Meetup At Ponyville (Private)

[TheOne]

Gray always held Ponyville in close regard to him. Not only due to his memories here but thanks to the whole atmosphere that could be felt from the first step someone would take in this tranquil place. It always made this stallion make his way back here. And now wasn't a different time. The gray pony was slowly making his way through the streets, taking his time to enjoy the view of this gorgeous village. The brown coat on his back moved slightly with every movement, weaving from the passing wind. On top the coat sat two brown pouches connected with a couple of leather straps, holding all the essentials of this stallion, which weren't much. The mane of Gray was a mess, as always. A couple of white hairs could be visible on his head and his fur wasn't in its best shape either. 

After a while of walking the Stallion stopped and sat down near the fountain, enjoying the calming sound of water splashing behind him. The pouches slid down his back, hitting the ground next to him with a slight thud. "It's good to be back" Gray muttered and leaned back a bit, stretching his spine a bit, which felt numb after a long travel. But it wasn't that bad. He is here now, right? Now he just needs to find a place to sleep in, eat and leave his stuff. And since he just got some money along the trail, the cost wasn't truly a problem. Maybe he will even treat himself to something more luxurious. But later. Now, hunger was what mind of this stallion was focused on.

 

With a quick look around and a short walk around the village, the green eyes of Gray landed on a particular shop selling frozen goods. Ice creams seemed to have caught his attention. He usually didn't spend his money in places like this, since he focused more on essentials, keeping the spending to the minimum, but maybe he should try? He hasn't eaten the ice cream in quite some time and almost forgot the taste already...

[IceStorm]

 

It wasn't every day that Ice Storm got to come back to Ponyville. In fact, here recently it had been becoming an increasingly rare occurrence. Between training with the princess, working on getting things ready on the casino, and a recent trip to the Crystal Empire, she actually hadn't stepped foot here in a few months. The only reason she was here now was because the pony that had taken over her store was going on vacation for the next few weeks and there wasn't anypony else that could cover the story while she was gone, and she wasn't the kind of pony that would deny another the right to be with their family because they would have to work. If needed, she simpoly would have shut the store down for the duration that she was gone, but she herself had some down time. She might as well come to Ponyville and keep in running.

 

Ice herself kept things fairly simple for the trip here, packing only a few necessary essentials. There wasn't much that wasn't already here because of the fact that she still owned the upstairs living quarters. Everything that she needed for her stay here was mostly already here. Just a few amenities that she had now that she didn't before, or were probably old enough at this point to have expired. Her appearance itself was as simplistic as always, her mane was tied back, resting gently over her shoulder. Around her neck, was the necklace that she had made for the Opalus Spheres which currently rested inside of it. For something as simple as her shop, she would not need them, but because of their nature, removing them entirely was out of the question.

 

Shop wise, not much had changed in it's appearance either. Everything was laid out pretty much exactly how she left it, aside from the counter being a bit more cluttered. Since she wasn't here to make absolutely everything from scratch anymore, it required more supplies to still be able to give that made from scratch taste. Of course, over the next week she wouldn't have any need for anything of the sort, and word had already started to make it's way through that she was back in town. She had already seen a few of her regular customers from before in for the day, and she was certain that there would be more coming in. She wondered at this point who would be the next one to enter.

 

She found herself now in a brief loll for the time being and took the time to move out from behind the counter and start wiping down some of the tables that her customers had stayed at. She was always one about trying to keep the place clean during the day. It made clean up easier at the end of it. AS she was cleaning, she spotted a pony sitting out by the fountain that she didn't recognize. There was probably quite a few of those in Ponyville now considering how long it's been between visits, but still. She gave him a smile and a wave as she returned behind the counter to await the arrival of more customers.

[TheOne]

Gray quickly noticed the slight movement on the other side of the shop window.  The wave made him a bit confused as he never met the mare that just waved towards him.  Light blue fur... Darker mane. He couldn't remember her even if his life depended on it. And Gray used to spend a lot of time here, in Ponyville, coming to this peaceful place every time he needed to relax and take a break from his travels. Maybe she wasn't from here as well?

"Oh right, this is Ponyville" he said to himself a bit with a slight chuckle remembering that here almost everyone was friendly to everyone so the wave wouldn't be anything unusual.  Gray raised his hoof a bit as well to wave back to this stranger before slowly making his way towards the shop.

As the stallion crossed the doors he smiled slightly towards the mare that was cleaning the tables "Good morning" his voice escaped from his throat. It was a bit hoarse but definitely not harsh with maybe even a hint of warmth in it. Gray made his way to the counter, taking his time to look around the shop, comparing it slightly to the places he has been in before. He had a tendency to remember similarities and it usually made it easier to remember something When he had any sort of connection.

Gray stood in front of the counter when the horror of his childhood stuck him again. What to chose? All those delights that looked so tasty made Gray not sure what he wanted anymore so he was stuck in a perpetual loop of looking at one thing, then quickly going to the other, thinking what he wants. After a while he gave up and looked at the mare with a slight smile "Any recommendations?" he asked as he was helpless in choosing what he wanted.

[IceStorm]

 

Ice gave a small smile when the pony that she had waved to entered her shop. He was a rather lithe stallion and a bit on the taller side like herself. the two tone grey coat and the green eyes stood out a little bit, and she's probably definitely remember him if she spotted him again. His mane was just a little bit darker than his coat and his voice when he greeted her sounded... a little hoarse. She nodded to him as she let the rag that she was using fall over into the sink, laying over the center so it could dry without getting the mildewy smell that killed them. "Hi there! Welcome to Frozen Delight's!" she smiled as she made her way up to the counter as the stallion appeared to be deep in thought. It was a common occurrence in an ice cream parlor that had so many different options.

 

When he asked her if she had any recommendations, her smile brightened before speaking. "Oh gosh, I have lots of recommendations. Everything here is made one hundred percent from scratch. I could go on all day with my recommendations, but how about we start with something simple. You give me a small list of your favorites, and I'll come up with some recommendations based around that," she smiled. She was sure that she would be able to create something that would explode with flavor as soon as he bit into it, whether it was an ice cream, smoothy, or a snow cone. Also she needed was a simple direction that she could go into.

[TheOne]

Gray followed The mare with his gaze to the counter before shifting back to looking at the menu. Hearing her voice made his green eyes quickly squint for a second, thinking about the answer to that tricky questions. What was his favorite? "I haven't got anything of the kind in quite some time..." he said, trying to recall his past memories. He did use to eat a lot of Ice creams back during his days in Canterlot but that was many years ago and his memory of it was blank. "I used to like vanilla Ice creams..." He said after a couple of seconds, remembering just a bit of his past "Also chocolate wasn't bad... Other than that, I don't think I can remember more. Sorry" he said with a Small smirk trying his best not to make it hard for the mare that was standing in front of him. Guess he wasn't doing too well.

 

After that Gray noticed the necklace that was swinging on her neck. He tilted his head a bit. The spherical opals that were attached to it were beautiful and Gray definitely saw a necklace like this before, he would not have forgotten something like that. Somewhere during his travels, but he just couldn't recall when or where. It was somewhere at the back od his head. Maybe at a shop or something like this... "I am sorry if I bother you, but may I ask if you did that necklace yourself?" he asked with his eyes at the opals trying to be as polite as he possibly could be with his eyes going back up at her. He did seem to be interested in those opals quite a bit. He was a traveler so all kinds of rare and unusual things got his attention.

[IceStorm]

 

Ice Storm listened as the stallion mentioned something involving vanilla and chocolate, but outside from that he couldn't seem to remember much more. It bewildered her. There were so many possible flavor combinations that could be made with ice cream, but she supposed that some times the classics were just the best to some ponies. Even she had to admit there was something alluring about plain vanilla ice cream.  "Vanilla and chocolate are an easy enough selection, and still so many ways that they can be combined to make different flavors based on the consistency and the potency of each," she smiled as instead of pulling from the ice cream that was in reserve she pulled straight from the beans themselves. She also pulled some of the cream into her magic as she thinned it out as thin as she could before mixing the two flavorings into the cream and her magic slowly aerating and freezing the cream so that it was light and fluffy, but still had that creamy texture that ice cream was known for. She then swirled the vanilla cream and the chocolate cream together as she combined the two of them into one giant scoop of ice cream into a bowl and placed it on the counter with a spoon.

 

"Oh, this thing?" she said as he asked her about her necklace. "Yeah, I kind of had to," she said as the four spheres broke away from her and began orbiting very slowly. "I had to make this necklace for these things," she told him. "The necklace itself isn't anything super fancy, it's mainly just a dock for the artifacts," she said before pulling them back into the necklace. "They help enhance my spellcasting abilities." she explained. However she didn't want to go into too much detail about them. She didn't know who this pony was, and while she doubted that he was working with any unsavory types, she didn't want her true level of power to be known to anypony other than a select few and this pony was not on that list. That wouldn't stop her from at least being nice to him though, and she'd answer any questions he had within reason.

[TheOne]

Gray looked at the mare in front of him scooping out ice cream as he just stood there, leaning on the counter a bit. Hearing her talking about vanilla and chocolate stopped him from thinking about other things for a second. How much did she know about ice cream? She had a shop and they were made here from scratch so she probably knew a lot. And definitely a lot more then Gray did so he just stood there watching an artist at work.

 

When the ice cream landed on the counter he looked at it with a slight smile. Did it look delicious? Of course! "How much for this?" He asked opening his purse and already taking some coins in his grasp, waiting for the mare to name the amount.

 

Hearing her talk about the opal did make him quite interested, leaning a bit more against the counter, listening to her carefully. So they were some sort of enchantment to her magic. Or maybe a catalysis? No matter what it was the orbs spinning around her left quite an impression on Gray. "If you don't mind... Where did you get them?" He asked tilting his head sideways in interest, while his purse still levitated next to him. He seemed to be more interested in the orbs then ice cream right now. 

[IceStorm]

"Three bits," Ice Storm answered when the stallion asked about what the price was for the ice cream It was simple enough for her to do and she didn't use much resources so three bits seemed fair, if not maybe a bit expensive . It was a lot of ice cream though, so it was at least a bit justified. He still seemed completely mesmerized by her orbs which quietly took their place back into the necklace. When she asked where she got them from, she smiled.

 

"A friend of mine had them custom made for me without my knowledge. He gave them to me as a hearth's warming gift, although I don't thing he fully realizes just what he gave me. The biggest drawback to them is that because they are made with my aether, they are permanently bonded to me and cannot be removed. The consequences of doing so would be quite catastrophic," she said before noticing a yellow shield on his flank. "A former member of the guard?" she asked pointing back to the cutie mark. She felt it a safe assumption since most of the gaurd armor was gold anyways.

[TheOne]

Without thinking much Gray pulled out 3 coins from his purse and placed them on the counter, letting go of them with his magic. A quiet twang of the coins hitting the counter could be heard as Gray moved his eyes from her necklace back to her. Hearing the story of the orbs Gray nodded a bit. So the person didn't know what they did. Well, neither did Gray up until now, so he really couldn't blame anyone. "I don't think I should ask, but... What would happen?" He asked definitely still curious. Even though Gray was usually polite, now he let the curiocity get the better of him, as he persisted on knowing more.

When the mare pointed at his cutie mark, Gray turned towards it for a second and smirked a bit. The yellow shield was rather bright and stood out a bit on his gray coat, so he couldn't expect to hide it. Plus there was a scar right above it, so that could bring some attention as well. "No, no. I thought about it once, but I think now I am a bit too late for that. I mean. I used to guard sometimes, but it never was a stable job" He said with a slight shrug "Well... I never was truly sure what the cutie mark mean since there are a couple of possibilities... But. My bet would be my magic." he said "I focus on all sorts of protective spells and one day when I had to use one, it just appeared" He shrugged a bit "This was quite some time ago..."

 

[IceStorm]

 

Ice Storm happily moved the bits from the counter to the register with a simple clink. As she did so was when she caught the question from the stallion about what would happen if the orbs were removed. "Well, to be completely honest. I'm not entirely sure, but I've done some research and Twilight herself has looked at them and seemed to agree, That removing them, at least without a lot of mental training and the ability to shut off your own flow of aether, could cause a widespread explosion of whatever element the orbs bear, in this case, it would be ice. How large? I don't know and quite honestly, I'd rather not find out," she said pretty matter of factly. She still wasn't too keen on the fact that she was basically a walking bomb if anypony were to catch her by surprise. Swift Squall assured her though that these things were more durable than they seemed. She really hoped that she wouldn't have to test that theory any time soon.

 

When eh told her that he had at one point thought about the guard, he was far too old for it at this point. that he used to guard sometimes but it wasn't a stable job. He added that he wasn't too sure what his cutie mark meant other than it had something to do with his magic. That he focused on all sorts of protective spells and one day when he had to use it, it just sort of appeared, adding that it was some time ago. "Interesting. Sounds a bit like how I got mine. I was trapped in a blizzard on the side of Canterlot mountain here. I felt a surge of energy and blacked out. When I woke up, I was in an igloo, the storm was gone, and I had my cutie mark. As to what actually happened, I haven't the slightest clue," she told him in return.

[TheOne]

Hearing about Twillight and what would happen to the necklace if it was destroyed or taken down was quite intriguing. So she met the princess herself. It was quite intriguing but not very surprising since after all it was Ponyville and everyone knew each other. "It must be special in that case..." He said with his thirst for knowledge about this necklace appeased.  He knew everything he wanted to know about those orbs. Now, where did he see them before? No idea.

When Gray heard about her cutie mark he couldn't help but give it a quick peek above the counter. Two crystals, probably ice crystals. That would definitely fit her. Especially according to the story about her acquiring it. "That is interesting. Did you ever had any powers regarding ice before?" He asked, again interested in one of her aspects. Before it was necklace, now her cutie mark. He then shook his head a bit "But where are my manners. My name is Gray Shield" He said with a slight smile as his green eyes turned towards the mare that was standing in front of him

[IceStorm]

 

"It's definitely unusual, that's for sure and it took me a bit to get used to the power adjustments," she told the stallion as he seemed to be satisfied with the answers that she gave him. Ice was happy with that. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, it's just that she really didn't want to give out more information about them than what she needed to. A pony that isn't necessarily who shes talking to could over hear them, and then that pony talks, and then that pony talks and eventually word gets around to her enemies that she has something very powerful and can be stopped in a fairly easy manner. Perhaps she should work with Twilight a bit more so that she can actually remove them like she said would be possible with enough training. Otherwise that very thing could prove to be a liability. All somepony would have to do is find a way to get one away from her for any extended period of time to break the aether trail. Too easy to counter once somepony got close. She also wanted to figure out a way to activate them without having them orbit her. the farther away from her they were, the easier they would be to pick off, and Celestia forbid somepony's wielding a club.

 

She listened once more as the stallion started to ask about the story that she had told about her cutie mark and how if she had any ice magic at all before she found her cutie mark. Ice shook her head. "I actually had no magic at all up until that point, and then it all just kind of awakened," she told him as the unicorn mentioned his manners and introduced himself. Ice Storm gave a friendly nod and smiled back to him. "My name is Ice Storm! I'm the owner of this store, and several others. None of my others are in Ponyville though," she smiled. She thought back to how this was.... well technically the second store that she opened, but the first one that was successful. And it was successful enough that she now owned seven of them, including a hotel and casino! That... was still being built, but not too incredibly far from being done. Only a few months away.

[TheOne]

Gray started to think about all the things she told him. It was a bit weird that she was so open to him, but it felt a bit nice, especially since he often was though as homeless when he visited bigger cities due to his looks. After all, when someone is in constant travel they don't have time to take proper care for themselves. When Ice told him about her lack of magic up until the incident Gray tilted his head "Really? Have you tried, or just kind of ignored it up until this incident?" He asked, placing his hooves on the counter, showing off his full engagement in the case. If there was something Gray enjoyed as much as traveling it was a good mystery and solving it "I'm sorry I am so curious" He said after he quickly shook his head and took his hooves off the counter "It's just I rarely get to learn such an intriguing story" He said with a small smirk of embarrassment.

 

"Ice Storm..." Gray repeated after the mare and nodded a bit, trying to remember her name by repeating it a couple of times in his head "It is not your only shop? Where are the other ones? Canterlot? Manehattan?" He took a couple of guesses that seemed to be most probable. That actually reminded him of the ice creams so he looked down at them "Mind to join me at the table?" He said with a slight smirk as he grabbed the ice creams with his magic

[IceStorm]

 

Ice shook her head when Gray asked if she had tried or was just kind of ignoring it up until the incident. "Some ponies would say that I wasn't trying hard enough," she said, referencing her parents from when she was younger. She didn't want to kill the jovial conversation though with the memories of the past. He apologized that he was being so curious, but it wasn't often that he got to hear such an intriguing story. "It's okay. I'd go into more detail, but. They are memories that I would rather not relive at the moment," she explained as she heard him repeat her name a few times. At first she wondered if maybe she had met him somewhere in the past, or if her name had gotten around. It wouldn't be improbably considering the locations of some of her stores. Locations that he started asking about.

 

"Oh! I have stores all over," she said nodding and took a seat at one of the tables when he asked if she would join him at one. "I have this store here, which is Store number one, I also have one back in Canterlot, which is where I live now, as well as one in Hoofington, Two in Seaddle, One in Baltimare, and a Hotel and Casino being built in Las Pegasus. The one in Las Pegasus is will end up being the largest one, and the parlor inside will compliment the casino," she said with a hint of excitement. The thought of the casino getting closer and closer to fruition was definitely exciting to her.

[TheOne]

Gray nodded a bit to her saying she would rather not relive the moments. He definitely understood that. He, himself had a couple of moments like that during his travels, so he fully respected that, keeping silent and not digging more into the topic even though it still intrigued him. With a couple of quick movements, Gray placed the ice creams in front of the seat next to her and slowly sat down.

 

When Ice talked about all her stores Gray titled his head to the side, listening with a bit of surprise. A casino? A huge hotel? This seemed.... Weird. Especially since the mare didn't look like any type of a buisnesspony. More like your warm, everyday pony, which has one house and a nice job in ponyville. So the fact that she was on top of a huge corporation struck him a bit. "A casino?" He asked narrowing his eyes a bit "How did you manage to get money for all of that?" Gray added a second later. He couldn't believe she got it all from just an ice cream shop

[IceStorm]

 

Ice was happy about the fact that Gray didn't push any further on the topic of her magic. or at least, how she obtained it. She could talk about her magic until she was blue in the face, but the story of how she got her magic and everything leading up to it... she had already told it once recently and that was enough for now. She wasn't ready to tell it again. He did seem either a bit skeptical or extremely surprised about the fact that she was an owner of a hotel and casino. He asked her how she managed the money for all of that. "This store was actually a huge success, and about midway through my second year here, I got a second job in Canterlot in the Royal Observatory doing work for the star charts and looking for anomalies that aren't listed and letting ponies know of anything I find that's out of place," she started.

 

"I also opened another store there, and left this one open because it was still highly profitable. From there the store in Canterlot took off, and my mother helped me find a building in Hoofington for it. From there, I got a letter from Seaddle and Baltimare asking me to expand into their region after a few ponies from those cities enjoyed the treats so much. I later opened a second in Seaddle on the beach front. From there, on Hearth's Warming Eve, the same friend that gave me these spheres, also gave me the deed to a plot of land in the heart of the Las Pegasus Strip. all I had to do was put something on it. Plus I also have the income from my wife, and my military income," she answered. She could understand where Gray was coming from though. Just walking up to her, she didn't seem the type that would have the connections that she had. That of course, was what made her so dangerous both in EPIC, the guard, and now STAR, the force that she personally oversaw and commanded. The fact that she could fit in anywhere made intelligence gathering easy, and most ponies didn't suspect a thing.

[TheOne]

Hearing her story, Gray grew more and more surprised. He looked around the shop a bit and smirked "So you grew from that to a casino..." He muttered and leaned a bit on the table before turning back to Ice "You must be quite a busy pony" He said nodding a bit. If there was something that Gray appreciated quite a bit, it was dedication. And this word was written all over Ice Storm. At least that's what Gray though.
 

The thing that surprised this old stallion the most was her military income. He raised his eyebrow a bit "You are a soldier?" He asked visibly curious "How do you manage all these jobs? I thought that being a military was a full-time thing... Well. At least it was when I had my run in it" He said with a slight shrug "But then, I wasn't technically a soldier" He said waving his head a bit "More like a bodyguard..." He added after a second and looked at the mare again "If you don't mind, can I know where did you serve?" The stallion asked before placing his hooves on the table. The ice creams that were in front of him already melted half way and Gray took only a spoonful out of them.

[IceStorm]

 

When Gray asked if she was a soldier, and then further asked how she had time for so many things, she smiled and nodded when he added that she must be a very busy pony. He added that he thought the military was a full time thing, or it was when he had his run into it. He mentioned that he was more of a body guard than a soldier though. He also asked where she served. She simply shook her head. "I'm still serving and I'm spec ops, so I can't really give out any information on that regard. Any information, even something as small as where we serve from is a huge piece of information on something that's supposed to be classified. It's part of why I'm still able to keep face in the public and maintain all of my fronts that I can. If ponies see me as an ordinary pony that's there on business, it's a lot easier to get information out of them. Information that could be pertinent to keeping Equestria safe," she started.

 

"As far as my role in the military itself goes..." she continued. "I'm training among the absolute best of the best. I'm one of the ponies that if I'm called to a location in armor, you know that mistakes were made," she said further hinting that she was a lot more dangerous than her appearance dictated. She wasn't trying to be intimidating, even though she knew that it could easily come across like that. "Outside of that though, I'm the happiest carefree mare that your going to run into. Well... except for Pinkie Pie... she kind of has a monopoly on carefree and happy," she giggled a bit.

[TheOne]

Gray listened to her with his head tilted sideways. A special operations unit... Blending in... It did make a bit of sense, but there was just one thing Gray couldn't understand "If no one is supposed to know who you are.... Why are you telling me?" He asked slowly taking another spoon of the ice cream, which was surprisingly good. Maybe even better then what he remembered from times when he was just a colt.

 

The moment of her seriousness and her talking about her position in her unit Gray heard her slight giggle and smirked a bit. It was still weird that this mare was giving off such valuable information to a random stallion who just so happen to talk to her. But he really didn't mind. After all he wasn't a spy, was he? "Well... I have to say that you definitely do blend in the crowd.." Gray admitted nodding his head a bit "And to think that such a high-ranking mare would sell me ice creams..." He chuckled a bit and took another spook of already half-melted frozen delight

[IceStorm]

 

Ice smiled again when he asked if no pony was supposed to know who she was, then why she was telling him. "Cause I used to live here. And at the moment, I'm not engaged in a mission. Plus, most ponies here don't believe I could harm a fly. So even if you were to say anything, most probably wouldn't believe you. I've already made a name of myself with my store and the casino, so many ponies know who I am already. At the same time, all of the information I've stated isn't something that isn't already readily available if somepony asked for it, nor have I given you anything vital, such as tactics, plannings, orchestrations, prints, names or anything of the sorts. There's nothing stopping me from saying that I serve in special forces though as long as you don't know which ones," she smiled. It was true, she simply told him that she was strong and on the military's payroll.

 

When he told her that she definitely blended into the crowd, she nodded. "Yup! it's really easy to do for me. As I've mentioned, I have stores all over, so it's easy for me to appear anywhere and it be perfectly normal, and any place that I don't have a shop, I can always say I'm looking to expand again. As for making ice creams... this is what I started with before I became what I am... when you witness a tragic event, and you've played a part in protecting others for the first time... it changes a pony. I'm sure you know that feeling well," she added.

[TheOne]

Gray nodded a bit looking at the mare. What she spoke of was kinda True, but The knowlage of who serves in The spec ops is valuable as well....  But if she told him about herself There must have been some kind of a reason or Security in case it turned Out he wanted to spill The beans. 

 

When the mare spoke about the change that one would Her after they need to protect someone Gray looked at his Ice cream with a sad smile "Yes... I defenietly does" he said stirring his spoon around The cup. The look on his face was rather temce as one though was stuck in his head and it echoed all over him. Maybe it was Time to finally do something about his life and settle... The stallion raised his head slighly to meet nie eyes with Ice's eyes "Whoever you are working for...." he started "They don't happen to be hiring, are they?" 

 

[IceStorm]

 

Well, this definitely took a turn that she wasn't expecting it to take. She looked at the stallion and she could see a stern look on his face. At least, it was the look of tension. A look that she had herself not to long ago when she was in the Crystal Empire. In fact, it was the same look that she had when she even thought about the empire. The spire itself would always be a beacon to her. The one thing that reminded her why ponies like herself had to exist now. EPIC was a good start but... even Princess Luna agreed it wasn't enough to sit back and wait anymore. No, if they had information that could prevent an invasive strike by taking out a target, then they had to do so. The risks of not doing so, and the risk of Equestrian lives wasn't worth a chance of something happening if no action was taken. It was precisely why she was they way she was.

 

When the stallion asked if whomever she worked for was hiring, her demeanor changed. She immediately begin looking him over, searching for any red flags or signs that she should be wary or distrustful of this pony. When she got to the door itself, she locked it, and flipped the sign over to closed, putting an out to lunch, sign underneath of it before walking past the table a bit before looking back over her shoulder towards Gray. "As a matter of fact, I am hiring. Please, follow me, and do bring your ice cream, would have for such a wonderful treat to go to waste. I can go into more detail once we're out of public site," she told him leading him towards one of the private party rooms of the shop. She wasn't without her precautions though. She still wasn't sure if this could be a set up or not. With that in mind, her orbs broke free of her necklace and began orbiting her. She wasn't taking any chances. She wanted to be ready if things started to turn for the worse. She entered the room and waited for him to do the same.

[TheOne]

Gray looked at the mare as she made her way to the doors, changing the sign from open to closed. He squinted his green eyes and tensed up a bit when she passed near him as he was readying for soemthing. But she just went to the room next door and told nim to take nie Ice cream. The fact that she seemed to be a boss of whatever kind of an organisation it was Gray found even more suprising. A millionare business pony was quite a cover up for whoever she really was

 

"Sure" Gray said quietly and he quickly grabbed The cup with nie Magic before standing up and following The mare. Spinning orbs were quite mesmorising as Gray stopped himself from trying to grab one not of Pure curiocity. "What now?" Gray's Voice echoed as he looked at Her with a slightly raised eyebrow.

[IceStorm]

 

So far the vibes that Gray had been putting off haven't been anything negative. Being the curious type that he was as well, he would be useful in getting information, and his shielding abilities that he mentioned beforehoof would be perfect for base defense. Ice could think of many roles that he could potentially fit into. However, she couldn't get too far ahead of herself here. There was still protocol to follow and questions that had to be asked before any information about anything major can be given away. These questions had to be answered, and in a way that made her absolutely sure that there wasn't anything hidden within the agenda of the pony that just asked about a secret agency. It seemed as if he had no knowledge of their existence at all prior to talking to her, but at the same time, she needed to make sure just who she was dealing with here.

 

"Alright, first of, I'll have a series of questions for you, before I go into any vital information. I already know your name from when you introduced yourself, and a bit about how you got your cutie mark. The most important thing that I need to know, is where you're loyalties lie, both with Equestria and to the princesses, and what you are willing to do to ensure their protection, as well as the innocents of Equestria. Your answers to those two questions, will determine how much further we go, and how much information I am allowed to disclose from here," she told him. She would analyze everything about his response. From how long it took him to respond, his body language, the words that he chose, all the way down to the inflections in them. There was so many ways that a pony could deceive another that she had to be one hundred percent sure that there was no risk of betrayal from any pony she hires. Especially any pony that she personally hires.

[TheOne]

Gray looked at the mare as she started talking. She defenietly looked and sounds like some kind of agent right now. The serious tone and look in Her eyes gave off quite an intimidating feeling. 

 

When questions came his way Gray though for a second. Where were nie loyalties... What should he answer? He himself wasn't quite sure about his loyality to the princesses. Gray never questioned Their authority but never really stood strony behind them either. "I am lokal to Equestria as a whole and I will, with all my strenght, do whatever it takes to secure safety to anyone who  lives inside it." he said with his tone going to this kind of blank, emotioneless type, trying to match The tone that mare gave off to him.