• Published 6th Dec 2021
  • 709 Views, 164 Comments

Closing the Barn Door - David Silver



Vault-Tec never runs one experiment when two would be better! The second prong of their pony experiment watches the world around it with large equine eyes. Perhaps it is time to move. It's too late to close the door, the ponies have already left.

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13 - Major Mayoral Business

Overmare Mare led the way through the vault, er, stable. "Besides settling accounts, there are things I would like to ask the two of you away from their ears."

Stan nudged Skyline without a word, his trepidation clear with no spoken statements. Skyline moved a hand to a sword hilt in preparation, but left it shy of drawing it for the time being.

"You're both very busy creatures." Overmare Mare turned in front of a door. "I'm sure you have a list of tasks waiting for you."

"I have one waitin' fer me, actually." Stan shrugged softly. "Really have to make that delivery." Not like he got many breaks from delivering things to places.

"I'm sure that's true." She opened the door but only stuck her head inside long enough to come back out with two bags dangling from her mouth. She set them down and set a hoof on either. "Your payment, as promised." They jingled with the promise of caps. "But you could get more."

Stan resisted reaching for his payment. "Sure, that's true, but you've avoided tellin' us what ya actually want."

"How rude of me." As if the Overmare hadn't planned it. "Assuming Twilight gets the information I want, and I have little reason to suspect she won't, we will have another mission in front of us immediately. The stable, this place." She spread both hooves wide. "It's wonderful, but it wasn't supposed to be the final destination. There's a third stable, where the ponies of the first stables were supposed to meet... after things calmed down." She snorted softly. "That isn't happening, but I see no reason to begrudge ancient plans when they benefit us."

Stan pointed at the Overmare. "Stop me if I'm off, but ah'm pretty sure ah got it. Some smart person, likely a guy, dreamed up smart ponies." He waved that finger over the Overmare and Skyline. "And he asked the nice folks at Vault Tec to give them a safe place to be if things went sour."

Overmare Mare nodded slowly. "You appear to have the first part of that, correct. Vault Tec ran a few concurrent experiments..."

"As they do." He tied off his bag of newfound bits, er, caps, to his belt. "The scientists raised one about as natural as they could, like horses, if smart ones. They kept them in good condition but not taught how to human much. The scientists gave them a leader." His eyes went to Skyline. "Who abdicated that position?"

"Don't look at me." Skyline did much the same, tying off his bag of earnings where it could dangle in ready reach. "My stable is doing a fine job leading itself. I wish them the best, but they don't need me. I wasn't more than a fancy guard for them, anyway."

"One would hope they are." Overmare Mare lifted an ear at Skyline, but her eyes were on Stan. "We are the other experiment, as I can gather you're putting together."

"Yeah. You're the human ponies." He was pointing at Overmare Mare. "Raised with how to human from the start."

Overmare Mare snorted softly. "That is a rude way to put it. Raised with civility and knowledge is a better way to put it. They taught us everything they could, but we were free to form our society as we saw fit." She turned a hoof on herself. "They democratically elected me every time." She looked quite proud of that fact. "And I led this stable to success and safety for quite a few years. We've avoided making a mess. We're not being hunted by humans as curiosities or having our stable looted for parts."

Skyline inclined his head at Stan. "There's a human."

"There's a human." Overmare Mare snorted softly. "But he's not hunting us, or looting the stable, so there is that. Speaking of that human, we suspect we will have need of one. Since you're already involved with us, and killing you quickly didn't work out, we can think of another use for you."

Stan broke into sudden rough laughter. "Lady, I wish ah could say that was the first time ah done heard, 'Sorry, couldn't kill ya, so here's plan #2.'"

Overmare Mare hiked a brow. "Then you understand. Good. They meant the third stable to exist and to open it when things were calm. That meant that Vault Tec agents would come and gather us up and walk us to wherever the third stable was. It would be a grand little time and they'd get to see what kind of ponies they made." Her brows fell in a scowl. "That didn't work out. I don't think I need to specify."

Skyline rolled a hand with a skill generally unmatched by ponies. "Alright, so what do you need me for again?"

"That depends." Overmare Mare glanced in the direction that Twilight toiled. "On what she finds, that is. If the original engineers planned for there to be survivors of both stables." She waggled a hoof between herself and Skyline. "I imagine you can see where that could cause some amount of concern, or at least it would if we didn't have a member of the other stable right here."

Skyline snorted suddenly. "Wait. If they meant it for both stables worth of ponies, why am I the only one you're taking? The others deserve a chance if it's as good as you're implying."

The Overmare touched her hooves together as if counting on the single digits. "For one, we don't know if it's good. It may be pure trash, or empty, or not exist. Who can know until we actually look?" She had her eyes set on Skyline, meeting his gaze. "For another, your stable is happy where they are. Do they want another stable to hide in? They're out with the humans, just living it up."

Skyline crossed his arms as he stood up with a grunt. "They're doing what they have to in order to survive. I'm doing exactly the same, even if that leads down a unique path with swords and blood." He patted his sword hilt meaningfully at that. "We're still doing what it takes to live to see the next day, and if you got some magical Shangrila sort of place, well, then they're interested."

Stan gave a big thumbs up at the reaction. "You tell 'em. May not be the leader or whatever, but they're still yer people in the end."

"A conversation for another time." Overmare Mare smiled in a calculating way. "You, guard." She pointed at Skyline. "It's your specialty. You remain close at hoof in case we need a human to bypass anything, or your machine. The code he carries could be the key we're looking for, and I imagine you don't want us taking bits of him."

"You imagine correctly." Stan threw up his hands together. "We, me and the robots, got places to be. We need to all be intact to do that and ah don't plan on lettin' a damn thin' get in the way of that, alright?"

"Which is why I'm inviting you along, among other reasons." She turned towards her room. "Enjoy the amenities we have available. This is a standard vault. If you've been in any other, you know what to expect." She fled into her room with her guards flanking her, bringing the conversation to an official halt.

Skyline shook himself out as he fell to all fours. "Look, I don't get to talk to ponies that don't know all of my history. I want to mingle a little. You alright?"

"Appreciate ya asking." Stan was already heading back towards his robotic friends. "An' good luck to ya."

Left to his own devices, Skyline went to find that lyrical pony from before. It was a fine time to make friendly.

Stan returned to see Miss Aunt hovering next to a still Giddyup. Applejack was chewing on a straw and leaning against a pillar. Daffodil looked half asleep on the same pillar. Only Twilight was clearly awake and active with her rapid fire taps of her magically enhanced will against the keyboard with loud and constant tapping.

"Any luck?" Stan came up beside Twilight with his arms crossed and fingers playing at the opposing arms in a nervous fidget. "Find what you want?"

"Almost..." Twilight didn't pause in her frantic typing as if hammering away at the keyboard hard and fast enough would, somehow, make everything turn out alright. "The data looks like someone locked it away on purpose. It's as if he cordoned it off intentionally, though I can't imagine why."

"About that." Stan wagged a finger at the display. "Didn't Giddyup say that he was doin' exactly that? Now that all ah Yellow's things were in order. I remember him mentionin' somethin' like that."

"He did." Twilight applied a hoof to her forehead. "And I feel bad asking him to undo that, but I need that data. Yellow has the information we want, and Giddyup is holding Yellow's data." She set her hooves on him with a desperate look. "Can you convince him!?"

"Easy there." He nudged Twilight back to stand on her hooves. "Easier said than done. He's asleep an' all that if ya done forgot about that." He snapped his wrinkled fingers at Giddyup to little reply at the sounds no matter how often he repeated it. "Gonna need to wake him up before ah can even ask him."

"Wake him up, right..." She pressed a few keys in a specific order with her tongue poking free. A low hum became a louder one in response to her commands.

Giddyup neighed and trotted in place. "Giddyup unit online. What child am I, Stan! Does this mean the mission was a success?" Despite being awake and turned back on, there were cables running off of him that ran back to the computer. She secured him in place long before, despite looking to Stan at that moment like he wanted to trot over to his side.

"Easy there." Stan gently petted his friend before they could get it in mind to test the strength of those bonds. "Twilight is still lookin' around, but she hit a snag. She needs to read the Yellow data and you have it all locked up. Now, if ya rather we jus' find somethin' better to do, say so now and we'll get movin'"

Giddyup looked between Stan and Twilight, and they wrote clearly their different sorts of expectations on their faces. "I do not want either of you to be displeased. I will unlock his files." He went still, but sounds came from him as hard drive whirs and clicks and the occasional beep to join it. "Oh."

"Ah don't like that 'oh.'" Stan patted the shoulder of his mechanical horse friend. "You alright?"

"Unlocking their files meant having them available again." Giddyup inclined his head at Stan slowly. "Yellow had great hopes for the children he was in charge of. My expectations feel both narrow and impotent in comparison."

He gripped Giddyup tighter on the shoulder. "Shoot... That ain't a kind of hurt anyone should have to deal with. You care for me plenty, Giddyup. Don't let no one tell you otherwise. Care for me so much, ah think ah'm gonna scream." He was smiling despite the frustrated words. "All that damned caring ya do, wish ah could escape it sometimes, but there ain't no escape. Gonna be cared fer by my best friend."

"There!" With the opportunity given by Giddyup's action, Twilight had gained access to what she needed and, with rapid tappings, she was pulling it home. "This is exactly what we need. Thank you, whatever you two just did, this is just right."

Giddyup looked over at Twilight. "I can see what files she is searching through."

Which meant he could see something else. It was, perhaps, better when he was sleeping. "I'm right here, bud." He gently mussed the mane of Giddyup. "Ain't going nowhere."

Author's Note:

That was rough. Poor Giddyup!

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