I sit at the table, looking over the menu. I don’t recognize half the words, to be completely honest.
“This spinach salad with castella dill weed dressing and pomegranate seeds sounds good-you know, I actually met a rather fantastic cook who could make a gourmet meal from dandelion roots, pine needles, and apple cores-she’s touring in Canterlot I believe,” Trenderhoof muses aloud, smiling as he turned a page.
I glance up, blinking in surprise. “Really? Roots and apple cores?” I ask quizzically.
“She did,” he says, beaming. “She also mixed up a saffron and oak bark soup-I wrote an article on her a while back, saying she could make something good from near anything! Not one of my better articles, but the research was fascinating.”
A stallion with a goatee approaches the table, tightening his tie. “Hello, my name is A La Carte, I will be your waiter this evening,” he says in a a deep dulcet tone, flashing a smile. “Might I start you with an appetizer?”
“I’ll have the goat cheese stuffed plums with Neighagra vinegar,” Trenderhoof says, closing his menu and setting it on the table.
The waiter smiles, nodding. He makes no notes; I wonder how he remembers all the orders. “A personal favorite of mine. And you, my lady?” he asks, glancing to me.
My coat flushes red as I realize I haven’t chosen anything, let alone an appetizer. “I, um, I don’t really know-”
Trend clears his throat, managing an awkward smile. “She’ll have the crackers and brie, Los Pegasus style.”
The waiter raises an eyebrow at Trenderhoof, then looks back at me with a casual smile, dipping his head politely. “Excellent choice for an excellent mare,” he says, turning and trotting off to the kitchen.
“Sorry Apple Jack,” apologizes Trenderhoof, pulling at his sweater collar in embarrassment. “You seemed rather at a loss, and I assumed the brie would rather suit your casual palette.”
“No, no,” I say, brushing off his apology. “I was floundering like a fish in the desert, it’s fine.” I pick up the menu, flipping through to find the next course, so I can be prepared this time.
“So how have things been down at the farm?” asks Trenderhoof cheerfully, magically lifting his glass to his lips, sipping the lemon water.
My eyes flicker across the soups, and eventually I settle on the Garden Herb Vegetable soup, because it’s the only one I really recognize. “Oh, all right I suppose. We’re already figuring out how much cider to make come later in the fall. One of the old scarecrow’s have gone missing, but it’s all pretty normal otherwise.”
“Maybe sometime I could come interview you and your folks? I still don’t know all that much about farm life, and it might make for an interesting article-ah, here’s our appetizers!”
The waiter returns, setting a tray in front of each of us. There’s not much, but I guess it is just an appetizer. “You’re entrees,” he says, dipping his head politely again. He pauses, looking to me with a smile. “Madam, might I bring more water to fill your cup?”
“Nah, I still got half of it left, but Trend’s here is empty,” I say with a polite smile, fiddling with the crackers.
“Of course,” he says, turning away. “Let me go get a pitcher of ice water,” he says before heading away.
I pick up one of the crackers, hesitating before scooping up a bit of the cheese. I put it into my mouth and chomp down. The taste is a milky rich one, savory, with a flavor I can’t quite place.
“These are pretty darn good,” I say with a smile, eating a second one, savoring the delicious taste. “What’s in these crackers?”
He glances at the menu as he lifts one of the plums, eyes flickering across it. “Thyme, chives, wheat seeds, organic ranch grown grass, almond paste, peanuts-”
“Peanuts?” I interrupt him, flinching. “I-I’m allergic to peanuts.”
Trenderhoof glances up in surprise, and I put a hoof to my mouth, trying not to rich. “What?”
“I’m not feeling so good,” I say with a grimace, holding my other hoof to my stomach, taking deep breaths.
His eyes flash with worry. “Oh, uh-should we get you to a hospital? Do you have some medication?”
“I left it home,” I tell him, concern building like a pressure pump. But before I can say anything else, we’re interrupted by the waiter’s return as he pours out the water.
He pauses, flashing a smile. “Tell me miss, are you a regular here?”
I frown, tipping my head to the side in confusion. “No, actually. Why do you ask?”
He smiles, shrugging. “I just think it’s a shame, really. But perhaps you could be a regular at my house-I like a girl with a bit of stomach on her.”
Trenderhoof suddenly stands, glaring. He opens his mouth to speak, but I move before he can.
“Are you serious?” I spit, standing. “You’re flirting with a girl in front of her date-and calling her fat!? You dirty parasite!” I say. I punch him hard, and I feel a satisfying crunch beneath my hoof.
He reels back, nose bleeding all over his nice neat suit. He glares, opening his mouth to say something, but I cut in.
“You’re a snake-sucking beaver-snogging scat-eating rat! You should be ashamed of yourself you dirty... dirty...” I blink, grimacing as the restaurant starts tipping beneath me. Is someone picking it up.
“Dirty... shameless pig...”
The floor flips up suddenly to catch me right as everything turns to night. I hear screaming, but then it all fades away, and the only sound I can hear is my breathing, like a slow unsteady breeze.