Shame

Ruiz still felt like shit when he pulled himself out of bed the next morning. The evening prior had not been pleasant, and waking up in the middle of the night to a cold sweat multiple times had not helped. He needed to be quit of this place, before they could heap any more debt on him.

As he made his way toward the living room, he ran into Jed at the bottom of the stairs. "Going somewhere?"

"I was just leaving, señor."

Jed placed his hoof firmly on Ruiz' shoulder and directed him the other way. "There'll be a time to do so, but before that, I want to talk to you. Sit."

Ruiz was concerned that he was being pulled further into the hole he'd been trying to escape from, but he sat down at the dining table, regardless. Jed sat across from him, pressing his hooves together in front of his mouth. For several seconds, they just sat there, staring each other down. "Is there something you needed to say, señor?"

Jed nodded. "Just picking out the words I want to use." He lowered his hooves to the table, as if he were about to speak, sighed, then pulled his hooves back up. "Tell me about yourself, Ruiz."

"Not much to tell, señor," he shrugged. "I'm the bastard son of a goat trying to find a place where I'm not completely useless."

Jed's eyes darted from side to side, then fell back on Ruiz. "Is... Is that all?"

"What do you want me to say, señor? I was given a purpose, and now it's either dead or scattered to the winds. The only thing that gave my life meaning is gone now."

"And what was that purpose?"

Ruiz tensed up and looked away. "I'd rather not bore you with the details, señor. It's my problem alone."

Jed nodded. "Did your purpose involve firing that slingshot of yours?"

Ruiz simply nodded.

"It's a good slingshot. Well-made, well-maintained... It's clear that a lot of care went into it. I'd expect nothing less, if your very reason for existing was tied to it."

"Gracias, señor." Ruiz' voice was very flat, as if the compliment had been completely empty. "It originally belonged to my step-father."

"Of course, the tool is only any good in the hooves of somepony skilled in its use. Given any half-decent slingshot, I bet you'd be a good shot."

"Gracias, señor."

"So what was it that brought you through Sweetwater?"

"Just passing through."

"On your way to where?"

"I don't know, señor. I'm just going somewhere. I'm not sure where, but wherever it is, I won't be a disappointment."

Jed nodded, then leaned back to look at the ceiling. Ruiz couldn't tell what he was thinking, as he kept a very still expression, as if he were trying to hide his emotions, a face he knew all too well. "Tell me about your family."

"Señor?"

"You came to know mine. I want to hear about yours."

"I have eleven siblings, señor. Are you sure you wish to know about all of them?"

"If you care for all of them, certainly."

Ruiz took a deep breath. "My youngest sister, Amaranth, would have been six years old last week. She had an adoration for pegasi and gryphons and all the other flying creatures. She thought I was being too cruel in driving the crows from the corn we grew, and every time I'd drive them off, she'd pelt me with rocks, along with her older brother, Milo. But Milo was not mad at me for bothering the crows, he was just an angry, violent kid with a nasty temper. His father would let him do whatever he pleased, with no regard for the consequences. He once ran up to me after Rosa had kicked me in the balls, and he followed it up with a blast of sand in my face. Speaking of Rosa, she is the oldest of my siblings, about two years younger than I am. She joined a group of brigands and together, they burned down my home. My mother was in the house at the time, a rare occurrence that I wish I could have been there for. If I could go back... The last thing I said to her was "I'll see you when you come home." I wasn't... I can't..."

Seeing that he had hit a nerve, Jed held up his hoof. "That's plenty. I can see that it's bothering you, so you don't have to say anymore."

Ruiz rubbed his face with his hooves, trying to hide his hurt. "Gracias, señor."

Jed nodded. His expression suddenly changed as he took a deep breath. He looked uncomfortable, as though he had something he had been building up to, and it was about ready to burst. "Now, you had mentioned that you did not wish to burden us further."

"Si, señor."

"Well, the fact of the matter is that you have already cost us quite a bit of time and effort, along with certain materials." Jed shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not looking Ruiz in the eye. "That comes to quite a hefty monetary sum."

"I have no money, señor. If I could, I would pay for the damages I caused, but I have nothing, and no means of making more. I would gladly give you all I have, but it wouldn't be enough."

"I know," nodded Jed, clearing his throat and looking worriedly at the kitchen door. "And since you cannot pay me for what you have done, we will have to discuss some alternative method."

Ruiz swallowed hard. "S-señor?"

Jed returned his focus to Ruiz and his comfort and confidence returned. "You're quite skilled with that slingshot. I can hit pretty close with a reasonable accuracy, but you? I think you could hit the weathervane on the barn from the back step in less than five shots."

Ruiz thought about it for a moment and nodded.

"You lived on a farm for several years, according to my daughter. On top of that, you mentioned that you grew corn. I don't know if you took a look out back, but that's also what I'm doing right now. What with my son gone, it's been harder on my whole family, trying to compensate for him.

"So here's my proposal for you: I want you to act as a hired hoof here. I will give you a place to stay, two square meals a day, three on Sundays, and after your debt is repaid, I'll even pay you in currency. In return, you will aid in the fieldwork, housework, and any other tasks I ask of you relating to the farm. Additionally, you will use your slingshot to protect my family and our home. You may once more have a purpose, if only for a short time. Deal?"

Ruiz fell silent. He didn't expect that. Last night, Jed had been the one most gung-ho about his departure, and now here he was, offering him a job. Surely, that little spat with the gryphons hadn't changed his opinion so drastically, had it?

Still, he didn't like being a squatter, and right now, that was what he was doing. If he left right now, he'd be leaving these ponies, the same ones that had taken him in, fed him, cleaned and bandaged his wounds, saved him from a gryphon and given him a place to sleep, worse off than when he arrived.

On top of that, he couldn't find a meaningful way to apologize if he left. Staying and working wasn't much of an apology, but neither was walking away. At least this way, he might amount to something.

"You don't have to answer right away," said Jed, taking another worried glance around the room. "If you want to accrue more debt, th--"

"Okay."

It was Jed's turn to fall silent.

"If you and your family want me to work for you, señor, I'll stick around. I'll try not to squander your generosity."

Jed smiled broadly. "Excellent. We'll start ya off with something easy while you're recovering."

Just as Ruiz was about to ask for a more hefty workload, Sadie pulled open the kitchen door. "Ruiz? Good morning. Breakfast?"

"Bring him something strong, dearest," smiled Jed. "You're lookin' at our new farmhoof."