An Arabian Meeting

Amina pushed her way out of the meetings room. These ponies were plain irritating her, with their "we need more luxury" and "our country is poor" nonsense. Had these ponies ever been to Saddle Arabia? Had they seen the way everypony had lived during the dictatorship of the clan called the Hoofiban, who had taken over all of the Middle Eastern countries? The new ruler she was representing, Princess Amira, had been unable to attend due to her frantic efforts at helping her country get back on its hooves. Amina had lived as a discriminated, poor pony under the dictatorship simply because she was a mare. She had just been newly introduced to the life of a delegate of the royal court of Saddle Arabia. And yet, these ponies were complaining to rulers like Celestia and the leaders of Zebrica and Griffonia that they needed bits to support their need for "fancier boats." It was so bad that Amina had to actually excuse herself to cool down. The Princess had graciously permitted her a break from the UN meeting.

What Amina really needed at the moment was somepony to rely on to listen to her rants and understand why she was so mad. Sure, Celestia and Luna did, but they could not spare time for Amina to express her frustration. She needed a friend, and there was yet a friend for her to find.

Amina sat in the foyer of the huge castle and banged her head on the wall in frustration. The Arabian Princess would be so disappointed that Amina was unable to persuade the other rulers, ambassadors, and delegates to help Saddle Arabia, which was falling apart at the seams without support.

If she had no restraint whatsoever, Elegance would be bounding down the hallways like a filly. Which she was, but she was trying not to be. That came a distant third after being a designer, and being a lady. She had little time or patience to be foalish.

The reason for her elation was the Midnight Palace. It was going perfectly. Elegance had of course planned for setbacks and emergencies, but none were forthcoming. Rather, things were ahead of schedule and under budget to boot. It was the best she could hope for.

Yet the only thing that said anything about her happiness was the fact she wasn't glaring, fuming, growling or snipping at some other unfortunate pony. She was the figure of a perfectly respectable court lady, albeit downsized a little. Striding through the castle hallway as though she belonged (which she did) she did not expect anything out of the ordinary to break her reverie of pride and happiness.

A foreigner beating her head against the wall was suitably strange enough to do just that.

After applying her trademark appraising stare at the strange scene, she remarked, "Unfortunately, applying trauma to one's head does not relieve one of frustration." She paused, then finished with. "I say this from personal experience."

Amina looked up and saw a unicorn who looked barely old enough to be in the palace unsupervised, let alone one who knew how to speak so properly.

"I am aware," she muttered. "Zese silly, greedy royal bonies are just irritating me to no end!"

She examined the unicorn, who held herself in the style of the Canterlot Elite. Amina had seen too much of that.

"Head trauma seems better zan taking one more second to listen to other delegates and ambassadors comblaining about zeir trivial broblems," she said to her hooves. "I have a real broblem to take care of, but nobony will bother to let me speak..."

She glanced at the small mare.

"But why would such an esteemed bony such as yourself care?" she asked, not expecting her to answer.

Elegance blinked at the foreigner's accent, with it's swapping of the 'p's and 'b's. Definitely from a long way off, and considering what she said, an ambassador or delegate from that far off land.

"Well," she started slowly, "It's not every day you witness a politician lose control of their emotions like so." She gestured towards the wall on which the delegate had beat her head against with her hoof. "And when that happens, it usually is a sign of something going very, very, badly. And it is good to be aware of such things, I was always taught."

The more Elegance tried to explain herself, the more curious she found herself becoming of what exactly would drive somepony to that level of frustration, especially one that would be especially trained to be in complete control of their emotions.

"Would you mind indulging my curiosity on what this real problem is, and its ability to render the matters of the other nations trivial?" she asked.

Amina sighed.

"My country is falling apart at ze seams," she confessed. "We just burged ourselves of an evil dictator clan, but my leader, Brincess Amira, is scrambling to restore harmony and beace. We are out of sufficient funds to replace all ze damage done, and we don't have enough hope to help zose who were discriminated for being too weak, or too old, or too young, or..."

Amina fought back tears.

"...or female. We were forced to cover our bodies completely, never go to school, and take care of anything determined too trivial for stallions. And now, ze peace has come at last, but ze heartache is still zere. Most of my country is deep in poverty. And, yet, we receive no help, due to ze other needs of "more important" countries. Celestia and Luna are ze only ponies trying to help us, but zey are two of a hundred, and we are at the bottom of the list..."

Those tears couldn't be held back anymore.

"What am I going to do? I can't get any one of them to acknowledge me, much less here what I have to say! Ze brincess will be so disappointed... Oh, my poor mozzer, and all my siblings... Zey will perish into ze hot desert sand!"

Elegance was not a pony you went to for compassion. She didn't have the natural ability, nor was she taught it. Compassion only blurred focus, and impeded your progress towards your goals.

After all, look what compassion did to her brother.

"Um, there, there," she said, as awkwardly as you would expect a filly trying to calm a fully grown mare would be, "Take deep breaths, then focus on how to surpass this setback."

How green must this delegate be to try and appeal to the so-called 'goodwill' of other nations? Whilst the Princesses were figureheads of love and kindness, it was the cold hearted nobles that had the spirit to make the tough decisions. The royal treasury, whilst vast, was not limitless, and thus every bit had to be diverted into something that was of acceptable risk.

Elegance doubted that throwing money at a backward, wartorn nation was a risk anywhere near 'acceptable'.

Then again...

"That sounds...horrid," Elegance said cautiously, "If you don't mind me saying. It's just that the situation in your home sounds next to hopeless, and that doesn't really make ponies feel like charity." She breathed. "Maybe instead of asking what Canterlot could do for you, you should ask what you could do for Canterlot. Make ponies want to invest in your country, so it feels less like charity, and more like investment."

She really didn't to sound preachy. She really didn't. She just wanted to nudge this delegate in the right direction...

"I-I-I guess I could try," Amina sniffed, wiping away tears. What was she doing, falling apart like this in front of a filly? Where was the dignity? "I mean, we only became allied wiz Equestria after ze Hoofiban was terminated, and we have a lot of exotic plants and oil, but what's the use for that? We have silk, I guess..."

She shook her head and stood up.

"I am truly sorry zat I bozzered you," she apologized, bowing to the filly. "I will take your advice to heart. Bray to Faust it works... Or we may be doomed."

She could tell she was making the filly uncomfortable, but who wouldn't be in such a situation? A foreign pony, breaking down in the royal palace. Of course she was bothering ponies.

"I guess I might as well go back a little early," she said, sighing with defeat. "Sank you for your help. My name is Amina. I might see you around Canterlot later. If, of course, I don't get yanked back to Arabia for my incompetence...."

From a distance, the two ponies may have observed a mare taking note of them before she moved out of eye sight. Progressively, this pony managed to get closer and closer when their eyes were averted. Until finally...

"Is that a Saddle Arabian fashion?! Oh, I love that saddle! And that...scarf thing! What is it called?"

The new arrival was a crystal pony. While looking to be a mare, looks could be deceiving. He wore a dressy blouse top with intricate collar and thread patterns as well as a trim but dressy skirt. It was a cross between business and dressy. A pony who put a lot of effort into their choice of clothes. And of course he wore his signature necklace and flower. What stood out more was his large smile as he leaned toward them, emanating with enthusiasm.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something? My apologies!" He took a step back in admittance to his interception of their conversation. "I let my fashion sense get the best of me. I do love what you have though. So unique and wild!"

"If you can't be hopeful about your home, how can you expect others to?" Elegance asked rhetorically, looking a bit stern, "Just a little thought. My name is-"

It was at this point where the decorum and solemnity of the setting was completely smashed to bits by a crystalite intruder poking her nose into what was probably not her business. Elegance took a couple of small steps back from the sudden intrusion of enthusiasm in pony form. The line her mouth made was so straight it could have been used as a ruler.

"A little decorum was lacking in your entrance," she commented, making it clear she meant it in the same way only a little acid was injected in her words, "But I will accept your apology, if it is sincere."

She didn't trust that smile. It was akin to the smile that, for Elegance at least, signaled inevitable madness and destruction as the boundaries of what was possible, usually with catastrophic results. Being the sister of what was essentially a mad scientist did that to you.

"So, aside from gawking at our distinguished guest from Saddle Arabia, do you have any further business?"

Amina answered the question anyways. "I put all my faith in my home, you miserable biece of..."

She realized that the filly wasn't listening, due to the fact that a quite mysterious mare had just dived head-first into their conversation.

"Well," she said stiffly, "ze "scarf zing" is, in fact, just a silk scarf we wear over the place you bonies have, what is it called, a "cutie mark."

She scrutinized the new arrival carefully. There was something off about the new mare...

"Saying zat my saddle and scarves and ornaments are odd and special would be like me telling you ze exact same zing about your blouse and skirt in my country."

Amina couldn't figure it out, quite yet. The crystal mare was different, but not in skin. Something deeper...

She turned back to the filly.

"I have full faith zat we shall return to our right state in time," she explained, a little more calmly. "My only doubt is to when zat might be."

(Sorry, for some reason i never got an email telling me someone replied. So sorry for the delay!)

"Oh how lovely..." Rosselin toned down his enthusiasm, but only a little. Having just now considered their conversation being possibly seriious, he gave them some room. But then the possibility of their talk ending and going about their ways was another that was also disappointing. There was no fun to be had when nopony was around for it.

"Well, while we are here, might as well get introduced. Rose Prosperous at your acquaintance." He carefully chose to use that name considering that he was in the castle and likely going to run into ponies he might see on business. Big name ponies were a concern of his too, especially as he was becoming one as well, though he doubted he would run across any. What were the chances anyway?

Elegance suppressed a smirk when Amina put the nouveau riche back in her place. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to deter her when she introduced herself as Rose Prosperous. The name sounded familiar, but it wasn't important enough for Elegance to fully recognise.

"Elegance of the noble Design family," she said airily, as though she had practiced the introduction many times before. She turned back to address Amina.

"Well, I would hope so, you being a delegate," she said, "Convince others to see what you see of Saddle Arabia, and you'll find ponies caring about it more." She paused. "Only be sure to back it up with actual resource. It's a material world, after all." At least, that was what Elegance wrote in one of her essays in her education, but Elegance had full confidence in her beliefs and values.

It was a situation that vaguely reminded the young lady of another nation, Neighpon. After what was a brutal civil war, the country was struggling to find its feet. Their delegate had then come to Canterlot and promised a strong and steady supply of tea, which the nobles were very enthusiastic about. Nowadays, the country of Neighpon was a thriving place to be with a strong culture.

"Lady Amina of ze Nation of Saddle Arabia," she said with a warm smile and a bow of her head. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Rose."

Amina turned back to the filly.

"Sank you for ze advice," she said. "I will take it to heart. Now zat I have a solution, I would like to better know ze source of ze information. What is your importance?"

No meant as a rude question, what Amina was trying to ask was who the young mare really was, and if she had any prior experience in the realm of politics.

She turned back to Rose, who still seemed enraptured by the dull pink pony's foreignness.

"I am staying here, in ze castle. If you would like, I can show you ze rest of my closet. And, if both of you would like, I'm sure ze Princess Celestia would be willing to let you watch the debate."

Rosselin had sirens going off in his head. Not only were these two ponies of great note but the Design family was one he recognised! One he wished to have a chance to meet. Perhaps even do business. He did need an estate....

But the main problem was he was not entirely prepared to face any pony of such note. While he had a backstory, he never rehearsed it in his head. Quickly, he debated if he should terminate the conversation here entirely or go on with conversing. Quickly thinking, he put his money into staying.

"Ah! The Designs! I have heard so much about you! My brother Rosselin mentioned you many times. We just moved into Canterlot recently. The market of the Crystal Empire is dwarfed by the whole of Equestria. There is more to expand on here. But I never thought of the chance I would get to meet you. I heard much of your Midnight Palace."

Rosselin thought to comment on her clothes but honestly it seemed rather...generic. Maybe that was a conversation best left for later.

As for Amina, Rosselin beamed happily at the offer to see her foreign wardrobe. Lots of chances for new ideas. But as much as it pained him, he had to suggest delaying that. "I would love to see that, but I wouldn't want to distract you or take us from the conversation at hoof."

"Apparently my reputation has preceded me somewhat," Elegance stated dryly, "In the form of an unfinished project, no less. But if wish to know my importance, instead of my family's, you should talk to any one of the War veterans or widows in Canterlot."

She decided against doing the usual spiel of family history and such, for she assumed that these foreigners would not be as appreciative of such a thing compared to the company she usually keeps. Their loss.

At the Arabian's offer, she raised her brows, skeptical and cautious. "Are you sure? It doesn't seem like a place a mere filly like me should nose into. Official state meetings and all that. I would like to accept, for it seems interesting enough to observe, though."

Like all nobleponies, Elegance had a very strict education. While Intel had pursued the sciences, she underwent a more classical education which covered the arts, social sciences and all the things required for her to be a 'proper lady' in Canterlot's Court. She had taken to the challenge like a fish to water, with equal parts talent and determination, and the final result was a young mare (or an old filly) filled to the brim with severe pride in her knowledge.

"For such a bright filly as yourself," said Amina, giving the slight bow of respect to the filly, "it would be a shame not to have you present at ze meeting. I believe the break ends in the next couple of minutes, so if you would like..."

She pulled off the headdress on her head and stuck it on top of Rosselin, where it looked rather pretty.

"Arabian couture suits you razzer well," she commented with a nod. "After ze meeting, feel free to take whatever you want from my closet. There's plenty more where that came from."

She ascended the marble staircase with an air of confidence she had not felt since her first meeting. With a little help from her new friends, it was time to save Saddle Arabia. She could feel it in her veins. This time, those haughty ponies would listen. She knew it.