Chapter 16: The Box Social
Town square was aglow with candles, bonfires, and fireflies. The air seemed to glimmer with soft music, bright conversation, delicate hors d’oeuvres, and sparkling alcoholic beverages. Anypony who was anypony was there to show themselves off, adorned to the inth degree with beads, buckles, and bows. Canterlot could hardly compare to the country chic that radiated from this event.
Smithy felt like a fish out of water as she made her way into the party, her heart beating wildly against the onyx charm pinned inside her dress. She was so nervous that she barely noticed anypony, hoping that she could hide unnoticed behind the punch bowls. After several calming swigs of a spiked rassleberry punch, she began to notice the zebra waiters in their tuxedos waiting on guests. One of them, holding a tray of her family’s famous zap apple tarts, was Bladire. Though he wore a smile upon his face to please the public, it did not seem to reach his eyes. ‘Poor guy,’ she thought to herself as she downed another glass of alcoholic punch.
The music picked up quickly into a fast paced square dance. Before she knew it, she was holding hooves with Stinking Rich. He looked stunning in a new black sport coat, his baby blue shirt and turquoise bowline tie complimenting the blue of his eyes. “Care to dance?” he said smoothly, tipping a new black cowboy hat at her and knowing by the dumb smile on her face that the answer would be yes.
Being swept away from the punch table, Smithy felt like she was almost flying in Stinking Rich’s arms. Maybe it was the alcohol she had consumed, or Stinking Rich’s cologne, or the ease in which they danced together, or the lights playing tricks on her eyes. Whatever it was, she liked it. Smithy didn’t want it to end as they danced square dance after square dance, stealing kisses with ease as they do-se-doed around the dance floor.
All too soon the music stopped. The mayor of Ponyville stood before them, his portly form waddling up to the megaphone. “Here y’all, citizens of Ponyville!” he said enthusiastically, dabbing sweat from his balding forehead as he spoke into the megaphone. “I wanna thank y’all fer helpin' make fer a fine party, and I wanna thank the Seed Family here fer their preparations fer this lovely get together. As always, y’all have really outdone yerselves with all this festivity!”
Pokey Oaks and Sew n’ Sow waved to the citizens of Ponyville as the crowd clapped their hooves along the ground in applause. Smithy couldn’t help feeling proud of her parents as she leaned contently against Stinking Rich. The contentment ended sharply as she watched Bladire offering them a pastry. She stood up ram rod strait, her jaw tensing with guilt as he gave her a look of sheer disappointment.
The mayor led everypony outside to begin the bids, where the sensation of the night air seemed to cool and refresh all the partygoers. Smithy gulped at that cool spring air, finding it hard to breath with how mixed up she was feeling. She felt a chill run up her spine as Stinking Rich kissed her cheek. “I’ll be biddin’ hard on ya, baby girl,” he whispered in that oh so silky voice of his. “I got a lot ridin’ on winnin’ ya over tonight.”
Smithy suddenly felt faint as Stinking Rich walked away to join the men. She felt her knees give out below her, and heard other girls screaming at the sight of a pony down. The town doctor rushed to her side with smelling salts, and he was able to quickly revive her.
Stinking Rich smiled to himself as he elbowed one of the competing men. “I got that effect on women,” he bragged, smiling as Smithy was helped up the stairs to join the other women for the bid.
Once she had been properly composed, Smithy took a seat on the Town Hall porch with her peers for the stallions to begin their bids on the boxed meals. The mayor proudly presented each gussied up meal for two, talking a mile a minute in his auctioneer voice.
Smithy gulped down a glass of water as the monotone auctioneering seemed to lull her mood down. Having those two men away from her was doing her a world of good right now, but she knew it couldn’t last long. She watched the men competing for a pink basket with black ribbons, belonging to the pharmacist's daughter. “Sold!” the mayor said, slamming his gavel down as a pretty grey mare with jet black hair trotted up giddily to the stallion who had won the bid on her basket. Up next was a large basket decorated with yellow gingham napkins and wrapped up in green ribbons. Sew n’ Sow had purposefully decorated it in her daughter’s colors so that every stallion in town would know it was hers.
Smithy began to sweat nervously as the mayor rolled out numbers for the men in town to bid on her, her mother waving at her from the crowd with a great big smile on her face. She saw a few men who she knew had been sweet on her raise their hooves in the air to bid, but they had all been quickly outbid by Stinking Rich, who cavalierly raised his hoof with each outbid. She couldn’t help looking around for Bladire, thinking to herself that maybe he would surprise her with a bid. She hadn’t even noticed the auction had ended until the gavel struck down, making her jump. “Sold! One hundred seventy five bits!” the mayor smiled broadly, accepting the money from a suavely smiling Stinking Rich.
Gathering the basket in her teeth, Smithy felt glad that something was occupying her mouth at the moment. Stinking Rich nuzzled her cheek softly as they walked down the stairs of Town Hall. “How’s 'bout we sneak off fer a bite to eat,” he suggested, Smithy gulping back her nerves as she looked into his suggestive eyes. “Besides, we got business to discuss.”