//------------------------------//
// Spritelight 1, Chapter 4 
// Story: Spritelight 
// by Makitk 
//------------------------------//

"Ok, so the recent economic crisis hit hard in this state. A lot of buildings that were under construction never got finished, and those that did have been empty ever since," the mare spoke as we trotted into town, and I found myself nodding slowly at her words.

"If we're lucky, the local mall should have some empty stores which could make for great shelter, and we could probably get some grub to boot!" she stated excitedly, grinning back at me.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Get some grub?"

"Get food. I don't know about you, but I'm as hungry as a horse!"

"You are a hor... you know what, never mind," I sighed, rubbing my face with a hoof. "Where is this mall you spoke of?"

"Just around the corner, really," she giggled, leading the way.

I followed her around the corner, but stopped as the place got into view. A large tarmac field stretched out for what seemed like miles, with storefronts found on three of its sides. Hedges, streetlamps, trashcans, and rectangular stones were placed in an odd pattern on the tarmac, creating a strange sort of maze.

The mare was trotting past the stores on the left, but was not even paying them much attention. She looked to be heading for the largest storefront at the back of the tarmac, a store with a large red sign over the entrance.

"This is a mall?" I asked, looking around and feeling about as small as when I first set hoof in Canterlot.

"Well, these are just the outside shops. Over there's the actual mall. Sixty stores with supermarkets and shoestores and everything under one roof," the mare chuckled, pointing over to the large glass wall under the big red sign.

"Sixty?" I repeated, looking around myself at the dozen stores on either side. "Including these ones?"

"No, these are just the outside stores," the turquoise mare sighed, stopping to look at me. "I just told you, Spritey."

"Spritelight," I corrected her. "You mean to tell me that there's three times as many stores inside there than there are outside here, 'Turkey'?"

The mare's ears drooped a bit as I used that name for her, but then she nodded slowly. "Two floors of stores, thirty stores per floor."

"And you think we're safe there?" I continued.

"Well, yeah.. the beauty of it is that there's so many stores there that they can't possibly find us," she reasoned.

I shrugged and cantered over to the glass wall, peering through it at the heavy metal shutters behind it. "And you have a plan to get us inside, I take it?"

The mare trotted after me, looking up at the wall herself. "Well, I was thinking..."

I turned to face her, "Yes?"

"With your magic and all," she coughed uneasily.

I sighed and looked back at the glass wall. "Great. I do need to conserve my mana so I can do what I came here for, but sure... how does this work?"

"Well, when they open the mall they put a key in that device over there," the mare pointed at a small box, "and then the shutters will roll up. The doors are automatic and should open once the shutters are up."

"Or I could just use a spell to make us ethereal so we can walk through these walls," I shrugged.

"YOU CAN DO THAT?!?" the mare shouted, and I winced as her voice rang out across the tarmac field.

"...don't shout, Turkey," I chided her, then focused on the door again. "Glass and some kind of metal. Few inches between. You should go first because I have to focus my magic to surround you. Don't hesitate, just walk forward when I..."

I stopped as the mare promptly walked forward - into the glass wall. She shook her head from the bump, and stumbled back.

"As I was saying," I sighed, "Walk forward when I say so."

The mare rubbed her forehead with a hoof and nodded in embarrassment. "Thanks for the warning."

I shook my head in mild amusement, but then focused my energy into my horn, sending it off to surround the other. As the silver light of my magic covered her, her colours became more vibrant and for a moment I caught a glimpse of what she would look like in Equestria.

"...beautiful..." I gasped out.

"Huh?" the mare wondered, and I shook my head.

"Nothing! Just walk forward," I quickly stated. "It should be fine now."

She raised an eyebrow in confusion, but still turned around to tentatively push a hoof up against the glass. It passed through without effort, and she quickly cantered through with a squeal of excitement! I waited for her to pass through completely before I pulled my magic away from her. A moment later, and I passed through the double walls myself.

The mare was happily gallopping around in the large space behind the walls, running circles around a large fountain set up in the center of the place. A place far larger than I had ever seen. Large hallways led off in four directions from the center plaza, each holding some fifteen stores on two levels.

Most of the upper level stores looked to be vacant, with large signs plastered all over the glass walls and nothing in the displays. There were just one or two of them with their displays filled with assorted items, but even those had signs plastered over them.

I slowly walked up to the center plaza, looking around in amazement, up until the other mare cantered over and grinned at me. "What do you think, Spritelight?"

I shook my head a moment. "It's big."

"And largely empty. We have plenty of space to choose from!" the other grinned.

"Considering most of the upper level stores seem to be empty, those would be our best bet, right?" I asked, and she nodded. "Although I can't understand those signs."

"Oh! Right, so most of those say "space for rent"," the mare offered, pointing around. "But those stores there which aren't closed yet have signs that say "sale" and "closing soon". Most of the items they offer are down in price for like 75% or so. It will attract a lot of customers when they open."

I pondered that explanation, looking at where those stores were located. "Ok, so we may want to find a place out of the way of those places."

"Good thinking," the mare giggled.

"Thinking is one thing I'm good at, Turkey," I winked.

"My name's not," she started to protest, but then she lowered her head. "Fine. I guess I'm going to have to watch my back around Thanksgiving now..."