It was a quite day, just like every other day every week for every month of the year at the Mall.
Ponies shop, pick, buy, and inspect every product, every merchandise, every item on every aisle at every corner on the mall.
Discounts, Sales, Offers… it’s what every mall merchandise can rely on on getting picked up by some stranger.
A mare with white fur and a dark brown mane walked in, readjusting the glasses on her muzzle.
It was Raven’s day off and she got her monthly paycheck from the Mayor. It was time to refill her supply of necessities at home.
“Bread, milk, shampoo, toilet paper…” she spoke to herself, scanning her list of items to buy.
She walked across the mall, searching for her items. She noticed that no pony was there at the bread aisle.
She casually picked up two bread loaves, each of different kind.
“White bread or Whole wheat… That is the question.”
“Anything I can help you with miss?”
Raven jolted up from her investigation, caught off guard by the intruder of her personal space.
The stallion looked at her intently with a blank smile and wide eyes.
She knew she was alone a few minutes earlier, how come this guy popped in out of nowhere?
“Uhhh no no, thank you…”
She returned the loaves back to their sections and slowly walked down the aisle, noticing that he was following in her wake.
Raven was getting uncomfortable with this stallion.
He was just following her. She gathered her thoughts as she walked down the aisle, a bit faster than usual, sometimes stopping to glance on the baked goods on the shelves.
“He’s just… standing there and following me…”
She looked at him again and she saw the same expression he gave.
That smile and curious eyes. His eyes which obviously were waiting for her to do something as they watched her every movement.
His smile seemingly warm and friendly, secretly screaming that it was tiring to smile that long. His expression failed to conceal he would rather be doing something else than stare and follow her throughout the aisle.
She suspected his motives in her mind as she looked at him.
She grabbed the closest loaf of bread to her and walked away, faster than usual.
She let out a sigh as she looked at the new aisle she was in.
“Dairy products…”
She walked in as she examined every bottle of fresh milk in the aisle. She noticed a mare putting up new bottles to their sections.
She also noticed that the mare’s eyes were tired and her expression was unappealing, obviously wishing she was doing something else.
Raven smiled a bit as the mare seemed unaware of her presence, missing the awkward smile and attention of the previous worker.
She slowly picked up two bottle but before she could even examine them, someone was breathing down on her neck.
“Can I help you, miss?”
She gasped as she looked at the face of the milk-sorting mare. It now sported the same uniform expression and same uniform smile that was absent just a few moments ago.
“How did she get so close unnoticed?!” she thought to herself as she looked at the mare.
Despite the warm smile and expression, her uninterested expression from before resided deep in her eyes.
She looked at the bottles as she waited for something to happen.
“Ohh, now I see what you’re doing… you’re not here to help me… you’re just here waiting for me to break them so you’ll charge me for them!” she suspected in her thoughts as she stared at the mare.
“No wonder you guys just pop in here and there without being noticed, you all are waiting for us to screw up so you can make us pay when we do, and for thrice the price.”
She casually returned the two bottles as she replied with a simple ‘No, thank you’, grabbing another bottle from another section in the aisle.
“These ponies are insane… well I can’t blame them… standing around all day with nothing to do… waiting for us… like predators waiting for prey and attacking without a sound…”
She looked at her list again as she gasped when she saw something she didn’t want to see after what she just saw.
She saw at least two dozen workers as they all gave the same diabolical smile and horrific expression.
“Can I help you, miss?”
“Anything I can do for you, ma’am?”
“Try this one ma’am, it’s 50% off!”
“Buy one, Take one ma’am!”
She took a step back.
“NO, no thank you!”
She quickly turned the other way and walked as fast as she could, their hoofsteps echoing on the tiled floor behind her. They were getting closer.
“Oh sweet Celestia!”
She mindlessly grabbed the items left on her list, hoping they won’t catch up to her.
“Come on Raven, they’re gonna put pressure on you… hoping you’ll break something or even try to make you buy something you don’t even need!… Faster!!!”
She dashed through the aisles making a quick left, then right as she tried to lose her followers, avoiding their ungrateful suggestions and disapproving eyeballs with their ever so fake smiles.
“They are waiting for you… waiting till you break something then POW! Charge you for three times the cost!”
She ran as fast as she could, closing her eyes and hoping for the best.
She gasped as she bumped into a soup can sign as she made a 360 to check for any sign of her pursuers. No sign of life.
Raven let out a sigh as she looked at her groceries.
“Diet milk, banana bread, bond papers, and a conditioner instead of a shampoo…” she sighed as she rubbed her forehead.
“At least they’re close enough… no way I’m going back there again… Bond papers are a bit smoother than Toilet paper.”
She headed to the front of the mall, smilling gratefully, happy the nightmare is over.
Unbeknownst to her the cashiers all stared at her with their smiles.
Author's Note
Did this for 3 hours with a few breaks for food, art hunting, and editing by the amazing and wonderful EverfreePony .
Feel free to comment and judge 
