Fallout Equestria: Frozen Clock

I open my eyes looking beside me. I feel sad not seeing the mare I fell in love with. I stroked my hoof along the bed wishing she was here with me. I slowly sit up wondering what will happen today. I am going to go meet the elder or who they consider the elder of the zebras. I fear it’s not going to be easy to redeem myself.

“Hey Rose, the food is ready.”

I was confused who in the world cooked food for us? I get off the bed noticing June in the kitchen. What in the world is a buffalo that knows how to cook? Bowser and Drift worked on setting the table. I sit at the table waiting for the food to come over. I take a deep breath wondering if I should ask.

“What are you three going to be doing?”

Bowser sits at the table sighing.

“I will be working on becoming a citizen of this community. The only way though is to prove myself to the diamond dogs and the hellhounds. I need to prove that I can work for myself and bring enough food and money to the entire community.”

Drift’s ears wilt.

“The ponies of this community don’t care much for Pegasus. They may have something they call dashites but it takes a lot for them to accept them. I guess it has something to do with what the enclave has done.”

Great, I worry for my friends. I glance at the buffalo

“So June what do you have to do to be accepted?”

June brings over the food sitting down with the rest of us. It takes a while for her to answer while we put the food on our plates. June seems silent about it. I took a drink of water and it was when she gave me a bombshell.

“All I got to is get fucked by the chief and then if I am still standing then I will be able to become part of the community.”

The three of us went silent. It would have been funny if I spit out the water I drank. I swallow it looking at June all she does is stare at us laughing.

“I got you guys. I don’t know what I need to do. It could be as simple as running over a path to another path. When it comes to my species and ideas on how to do things it’s really hard for them to come up with anything at all. I wish I could explain I never understood my race myself and why we just run back and forth back and forth. “

They look at me knowing how my species feels about me. After what I have told them and everything else about the past. I take a deep breath knowing it will not be easy for me to explain to them.

“We won’t be speaking in ponesh. I have to prove myself by talking in zebra. I have to allow myself to be attacked and ripped apart for whatever they feel is correct. If they feel my body and soul need to be cleaned then I shall allow them.”

Bowser sighs stroking my shoulder with his claws

“I doubt you will be able to call on us for help. You may need to tell Maria she needs to not go with you. You need to go as you were during birth. They may have issues with your legs, it's not something you can control. Just Rose, don't let them break you because you gave yourself to a pony.”

I lift my leg Maria makes herself home right now. I know I will have to tell her to stay here. She has Deco in her system so maybe I can convince them both to behave and do their best to hide in this place.

I try to ignore my feelings while eating my food and drinking the water. It’s gotten to the point I can no longer ignore my feelings. I know my species will rip me apart for what I did. I broke off from my older tribe. I became part of a race they hated because of the war.

“I could talk to Maria.”

I look up to Drift. The pegasus mare taps on my leg and the robotic creature looks at her. She tries to explain to her in a soft gentle manner. It’s such a gentle manner I don’t hear many questions from Maria and Deco stays silent. I think she is staying silent for now so as not to butt in and make Maria feel she is being attacked.

“But why? Why do they have the right to question what Rose did in her life?”

I take a deep breath and Drift looks up at me. So I am going to have to explain myself. Maria turns her cam eye to look at me. I am now put on the spot. I am going to have to tell her the truth and she is not going to like it.

“Maria, I know this is going to be hard to explain to someone who is still young. Maybe while we are away Deco can explain. Back in the day, I was part of a small tribe of zebras. I broke off from the tribe to get married to the enemy. It was before the war fully started but many didn’t approve since hatred was a big thing in the past.”

Maria goes silent and Deco finally shows up holographically. I feel my stress leaving my body for the moment. Deco is such help even though I haven’t been kind to the poor holographic pony who was forced on me and the others. I do hope she will be a big help later.

“Let me explain it in a way you can understand Maria. To other zebras, Rose is flawed and has a computer flaw in her code. She is going to get the code flaw fixed so she can be approved in the grand scheme of the files.”

Maria takes a second before she speaks again.

“Okay so she may be flesh but she is still a cog in the machine of the tribes or at least she will be?”

Deco nods. She turns to me, winking quickly. I smile loving the fact Deco is willing to do anything she can to keep these issues out of my head. Maria removes herself from my metal leg and I notice the metal she was attached to is very shiny.

A knock hits the door, a very gentle knock. June heads to the door opening it up. Golden Heart walks into the house looking at us and she chuckles. I think she likes how we made this house ours in so little time.

“Rose, they're ready for you. You know what you have to go through first right?”

I stand from the chair sighing I know what is first. I have to cleanse my soul and my body from the filth of a pony. I may not enjoy the idea of removing the filth of a stallion from my body. I would have to ask if a mare pony is okay in my life.

“Cleansing, am I right then painting myself in the paint of the tribe?”

Golden Heart frowns

“You have been through this before haven’t you?”

I chuckle weakly.

“In the past, you had to go through every single time you went to speak to zebras. It was even before the war fully started. The zebras felt the stars corrupted everything and I frankly agree the stars are big in zebras' lives. I should know I stood in the court of stars.”

Golden Heart sighs, shaking her head.

“Please don’t bring up the stars. Maybe you can explain to all of us how bad it was before the war. Maybe we can finally work our problems out with the ponies of now. Too many teachers of the past wanted to hate so much on ponies. I will never understand it either.”

I stroke my head with my metal hoof. I will never forgive myself for putting the will on the stars on another. Maybe someday I will have to face this creature and they will blame me for everything they went through. Closing my eyes tightly remembering what I went through to convince the stars I am not the one to fulfill their hunger for blood.

“I will do my best to explain.”

Before I could leave and head to the door Bowser stood in front of us. I look behind me to see the other two. They seem unhappy about something.

“Before you go, Rose. Since the four of us are family here. I need no I demand to know what this cleansing is.”

I sigh deeply, turning my head to look at Golden heart. In her gentle eyes, she could tell I needed to tell them what this means.

“They have a right to know.”

Golden sighs shifting on her hooves. She knows when she tells them what this cleansing is they will not be happy with what is about to happen.

“She will be stripped of her fur as a zebra and her mane. Including her glyph, she will be forced to drink a brew that will make her release everything in her stomach. It will cause her great pain and while she lays there she will have to scream in pain and fight to prove herself.”

Bowser and the others stare at each other.

“She will then be chained and dragged through our community and they will pelt her with rocks and whatever else they can. She will then be brought in front of the elder and she will have to admit she is a failure of every zebra everywhere. The elder will not be happy we did this to her, it will enrage her. But we are doing this to stop some of the anti pony groups from attacking her.”

Bowser sighs, stroking his head.

“What will happen after?’

Golden sighs

“She will have to go on a journey alone in the waste to not only find herself. But to find materials for a weapon that sings with her soul. She will then have to forge it in any of the broken factories. Then she will have to hunt a strong creature. Bath in the blood and then she will be doused in cold water and to bring her into our tribe. She will be sliced across the stomach allowing blood to be collected. Then she will be welcomed with us once more.”

June snorts.

“It seems a bit too much just because she married a pony ages ago? Can’t your kind just move on and admit you’re the biggest reason the sand-forsaken war began in the first place? Or did we forget it was a holy war for your kind hmm?”

Golden Heart sneers at the Buffalo I lean into the old mare shaking my head.

“She is not wrong Golden you have to admit the zebras themselves didn’t do enough to try to stop the war neither did the ponies. So both sides are heavily to blame. But the zebras are more so in some parts.”

Golden’s ears wilt nodding.

“You’re not wrong Rose. Many of the anti pony groups will even admit it as such. They will still welcome you even if you don’t do this. But the older souls demand you be cleansed before you even see them. They know you’re in love with a mare pony now they don’t have an issue with it. Since you won’t be making children with her.”

I look over to Maria and Deco who are talking among themselves.

“What about those two?”

Golden stares at Maria and Deco. Maria turns her eyes to look at Golden and quickly skitters into the darkness. The poor old mare gets pretty spooked from what she just saw. She shakes her head.

“The Frozen Clock I take?”

I nod.

“I told her the four of us needed to do this without her. She may not understand but she will not be causing any problems. She will stay right here and if needed I would like a guard placed here just in case. I may have trusted Dunewalker but I doubt she will not try something.”

Golden Heart shifts on her hooves nodding.

“Since you four are family, this home is now fully yours. You will live together and if you get tired of living together. We will find homes for each of you. First, you need to become citizens and you know what Rose will need to go through. I hope you all have a safe time with your task.”

I take a deep breath closing my eyes dreading what is to come for me. I know deep in my heart that I deserve all this treatment to make the other zebras trust me. I just wish it wasn’t so harsh and so soul-shattering to prove myself once again to them.

After a world-ending war we had I am not surprised my species would refuse me rest and succor. In need of such rest and succor is not but a weary dream. It’s something I hope I can get again someday.

Golden heart leaves I follow her feeling each weight in my hoof steps while we walk through the community. I watch many zebras and other races mingling one zebra mare looks at me with a frown forming on her face. She bows her head. I have a feeling she knows what is to come.

______________

Redemption

My species have a word for the cleansing redemption. It’s for zebras to do this to others of the tribe. I am part of no tribe. I have no right to be part of a tribe since I gave myself to a pony stallion. I learned back then that they would have had no issue if I gave myself to a mare. It would mean we could have herded with a zebra stallion.

Golden Heart leads me into the zebra city within the old hospital location. I am amazed at how big this place is. I looked to the side seeing this entire medical area was an entire big city in the middle of Detrot. It was going to be used as a base to fight the zebras if they ever made it this way.

I am led to one of the old medical buildings before I am allowed inside the city of the zebras proper. Golden heart waits for me by a large wooden door. It’s not even part of the main building like the zebras built into the old building.

“Do you remember how to speak like we do, Rose? Has the way of our speech been fully lost to you as well?”

I take offense to what she just said there. Of course, I know how to speak as we do. I have never forgotten it’s a zebra's pride to remember our old tongue and speech. If we forgot how to speak to others we would have been as good as dead years ago.

“I had the speech of zebras drilled into me for years upon my birth and I never let it go from my life. I even made sure my children would be able to speak like it. Including my husband, he wanted to learn how to speak like us so he could join my tribe.”

Golden Heart sighs.

“I see so you wanted him to be a zebra-like us just stripless. I feel sad asking this question. How racist did the zebras get back before the war fully took effect.”

I chuckle softly.

“I am unsure of myself. Both species treated every species outside of their kind as something below them. Zebras did the same now and again because they felt they had the right to be above. Now not every zebra felt this way. But they hated the pony elites of Canterlot.”

Golden Heart sighs, shaking her head. She knows full well the truth of the elites. I am sure there are still pony elites who still feel above others in this new world. I glance over at a zebra male coming in and looking through the old trash. He pulls out old ammo boxes looks at me and nods his head. Heading back outside.

“Wait, how in the world did he find all those boxes of ammo? From the sounds of it you have been living here for years you haven’t gone through everything yet?”

Golden Heart nods.

“There are many places to salvage and dig through. We have all been here so long we haven’t even looked into every area ourselves. So there could be some powerful items to healing objects. There are rumors of spirits refilling those places you dig through. I just find it silly really.”

I shake my head. It's strange to hear stuff like this. Like Discord is still around after all these years. I wonder if zebras or ponies just haven’t had the time to look through everything, maybe they don’t wish to. Maybe since there could be some broken shards of glass or sharp metal it could be the other reason.

“Rose, I wish you didn’t have to go through with this. When the door opens up, do whatever they say to do. If they tell you to wear tribal headdresses. They will demand that you beg for succor and do what you can to stay strong.”

I sigh deeply watching Golden Heart leave. The door behind me opens slowly. I stand there not turning around feeling the stress from what is about to happen to take over. I feel a gentle hoof on my shoulder.

“Kulungile ngizoqinisekisa ukuthi abakulimazi. Ngicela ungene uzihlenge.”

I look over my shoulder looking at a kind gentle mare. She had yellow eyes. I didn't look more at anything else but her eyes. I turn fully noticing what she is wearing. She is a seer when seers tell you things won’t be too bad it’s normally true.

“Woza”

She leads me inside while two other mares stroke strange cream into my fur. I watch the seer mix the brew I am meant to drink after everything is said and done. The two mares shave my fur off. It hurts feeling the fur being pulled out. After the fur is fully removed they start placing paint on me.

“Lo pende uwumlingo futhi uzoba phezu kwakho uze uqedele ukuhlolwa kwakho futhi uzibonakalise. Ngifisa sengathi bekungadingeki ngikwenze lokhu kuwe. Owakwenza wukuthanda ihhashi.”

I sigh happily the seer is not upset at me for giving my life to a pony stallion. I watch the two mares place the magic paint on my body. I have been through a test like this before when I was growing up to prove myself. Now I must accept this and allow my body to be cleansed and then I shall be saved by the elder.

The two mares put the paint on my face after they were all done and left bowing their heads in respect. The seer comes over holding the potion on the flat part of her hoof. She looks at me with a weak smile.

“Ngiyaxolisa ngalokhu okuzokwenza kuwe. Uzoba sezinhlungwini kangangokuba umzimba wakho uzovutha. Uma uphela amandla bayokubopha bakuhudule.”

I took a deep breath and put the potion in my mouth, setting it down on the floor looking at the seer. I wrap my hooves around the mare hugging her tightly. I am very happy she is kind and gentle to me.

“Ngizokwenza konke engingakwenza ukuze ngikujabulise.”

The mare stares at me tears fall from her eyes she hugs me back hugging me tightly. I have a feeling she didn’t expect me to say I would try my best to make her proud of me. I barely know this seer and I am willing to do this just to make her proud.

The seer leads me to another room. This room looks like it’s an old shower she turns on the water, taking the cover off the drain. I think I know what she wants me to use as a toilet. She smiles while hugging me this time.

“Ngatshelwa ukuthi ngingabi nomusa kuwe noma lokhu kube lula kuwe. Kodwa unomusa nenhlonipho angiboni ukuthi kungani bekuzonda kangaka.”

A weak smile comes across my face. So I just had to be kind to her for her to be kind to me in turn. I go back out of the room to pick up the potion and head back into the shower. I get under the shower and she closes the door. I take a deep long swig of the entire potion knowing it will take time for it to work.

I feel the potion start working. I scream in pain feeling my blood boil. I try to drink the shower water to stop my insides from burning and feeling so much pain. My body starts to react very badly to the potion. I feel myself going constantly to the bathroom and vomiting into the drain. I scream louder feeling every inch of my joints and nerves screaming for relief.

After so long I passed out.

_______

I woke up a few hours later. I feel myself being dragged through the road. But when I look up I don’t see any of the zebras tossing stuff at me or making fun of me for what I did. I have a feeling the seer talked with the elder. I am sure the elder told the zebras to not allow these zebras to have any power.

“Let her go.”

I see the group of anti pony zebras arguing with the mare who looks like a guard. They say everything under the sun about why I deserve this.

“She is a pony-loving bitch who gave herself to a pony.”

The guard growls

“You seem to forget she is from the world of the past. To her, we must look like barbarians and too full of ourselves. Now let her go before I run you through.”

I look up.

“I accepted this and I felt it would be wise. To do what they wanted. Unless the elder knew ahead of time they would try this.”

The guard looks at me and the zebras look at me as well. I stood up on my hooves forcing the rope off my leg. They notice I don’t have normal legs or hooves anymore. I quickly swing my metal hoof into the face of one of the zebras. He is knocked out with a crack in his skull.

“I am going to tell you what happened to me. I was accused by a group of ponies called the Black Hooves and they zebra napped me and my friends. They changed my hooves to these metal hooves and each time I upgrade my legs will turn more into metal and lose all my flesh in those legs.”

I walk between the zebras giving them hateful looks.

“I am not going to be treated again as a monster because you have some problem with me wanting to give my heart to a pony stallion. Why the fuck do you hate them so much? Oh, could it be because of the war? Who do you fucking think start the war? On both sides, zebras made it worse because we can’t lego our religious problems. Oh yes, the stars I have been in their court I talked to the stars so. Before I kill you all for your racist bullshit, leave me alone.”

The zebras run to pick up their wounded friend. I sigh deeply. I don't enjoy acting that way towards others.

“You must be Rose.”

I turn to look at the heavily armored guard. The mare is larger than I am. She is wearing bones connected to metal armor and heavy weapons. I tilt my head wondering why this guard cared so much about wishing to defend me.

“Uh, may I ask how did the elder learn about all this?”

The guard laughs.

“The seer told us everything. They wanted to use you as an example to make the elder look bad so their elder could take over and try to start a small race war with the ponies. It wouldn’t have worked since they don’t understand what happened during the war. You seem to know what happened before it started though.”

I chuckle weakly, feeling my stomach still in awful pain.

“I still don’t feel so well after having to take that potion. So what now do I still have to redeem myself in the eyes of the elder?”

The large guard nods.

“She does have deep respect for you. The respect is from you trying to redeem yourself for giving yourself to a pony stallion in the past. We have no right to judge you for who you fall in love with though. Now before we fully go on we are going to give you food and a coat to keep you warm. Oh sorry, my manners, I am Izikhali.”

I am confused who would name their daughter Armor?

“Can you please lead me to the elder then?”

Izikhali nods and I follow her inside. In a large room made from a former hospital waiting room, there is a middle-aged mare sitting on a throne made of gold, and torches around her are lit and she is wearing roman armor and holding a heavy sword near her side.

“Hello, Miss Rose, I am sorry you had to deal with those zebras. They may have gained traction in their hate of ponies. Not many wish to go to war with the ponies of this community. We work together with them and these zebras feel the ponies caused war crimes. The ponies who committed such war crimes are now long dead, same with the zebras who did the same thing.”

I smile. I like this mare. She knows you can’t accuse every single pony since those from the past no longer live to bring the pain they caused the same with the zebras of the past. Even if the thoughts of hate are still there though.

“I have grown tired of ponies of today being accused of being racist and need to prove themselves to the zebras of today. If this is true then zebras need to do the same. Zebras did worse on their own. I am sure ponies did worse on their own as well. But most focus on emotions rather than caring about what is true.”

I bow my head to the elder.

“Now what do you need me to do?”

The elder smiles.

“Come with me I will explain.”

I follow her to the next room to wonder what she will tell me and maybe I can redeem myself in the eyes of many zebras. I am unsure now all I can do is deal with what is to come.