“Sombra doll! Be a dear and take these to the train depo please? I’ll have some lemonade for you when you get back.”
“Yes ma’am, I’ll be right back ma’am!” Sombra called out as he sorted the last of the cherries into the color-coded buckets and shut off the conveyer belt. Cherry Jubilee regarded him with a smile as he rushed over to the crates and pushed them towards the entrance.
“You can call my Miss Jubilee sugar and you don’t have to push them; you can use magic if you want.”
Sombra stopped his work to look his boss in the eye as he addressed her. “Again ma’am, with all due respect, it’s part of a promise that I made to myself to never use magic again. Please understand.” He ended with a somber tilt of his head.
“Oh of course sugar! I don’t judge you none for your choices I just don’t want you to go and hurt yourself. Unicorns are generally not as strong physically you see.” Cherry Jubilee reasoned as she applied more lipstick to her lips. Giving him an uncomfortable amount of eye contact as she did so. It made his hair bristle.
“Yes ma’am, I am weaker than an average earth pony but I have been training and have gotten much stronger since you hired me. I will not fail you even without magic, I promise.” He ended with a smile that he hoped came off as charming. Apparently, it did because she winked suggestively at him and smacked her lips together.
“My, what a gentle colt. Keep up the good work doll and I’ll be waiting inside with your lemonade!” She put more swing in her hips then necessary as she sauntered out of the warehouse. Sombra really did appreciate the work but he had to get out of here. The constant sexual inuendoes and offensive remarks towards unicorns in general were becoming more overt. If earth ponies were the superior race then why didn’t she go after them?
He also knew it wasn’t smart to use his ‘real’ name but it was all he had left that was his. He pawned his crown for a few bits for a shower and a hotel room so he could go into a job interview with any confidence. Apparently, he was good looking despite his mangled horn if the looks and flirting from both Jubilee and other towns ponies were anything to go by but that brought him more unwanted attention. He could hide his lack of cutie mark with saddlebags or cloths but in the rare cases when somepony noticed… it just made things harder.
He loaded the boxes onto the train on time and did his daily ritual of calculating how many bits he had and how many he needed to get to his destination and start a new life. He didn’t really have a plan more than a list of wants:
1: Get out of here. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to go to Manehattan or the end of the line. Manehattan was expensive, both to get to and live in, but there were more diverse jobs and he could hide in a crowd. But at the end of the line, he could leave this land entirely and start over with a new race who didn’t know what a pony was, let alone what one was supposed to look like.
2: He wanted something to cover his horn and make it look normal and some nicer cloths. He needed to hide the fact he didn’t have a cutie mark, maybe get a tattoo?
3: Maybe go to Manehattan to shop and work for a bit and then go to the end of the line? No matter what he did he needed to visit Cartwheel one last time. He saw the old stallion once a week to have lunch so he couldn’t just disappear without saying anything. He got this job because Cartwheel vouched for him.
He sighed on his way back to ‘play coy’ with the boss. He didn’t even know who he was let alone care about who others were. Maybe he could care if he wasn’t such a constant ball of confusion and hatred. What he knew about himself could fill a postcard!
Dear me:
You are a unicorn who can’t use magic named ‘Sombra.’ You can never go home because you were an evil king and traumatized all your subjects. You don’t have a cutie mark because you are not good at anything. Try to dodge the ponies who only think you’re worth anything because you are easy on the eyes.
-Have fun with that fucktard <3
Sombra sighed again once he finally made it back to his boss’s office and put on the best smile he could before knocking. “Come on in sugar! The doors open.” He pushed the door open and found her sitting on her desk with half lidded eyes, ‘oh joy.’ Sombra forced himself to smile wider and mentally prepped himself for the interaction.
“Ma’am, you look lovely as always.” Jubilee laughed and handed him a glass full of lemonade as promised.
“You look like you’ve been working hard. Why don’t you take a load off.” She gestured to the available chair which Sombra took and sipped his drink, waiting to see where this would go. “You’ve been such a good worker these past few months, despite your refusal to use magic. So I think you deserve a little reward.~”
Sombra took another sip and met her flirtatious look with a calculating one. “Oh?” Cherry Jubilee nodded her sassy little head.
“Umhum~ I’m trying to expand my business and a vender in Manehattan has agreed to meet with me and I’ll be needing a big strong pony to come and carry the merchandise.” Sombra put his glass down to give her his full attention.
“Are you asking me to… escort you to Manehattan?” This would be a great opportunity to scout out the city and see what it would cost to live there! He only had second hand knowledge from ponies who used to live there years ago. This is a Faust sent! He might actually sleep with her like she wants if it meant a chance to never see this place, or her, again! “I would be honored ma’am. I promise that not a single cherry will be bruised on the way. You have my word.” Cheery Jubilee laughed happily at his declaration.
“I would expect nothing less. We leave in a week and I want our best stock available for the trip!”
“Yes ma’am.” They clicked their glasses in together in a toast.