B.D: Memoirs of a Rogue

BD: Memoirs Of A Rogue

By Enti0

Chapter I

VIOLET (The foal sitter)

Equestria. I always thought of it like a big, branching tree.

Little creatures, ants, beetles and birds live on that same mass of wood and sap. Do they live in peace and harmony? The birds swoop in to catch a meal, while insects fight amongst themselves for their own food. A raging battlefield.

There's a connection between the tree 'world', and our own. We have our birds. The aristocrats. The lords and ladies. The high flyers, if you'll mind the pun. They'll swoop down the same way at the 'insects', the poor folk. So what do we do about it?

We don't. We try to survive with our tails between our legs, scraping together whatever we can to live for the next day.

That’s what I used to think. Equestria wasn't a nice place then. The three reigning factions of unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi looked to place daggers at each others' throats, while the common ponies had no choice but to pick sides and don colours.

I, on the other hoof, hadn't the slightest idea what was going on and frankly, I didn't care.

I was born to the earth pony Queendom, in a city called 'Pastur'. I was an orphan, an earth pony filly without a single blood sibling. My parents? For all I know, dead. There's a saying in Pastur slums, see.

"A foal's father is the streets."

The only choice I had was a local orphanage. Years passed under blackened walls and barred windows.

During my time I managed to make friends. They had the same opinion of it as myself, and so one day, we escaped. I'll never regret it.

* * *

I remember, eight months after our escape, on a sunny afternoon; when my 'better' instinct thought it would be a grand idea to steal a loaf from under Mister Pebble's snout. I mean, who would miss a simple piece of bread?

Mister Pebble, apparently.

I'd spent the day begging near the Farmpony Monument in the north district for extra bits. By the time we'd finished it was almost closing time, and I hadn't made a single coin. I needed dinner, and stealing was the only option.

That, and a certain orange colt by the name of Barn Breaker wouldn't stop whining his wretched little head off about how hungry he was. I took him with me. Give a colt a loaf, and he eats for a day. Now, show him how to obtain said loaf...

We were in the market plaza soon after I dragged the colt out. It was a popular place in the city, and with the number of ponies making last minute purchases, I had high hopes in our chances to blend in, swipe the baked goods, and get out of there. Of course, one must learn that even with the best of luck, the unexpected must be considered.

As soon as the stallion at the stall turned the slightest direction towards us, I found myself in a situation which was far from expected.

"LEG IT!" my newbie accomplice yelled, flailing his hooves onto the floor as he clumsily ran amok. "EVERY PONY FOR THEMSELVES!"

My good-for-nothing partner in crime fled the scene immediately, galloping out through the crowds and down the plaza. It didn't take Pebbles long to put two and two together once he saw me sneaking under the counter, sliding the loaf into my jacket side-pocket.

If we made it out, I'd thought to make sure to whack some sense into him with something heavy. A loaf of bread, maybe?

There was no time to lose on violent dreams, as the commotion brought market guards chatting up a local jewellery salesmare on alert. Half of them went straight for me, pushing shoppers aside to make a direct path. The others split off towards the only staircases leading out of the market plaza, trapping me like a caged dog.

        There was a considerable distance between myself and the guards, one I used to my advantage. I scouted out the plaza's ins and outs for any possible escape, and liked what I saw. The surrounding fences that the guards weren't securing were on the small side. It gave me a devious plan.

I darted past the guards as they grabbed at me, and brought on a speed down the plaza, ponies avoiding me left and right. Keeping up my pace, I galloped towards the jewellery stand, where the mare at the counter fled to the side of the scene shouting words I would have been scolded for using in public.

By the time the guards at the staircase realised what I was doing, they couldn't stop me. I hopped onto the market stall counter, and again, up over the fence, landing elegantly down the staircase banister on the other side.

I was on the street pavement in seconds, the marble surface sliding perfectly against my hooves.

Adrenaline bound, I looked back and saw the guards furious, dropping their spears to make a crazed dash for me. I had no choice but to keep galloping, knowing for sure that they weren't about to give up easy.

...Until a clatter of noise drew my attention, moments later.

Looking back, I saw a crumpled heap of guards at the bottom of the staircase. Ceremonial armour, unfortunately, tends to do naught for agility.

I darted behind a nearby street corner for the chance to catch my breath, and check my inventory. I made a quick search through the jacket pocket, just to be sure.

It didn't fall out. Good. Moves like that deserve a pay off, I thought, giggling.

Thank the stars Barn Breaker didn't mess that up.

Thinking about it, where is Barn Breaker?

The stupid foal probably wound up against a wall or something. Couldn't he shut up for once? We might not have had the whole market looking for us if I was with someone who was at least competent.

We're all in the same boat. You should forgive him. When you were his age, you weren't exactly perfect.

The contradiction from my mind faded, and in a way, seemed fair. If I didn't help him, he'd get caught for sure. When I was that age, or at least that stupid, I wouldn't have had a chance. Was it really worth it saving the kid from a couple of days, or a week of jail time? What had he ever done for me?

I shook my head, causing a silky maroon mane to swish across my face.

No. That isn't me.

My mind was made up, however much I disliked it. I gritted my teeth and made a move for the streets.

I'll forgive him this once. But if he gets himself into trouble one more time, it'll be his neck on the line. No exceptions.

Risking my flank was almost common for the past couple of weeks, ever since our group leader had her leg bitten by a watchdog while out scouting for food. I had to take over twice as many jobs as usual, and it wasn't easy.

I moved to the corner of the building, looking for guards.

The coast was clear. The merchants and customers were the only ponies in sight, recuperating from the recent commotion. If the market guards were anywhere, they were sure to be hot on Barn Breaker's trail.

I turned down the closest alleyway to start my search. I soon found myself on a long, narrow path through the city, nearby to a section of the aqueduct that ran through it. I sighed to myself as I trod on past old boxes and barrels strewn carelessly through the walkway.

I've only gone this way once or twice. I doubt Breaker has stepped more than a mile radius out of the hideout. He hasn't got a clue where he's going.

I pushed on at a canter, no sign of the colt or his pursuers. The path soon branched out, with a low brick wall built into the middle. The road hit the wall and split off in opposite directions, buildings at either side blocking a clear view of the two paths.

I examined the brick wall. A solitary tree stood behind it, different from the ones that usually grew around Pastur. The tree branched out close to the trunk and ended in tiny leaves, much like the paintings of what we knew as 'zebra country'. None of the ponies I knew had ever gone there before, and the only reasons we'd heard of it was from the paintings, and rumours.

I stared at the tree with good reason. Poking his blond-mane out from underneath it, and just above the brick wall, was Barn Breaker.

"You," I hissed. "What were you thinking?"

I climbed over the wall, albeit a bit roughly. The grass on the other side broke my fall.

"We were this close to not eating tonight, this close!"

I briefly stood up, gesturing with my front hooves a distance the width of a piece of paper, or as close as I could get without touching.

"I'm sorry," he squeaked, jumping his front hooves off the wall. "I... lost my head back there. It won't happen anymore, I swear."

His reaction made me a bit sorry for the colt. I didn't feel right getting any angrier about it.

"Make sure it doesn't," I stated calmly. "Now, you do have a plan to get us out of this, don't you?"

The other side of the wall landed us in a much lower position, the main road being on elevated ground.  The low wall had now doubled in height. If anypony out of the two of us could climb up it'd be me, and only barely.

"I can't get back that way, it's too high up," he said, pointing a hoof.

"Have you checked for any other ways out?" I asked. "Before I got here."

Breaker paused for a second. "If we keep going through the grass we'll be in a garden, I think."

I shook my mane in disapproval. "Anything a bit, you know, stealthy?" I asked.

He was tearful in his response. "No... sorry."

I walked around the foreign-looking tree for inspiration. It didn't come to me. I very much doubted in Breaker's ability or mine to climb out using it.

I heard steps on the grass as the colt trotted towards me slowly.

"Do, do you think we're gonna make it out alive?"

Alive? The usual sentence for a thief was a couple of months in a cell at most. It might not have a preferable way of spending six weeks, but it wasn't exactly capital punishment.

Given the circumstances however, I felt a bit of exaggeration was needed to get the damn colt doing what I said for once. I put on my best dramatic-but-not-pushing-it face, and whispered,

"Are you ready to act on my every instruction without question to get us out of here?"

He nodded, a tear falling off his nose.

"Are you prepared to be as quiet as a mouse while we escape?"

He broke down into more fervent nodding.

"Would you be willing to snatch the moon from the sky, should I ask for it?"

He looked back at me with a turned head. I stared him down, and he eventually replied with a few less enthusiastic nods. I continued regardless.

"Then maybe, just maybe, we'll make it out of this alive," I finished.

"...Okay, I'm ready," Breaker said behind more tears. "I'll do you proud! Wait, no, I'm gonna be quiet. Sorry."

Goodbye whiney uncooperative colt, hel-lo progress.

Seeing as I'd already put him on the spot enough for one day, I took the lead.

"Follow me."

The colt did as he was asked without question. It felt good knowing I was being listened to.

The two of us trotted away from the area with the tree into another part of the garden. It extended far out to either side and, sure enough, was placed almost directly opposite to the road.

There was no path in the garden. The only foliage present was a couple of exotic plants that presumably came from the same place as the tree, with some standard looking bushes that were a bit higher than myself scattered around. The garden was used as an escape from the urban life by local lower class residents, as owning a garden was pretty rare for all but the richest ponies. It was unusually empty, and I was thankful for it.

I trotted cautiously across the grass, Breaker right behind. A breeze passed by from the streets, causing intense shivering for the colt. I couldn't say I blamed him—he didn't have a thick coat. I thought it wise to get him back home as soon as possible.

I don't want him to catch a fever.

Wait, since when do I care about Breaker? He got me into this in the first place!

We managed to get about halfway across the garden without issue. The plan was that we'd be taking the most direct route back, perhaps a road similar to the one we'd come from. Not through the market, but with a path close by. We weren't bereft of shortcuts in Pastur by any stretch.

The street cobble was almost under our hooves when I heard two voices talking from not far away, on a patch of street that we couldn't see. The first was a stallion, with a low but clear voice.

"...Were just about to get our hooves on the bugger 'till he disappeared from under our noses, Miss."

The second was a mare, and she grumbled back.

"You don't say."

Uh oh.

I stopped in my tracks, looked at Breaker, and whispered.

"Back up."

We both moved slowly back into the garden, eyes on the side of the road with utmost silence. When we reached the middle of the garden, I stopped him with a hoof. There'd been a minute or so break since we last heard the guards.

To my surprise, they resumed conversation behind us, near the brick wall.

"This was where we lost 'im."

"Get out of sight!" I whispered, and he ran to one side behind a building which concealed him, his hoofsteps muffled by the grass.

The voices continued. "Any ideas where he might have gone?"

"The two roads up ahead were secured by two patrols. We came to the conclusion that 'e jumped over this wall."

"Hm. Get down there and see if you can find any clues to where he might have gone. Missing papers, flattened grass, that sort of thing."

"Very well, Miss."

The voices stopped, and I heard the distinctive sound of clip-clopping across the stone streets to the side as the stallion advanced quickly towards us. The cover we'd used to keep out of sight was in plain view from the street. We had to move.

I looked towards Breaker. "We need to hide again, quickly."

"I c-can't" he whispered as he stuck still in his position, now shaking more violently than before.

"What?" I said, breaking my whisper.

"I th-think I'm s-stuck," he replied. "I can't move."

Was he crazy? I had just gone back in order to save his sorry flank from certain capture, and he was going to lose it all?

Breaker seemed earnest about his condition. He looked almost frozen, his orange coat a pale shade of yellow.

"I'm not leaving you here, Barn Breaker."

"I already said, I c-can't move my legs." Breaker replied, his face full of despair.

I could hear the stallion's hoofsteps getting ever closer. With only a few seconds left, and the both of us still without cover, I had to do something, fast.

"Brace yourself," I whispered.

Backing up, I aimed myself at the colt and dived at him. I wrapped my hooves around his painfully cold hide, and slammed us into the ground, rolling under one of the larger bushes through forced momentum.

It wasn't the quietest or most well performed manoeuvre, though the under-bush was surprisingly roomy, with a lot less branches in my face as I had expected. I laid there with the petrified colt, my head narrowly above the grass so I could look through the bush for danger. I prayed to the stars that he hadn't seen us.

I saw a white hoof a metre or so away. It stopped in place, flattening the grass that was growing there. I could make out the smell of dirt and dust on it. I held my breath.

"Huh. Couple o' hoof marks here and there."

I almost fainted when I heard him. His hoof moved out of sight, Breaker letting out a tiny squeak as he did so.

The stallion continued muttering to himself. "Tracks leading over to the road... no, they stopped."

I heard the stallion trot over to the other side of the garden by the tree.

"Must've climbed back over, I gue...—wait a minute."

The stallion trotted back near the bush, within my view. He crouched, and his head lowered. I gulped.

The stallion picked up a piece of fabric with his mouth, one I could easily recognise.

That's a piece of my coat.

It must have been ripped off when I dived into the bush! I winced, waiting for the stallion's reaction.

"Huh," The stallion grunted, having taken the coat-piece away from view. He stayed near the bush for a few seconds, not moving from his position. Every second was torture, waiting for the verdict to cross his mind.

To my surprise, it never happened.

The stallion turned around, his hooves stepping out of their position, and trotted towards the street. His hooves made the same clopping sound as before, getting quieter and quieter until eventually, he was gone.

I waited in silence afterwards, making sure he wasn't coming back. After a couple of minutes, I turned my attention to the colt below me.

"Breaker. Are you alright? Can you move?"

"You're... hugging me... too tightly."

"Oh! Sorry." It hadn't occurred to me how hard I'd been clenching him while the stallion was around. I concealed a blush, threw off my grip, and started crawling out the bush.

"...Don't stop,"

I turned my head back to the colt, confused.

"Uuh, what?"

The colt lay still where I'd left him. I was slightly taken aback.

His face was glowing an embarrassing shade of red, and from the looks of his face, regretting his previous statement with a certain degree of terror.

"How about we get back to the hideout instead?" I asked trying to get onto a different topic.

Breaker somehow turned an even worse shade of red.

"Uh, yeah. Right," he scratched a hoof behind his ear, and stood up to follow me.

"Remember," I said, "every instruction I give without hesitation, as quiet as a mouse."

"Got it." Breaker whispered, his voice deflated and saddened.

And hopefully, when we get back, 'She' won't throttle us at the meeting anymore than she has to...