[Seaddle] Balder's Gait

[Dubstep]

Balder paced nervously on the deck of the pony crewed ship, this was a day of firsts for the young caribou. The first time he had been on a ship, the first time being so far away from his family outside of his Will Test and of course, his first time to Equestria. Needless to say, his stomach felt as though it were filled with butterflies.

The looks he had gotten from the crew of the ship he boarded didn't help matters. Though it was true that some caribou were trying to better relations between the outsider races, some still harboured ill will against the ponies, and Balder wasn't certain if it was this preconceived prejudice or the fact that his height had him practically looming over the ponies that drew their glances. Or maybe it was the large ornate greatbow that rested on his back. Despite all that the young diplomat tried his best to keep his spirits bright and a smile on his face. Rarely had he gotten to see any ponies back home with his clan, only on the occasions he traveled with his father to Heil, so perhaps he was a little guilty of staring himself.

The caribou tried his best to stay out of the crew's way, the last ship bound for Seaddle was a trade ship, and cost his father a little extra to let him on. It was interesting though, to watch the ponies go to and fro with their work. They may not be as strong as caribou, but they certainly can get the job done, with or without magic.

As the ship sailed closer to its destination, a light rain began to fall, pelting Balder softly as he gazed up at the grey sky. It was certainly a nice change to have a cool rain, rather than a frigid snow storm. Closing his eyes with a smile, the calf took a deep breath of the salty sea air that mingled with the falling rain, once more getting a few odd glances from the crew before they shrugged and returned to their work.

Some time later the ship pulled in to port. Balder, who had been gazing at the city ever since it had came into view had to be shaken to attention by one of the crew before he noticed they had made land. "Oh, thank you very much!" he said with a nod before making his way off of the ship and towards the city proper.

As he walked through the streets, he couldn't help but to stare in awe at the cityscape. It was so different from everything he was used to! Though his gaping was certainly drawing a fair deal of attention, he was far to distracted by the sights to even begin to notice. Maybe a bit of sightseeing was in order before he got to work. It certainly couldn't hurt, but where would he even begin?

[IceStorm]

The train ride to Seaddle was much longer than she was anticipating. Sure the ticket master said that it was going to be a multi-day trip to the city from Canterlot, but she wasn't expecting it to be four whole days! It was a good thing that she thought to bring enough of her over-night protection with her, and she was sure that the cleaning mare was getting tired of cleaning her room by now. But, it was what it was. She wasn't sure if she would ever out grow or figure out what was causing her overnight accidents, but she figured that things would take care of themselves eventually. She was already speaking with Luna to see if their doctors would have any more luck on the issue. She quickly pushed the thoughts out of her mind though as the train began to approach the station.

 

The weather had taken a small bit of a turn for the worse, as rain had begun to fall around them, but that was too be expected. When she asked around to other ponies in Canterlot on what they knew of Seaddle, the most common answer was that it rained, a lot. It seemed that it was going to hold true on that front. The other thing that she noticed when she stepped off the train was that it was actually quite comfortable for her in regards to temperature. This meant that it had to be rather chilled outside, for in Canterlot, if she was comfortable it usually meant others were a bit on the cold side. She wondered if this was a normal thing for the weather here or not and was instantly intrigued. If this was the weather that was normally like here, would her shop do well here? Sure she'd gotten a prospect letter which meant ponies were interested, but at the same time, the weather that she was experiencing, wasn't exactly foreboding.

 

She looked down at her small list of buildings that she was going to be looking at here to see if they would be suitable for her establishment. She was originally looking for a larger building like what she had in Ponyville, Canterlot and Hoofington, but her focus now shifted to a possible inlet until she knew that the business would go over well here. "Alright, so... perhaps to do a bit of exploring through the city. Plus, it's also fall so it will naturally be cooler, so I shouldn't let one day of weather detour my visions..." she said to herself as she made her way out into the street. As soon as she did, a rather odd sight graced her. A Caribou! Out side of the Crystal Empire, she had never seen another bou before. Granted, she's only had a couple experiences with them, and not all of them were positive. Considering that this bou was so far away from Whitescar though, and in the midst of a pony city, he had to have been at least relatively friendly towards ponies, and he seemed to be just as lost as she was. Without further hesitation, she approached the bou. "Greetings there! You look about as lost as I am!" she said with a smile hoping that her instinct that this was a friendly bou was accurate.

[Dubstep]

The Sapphire City was certainly a sight to behold. There was so much to take in it was nearly overwhelming! He saw shops and business, ponies going to and fro about their daily grind. It was so unlike Heil or anywhere he was used to. Balder couldn't help but to wonder if ponies that came to Whitescar felt the same way? He tried to not let the culture shock get too deep into him.

Before he could ruminate on these thoughts further though, a voice broke him from it. Glancing around in confusion, his eyes eventually stopped on the pony who was talking to him, a pleasent looking icy blue mare. She seemed friendly enough, and so Balder grinned and looked down to her. "Well maybe a little lost! But, how can I be lost, if I've got nowhere to go..." he said, tapping his chin in thought. "Oh well! It's nice to meet you Miss Pony. I am Balder of Clan Kare." the caribou dipped his head politely.

[IceStorm]

Ice Storm would be lying if she said that she wasn't at least a little bit intimidated by the caribou that was standing before her. They were naturally taller than she was, and she was a bit on the tall side for a pony. but she tried to make sure that she wasn't showing that in her demeanor. She listened to the bou as he addressed her, commenting that he wasn't so much as lost as it was that he didn't really have any place to go. Ice Storm immediately took pity on the bou because only a few years ago she had been in the exact same position that she had been when she came into Ponyville. She knew what it was like to have no friends or nopony to turn to for help in a foreign environment.

 

That said, she couldn't help but let out a small giggle after he had finished his introduction and how he had addressed her. The phrase Miss Pony amused her greatly and shge didn't mind the name. That didn't mean however that she shouldn't introduce herself to the bou. "Well, I simply cannot allow you to remain in the city with no place to go. That doesn't seem like a very polite thing to do, so at least for the duration that I'm here, you can stay in my hotel room with me. I'll be here for about a week while I'm looking at potential buildings here in Seaddle to open up my fourth shop. I know what it's like to go to someplace new for the first time and start over essentially, it's not a very welcoming feeling, and it's not really one that I would feel comfortable at least not attempting to remedy."

[Dubstep]

Balder had to admit he was surprised! This pony, who had just met him, was offering to let him stay with her until her business concluded. He had always heard that ponies were a friendly race, but he didn't expect one to just let someone they didn't know stay with them! Well, at the very least he knew he wasn't crazed! Plus, having a roof over his head for some of the time spent in Seaddle was boon.

"Well, I can't rightfully say no to such a generous offer! I didn't really think of a place to stay when father sent me on my mission." Balder rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Thinking ahead wasn't the caribou's strong suit, and having no money in a strange land was likely going to be a hurdle. He was sure he could get by though. "If I may ask, what sort of shop do you run? It must be a very successful one if you're opening a fourth!"

[IceStorm]

A gentle smile graced Ice Storm's face when the caribou took her up on her offer to stay with her for the next week while she was in town looking for places for her new shop. He added that when he had departed for Seaddle, he hadn't really thought far enough ahead as to figure out what he was going to do once he had gotten there. At least, in terms of where he was going to stay. "Well, you seem like a nice young... bou, and I'm not one to leave anypony, erm... one out on the streets for any length of time at all. I do have a couple buildings that are two story that I'm going to be looking at. As long as the main floor is suitable for my shop, we can take a look at the second floor and see if it would be accommodatable for you," she smiled, suggesting that she would be able to permanently deal with his lack of housing should he decide to accept her offer. She beckoned for him to follow her as she began to follow the directions that she had been given for her hotel.

 

As they started walking, she heard the bou ask about her store, and what it was that she sold. He was presuming that it was quite successful considering the fact that she was talking about opening up a fourth store here in Seaddle. "It is quite successful indeed. I am the owner of what is now the, Frozen Delights franchise. I have a store in Canterlot, Ponyville, Hoofington, and assuming everything goes well here this week, a fourth store here. It has been amazingly successful in the summer time in all of the locations, and a bit moreso in the winter in Hoofington because it is in one of the buildings on the beach. The beachfront there tend to stay a bit warmer than most other places do.

 

The primary business behind it is snowcones, ice creams, shakes, smoothies, pretty much if it's a frozen treat, we carry it. But at each location, we also do Ice Sculptures and the like upon request. During the Winter months, at least in Canterlot and Ponyville, I can freeze the floor, or in Ponyville, the pond that I have outside of it, for a skating rink. That helps keep the locations up and running during the colder times," she explained. "Hey! If you just got here, and didn't have a place to stay, you're probably also looking for a place to work! how would you like to work for me in the shop I'm about to open?" Ice Storm offered with a smile. If this was something that Balder was interested in, she could kill two problems with one hoof, a place to live and employment. At least until he wanted to do something else or could find something else if he chose to do so.

[Dubstep]

The young caribou nodded as the mare spoke. Frozen treats were never very high on Balder's snack priority list, often being too cold back home to enjoy them, but in a temperate place like Equestria he could see why ponies would flock to it and having three other stores meant she was sure to never run out of custom.

The place she had mentioned, Canterlot, Ponyville, Hoofington, the former two Balder had heard tell of. The capital of Equestria and the little town where the pony's newest princess lived were both places that he wanted to visit sometime. Hoofington though didn't ring a bell to him, but he made a note of it in his head anyway. "Sounds like you've got a very good setup! Not many merchants or shopkeeps can say they have year round business."

At the pony's offer though, Balder had to politely shake his head and decline. "Thank you for the offer! But I'm not going to be staying in Seaddle long enough to settle into a home, let alone a job. My father sent me out to see the world and meet ponies, kind of like an ambassador! So I want to see all kinds of places and learn what I can about your culture and hopefully even help ponies learn a little more about ours." he gave a happy grin and chuckled. "But I can't really say I'm extremely knowledgeable, I'm no lore keeper."

[IceStorm]

Ice gave Balder a small smile as he politely declined her residence and job offer stating that he wasn't going to be in Seaddle long enough for either of them to be mutually beneficial. He said that his father had sent him into the world to meet ponies, kind of like an ambassador. He was supposed to be learning their culture, and help ponies learn a little bit more about their own. "I completely understand, however, for a long a your in Seaddle, or any of the other places that I mentioned, you're welcome to stay at my shop for the duration that you are there, with the exception of my Hoofington location. That store is only a one story establishment, so there's not really any space that I could offer in that one," she commented with a smile as the approached the name of the hotel that she had booked.

 

"Ah, looks like we're here. And being year-round is a perk of having natural ice magic. I can create or manipulate ice at a whim. In the location that I'm at, I use my magic to create these treats in front of my customers as part of a show. For my other locations, I just simply offer top quality treats with ingredients that are only from the city that my shops are found in. Everything in Hoofington comes from the supply market in Hoofington. Same goes for Canterlot and Ponyville. It really is quite simple, but some of the simpler things make things so much better, plus, they help me keep prices down because I don't have to pay to have products shipped to places," she said a she approached the teller at the desk. "Good afternoon, I'm here to check in for my reservation, number FN365872, I originally only reserved a room for one, but I will be adding a second to that, how much extra will that be?"

 

"Oh, not at all darling, Our rates are by the room by night, we don't care how many you have to a room as long as it's no more to two to a bed. That said, I have you down for a single bed room, and the bed has a plastic cover under the sheets as per requested for the issue you mentioned in the reservation." the teller replied.

 

This made Ice Storm blush a bit, she forgot that she had only reserved a one bed room, which meant that in order for her offer to withstand, they would have to share a bed. Ice Storm had no intentions on pulling back her offer though, and would be something that she would have to deal with however embarrassing it would be to have to explain to him why she was wearing what she was. when it came time for them to go to sleep, although even if they were in a two bed room, she'd probably still have to explain that at some point. At least it wouldn't be as potentially uncomfortable for the two of them though. "Do you happen to have any rooms with Two beds still available that I can upgrade too?"

[Dubstep]

"Thank you very much! I'll have to find a way to repay you sometime." Balder replied with a smile. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he came to Equestria. Meet a few ponies, learn a few things, teach some stuff. But he didn't expect someone to stick their neck out for him so readily without asking anything in return! It was a strange feeling, but a welcome one none the less, as having a place to stay during his travels was pretty important.

As the two wandered into the hotel, Balder's attention began to wander some, glancing around at the architecture of the lovely building. Ponies sure seemed to go for the opulent in places like this. Various well tended plants sat around the entry room, and busts of the royal sisters sat beneath a map of Equestria. This really caught the caribou's eye as he gazed at all the different towns and cities that the place had to offer.

While the caribou was distracted by the decorations and the map, his new acquaintance had taken to checking on her reserved room and if it was possible to upgrade. "I can certainly have a look, Miss! Give me just a moment." with a smile, the teller grabbed a large reservation book and began to flip through it. After getting to the end, the pony softly shook their head. "I'm afraid we're all out of vacant two bed rooms. Even with the Hearth's Warming season wrapping up, there's still quite a few ponies visiting family from out of town, I'm terribly sorry."

[IceStorm]

Ice Storm let out a small sigh, but gave the teller a small smile with a hint of a blush. She knew that it would have to come to that explanation eventually anyway, but it would have been slightly less awkward with two beds. Oh well, the bou seemed nice enough, so she didn't really have a problem with it if he didn't. "Thank you for looking, I completely understand," she said as she handed over the bits in exchange for the room key. with a smile she nodded to the teller,

 

"Do enjoy your stay, and like I said, don't worry about a thing," she heard from the teller before nodding once more and moving over to where Balder was standing. He seemed to be looking at a map of all of Equestria, which she also began to gaze upon.

 

"Huh, no wonder it took so long for the train to get here from Canterlot. I didn't realize I lived that far away from Seaddle," she commented before turning towards him.

 

"Well, I have good news, and less good news. The good news is I have the key to our room, but the less good news is they didn't have any two bed rooms left available, so we're going to be sharing a bed for the next week. That is, if you're comfortable doing so. I don't mind either way, as long as you don't keep all the blankets to yourself," she giggled playfully. "I figured it since it's still early in the day, we can go and drop our things off in the room, and then we can go explore the city for a bit. I can go take a look at the first possible venue for my new shop, and then where ever you might want to check out. We'll have to do some asking around though as to find out what good travel spots there are to go see here. As I said earlier this is my first time here as well, so I don't know where much of anything is at either," she admitted.

[Dubstep]

Balder jumped slightly and looked around as the mare's voice once more broke his focus. "Huh, wh-oh. No, that's no trouble at all. In some of the more harsh winters, the clan usually has to share beds for warmth." Being so tall as well meant that the caribou was used to cramped sleeping arrangements, even when he was the only one in a bed sometimes.

At the suggestion of a tour, Balder smiled and paced excitedly. "That sounds like a great idea! I'm excited to see more of this city. Father always told me that observation can teach you just as well as interaction! If you need to take your things to the room, go right ahead. All I have is Starcaller here, and I don't wish for it to leave my side." he said, hefting and nodding towards the greatbow that rested on his back. "It's my clan's most prized relic. After we settle down for the night, I can tell you all about how I got it!"

[IceStorm]

"Alright, well if you don't mind then, I suppose it's settled. Let me go drop this off then, and I'll be right back!" she smiled Perhaps it wouldn't be as weird as she thought that it was going the be. Only time would tell, but as for now they still had most of an entire day ahead of them, so worrying about something that was so menial now seemed moot. Without any further hesitation, Ice Storm began to head up to the room. It didn't take too long before the elevator was down and she was too the necessary floor. She was quite impressed with the establishment so far. I twas incredibly pristine and immaculate. The hallways were a brilliant white and almost looked like worked stone. It was definitely a grand hotel, and she was not upset at all about her selection. This would definitely be her hotel that she would return to for all of her business trips here in the future. She would have to see if they offered special rates for executives and the like for frequent stays.

 

When she got to the room itself, it was.... about what she had come to expect from the hotel. Everything was indescribable, and the artwork on the walls was amazing. It almost looked like it was an underwater palace of the like! One thing was for sure, she knew that her mother would love this hotel just as much as she did. She brought her saddle bag over and placed her colorful overnight garments in the dresser so that she could use the saddle bag for things that she might need out and around the city. When she sat the bag on the bed though. She noticed a small, but easily snuggle sized, stuffed unicorn with a light pastel pink coat and a simple looking blonde mane and tail sitting on the bed between the pillows with a note on it.

"Miss Storm,

 

We thank you for choosing the Seaddle Harbor Inn and Resort for your reservation. As a token of our gratitude, and in faith of future business whenever you are in our area, we extend this small gift to you. Please enjoy your new stuffed friend and give her a good home.

 

Sincerely,

Moon Belle, General Manager,"

 

"Well, that was quite nice of them," she said to herself before she reached otu with a hoof and picked up the plush. it was so soft!!! she instantly loved it and gave it a giant snuggle. Without a second thought she put her new friend in her saddle bag with her head pointing out in the direction that she would be facing before returning placing it on and returning downstairs to where Balder was. "Alright, sorry that took a bit longer than expected... I had to put a few personal things away that I'll need later tonight. On the flip side, look what I found in the room!" she said levitating the plush doll up. "It's so soft!" she smiled before tucking it back away a bit later. "So, ready to head out? perhaps we could grab something to eat while we're out as well, I'm starving!"

[Dubstep]

When the mare returned, Balder was seated in a chair in the lobby, carefully looking over his bow with a smile, tracing a hoof over the runes etched into it. This time his attention was free enough to notice when she approached. "Not to worry! It didn't take very long at all." he said as she pulled out a small plush unicorn. The few toys his clan had while he was growing up were all made of wood as it was better suited to the harsher conditions of Whitescar, but the little cloth pony had a certain charm to it. "It sure is cute, you don't see many cloth toys around home. The weather would ruin them in most places."

At the mention of food, the young caribou perked excitedly up once more. "That sounds like a great idea!" Balder said with a nod. "I had a very large breakfast before I set out to sea, but that was a while ago now, so my stomach is growling louder than a pack of dire wolves heheh." the caribou giggled. That may have been a little bit of hyperbole, but he still was feeling a little peckish.

[IceStorm]

"I can definitely understand the weather of which that you speak of. The Frozen North holds a similar type of weather. It's definitely not for a pony whom isn't either mostly immune to the cold, or would be properly prepared to endure such elements." she responded when he said that they didn't really have any cloth dolls where he was from because they wouldn't really be able to withstand the the climate of his home. It was true that in more inclimate weathers of the areas had a more harsh toll on some of the more perishable toys, but she was happy that she was able to let him experience this then. "Toys like this are common with the younger population of our society, although due to a slightly troubled upbringing, I wasn't fortunate enough to have most things that fillies take for granted. Probably why such a simple gift has instantly made me happy," she smiled and snuggled the plush a bit more before putting it away.

 

"Alright, the shop that I want to go look at first isn't too far from here, according to the map here. It should be right about here," she said pointing on a map that she had procured. "It should only be a few streets away, although for anything else we're probably going to have to ask for some directions to find, as well as any of the tourists locations," she commented before hearing the bou comment about how his stomach was growling louder than a pack of dire wolves. She couldn't help but giggle from it. "And then we will grab food, unless something peeks your interest along the way that is of the food variety. I have no clue what's here myself so we're both going to be trying to figure things out for the first time here," she smiled as she headed for the lobby doors. "Shall we?"

[Dubstep]

Balder glanced over the map curiously. The city sure was bigger than he originally thought. He's glad he didn't decide to just wander around the place blind! He could get lost in this place for hours and never see the same place twice. "That sounds perfectly fine! I've gone longer without having a meal, so that won't be an issue." he said with a nod, following the mare out of the hotel.

By now, the rain seemed to have dispersed for the time being and a bit more hustle and bustle filled the streets. It seemed like the two of them weren't the only ones thinking of lunch. "Wow, it's like someone opened up the floodgates and everyone started rushing out at once." the caribou chuckled softly and glanced around. Getting through the crowded streets shouldn't be too difficult, he hoped.

[IceStorm]

Hearing the caribou mention that he'd gone longer between meals made Ice Storm wonder just how long it had been since he had eaten. She knew what it was like to go a bit longer without food than expected at times when she was younger before her business took off. She was never starved per-say, but she did have to make food last a bit longer than most before she got out of the academy. Of course, since then, nothing has really been an issue to her. She's gained a growing amount of friends, and she had a lot of things going for her with her progressing relationship with the princess. Speaking of which, she pulled out a notebook calendar and triple checked it once more that she hadn't over-booked this trip. Just a bit over a week from now, she was supposed to be going to see an orchestral performance with The Mare of the Night, and she needed to make sure that she had enough time to recover from the trip and still be able to look the part.

 

Of course, as they exited the lobby, the first thing that she had noticed was that the sun had started to come through the clouds and because of how wet everything was from the rain, it became very shiny. It took her a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the new lighting that a mere half hour or so before was still raining and cloudy. As soon as her eyes readjusted though, she could see that life in the streets had quickly flourished. It was like it was a completely different city. Everything was bustling and moving rather quickly. Perhaps this wouldn't be a bad little place at all. There were definitely lots of ponies here, so she was certain she could probably appeal to some of them. Though it would do her well to figure out what part of the market the letter came from that sought the interest of her shop to begin with. It wouldn't do much good for her to open her shop in a place that was located on the opposite side of the city from where they were actually interested in. "Indeed, although that does lighten my spirits a bit more. As much as I love cooler rainy weather, I don't know how well snow cone sales would do in such an environment if that is the norm," she responded.

[Dubstep]

Balder nodded softly as he followed beside the mare. Most ponies would likely not care much for cold treats on cool days. "Maybe. But maybe because it's always like that here, maybe ponies don't mind have cold snacks on cold days. It cou-ACK!" the caribou's train of thought was derailed as he stumbled over his own legs and skid across the ground.

"I'm alright!" he said preemptively, climbing to his wobbly hooves and shaking his head a few times. "I'm good...I'm good. Happens all the time." Balder dusted his pelt off and checked to make sure that Starcaller was alright, no nicks or scratches. While it did happen quite often, the blush on his face showed that it never got any less embarrassing to the lanky caribou.

[IceStorm]

Ice Storm followed next to Balder, and was obviously in thought as she listened to what he had started to talk about. That perhaps because it was always cold here, that ponies here wouldn't mind having cold treats on cold days. Perhaps something like that would be perfectly normal here. It did make sense. She couldn't really just write something off until she at least gave the venues a look, and give the store a chance here. Who knows, perhaps this store could be the most profitable out of the four that she would have. Only time would truly be able to tell.

 

Her thought process though was quickly cut off, as she watched the bou next to her tangle his legs up and crash face first into the sidewalk beneath them. Before she even had time to react, he was back up on his hooves, and was checking himself over to make sure that he hadn't injured himself, and Ice Storm was doing the same. He told her that things like this happen all the time and she giggled slightly. "I know a few other ponies that are like that as well, so it's not as uncommon as it may seem. I've been known to fall out of bed every once in a while myself, and that drop hurts when you aren't expecting it,and is a quick way to wake somepony up," she giggled to him. "That said, I'll try to stay alert so that the next time it happens, I can summon a small pile of snow for you to land in to break the fall."

[Dubstep]

Balder smiled and nodded his head. A snow pomf would be a much better landing pad than the hard ground. "Thank you. It would certainly avoid a bruise or two, that's for certain!" the caribou brushed a few more bits of dirt from his fur before following along once more. He'd need a good hot shower next chance he could.

[IceStorm]

Ice Storm gave a small gentle nod and a smile when Balder said that landing on a pile of snow would definitely help avoid a bruise or two. She could see how that could be the case. A pile of snow would be a lot softer to land on than the hard ground that was underneath it. She could remember herself when she fell off the roof of her shop once during winter and landing in a snow back. She was perfectly fine although for the life of her she couldn't remember why she had even gotten on the roof in the first place. IT had to have been something that at least seemed important at the time.

 

It was about this time that they started to come upon the shop that she was going to look at possibly buying. The shop itself had a large glass opening that could let the patrons see clearly into the shop. It was something that she both liked and disliked because ponies would be able to see inside when the shop was both open and closed. This was good for the good hearted ponies that existed but also good for the not-so-good hearted ponies that could take advantage of whatever pony she hires to run the franchise in this location for her. Her number one priority is the safety of her workers. Especially if any are similar to her and can generate the snow on their own. That could potentially be hazardous if something got out of control. Not that she ever believed it would. She'd been running her shop for many years now with her magic alone and she hadn't run into any issues yet.

 

That said with the shop being all windows in the front, t did give her a clear view of the inside of the shop. it wasn't directly facing the sun so that would be a good thing with the store's decor. The decor wouldn't blind ponies when they were coming in or leaving. The main serving area seemed about average sized for an inlet shop such as this one. The thing that caught her eye was the dual stairwell in the back. that meant that the building was a tri-level building. The middle floor being the shop, the bottom being storage most likely and the top floor being living quarters for the pony whom was operating the establishment. The shop also looked like it had a standard counter preparation area as well as a kitchen of sorts which would be great for freezers and the like for storage. This was incredibly important to her since unless she could find another pony like herself that could use ice magic or had some means of at least making snow, anypony would have to store the ice creams and the frozen supplies for her treats.

 

"Well at least from what I can see from the outside of the store, everything appears to be in order here. I kinda don't like the open window layout of the building soley because it makes it hard to plan the decor around on the inside. as the theme for all of my shops is to make the inside look like a frozen tundra. it's kinda hard to do that when most of the building is windows. That said, I do like that it appears to be tri-level, although I would want to see what the condition is of both levels before I said yay or neigh on anything," she commented to balder. "I supposed I'd have to wait to look at the structural integrity of the establishment once I look inside as well. Do you see anything that might stand out from here?" she asked.

[Dubstep]

As the two of them walked along the busy damp streets, Balder's mind drifted back and forth between all the things it had been since he was given his mission. What kind of food did the ponies eat? Where there colder areas here too or were they all temperate? What was the airspeed velocity of a laden pegasus?...What did laden mean? So many questions left unanswered, but he was sure he'd find the answers eventually.

The building that the unicorn had stopped in front of seemed to be a fairly nice looking one, though the caribou didn't know much about shops or how they should look. It wasn't something he ever paid much mind to. But one thing he did know shops needed, was to be seen. Glancing around up and down the street, Balder tilted his head and listened. The sound of ponies moving on could be heard from both ways, and damp hoofprints on the sidewalk where the rain was beginning to dry showed that it was at least a moderately traveled area. "It looks alright so far! And it looks like ponies come by this way pretty often, so you'd have a lot of them walking by!" he said with a nod. "But for decorating, maybe you could put those uh, removable stickers on the window...Decals? I think that's what they're called anyway. Get a bunch of them that look like snowflakes or icicles!"

[IceStorm]

The response that Balder gave seemed reasonable. It did look like it was in a decent spot that ponies would travel frequently so that there would be many of them walking by in route to their daily regiments. He also suggested using something like window decals that were like snowflakes and icicles. She gave a nod as she continued to look through what she could see of the interior. "Those do make excellent points. This does seem like a well traveled area and I could always do something with the windows to add to the decor a bit and us it to further simulate the effect that I'm going for," she smiled to him as her stomach gave away the fact that they still hadn't gotten lunch yet. "Hehe, that said, with us not being able to get in at the moment, we should probably start trying to find a place for lunch. I know I'm hungry and I imaging that you are as well."
 

[Dubstep]

Balder eagerly nodded his head. As interesting as it was looking at an empty storefront and debating how it could be bettered...Hunger was easily winning the battle. "Oh yeah! I could almost eat a whole buffet by myself." he said, rubbing his belly with a smile. Glancing down the street back and forth, he quietly pondered which way the closest place to eat could be. He couldn't really smell anything other than the faint scent of rain the seemed to just linger in the air.

[IceStorm]

Ice Storm couldn't help but let out a small laugh when the bou told her that he could probably eat an entire buffet by himself. Se believed him from the sound of his stomach, although she imagined hers wasn't much quieter. plus the building was still going to be here tomorrow, or at least she hoped that it was considering tomorrow was when she actually had the appointment to go and look at it. She would be very sad if she came to see the inside tomorrow and the building had vanished. She would also have to inquire as to how that would have happened, but for now, food was her top priority. "Hehe, well I don't mind if you eat an entire buffet, as long as you leave some for me," she giggled as she looked around the area. "Now to find a buffet...." she said knowing where absolutely nothing was food-wise in this city.

 

[Dubstep]

Balder chuckled softly and smiled. "Hehe, no promises! I may look scrawny but when I start eating, I can out eat the best of them!" he said, sitting on his haunches and flexing his forelegs before laughing and standing back up. "Since it's still around lunch time, maybe if we follow the way the biggest group of ponies went, we can find where somewhere good to eat is!"