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It wouldn’t surprise anyone that Dude Food’s favourite part of the school day was lunch time. Even though he snacked all the way through class, his eyes was always on that bell, waiting for it to ring so he could finally get out and experience the feast he had prepared.

Most of the time ate with siblings or friends but occasionally, he found himself a quiet place outside to have a little me time. Today was that day. He’d demolished most of his lunch already and only the last item remained and it was a masterpiece.

A ham sandwich overladen with meat and pickles, mayonnaise and chutney, oozing wetly down the sides of the thick cut sourdough bread.

Dude Food was gearing up for the first magnificent bite when he noticed Blade Waltz. He understood that look. It connected right to his soul; the hungry need, the food envy, the sheer joy of seeing such a well made sandwich that was clearly so stuffed full of flavour it made your tongue sing before it had even touched it.

And Dude Food was feeling magnanimous, so he smiled and asked, "you wanna try some?"

Neither of them had yet noticed a third arrival, a scruffy looking dog that had wandered onto school property.

Dude Food had to respect someone who had the fortitude to keep to a diet. It certainly wasn’t his cup of tea but if somebody was into that, well, good for them. The other Phony looked fit, while Dude Food was happily carrying some extra weight.

Respect or not, Dude Food couldn’t stop from wanting to share his delicious sandwich, especially when the other guy was practically drooling in front of him. "Exactly. That’s what I always say." He shuffled a bit, carefully offering his sandwich out to Blade. “Careful. She’s messy."

From behind them there came a whine.

Dude Food watched Blade eat with a proud grin. He’d lovingly constructed the sandwich that morning and being able to share it with someone, especially with how much the other colt was clearly enjoying the experience, had definitely made his day.

When the dog whined, Dude Food also looked around. The dog looked worse for wear but its gaze was locked on the sandwich and its tail was giving a hesitant little wag.

"Yeah," Dude Food drawled at the word, looking from the dog to the sandwich and then back again. Mayonnaise dripped to the ground. He sighed. "It looks hungry.”"

“Nah, they’ll just shoo it away.” Dude Food was staring at the sandwich again, saying a bittersweet mental goodbye to the meal he never got to taste. Not that there was anything stopping him from taking a quick bite, it just felt wrong when the dog was sitting there looking so sad.

“Here you go, doggy,” he slowly approached, lowering the sandwich to the ground in front of it. The dog sniffed it first and then gobbled it up in two big, messy bites.

Dude Food looked over at Blade Waltz. “Got anything else?”

Dude Food waited patiently for Blade Waltz to feed the dog his own lunch. It hadn’t occurred to him not to do it and he fully expected the other colt to feel the same. The dog looked so skinny and sad.

The dog finished off the first sandwich quickly, nose smeared with mayonnaise and after giving them a quick darting glance, snatched up Blade’s sandwich and ran away.

Dude Food watched it go and then patted Blade’s shoulder. “I’ll make an extra sandwich for you tomorrow. How do you feel about pastrami on rye?”

“I’ll make you something extra special. Don’t worry, you’ll love it.” Dude Food nudged his shoulder against Blade’s.

When the other pulled out the little container of fruit, Dude Food felt a little bad because he had eaten quite a few snacks before ever giving away his sandwich. Even so, he took one strawberry and chewed happily while imagining the feast he was going to bring to school for them tomorrow.