Walking down market street, making stuff up as I go along...

Renaultar was quiet for a few moments. He never expected to have such a conversation with a little filly. Maybe he should start from the beginning.

"I didnt know what i was going to do for a long time. Then one day i defended a helpless classmate against bullies and got my cutie mark." He decided not to mention that he was absolutely pulverized in that fight. "Up until then i just did what i thought i should do....Nameless...are you...doing your 'job' because you want to, or because....your told to?" He was hesitant to what kind of answer he might get.

Maybe I'm going a little too deep. She is just a little filly...

Nameless blinked.

"I do my job because it's my job. My job. People tell me to do it, and I want to do it...but in the end it's my job and no one else's. That's what I think I should do."

She paused.

"Loyal, I think, explained it this way. The household is like one big team, and everypony should do their part so that the team succeeds and we all win. Win the chance to be part of a...family of sorts. 'Even Woods does her bit...eventually,' she said. That's why things need to run efficiently and elegantly. So that our team does the best it can!"

She thought about her words, and nodded. They sounded right.

Renaultar wasn't so sure about challenging her current stance on that. Telling her that he felt it was wrong was not his place. But he knew that he could at least give her an experience outside of that.

"If that really makes you happy, i wont tell you otherwise. In a way i am somewhat married to my work too, though i had to find it first." He paused for a bit after that, thinking and keeping an eye out on the horizon. Maybe he should focus on more innocent topics.

"Nameless, what do you do on your time off? Ever go to the park or hang out with any friends?" The question to him sounded innocent enough.

"...This is my time off," Nameless said soberly.

"White Woods tried to make it seem that I was doing all her chores and being extra diligent servant, so I can have enough time to 'buy ice cream'. 'Cept I already had the time to buy ice cream and now I have so much free time I don't know what to do. There was finding you, of course, but now that's done."

The filly then thought about the second question.

Thought about it for several moments.

"...Can I consider you a friend?"

"Of course!" He smiled brightly, feeling warm and fuzzy at the heart. Though her hesitation to answer made him worry. There surely had to be other things to this filly. "Nameless, i think it wouldn't hurt if you found other hobbies to do in your free time. I mean, what if you wanted to start a...uh...bottlecap collection or something? Do you have any brothers or sisters in your family?"

"Bottlecaps?" Nameless tried to stifle a laugh, "Why would I try to collect bottlecaps?"

"And White Woods is kind of like a sister..."

There was another dreadful silence as Nameless tried to figure out the depth of his question.

"I...don't know my family..."

Renaultar stopped dead in his tracks. That...really explained a few things, not in the way he hoped.

"Oh....I'm...sorry...What happen?" He turned to offer an eye of sympathy. Renaultar's family wasnt too big itself, but he has his share of good times. To not have a family...Well...The thought just destroyed him.

"I don't know. All my life I have spent serving Mr Herald and Mrs Admirer. No pony wants to talk about it, even me. We never talk about it. My purpose is to serve, no matter who or what my mum and dad were."

The filly did not say this in a sad, sorrowful or even emotional tone. She said it her 'servant voice', matter-of-fact, unemotional, detached. She didn't miss her family, there was nothing to miss. The household was her family now.

Renaultar felt that he hit another block in their conversation. Poor filly. That'ts just a terrible thing to not know ones family.

He remained quiet as they moved along, thinking to himself. His inner chivalry wanted to give this little filly a good time to enlighten her, but it was not exactly his place to do so. His curiosity was reaching its peak. When he dropped her off, he would have to ask her...'masters' about her.

For the moment, he could not think of anything to say. For the moment it was quiet but something would come to him soon enough.

The rest of the trip was done in silence as the two ponies ran out of things to say. Nameless hummed a little tune to herself. It wasn't done accurately, but it was done with great expression.

Surely enough, her home was finally arrived at, and the filly climbed off the guardpony's back. "Thank you for the ride and the ice cream Mr Renny. I...think I enjoyed myself."

Those words brough a big smile back to Renaultar's face. "Always a pleasure. Its a joy to have your company. Oh, and when you go in, is it alright if i spoke to Mr Herald or Mrs Admirer? I just had a few...questions." He maintained his smile, but there was a grimace behind it at what he was going to be asking.

"I'll fetch them for you," Nameless said with a curtsy, before entering the house.

She returned with the curious Mrs Admirer and the stern Loyal Prudence.

"Deputy Shields!" Mrs Admirer exclaimed in surprise, "I did not expect to see you so soon! Has something happened to the snowflakes?"

Renautar winced at the sight of Loyal. He was hoping to keep this private. "No...but i got a few ideas. But im not here about that. Ummm. Would you terribly mind if we spoke in private?" He said glancing at Loyal Prudence. Her stern nature was already making him uneasy.

Mrs Admirer raised her eyebrows. "Very well, then. Loyal, please take Nameless and find White Woods to prepare supper."

"My lady, I-"

"I will be fine, Loyal."

Loyal curtsied, and took Nameless with her. Mrs Admirer led Shields to a room.

"You don't have to be afraid of Loyal, you know," she laughed, "Would you like some tea?"

She got out a tea set.

Renaultar didn't think he was that readable. Of the years he spent on the streets, he thought he had reading peoples expressions and tones down. Apparently he didn't really get down on masking his own.

"Thank you but ill pass. I'm more the coffee type. I actually had some...inquiries about...Something Nameless." He let that rest before continuing. "What is..that nature of her employment here?" He had to be careful with how he worded things here. He did not want to upset anyone.

Mrs Admirer's face fell. "Oh. Yes. Nameless."

She aborted the tea making in exchange for sighing and trying to think about her response.

"It wasn't my idea, really," she reflected, "But- Hmm. I suppose I better start from the very beginning. A question, Officer. How many children do you think a poor family would be able to support, here in Manehattan?"

Renaultar was hoping he wouldn't get a response like that. Well, one of the many responses he didnt want. At least she was willing to talk.

"I wouldn't have a number, but i have seen enough children living in boxes in alley ways to consider it." He said flatly. His warmhearted nature left him. There had been too many dealings with poor families that ended badly for him to count.

"Try fifteen. The family tried desperately to raise the previous fourteen, but fifteen, well, that's a bit too much." Mrs Admirer looked uneasy. "They were adamant that their child would not grow up on the streets, and they didn't trust the orphanage, or adoption agency."

"Loyal heard about their plight, and begged us to take her in. We-" Mrs Admirer took a deep breath, "Refused. I was rather selfish at that stage in life, I didn't want another responsibility on my hooves. Loyal was adamant though, so she-"

Mrs Admirer looked at Shields strangely. "Did you know that buying ponies is, strictly speaking, legal in Manehattan? There are a bunch of other laws that come with that too, making that sort of business entirely impossible to run. Anyway, after Loyal bought Nameless in our name, we were legally responsible for her well being. I was angry at Loyal. I trusted her with everything. I felt betrayed. So, again, I refused to take care of the child, ordering her to do it herself. She did. Lost about 20% of her remaining days to raise Nameless, but she did."

Mrs Admirer stopped and looked down, ashamed.

Renaultar nodded, looking down himself. He felt sympathy. There were no bad ponies here. Only ponies trying to do what they thought was best. He had a lot to think about.

"Mrs Admirer...If it helps, I want to let you know that i sympathize with you. Considering how the other choices usually go, i think that...Well she is leading a much simpler and easier life."

Oh boy. Now for the kicker. I have to word this right.

"...But...don't you think that maybe she should..Well...Get to experience some life outside of here? Granted its a safe and stable road here, but its a path through a tunnel...." He faltered for a moment and looked back down. "I'm sorry. Its not my place...I bought her some ice cream and gave her a ride around town.... Sensitive topics came up, but i did not intrude any more than i should have....But i was happy to help her enjoy herself.." He wished he could kick himself for being such a nervous nitwit. All the years on the streets against crime and he was nearly stuttering at the ground.

Mrs Admirer smiled. "Being curious is natural," she said softly.

"I suppose it would be for the best," she mused, "The filly needs a future beyond this house when the rest of us are dead and gone...but it is not my place to say. I gave up that right years ago." She smiled as she started to prepare tea. "I'm sorry, officer, but you will have to face your fear of Loyal if you want a say in Nameless' activities. Loyal!"

Surprisingly quickly, said mare appeared in the room. "Yes, mistress."

Mrs Admirer wordlessly motioned to Shields.

Renaultar was glad he was getting positive feedback, but things turned around quickly when Loyal was quickly in the equation.

His gave her his best nervous smile and tried to look like a Guardponies best. "Oh. Yes. Umm...Its about...Something Nameless." he paused, more for his sake of getting a breather this time. "I bought her some ice cream and, uh, let her ride me for a bit until i dropped her off here. We talked about a few things....Like...families and school...And..uh..Well, i was just concerned for her..."

Now he really wanted to kick his head in. He barely managed to get the message across. It was almost easier to talk to Captain Stonewall. Almost.

"Officer, if you want to say something, I suggest you come right out and say it," Loyal said sharply, "Time is a precious asset, and I daresay you've wasted enough dilly-dallying with Nameless. I will not stand for that sort of nonsense with me." This was punctuated with a disapproving look, the same kind a teacher would use on a misbehaving student.

Mrs Admirer just sipped her tea, watching the entertainment from where she stood.

Renaultar felt even more nervous and stood at attention stiffly to force the words out. "I think Nameless needs more exposure, Miss." he held his tongue again before going on. "She was just...looking so happy and curious when i walked her around. I can't imagine her being here her whole life...I feel compelled to voice this concern."

He felt the burden of the words leave him. His stance at attention felt easier and more empowering now. But Miss Loyal was still there.

"She..just has...so much potential. More than this place....Im sorry. I am out of bounds here." He really wanted to help, but just as his superiors told him, and many other ponies, he wanted to help too much. There were so many ponies out there to help. This one though felt closer to his heart just after one day.

"Are you suggesting, officer, that there is something wrong with this place?" Loyal demanded.

"Loyal!" Mrs Admirer injected, sternly, "Be reasonable. I, for one, agree with him."

"But mistress..."

"The choice, in the end, is up to Nameless, but out of all the ponies in this household, she looks up to you the most! You out of all ponies, care the most for her welfare! You must realise that we are not going to here forever for her."

Loyal looked back her mistress. "I tried to raise her as much as I could, Cry- Mrs Admirer."

"Yes, but isn't part of that eventually letting go?"

There was pause as Loyal thought about those words.

"I didn't think this was part of a guardpony's job..." she muttered angrily, "Well, officer? You've voiced your concerns. I will take them into consideration. Mistress, I will escort Deputy Shields to the door."

Mrs Admirer sighed, "If you must, Loyal."

After leading the guardpony to the door, outside the house, Loyal hissed at Shields, "Alright, guard, what is your game? Why have you suddenly taken interest in Nameless? Are you a filly fooler or something? Because if you are..."

Renaultar was happy to have gotten his point across, but Loyal's accusation quickly put him on the defensive. "What? Nonono! I just want whats best. I...I couldn't help but want to make her happy after i spilled her ice cream. I mean...uh..Really i just....want every pony to feel happy....Sorry." He said a bit frantically. Last time someone accused him of filly filly fooling he just about lost his job again. How was he suppost to know that the slight word difference between horse house and whore house was so dramatic. That day was not a good day.