Chapter 10: The Chairman’s Speech
Stinking Rich and Smithy had to find new seats several times because of rude ponies shoving them or bigger ponies sitting in front of them. They were just minutes away from the speech starting when they found a spot crammed up next to a topiary bush.
Smithy squirmed as the sharp branches poked her. "Can’t we just climb up a tree or somethin'?" she squealed as a particularly sharp branch scratched her flank.
Annoyed by the petty complaints, Stinking Rich took his jacket off and flung it over the topiary. "There, that outta keep it from scratchin' ya up," he replied sharply. "Now quit yer belly achin' and pay attention! The speech is gonna start any second!"
Just the mention of bellies got Smithy’s rumbling. She could smell the fried apple petals stand from where they were sitting, and hadn’t realized how long it had been since breakfast. "Think we got enough time fer a snack?" she asked, watching the food vendor pass a bag of hot fried apple petals fresh from the fryer to a hungry customer.
After an afternoon of buttering up to the Seed's, dealing with Smithy’s sour attitude, and battling crowds, Stinking Rich was quickly losing his temper. "We’re 'bout to listen to one of the most influential ponies of our time, and all ya can think 'bout is yer stomach?" he exclaimed, annoyed that his own stomach had picked that time to start rumbling.
Giving up on argument before it could escalate, he dug a few bits out of his pocket. "Fine, get two, and hurry back before ya miss too much!"
Smithy eagerly stood in the fried apple petals line, watching the dough covered apple slices bob up and down in the hot cooking oil. She was so focused on the food cooking that the crowd's thunderous applause caught her by surprise. She watched as Chairman Carpet Bag approached the stand in the middle of the stage, smiling and waving to the crowd as if he was on top of the world.
Smithy listened to the crowd die down as Chairman Carpet Bag began his speech. "My fellow Equestrians," he started, "I come to you today with news of peace and prosperity from our newest allies, the Griffon Kingdom!"
The crowd once again exploded with applause, and Smithy couldn’t help joining in with the intense energy of the crowd. Chairman Carpet Bag was a much more dynamic speaker than she was anticipating, and the excitement of the crowd was infectious. Maybe there really was something to be had with this keeping up with the news business.
The new found fascination with the chairman was cut short by the food vendor pony. "Miss," he said, tapping Smithy on the head to get her attention. "What can I make for you?"
Snapped out of the grandeur of the speech, Smithy plopped down the bits that Stinking Rich had given her. "Two, please," she requested, watching the food vendor drop two orders of apple petals into the cooking oil.
As the food bubbled and fried, Smithy paid her attention back to the chairman’s speaking. "Equestria is on the verge of greatness now that we have a means of paying our debts to the Griffon Kingdom, who held Equestria in its iron talons for far too long," he continued, random ponies in the crowd shouting out praises. "Thanks to an alliance with the Zebrican Nation, we have found a means of peace and prosperity, helping migrant workers make a life for themselves while helping Equestria in the process!"
Once again, Smithy’s spectating was cut short by the food vendor. He passed her two paper bags full of delicious smelling food. She thanked him as she grabbed the bags in her teeth, eager to get back to her seat and listen to more of the speech.
It was hard to pay attention to anything that was said in the speech as Smithy tried to maneuver around the tightly packed crowd. No matter where she turned, she was bumped into or cursed at for bumping into somepony. One particularly big pony backed into her, knocking her into the hedges.
Smithy struggled to get out of the thick hedge bush, squirming uncomfortably at the poking parts. She was surprised to feel something wrap around her waist and began pulling her in. She kicked and screamed in vain, dropping her bags of fried food as the crowd let out another loud cheer.
Emerging on the other side of the hedge bush, Smithy began flailing her arms around madly until she hit something. She heard a voice shout out in pain, only to find that the voice belonged to Bladire. "Oh mah stars, are ya alright!" she apologized when she noticed that she had smacked him upside his head.
Bladire was quick to hush her. "Keep low," he explained as he reached through the bushes again for the dropped bags of food. "I will guide you back to your place."
Smithy was just too happy to see Bladire that she threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad yer here!" she said, noticing the cold response from her friend. "What’s wrong?"
Bladire looked away, blushing from the attention. "I am also happy to see you again," he admitted, "but these circumstances are not to our advantage. Please, we must be quick."
Staying low to the ground, Smithy followed Bladire along the edge of the bushes. "So, what do ya think of the speech so far?" she asked, hoping to break the ice.
Bladire sighed as he heard the crowd cheer again. "It is not for me to say," he commented, hoping not to rile up his friend. "Your friend is wise to have brought you here to make your own thoughts. You would benefit from listening to him."
Smithy stopped in her tracks. "Wait, ya mean Stinkin' Rich?" she gasped, dropping the bags of food again.
Bladire nodded as he resumed his search for Stinking Rich. "It is best that you are aware of the world around you, and the circumstances our friendship holds," he explained.
Once again, Smithy stopped. She grabbed Bladire by the tail to get his attention. "Hang on," she demanded, waiting for him to turn around and face her. "How do ya know what me and Stinkin' Rich were talkin' 'bout?"
Bladire let out a deep breath, thinking back to the chores he was doing that let him overhear the conversation. "I was sweeping a room when I heard you crying," he explained. "I am sorry for the loss of your grandmother."
Remembering hearing the news herself, Smithy looked sadly down at the ground. "Ain’t yer fault," she mumbled, a tear making its way out.
Bladire brushed the tear away, feeling sorry for her. "Nor is it yours for not knowing," he said, "but now that you know better, I will do my best not to burden you any longer."
Smithy rested her hoof on his and looked him in the eye. "Now why would ya go and think a silly thing like that," she smiled for him. "Besides, I've been wantin' to talk 'bout last night. I didn't want there to be any grief between us, even if Stinkin' Rich thinks there should be."
Bladire was astonished to hear this. "Are you certain this is the best choice?" he asked, a bit afraid to be asking. "What about your reputation? And his? Ponies and zebras are not friends in this land, and I do not wish for our friendship to ruin you."
Smithy smiled as she rolled her eyes. "Let Stinkin' Rich worry all he likes," she replied. "That’s his problems, not mine. I ain’t scared of bein' friends with somepony different, 'specially one as nice as y'all."
Bladire brushed at the compliment since he so rarely got them anymore. "I only wish that I was not so afraid of our friendship," he said as the crowd behind him began chanting the chairman's name. "It is best that we be going. I do not know how much more the chairman has to say."
Smithy leaned close to Bladire as they approached the topiary bush where Stinking Rich was waiting for her. "Friendship ain’t somethin' yer supposed to be scared of," she said with a big smile on her face. "It's just supposed to be."
Bladire was touched by Smithy’s words, but felt as though the emotion of the moment had more to do with their affections for each other than anything. "Have you been paying attention to what the chairman has been saying?" he asked as he looked for an opening in the topiary bush big enough for Smithy to crawl through.
Smithy giggled at the nervous zebra. "I’m gonna be readin' 'bout it in tomorrow's paper anyhow, so I ain’t worried over what I might've missed," she explained with a friendly smile. "Maybe we can meet up and talk it over when I'm done. I bet ya could use some learnin' too."
Bladire smiled genuinely for the first time that day. "You would do that for me?" he asked, knowing that slaves were not often educated in the goings on in Equestria.
On the other side of the topiary bush, Stinking Rich could be heard rustling around in the foliage. "Smithy? I that y'all?" he asked, reaching through the bush for her.
In a panic, Bladire pushed Smithy into the bush. "Be well, my friend," he said quickly, letting Stinking Rich grab hold of her and pull her through.
Stinking Rich was relieved to see Smithy had come back, even if she did look like a mess. "Where on earth have ya been?" he asked as the crowd began to disburse. "Ya missed out on the speech. I'm real disappointed in ya right now."
Smithy looked at the annoyance in Stinking Rich’s eyes, feeling like she was in some sort of trouble. "The line fer the food was really long," she lied, keeping a straight face to hide the truth. "Besides, I heard that speech just fine from the food line."
Stinking Rich looked Smithy over from top to bottom. "Where's the food then?" he asked, hoping to corner her.
Realizing that she was missing the bags of fried apple petals, Smithy frantically looked in the bushes. To her relief, they were sitting near where she had been pulled through. "Here," she said, tossing a bag at Stinking Rich’s feet. "Eat up."
To avoid having to explain herself further, Smithy dug her face into her own bag of fried apple petals, only to be disappointed that they were now cold and unappealing. This seemed to be happening more frequently with her food than she would have wanted to admit.
With the snack out of the way, Stinking Rich wadded up the greasy bags. "Let's get to the library," he ordered. "I don’t wanna have today be a total bust."
While aggravated to the point of just wanting to go back to her room, Smithy knew she had to keep up her story. She followed Stinking Rich through the busy crowd, hoping that he could lead her to some generally useful information. As they fought their way through the tightly packed crowd, Smithy could have sworn that she saw Bladire checking in on her from the sidelines.