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// 15 - Leaving the Stable 
// Story: Closing the Barn Door 
// by David Silver 
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"You're going with them." Overmare Mare was looking at Daffodil flatly. "Pack your things so you can join them in the morning."

Daffodil threw her hooves up. "I'm doing going around outside there." She waved at the outside world in general. "It's dirty and food is strange and I have to deal with... them." She shuddered softly in the memory of it. "Why?!"

"I need eyes on this project that aren't compromised." Overmare Mare leaned in with a cocky smile. "You're the only one whose loyalty remains entirely with the vault. You'd rather be here, would you not?"

"That's what I said." She flopped back onto her haunches and against the bed she was near. "I'll take filter cleaning duties!"

"There isn't any need for you to do that." Overmare Mare pointed instead to Daffodil's belongings. "Pack. I need you to see what they see. If they find a vault worth having, I want to know about it. If they don't, I want to know about that. Most importantly, if they find a good vault and want to keep it a secret..."

"You want to know about it," allowed Daffodil in a defeated sigh. "Right, fine! Fine... I'm a good pony, so I'll do what you say." She grumbled as she went to fetch her things. "I don't have to like it."

"Return safely to us." Overmare Mare trotted away with things set in motion.





Daffodil showed up where the group was preparing to set out just as she was stuffing a paper in her pocket. "I'm coming with you." They looked at her oddly, even the robots that weren't supposed to do that. "Somepony has to be there to play the straight mare, and who else is gonna be?" She tossed her head at Twilight. "Science girl, or country mare?"

Applejack huffed at being named. "Jus' so long as ya know what yer signing up fer?"

"Yeah... let's go." She hurried past Giddyup. "Do you know how to get out of here? This way." She led the robot up onto the stand that carried them both up the passage.

Overmare Mare nodded at the departing group. "Best of luck. The coordinates Twilight shared implied the supplies we gave you should be enough."

Twilight bobbed her head quickly. "We'll just have a look and see what's there. It shouldn't take very long to get an idea of what we're facing."

Applejack tilted her head downwards. "We got Stan an' Skyline at our side. Don't reckon too much can get in our way."

Skyline snorted with a smile. "Thanks for the kind words." He patted one of his blades gently. "I'd rather not use these at all, but—"

Aunt waved a grasper at Skyline "Then do not. I will do my best to make sure they're taken care of." With the platform back down, she powered up along it, flames jetting loudly beneath her.

Stan had his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Look, pretty sure you don't want me around much. I'm checkin' out this place for the ponies. I like most of 'em and if there's a happy place waitin' for 'em, then I want them enjoyin' it. 'Sides, figure they'd be happier away from us humans, anyway."

Overmare Mare flashed a smile at Stan. "Wise words. As humans go, you're speaking reasonable sense. See them safely there, use your human trickery if you must, and get them back. Assuming that goes according to plan, I will promptly pay you."

Stan was the next to ride the rising platform up to the surface.

Twilight snapped a sharp salute. "We'll be back with quality intelligence." She hopped up beside Stan just before it moved, vanishing into the ceiling with an energetic wave at the ponies below.

Applejack snorted softly at the antics. "Twilight doesn't change much. Fer a vault pony, she's full of moxy an' I can right appreciate that." She tipped her hat back, eyes on Overmare Mare. "I'll keep a good watch on both of 'em, promise." Overmare Mare waved gently as Applejack rode the pole up and away. 

"Seal it up after them." Overmare Mare turned away from the pole. "I don't want any citizens going that way without my direct permission, coming or going, for that matter."

They got to work sealing up the tunnel and ensuring her will was done, leaving the mare trotted off firmly to knock on a door. "It's Overmare Mare. We need to talk."

"Yeah?" Lyra came into view, the door's handle glowing with her power on opening it. "What's up, boss mare?"

"I am informed you spent some... quality time... with one of our guests." She raised a brow. "This ruins you as a participant in project Prize Horse until we can be sure of the results." She raised a brow at Lyra. "Worth it?"

"Hm..." Lyra sank to her haunches and raised a hoof to her chin. "Thinking back on it, gonna go with a 'yes', minus the dirty looks that Bonnie gave. I'll be helping out around the bunk for ages to work that off, but not much regrets other than that." She leaned forward with a sly grin. "If there are other 'results' then I'll be a mommy without planning on ever trying that, so that's still a win the way I see it."

Overmare Mare twisted her nose in clear disgust. "We have stallions that work in the vault, you know. I just walked away from one. Nice fellow, pretty sure you've met him?"

"Pass!" Lyra bounced in place, looking more lyrical than wanting a scrap of romance. "He was fun, that was it. The vault gets boring doing the same thing every day, so when he showed up being all exotic and repressed, well..." Lyra stretched up and behind her head. "I couldn't say no."

"You should have said no." A set of hooves came in from out of view and grabbed Lyra out of sight. "Sorry, miss." Whoever it was slammed the door shut on the Overmare and the conversation in general.

Overmare Mare could guess who that was. "There is always a price for going against the plan..." She returned to her usual office. Things calmed for the moment with no promise of how it would go from there forward.





Stan emerged from the ramshackle hut that hid a vault. "Where are we headed? You have the map, or Miss Sparkle?"

"You are correct." Giddyup walked easily at Stan's side. "We are both in possession of that data." He turned suddenly and began walking in a new direction. He hadn't said to follow him, but they all did anyway. "They stocked us for the trip with a 20% margin of error. Odds of compensation required, 45%."

"45%? Yer learnin'." Stan patted Giddyup as they went. "Gonna hope nothing exciting comes up."

Miss Aunt hovered along behind them. "The odds are not in your favor, I'm afraid. Couriers are difficult to cause lasting harm to, but appear to be attractors of trouble of all varieties."

Applejack raised a brow at the two warriors up front. "It's a good thing I ain't payin' at this point, seein' as you two are as much trouble as ya ward off."

Giddyup swung his head back at Applejack in a great motion. "I am searching for difficulties."

Miss Aunt patted her equine robot friend. "I'm sure you are. This is outside my specialty and I'm afraid I'm not doing more to help. I'm not nannying much of anything but making sure we properly observed meal breaks."

Twilight paused just long enough for a giddy clap. "Just think of the things we might find! I can't wait to catalog it all."

Daffodil's snout scrunched at Twilight. "Are you looking forward to it that much?"

Twilight inclined her head at Daffodil. "Didn't you decide to come? Of course I'm excited! We have so much to explore."

Daffodil forced a strained laugh as she backed away from Twilight. "Of course, it's just that it's a little odd that you're this excited. I came to help the vault, not enjoy the trip. There's a difference, dang it!"

Applejack grinned as she walked at an angle to meet Daffodil. "Yer gettin' used to the outside, using language like that."

Daffodil colored brightly. "Stop corrupting me! I'd rather..." She took a slow breath, still walking as she did so. "It's fine, but cut that out. I'm here to help." And keep herself alive, but she didn't need to mention that. "So, how far are we headed?"

Giddyup beeped and whirred despite the clip-clop noises he continued to make outside the tempo of his actual walking. "Transit time: Approximately three days."

Daffodil squinted at that. "What's up with three days?!"

Applejack didn't seem ruffled. "Makes sense to me." The other ponies looked at her. "What? All three stables probably make a nice triangle." She tried to make a triangle shape with her hooves, even if hooves were not the best for that shape. "They're all about three days from each other. We just didn't know it. This direction ain't towards the others, right?"

Stan shook his head. "Sure ain't." He ran his fingers over his gun as he inspected it. "A little warnin', but we are outside, so we should be prepared. Could be curious humans, or bandits, or mutants of some kind. Either way, could be trouble headed our way, or we could be headed to it. It doesn't matter much in the end."

Miss Aunt hovered noisily to Twilight's side. "May I impose on you, dear? I know you don't owe me anything at all, and if you say no, I'll understand, but I do want to ask."

Twilight perked an ear. "Helping a robot was one of my most interesting duties." She bounced mid-step. "So let's hear it! What do you have in mind?"

"I want to help you all more." She pointed at Twilight with a grasper. "Can you give me a weapon of some kind?"

Stan thrust a hand between the two. "You do realize the moment yer armed, you go from a cute and ignorable robot to an active participant, right? Things will stop ignorin' you and start attackin' you, assumin' if they don't, you'll hurt them next after they finish with one of us."

Applejack nodded along with Stan's words. "He ain't wrong." She smirked at the human. "But he ain't right neither. She's a robot, armed to the gills or not. They'll swing at her the moment they get a chance, I reckon.

Miss Aunt recoiled in horror. "Why would anyone attack me of all things? I only want to help."

Twilight shook her head. "Be that as it may, many creatures, or humans, may not realize that and if they beat you apart, you won't have much of a chance to explain the situation to them. You've been lucky, not smart." Despite her words, she looked to Stan. "She does belong to you, so I'm asking if you want her to be armed? Nanny Bots have several obvious mounting points for weapons if that's the goal."

It was up to Stan, and he didn't look like he enjoyed the topic even a little. "Right, alright, okay, fine..." He ran out of ways to say he was entirely alright with the conversation he was not alright with. "Can you give her somethin' she can put away at least, so she can go back to bein' her harmless self when there ain't trouble around?"

Twilight grinned with newfound purpose. "A challenge! If you accept, Miss Aunt, I will begin brainstorming that." She tapped just next to her horn. "Something lethal that you can also hide when the situation doesn't demand it. Genius! But the moving points will make it more complex by demand, hm..." Twilight was already thinking of how that could be done, agreed upon or not.

Miss Aunt hovered at Twilight's side without deviation in her path. "I am confident you'll make something sleek and dangerous that I can tuck away when I don't need it." She brought two pincers together to clap at the idea. "I look forward to seeing it!"