“So, Alex?”

“Yeah? What’s up, Swift?” Alex replied. As we sat there on the park bench, I tiredly looked up at the human who was snacking on a granola bar and drinking apple juice.

“So, your first goal, which you have been maintaining, was to aim for seven hours of sleep a night, right?” I started with.

“Yeah?”

“And you’re still going to be busy in the castle with your lessons and duties, yeah?”

“Uh huh…where is thi-”

“And I am going to assume you’ll be practicing music much more on your guitar from now on since you got the gig with the band, correct?”

“Where are you going with this, Swift?” Alex looked at me, his eyes squinting. My mind had confirmed everything it wanted to know, so there was no point in hiding it anymore.

“Well, where does ‘work’ fit into all of that?” I asked. Alex finally figured out where this was going and closed his eyes, his mouth creasing into a smile.

chuckle “God, I knew this conversation was going to happen,” Alex chuckled. I looked at him as he shook his head. “Well, if you are so inclined to know…I already talked to management about it, and we came to an agreement.”

“What?” I was taken aback by his words as my mind was shocked to hear that.

“Yeah, and they were totally fine with me requesting fewer hours,” the human said with a chill tone. “A bit weird, though, since I am their ‘best employee,’ but it doesn’t matter. From now on, I’ll work about four hours a day, Monday through Thursday, at the store. That’ll give me plenty of time to practice my music and keep a steady income underneath that.”

“Wow. Sounds like you got this all figured out,” I conceded. “The only thing you have to figure out is when will you go back to eating comfortably?” Alex rolled his eyes as he punched my shoulder lightly, a chuckle escaping my mouth.

“My guy, let me tell you something,” the human joked. “The next time I hear anypony, or anycreature for that matter, complain about me being an ‘omnivore’ and eating meat…I am sending them to God.” I stared back at him in surprise, believing he wasn’t being serious.

“Haha. Yeaaah….”

sigh “I’m not kidding anymore,” the human exhaled, his legs swinging below him. “I’m done arguing about it. I just want to live my life, bro…heh heh.”

I shuffled in place and tried to readjust myself on the bench when I suddenly remembered the other question I had for Alex. “By the way, Alex,” I mentioned.

“Mm?” Alex mumbled, holding the apple juice again as he sipped out of it with the straw.

“I’m wondering why you asked if we could talk about this ‘here’ of all places?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, why are we talking about you not working weekends at the store by a ditch?” I alluded to. I sat there and looked at Alex as he leaned back, took a deep breath, and finished the juice box. He let out a satisfying sigh while nodding, that smile again dawning on his face.

“Ah, symbolism…the absolute best way to get your point across.” Alex opened his eyes and stared at the sun as it began to set on the horizon. The evening sky’s color changed to a relaxing orange, and Alex’s expression remained calm as we sat there, enjoying the time off we got today.

“Oooh. Okay. I get it now….”

sigh “Yep.”

“...Sooo, are you working evenings from 6 to 10?”

“Mmmm, not exactly….”

Author's Note

Totally not based on a real-world conversation....

As always, feedback is appreciated in the comments below. See you in the next one!

-Harpy