The blueness of the morning sun poked through the windows as Cherry Berry trekked through Cherry Jubilee’s large home. Everything was cherry themed of course, with large pictures of the fruit painted onto the wooden walls on either side of the pink mare. Given her namesake, she enjoyed the occasional cherry as well, but Jubilee had her beat by miles in that regard. She was pulled from her musings when she came up to a sturdy wooden door, raised a forehoof, and lightly knocked on it.

No response.

Another knock.

Nothing.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Lyra, go away!” grunted the tired, masculine voice, muffled given it was on the other side of the door. “For the fifth time, I’m trying to get some sleep!”

“I-it’s Cherry!” called back the unsure mare.

“Ahhh fuck,” replied the Courier, though he was much softer and less pissed… Still pissed, just a bit less so.

She heard the unlatching of a lock before the human pulled the door open.

He rested his shoulder against the frame of the door as he looked ragged and worn down. Instead of holding himself up high like normal, he was slouching a bit. She could see the new rips and tears in his jacket from his fight with those piggish monsters from just a few hours prior. Despite his pension for quick healing, he still seemed a bit drained.

"What?" he growled tiredly.

“I just wanted to check on you,” she admitted.

“I’m fine,” he replied back as he turned, limping towards his bed, his right leg nearly giving out from the two deep gashes he’d received yesterday. “Would’ve been better if I brought an extra Stim...”

After making sure he wouldn’t fall, Cherry examined the room around the two. Cherry-based (the fruit, not the pony or the other pony) decorations still adorned most of it, and a small desk with a lantern sat off to the side. Two gigantic pitchers were sitting on it as well. One was fully emptied, and the other was only a third of the way full, with an amber-colored liquid inside. Other than that, the only thing on the desk were two half-used rolls of first-aid bandages.

“I heard Cherry Jubilee say you loved your sarsaparilla but I didn’t expect you loved it that much,” admitted the aviator.

“Helps me feel better,” he strained, sitting down on the bed as he felt his muscles cramp and ache once more. “Now is there anything else you wanted?”

“Well… I wanted to say thank you,” she nodded, “for saving my life, I mean.”

“I'm pretty sure we already did this... but it’s cool, it’s fine, it’s whatever,” Six said quickly and nonchalantly, laying back onto his bed. His rugged, grime and dust-coated clothes were dirtying the soft mattress, but he honestly didn’t care.

He kicked his mud-caked boots up onto a pillow, and Cherry could see through the rips in his pants that the bandages he’d applied to himself were a crimson color from the blood he’d leaked into them. She frowned in worry as she examined them.

“You sure you don’t need a hos-”

“I’m fine,” he growled, instinctively checking his Pip-Boy as he did, though gave up after a few moments. “I heal quick.”

“What, like a lizard?” she said, trying her hand at being comedic.

“Yeah, that’s it,” he replied as if she had been serious. "Just takes a bit of time, especially after all the shit I did."

She made a face at that, but quickly shook it off and trotted up to the side of his bed. The two were silent as the mare fidgeted, looking a tad nervous.

“What?” he finally huffed, looking over at her, with his red lenses staring into her expressive eyes.

“You did a lot for me, you know,” she said softly.

“I do a lot of things,” he replied, looking away from her and up at the ceiling. “Like crashing your chopper for one.”

“Well, yeah,” she rolled her eyes. “But you also helped me rekindle my friendship with Bon Bon!”

“That one was just pure coincidence,” he said tiredly.

“Why do you have to make it so hard for me to just compliment and thank you?” she asked, obviously annoyed.

“I was trying to sleep,” he pointed out.

She glowered at that.

“Well fine, be that way,” she scoffed, turning to leave.

As she trotted away, he finally sighed and spoke up.

“Cherry,” he rolled his eyes at having to do this sappy song and dance.

She turned back, her hopes seemingly lifted.

“If you wanna hang out more when we get back to Ponyville, that’s fine by me,” he huffed, as if he was forced to say it. She trotted up to the side of his bed.

“You really mean it?” she asked.

“Yeah, why not,” he said, reaching a hand over to her.

She was half expecting him to begin petting her, running his gloved fingers through her mane…

Instead, he just grabbed her goggles, lightly tugging on them, before pulling them downwards.

Cherry was shocked as he let go, letting the elastic material snap backwards, covering her eyes as she now looked at him through the glass of her eye-covers. She cringed back as it made a light twack, though she wasn’t hurt beyond a minor sting.

“Ow! What was that for?” she squeaked.

“Waking me up,” the Courier said, giving her head a gentle pat this time.

The mare rolled her eyes with a smirk at that, leaning into his hand.

“You’re such a prick,” Cherry Berry pointed out with a chuckle as he ran his hand over her cap and down the back of her neck, his fingers trailing through portions of her bright yellow mane.

Kind of felt calming, running his hand over her fur. Even if it wasn’t any real contact due to the gloves, he felt her warmth. Knew she was alright.

Alright because of him. Felt good knowing that.

“Your muscles are tense,” he said, his tone one of a medical professional examining a patient as he felt down her neck and against her shoulder blades, working over her tense frame.

“After last night and spending all morning worrying about you, what do you expe-eee-ct,” she droned mid-word, before refocusing herself, as he loosened her muscles.

His hands were precise, like those of a surgeon. At this point he felt like he should just lay down and get some rest, but it was… soothing? Maybe? To physically help his friend out. Even if it was in a small manner.

Was this why people kept cats back in the Pre-War days? They were basically extinct in the Wasteland, but every time he’d seen them in magazines and comics and the like, they’d be lazed around and receiving pets. Unlike dogs, they had little use of their own. Killed vermin at best but that wasn’t really needed with mouse traps.

Damn it! He was mentally rambling now!

Cherry Berry was just sitting there, a goofy grin on her face at the unintentional massage-session. After a night of nearly being carried off by pig-beasts and having her helicopter totaled, she definitely felt at least a bit better now. Didn’t say stop at any point, obviously.

The Courier was still partly in his own little world, just rubbing over her muscles and back casually as he felt himself almost drift into a… not quite a sleep… Maybe a state of nirvana of sorts? Hmm.

Either way, their little disconnected bubble was interrupted when the door was shoved open, not having been locked earlier.

“Six I brought ya some mo-” Cherry Jubilee stopped. In one of her outstretched forehooves was a large platter, a third giant pitcher of sarsaparilla sat upon it. The older pony just remained still, awkwardly staring at the two. Had she been a few decades younger, she might’ve felt a shocked blush form on her muzzle.

Cherry Berry looked back at the aged mare with an actual blush of embarrassment on her face, before moving away from the Courier’s hand… even if she really didn’t want to.

The human for his part just stood up, walking over as if he didn’t realize (or didn't care about) the potential awkwardness of the situation. He then casually grabbed the large pitcher of the soda and adjusted his mask before he began drinking it.

“Thanks Cherry,” he said through the gulps, his mind on the drink above anything else.

The mature mare held back a laugh at that.

Cherry Berry herself huffed, still embarrassed about the whole ordeal.

“It’s nothin’ really. After ya helped save the town an’ all, I figured ya deserved somethin’ in return,” admitted the older mare as she fully stifled her chuckles.

The Courier nodded, sitting aside the half-emptied glass of sarsaparilla now as he gave a deep sigh. The ice cubes inside of it clinked about as condensation leaked off of it.

“Speaking of, you guys combed through everything by now, right?” Six asked as he readjusted his mask. “Any ponies missing?”

Cherry Jubilee smiled hopefully.

“Well as far as I can tell, everypony’s present and accounted fer…” though her smile turned into a minor frown, “...but a hoofful of ‘em definitely got their magic drained. We ain’t got many doctors, but those that looked ‘em over said they’d need a few weeks of rest ta let their natural magic recover.”

“Six you should really go out there and see the town, half of it’s been clamoring for you after that badflank battle we had on the stage!” Cherry Berry said, looking up at the Courier with pride. “Some ponies even wanted my autograph! Can you believe it? Nopony’s ever noticed me like that before!”

“The only thing I can believe is that I’m starving,” the Courier said, adjusting his jacket. His desire to slumber apparently taking a back seat for now.

“Ooh, I can get ya some freshly picked ch-”

Jubilee was quickly interrupted by the human.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to go hunt my own food,” Six said, looking over Blood-Nap.

Still sharp after the fight. Good.

“Uhh… ya eat meat?” the older mare asked, a bit hesitant.

Even Cherry Berry was giving him a minor side-eye,

“Humans eat bugs, snakes, rats, vermin creatures, you know?” he said, trying to remove any worry that the two felt. It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it wasn’t wrong either. It did the trick though, as the two seemed a bit more relieved.

“Jeez, I don’t know how civilized folk like yerself could stomach that,” Cherry Berry admitted. “Er… no offense.”

“Hey, ya gotta eat what ya can find back where I’m from,” he shrugged, putting the bowie knife back into its sheath. “Know any places with a pest problem?”

“Er… well, I’m sure ya could find plenty of critters in the orchard,” admitted the mare. “I wouldn’t mind having a few less mice runnin’ around... I can point ya towards where some of their hidey holes are!”

“Sounds good to me,” the Courier nodded.

“I’ll come along!” Cherry Berry piped up.

“To watch me hunt mice?” he said, turning towards her in confusion.

“Yeah, why not?” she offered with a smile. "Saves us from having to wait until we get back to Ponyville to hang out, anyways."

“Your call,” he replied, shaking his head.

The pink mare continued to smile up at him.

Inside another guest room of Cherry Jubilee’s lovely home, Bon Bon fluttered her eyelids a bit as the ever-rising sun beamed in on her and her lover. She and Lyra laid, huddled up together in the same bed, with her mint-colored wife’s head resting against her own cream-colored chest.

She let loose a small exhale of annoyance. Tried to keep it nice and quiet and unnoticeable so she didn’t wake her little sugar rump-

“Didn’t get good sleep either?” Lyra said. Not exactly tired in her tone, but a bit drained. As she spoke, the exhales from her words and the heat of her breath billowed warmly against Bon Bon’s coat.

The earth pony wasn’t exactly cold but had a bit of a chill in her. Did spend the night in a desert after all. They got pretty cold, even inside a house.

“You think we would, given we fought off a pissed-off donkey and his army of pigs,” Bon Bon replied as she rolled her eyes.

“Think that…” Lyra snickered, “...’Donkey Fuck’ will be back any time soon?”

Bon Bon didn’t share in the amusement despite the crude nickname, instead remaining serious and alert.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that villains don’t just give up,” she said sternly.

“Did the agency know about anything like him?” the unicorn asked with a frown, a hint of worry visible in her expression.

“I wish,” Bon Bon said, shaking her head. “I’m wracking my head trying to think if I’ve heard of anything like him before but… I’m coming up empty.”

“Think Twilight might know about him?” Lyra questioned. “She was always big into books and ancient stuff when we were friends.”

“I hope,” Bon Bon said. “If she or the princesses don’t know, then I doubt anypony else will.”

“I just hope he doesn’t get to hurt anypony else,” Lyra huffed, rolling away from her lover and onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. “I hope Equestria doesn’t wind up having another giant battle on its hooves.”

“If worst comes to worst, I’m fine with linking back up with the Royal Gu-”

“We can join the guard,” Lyra interrupted. "Both of us."

Her wife sighed, taking a few moments to speak.

“I know you want to keep everypony safe, Lyra, but if anything happened to you, I-”

“We’re not having that talk,” growled the unicorn. “After the Bugbear thing, I know you’ve been worried, but I’m not a defenseless foal, Bonny.”

“We could be facing a threat like no other, even worse than whatever monster we've had thrown at us in the past!” shot back Bon Bon with a deep frown. “Who knows what that bastard has planned. I’d rather you be out of the way of whatever Tartarus he brings.”

“After our fight back at the stage, really?” the unicorn rolled her eyes. “I didn’t marry you just so I could run away from our problems when they got tough. We stick through this together, Bonny, just like we did all the other times.”

There was silence. Bon Bon looked at her wife the entire time, a frown on her muzzle. Lyra turned over, looking back at her wife with a serious expression. For the past week Bon Bon had to bottle up so much. Her love never wavered since the day they were married. As of recently though, it felt like no happy moment would just play out without getting some type of interruption, be it from a monster attack or a friend’s mental breakdown.

At the moment though it was just the two. Nice and alone and away from it all. Just a few mares in a quiet room, disconnected from the rest of reality, letting Bon Bon just soak in her lover's beauty. Even with her worries, they were together now. Just them and a comfy bed and some peace…

Bon Bon let her emotions take hold then and there, letting her fears and worries meld away, turning to love and want.

“Oh Lyra…” she leaned in, and shocked the minty mare with a passionate kiss, embracing her wife with love and heat and desire and a want to protect and to feel the spark that she'd felt so many times before.

Lyra was shocked, but immediately leaned back against her, embracing the mare. She ran her hooves down her back, feeling Bon Bon’s more toned earth pony muscles in her delicate unicorn grasp.

There was another kiss, a deep breath, a moan, a hitch.

And from there, it was a whirling blur…

The Courier reached his hand into a deep burrow. Cherry Berry stood a few feet behind him, watching the human with curiosity. It was completely alien, seeing a creature actually have to hunt for food. Still, the mare was curious. He’d saved her (and a good chunk of the town) with his actions, so there was no need to fear him. Still, watching him pull a squealing rat from the hole in the ground felt a bit… wrong?

Its hairless tail flicked this way and that, as it tried to gnaw its way out of the human’s grass. It was a fat rat, excessively healthy from the cherries it had consumed. Six responded by its hissing bites by adjusting his mask, lurching down and biting the rodent’s head off.

“Sweet Celestia!” growled Cherry in shock, jerking back and looking away.

Six just swallowed the creature’s head as blood sprayed out from the numerous veins he’d severed.

“What, you came here with me,” the human shot back, pulling out his knife, before he got to work on flaying the animal.

“I know but… Give a mare a warning next time, please!... Sheesh,” Cherry managed.

He just shrugged as he cleaved away the skin of the creature expertly. Could use the fur and such to make extra gloves? Winter maybe? Mmm.

“Nature’s cruel, Cherry,” he said, pulling himself from his own musings as he stripped the animal down. “It’ll kill you when you least expect it.”

“Sounds like something one of those Everfree hermits would say,” Cherry said with uncertainty. “Or some old savage tribal in the comics I read as a foal.”

“Those things can be a lot more useful than you’d think; for something made for pure entertainment, anyways,” Six said, as he began creating a small firepit. Didn’t wanna fuck up Cherry’s orchard after he’d saved it, so he only used a few small twigs and leaves as kindling. Surrounded it with rocks too.

Took just a few seconds longer and by then he was roasting some rat. The scent couldn’t break through his filters, but it would’ve reminded him of home if it had.

Cherry just stood back, flinching away every now and then as the scent hit her. Still, she stayed by his side. He was her friend, after all… Even with his weird diet.

“I could’ve bought you some hayfries, you know,” she offered.

“Ehh that shit just ain’t right for a human to eat,” Six said, poking the fire with a stick. “Need protein in us.”

“I’m sure we could get you some supplements or something,” she offered.

“Nah, this is more natural. Fills me up better. Besides, it’s doing Jubilee a service anyways,” he shrugged, pulling out a small red packet, opening it as he did.

Cherry watched as he rubbed ketchup over the rat as it cooked. The majority of the fat of the creature had been rendered from the muscle, but the pieces that remained added to the juiciness of the meal. The added ketchup further flavored the corpse.

“Not too much of this stuff back where I’m from,” he said, opening another pack. “I snagged a few of these from a cafe a while back. Adds some flavor.”

“I guess,” she looked away.

“Right, right, sorry,” he shrugged, rubbing more ketchup on the rat. “Look Cherry, if you wanna go do something that… isn’t this, I won’t blame ya.”

“I’m fine Six, really,” she said. “I figured it’d be for the best if I stayed with you until we got back to Ponyville.”

“Ahh right, get behind the guy with the gun and all,” he chuckled.

“I-I’m not like that!” she scoffed. “You’re my frie-”

“I’m fucking with ya, Cherry,” he smirked. “Look, Lyra, Bon Bon, and I don’t leave until tomorrow night. We’ve got plenty of time to do non-rat hunting activities or whatever. Chill, maybe, as they say.”

“Well… alright,” she huffed back.

“Just do me a favor and don’t develop a crush on this ‘date’ of ours,” he teased, remembering her joke from last night. “I’m a heartbreaker.”

“As if,” she snickered. “I doubt anypony could go on a date with you after seeing what you eat.”

The Courier just impaled the cooked rat with a sharp stick, and then brought it up to his mouth, chomping into it as he smirked. Enjoyed the juices and the crunchy texture of charred animal flesh.

Not bad!

Author's Note

We’re back, baby!

Chapter was super, super low energy, because I was turning the dial back to zero for now. Will try to get back into the groove of writing soon enough! Felt weird for such a long break, but I am a bit refreshed! I will say now that this might not update as quickly as it did before the break, just working some stuff out personally.

Regardless, hope you all enjoy!