The group travelled to the shop with Janice to show their support. By now, more of the townsponies had become comfortable with approaching Janice in her true kirin state. Sure, there were still some that had their qualms, and there were those that did not want anything to do with her, but it was progress nonetheless. The Quills & Sofas store was a block and a half away, so the amount of ponies that saw Janice out and about was nothing to scoff at. Even Applejack saw her, and gave a respectful nod before trying to cool off the hotter heads among the crowd. Janice smiled, knowing that Applejack was appreciative of the honesty that Janice was showing and the risk she was taking here. She pushed those thoughts away as she entered the shop, and took a quick look around. Despite the name, sofas weren’t the only furnishings the store sold. From tables and lamps to couches and chandeliers, they carried just about everything that one might want to adorn the inside of their home with, and in varying styles to boot.
Janice found her way to the counter, and rang the bell on it. She didn’t have to wait long for somepony to come. From the back room, a surly navy blue Earth Pony emerged. He took one look at Janice, and scoffed. “Well now. Look who it is.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Listen- I don’t care if you did save the town. You are not welcome here, so I-”
Before the store owner could go much further, Janice smiled. “Steady Ground sent me. He said you’ve got what I’d be looking for…”
At that name, the store owner blinked his green eyes. He had a sudden change of demeanor. “Steady sent you? Well then, pardon me.” He bowed slightly, his off-white red mane rustling slightly. “I’ve always respected him, so if he’s vouching for you, then that’s a different story.” He procured a list of items from behind the counter. “Please, take a look at these. Some of my prime stock, if I do say so myself.” He let Janice look it over for a while before asking her opinion. “See anything you like?”
Nodding, Janice pointed a few things out. “The silver chandelier and the mauve couch. There are a few more things that I’ll come back for when I have more money.” She took out her purse and counted out the bits she needed. “100… 200… 300… 400… 500… 600… 700… 800! That’ll do it, right?”
The manager nodded. “Yes, that is enough for both of them. You probably don’t have a place to put them just yet, so I’ll mark them off in a box under your name, Miss Dazzle. You can pick them up when you have a place to put them. Any of my more common furnishings you might like, or is that all?”
Janice glanced around the store, and saw a darling white reading desk with small flower decorations on it. Its paint was fading in many places, revealing the light wood underneath. Yet, it looked almost… sad there. She decided that she would buy it, and pointed a claw in its direction. “How much is that one?”
The manager glanced at the desk, and his eyes widened slightly. “That? It’s one of the older things here. It’s never been sold, not since the store opened. It’s practically an antique! It’s in bad shape though, so I can’t charge much. How does 30 bits sound?”
Janice took out 30 bits, and placed them on the counter. “Deal.” She waited while the manager placed the bits in the register and printed out her receipt. Once he hoofed it to her, she went over to the writing desk. She carefully lifted it off the sales floor, and took her leave of the store. Her friends helped her get it into the hotel room she was staying in, even if they would still have to move it later into her completed house. She looked around at them, smiling. “Thanks for your help today, girls. I can take things from here.” They bade their farewells, and Janice wound down for the night. She was actually going to have a shop! She felt very nervous about it, but excited as well. She’d have to ask Maestro for advice on a few things to be sure, he had a good head for business. She resolved to send him a letter in the morning, and drifted off to sleep.
Through his Gazing Orb, Cold Heart saw what had occurred that day. He scoffed. Things were going far too smoothly for Janice, and he couldn’t abide that. He considered the chessboard in front of him. He had already sacrificed one pawn, and now they had a slight advantage. He wasn’t quite ready to bust out the next one, for he still had some preparations to make. He let himself deep in thought, considering his next move. He then turned his attention to the Everfree. It would be rather simple to influence some of the creatures there to attack the town, but it seemed a bit pedestrian for his taste.
He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard an alarm go off. Impossible! Who could have found me here? Cautiously, he shifted the Gazing Orb’s attention to the front room. What he saw was something he never thought possible. “A Wendigo? But they were supposedly eradicated! But this means…” His face grew a sinister grin. Yes, this would be quite useful indeed. He traversed the many halls of the ruined castle, making his way to the front room. He entered, and saw the creature for himself. It looked starkly different from how they were described in that infuriating play, to be sure. It looked far paler, if it was possible, and it looked far scrawnier as well. The creature was on its last legs, and likely to die soon. Cold Heart smiled as he went to the creature. “Peace, servant of the Only. I will correct this grievous error. Now, let’s make a deal…”