Closing the Barn Door

by David Silver

31 - Aftermath

The vault held an election for the new Overmare and arrived at Lyra. She already had a relationship with a pony that would become crucial to their work and seemed eager to lead the vault to better things. Under her guidance, the veil of secrecy came down in favor of a guarded presence. "Let's say hi to our neighbors, but keep our weapons nearby, just in case. Most of them just want to live, but the ones that don't, we'll be ready for."

Exchanging technological goods and expertise with those who came to trade became a breath of fresh air for the vault and the surrounding areas. They could supply with sundry goods that had been quite difficult to secure in any serious volume before and earned the goodwill of wastelanders with a growing reputation of fair dealings.

Bandits did come, as did supermutants and raiders of various stripes, but the ponies proved that they were deadlier than their cute exteriors would imply. This earned them another reputation that served as a shield, deterring other hostilities from those who heard. As adorable as they appeared, those who attacked them were shown no quarter, and no prisoners were taken. They didn't have room anyway. Better to kill them.

For the rest, they were greeted with open arms and smiling faces. Learning to tell the difference between the two became a skill of importance in the community.

---

Skyline found a new hut to guard. This one had far fewer ancient elders of great importance, and instead a bunch of ponies he could convince himself were peers, even if he was old enough to have seen the world before they existed in it, even as a fond wish. He was ready to leave the vault behind when Lyra got in his way and refused to move. Insisting he take responsibility for his actions, she pressed him into marriage.

What started as a somewhat forced relationship warmed with time, the two becoming fonder of one another with time. Without being asked, he took charge of the local guards, training them to fight, especially with melee weapons and in combat tactics, helping the vault to become ready to defend itself from the attackers that would come.

He got his pair of glasses, allowing him to see the world clearly for the first time. To his credit, he managed to not cry about it, but that it affected him was obvious to all that saw the magic moment. "Why did they have to be pink?" Of the vault's collection of glasses, the ones that worked best were a bright pink with diamonds. It was very gaudy, but it worked. He began eagerly taking time at the firing range to make up for the time he had missed with the art of gunplay, even if he preferred the blades he continued to wear.

---

Giddyup was able to put his friend to rest. With all the objectives met, he closed those files, knowing that if Yellow had been around, they would have been satisfied. He did not believe in an afterlife, or 'spirits', but, as a friend, it felt like the right thing to do. It was a nice thought that someone else might care enough to finish his tasks when he suffered an unrecoverable error or became too run down to be repaired to acceptable levels.

It would be a shame if that happened while he was taking care of a child. The idea of leaving one without help was somehow even more scary than the children that had left him. He could recover, but could they? That was a problem for the future. Hopefully far into the future.

---

Aunt stopped her wandering. The vault was a place that had need of her. She joined them as a productive member, in both their defense and with domestic chores that she gladly pitched in with. Having a trained chef improved the quality of life in the vault, making her a welcomed member of that community. That she proved equally capable of combat was a surprising turn of events for them when an outsider managed to sneak into the vault and thought she was harmless until she suddenly wasn't, a fact they never got to learn before it was far too late.

---

Applejack's old job had been made unrequired. With the vault's door opened, they didn't need a pony to act as the specific go between and wander out into the wastes anymore. That was alright by her. She had another place to be. She left the vault, walking at the side of the human that had helped open those doors.

The life of a courier agreed with her, and she became the first pony member of that ancient order. "I'll get it there, come hell or high water," became her motto. Acting as a team, she and Stan made good on their deliveries around the wastes, through mutants and raiders both. None could stand in their way, for long at least.

Though there were crude jokes made about the idea, Applejack was quick to shut down ideas that she and Stan were 'a thing'. Good friends, certainly, and partners, sure, but neither of them were looking for a domestic life. She wasn't looking for romance out on the trail.

---

Twilight Sparkle was delighted to return to her engineering duties. With the old Overmare removed, she set about fixing some of the strange things the original builders of the vault had left. Like the button to reset the camera was moved to a safe place inside the vault.

Her reckless self-surgery did come back to haunt her with occasional migraines that she could do little about but wait them out. She claims she still doesn't regret it, and lauds the progress allowed by the notes created as a result of the procedure.

Intense headaches or not, her horn-attached laser remained effective, forming another layer of defense against those foolish enough to darken their doorstep with ill intent.

---

Overmare Mare was cast from her post in disgrace, but ponies are kind creatures by default, especially to one of their own. She was mortified to find herself with the foals, forced to retake the lessons they had hoped to instill on all their young. But she did pass the classes to the satisfaction of Miss Cheerilee and allowed to regain her adult status.

With another overmare already elected and serving, she couldn't hope to retake the title, even if that was her name. That isn't to say that she didn't have a dream and desire to retake her old position. There was just the matter of securing enough votes for the job, and ponies hadn't forgotten how her last attempt had ended.

She had a long trek ahead of her, but she was ready to give it her all.

---

Daffodil was changed. She had seen the outside world and survived the tell the tale. Unlike Twilight, she was a lot easier to understand when she talked about it. Daffodil became the spokespony, negotiating with newcomers. Somepony had to be the one haggling with and negotiating with traders and this became Daffodil's job.

She would, one day, be at the front of an expedition beyond the walls of the vault. They knew were there was a treasure trove of robots, working and parts, not to mention entire stores of supplies. She couldn't resist the call of them forever, and neither could the rest of the vault. How that went is another story entirely, so we'll leave that there.

The robots were sure they would take care of the ponies in their zoo, but perhaps the ponies would be the ones taking care of things.

---

Door Man got to keep his job, operating the controls that opened and closed the door to the vault. Though they were open for trade, the vault had its door closed most of the time, until those specific moments of exchange. He was the one best suited to getting it moving, a job he did with great pride.

Except for that one time. He prefers not to speak of that.

---

The region changed, but not because of the ponies directly. They had no vaults, but then one appeared suddenly, open for trade and commerce. That it was populated with ponies was not as strange as it could have been. They already had a community of pony tribals they were growing used to. Why not pony vaulters?

They came in the same bright colors and equally brilliant smiles. They were extremely personable neighbors. When calamity rained down on the neighborhood, as happened in the wasteland, the ponies, vaulter or tribal, could be relied to join in any community effort to help put things back in order.

Speaking of the tribals, they heard of the vaulters. Word of them spread quickly along the trade lines, and they couldn't entirely ignore it. Ponies were so few as to make extinction a possibility. It was decided among the elders of the town they should extend a hoof to their equine peers. Of the elders, one was the most willing to take the trip.

Buttercup visited the vault. It was quite surprising to them when they saw an equine face on the camera, but also one they didn't recognize. She brought good cheer, but that didn't last. The two were competitors, even if they liked the idea of other ponies being there.

This never grew past a simmering knowledge. Technically, all residents of the waste were competitors with one another, but they were also neighbors, and the ponies were good neighbors.

They became better ones when Buttercup heard what happened with Skyline. "That's a good idea..." She had some young tribals sent to the vault and invited the vault to do the same, exchanging young ponies to grow up in the other community, to make families there and diversify the stock of the two herds.

All the ponies grew stronger in cooperation.

War never changes, but it isn't always the first, or last, answer.

Author's Note:

And fin. I hope you all enjoyed this walk with me.

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Comments

[geomease]

A fine ending to a fun series.

Will be seeing by any other wasteland tales or are we moving on to greener pastures?

[Booster Spice]

Maybe one of the visiting wastelanders gave Aunt a name. Stephanie Seagull?

Silly Twilight, the button was an admins back door, now they have to use something even more obscure. You shouldve altered the wiring so it worked in parralel, that way you could override while being notified or allowing.

Farewell Yellow, TGZ

The Postie always delivers, even if its The Last Post.

Chapter Complete.

Save Y/N.

[Dravkwn]

11304661
glowing green pastures?

[Reese]

"I hope you all enjoyed this walk with me."
I did, aye; thank you for writing! :)

[David Silver]

11304661
Writing a sequel... now.

[tsaukpaetra]

Heh, didn't think Lyra would be the one to tie him down, sneaky mare through and through!

[Draco Dei]

Except for that one time. He prefers not to speak of that.

I am reminded of a scene in"Animorphs" where one of the heroes discovers an ancestor's war medals (American Civil War?) in a box. Their was an explanation regarding why that ancestor probably kept them in a box where they could be looked at when the mood was right, rather than out in the open when he would would have to remember when happened to and by him to earn them. The present day hero then comments that when (if?) their long fight to save humanity succeeds, he will need his own box to keep his medals in.

I see this as a (probably more light-hearted) version of that same statement.

Also,.couldn't any Unicorn telekinetically push the buttons?

I like that Lyra insisted on being made "an honest mare" and that dedication made the marriage A happy on in the long-run. Will change downvote back to upvote for that resolution.

11304674

Maybe one of the visiting wastelanders gave Aunt a name. Stephanie Seagull?

Took me a second to get the reference... "Under Siege" I think was the name of the movie? Steven Seagal as a (ex-)military guy who gets overlooked by terrorists because his current JOB is as a chef.