The New Unity Mall was quite literally a new mall, built only three years ago. While it had a lot in common with the malls of the eighties, it was also much more modern. It was an indoor mall, but in the center of each hall wings was a strip of green with trees growing. Skylights ran over every hall, letting in lots of sunlight. Occasional metal statues were placed about, always featuring both humans and ponies together—hence the unity. Only the food court and a few larger department stores were two-story, while most of the stores were ground level. The food court, which is where we entered, had a large green park in the center, instead of the standard seating area of food courts of old, complete with picnic tables and benches and a tiny pond and water fountain full of goldfish. It was the center area of the mall, and the four wings branched out from it in the cardinal directions.
We didn't dally in the food court for long, only long enough for the Creams to show off their bakery—which was unsurprisingly called Creamy Creations. We ultimately divided into groups. With me were my parents, brother, Number, and Yinyu's foals. The other group consisted of the Youngs, Creams, and Middletons. Méng, Robby, Tempest, Rosetta, my grandfoals, along with Alice—who had stayed up late last night with Méng, were all sleeping soundly on the bus… or at least, the night ponies were sleeping soundly, and the two humans were doing their best to get some sleep in.
There was a kiosk for renting shopping carts—as in carts that you drew behind you. I wasn't sure I was strong enough to haul one. I certainly didn't want to have my parents, who were already carrying saddlebags, dragging one, but the vendor showed me they were partially motorized, so they didn't cause any strain. They also had plenty of maneuverability, so I wouldn't be knocking things down as I walked through a store. I rented one, hung my saddlebag on its side between me and the cart, and was officially our cart pony.
My group headed towards the east wing first. As we entered the shops, a stark difference between the shops of old malls and the new ones quickly became apparent. Malls used to be dominated by clothing stores, oh there were other stores, but there were typically two clothing stores for every other type of store. This was no longer the case. While there were still clothing stores, the store in most abundance were stores where ponies sold their crafts. There were art stores, furniture stores, small electronic stores, toy stores—which were subdivided into further specializations such as dolls, stuffed animals, toy cars, and more. The clothing stores I saw had actual tailors in them, who hoofmade—or in some cases, handmade— each of the garments within and were willing to make alterations as needed. There was even plenty of produce and flower stores. Every pony had a specialty, something they loved to do, and these stores were a reflection of them living out their dreams.
There were, of course, still some major chain stores. I spotted the Lego Store, the Disney Store, and Old Navy, and the large anchor stores at the end of each wing were major chains, but these were the minority. There was so much to discover and look at among all these stores that I hardly knew where to begin.
I looked at the foals, who were all looking around at various stores—primarily the toy stores—with great interest. Toys were an idea, but there were other priorities. First up, bedding, and I saw a store specializing in bedding for foals, Sleepy Z's and Bobby Pin's Beds and Blankets. They even did delivery.
"If all of you wish to check out any close by shops, you can. I'm going to be taking the foals into this one first," I told my parents and Number. "But let's try to stay in shops in sight of each other."
"Can't we go to a toy store first?" Líng asked as he looked at a nearby one.
"We will get to that, but first, I want to see about getting you a bed that is designed for foals instead of humans," I explained.
"Okay, as long as we get to see the toys next," Líng replied.
"We'll be over at that gardening tool store, right over there," Mom replied as she pointed to a store directly across from the bedding store. "I need to see about replacing a few spades. Hopefully, they don't cost too much."
"I have you covered for this trip, ma'am," Number said respectfully. She then smiled at me. "I already gave Devon and Paul access to a temporary line of credit so they can make purchases for the other group. It's all on Wild and me today. Malls aren't the cheapest place to shop, but I doubt anyone is going to be making much of a dent in my bank account. I could probably buy this whole place in full if I wanted to."
"No need to brag about your wealth, Number," I lightly scolded.
"No reason not to," Number countered with a snicker. "Have fun looking at bed stuff."
The store was more extensive than most of the close by shops, but it also had more oversized merchandise. The first few beds I saw included signs saying Store Model Only. Bed Frames and Mattresses Delivered to Your Home. Schedule Your Delivery Today! Which was just as well, since I certainly was not going to be hauling around a bed frame or mattress around in the cart I had. It didn't mention quilts and sheets, but there was a moderately sized section for those. That section looked like you picked the design, and someone sewed together your quilts, sheets, and pillowcases. The only things that looked massed produced by another company were the mattresses and pillows.
I looked around the showroom, trying to decide where to start. A few pony families were looking at some of the smaller single beds, and one human family that was off in what was clearly the human section, but overall, it wasn't crowded.
"Hello! Welcome to our store. Are you looking to purchase a bed today?"
I jumped and turned to see a young unicorn mare who was barely more than a filly, about Lántiān's age, maybe a year or two older. She was wearing a skirt that covered up her mark and a lanyard that marked her as an employee and with her name in it, Plush Quilt.
After I caught my breath, I smiled. "Yes. I may be looking to purchase a few beds. I have three colts and a filly, all different tribes, aged between one and seven."
"My daughter doesn't need a bed; she can stay with me, ma'am," Lántiān said quickly, adjusting her daughter who was riding on her back.
I frowned at her. "At some point, she'll need to sleep in her own bed and have her own space. You need your own space too. Do you want your room to be littered from one end to the other with her toys and not much to indicate it is your room? We have space, space for you, and space for her."
"Not yet, ma'am," Lántiān said in a firm tone.
I breathed out in resignation. "Very well." I turned my attention back to the sales pony while gesturing to Líng and Shǔguāng. "Beds for three colts. These two, and they have a younger brother who is a night pony, age three. They've all been sharing one queen-sized human bed and are still going to be sharing a room, but I'd like to get them each their own bed."
Plush Quilt looked at the colts and then back to me; I saw her eyes linger just an extra part of a second over my cutie mark and was sure that her smile got wider as it passed. This pony saw someone famous, and I could tell she wasn't interested in what I had done. No, what she saw was a potentially huge sale. It was refreshing, being recognized and having the person who recognized me only be thinking about dollar signs instead of stuff about the Cataclysm or Blessingist or Shimmerist crap.
"I have the perfect beds in mind for three colts sharing a room!" Plush said with a salesperson's smile. "Follow me. It's in the back."
Follow her, we did. The beds we were passing were getting passing by progressively more elaborate in design and gradually more expensive. Yes, this filly definitely saw dollar signs. Luckily for her, Wild told me I could spoil the foals.
"Here it is!" Plush announced as we reached the very final bed in line.
It was a dual set of bunks. Each of the top bunks had a wooden railing around them, and each of the bottom bunks had a privacy curtain. The two sets of bunks were joined at the center with a large ramp—also railed— that went up to the top, and I could see some small shelves inside the center area for each of the lower bunks. Also on top was a pair of slides, going to either side from each of the top two beds. It took up more space than the queen-sized bed did, but the room it was in was more than large enough to accommodate it.
Plush grinned as she talked up the bed. "This is our super-deluxe bunk model. One of the lower beds can be switched out with additional shelving or drawers since you say you only need three beds, and it can be switched out again for the fourth bed if you change your mind later about needing it. Each bed gives plenty of space for a foal and is of comfortable size for even a grown pony, so it should be perfect all the way up until they need separate rooms. The slides are a very sturdy plastic, reinforced with a solid oak undercarriage, as is the ramp. The majority of the bed is also solid oak and very heavy, so there is no fear of anything breaking or tipping over."
It was very impressive, and when I glanced at the place where the price would generally be, it simply said to ask an associate. It was the only bed I had seen while walking to it that had that message. I looked at the wood beams on it. They were not thin little things; they were high-quality wood. This was definitely the most expensive thing in the store, and the sale of one would probably pay several months of the store's rent on its own. Plush Quilt was aiming as high as she could. I wondered if this was a commission job.
"We usually don't let foals climb all over our models, but I think we could make an exception in this case," Plush continued with a smile at Líng and Shǔguāng.
The two of them didn't bother to ask permission from me. They were halfway up the ramp to the top bunks before I had a chance even to consider saying no.
"The bed comes with high-quality pegasus feather mattresses that will need no replacing for years, and a removable plush top layer to each mattress that is super absorbent and washable if there are any accidents that seep through the sheets. No moisture short of being left outside in a storm will reach the main mattress," Plush continued. I listened to the things that kept adding dollar signs and decided I was wrong. Selling one of these probably would cover the store's rent for the year.
I watched as the colts slid down the slides and hurried back around to slide again. "How many of these have your store sold? It seems a little pricey for the average pony family."
Plush's expression fell. "None… my mom, she told my dad the same thing. She said no ponies could afford this thing. It was a waste of time and materials. My dad…" Plush chuckled. "You'd have to know my dad. He loves making this stuff. It's like art to him. This thing has been here to attract attention, but when we had it up front, it had too many foals climbing on it, so we moved it back here. It's still here to show off what my dad can make. He says, you never know, the right family for it that can afford it might come along."
"Nice sales pitch," I complimented. "Is it true?"
Plush laughed. "Yes, it is true. It's a sales pitch too. You're right. We don't get many ponies in here that can afford it. I'm sorry for trying to push it on you. I just saw you and thought holy snuffmuffins; there might actually be a chance. You can't fault me for trying. I can show you some smaller beds that don't cost a fortune, if you prefer."
"I'll take it, with four beds, just in case Lántiān changes her mind," I said. I heard the young mare gasp in shock, but I was busy watching Qīng Yǔ finally break free of her mother to go join her uncles in playing on the bed. Lántiān shook her head in disapproval but didn't do anything more to stop her daughter.
"Miss Blessing… you haven't heard the price yet," Plush finally managed to get out.
I nodded. "I'm not an expert, but I have a surprising amount of experience buying materials of all types, so I have some idea what it costs in material alone for this. Add in the time and effort to make it by hoof, the costs of transport, a percentage of what this place rents at, the markup for there to be a profit, the sentimental value, and I have a rough range of what I expect to be charged, and that it will be the most expensive bed, by far, that I have ever bought. I'll know if you are excessively marking it up or trying to give me a discount. Please don't give me a discount, and don't rip me off. Just sell it to me at a fair price for the work your father put into it."
The young mare took a long deep breath before answering. "Let me go get my mom. I don't actually know the price either. She's going to flip her mane. Thank you. This is very generous of you."
"There's nothing generous about it," I corrected. "I'm just getting my foals a bed that they will be comfortable with that will make them happy. You could say I'm greedy because I'm filling my desire to see their smiles and laughter. Go get your mother, dear."
Plush hurried off to the fabric area for making sheets to talk to a unicorn mare there. I guessed it might take a moment to convince her mother that this was really happening. In the meantime, I turned my attention back to Lántiān.
"You sure that you don't want her to sleep in one of these bunks? Qīng Yǔ seems to be enjoying it. We can put her on one of the lower ones, opposite Méng; get her some pretty sheets and pillows, fill that bed up with her ever-expanding collection of stuffed animals."
Lántiān's face contorted as she struggled to object, all while watching her daughter laugh and play.
"I'll consider it after she is completely done nursing, ma'am."
I shrugged. "Fair enough."