//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Defender of Justice, King Sombra! // by VashTheStampede //------------------------------// It was a rather nice day in the quaint little town of Ponyville. Well, ‘quaint’ and ‘little’ might not have been terribly accurate descriptors – it was a very homely town, but at the same time it seemed to go on forever. Part of that may have been due to Sombra being more than a little anxious, though. He wasn’t particularly used to… being around ponies, especially ones so openly friendly. He knew he wasn’t the most approachable looking stallion, being unusually large and dark in coloration, but even still, at least a dozen ponies came up to the couple walking through the town. Granted most of them were simply saying hello to Nurse Redheart, but every single one of them took the time to introduce themselves to Sombra as well. Redheart made the typical pleasantries and greetings with ponies that spoke to her, and graciously introduced Sombra so he didn’t have to himself. Here and there his unusual eyes or horn drew a questioning glance, but any comments on them ponies kept to themselves. What they didn’t keep to themselves, however, were the implications or questions about Redheart and Sombra’s relationship. Embarrassing the first time, but by the seventh an annoyance that Redheart pre-empted by introducing Sombra as “not my coltfriend.” Sombra had to excuse his own growling chuckle as a growling stomach at that. The café Redheart intended to go to seemed to be, inconveniently, on pretty much the opposite side of town as the orphanage had been. However, being a bit more on the edge of town, most things were just about on the “opposite side” of town as Brighter Horizons’ workplace. That said, it seemed like a rather quiet café, being so out of the way, and perhaps Redheart had chosen to bring him there for that very reason. Well that was rather nice of her, going so far out of the way to try to make me feel more comfortable. Forget the trying, actually, it’s working. A lanky, gray, mustachioed earth pony stallion greeted them as they approached the fenced-in outdoor dining area, a nod from Redheart all the cue he needed to silently guide them to a table. It didn’t strike Sombra as too fancy of an establishment, with rather plain wooden tables and chairs, but it provided a nice atmosphere. Welcoming, warm, and as odd as it may have seemed to say, a… cheerful sort of feeling pervaded the air. Moments later the waiter returned, bearing two glasses of water and two menus. Redheart thanked the pony, and again he disappeared. Redheart reached out and took one of the menus, clucking quietly to herself as she opened it. “I’ve only been here once or twice before,” she began, talking both to Sombra and to nopony at all, “but I seem to recall them having an excellent daisy sandwich. I think I’ll have that. What about you, Sombra?” She looked up and across the table, only to find the dark stallion’s eyes furiously scanning the same side of the menu over and over. There’s not a single piece of meat served in this establishment, Sombra confirmed as he read the menu a fourth time. Wait, of course there isn’t. Ponies don’t normally eat meat. What meat would I have even had up in the Crystal Empire to make me crave it so? We didn’t have pigs or cattle up there, the climate was far too hostile. The only other option could have been… oh I didn’t. Oh… oh Faust I did. Sombra felt sick. Then Sombra was sick. Or his body tried to be at least. Had there been anything in his stomach it would have surely been all over the table (and his gracious host). Fortunately for everyone involved save Sombra himself, his stomach had been empty for a good long while now. Instead of a spew of vomit, his throat caught painfully as it attempted to regurgitate the contents of his stomach, and he coughed and wheezed violently, unable to inhale. “Oh heavens, are you ok?” Redheart was standing and had moved around to Sombra’s side of the table, a foreleg preemptively raised behind his back to force out whatever he might be choking on. Sombra’s vision began to spark and flash as his stomach heaved, still refusing to let his lungs take in any new air. He grasped at his water glass, and pulling it to his face, managed to take a sip. While perhaps not the method he intended, the drink did in fact work – but rather than stopping the dry heaving itself, he coughed and spluttered as he choked on the liquid. Some survival mechanism or another kicked in, and the attempted vomiting ended, and shortly thereafter the choking as well. “Are you… are you ok?” Redheart asked, part genuine concern and part medical professional, stepping back slightly from her new companion. Sombra nodded vigorously as he inhaled deeply through his nose, forcing his lungs to cycle a few more times as the dots in his eyes began to fade. “Alright, well then… do you want to take another look at the menu or have you already got an idea of what you want?” Sombra thought about shaking his head for a moment, but then decided better of it and nodded instead. Redheart nodded an acknowledgement, and waved over the waiter. “Good afternoon, sir, ma’am,” he said, nodding to each of them in turn, “Have you decided on what you’d like to eat today?” “Yes, thank you,” Redheart began as he turned to her, “I’d like the daisy sandwich, please, with… could I get the side salad?” “Of course, ma’am,” the stallion replied, jotting down her order on a piece of paper, and turning to the black unicorn. “And for you, sir?” That was the moment Sombra realized he couldn’t order food without speaking. For a couple seconds, he just stared back at the waiter, unable to break eye contact. “Sir?” Sombra looked at the waiter, down at his menu, across to Redheart, and back to the waiter, trying desperately to come up with some way of ordering without actually having to open his mouth and talk. I must admit it was easier to be a king. Everypony just brought meals to me. None of this pesky ordering business. Then again, I also wasn’t voluntarily mute back then… “Sir?” the stallion inquired again, his tone altering slightly to something between concern and annoyance. “He’ll have the same as me,” Redheart said, grabbing the waiter’s attention away from the embarrassed unicorn, “Side salad as well. Is that ok, Sombra?” The ex-king nodded, grateful she’d managed to find a way out of the awkward situation, even if it was more than a little embarrassing that he couldn’t have thought to just point to the item he wanted. “Yes, of course, ma’am. Those will be right out for you.” True to his word, the waiter was back with their sandwiches and salads in just a few minutes, setting them down on their table without so much as a sidelong glance at Sombra, before disappearing again. The former king sat with his hooves in his lap, waiting for Redheart to begin. Sure enough, she did, taking a good bite from the sandwich and chewing thoughtfully, before swallowing. “Hmm… not the best sandwich in the world, but not bad either,” she thought aloud, before noticing Sombra had yet to start on his. “Go on, you can eat too. I mean I’m assuming you don’t have any bits so if I’m paying for this I want you to get my money’s worth.” Sombra started as he realized what she said was true – he didn’t have a single bit to his name right now, and she was, of course, treating him to lunch. He reached forward and took the sandwich in his hooves, bringing the simple food up to his mouth before, once again, realizing he rather didn’t want to open it. Across from him, Redheart laughed. “Oh stop being so silly, you’re facing away from the rest of the restaurant, no one’s gonna see anything if you take a bite of the sandwich,” she said, stifling another giggle behind her hoof. Sombra blushed and looked down, then briefly checked over his shoulders. She wasn’t lying – why would she – and apart from that, there seemed to be only one other pony in the café at all, with only a pair of yellow legs visible beneath the table, and the tip of a straw sunhat visible over the top of the menu. Turning back to his meal, he brought the sandwich close to his face, and quickly took a bite. Just as Redheart had said, it was nothing special, but it wasn’t at all bad, either. But Sombra was a pony who hadn’t had anything in a week. Chewing quickly and swallowing, Sombra took another bite, then another, and soon enough the sandwich was gone. “Well looks like I was right, somepony was starving,” his white friend said, bringing Sombra’s focus back to the real world. He blushed a little out of embarrassment when he realized she was still only about half-done with her sandwich. “Hey, hey, I’m just giving you a hard time. Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you enjoyed it – and hey, you’ve got the salad left, too.” Sombra looked down at the leafy greens in the bowl. Why did I even let her order this for me? I don’t even like salad. No, no – a good guest always eats all the food he is given. I would have wanted it that way… though probably for different reasons. Verily, I will vanquish this salad, as a token of thanks to Miss Redheart! Sombra took the provided fork and stabbed a piece of lettuce and a chunk of tomato, and brought it to his mouth. Gingerly opening it, he stuffed the veggies in and began to chew, trying not to make any faces as the flavorless lettuce and oddly-textured tomato contacted his tongue. “If you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it,” the white mare offered. Sombra looked up, swallowed, and shook his head. A tight-lipped smile came to his face as he forked another piece of lettuce and quickly chewed it. Redheart laughed again, and Sombra took another forkful of the greens in his mouth. Slowly but surely, one piece at a time, the salad disappeared into the great black stallion’s belly. Redheart, who had been taking much larger bites, finished at about the same time as Sombra himself. Producing a hooffull of bits from seemingly nowhere, she set them on the table as she stood. “Come on, that’s enough to cover the food and leave a generous tip. I somehow doubt Miss Horizons wants us to come back this afternoon, so let’s head home, shall we?” She asked, cheerfully. Sombra smiled and nodded, standing up to follow her out. Wait, we can't just leave our plates and bowls on the table. That’s improper. I’ll go bring them back. Sombra turned back to the table, and deftly stacked the plates, bowls, silverware, and glasses in his hooves, and turned towards the kitchen. “What are you doing?” Redheart asked, even if she was pretty sure she knew the answer anyways. “You don't have to do that, the staff here do it for you.” Sombra turned, looked at her, and shrugged, and turned back to trotting towards the building. As he approached the doors to enter, though, they swung open in his face, and nearly knocked him off his hooves. Fortunately he managed to keep a hold of the plates and bowls, but the glasses weren’t so lucky. They fell to the ground and shattered like, well, glass. “Oh my goodness sir, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there. That was completely my fault. Though, if I may ask, what were you doing?” The gray stallion quickly asked. “He thought it would be nice if he brought the used dishes back to you, rather than you having to come and pick them up,” Redheart explained, and added, “He’s mute,” when the waiter sent a quizzical glance her direction. “Ah, my apologies good sir. Say, would you mind fixing these glasses with a spot of magic? I must admit I am an earth pony,” he said, waving a hoof over his forehead to indicate his lack of a horn, “but as I understand it spells for repairing things aren’t terribly difficult.” “He also… can’t do magic,” Redheart added, Sombra sheepishly refusing to meet the waiter’s eyes. “Oh,” the skinny stallion said. “I can pay for the glasses if you want.” “No, really, it’s fine. That was my mistake. If you so wish, do feel free to take the meal on the house. I’m sorry for having been so rude.” A memory flashed unbidden into Sombra’s head. He was in his crystal castle, more than a thousand years ago, pacing around the dining hall as he waited for his meal. A young serving mare, a filly not more than fourteen, entered quietly with a glass of wine for her ruler. As she set it on the table, her hoof slipped, and she knocked the glass over. Sombra had whirled around, and remembered very clearly her shaking hooves, her wide, terror-filled eyes, and her screams as she had been dragged from the room by his guards. Sombra shook his head emphatically, both in an attempt to dispel the painful recollection as well as to adamantly inform the waiter, No, we will pay for the meal. “Very well then. Thank you for your patronage today. We hope you choose to visit again soon.” Redheart nodded her acknowledgement, and led Sombra from the restaurant. A few tables away sat the lone other patron at the café. Hiding behind a menu and beneath a large straw sunhat, a yellow Pegasus mare with a long pink mane quivered in fear. Questions were flying through her head a mile a minute – wondering how he was in Ponyville, why he was still alive, if he’d eat her, what should she do – before her mind settled on one clear thought. Oh my goodness I need to tell Twilight.