Fallout New Vegas: A New Road

The Mane Five had entered Sugarcube Corner by now, preparing for the party that’d take place in just an hour or so. It was midday and they all managed to take time off their jobs and such to be here.

Pinkie Pie adjusted one of the party streamers hanging from the ceiling, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she made sure the decoration looked perfect.

“Pinkie darling, I don’t think he’s going to mind a few misplaced streamers,” Rarity piped up, sitting at a table nearby. The fashionista soon delicately sipped on a glass of punch.

“How would you know?” the hyperactive mare asked back. “What if he sees this specific streamer is out of place and he goes back to being all mopey and sad and is like ‘you guys aren’t my friends anymore, go away!’ and I’ll be all like ‘but Six, you’re our bestest friend ever, and there’s no reason for you to be sad’ and he’ll-”

“Pinkie,” Applejack cut off the mare as she sat down a plate of apple fritters, having freshly baked them in the kitchen, “ya don’t really think he’d do that all over a party streamer, do ya?”

Pinkie deflated a bit at that.

“Well… no,” she admitted. “But he was supposed to be here with me this morning, help me make some more of those mushroom things and he never came!”

“He probably just got tied up working on his shack or crops or something!” Rainbow said, laying down on one of the tables, obviously having tried to get in a few quick Zs before the other guests arrived.

“Indeed, no offense to him but his home is rather… unsightly,” Rarity offered.

“But what if that’s not it?” Pinkie asked back. “What if he went back into a deep depression and went into a dream where he talked to his own brain, and-”

“Pinkie, that’s just ridiculous,” Applejack interrupted with a sigh.

“He seemed a lot happier a few days ago,” Fluttershy pointed out. “I don’t know why he’d go back into a depression.”

“Homesick still?” Rainbow offered, still lazing around like an oversized cat. “I was kinda that way when I moved here from Cloudsdale.”

“I don’t think he’s got that homesickness anymore. It’s wanderlust,” Applejack said with a tone of finality. “Last he visited the farm he had a good talk with Granny an’ me. I even offered him some bits for a train ticket… I just hope he didn’t skip out on us.”

“That’d be so sad, especially after he said he’s never had a birthday before!” Pinkie squeaked, giving a deep frown.

“Hey, we gotta look on the bright side,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Maybe he’s off fighting some evil forest monster and it’s making him late?”

“How is that the bright side?” Applejack asked, giving her an annoyed glare.

“I’m just thinking of something that’s better than him ditching us again!” huffed Rainbow, giving a frown.

From there, the group just continued waiting and occasionally helping Pinkie prepare the decorations. It wasn’t much longer before some of the guests began to arrive.

Lyra and Bon Bon, who brought a small bottle of wine for later. Then came Derpy and Dinky, both of whom snacked on muffins and made small talk on occasion, with Derpy mentioning how much lighter her workload had been recently. Cheerilee and the CMC were soon after, likely having come from the school, with Scoots being especially excited about the ordeal as she chatted with Dash.

Soon enough though it was a bit after three, and only the ponies had showed. The Cakes had even brought out a large well… cake for the Courier, who still hadn’t arrived.

Worry had begun to bubble up, especially in Dinky and Scootaloo, who sat anxiously like a pair of dogs waiting for their master as they stared intently at the door.

Nothing for another half hour, and by this point Lyra was considering busting out the wine, though Bon Bon told her better. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had joined Scootaloo and Dinky now, sitting beside their friends.

“Ya know, if he doesn’t show, y'all can come over to the orchard for a nice sleepover!” Apple Bloom said, trying to brighten her friends up. “He’ll eventually turn up there for work, maybe!”

“He’s going to show up,” growled Scoots, a deep frown of annoyance on her face.

“He has to,” Dinky said, though her frown was much more saddened than frustrated.

Rainbow Dash trotted over to console the two fillies.

“You know girls, he’s a busy human,” Dash explained.

“Busy doing what, living in the woods and growing potatoes?” asked Scootaloo.

“I’m just saying, he’s not a liar, alright,” Rainbow Dash continued. “He probably got caught up in something big for him to not be here.”

“Oh yeah?” huffed the little pegasus as she turned to her sister. “Like what?”

Suddenly the front door flew open, and the sun beamed into the sugary shop as a distinctive bipedal figure filled the frame. Everyone’s eyes locked onto him as he stepped in. The Courier adjusted his duster and wiped off any wayward dirt that clung to his sleeves.

“Sorry about that you guys, the route today was a doozy,” he said, as he dusted himself off.

Derpy noticed that he had a new set of patches, one on each of his upper arms, in the bicep area. They looked as if they had been recently sewn onto his outfit. The mare’s crossed eyes straightened up as she examined him, chewing a muffin in her mouth intently.

A bright red arrow, two pegasi wings coming off it…

She nearly choked on her tasty confection in realization.

“What do you mean ‘route’?” Scootaloo squeaked.

“The mail route of course,” he laughed, closing the door behind him.

“Wait… you’re not saying…?” Lyra managed.

“My name is Courier Six,” replied the human smugly.

“Derpy, why didn’t you tell us?” the unicorn asked, turning to her friend.

The gray pegasus in question coughed a bit, choking down the muffin fully as she shouted.

“I didn’t know!” she replied. “I just remember my route being a lot lighter today! They never told me why!”

“I handled the long hauls,” shrugged the human as he walked over to the stunned crowd. “Cranky, the orchard, Fluttershy’s cottage. All of the out of the way stuff. And don’t even get me started on the sheer backlog of outgoing mail they have for other towns and the like. It’s a fucking travesty.”

“Why didn’t ya tell us ya got a new job?” Applejack questioned.

“I figured it’d be a surprise,” he said, filling himself up a glass of punch. “That’s what these parties have in them, right?”

“Uh… usually it’s for the pony who gets the party thrown for them, not the other way around,” Dash pointed out.

“Maybe next time,” he shrugged, adjusting his helmet to chug down the punch. He soon sat it aside and pulled down the mask once more. “Now what are you guys sitting around for, aren’t these things supposed to be fun?”

Slowly but surely, a series of smiles appeared over the faces of the ponies, their confused and surprised expressions completely replaced by joyful ones. Even Fluttershy had a small grin despite being the least familiar with the human. In contrast, Pinkie herself literally squeaked almost like a rubber duck as she gave a massive one.

From there, the party from there was a whirl of fun and colors.

The Courier and Dash teamed up against Lyra and Bon Bon for a game of punch pong, (like beer pong, minus the beer) and of course the two mares got a bit frustrated at the Courier’s usage of hands. Even with Lyra’s magic, she and Bon Bon lost.

Their loss was rubbed in when Rainbow Dash gave the Courier a high-five with one of her wings, before they downed the last punch cup. As this happened, Scootaloo and Dinky hoofbumped, celebrating that their favored team won.

“Don’t be sad girls, it’s all my experience with throwing grenades,” the human boasted with a chuckle.

“Yeah, we’ll see how you’re laughing whenever we play pin the tail on the donkey,” huffed Lyra.

The group then shared a series of laughs at that.

“What’s a grenade?” Scootaloo suddenly asked from the sidelines after the chuckling died down.

“Uh… forget it,” the Courier shrugged with a small shake of his head.

A few minutes after his victory, the Courier had Dinky and Scootaloo both sitting on top of his shoulders as he was digging into a plate of cake. Their small frames were easily supported by his bulk.

“Jeez, you can see a lot from up here,” mused Dinky.

“Tell me about it,” Scootaloo chuckled back. “This is awesome!”

“Don’t either of you get used to this now,” grunted the Courier from between the two fillies. “You guys need to lay off the hayburgers, you’re friggin heavy.”

The duo just shared a laugh.

Soon enough the group were playing charades, with the Courier holding up a peace sign on his gloved hands, and mimicked a small, hopping creature.

"Ooh, an alligator going for his prey?" Lyra offered.

He shook his head.

"A spike trap going off?" Dash said, obviously thinking about Daring Do.

Another negative.

"Is it... a bunny!" Fluttershy guessed, suddenly piping up at the back of the group.

The two other mares cleared the way, looking at her and then back to the Courier.

He was silent for a moment, as if pondering.

The gave a thumbs up, chuckling as he did.

"Oh no fair!" huffed Rainbow Dash as Lyra rolled her eyes.

A bit later, he was sitting off to the side with Cheerilee, sharing another round of punch with the mature mare.

“You know, you really are a fascinating uh... creature?” she offered, a faint tone of uncertainty in her voice.

“I could say the same for everyone in Ponyville,” chuckled the human. “Back where I come from, you guys would be the interesting ones.”

“Everypony but me I bet, I’m quite boring, really,” she chuckled softly.

“Ah don’t say that,” Six said as he gently patted her on the back. “You do good work. Keep the kids safe.”

“It's my job!" the mare pointed out, faintly blushing. "You’re just saying that to be nice! I’m nopony special.”

“Nah, you are, Cheerilee,” he replied back. “If half of the adults back in the Mojave were as considerate to their kids as you were, raised ‘em right, taught them properly, it wouldn’t have been such a mess.”

She nodded at that, remaining silent for a moment.

“Th-thank you,” she said, her voice still soft and delicate. ”I’m sorry to hear you had to go through that.”

“It’s nothing,” he assured.

Cheerilee was silent once again, letting a few seconds pass, as if thinking about something.

“I know it’s a bit hard to believe, but I used to go to parties that would make Vinyl Scratch’s raves look tame,” she soon giggled, reminiscing.

“I’ve not been to one of those, but I bet you saw some serious shit,” he chuckled back.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” the teacher said, almost prideful, though her tone seemed hushed in case any other pony would hear. “One time I managed to down an entire barrel of hard cider on a bet.”

He chuckled along as she continued giggling at the memory.

“I couldn’t see straight for a week, but I earned my fifty bits!” she bragged.

“You must’ve been a party animal,” he complimented.

“Of course,” she said, calming her laughs as she took on a more mature tone. “But those days are in the past obviously.”

“How time changes us all, huh?” the human chuckled.

“More than I think anypony could ever imagine,” she agreed. “It feels like just yesterday Twilight moved into Golden Oak… Now it’s gone and everypony’s moved on…”

“Guessing you miss it,” he stated calmly.

“I do, but I think almost everypony does in a way,” she reminisced. “I’d say it’s probably more different for them than for me. Not a lot interesting going on at the school, unless you wanna hear about detention or student pranks.”

She gave a half-smile and stirred the straw in her punch glass with a forehoof.

“Well Cheerilee, if you need someone, I’m here for ya,” he finally offered. “Shoulder to cry on and all that.”

“I bet you say that to every mare,” she rolled her eyes. “You probably stretch yourself awfully thin.”

“I’m not like that…” he pointed out, “...but I am the master of stretching myself thin when needed,”

She gave a small exhale at that, smiling as she did.

He gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder, and before long the duo returned back to the party proper.

After some more minor party games and punch and cake, soon enough the whole thing was winding down, and the Courier was sitting at the table playing cards with some of the group.

“Read ‘em and weep girls!” Dash boasted, laying down a full house; three queens and a pair of twos.

Applejack and Lyra folded at that, giving a set of annoyed sighs. Apple Bloom patted her sister on the back, consoling her for her loss.

Rainbow Dash grinned, looking up at the Courier as he looked over his own hand.

Everypony watched with bated breaths.

“Straight flush,” he said casually, breaking the silence while revealing his cards. Six to ten, spades… He looked at the Ten of Spades card for a second with a sense of familiarity, before brushing it off.

“Ah you prick,” huffed the pegasus, letting a rare swear slip out.

He just leaned back in his chair and laughed.

“Nice work, Six,” laughed Scootaloo, sitting next to him.

“Whose side are you on anyway, squirt?” Dash snarked with a laugh from across the table.

Scoots giggled back.

“Well, it’s gettin’ a bit late,” Applejack said. “I think me an’ Bloom art ta be headin’ home now.”

“Indeed, I have a lot of work to do on my dresses tomorrow,” Rarity smiled, turning to the human. “I even have a gift for you, Six. Would’ve brought it today but I simply must make sure it’s perfect.”

The Courier nodded at the fashionista.

“And I’ve gotta pack my bags for our trip to Dodge,” Bon Bon added, Lyra murmuring in agreement.

"And I can just imagine how exhausted Angel is going to be when I get back to the sanctuary," Fluttershy said with a faint trace of worry.

As everyone stood up to leave though, the Courier took a small spoon and tapped it against one of the drinking glasses to catch the group's attention.

“Before you guys go…” he took a second to pause, taking a deep breath before he sat down the cup and silverware.

He then stood up from his seat, towering over all of the ponies as they looked at him intently.

“This whole time I was looking a gift horse in the mouth… er, probably not the best expression here,” he chuckled as he looked between them. His gaze went from Scoots, to Pinkie, Dash, Dinky, Fluttershy, Rarity, Cheerilee, Applejack, everypony all got a few seconds of examination. “Point is, all this time I was so focused on going back home, going back to the old life of wandering… I didn't allow myself to realize what new life I could build here…”

They all gave him various looks of reassurance and understanding.

“You guys helped me see it. You were there for me when I had no one but myself to rely on,” he continued.

They remained focused solely on him, one could've heard a pin drop in the silence of the room.

“You guys are…” he took one final breath, as if preparing for what he was about to say.

Everypony leaned in further.

“You guys are my friends… Thank you,” he finally stated.

Immediately there was a rush of cheers and hoofs clanging together as they clapped for him. The more hyperactive among them, like Lyra, (who had a bit of wine in her by this point) Scoots, Dinky, and such basically rushed over and dogpiled him with hugs.

Pinkie herself literally leapt over the table at him, clearing it completely and joining the bandwagon of hugs.

He had to step back as they latched onto him. The mailman barely remained standing after the onslaught of snuggling ponies as he concentrated on balancing with his newfound weight. Instead of being annoyed though, he just let out a soft chuckle, patting them when possible, in an attempt to return the hug as best he could.

It was a bit later and the hug session had finally broken off, with Rainbow Dash considering taking a crowbar to Pinkie to pry the spry party planner off the human. Thankfully it didn’t come to that as everything returned to being mellow.

“I guess we can count on seeing you tomorrow at the train station?” Bon Bon chuckled up at the human as the party members left Sugarcube Corner, going off in their own directions.

“Yeah, there’s a good dozen or so letters to Dodge sitting in the post office anyways, might as well get them off the list,” he smirked. “And then after that, all of this country is mine to deliver mail to.”

“There can’t be that much of it,” Lyra giggled, slightly tipsy from the wine the mares had brought.

“You’d be shocked,” Six shrugged.

Derpy soon flew up, hovering a few feet ahead of the Courier as she looked at him, her wings flapping about as she spoke.

“I was gonna give you a surprise hug,” chuckled the mailmare, “but after that hugpocalypse back there, I figure we’ll stick to just a hoofshake.”

She offered a forehoof and he took it, shaking it gently while giving her a small pat on the shoulder.

“You don’t know how much this means to me, Six,” she said with a genuine tone. “I’ll be able to spend so much more time with Dinky now. We can finally do all those things she wanted to do!”

“It’s nothing Derpy,” he assured. “Just a bonus of the job.”

She smiled softly at that as Dinky trotted over. Before long the mother and daughter duo had flown off, with the tiny unicorn giving the Courier’s shin another thankful hug before they did.

“Well Six, you sure you don’t wanna sleep in our guest room?” Lyra offered with a smirk as she and Bon Bon walked alongside the mailman.

“I’ve got a few nightly deliveries to attend to. Lotta roads to walk, even if they are just around town,” he shrugged. “I’ll see you guys at the station tomorrow.”

They nodded and gave him their farewells.

From there, Courier Six of the Ponyville Postal Service continued on. As he said, there were a lot of roads to walk, and a lot of places to see out there...

Starting with Dodge City...