Fallout New Vegas: A New Road

Derpy finished her delivery to Cranky’s house about an hour later. She would’ve introduced her new friend to the donkey and his wife, however even she realized that wouldn’t be the best idea.

The Courier for his part just waited in the shadows, leaned against a tree. He was a good ways back into the forest, so as to make sure no one else would notice him as he waited for her to finish up.

Whenever the mailmare came back into view, he began to walk alongside her. Her pace was a bit quicker now, having grown more confident from the first trek through the woods, as the directions came back to her in a slow, steady manner.

They were quiet for a good while, before suddenly her bubbly voice broke the silence.

“My name’s Derpy Hooves!” she said suddenly, getting him to look at her.

He stared back, still in silence for the moment.

“I was just letting you know, since you told me your name and all,” she explained with a bright smile.

“That certainly is a name,” he responded simply. Though a faint part of him realized it wasn’t exactly a worse name than “Courier Six.”

“Well, sometimes ponies call me Ditzy Doo, and sometimes they call me Muffins,” she admitted, “but Derpy Hooves is my original name.”

“Why Muffins?” he asked.

“They’re my favorite food ever!” she said with a cheerful tone. Just thinking about a delicious baked good made her brighten right up!

“Makes sense,” he replied simply.

“What does your name mean?” she asked back. “Did your parents give it to you knowing you’d be a mailmonster?”

“First thing’s first, I’m not a monster, I’m a human,” he explained, his tone stern. Some fellow humans would beg to differ with that statement, but that was neither here nor there. “And secondly, I got that name from sheer bad luck.”

“Bad luck? What happened?” she asked, concerned.

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he answered vaguely.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, her tone like that of a sympathetic mother. “What was your real name?”

“I don’t know,” he said flatly. “Doesn’t matter anymore anyways.”

“You don’t remember your own name?” Derpy questioned, still concerned.

“I don’t remember a lot of things,” Six answered. “Like I said though, doesn’t matter now. Leave it at that.”

“Maybe one day you’ll remember it!” the mailmare added, her tone hopeful.

“Doubt it. That was a long time ago,” the human shot her down matter-of-factly. “But don’t worry about it.”

“I’m gonna worry!” she shot back. “You’re my friend!”

“I’m not-” he huffed. “We just met like an hour ago!”

“So?” she asked.

“So what?” he questioned.

“Why does that mean we’re not friends?” she countered.

“It just- It takes a bit more than that,” he tried explaining. “I mean you’re just trusting me out of nowhere.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked. “You’ve been honest with me! You helped me with my bags! You didn’t make fun of my eyes like some other ponies! Why wouldn’t we be friends?”

He sighed and went silent for a moment, trying to think of something to say.

“I’m just going to say, there’s a good chance you’re never gonna see me again,” he said. “I wander a lot and I don’t plan on sticking around.”

“That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be my friend,” she answered simply, her tone a bit somber.

He was silent for a moment, running his tongue over his teeth as he walked on.

After a bit he just nodded.

“Well, I guess you’re right in a way,” he admitted, more to himself.

For her part, the mailmare just smiled, gently reaching over a hoof to pat him on the thigh due to how short she was.

“That’s the spirit, mister Six!” she said with a smile. “Oh goodness, I’m so happy I could sing!”

“Derpy, I’m going to say this as politely as possible,” he began, his tone sounding tired and agitated, “please don’t.”

“Oh uh… guess you’re not into music, hehe,” she managed, giving an embarrassed smile.

The two continued on until the forest cleared up, and in the distance, he could see the town of Ponyville. Decently sized, home to maybe a thousand or so, by his gauge at least.

“Well Sweet Apple Acres is just to the east of here!” she offered with a smile, pointing in the direction of the farm. “Just go straight that way for a good while and you’ll hit one of their fields soon enough!”

“Yeah, I can get it from there. I got directions,” he nodded.

“I’d go with you, but I gotta finish these deliveries and get home to my little Dinky!” she explained.

“You’re a mother?” he asked.

“Only to one of the sweetest fillies in Equestria!” she said, pride in her tone.

He nodded silently before she finally jumped into the air, hovering in place as she looked down at him.

“For what it’s worth,” Derpy began, “I hope you find what you’re looking for out there, mister Six!”

“You uh…” he managed awkwardly, “you take care too, Derpy.”

She smiled at him before flying off.

He watched her as she did, letting her disappear in the distance before he turned away.

His stitching should hold in the less rugged terrain, so she wouldn’t have to worry about losing anymore mail.

From there on in, he just made his way towards Sweet Apple Acres, trying to lay low from any late-night ponies as he did.

Big Mac was making his final rounds through the orchard.

With Applejack and Apple Bloom gone, he had to pull basically triple duty in his harvest. Normally that would’ve been manageable, but the farm had recently gotten a huge order placed recently, meaning it was all work and no breaks for the rugged stallion.

After bucking a tree and sending its apples falling into the buckets below, he took a deep breath and began loading them up on a nearby wooden cart. It was large, stacked with several other buckets worth of apples.

Sweat was pouring down his brow from a practically non-stop workload these past few days all the while he worked. Soon enough though, Big Mac finished up, and then got ready to drag the large wagon.

As he hitched it to his back, he could see a sight for sore eyes approaching him, and a faint smile crossed his face.

Sugar Belle.

She looked as beautiful as the day he married her.

Not only that, but to make the sight better, she was carrying a tall, ice-cold, and no doubt refreshing glass of apple juice in her magic!

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you dear,” was the first thing the thoughtful unicorn said, her face filled with worry as she magically grabbed a rag and wiped at his brow.

Big Mac just responded by giving her a nuzzle on her neck, kissing her.

He then leaned downwards, quite low, and surprised his wife by craning his head between her forelegs. From his new position he was able to give her plump belly a small kiss as well.

“Big Mac,” she giggled, “stop it.”

He himself chuckled, straightening back up.

“Sorry,” he said simply, looking away with a blush and a smile.

Even after all this time he was a stallion of few words.

“I know you’ve got a lot of love to give to us both, but that can wait until after you’re rested,” she said, rubbing his brow with the rag once more. “Goodness, you’re soaked!”

Big Mac downed the refreshing juice as she continued patting him down.

After few more moments of letting himself rest with his wife, he readied himself to tug the cart back to the barn.

Sugar Belle walked alongside her husband as he went.

Neither said anything.

Neither needed to.

They just enjoyed each other’s company, along with the beautiful stars above lighting their path as they moved along.

Even then, their love for one another felt better than gazing up at the amazing night sky.

“It’s crazy to think, only about six months left,” the unicorn mused, breaking the silence.

“Eeeyup,” he agreed with a warm smile.

“Mmm and we still haven’t figured out a name yet,” she said with a chuckle. “We’ll have to fix that soon.”

“Eeeyup,” he agreed once more.

The two chuckled together as he pulled the wagon up to the barn. A few minutes later, he had rolled it inside and locked up the door for the night. Another day of work and they should be able to complete the order!

He took a deep, relieved breath, finally glad that the day was done.

Sugar Belle for her part, gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Come on Big Mac, I made dinner,” she said, motioning him back to the farmhouse.

He responded by giving her a gentle kiss back, before following her.

The married couple entered the house, leaving the door to shut behind them courtesy of Sugar’s magic.

About a quarter mile away, a bipedal figure lowered his binoculars.

“Alright, guess Applejack isn’t back yet,” he thought aloud, before putting long-distance peepers away into one of his satchels.

Couple looked cute at least.

Nice seeing a pair of lovebirds who didn’t have to deal with the crippling horrors of the Wasteland every once and awhile.

A faint piece of him wondered how Joana and Carlitos were doing.

The rest of him silenced that trace of his old existence trying to force its way back into his psyche.

For the moment though, he just looked around the field, trying to think of what to do. His brain was foggy, sleep ebbed at his vision, making the darkness noticeable even with his helmet’s night-sight.

Needed something to do.

A distraction, perhaps?

…

Oh, that might work!

The Courier walked around the orchard for a few minutes before finding a fallen tree. It was a rare sight, as it seemed the Apples cared deeply for their farm.

Not a shock. Was in the name. Also was their livelihood too.

Anyways, he sat down in front of the stump and pulled out a deck of cards contained in a ragged looking cardboard box. With a smirk, he began laying them out in a row.

A spot of solitaire would hit the… spot.

Nice.

He began playing, sitting there with this almost dulled looking demeanor. As he began to match the cards together, his vision went blurry.

Six ignored it and tried to continue on, shaking it off as he went about his game. He had a decent row now, revealed a king, matched it with a queen and a jack, and then further stacked numbers on top of it.

By this point he was feeling a little woozy, but he just played on. He managed to stack another king into an empty slot and began building off of that. He revealed more cards to himself as he freed up the space.

Not bad, getting closer…

His head leaned downwards, chin pressing into his chest. The human’s hand soon fell limp. A 10 of spades fell from his grip and landed in the grass as he inadvertently passed out, his exhaustion overtaking him in his moment of downtime.

He really should’ve had that coffee beforehand. It might’ve helped.

Darkness surrounded him.

A pitch black, inky void of nothingness.

No sweet Nightkin offered him confections this time. Instead, he was lost in the void.

“What the fuck,” he growled to himself, gaining control over what seemed to be his dream.

He looked around a moment, before he realized that, given this was a dream, he could do anything!

The Courier held out his hands and concentrated. After a moment, a gigantic, multi-barreled CZ57 Avenger minigun appeared suddenly in his palms.

The mailman easily held the weapon’s nonexistent weight in his dreamscape and began swinging it around. He aimed at everything in sight, turning this way and that, and even upside down as he was practically floating.

“Alright you spooky bastard, where are you?” he growled.

Couldn’t see anything, not at the moment at least.

With a thought, suddenly a gigantic spotlight appeared on the front of his minigun, lighting up the darkness. With his new light source in place, he continued aiming around.

However, this action didn’t reveal anything, as the darkness seemed to be a lack of anything whatsoever, rather than a mere lack of light. He growled to himself in annoyance.

“Alright, whatever you are, come out right now!” he shouted, his voice echoing.

He wasn’t even sure if his lips moved, or his voice just rang out from nothingness.

Regardless, he continued looking around in the case anything approached.

Nothing.

“I know you’re here!” he called out, the barrel of the minigun spinning up as he readied it.

He still didn’t get any type of response.

“Just come on out, and we can settle this rationally!” he shouted, waving his automatic firearm about like a madman.

He was just left there, alone with his thoughts.

Honestly, it was hard to determine if that was better or worse than having the moon dropped on his face.

The sun rose over the orchard as Sugar Belle slowly rolled out of bed with a soft groan. She had to take her time about it, making sure to be extra careful given her swollen stomach.

Big Mac had gotten up about an hour ago by this point, bless him. He was such a sweet stallion. In moments like these, Sugar Belle was reaffirmed in why she adored him so. However, a faint part of her frowned, wishing her husband didn’t have to work his tail off.

She wished she could help like she did before her pregnancy. Blissfully, she thought back to the days where she’d help hoist up buckets with him. She enjoyed the times she’d attempted apple bucking herself, though she wasn’t as strong as an earth pony.

Even when she offered to use magic only, he denied her. No way he was going to take a chance on his wife and child getting hurt! Truth be told though; she wasn’t sure her magic was strong enough to help much anyways. Not beyond picking up a few stray apples, at least.

She huffed to herself, before leaving the room and descending the stairs. As she left, she could hear Granny Smith snoring loudly in her sleep, which made her giggle.

Sugar Belle left the house and began wandering towards a portion of the orchard Big Mac wasn’t apple bucking in. If she wasn’t going to be useful in helping out with his hauls, she would at least make herself help by making sure he was refreshed and fed!

A part of her was annoyed she wasn’t up in time to make breakfast, but the other part of her knew her body needed the rest. It made her sigh as she trotted along, a basket held in her magic.

She hummed a tune to herself as she enjoyed the beautiful stroll, grateful at her new, beautiful life. No more worrying about being equal, just pure bliss and a loving husband.

As the unicorn strolled along, she made sure to avoid the trees nearest to the barn and farmhouse, so that the future apple hauling process would be easier on her husband. This did mean she had to walk quite far, but she didn’t mind the exercise.

Sugar Belle was a ways out into the orchard by now and was huffing a bit. She paced herself, but with her pregnancy, it was more taxing than expected. Still, she continued along, cresting the top of a small hill before long.

From there she saw it.

A strange, dark figure laid draped across a fallen tree. She faintly recalled that Big Mac intended to remove said tree within the next few days, however, that wasn’t the important part.

The important part was that the creature looked utterly bizarre and intimidating to the mare, even while asleep. Strange fabric hung off his body. Pieces of metal also adorned him as well. Not an inch of natural skin or fur was visible, which made Sugar Belle even more anxious.

A piece of her considered approaching him, but the rational part of her brain told her to stay away. After a moment of deliberation, she slowly turned away from the strange, resting creature, and began making her way towards the fields Big Mac was working.

As she trotted, she’d glance behind her every few paces, to make sure that thing hadn’t followed her. Her breathing was a bit labored from both panic and physical exhaustion.

It took a solid many minutes, but she did eventually come within eyeshot of her husband and called out to him from several dozens of feet away.

“Big Mac!” her soft voice echoed, sounding strained.

McIntosh for his part was in the middle of bucking a tree and didn’t notice his wife until she cried out. But when he did, his head Immediately shot towards her, concern adorning his features. Upon spotting her tired, sweat-soaked form, he ceased worrying about the apples and rushed over.

“Sugar Belle!” he shouted, his tone fearful as he reached her.

“I know you said not to wander around much,” she began, nodding as she explained quickly, “but I wanted to pick some apples out of the west fields for our turnovers tonight and, well-”

She paused, looking down with a deep breath as he stared at her.

“I saw something,” she admitted, “some strange creature sleeping in the orchard!”

Big Mac looked even more worried at that, but soon his face grew into a look of determination.

“Oh now Big Mac, no need to get aggressive,” she offered, her sweetness coming through. “He looked scary, but maybe he was friendly?”

Regardless, the large stallion pressed on.

“Big Mac, be careful!” called Sugar Belle as she tried to keep pace with her husband.

He turned and gave her a stern expression, making her sigh.

“Right, right, I’ll get some rest, for the baby,” she nodded, leaning against a tree with a frown. “Just be safe, please.”

He nodded and then turned away, making his way through the acres. His pace was far quicker and determined in his gait, so it wasn’t a shock he reached the downed tree and spotted the creature in question after just a few minutes.

McIntosh approached him carefully, examining him as he did.

He was partly reminded of a minotaur or a dragon, but this thing was differently proportioned than either of them. A part of him thought it looked like something Discord might’ve made up to scare ponies. But he hadn’t seen the master of chaos in some time, so that was out of the question.

Besides, there’s no way it’d just be sleeping if it was some prank-laden monster.

After a bit of thought, Big Mac slowly walked right up to the creature.

He noted the fact that it had several playing cards arranged on the fallen log of the tree. They looked a bit strange though, not your average pony cards.

Regardless, he soon took a deep breath…

And then nudged the creature on the back with a forehoof.

“Ahem,” Big Mac coughed in an attempt to get the being’s attention.

“Gah!” the creature groaned, snapping up and grabbing at its head. “Fuck me running!”

Big Mac made a face of confusion.

He hadn’t heard that kind of language in a while. Not since that one time Granny got a bit too much cider in her system.

The creature for his part sleepily turned to the great red farm pony, blinking tiredly as he looked him up and down.

“You Big Mac?” he asked casually.

“...Eeeyup?” responded the stallion, his tone obviously confused.

“Applejack said you needed a new farmhand?” asked the creature, standing up.

“Eeeyup?” offered the surprised farmpony once more as he looked upwards at the strange beast. One of the rare times in his life he had to do that.

“Courier Six,” said the being, offering a hand.

Mac just looked at it as it remained outstretched. Six awkwardly moved the hand back into his pockets, leaving it there as he spoke.

“You need help hauling the apples and picking them?” the Courier asked, moving on from the awkward encounter.

“Eeeyup,” Big Mac said, more flatly this time.

“Lead the way, just tell me what needs to be done, and I’ll do it,” nodded Six.

Big Mac was just silent for a moment, staring up at him in confusion.

“Applejack sent ya?” the stallion finally managed.

“Yeah, she and the others had their whole sisterly outing or whatever,” the Courier nodded.

Big Mac looked taken aback. No way the creature would just casually know that. He had to have met with them at some point. Not only that, but he couldn’t detect a lie coming off the human.

“I said I needed a job, and she said you needed help,” Six pointed out, breaking the awkward silence. “You need any?”

The stallion looked on in thought for a moment, before nodding.

“Eeeyup,” he offered.

“Then I’m ready to begin whenever you need me,” the human replied, rubbing his gloved hands together.

After a moment, Big Mac finally shrugged, and then nodded, as if accepting the Courier’s “application” on the spot.

Soon enough though, a cerise unicorn appeared over the hill behind the red stallion.

“Big Mac, are you alright!” she called down.

“Eeeyup!” he shouted, turning his head back towards her.

“Hello, uh…” paused the human, his tone an attempt at being friendly, “whatever your name is!”

Sugar Belle looked confused at the strange being speaking to her.

“I-I’m Sugar Belle!” she managed.

“Yes well,” Six nodded, “I am here to help your uh, boyfriend or whatever around the orchard!”

She looked really confused, before turning her gaze to Big Mac, who just shrugged, equally as confused.

“I think there’s a chart of how many more apples we need back in the house!” she offered.

“Excellent, that’ll help nicely,” the Courier said, nodding to both her and Big Mac.

“Eeeyup?” offered the stallion, giving a confused agreement.

“First though I guess I should learn from you, right?” Six said to Big Mac. “I’ve never really dealt with apple trees before.”

Mac looked at him for a moment, before shrugging once more, and motioning the human to follow him back to the orchard he was bucking.

It was a little later, but after making Sugar Belle had the apples she needed, Mac and the Courier were now out in the partly bucked fields.

The human stood back, watching Big Mac as he walked over to a tree and then turned, before bucking it. The stallion’s strong kick shook the apples from their stems, and they rained downwards perfectly into the ring of buckets surrounding the tree. Six watched on, impressed a good deal at the efficient farming method. Moments later, Big Mac pointed to the Courier.

“Oh, right,” he nodded, walking over to an un-bucked tree.

He looked at it with a pondering expression, walking around the tree’s trunk as he did. He scratched his neck in thought, as if he were calculating something. After a moment, he shrugged and then brought up his foot.

His muscles surged as he slammed his boot-covered heel right into the tree. He grunted, stumbling back after the blow. To his credit, the tree rattled a bit, however, only a small handful of apples rained down into the buckets.

He turned his head back towards Big Mac, who was watching him the entire time. After a second, he turned his gaze back towards the tree, and then kicked it once more.

It rattled again, and another handful of apples fell.

He huffed at that.

This time, he decided on a different strategy.

He pulled back a few feet, and then charged shoulder-first into the tree. Like a pro football player, he slammed his entire weight against it, rattling both his head and the trunk.

He stumbled back, shaking off the dizziness as he watched a larger abundance of apples fall. It wasn’t the entire tree, but it was more than his kicks had gotten him.

That wouldn’t do.

The tree was once again shoulder slammed.

More apples fell. Not all of them, though.

He slammed into it a third time.

Getting closer.

Fourth!

Only a few left.

He slammed into it one final time, rattling the tree and actually causing some of the bark to chip before he looked up.

The tree was empty!

His lungs were burning a bit, but that wasn’t an issue. Neither was the faint pain in his arm.

Big Mac looked on as the human turned back to face him.

“How’d I do?” Six asked.

Big Mac gave an unsure face, inhaling through his clenched teeth.

"Ffffiiiine?” the stallion finally exhaled awkwardly.

The Courier just sighed.

Sugar Belle watched the two work from atop a nearby hill. She was seated beneath the shade, and currently had a large, ice-filled pitcher of apple juice waiting for the two on a small wooden picnic table nearby.

For what it’s worth, the strange creature did help her husband as best he could. His bucking skills were… lacking, but he could easily lift buckets filled to the brim with apples and shockingly enough, haul loaded carts.

Instead of latching them around himself, the human would just grab both extended pieces of wood and tug them forwards with a bit of effort. His extra strength sped up the hauling process by a good deal, and she was thankful he lightened the workload whenever possible.

It was a bit later that the two finally stopped for a break. Some of the ice had melted by now, but that was alright. The sweet juice was still perfectly drinkable!

Big Mac helped himself to a large glass. The Courier for his part only had a small gulp’s worth.

She looked at him as he did, unable to see anything under his mask, as he turned away to drink. Before she could see anything, he readjusted it, and his face was covered again.

Sugar Belle almost cringed, imagining just how hot he was underneath his duster and layers of armor.

The Courier, for his part, felt a little chilled.

A particularly strong breeze caught his duster, making it billow about in the wind. The heat here was far more manageable than the Mojave.

Good.

“You ready to go, Big Mac?” he asked, adjusting his jacket as the wind died down.

The farm pony looked at him for a moment, before taking a deep swig, finishing off his drink.

“Eeeyup,” he said, sitting his empty glass back onto the wooden table.

“Goodness, you boys sure you don’t wanna wait a little longer?” Sugar Belle offered, looking longingly at Big Mac.

He looked longingly back at her, and the Courier almost swore he could see hearts in the stallion’s eyes.

The human felt like a third wheel, and after a moment of the couple staring at one another, he finally broke the silence.

“Uh, if you wanna take five, I can go shoulder check some more trees for you,” offered the Courier.

“Oh, are you sure?” she asked.

Big Mac looked at him with an equally unsure expression.

“I know I’m not good at bucking, but uh, humans, they got pretty far on their stamina alone,” he pointed out. “I can last, made of sterner stuff than most anyways.”

Big Mac examined him for a moment, before nodding, trusting the human’s words.

“Do be careful, Six!” Sugar Belle called.

“When am I not?” he offered back.

She couldn’t answer.

She hadn’t known him long enough to know better.

For his part, Courier Six continued his job. His “bucking” wasn’t as effective as Big Mac’s, but as the two ponies watched him, they could see he was slowly adapting. Every shoulder-strike brought a couple more apples.

He would examine each tree for a few moments, as if looking for weak spots, before hitting them full force. While it would likely never match the Apples’ bucking prowess, he was surprisingly effective.

“He’s a nice fellow, isn’t he dear?” Sugar Belle mused, wiping her husband’s brow as he took a swig of juice.

“Eeeyup,” agreed Big Mac with a smile. The smile was more for her, but the thought was still sort of there.

Both of them watched on as Six loaded up a cart and tugged it towards the barn for storage. Just a few more loads and they’ll have made quota.

Big Mac was just thankful for the break. He knew whenever he saw the Courier come back with a new, empty wagon, it’d be time for work again. As it was though, he enjoyed the peace and the beautiful day. But above that, he enjoyed the beautiful mare next to him.

He gently placed a hoof over her shoulder, and gently tugged her into a hug.

Sugar Belle just giggled softly, enjoying his embrace.

“That the last one?” asked Six, giving a huff as he and Big Mac loaded up one last barrel of apples.

“Eeeyup!” said Big Mac with a nod.

The trees around them were now bare. Where there had once been an abundance of fruit, now only empty branches and leaves remained. The sun had lowered a bit, turning day into evening, meaning Mac had finished his shift a few hours earlier than last night.

The farm pony smiled to himself at a job well done.

Six just stretched, feeling his muscles tense and his joints pop loudly.

“Damn,” he huffed, before popping his knuckles. “No wonder you can shake an apple tree with those legs, a workout like that every day… fucking hell.”

Big Mac chuckled as he hitched himself to the cart and began tugging.

The two trekked back towards the farmhouse, but on their way, they ran into a pair of familiar faces.

“Big Mac!” squeaked Apple Bloom, rushing up to give her brother a hug.

“Howdy, Six!” offered Applejack, tipping her hat to the human. “Sorry about bein’ late, ya’ll! The trek back took a bit longer than we thought. Ran into a pack of Fly-ders on the way and it costed us some time.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, it wasn’t your back at risk, after all,” he snarked.

“Fer what it’s worth, looks like ya’ll did a mighty good job!” complimented Applejack, looking over the haul.

“Yeah, Sugar said something about a big order or whatever,” nodded Six as he rubbed his neck.

“Why landsakes, just our luck,” huffed Applejack. “I’m mighty sorry. An’ ta you too, Big Mac.”

“Look it’s fine,” Six huffed, before continuing. “I’m not trying to be greedy, but do you mind if I have my bits?”

“Certainly! Jus’ give me a moment!” said Applejack with a smile, walking into the house.

Six looked around for a moment, before turning his sights on Apple Bloom.

“Hey, kid. How’s the kid?” he asked, rather redundantly.

“Wha- ya mean Scootaloo?” she asked.

“Yeah, she doing alright?” he asked back.

“Well, she missed ya a bit, but yeah, she’s okay,” Bloom said.

He nodded, going back to being silent.

Between him, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom silently standing and staring, it wasn’t awkward at all!

“Uh, I’m gonna head in, check on Granny Smith,” Apple Bloom said after a few more moments.

“Granny Smith?” the Courier asked, before suddenly the house’s door opened up.

He turned and there he saw an older mare.

Way, way older.

Her graying mane and tail were done up in buns, and her coat was a lime green.

The Apple Matriarch looked at him, her face turning to one of confusion for a moment, but she shrugged it off as she approached.

“Howdy there uh… whatever you are,” said Granny Smith as she approached. “Six, wuzzit?”

“Yeah?” he offered.

“Well, I heard from Sugar Belle and Applejack you did a whole helpin’ of good work t’day,” she explained.

“It was nothing, just the job, ma’am,” he nodded.

“Aw fiddlesticks, if it were jus’ about the job, ya wouldn’t’ve given Big Mac here a nice break,” she responded.

“Look, ma’am, no offense, but I was just hoping I could collect my bits, please,” he explained.

“Well that’s dandy since I’m here to give ‘em to ya,” she said with a wink, before offering him a small jingling sack of coins.

He took them and looked at her for a moment, before he opened the sack and began counting.

“Aw don’t get spooked youngin, us Apples don’t skimp nopony,” she assured. “Or er, creature in this case.”

“Yeah, I figured that. I’m just counting it up,” he explained.

“Oh, that’s sixty-four bits,” she answered.

“Seems like a good amount,” he nodded as he stopped counting.

“I would’ve given ya more, but bits are a bit tight at the moment,” she said. “I feel a bit bad, since yer such a mighty fine worker an’ all that. Once we get this next order in though, I’ll be glad ta pay ya any extra ya feel yer old.”

“It’s fine,” he assured, tying the sack and putting it into one of his satchels. “This will be enough.”

“Ya sure?” she offered.

“Really ma’am, it’s fine,” he said, holding out a hand. “Above the money, I just need to find somewhere to settle down for a little while.”

“Why shucks, ya can sleep anywhere in the orchard ya want!” offered the old mare with a smile, clearly having heard about his impromptu nap from Sugar Belle.

“No, no, it’s fine, ma’am” he assured, raising his palms. “Just need to figure some things out.”

“Well if you need any words of advice from an old mare like me, give me a holler!” said Granny with a smile, before she turned and made her way back into the house.

“Thanks, Mrs. Smith,” he offered back, briefly waving at her as she went.

Apple Bloom looked up at him, a bit confused at his lack of snark through the entire conversation.

Courier Six, without any swears or sass?

Unbelievable!

“Alright, time to get the fuck out of here,” he huffed to himself, adjusting his duster.

Ah, there it was.

Big Mac looked at him, a bit annoyed before he pointed one of his large hooves to his little sister.

“Sorry, sorry,” said the Courier, his tone almost like that of a used car salesman who’d been called out. “No disrespect, genuinely. It’s just been a long week.”

Applejack was soon approaching, and she spoke up, interrupting the conversation before it continued further.

“Well, ya sure you don’t wanna rest here? We’ve got a mighty warm couch for ya,” she offered, and he could feel the southern hospitality oozing from her voice.

“I’m fine. Sleep’s not the issue, I got enough this morning,” he explained with a tired tone.

“Uh huh,” Applejack said, raising a brow.

“What I really want is assurance the town isn’t gonna riot the second I show my face,” he said, pointing to his mask.

“Well, I might be able ta ask the mayor for a small favor,” Applejack pondered. “She can give ya a whole official introduction an’ everything.”

“I guess that works,” he nodded, trailing off in thought for a moment.

“Ya alright?” she asked.

“I’m fine but…” he thought again, before finishing, “do you know any good uninhabited stretches of forest?”

“Beg yer pardon?” Applejack questioned.

“I mean like, places no one lives,” he elaborated.

“Well er… there’s the Everfree, but ya don’t wanna go there,” she said.

“Why not?” he asked casually.

“It’s filled with all sorts o’ mean critters, an’ they all fight an’ hunt one another to survive,” she said, her tone taking on one of seriousness. “Why, even the clouds there move by themselves!”

He just stared.

“Are you joking?” he asked flatly.

“Wha- why would I be jokin’?” she huffed.

“That stuff’s all average for me,” he pointed out. “Like I dealt with that every day.”

“I’d hate ta see where ya came from then,” Applejack said.

“I think everyone would,” he shrugged, thinking one final time. “Before I go, you got a map I can buy?”

“I got a map you can have,” she offered back.

“I have the bits-”

“Aw shoot, I’m not gonna make ya pay for a darn piece o’ paper,” she huffed, before turning and walking into the house.

He noticed her accent came out more when she was frustrated.

By this point, the tired Bloom and Big Mac had also entered inside, and thus the Courier was alone when she came back out with the map between her teeth.

He grabbed it, looking it over to make sure it wasn’t wet from saliva.

“There ya are,” she said with a smile.

“Thanks,” he said, still reading over it, “when’s my next shift?”

“Oh, well ya don’t have ta help with me an’ Bloom here,” she assured.

“I’ve got nothing better to do,” he pointed out.

“Well, tomorrow will us takin’ time ta load up the orders, but maybe the next day ya can come on by again!” she assured.

He nodded, folding up the map carefully, and placing it into one of his pockets.

“Well, see ya around, I guess,” he said.

“Ya be careful now, Six,” she said. “I know we ain’t really talked much, but I don’t want ya gettin’ yourself in no trouble now, ya hear?”

“I hear a lot,” he said flatly.

“I’m serious!” she responded sternly.

“Look, I can manage, alright?” he offered.

She just rolled her eyes and nodded.

“Suppose I’ll be seeing you around then,” he said, before turning and walking off into the night.

Applejack watched him as he disappeared down the trail.

“Goodluck, ya ol’ wanderer,” she said.

A bit later, the farmpony turned and rejoined her family in the house, giving one last glance behind herself.

He was gone, like a ghost in the night.