lizards.

“Alright, We could try to sneak inside while they fight or we could join into the fight.”

I glance down at Maria hoping Deco would help. Before I could say anything though the mutant lizards do what they can to run. Many of the robots with the camel are either destroyed or about to fall apart.

“I think we should talk to this camel.”

The ghoul shrugs her shoulders and we walk out from the side of the building we were hiding. The camel quickly turns, aiming her shotgun and we both stop in our tracks. The camel looks at the ghoul with her eye and then at me. She then looks down at my leg.

“Hello, Miss Camel, we come in peace. I am Desert Rose.”

The camel looks up at me again and then at the ghoul. She just sighs looking at all the robots around her who are now gone and dead.

“A stripes willing to talk about peace. I don’t fucking care if you’re a peaceful zebra you’re still striped now tell me what you want or I will kill you like many of your kind should have been killed.”

I stay silent now, a hater of zebras. I don’t blame her for what happened during the war. I am told many things my kind did during the war were insane. I take a deep breath, closing my eyes. I try my best not to get upset.

“Listen, this zebra recently came out of magic hibernation so don’t pit her like the others. She is from 200 years ago and if you can’t accept it. Then we will leave you here with your broken toys.”

The camel shifts again looking down at my leg. Maria finally comes online and looks up with her camera eyes. I put my hoof on Maria to hide her and the camel smiles. She comes over to me after she puts her sword back into the scabbard. She stands right in front of me. I look up at her. It's not easy to look at her from how tall she is.

“I am Dunewalker. I am here from the desert known as the Widowmaker. I am sure that after being around for 200 years I know what that desert is.”

The widowmaker desert? I have heard stories of that place. It’s not something I know much about. I glance at Shadow and she pushes the camel away from me. The two stare at each other.

“Now listen to Dunewalker betrayer of your species. We are here to get water if you come with us or get out of the way.”

I didn’t know what she meant by betrayer of her species. The camel rolls her eyes. She reaches into her pack bringing out a cigarette lighting it and taking a deep drag from it. She stares at the two of us.

“I see a ghoul pony just another one willing to insult rather than speak. Now tell me why you are here or I will be the next problem you deal with.”

I close my eyes, shaking my head. Opening my eyes I glance up at the camel.

“Listen, we didn't come here for any trouble. We came here to find water and whatever else we can find here. If you wish to get in our way I am willing to fight you. I trained and what the black hooves did to me I can assure you. I can break every bone in your body.”

The camel watches while the metal in my legs gets harder. I stomp my right hoof on the ground causing the ground to shatter. The camel didn’t seem that impressed and she smirks. She leans down to look right into my eyes.

“You got moxie zebra. You said your name is Desert Rose? Do you also know what the world was like before the end of the war? Impressive I thought only my species lived to be very old age.”

Shadow shakes her head.

“Now are you willing to help us?”

The camel shrugs her shoulders.

“I don’t mind and I won’t expect any payment. I am just here for something myself. Because back in the war this wasn’t just a water packing plant. There are old files that were also a weapon-making plant. Now I don’t fully buy it. The one who hired me for this job thinks all the weapons would still be here.”

Dunewalker tosses the cig away, smashing it out. She sighs and I glance at Shadow who shrugs her shoulders. We get ready just in case there are more of those strange lizards inside this building. When we get in though it’s very silent in the factory and all the sounds we hear are old metal bearings groaning trying to hold together.

“This place sounds like it has seen better days.”

Of course, I didn’t know any better. I kept forgetting it’s been 200 years since the end of the war. So a lot of the old buildings which are still standing are at least built to last. I do believe though if it was built to last.

“Excuse me Shadow, what do you expect to find here?”

I try to at least say as silently as I can. She turns to look at me and she swings her hoof at me for me to follow her. She opens a door looking inside. The room is very empty; it looks like an old waiting room area. All three of us go in and she sets down some of the food she held for me.

“I am expecting to at least find a water talisman. Don’t get me wrong, the community is very good at finding them. The ones we have been finding are weaker and tend to fall apart very easily. So I am hoping to find the top-of-the-line versions.”

Dunewalker laughs.

“Leave it to you ponies you give the worst versions of your magic creations to those that need to live and give it to those that want to go to war and destroy the world.”

Shadow snorts angrily and after a second smirks.

“You’re not wrong there, Dunewalker. One of the biggest reasons I went awol was because of how the elites treated the rest of the army and citizens that just wanted to live peacefully through the war.”

I guess I am lucky I didn’t live through the war. The war sounds like it was worse than most stories talk about. The fact I have seen some old newspapers like a newspaper about Big mac saving Celestia and his life being taken for doing so.

“What’s on your mind, Desert Rose?”

I am taken from my thoughts back to the present looking at the ghoul and the camel. I shrug my shoulders.

“I may not enjoy how I came to this new world. Having my family killed and accused of many things just because I am a zebra. I am not the only one my friends had some stupid things said about. Of course, June was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I guess one pony said oh look a buffalo let’s use her.”

The camel for a moment stands on her paws pulling me into a tight hug.

“I…didn’t expect this Miss Dune.”

The camel chuckles.

“If you’re the Desert Rose I have been told about then you deserve it. You lost everything because some group called the Black hooves wanted to make an example of you. Am I correct?”

I back away a bit from the hug looking up at the camel. She is correct and I am amazed she knew about this. It took me a second for the words to come out of my brain to my mouth. I still haven’t had an easy time after Maria inserted her wires in my head.

“Yes, I am that Desert Rose. But before we go on, I want you to meet two others who are with us.”

I lean down to Maria who I have no idea why looks like what I learned is a Pipp-buck.

“Maria Deco please say hello.”

Shadow and Dunewalker look at my leg. Maria lifts her cam head looking at the two. She tries to stay very calm. I could feel she was unsure what to think of these two. I don’t know why I can feel her emotions, maybe the fact she is connected to me?

“I am Maria. A creation that both those robot factions are after. Also, this is Deco.”

Her cam eye glows and the pink Ai pony looks around giggling.

“Hello!! Now forgive us for staying silent. We had no idea if we could trust you two. Like Maria said she is hunted by these two robotic factions. I was just forced in the head of Rose here. I have no idea why.”

Dunewalker stares at Maria.

“When I heard you had the frozen clock. I felt you were talking out of your ass. I have heard stories of the frozen clock but all the information on them has been lost. If any information of the project exists I doubt it would tell us the whole truth about you.”

I could feel Maria’s emotions. The emotions are so strange I am not used to feeling them. I groan a bit holding my head.

“Sorry, Maria is sad at least it feels like she is sad.”

Shadow tilts her head.

“She is connected to you like a parasite ain’t she?”

I glance at the ghoul nodding. I grunt again feeling a lot of fear from Maria. The emotions Maria is going through are overwhelming. I wish I could block them. Maybe I will learn to do so someday. I grunt a bit more.

“I don’t mind it. It’s the only way my friends and I can protect her till we find out why these factions are after her. If they want her for some weapon I am going to flatly say no. She has a soul at least that is how it feels to me. A robotic creature normally never has emotions. I am wondering if the years of being on their own helped with it.”

Maria looks up at me with her cam eye. I look down at her with a weak smile. The poor robot hasn’t done anything harmful to me. I feel she is worried for me and all I do is pat the robotic creature let her rest.

“So miss Dunewalker. What are those creatures you were fighting?”

Dunewalker shrugs her shoulders.

“I know nothing about them. I just know they’re a creation of a group called the Blue hats. The Blue hats aren’t even located in this area of Equestria. They’re in an area of Equestria that is surrounded by mountains. So how they got here I have no idea.”

I shift grunting feeling my body convulse. I gasp deeply in pain. I try to catch my breath, closing my eyes in pain. I open my eyes and look around, seeing how the others are worried about me. All I do is smile.

“I will be fine.”

Deco gasp.

“Oh, an upgrade is here.”

She lifts her hoof to the locked door in the resting area. It saids on the door of the director’s office. Why did it take her so long to tell me there is an upgrade for my cybernetics there. I stand on my hooves going to the door.

“Wait, what do you mean upgrade?”

I turn back to the other two.

“An upgrade for my cybernetics and the others as well. I will download it into my cybernetics and they will take over more of my body. I think soon I may lose the flesh in my legs altogether and every time there is an upgrade I feel I must download it.”

Dunewalker shifts on her paws looking down at the ghoul mare. She shrugs her shoulders. I don’t think Dunewalker understands what is going on. Shadow sighs come up to me and put her hoof on my shoulder.

“Are you sure it’s wise to do this before we find what we need? What happens if you’re out of it and we have to defend your body?”

I glance at Shadow.

“Then you have to defend me. I am sorry I won’t be too long hopefully.”

I try to open the door with my mouth but it’s locked. So I get on my back hooves and smash the door with the metal hooves. I dent the wooden planks on the door. I try to smash the door again but the camel stops me with her large weighted by and her paws.

“Why are you stopping me?!”

The camel laughs.

“It’s already unlocked. Here let me show you.”

Dune grabs the door handle with her paw and pushes the door open. I was trying to pull it open. My cheeks burn brightly feeling stupid about all this. I should have known about these types of doors.

“Thank you…”

I softly say. I head into the room where there is a terminal on the wall and I look around seeing there are many dead in here. On the chair I am sure is the owner of this building and there is a bullet wound in the head. I head to the terminal wires come out of my metal front hooves as they insert themselves into the terminal.

“Searching for the upgrade.”

I look down at Deco and Maria they’re talking in computer speech and all I can do is watch the terminal screen. The screen turns to bright white and I feel my brain getting sucked into the computers like last time but this time it’s more painful. I can’t scream, I can't do anything but feel myself enter the computer. My entire world goes dark.

I open my eyes in the computer world looking around a tall the files and what would be thought to be a virus. But they’re more from what I learned the last time I went through this is protection files. Deco forms into a large Ai pink pony beside me and we both look around. I look down at my leg seeing Maria is still attached there.

“Maria?”

I look up to Deco and she shrugs her shoulders. Maria from what I feel is scared and doesn’t want to move. Deco looks around for the upgrade. It will take us a while. Until the entire area turns bright red.

“Alert… alert invasive program found. Alert destroy it.”

Fear fills my heart as the attack files turn to attack. I look down to Maria who I have a feeling is this program they’re after. Deco tries her best to find the upgrade before these get to us. I try to get ready to attack these files. I have no idea if I am going to be able to.

To be Continued