Silent Graves

He'd downed an entire bottle of antacid now, and it wasn't helping the pain in his chest. He'd made three other reviews this evening, but he was finding it harder than usual to ignore the heartburn. Perhaps a break was in order. Perhaps he needed to start that break with a glass of milk.

He stood up and made his way to the kitchen. His head was spinning, but he chalked that up to having stood up too fast. With a minimal amount of spilling, he poured a tall glass and lifted it up to his lips. In a few gulps, it was gone. He was feeling a little bit better after that, but still not great. He had another glass, and it didn't help as much as the first.

He went into the bathroom and turned on the tap for the tub, plugging up the drain. It was a slow process to fill this thing, especially at half pressure. This would at least give him time to write one more review before his soak. He sat down at his typewriter and fed in a new page.

"Le Nom de Fantaisie certainly sounds like it would be a good place to eat. The name brings to mind high cuisine and class. In truth, it really only has one of those things.

"Let us start with just finding the place. My cab driver had never heard of it. I gave him the address instead, and I could see why. The sign was hidden away behind a tree. There was a gardener out front, tending to the begonias, so it was clear that they had professionals to do the work that could display the sign, they just weren't doing so.

"Once inside, I was alerted to the dress code. For those of you that wish to know, stallions must be wearing a suit, and mares must be wearing a long gown. Luckily, I was dressed in appropriate attire, but I did see a couple turned away because the mare's dress was too short. For reference, just below the knee is too short, but a slit running up to the hip displaying the bottom of your panties is no problem as long as the bottom reaches almost to your fetlock on at least one side. Yes, I saw somepony wearing that, and they were allowed in.

"The service was very fast, likely because they were pretty early into dinner at the time, and not a lot of ponies had arrived. Before long, I was enjoying a tasty meal, with a live string quartet providing a lovely upscale atmosphere.

"Unfortunately, I then saw something that, when I think back on it, still makes me shudder in disgust. A few tables over, nevermind how many exactly, a mare was sitting all alone. She had told the waitress that her coltfriend was on his way, and ordered the paella for him. She had been sitting on her own for a few minutes when the owner of the restaurant walked up to her table and offered her a note that he'd already opened, telling her that her coltfriend was not going to make it in.

"If that had been the end of it, I wouldn't have brought this up. He then proceeded to sit down across from her and ask numerous questions about herself. I could see the discomfort on her face quite clearly. He tried to justify asking for her information by giving his own, but it was pretty clear to me that she didn't want to be having this conversation with a perfect stranger. When he put his hoof on her shoulder, she left, barely remembering to pay her bill on the way out and taking none of her leftovers. I wouldn't blame her. As uncomfortable as I was just listening to it, she must have felt even worse being actively involved.

"In short, despite the good food and atmosphere, the night was ruined by an overzealous and carnally-oriented owner. Your best bet for having a good time here is to either enter as part of a group that is either equal parts stallion and mare, or with a higher ratio of stallions. That, or order your food by mail and just have a courier pick it up and bring it to you. If you are a single mare, do not go in alone."

With that done, he stood up and returned to the bathroom. The tub was almost ready for him. He slipped into the lukewarm water and turned off the tap. With a yawn and a stretch, he tried to relax in the bath, hoping that the relaxation would help him deal with the indigestion. He closed his eyes and let the water envelop him.

The next morning came too soon for the intern that was sent to collect the finished reviews. He'd woken up early and caught a cab from San Palomino, just to pick these up. He shuffled his way to the door and rang the bell. After a full minute of silence, he pressed his ear to the door and rang again. It was certainly sounding off inside the house. After that failed, he pounded on the door loudly, shouting "Mr. Fin, are you there?"

After ringing the doorbell once more, he placed his hoof on the doorknob. It turned in his hoof, and the door opened. It wasn't locked, it just swung open. "Mr. Fin? Your door was open. Are you here?"

Taking just a few more steps in, he was careful not to leave the entryway. He'd been in this house last week, and was told he could just come in if he was here to pick up the reviews. They were supposed to be in a sealed envelope here in the entryway, but there was no envelope today. "Hello? Mr. Fin? Are you here?"

No response came. With a great amount of hesitation, the intern stepped into the hallway and took a few steps toward the home office. Perhaps he'd written the reviews and forgotten to place them in the envelope for pickup. "Mr. Fin?" In the event that he was caught snooping, he wanted it to be very clear that he was just trying to do his job. "I'm here to pick up the reviews!"

A cursory glance at the typewriter told him why there were no reviews to pick up. Only five were finished, out of the ten he was supposed to have. They were stacked up on the corner of the desk, ready to go, but not yet in an envelope. Knowing he couldn't leave empty-hooved, he returned to the entryway. Surely, Mr. Fin would be with him shortly. If not, the meter was running up on the cab.

On his way back, however, he peered into the bathroom's open door and saw something pony-shaped in the tub. "Mr. Fin, is that you?" He waited for a response, but none came. Perhaps he was asleep? It would be very uncomfortable if he had to go in and wake him up. Most stallions didn't like to look at each other in the bath, for obvious reasons.

He took a moment to compose himself and stepped inside to wake him. Only, he wasn't sleeping. The bathwater was bright red with little bits of black and pink everywhere. It all seemed to be leaking from his mouth, his nose, his ears, and his empty eye sockets. He was cold to the touch.

The intern rushed out of the house and to the cab driver that had taken him all the way here from San Palomino. "I need an ambulance, right away!"