Fallout New Vegas: A New Road

“Full house!” shouted the Brain, laying down its cards onto the poker table; it had been holding them with its long stem. “Top that!”

“Royal flush,” yawned the Courier, revealing his own hand.

“Now that’s just cheating!” growled the disembodied organ.

“Hey I won fair and square,” the human replied back with a smirk. “Not my fault you have a shitty poker face.”

“Haha, very clever,” seethed the Brain before it tossed aside the cards, which turned into dust and billowed away into nothingness.

“Maybe something else then?” Six shrugged. “Blackjack? Roulette? Go Fish?”

“I’m getting bored of casinos,” huffed the organ. “If only we had a board game.”

“What, like Nuke Em?” shrugged the Courier, recalling old Pre-War adverts he’d seen.

“Ah yes, ‘get them before they get you’!” hummed the Brain as if it was reciting a familiar jingle. “I wish we could’ve found an intact copy of that.”

“The quality of their holograms were shit,” shrugged the Courier. “No game is surviving a century in a barren desert.”

“A brain can dream,” sighed the organ.

“Is the shadow monster still outside?” Six asked, summoning in a long, authentic cigar to smoke, with him shoving it through a filter in his mask before he took a puff.

“You think it ever left?” asked back the Brain.

He just shrugged.

They were silent, a small ceiling fan slowly turning overhead inside the metal bunker that the organ had created inside the Courier’s dreamscape.

“Well, we’ve got time to kill until I wake up. Anything you wanna do?” the human shrugged.

“You’re me, numbskull,” the Brain huffed.

“I was being courteous, dickweed,” the mailman shot back.

The floating Brain was silent for a moment.

“Giddyup Buttercup?” it offered.

“We’re literally surrounded by ponies in the real world,” pointed out the able-bodied half of the duo.

“And yet you still haven’t ridden one,” the organ pointed out.

“Oh yeah, let me just walk up to fuckin’ Applejack or something and be like ‘you’re cool, can I ride you?’ I’m sure she’d be thrilled!” the body growled back.

“I’m only speaking our intrusive thoughts out loud,” the Brain pointed out.

“Let’s keep them to ourselves for now,” puffed Six, taking another drag from his cigar.

“We could always try to let that thing speak for itself?” the Brain pondered.

“Not now, we’ve gotta get up for work in a few hours anyways,” Six shot down.

“Right of course,” huffed the Brain. “We’re in a fantasy land of magical horses and the first thing we do is get a nine-to-five.”

“Hey we both know that’s because we have literally nothing better to do,” Six shot back.

“Could finish the house,” the Brain pouted.

“We gotta get nails!” the human said to his own mind.

“And rope!” added the Brain, as if its body had missed the important part.

“If I didn’t pass out, I’d have both on me right now,” sighed the Courier, checking his Pip-Boy for the time out of instinct, before he immediately gave up trying to read the gibberish on his ‘STATUS’ screen.

"You spent all night sitting on a bench," the Brain pointed out. "We need a coherent sleep schedule.”

“We’ll think of one later,” the body replied.

“At this rate we’ll only have had maybe… three, four hours of sleep, tops,” the Brain calculated. “Given we did fall asleep in a public area.”

“Maybe no one will notice?” offered the Courier.

However, he soon felt something poking him on the shoulder.

“Ah fuck,” he huffed, crossing his arms in annoyance.

“Same time tomorrow?” the Brain teased.

“Bah, more like next week,” Six huffed.

“Ooh, going for a record, are we?” the Brain laughed.

The body just rolled his eyes as he was torn away from the dream.

He blinked himself back into consciousness and groaned, sitting up as he raised a gloved hand to block the sun. The human looked around himself as he did, seeing easily half a dozen ponies staring at him. One mother held her foal particularly close before walking away from the awakened mailman.

Others continued to stare.

Six stared right back, looking between them.

“The fuck you all looking at?” he grunted, his hand still raised and blocking the sun’s harmful glare from his eyes.

“You uh… talk in your sleep,” said a small brown colt with a propeller hat, looking up at the Courier as he rose to his feet. "Like a lot."

The human looked down at him. Likely the one who'd woken him up. Little bastard.

“Yeah, who said you had to listen?” growled the tall, bulky figure as he rubbed his neck.

The colt looked away from the large frame of the Courier, who was looking around at the gathered crowd of onlooking ponies.

“Beat it, all of ya! You too, small fry, shows over,” the human grunted before he began to stumble tiredly down the trail and out of the public park ground he’d fallen asleep in.

All the while this happened, the colt watched him walk away, a cockeyed expression on his face.

“Guy can’t fall sleep in a public place anymore without being fuckin’ hounded!” huffed the annoyed human as he rubbed his back, his muscles tense from the uncomfortable bench he'd slept on.

Six just wandered back into the main hub of Ponyville proper and towards the Carousel Boutique, leaving the confused foal without further explanation.

As he walked and stumbled, numerous ponies parted like the Red Seas around him, giving him a wide clearance zone. A few would even cross the street to avoid him.

Good. Sped up his commute.

He walked until he found a small restaurant which had a small picture of a hot cup of coffee painted on the wooden sign above it. Six didn’t even read the name, like some type of caveman reading markings, he went by pictures, stumbling half-awake into the small cafe.

The stallion at the register turned towards him with a smile, however, his smile dropped into a look of surprise as his words died in his throat.

“H-how m-may I-”

“Coffee. Black. Now,” grunted the human, slamming down ten bits.

“S-sir it’s only f-five bi-”

“Make it two,” growled back the armor-clad mailman.

The stallion didn’t argue, getting two mugs prepared as the human just turned, looking at the other patrons.

Most of them shied away at his gaze, however one didn’t.

A yellow pegasus mare was in the middle of eating a bagel but paused in the middle of her bite to stare at the human. She looked a bit like Derpy actually, just minus the crossed eyes.

“The fuck you looking at, squarehead?” he insulted.

Now she still looked like Derpy, but extremely baffled at the bulky man's choice of insult. Mouth was still wide open though.

“Close your piehole,” he said, waving her off and turning back to the barista, who sat out the now-finished cups of coffee for the human.

They steamed, definitely close to boiling in temperature due to their freshness.

“Now sir it’s ho-”

The Courier just adjusted his helmet and downed it.

One long, continuous gulp. Didn’t even mind that some of the scalding liquid poured down his chin as he did.

Finished the cup of joe in about five seconds, and then sat it back down with a small clink before he downed the other one in a similar fashion.

The barista and pegasus mare both watched him with surprise, worry, and awe evident in their expressions.

“Fucking shit’s weak,” huffed the Courier, wiping his mouth with the back of his gloved hand before he adjusted his helmet. “Should’ve given me a double shot of caffeine.”

He then just tossed down a five bit tip and wandered away, opening the door and stumbling out of the cafe like some half-awake gorilla.

There was silence for a few seconds.

“What an asshole,” Sunshower huffed, still not having finished her bagel.

Outside the Courier just shook off the remnants of sleep, letting the caffeine course through him. He wiped off the drops of coffee that had dribbled onto his duster and straightened himself up, ready for work.

His gait was more confident now, his brain properly working as he wandered ahead. He was still getting looks of concern and rarely glances of thankfulness as he continued ahead throughout the town.

Soon enough though Six was weaving his way through the streets as they got a bit more crowded from numerous ponies either setting up stands to sell fruit, veg, and the like, or from ponies hustling to go to work.

“Hey, Six!” shouted a familiar, country-twanged voice, drawing the human away from his locked in tunnel-visioned state.

He turned, seeing a smiling Applejack waving him over with a forehoof as she sat beside a large cart filled with apples, no doubt being some of the ones he'd helped gather the day before.

“Applejack, you set up your stand early,” he said, rubbing his neck as he approached her makeshift kiosk.

“It’s nearly eleven, Six,” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Ah… right,” he nodded, looking at her large selection of apples.

He soon pulled out a handful of bits and dropped them onto the table.

“It’s only one bit per apple, Six,” she pointed out proudly. “After ya helped with the harvest, we’ve had an influx of ‘em! Heck, ya don’t even have ta pay if ya don't wanna!”

“It’s fine, just give em to Granny; buy her something nice,” he shrugged, taking an apple.

“Uh, Six, this is seven bits,” she said, counting the coins up.

“I said something nice, not something expensive!” he retorted with a tired huff before adjusting his helmet and biting into the big, red apple. Juices splattered about as he shredded into it like a savage, taking numerous bites like a hungry dog.

“You uh… feelin’ alright?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Ye’h, wa‘hy?” the Courier questioned back, mouth filled with chunks of the apple, as he had shredded it down to the core in only a few seconds.

“Ya seem a bit out of it,” she pointed out with a hint of concern.

“I’m fine,” he huffed, adjusting his helmet and throwing the core into a nearby trash can in one swift motion. “Just waking myself back up.”

“Well, alright,” Applejack shrugged, not seeming fully convinced. However, soon enough the mare remembered something. “I saw Rarity about half an hour ago, she said somethin’ about needin’ your help with mining for crystals. I think ya might wanna hoof it to the Boutique.”

“Way ahead of ya,” he nodded, turning away. “Seeya around AJ.”

“Yeah see-”

She was interrupted as the human dashed off, leaving the farm mare in the dust.

“-ya,” she finished, giving a huff as she watched him speed away.

Ponies continued to part before him as he booked it to the Boutique. A rush of emotions, rush of colors, rush of air. The apple and coffees had helped invigorate him by this point, and thus it wasn’t long before the fashion shop came into sight.

The front door swung open and out came Rarity, wearing a not-so-fashionable mining helmet and set of saddlebags. He slowed his pace, skidding to a stop as he came within eyesight of the unicorn.

“Hey, Rarity!” he huffed, kicking up a cloud of dust as he ceased his quick pace down to a standstill in an instant. She was obviously surprised at the suddenness, but she managed a smile.

“Ah yes, mister Six! I thought you were going to be late there for a moment!” she admitted with a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah, sorry about that, sleep schedule’s been… not the greatest,” he admitted, being truthful to the generous mare. “But uh, I’m fine!”

“Are you sure? It’s quite alright if you would rather get some more re-”

“No!” he grunted, interrupting her. “Look, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t fine, alright? It’s nothing, really.”

“Dear it’s really no trouble, you seem to suffer from insomni-” she managed, ignoring the rudeness, only to be interrupted again.

“I don’t!” he growled. “Can we just get this show on the road please? I need to get myself occupied and busy.”

Rarity gave him a worried look, but after realizing the human wasn’t backing down, she sighed in defeat.

“Alright, I just need to retrieve a cart and my pickaxe,” she said.

He nodded along, ready to do some work.

About half an hour later the human and pony duo had left Ponyville, with Six lugging the wagon as he continued on at a steady pace behind the fashionista. They crested a hill and made their way down a winding trail, continuing deeper into the forest.

“Alright, there should be a cave just up ahead,” Rarity said. “Now I will say dear, you must watch out while mining, so you don’t spook any bats. They are ghastly little beasts when frightened.”

“Right,” he said, still lugging the cart behind him as he trudged down the path.

“And do watch your step,” she added as the cave came within sight. “Given they’re wild, they don’t have a problem with… well, doing their business in the cave.”

The Courier gave a “hmm” at that.

However, a faint, deep part of his brain felt something click inside it.

Bat guano... hm.

Hmm…

Wait a minute…

He made a mental note of the cave’s location, as the inner machinations of his mind got to work on something.

For the moment, he just remained silent and before long the two descended down into the cavern.

“Now are you sure you don’t need a flashlight, dear?” offered the generous unicorn.

“I’m way ahead of ya on that,” the Courier smirked as he flipped on his helmet's nightvision.

“Well if you insist,” she said, her tone becoming one of a hushed whisper. “Now just keep quiet and stay close to me, one cartful of gems should be enough for a good few dresses.”

He continued on, remaining only a foot away from her as the two reached deeper into the mines.

“Right, though are you sure there’s gonna be that man…” he trailed off as his eyes widened.

The damn walls were sparkling, alight with a dazzling array of colors.

The place was packed with precious gemstones of all shapes and sizes! There were rubies and sapphires and emeralds, and numerous other precious geodes he couldn’t remember the names of.

Not since the rare Pre-War magazines had he seen such a display of dazzling materials, and even those were limited by comparison! This one cave probably had enough gems in it to crash the economy before the war, let alone after it!

The only thing to match it would be the bars in the Sierra Madre, but even then, there were only so many of those compared to the seemingly limitless gemstones lining the cave's walls.

“What the fuck?” he said quietly, looking over at a dazzling gem the size of a softball. It reflected his mask perfectly back at him, being as clear as a mirror.

“What’s wrong my dear?” Rarity asked, turning back as he stood there, stunned.

“This place has enough gems to buy a small country, that’s what’s wrong,” he huffed.

Rarity just chuckled softly.

“Oh dear heavens no, those are only worth a few bits apiece at best,” she smirked, continuing. “This cave is filled with numerous common gems, we’ve not even reached our mining spot yet. I assure you that while to the untrained eye, these gems look gorgeous, they aren’t as beautiful as what I intend on finding!”

He paused, staring at her in surprise. Of course, given how damn many there were around here, they’d hold no value in Equestria.

Not a shock. It was a stroke of irony, if anything.

“One of these would be worth tens of thousands caps where I come from,” he said, almost chuckling at the worthlessness of such sought after pieces. “Never had too many of them, even before everything went down. To my knowledge at least.”

The fashionista raised a brow at that.

“Your kind… don’t have gems like this?” she asked, concerned. “How on earth do you decorate your suits and dresses?”

“We don’t. Not with gems, anyways,” he answered, considering grabbing one of the large sapphires buried partly in the cave wall.

He decided against it. No reason to get greedy, after all, even if it wasn’t worth much in the first place.

“Goodness, I’m so sorry,” she said, sounding genuine. “I couldn’t imagine a world like that.”

“I think gems were the last thing on anybody’s mind back home,” he shrugged, turning back towards her.

She seemed sad at that. It wasn’t just from the lack of fashion, but from the fact that she could tell wherever he had come from hadn’t exactly been a bastion of generosity. Even with how little he’d spoken of it, she could sense it. It was her element, after all.

“Well uh, let’s get a move on darling!” she said, trying to pep up, as she put on a smile. “No need to dwell on that. Just help me along and we’ll be out of here in a jiffy!”

“Right,” he nodded, tugging the cart along.

They trekked deeper into the gem-filled cavern and above he could see numerous sleeping bats. Not that uncommon of a sight, given his pension for exploring the occasional cave, but still, the sheer number of them was a shock. He narrowed his eyes at them in thought, and thus was almost blindsided when Rarity magically tossed a gem his way. Reflexes took over, and his hand shot up and grabbed it in mid-air.

“Fantastic catch, darling!” Rarity smirked as he tossed the gem into the wagon.

“A warning would’ve been nice,” he grunted.

“My apologies, I’m just trying to be as quiet as possible about this,” she whispered.

He watched the fashionista as she eyed over the gems, chipping away at the rock that held the more dazzling ones in place with her pickaxe. This allowed her to magically tug them loose and toss them to the human, who caught and placed each and every one into the cart without issue.

The labor was honestly a bit boring.

Toss, grab, repeat. Toss, grab, repeat.

Just kept doing it as he partly went on autopilot, letting himself follow Rarity whenever she would occasionally make her way towards another set of jewels.

“So…” he finally began, speaking his first word in what felt like a solid hour, “what was Spike like?”

She gave a sad smile at that.

“Oh Spike was truly a gentledrake, one of the best creatures I’ve ever known,” she admitted as she picked away at a sturdy patch of stone. “Never complained towards me once. He was always there for me, doing anything I needed at the exact moment I needed it.”

Six nodded, listening as she continued.

“Why, we went on so many adventures together. One time he saved me from this ghastly book that caused my magic to go haywire and ruin half the town,” she explained the bizarre situation with a sense of nostalgic sadness. “Or another whenever he turned into a giant greed-fueled monster and kidnapped me before the power of love turned him back to normal.”

“...right,” the Courier said plainly.

“He was such a dear friend, always made time for me even whenever he had other obligations,” she fetched a handkerchief from her saddlebags and wiped her eyes as she thought about the dragon longingly. “Now he’s doing what’s right for all of Equestria by training to be an ambassador. I’m so very proud of him.”

“Guess that’s why he can’t visit much,” the human observed.

“He sends letters when possible,” Rarity sighed, sitting her pickaxe aside and looking to the floor with a frown. “But even then, it’s just not the same…”

Six stood there in silence along with her.

“I learned about a year ago how to get along without him,” she sighed, remembering back to the whole penpal incident she had with Gabby, “but even then, it’s not fully clicked with me that he’s gone, you know? Same with Twilight…”

He let her keep speaking, just listening in.

“Oh she’s such a dear, I remember the first time she came to Ponyville,” mused the fashionista with a nostalgic smile. “Pinkie threw her a party and we had to stop an evil possessed princess all in the same night.”

The Courier would’ve questioned her further on that, but that’d ruin the moment.

“How I loved spending time with her, like whenever me and Applejack had to spend the night at her library, or whenever her face lit up after I made her a new dress… I loved the spas, the adventures, the quiet moments…” she wiped another tear as her mascara began to run. “All those years she stuck with me and the girls, never gave up on us no matter what…”

He remained quiet.

“Goodness, listen to me ramble on, haha...” she laughed, but there was little humor in it as she wiped more tears away and sniffled into the cloth.

“You’ve got the memories, Rarity,” he finally said, a consoling tone, the typical hint of gruffness having dissipated. “No one can take that from you. No matter what, the friendships are yours to cherish.”

She nodded, swallowing before giving a huff.

“Sorry darling, please forgive my little outburst,” she said, sounding embarrassed. “Sometimes it’s just hard to remember that times are not the same. That I can’t just stroll over to Twilight’s castle and have tea or invite Spikey out on a nice gem-hunt.”

“Yeah…” agreed the Courier, his mind faintly retracing the memories with Boone, Lily, Veronica, and the many others.

He shoved the thoughts aside though.

“You had friends, yes? Back where you were from?” she asked, turning to him.

“You could say that,” he said simply, his tone hardening back to normalcy now.

“What were they like?” she asked, curiously.

There was silence for a few seconds.

“Let’s just get these gems,” he said, verbally shoving the generous mare away.

She gave a small, sad nod at that, but didn’t press further.

From there the duo didn’t exchange many words. Rarity picked out the best gems, and the Courier would catch them and toss them gently into the big wagon. He was silent, moving like a machine.

She would occasionally hum a tune to herself, her mood picking up a little bit as she did.

“You are quite a good help, you know,” Rarity complimented after a little while longer.

“It is my job,” the human shrugged.

“True, but nothing says you had to help me specifically,” she smiled. “That’s very generous of you to do.”

“You’re one of like… six ponies in the town who won’t bolt at the sight of me,” he pointed out.

“Dear there’s well more than just six of them,” she chuckled.

“Whatever,” he stated flatly.

“I think you need to just come out of your shell a bit more and you’d be surprised at how accepting ponies can be,” she mused, dusting off a gem before tossing it at him.

He caught it and placed it with the ever-growing mound of them in the cart.

“Haven’t heard that one before,” he grunted sarcastically.

“I’m serious!” she pouted. “Why, you haven’t even properly met the rest of our friend group yet! I’m sure I could schedule a nice picnic with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie whenever I get the time, dear. Maybe even a party, perhaps? Pinkie's are always splendid!”

“I’m not in the mood for social events,” the human said coldly.

“Now mister Six, that attitude towards others will get you nowhere,” she huffed back.

“It’s gotten me this far,” he said as she threw another gem at him.

The Courier grabbed it and put it with the rest in one swift motion, as he did with all the others.

“You don’t have to constantly reject others,” Rarity pointed out. “It’s alright to open up, nopony will judge you.”

“I’m sure you’ve said that to a lot of people, and this would be one of the times you’d be wrong,” he countered.

“Now mister Six, don’t be like that,” she said softly.

“Don’t push your luck,” he huffed.

She was silent at that for a bit.

“I’m sorry if I’ve offended you,” Rarity managed, her tone sounding genuine, and a bit hurt.

He was silent in return.

A solid few seconds later, he finally broke the tense silence with a sigh.

“Some things are better left unsaid,” the human admitted.

“I hope whatever it is you went through, one day you can put it behind you properly,” she offered with the same genuine tone.

The human just nodded, his mask as expressionless as ever.

It was silent once more from there as the two worked on, over an hour or two passing.

Before long Rarity basically had filled the cart to the point a small mountain of gems rested inside of it.

“I think that’s enough for our new dragon-inspired line,” she said with a smirk, wiping away a small bit of sweat on her brow with a forehoof as she did.

“I guess we can just lug these to Ponyville and that’ll be that,” he said, stretching his muscles a bit.

“That sounds splendid dear, perhaps I can treat you to a bite to eat?” she offered.

“Remember, don’t push your luck,” he said, though it wasn’t antagonistic this time, more snarky than anything.

“Come on, just a meeting between friends?” she pouted.

He sighed as he continued to haul the cart along, with the two getting closer to the cave’s entrance.

“You still have about two weeks before we can meet with Twilight anyways, might as well have fun while doing it,” Rarity pointed out.

“I guess,” he “agreed” with exasperation.

She just beamed at him.

“Again, it’ll be on me-”

“Do you have any coal?” he asked suddenly, as if he had an entirely different conversation going on in his mind. “I mean, not you specifically, but is there any way I can buy some?”

The fashionista was obviously utterly confused at that.

“Erm… I do believe you can,” she explained. “It’s used for trains all the time, but I’m not particularly the best pony to ask about the specifics… why do you want to know, anyways?”

Six just looked back at the cave, his mind on the bat droppings of all things.

“No reason in particular…” he answered vaguely.

Back in Ponyville, the day was winding down a bit, as Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo sat outside a small cafe, perspiration dripping down their brows.

Scootaloo leaned back in her seat, looking across the table at her rainbow maned sister, who was currently slurping down an ice-cold smoothie.

Dash wiped a large amount of sweat from her brow as she finally broke off the long slurping session, giving a satisfied sigh.

“Nice workout eh, squirt?” the Wonderbolt offered.

“Yeah!” squeaked her sister with a smile. “Thanks for taking me out on that awesome stunt training session.”

“I figured after the sisterly camping trip, we deserved at least a little more time together,” the mare chuckled. “I can’t have that human hogging all the time with you. I still am your big sis, after all!”

“Dash, you know it’s not like that,” huffed Scootaloo, though she gave a small laugh as well. “I’ve spent years learning how awesome you are, but he’s a different story! We both know he just needs to come out of his shell, and he’d fit right into Equestria.”

“Assuming he wants to stay,” her older sister added with a smirk.

Scoots frowned, causing Dash to lose said smirk as she took on a dour expression of her own.

“Oh come on Scoots, it’s like me and Twi. Just because I can’t see her that often, doesn’t mean we’re not friends,” the mare advised.

“I know…” her sister huffed. “That bums me out a bit, too. I remember when me and the Crusaders hung out with her and now, she’s just gone.”

“Scoots, things change, alright?” offered Rainbow Dash with a sigh. “We both know I’m not one for all that mushy stuff, but it’s true. No matter what ya do, sometimes things just don’t pan out the way you want them to.”

“I know, but if even you can have your friend group broken u-”

“It’s not broken, Scoots!” huffed the older mare. “It’ll never be broken. Like I said, we still visit each other. We’re still friends.”

The filly frowned, and leaned onto the table with a sigh, resting her cheek on one of her forehooves.

“Sorry Rainbow Dash,” she managed. “It just feels like so much has changed outta nowhere in these past few months, ya’know?”

“Of course I know, squirt,” smirked her sister, before the older pegasus reached over a hoof and ruffled Scootaloo’s purple mane. “But I know one thing that won’t change.”

“What’s that?” chuckled the orange filly.

“You’re still the most awesomest filly I know!” Dash answered.

Scootaloo giggled at that.

As the two continued to sit and just enjoy the simpleness of the quiet town, they soon looked off down the street and saw a pair of familiar faces coming.

Or rather, a familiar face and a familiar mask.

“Hey, lazybones!” Rainbow Dash called, waving a hoof to the Courier as he approached, dragging the cart along. “I went to go check at your camp yesterday morning, but I couldn’t find you!”

“There was a change of plans,” he huffed, sitting down the wagon as Rarity trotted over to the two fellow ponies.

“What a pleasant surprise, seeing you two here!” the fashionista said with a warm smile. “Do you mind if I join you? I’m getting quite peckish.”

“Pull up a seat, Rarity,” smirked Rainbow Dash.

The Courier just rubbed his neck with a grunt, feeling his back muscles loosen up as he stretched about.

“Why don’t you join us, Six?” offered the white unicorn as she sat down beside her friends.

“Yeah, that’d be awesome!” squeaked Scootaloo.

He just grunted, looking down the street in thought.

Soon he felt his stomach rumble and just sat down without saying anything, between Scootaloo and Rarity.

The filly squeaked in excitement as she looked giddy.

He just raised a hand and motioned for a nearby waiter to bring him a menu.

Hayburger and hayfries combo? Weird. How would that work?...

Fine! No reason not to get it.

After placing the order, it was a whirl of conversation, with Rarity talking with Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash with Scootaloo, and Scootaloo back with Rarity.

He tried to pay attention, but he was also just trying to stay awake at this point.

Damned coffees didn't last the full day. Caffeine crash. Ignore it. Need the food to stave it off.

“So why did you sleep on a bench, Six?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I saw you conked out on one when I was flying over town this morning.”

“Huh?” he grunted, brought back into the conversation by the mention of his name. “Don’t have anywhere else to sleep.”

“Darling, I could’ve offered you a fine collection of pillows and sheets at the least, no need to sleep on a rock-hard bench,” Rarity pointed out.

The hay-based burger and fries were finally plated and sat in front of him a moment after she finished speaking. He adjusted his helmet, leaning into the food.

“I’m fine,” he managed, before biting through a handful of the salted, potato-like delights.

It was a bit strange, not starchy, more dry? No reason to stop eating.

He devoured through some of them, taking a massive bite from the burger and splattering ketchup and sauce all over himself and the table. Halfway through the meal he came back to his senses, huffing as his emptied stomach was partly filled.

Rarity watched him eat like a beast with a twinge of horror.

Dash found it funny, snickering as she gazed at him.

Scootaloo just eyed the hayfries.

He huffed, sauce coating and leaking down his hand as he nudged the plate over to the little pegasus.

She looked up at him thankfully and he continued shredding into the non-meat burger.

“Darling if you were that hungry, we could’ve come back earlier,” Rarity said.

“I’m fine; can last a while on empty,” he said, sauces and pieces of the bun dripping down from his gloved hand, before he took another slightly more reserved bite, swallowing it practically whole. “Just need something in me on occasion.”

“If that’s the case I do hope you genuinely consider meeting me, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy in the next few days. We'll have a nice, proper lunch prepared for you,” the generous unicorn offered with a smile.

“Feels like all I do is eat half the time,” he grunted. Even back in the Wasteland that partly rang true.

Rarity just cocked a brow at his answer. It wasn’t a yes or a no, just a slightly amusing observation.

Scootaloo enjoyed the hayfries, at least.

He just continued eating, slightly less like a rabid dog this time.