The Private Scrapbook

by Cadabra

Chapter 14: It Couldn’t Be Him, Could It?

Chapter 14: It Couldn’t Be Him, Could It?

Townsfolk had gathered around to prep for the event, putting on the final touches for this evening’s festivities. Stinking Rich had arrived very early to help out, bringing along a group of slaves he had purchased years ago to be useful that night. Making sure the lot of them was properly bathed and dressed for working, Stinking Rich used them for all the dangerous or menial tasks such as dusting high places, hanging ribbons on high rafters, lighting the fire in the fire place, mopping the floors, and beating out the dust on all the floor mats. Why let some pony get themselves all dirtied up when a slave could do it?

As the zebras worked, Pokey Oaks and Sew n’ Sow came by early to see how the preparations were going. Pleased to see such a spectacular sight, Sew n’ Sow let out a gasp of pure delight. “It’s downright magical!” she exclaimed, looking it over as if it were a wedding hall instead of a town event. The candles! The linens! The placemats! The live band tuning up on the stage! Everything was just so perfect that her heart beat a mile a minute! Pokey Oaks had to catch her as she fainted from the overload of everything, landing in his arms with a wide smile on her face.

The band had begun tuning up as Smithy snuck back stage to have a look at the festivities. She had to admit, her parents had really outdone themselves this year. She smiled back at a friendly looking fiddle player when from the corner of her eye she thought she saw somepony familiar. Tilting her head sideways, she saw a strong looking zebra dressed in overalls climbing carefully down from a ladder, looking terrified by the task he had finished. That terrified look, those stripes, it couldn’t be him, could it?

Sneaking around to the other side of the stage, Smithy snuck up a little closer to watch the zebra. He had looked so relieved as he put his hooves on the safety of the ground. Stepping forward so that he could see her, Smithy was surprised to see him bow low to her as if he was in terrible trouble, addressing her as ‘miss.’ “Bladire?” she asked, tilting her head sideways at the gesture.

She was even more surprised to see the zebra’s eyes shoot strait open at the mention of the name, his head perking up as he began to look at her. “Smithy?” he asked, a hint of fear in his deepened voice at being so bold as to ask a question of his superior.

Smithy smiled broadly as she ran up to him, Bladire returning the smile as they embraced. “Ya remember me!” she exclaimed as he kissed her on the cheek. “I never thought I’d see ya again! Where’ve ya been all this time?”

The chat had been cut short as Stinking Rich approached. “Toby! No!” he hollered, smacking Bladire on the rump. “Boy, y’ll dirty that lady up with yer black stripes! What were ya thinkin’?”

Bladire bowed down fearfully, cowering low to the ground. “Forgive me, Master Rich,” he whimpered his apology. “The lady and I know each other, and she approached me. I meant no troubles, master. Please.”

Stinking Rich shot the slave a dirty look. “Yer a mighty bad ziggler, Toby,” he said, kicking Bladire in the ribs. The zebra let out a yelp at the impact, accepting it as his punishment.

Stinking Rich gave his slave one more kick for good measure, smirking over the power he held over the creature. “Go on! Get!” he hollered, pointing to the back stage door. “Just for that, ya get to go climb the trees out there and take down all them loose branches. Don’t that sound nice?”

Bladire swallowed hard as he said “yes, master,” dreading the climbing due to his fear of heights. With a swat to the flank he ran for the door, not looking back.

Stinking Rich beamed proudly at Smithy, basking in the feeling of triumph he felt over having control over his slave. “What do ya think of mah investment?” he said, proud of himself. “Bought mahself a whole mess of zigglers a few years ago. That one’s from Canterlot. Real spitfire ‘til I got done breakin’ him.”

Smithy stared him full on in the eye, reminding herself of how much she despised the hate word ‘ziggler’ he used to describe zebras. She was both shocked and disturbed to be seeing this coming from Stinking Rich, especially after being swept up by his charms only a few hours ago. It was hard for her to focus on her anger as she got distracted by the attractive color of Stinking Rich’s eyes, almost as if he had a hypnotic effect on her. “He’s mah friend,” she said meekly as she looked in him in the eye, their faces close together as their eyes locked.

Just then, Stinking Rich got an idea. “He wouldn’t be that one dish washer, would he?” he asked, his smile an upturned tease.

Smithy nodded uncertainly to the question, which seemed to make Stinking Rich smile all the broader. “It is a small kingdom!” he said, resting his hoof upon his brow as though his mind had been blown. “All this time, had I known. Well, this is just wonderful!”

Smithy watched the pony talking to himself as if having an epiphany, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Suddenly, he looked at her with an ambitious hunger in his eyes. “Ya remember that deal we made the night I found the two of ya in the kitchen?” he asked.

Smithy shrunk back at the sight of the ambition on his face, not sure what was going on. “I, uh, don’t remember all the details…” she muttered uncomfortably, backing away slowly as if she was being interrogated.

Not wanting to let her get away from his brilliant ideas, Stinking Rich threw an arm around her slender shoulders and held her tightly. “Imagine this if ya would,” he said, holding his hoof out as if he were painting a mental picture, his eyes glossed over with brilliance. “A store where ponies could save hundreds of bits a year, gettin’ everythin’ they need in one stop! Wall to wall savin’s thanks to items bought in bulk, prices slashed lower than they’d ever seen anywhere else! I reckon it’ll be magnificent!”

Of course everypony liked to shop, and Smithy knew that. “So, what does this got to do with me?” Smithy asked, her head plastered to his in the beaming pony’s tight grasp.

Turning his ambitious smile upon her, Stinking Rich held her by the shoulders and looked her right square in the eye. “This is where ya come in,” he said, staring at her as though he was making or breaking the idea of a lifetime. “I need suppliers. Not only do y’all Seeds create an amazin’ product, but y’all are a high influence in town. Even ponies from far and wide know of the Seed Family. Not only can ya help me supply yer wares to help me turn mah brother’s store into a chain, but ya can help me network around fer the best products a pony could ever ask fer! Just think of the profits! If only ya’d keep yer promise to do anythin’ I asked of ya, anythin’ at all. Can this be yer anythin’ ya promised?”

Smithy couldn’t help feeling a sense of relief mixed with a dash of excitement about the possibilities that this idea could bring to her family. While the details were sketchy at best, she could see he wanted to benefit the both of them. She could feel herself smiling with relief as she said yes, and was even smiling at Stinking Rich’s excited trotting. His distribution career really had brought him prosperity after all. He was thinking of the future, and how he could better himself, and herself.

She giggled loudly as he lifted her in the air and hugged her tightly, kissing her full on the lips as her hooves hit the floor. The impact of his lips on hers was shocking at first, leaving her speechless as they looked each other in the eye. Oh what a feeling! So full of ambition, so full of possibilities, so full of danger, so full of excitement. So wrong, so right, so good, so bad, so naughty, so… hormones! She felt Stinking Rich lean in for another kiss, and she couldn’t keep from kissing him back. The fresh excitement of it enticed her enough that she just couldn’t help herself. There was something so good about acting so naughty that made her feel weak in the knees.

The mood was cut short by the sounds of ‘awwwww’ from Smithy’s parents, who held each other fondly as they watched the romantic display. Smithy blushed at the realization that she’d been caught doing something rather unladylike in public. “I guess I’d better be moseyin’ along,” she said, embarrassed about how hot under the collar she’d become in such a short amount of time. “I got a whole mess of things I need to do before tonight.”

Stinking Rich nodded as he looked demurely at Smithy’s parents. “As do I, Mr. and Mrs. Seed,” he said, tipping his straw hat at them. “When should I expect to see ya folks here tonight?”

As her parents hammered out the details for the night, Smithy sat back to try to collect her thoughts. As she listened to the details, she noticed out of the corner of her eye somepony standing at the back stage door. She turned to see Bladire, leaves stuck in his mane and a disappointed look upon his face. Smithy felt even more ashamed of herself for letting her emotions get the better of her.

Her thoughts were cut short as soon as she felt Stinking Rich kiss her on the cheek. “See ya tonight, baby girl,” he said, his smile like a lingering mist. She could still feel his kiss tingling warmly on her cheek, but Bladire’s look of shame made her blood run cold as ice.

Comments

[Coco-loco]

Never love for the looks always for who they actually are

[Lovinlife]

I’ve managed to get some time into this. I have yet to get my one-shot out yet (what a surprise), but I’m going to follow up on helping and try and get back into the swing of reviewing.

Things I Liked:
1. Even though I gagged at the thought of Smithy with Stinking, it does show a bit of Smithy’s character, and I’m always for that.

Comments:
1.

“...and beating out the dust on all the floor mats. Why let some pony get themselves all dirtied up when a slave could do it?”

I don’t know what to think of this. You were explaining things in a sort of narrator out-of-body thing to explain what was happening in a much more larger scale, but then it suddenly cuts to Stinking Rich’s thoughts. I would’ve waited with that thought and show it through his actions later in the chapter or story.
2. Adding on to those thoughts, you did great with Sew n’ Sow influencing the narration with her thinking.

“The candles! The linens! The placemats! The live band tuning up on the stage! Everything was just so perfect that her heart beat a mile a minute!”

But watch that you don’t do it too often so quickly so you don’t confuse your reader.

ALL_IN_ALL:
I guess you were right and I did enjoy this chapter very much. I don't see where any of this is going so there is that hint of the unknown coming into play. I want to see more, and I also want to see Smithy kick Stinking in the hoof.

Score:
9/10