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// 2 - Fateful Contact 
// Story: Closing the Barn Door 
// by David Silver 
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"One thing." Applejack was looking at the knot of biped and robots, apparently enjoying lunch? "That ain't a human, not exactly. Ah mean, technically they are? That's what happens when a human gets zapped wit' a bunch of rads and gets lucky, or unlucky, dependin' on which way ya think 'bout it."

Twilight rubbed the side of her head. "It looks like a human. You just described a sick human. They are suffering from radiation sickness then? Shouldn't they be inside somewhere, resting?"

Daffodil looked to Applejack. "There's more to it, obviously. Go on, fill us in."

"We ain't got all day, but ghouls, that's what that varmint is, are pretty specific sick humans. They don't like bein' called sick, to start." Applejack drew down the front of her hat. "And resting won't make 'em better. They're stuck like that to the last day. Just treat 'em like humans, perfectly healthy humans. Don't make no special moves. They hate bein' treated special."

Twilight bobbed her head. "Human, as I thought, but don't bring up the sickness. Got it! Shall we approach?"

Daffodil brought a hoof down on Twilight's shoulder, preventing her forward movement. "He's armed, and so's that nanny. You don't just charge at two strangers in the wastes unless you want to become another interesting skeleton for people to walk past."

Applejack suddenly smiled. "Sure, but that Giddyup wants to find horses. Sure seems like that solves our problem fer us. All we gotta do is make some horse noises and he'll come chargin'."

Daffodil wheeled on Applejack. "And bring his friends with him!"

Twilight clopped her hooves. "Then we can all be introduced without violence. That sounds agreeable to me."

Applejack nodded with Twilight. "Right what ah I was thinkin'. That other human was ready to attack an' this one went fer peace 'stead of just usin' his side iron. Means he's probably not--"

"How have you survived?" spat Daffodil with an angry equine snort.





"Horse detected," noted Giddyup, circling in place. "Probability of pony, 65%" He was still fine tuning his ability to tell the difference between a full sized horse and the little ponies. "Enjoy lunch." He strode away from Stan and Aunt without delay, clip-clopping trots sounding from within him.

"Dang it." Stan didn't throw his plate aside. That'd upset Aunt. Living with bots could be a bit trying at times. He set the plate down properly and stood up. "Get back here!"

Giddyup hurried right towards the ponies like a snort-seeking missile. "Ponies detected!" he called with great joy. He would have smiled, were he capable, at the sight of not just one, but three ponies. "Hello, I am Giddyup. It is nice to meet you,"  he greeted even as a friendly horse whuffle issued from inside him. "Are you friends with Buttercup or Skyline?"

Twilight was grinning widely. "And hello to you too. I am Twilight Sparkle." She pointed. "Applejack, Daffodil. I don't know the names you just mentioned, but you are a Giddyup Buttercup unit. Are you referring to another Giddyup Buttercup?"

Giddyup recoiled at that. "You are aware of Giddyup Buttercup units? Excellent. That is my child." He turned to direct his nose at Stan hurrying up towards them. "And his caretaker, Miss Aunt."

"Hello there, little ones." Aunt approached with soft rushing flames. "It's so nice to see other ponies. Are you well?"

Daffodil squinted at the lot of them. "That 'child' is a bit large, don't you think?"

Giddyup pawed at the ground. "My child is within acceptable ranges for his age and ethnicity. Please do not be mean to my child."

"Well shit." Stan was looking from one set of large eyes to the next. "Ya actually found three of 'em!"

"Three lovely ponies," agreed Aunt. "But they're dressed interestingly."

Twilight pointed at herself. "I'm dressed in the standard outfit for--"

"Vault," cut in Stan. "You're a vault pony, but not the vault we saw..."

Twilight took a step forward, blinking. "You've been to a vault before, with ponies?"

Giddyup pointed to Miss Aunt. "She is a vault unit!"

"That I am, sweet thing. You seem very nice." She reached out a grasper and, when Twilight didn't avoid it, began gently petting her. "I didn't know there was another vault of ponies."

Daffodil stomped a hoof down on the stump they'd been hiding behind. "Twilight, you have a job!"

"Oh, right." She turned to Giddyup. "My little pony," she sang, the notes perfectly emulating the show's introductory tones.

Giddyup went still a moment, but resumed, swinging his head and neck towards Stan. "The programming I downloaded from Yellow is attempting an override. Should I allow it?"

Stan could but squint. "On one hand, the hell are you doin' with my Giddyup. On the other, ah'm all kindsa amazed you are bein' so calm about this. Giddyup, grow a self-preservation instinct some day, would ya?"

Miss Aunt hovered closer. "That was impolite, and I was becoming so certain you were a nice little thing. What are you trying to do, Miss Sparkle?"

Twilight's ears pinned. "I'm not going to hurt him. I just need to access a few files." She raised her hooves close together. "Should only take a few minutes."

Daffodil slapped a hoof over her face. "I could have sang that. Applejack could've. Anyone could have!"

"Calm down." Applejack waved a hoof downwards. "Yer Giddyup's puttin' out a signal." She pointed to the Giddyup. "Which is why we're here."

"Why are you telling them this." Daffodil stormed around Applejack to glare at her.

"We're a step past that really bein' much an option." Applejack rolled her eyes. "We're here to get the info from yer Giddyup."

Stan nodded. "Alright. I appreciate at least some of you gettin' to the damn point. Now, Giddyup ain't some computer console, waitin' for someone to wander up and start typing at him."

Giddyup nodded at Stan. "You, Miss Aunt, and licensed Wilson Atomatoys engineers are permitted to do that."

Miss Aunt leaned forward, a skill for one held up by a jet of flame. "You trust me? How delightful! I can't return that specific token of confidence, but it is a pleasure to be in your company, Giddyup."

Twilight coughed into a hoof. "I don't... mean to interrupt this moment. It's nice to see you two getting along, but we do need to--"

"--What for?" cut in Stan with a frown. "This about that second pony vault?"

"Second pony vault?" All eyes focused on a new voice, but not a strange one to half of them. Skyline stepped into view, emerging from the bushes. "I want to know about that."

Applejack had her gun out in an instant, far faster than one might give credit for a pony wielding a gun in their mouth. "Stop right there."

It was Daffodil's turn to be the voice of calm. "That's a pony. From the other vault, I would guess."

Applejack angled her gun towards Skyline's forehooves. "Ponies don't have that. Who are ya?!"

Skyline's forehooves were chrome, glistening steel. His tufted ears were different as well, trained on them. He was as much bat as horse, to say nothing of the robotic parts. "The name's Skyline." He raised a hoof, a finger unfolding from it as he directed at Stan and the robots. "They know me. How are you doing, Stan?"

"Today's been an odd one." Stan shrugged with a little laugh. "But hey, Sky."

Twilight clapped once firmly. "Ah ha! Stan already knew ponies. No wonder he wasn't that surprised."

Applejack slid her gun away. "That's half the problem, sugar cube. The other vault's ponies are bein' way too public." She glared at Skyline, but did not advance. "What are they even thinkin'?"

"Not my problem." Skyline moved to stand beside Stan. "I left them. I'm a mercenary these days."

"Yer a merc?!" Stan threw a hand wide. "Get out."

"You haven't  heard? I thought rumors about me were all over these days." Skyline shrugged softly. "Not like there are a lot of other pony mercs."

"Oh, sure, but ah thought it was... Look, people make rumors up about the damndest things. It's hard to know which is real er not."

Giddyup was looking Skyline over quite intently. "What is Buttercup's status?"

"Hm?" Skyline raised a brow. "When I left her, she was doing just fine back at the town."

"Then I can close that." He was quiet a moment. "Yellow can rest now."

Skyline took a sharp step back. "What are you talking about?! That's awful spiritual for a robot. Explain."

Twilight leaned towards Giddyup. "Please do."

Daffodil put a hoof over her face. "We are getting so off topic here."

Despite Daffodil's objection, Giddyup seemed fine explaining, "Yellow's last instruction was the protection of Buttercup. It was unresolved at the time that his operation ceased. I had that file and could not close it due to it being unresolved." Giddyup nodded. "It is now resolved. Yellow's files are all--"

"At peace, I get it." Stan nodded at that. "Didn't expect no robot to end up there, but that's good thinkin'." He patted his robot pony gently. "Good to hear Buttercup's doin' alright. So you two made it back to town then?"

Twilight gasped loudly, looking at her Pip-Boy attached to her left foreleg. "The ping ceased!"

Giddyup inclined his head. "If that was in Yellow's code, I was able to cease all Yellow functions. He is at rest."

Twilight brought her hooves together on her cheeks. "The only reason you were pinging was because of a robotic version of survivor's guilt?! This... is amazing." She flopped back on her haunches, looking a bit overwhelmed. "Putting that aside, I need to access 'Yellow?'s files. Yellow was a Giddyup Buttercup unit, I gather?"

"He was a Giddyup Buttercup unit," agreed Giddyup, repeating the fact as he did at times. "Serial number:" And a long string of numbers and letters came forth one at a time with a small pause between each one.

Twilight's horn glowed as she poked at her Pip-Boy, bringing something up, mouth moving with each part of the serial number read out. "It's a match! Yes! That was a Giddyup Buttercup unit of Stable 2! Please." She pressed her hooves together. "Let me see those files!"

Applejack chuckled softly. "Ah don't think beggin' a ro--"

"May I?" Giddyup was looking to Stan.

Stan thumped Giddyup on the back. "Thanks fer askin' fer a change instead of just chargin' ahead. Ah 'ppreciate that, really."

"You're growing up," crooned Miss Aunt. "Now, Miss Sparkle?" Twilight looked to Miss Aunt. "We need to know exactly what this means for Giddyup."

"It shouldn't hurt him at all." She waved that thought away. "I just need to see what's there, not change anything."

Daffodil raised a brow. "You're going to leave this... What do you even call a strange Giddyup unit? It's not part of the project! You're going to leave it with the info?"

Twilight stood up properly. "I plan to. I will not harm this charming robot. He was carrying out the last wishes of a departed friend! That... I didn't even think that was possible for a robot less than a Mister Handyman's social complexity. This is just amazing!" She danced in place, from hoof to hoof with a smile. "Why? what would you do?"

Applejack heaved a sigh. "Daffodil might be a bit prickly, but she got a point." She pointed at Giddyup directly. "Y'aint part of the project. Ya shouldn't have those files."

Stan threw up a hand. "Look, we worked with ponies before, like him." He hiked a thumb at Skyline next to him. "This ain't news, except there are even more of ya around."

Applejack suddenly noticed something, eyes focusing on Stan's shoulder. "Hey, you a courier?"

"Guilty as charged." Stan fired a single emphatic thumbs up. "Why?"

Applejack sat with a nod. "Well then, ah got a job fer ya."

"What?!" Daffodil wheeled on Applejack. "Have you lost your mind?!"