For Lack of a Better Title: Riley Goes on an Eating Spree

"Nothing like one last snack to munch on before we take the train home, eh, Cookie?" said Riley Blythe cheerfully, looking down at the faithful dog sitting against the leg of the table Riley was sitting at (he had once had Cookie sit down on a chair, but that had not gone down well with the restaurant manager), which belonged to the Ponyville restaurant he had ordered food from minutes prior. Now that his monthly trip to Ponyville was soon going to be ended by the departure of the train back to Manehattan, he needed a little something to satisfy his ever-hungry gut.

Cookie simply gave a happy bark of agreement, as he did with most of the things Riley said. Like two best buddies, they were a team.

Not too long afterwards, a waiter approached the table and set down a silver whatchamacallit. You know, that silver metal thing that's like a bowl that goes upside-down over the meal?

Anyway, the waiter lifted up the upside-down bowl to reveal the meal concealed within... a sandwich about two inches in width and only slightly longer in height.

A bit surprised at the overestimated size of the meal, Riley eyed the sandwich, his muzzle just millimeters away from it. "Um, I remember sandwiches at this place being a bit bigger," he commented, raising his head back up to look at the waiter.

Not knowing what else to tell the customer, the waiter shrugged. "Sorry, kid. Inflation from our suppliers."

"But it was only yesterday that I saw a mare eating-"

"It happened yesterday," explained the waiter briefly, cutting Riley short.

Knowing that he wouldn't be getting a bigger replacement any time soon without shelling out the extra Bits, Riley simply sighed. "Thank you, Mr. Waiter."

"Glad to be of service," replied the waiter, and departed the table to tend to more waiter business.

At least happy to get something to snack on like he intended, Riley locked his front hooves at either side of the sandwich, lifted it up from its former position on the plate, and was just about to split it into two mini-portions for he and his pet, when suddenly...

*YOINK!*

An small, crimson bird with a light yellow underside had swooped in undetected, very much like a ninja/spy, and thieved the sandwich right out of Riley's hooves.

The red Pegasus sighed for the second time within a minute. "C'mon, Cookie. Our train will be departing soon," he said, getting up and taking  a few steps away from the table and towards the train station, before looking back at his companion.

Cookie obediently followed his pony friend, vowing to somehow get revenge on the bandit bird. When you crossed Riley, you crossed Cookie, and vice versa.

~~~

Now that he had his fuzzy rear perched on the comfy seat of the train carriage, and the mare with the snack cart was waiting for him to make his choice, Riley did a search through his wallet. "...Yup, we've got enough Bits for a sandwich, and some dog food for you, Cookie," he muttered subconsciously as he verified how much he had. He took out the appropriate amount of Bits from his wallet and held them out to the mare, who took them and replaced them with a hay sandwich and a can of dog food before wheeling the cart away.

Riley opened the can by pulling the ring attached to the top to peel away the lid and emptied the contents into the bowl in front of Cookie. "At last!" he said in relief, and opened his maw as wide as it would go (which proved to be quite wide for him), more than prepared to scoff it.

Moving his mouth away from the sandwich and lowering said food item, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A stallion sitting in the corner of the train, his head hung in lament. His mane and tail were disheveled, his color scheme was rather dull, he had stains on his fur which Riley wasn't even able to tell what they were, he had a blanket next to him, and he seemed rather sorry for himself. It was quite clear that either this stallion did not have good living conditions, or was a very good actor and prop designer.

Assuming the former, Riley got up and walked over to the stallion, holding out the sandwich. "Here," he said with a warm smile.

The stallion slowly looked up at the source of the voice. "Oh, no worries, kid, I'll manage," he replied, before putting a hoof to his mouth and coughing.

"No, no, I insist," said Riley, holding his hoof out further. "You need this more than I do."

The down-on-his-luck stallion was about to decline again, but then took into consideration that it had been at least 24 hours since he had last gotten a bite to eat. He looked up and further observed the Pegasus standing before him. Eyes gleaming with innocence and sincerity, he knew the generous and benevolent stallion had meant his offer.

"Uh, sure, that'd be very nice, thanks," he replied, giving in. He gratefully accepted the sandwich and began to bite into it, savoring each tiny mouthful he took. "Thanks a lot, kid."

Satisfied at the display, Riley smiled at the display and then cantered off back to his seat. Had he eaten his sandwich, his tastebuds and stomach would have felt good, but not the most important body part of all: the conscience.

But now that his belly was rumbling again, and he did not have the money to buy another item of food for himself from the train's snack carts, he was beginning to wonder which really was the most important body part.