B.D: Memoirs of a Rogue

Chapter III

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

I don't quite remember the last time I had a day off.

Once I worked to keep myself and others alive each day, it didn't really cross my mind. The concept of not doing something seemed kind of, well, useless, as if I was wasting my time.

The change to an outside contract was foreign to me, too. Like stepping out of a humble life into a much larger, scarier world. Maybe I was overreacting, but weren't we supposed to be a team, making it through the city our own way, without any outside help? I wasn't sure I liked this change of pace.

* * *

"Soooo... what? Are you just gonna sit there the whole day?" Cinders asked from behind her papers.

"I don't have anything to do, though," I replied, laying sprawled out on my bed in the corner. "You told me yourself, 'it's your day off'."

I moaned with frustration into my pillow. "I'm booorrred."

"Crow, stop acting like such a filly."

"But I am a filly."

I heard Cinders sigh under her breath, taking a few seconds before responding. "There's a big city outside, Crow. It's called Pastur. You can't tell me that in the whole city there isn't anything better you could be doing right now."

"Can't think anything off the top of my head."

"Well, then," Cinders stated, "If you aren't going to do anything by yourself, I'll make you. I have important documents to write up, and you're distracting me, so I'm commanding you to leave. Now."

I let out another moan, raising my head from the pillow.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I may be your friend, but I'm also your employer, and unlike yourself, I have work to do. So scoot."

There was no reason to argue. I brought myself sleepily to the floor, and trotted out of the room with a frown.

"If you can't find anything to do, I hear there's an execution going on in the afternoon," she shouted from behind me.

"Uh, thanks, I'd rather not," I replied quickly, getting out of talking distance to stop any pursuit on the subject. I didn't want to hear her justify anypony watching it.

I stepped outside onto the road, my eyes adjusting to the outside after a long rest. There was a terrible stench in the air, and I couldn't think why. A stallion trotted past me with his muzzle curled in disgust.

I trotted to the road, thinking about where I wanted to go. It was near impossible, my attention drifting off from the foul smell. I looked towards the back-alleys I was passing by. Maybe someone threw out a load of dirty laundry or something?

A stray rock tripped me unaware and rolled me onto the pavement.  I yelled in shock as my hoof hit my face.

The smell became worse. Before standing up, I pulled the hoof in, giving it a sniff.

Is that horrible smell coming from....me?

The conclusion became evident as a pegasus trotted passed me, and muttered "What in the magi is that stench?" as she passed close by, rudely ignoring my disposition.

I got up from the road, luckily bearing little more than shock after the fall. I felt embarrassed about the smell, lingering around me like a wet dog.

It sort of make sense, though.  The last time I washed was a good week or so ago.

Well, hey! I have something to do.

I headed off in the direction of the reservoir, the best place for an abundant water supply in the middle of the city. Sure, it was cold, and it may or may not have been connected to the city's water supply, but where else was a poor young city pony supposed to go to clean herself?

* * *

I reached the outside of the reservoir about half an hour later. It was a big, circular building made of some sort of smooth stone with a shiny surface to keep the water in. Both it and the aqueducts were built differently from the surrounding structures. They were made of different materials compared to the much rougher rock used in Pastur houses, and were crafted with intricate chiselled details at every few paces.

From what I could tell, they looked similar to the paintings and artwork I'd seen of the pegasus republics' towns and cities. They were quite common in the wealthier homes.

There was a long staircase, leading to the top where the water was. The entrance would usually be protected by a couple of spear-wielding guards, but the posts were empty. I'd heard through months of background conversations that the guards thought it was the worst post in the whole city, seeing it as utterly pointless. I assumed they cut off their normal shift for a break.

I ascended the perilous steps cautiously, without the aid of a banister on the side on small, thin steps. It took a while before I reached the top, and it wasn't fun. The hot day and physical exertion left me quite exhausted by the end of it.

It would've been downright silly to jump into the reservoir itself; my opportunities to learn how to swim prior were far and few, and the water in the basin went down far too deep for me. Instead, I would always take the considerably safer option of washing in one of the aqueducts splintering off of the main reservoir. The body of the aqueduct I chose was grooved in a sort of semicircle, where the water would flow through at much shallower depths, letting me lay in it like a bath tub.

I took my jacket off, placed it to one dry side, and slid with difficulty into the water. At first, the ghastly temperature made it nigh impossible to breathe. When a couple of minutes had past, it was only 'stupidly' cold.

I always hated washing, if not for the temperature, then for the time I had to spend in there to get myself clean. It had to be done, though. On the bright side, at least my jacket wasn't in need of cleaning. It was a bit muddy by the legs, but nothing unpleasant.

I stayed there for a while, slowly rinsing away the dirt. If I was bored back at the boarding house, this didn't seem any better. Eventually, I could barely lift a leg, a or hoof in the cold, my limbs frozen. It felt like hours later when the sound of splashing presented itself from afar. At first I didn't care, but as the sound grew louder and closer, I lifted my head up from the aqueduct and gazed in the direction of the sound.

A wave of bone chilling water crashed on my face, drenching me.

I raised a hoof to my mouth, spluttering as some of the water went the wrong way. The change in my balance almost caused the rest of me to slide straight into the water too, if I hadn't quickly placed my hoof back on the side.

My eyes darted to direction where the water came from. The culprit? None other than Jemrock, the younger foals tagging behind him.

"Sorry Crow," Jemrock shouted as he galloped over, splashing yet more water into my face. "Didn't see you there!"

I tried screaming back at him, but the additional water resulted in me uttering little more than a choked whinny.

"Hey everypony, say hi to Crow," Jemrock said.

"Hey, Crow!" the foals replied.

"Say Crow, are you alright?" Jemrock asked.

I glared at him, barely recovering the ability to speak. "Why... a-...you...here?"

"We're out paddling, of course! I finished up with the list Smokey Cinders gave me super quick, so she said I should send these guys out for a quick exercise! So, what's up? I would've sworn you were asleep when I left." His grin turned into a half-frown, and he gave a worried look. "You didn't get shouted at for waking up late, did you?"

"No, I wa-," I said, stopping to clear my throat with a few coughs. "I was working through the night, Cinders gave me the day off."

"Oh wow, congratulations! You must've worked really hard or something," Jem said. He pulled in closer towards me, hiding his mouth from the foals. "By the way. Between you and me, I think you should put some clothes on. You know, for the kids and all."

I sighed. Public indecency never really came to mind when I was washing myself on the top of a building that only a pegasi could possibly see me from. Then again, Jem was somehow up here, and I didn't really like the idea of prolonged exposure in the cold water. I'd probably had long enough in, anyway.

"Alright. Could you lend me a hoof up?" I asked, my numbed limbs too frozen to work by themselves.

"Sure, no problem," Jem responded, lowering himself down. I grappled my front hooves over his back, and he lifted himself up again, giving me a boost to stand upright.

"Uh... you wouldn't mind helping me fit my clothes on again, would you?" I asked sheepishly.

Jem nodded, and lifted my jacket from the floor with his magic, fitting me into it perfectly.

"So, while you're up here..." he started,  "...wanna come and join the game we're playing? It's real fun."

"What's that?"

"We're playing a round of 'Run-around-in-places-you-shouldn't-be-and-not-get-caught-by-angry-guards.' It's a classic!"

Really well thought out name there.

"How did you get up here in the first place? The guards don't go on break that often."

"That was easy," Jem said, nodding a hoof. "We just told them a filly was in the market stealing bread. They ran off before I could say another word."

"Lovely. I wonder where you got that idea from," I huffed.

"So, you gonna join in?" Jem repeated.

"Hm. I'll think about it."

"Oh, okay," Jem chirped, turning around to face the foals. "Alrighty, first one to the bottom gets to pick where we go next. Let's go, full speed ahead! Ah ah, no wings allowed, Moonfly."

I heard a childish "Aww...", and watched them splash down the aqueduct from where they'd come from before, laughing and playing with each other as they ran. The passers-by down below where most likely just as drenched as I'd been, and doubly as confused. Jem may not have been the smartest pony, but he knew how to have fun.

Oh, what the hell.

I tore down the aqueduct, my own speed outmatching the entire bunch of them with ease. It took mere moments before I'd caught up with them. When I reached Jem, I levelled myself with his pace, held my breath, ducked my head under the water and bolted it straight towards him, showering a mess of water over him from head to hoof. He stopped to splutter, and I turned back towards him giggling.

"That's what you get when you splash me!"

"Oh yeah?" Jem shouted back to me.  "When I catch you, you're gonna be soaked! Moonfly? Forget all that wing-stuff. Fly over and catch. That. Crow!"

* * *

We played Jem's strangely-named games with activities closer to trespassing than anything else right through the day. On the way back, Jem serenaded us with the many funny stories he told us. He was a bit older than me, and he knew his parents and family life before the orphanage much more than I knew mine. I'd never known what family life was like, and the way he described it was fascinating. A world I'd never experienced, full of all kinds of fun.

"...speaking of pets, there's a reason we never left the cat without supervision..."

The foals in our company asked questions to Jem and he'd play along, answering them all. They seemed to get on great, and we giggled along to his rambling and jokes as we trotted across the city.

Jem didn't receive the attention of everypony there, though. As the blue stallion talked through a case involving his feline's actions towards pedestrians, somepony gave me a nudge on the leg. I turned to face one of the fillies, a unicorn named Star Eyes. I smiled, and asked, "What's up?"

"It-it's about Barn Breaker," she sniggered. "He told me to tell you something."

"What's that?"

"He's got a crush on you."

"Did not!" Breaker shouted, overhearing the two of us. Star Eyes pranced over to Moonfly, giving her a celebratory hoof-bump.

I didn't know how to act, staying silent. I was shocked the whole thing hadn't already blown over, thinking it started and finished the day before.

It was safe to say that I didn't understand foals.

"Oh yeah?" said a colt close by Breaker, "Well how about your crush on Ying?"

"That's a lie!"

"Sure ain't."

"Prove it!"

The argument dissolved into petty squabbling surprisingly fast.  I sped up to Jem, at the front.

"Uh, Jem, the foals?"

He didn't appear fazed, walking on as he guided the group.

"Huh? Oh, right," he said, having looked at the fight behind him. "Come on, guys!  Let's settle down."

The foals continued throwing insult and comeback at one another, not really paying attention to Jem at all.

"Heh, don't worry about it, Crow," Jem grinned. "Give 'em a couple of minutes, and they'll be back to normal."

"Right," I said, hoping he knew what he was talking about.

We arrived at the hideout twenty minutes later. The foals had worn themselves out arguing over the trip, but my new headache told me that it wasn't without consequence.

We were greeted in by Mrs Goldheart, who let us in the front door without hesitation. Cinders gave a warm "Hey," to Jem and me as we entered, and we gave thanks in response. Yingling was on his seat by Cinders, his back legs placed casually on the meeting table.

Aren't we missing somepony?

"So Crow, how was the day off? Were you as bored as you claimed earlier?" Cinders asked, smirking cheekily.

"Well... no, I guess not, I found Jem out by the aqueduct, and we galloped around for a couple of hours with the foals," I said, placing a hoof over my chin. "Buuut if I hadn't found him by coincidence in the first place, I bet I wouldn't have half as much fun. It wasn't as much the city, more the ponies I already kne—"

"That's enough, Crow. Point is, you enjoyed yourself, and that's great. Like I said, you deserve it. Don't worry about food either. I got Ying to buy us a bunch with the bits he and Parable made today. I'm thinking we all have a tasty fruit salad, my treat."

"Fruit salad? Mm, mmm, that sounds de-lish! Thanks, Ying," Jem exclaimed.

"Hm," Yingling grunted, facing down at the table without even a look at Jem.

So, Yingling’s in a great mood today.

Jem and the foals placed themselves by the beds, and Cinders got back to her work. I walked up to her.

"Cinders, why isn't Parable here?" I asked.

"Why don't you ask Ying? He was with her the whole day," Cinders replied, barely looking up from her work.

She was always like this. Kind one moment, too busy the next. I walked up to Ying by the side of his chair, clearing my voice.

"Yingling?" I asked.

"What."

"Uh, you don't know where Parable is, do you?"

"Yeah. She stayed behind."

Why is he being so vague?

"Why'd she stay back?" I asked suspiciously.

A voice at the back of the table switched my attention.

"Hey Crow, you wouldn't mind fetching her, would you?" Cinders asked.

"Why me? Isn't Parable Ying's partner?"

Cinders glared at me from across the table. Ying lowered his head down further by the side of me as Cinders began to speak.

"I asked you to do it, not Ying. So when you're ready, could you go out and bring Parable back, please?"

"That doesn't make any sense, though!" I said, raising my voice.

It didn't matter—Cinders wasn't taking any further notice, lowering her gaze to the papers she was working on. I was confused more than angry. I could've protested further, but I didn't seem to have a choice. "Well, can anypony be a bit more specific on where she actually is, if I'm about to go and find her then?"

Yingling spoke up again.

"Sure. We were at the farmhouses down in Westhoof when we split up. She said she wasn't ready to leave, so she's gonna be around there."

"Thanks," I spat, and turned around to leave. If I have to, I thought, I'd rather do it sooner than later.

* * *

What happened to Parable? Is she alright?

The idea of anypony staying behind after work seemed off. Her, especially. She didn't seem to be the type to wonder out alone.

At least I could finally talk to her. She could stay silent in a meeting for as long as she wanted, but she couldn't keep quiet one-to-one.

I was at Westhoof in half an hour, a place which, in many respects, was no shining example of Pastur. It featured only a touch of improvement on where we lived at best. The roads were just as rough and worn, with the same grotty sewer grates, and a lack of proper lighting. It was a 'housing' district of Pastur, and the ugly houses were more numerous than they were back at the boarding house. Trying to live there with the level of overcrowding would be a horrible ordeal. The only real advantage was the much shorter distance to the market.

It got better as it went on, though. Being almost outside of the city, Westhoof progressively became more rural, spreading out the buildings and giving a breath of fresh air to the stuffiness that presided throughout most of the city. It was a relief to see the countryside  for once.

The smell of the countryside, however, was another matter. One I'd rather not get into, for one manure-scented reason or another.

I wandered about the district aimlessly trying to spot the young pale blue mare. I was out there for a while, and I'd seen nothing of her, the passing adults taking little to no notice of me, their manes covered by straw hats.

As I wandered through the one part of the district, I heard a voice from a distance away.

It was quiet, too quiet for me to make out individual words. I trotted in its direction, and soon, the voice turned into a song.

"Valleys green, wherein fillies seen,

Make merry of, the plants of old.

Passion flows, with it love can grow,

Beside the stems, of the plants of old."

The voice continued, ringing sweetly throughout the district as I searched for the source, getting closer and closer. It wasn't long before I spotted her navy blue mane perched above a balcony of one of the farmhouses. I made my way up to her quietly, trying not to interrupt her.

"See them, the faces joyful,

Hear them, the voices pure,

Feel them, emotions soaring,"

I tried to be as polite as I could in drawing her attention.

"Ahem. excuse me?"

"See them, a cursed world's cu-," she jumped turning around. "Oh! Sorry Violet, I didn't know you were here,"

"I didn't get a chance to announce myself. Your singing's amazing, Parable."

"That's very kind of you."

She paused for a moment, taking her hooves off the banister.

"You came here to get me, not Ying?"

"Um, yes," I replied.

I bet she knows what's going on with him.

"Why didn't you come back with him?"

She paused. "It was sort of a misunderstanding. He thought the reason I didn't go back with him was because I don't like him."

"Oh!"

"Yeah," she hummed, her green eyes sparkling. "But... I didn't come back for another reason. There's something wrong, and it's been bugging me, so I came up here to get some space to myself."

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Well... you know Jemrock?" She asked.

I nodded my head, urging her on.

"I think, I think he's not the right influence for the foals to be under. He's always so reckless, so unsafe... he could end up hurting one them some day."

Jem irresponsible? I could see the issue. Then again, he wasn't really that bad at taking care of the foals. They seemed to be having a lot of fun a few hours before, without a problem. I shook my head at her. "That's it? Parable, Jem is great with them. It's really nothing to worry about."

"I'm not sure, Violet. He was galloping with them up on the aqueduct today, and it's so high up and dangerous. I don't think we should allow him to be with the foals if he's going to be so... uncaring."

"How do you know they were on the aqueduct?"

"Well... I was watching them, of course! It's hard to miss such a loud noise as them splashing about up there. I could barely make out any faces, but I knew it was him. He really shouldn't have been up there in the first place."

"So if it isn't Jem who takes care of the fillies and colts on an almost day to day business, who should it be? It's a ton of work, you know."

"Well, I was thinking... I should do it."

I tried not to cringe. "Like I said, Jem's doing a perfect job out there. He's taking on a big responsibility keeping control of the foals, and Parable... I don't think you could handle it."

I felt certain that the shy young mare I'd seen at the meeting table wouldn't have it in her to do it. Maybe I was being overprotective, but Jem had done mostly good work with the foals. He may have had his faults, but he was put there for a reason.

"You're not jealous of him or something, are you?"

The young mare faltered a little, keeping her silence. She drooped her head to hoof-level. "Maybe."

I was slightly startled upon confirmation. "Why?"

"I care for the foals a whole lot. I really, really care for them," she said. A single tear lay on her face, breaking off into a fork down her fur. "They didn't get an easy life, just like us. They'll grow up, and they'll be like us, stealing and robbing. I hate it. Why can't they have a normal life?"

"What?"

She sighed. "I want to help them. I want to show them that being kind is so much better, and that they shouldn't be like us when they grow up. They should get real jobs, and live real lives. Jem won't teach that. He'll just run around, and play with them, and at some point, one of them will get really hurt, or something. Violet, if any of them got hurt, or caught... I don't know what I'd do. I want them to have a future, far away from here."

I wasn't sure how to react. She seemed to be sincere about what she was saying.

"I, Uh, Parable," I started shakily. "I'm not sure that what you've said is going to happen or not. In my honest opinion, living up here, it seems... unlikely." I stopped, seeing her frown deepen as I said my piece. "But if you really, really want to take care of the foals, and it sounds like you do, I could try mentioning it to Cinders when we get back."

"You... you would?" she asked.

"I mean, sure. Why not?"

"Oh, thank you!" she cried, closing up and hugging me.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Uh, heh, no problem," I chuckled, moving my head up and over her hooves. If she was any stronger she'd have squeezed me to death.

* * *

The trip back to the hideout felt longer than the one from it. I didn't want to let down the pony following me, the potential consequences haunting me as we journeyed past rural Westhoof and through the inner city. I tried erasing it from my mind, with the prospect of a delicious meal for the both of us once we returned. It wasn't that I didn't think Cinders would listen to me, but that she'd never changed her plans before. Cinders organised us as she saw fit, and she usually did it well. There was no good reason to go against it.

We were let in and found ourselves back at the room, I was pleasantly surprised that at least one of my wishes had been fulfilled. A big, shiny dessert plate at the centre of the table held a cornucopia of colourful fruits on display. Cinders greeted us with a smile.

"Welcome back. Now that we're all here, we can finally eat! Jem, Parable, you two can help serve the foals."

"Uh, Cinders? A word, please?"

She agreed, and I pulled Cinders to one side while the rest of the group started feasting on the plates' contents.

"Well speak up, Violet," she insisted. "You're not allergic, are you?"

"No, it's not that," I chuckled. "It's about Parable."

"You talked to her about why she stayed behind?"

"..Sort of," I replied. "She wanted me to ask you something."

"Go on."

"She wanted me to ask you if she and Jem can switch jobs."

"Hmm..." she paused for as second in though. "Yeah, that's fine,"

I partially recoiled at her answer. "That's it?"

"Sure. As long as Jem doesn't mind doing it too, I'm all up for them swapping. I'll be able to check on their progress, and if it's better, they can keep that way."

"Huh." I said. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd take it like that at all, really."

"No one's ever asked before," Cinders chuckled. "You needn't have such a negative outlook on what I'm gonna say before I say it, Crow."

I nodded to Cinders, and she broke off to the table. I relayed the message onto Parable.

"That's.... all?" she uttered, mouth agape.

"That's what she told me."

"Jemrock?" Parable shouted across the room, catching the stallion's attention.

"Hey Parable! What's up?" Jem shouted, not minding the conversation spanning across the entire room.

"I need to ask you something."

"I'm all ears!"

"Well, okay..." Parable muttered. "Would you mind if, uh, I take care of the foals for a bit? So we swap jobs?"

"Sure!" he replied, walking up to her. "That sounds like an awesome idea! When do we start?"

"Start? Well, I was thinking we could start tommo-"

"HOLD UP!" an furious-looking Yingling shouted, standing up from his chair. He drew the eyes of everypony in the room, making a short silence for even the foals.

"Why am I not included here? She's my partner, and I should get at least a say in this."

Cinders looked reproachfully towards him.

"Why would you get a say in this? It's their decision, not yours."

"Because... because this is my partner we're talking about, and I say I don't want this change, it's fine the way it is."

Parable narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, I vote for a change."

"If Parry really wants to change, why stop her? I'll vote for change," Jem said.

"That's a two-to-one vote 'for', Ying," Cinders said, with a grin. "I doubt you'll get any more on your side. I don't know what game you're playing, but I'd advise you quit it."

Yingling turned to me, and I slanted an eyebrow back.

He isn't going to try to get me on his side, is he?

He didn't, and instead grumbled to himself as he stomped over to the other side of the room, pushing the foals out of the way. He threw himself on his bed without uttering a single word.

Awkward silence followed briefly, interrupted by Jem.

"Whelp... how about we get eating? No use crying over spilt pride."

* * *

What's Ying's deal?

Dinner was a well needed break, from the drama that I still didn't fully understand, though there was no need to dwell on it. The dinner was certainly above average, some of the fruit as far as being freshly picked. The portions were a bit bigger than the day before, making it all the more impressive. Some of that may have had something to do with Ying's portion, which he didn't make any effort to take. If he wasn't going to have it, why leave it to waste?

The table wasn't cleared for the meeting, the only tableware left being the dessert plate. We sat down in our places as usual, where Ying eventually joined us after persuasion from Cinders. He was given a choice to either forget about it, or get lost. Ying wasn't stupid, and soon after he re-joined us at the meeting table.

"Let's get straight to the point, shall we?" Cinders said, avoiding her usual routine of a progress report to start the meeting off. "Due to the change in schedules, we're gonna have to mix things up a bit. Jem and Ying, you'll be over in Crystal district tomorrow. I'll need you to teach him the ropes, Ying. No more stupid outbreaks."

Yingling muttered something that sounded like "Sure," under his breath.

"Parable? Since you've taken over from Jem, I'd usually want you to do his normal line of work, but if you're going to take care of these foals, I need to make sure that you're capable. You can spend the day off with 'em. I'm sure Jem can help out with any questions."

"O-of course," she said, beaming.

"Crow, you'll be doing Jem's work for the day, as well as some added extras. It's all on this list," Cinders said, passing a piece of paper to me. "You can read, right?"

"I'm okay, as long as you haven't put any extra-long words in there," I said, grinning. Since we never had a proper teacher, asking whether we could read was standard procedure, in case somepony didn't know. I'd been getting some help from Mrs Goldheart earlier in the year, and was quite pleased with my progress thus far.

"Alright then. There's... something else that I'd like to show you, Violet. Thought you might be interested."

She pushed a large collection of papers from her part of the table to mine, named 'The Pastur Press'.

"A newspaper? That's asking a bit much, don't you think?" I chuckled.

"Not the whole thing, just the page I've given you. Start reading from the bottom segment."

"Um... okay, then," I said, not really sure what she was talking about. "City... deaths. June 7th," I muttered. "Mrs Elizahoof Rarestrike, aged thirty, passed away due to unfortunate accident. We give our condolences to her husband, one Gillard— "

"Next one, Crow."

"Alright. June 8th. One Mr Warding Brittlebush, aged fifty four, found dead, stabbed in his home. A stallion of strong character and voice, the former director of monee-tary affairs shall be dearly missed for his revo-rev...something edicts concerning the economic well-being of all ponies in Pastur. More on page 10," I looked back at her. "Why is this interesting to me?"

"It's June 8th today, Crow. You know who you robbed yesterday? Mr Warding Brittlebush."

"...How do you know that?"

She reached behind her chair, aiming for a couple of low shelves hidden from my view. She emerged a moment later, with the diary I stole the night before.

"Our client hasn't reported for the diary yet, so I did a bit of light reading. He was a popular pony, you know."

I gasped, momentarily frozen as it hit me.

"You don't think... somepony else broke in?"

"I don't think there's any other explanation," she replied. "Brittlebush wasn't very popular with some folks, that I know. Once you'd burst in, the pony who did it must've used the same way you did to get in and finish him off."

"That's crazy..."

The thought of a pony so I'd heard so recently being dead was a strange concept.

Cinders looked on, with a serious expression. "Thought you'd find it interesting. I think I've run through everything I needed to. Meeting dismissed."

We abandoned the table, save for Cinders, who had some extra papers to fill. It occurred to me how much she had been writing that day. Cinders was a busy mare. Whatever she was doing, it was going to be important for us.

I wasn't sure how to process the new info. Had somepony really gone and killed him through my very own route? If so, I had reason to feel some kind of guilt about it.

Then again, I didn't do it. I had nothing to do with it, in fact. My actions may have been criminal, but not that kind of criminal. I was no murderer, after all.

I laid back on my bed, trying to forget about the whole thing. It'd been a weird day overall. A nice change, having a day off.

I kind of hoped that I wouldn't have another one anytime soon though. Work, weirdly enough, was a lot less stressful than having to deal with my friends problems, and a great deal more simple.