Ballpen

A brown pegasus with a dark red mane and a mark in the form of a thundercloud examined the stylomech thoughtfully.

“We’re satisfied with the quality,” he said. “So, seventy-five bits apiece?”

“Yes, mister,” Yev’eni nodded.

“From what volume can we expect a discount?”

“If you order a batch of two hundred pieces, we’ll lower it to seventy”

Cloud Wing chuckled.

“For now we need about forty. Later... well, we'll see. And recharging the refills, of course.”

Yev'eni shook his head.

“We will provide refilling, but the ink is more caustic than standard. After the second refilling, we do not guarantee the quality of writing. What to do, it’s the downside of frost resistance.”

“This suits us for now, Mr. Komarov. There is one more question...”

“Yes?”

“How much will it cost to put the weather team symbols on products?”

Yev'eni flashed a smile.

“We usually charge twenty bits extra for this service. But given the volume of the order, we are ready to make a discount of up to fifteen.”

“How about ten?”

“Twelve - and we'll shake hands. Or rather, hooves, Cloud.”

“Excellent. How soon can you prepare the batch?”

“On Wednesday,” Yev’eni said confidently.

Pegasus nodded. He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out two scrolls of parchment.

“Here is a standard supply contract form. Take a look, if everything is ok, we can sign the documents right now.”

The human unrolled the scroll and began reading. Every now and then a wrinkle would appear on his forehead. Cloud Wing waited patiently.

Yev'eni handed both documents to me.

“Stargaze, will you take a look?”

I shrugged.

“Why? You've already checked everything.”

Cloud Wing secured the scroll to the clipboard. He opened the stylomech and wrote a few lines on the forms. He handed the clipboard to Yev'eni.

“Check that the price and including of the product are indicated correctly, enter the details and sign. Do you have the letters of authority with you?”

“Of course,” Yev’eni glanced at the lines and handed the document to me. I wrote “Stilomehs of Stargaze,” the address, the registration numbers of the sheet and the agreement, and signed. Yev’eni’s sweeping signature followed mine onto the parchment. The procedure was repeated with the second form.

"Well, now let's move on to the specifications," the pegasus said. I suppressed a yawn.

Get used to it, Stargaze. You're no longer a hired artist, but a grown-up, responsible business pony. Boring paperworks and contracts are now part of your job!

While Cloud and Yev'eni were hunched over the scrolls, discussing the details of the delivery, I stole a glance out the window. The weather team building was eighteen stories tall, and the view from here was spectacular! Here, in the eastern part of Manehattan, there were mostly factories and plants, and a whole forest of pipes stretched towards the sky. Beyond it I see the treetops of the coastal park. And beyond - beyond the black branches - the surface of the Celestia Sea sparkled brightly in the sun.

“Well, that’s all,” I heard Yev’eni’s voice. “On Wednesday you can send Mr. Hoof for the goods.”

“Excellent. Here is a bill for the advance payment. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Komarov.”

“It’s nice to start the new year with a deal with a client like you,” the human stood up from the table and bowed ceremoniously. I followed his example.

We passed the half-open doors of the weather headquarters - I glanced curiously at the map of Manehattan with some mysterious markings hanging on the far wall, and three pegasi in flight uniforms, heatedly discussing something next to it. We went down in the elevator to the first floor and the cafeteria. I sniffed the tempting smell of hot donuts... And lashed myself fiercely with my tail, remembering my diet.

Already at the exit, when we passed columns with a bas-relief depicting pegasi maneuvering among the clouds, Yev'eni paused.

“I’ll never get used to it,” he muttered.

“To what?” I followed his gaze. The human was examining a cloud hanging high above the roof of the weather center. If you looked closely, you could make out the masts of weather vanes, anemometers, and some other instruments covering it. In the middle of the cloud, you could see the open gates of the takeoff pad.

“To build on a cloud of fog in fact … Just the sight of it makes me afraid of heights. When I think how all this staff is falling through the cloud and down…”

"I told you," I said, puzzled. "It's special pegasi magic. Cloudsdale is built out of clouds entirely."

“Yes, I remember, Stargaze, I remember... It's just a little strange.”

I looked down the street, trying to see if there was a taxi nearby.

“Well, back to the shop?” Yev'eni wrapped his scarf.

I almost agreed... and cut myself off mid-sentence.

“Listen! Let's do a little weird!”

“Yev'eni raised an eyebrow.”

“What, here on the street? We will bored by advisers.”

“Oh, you!” I blushed to the roots of my mane. I lightly nudged him in the thigh. “I want to say, I still owe you a waterfront walk!”

“And?”

“Let's go to the beach!”

He shook his head.

“In January?”

“Well, we don't have to swim, do we? Let's wander along the sand, look at the sea. Don't you want to take a little break from work?”

“What will Remy and Steel say?” However, Yev’eni also had doubts.

“We're free earlier than we thought, so we can spend hours in good conscience! Besides, the year has only just begun, and there are very few customers in the shop right now. Yev'eni, pleeease!”

He laughed.

“Okay, okay, just don't give me that look. It's a forbidden move, you look so cute it could be considered a weapon of mass destruction!”

“Mr-r,” I moved slightly closer to him and then immediately pulled away.

The east coast was cloudy today, despite the sunny day. The sea was shining brightly in the sun's rays, and white patches of ice were seen far away on the horizon. The tidal flats were also covered with thin and cracked ice. Clouds were piling up far to the east, but the westerly wind kept them away from the coast.

“It’s quiet here,” the human said, looking into the distance. “I’ve gotten so used to the hustle and bustle – both here and at home… It’s nice to get away to a quiet place sometimes. Thanks for the idea, Stargaze.”

I laughed.

“A quiet place? You just haven't been here in the summer. That's when it's packed with ponies.”

Yev'eni smiled too.

“PIROZHKI, BELYASHI GORYACHIE, KUKURUZA, PIVO HOLODNOE!” he suddenly screamed shrilly.

“What?!!”

“That's what tasty traders usually shout on our beaches, calling the public. It's a terrible.”

I snorted.

“No, we don't have that on our beaches. Although... I read Trenderhoof's story about his stay in Burro City, and he wrote that the tamale traders there are just as annoying.”

We walked along the ice strip, not getting close to the water's edge - the ice floes looked slippery even to look at. A cold wind blew, and I wrapped my own scarf tighter, Yev'eni turned up his collar. Seagulls screamed, circling over the water. There was almost no snow, only a few small drifts surrounded the thickets of bushes on the leeward side.

“It would be nice, when things settle down and we can afford to hire salesponies,” I said dreamily, “to go on vacation. Rent a house somewhere on the coast, walk around the sea for days on end, drink hot mulled wine, draw for our own pleasure…”

Yev'eni chuckled.

“Are you sure that if you and I lock in the house alone, we will have time for walks and drawing?”

I stamped my foot indignantly.

“Oh, Sisters! You know, it seems that the stories about human’s horny are not without foundation!”

Human fingers lay on the back of my neck.

“Yes? And last night I didn't notice that you didn't like anything.”

“You know what?” I stopped and turned my face to Yev'eni. I rose up on my hind legs, menacingly pressing my ears.

“What?”

I placed my front hooves on his shoulders and leaned forward.

“I liked it,” I whispered, stretching out to his ear. Feeling his fingers running through my mane. “A lot.”

We only let go of each other after about three minutes. I took a breath, smoothing my disheveled hair.

“Is no one looking at us?” I looked around. Fortunately, the landscape was as blank as it had been at the beginning of the walk. Only a lone dot of pegasus was circling in the sky a couple of miles away.

"And is that forbidden in your country?" Yev'eni asked curiously. "I mean... well, relationships with non-ponies."

I chuckled.

“A hundred or two hundred years ago, this was looked at askance. But views have changed, now =it is condemned only in the most remote provinces. It's just...”

"Is it just that I'm human?" Yev'eni's voice remained calm. But the hand on my shoulder trembled.

I turned to face him again.

“Stop it! You know perfectly well that I don't care! I, well, I just don't want you to be looked at askance because of these stupid rumors about humans! Don't even think that I'm capable of thinking about you in some wrong way!”

Yev'eni sighed. He dropped to one knee to be level with me.

“I'm sorry, please. I didn't mean to...”

“It’s me who’s sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to hurt you either.”

“If you think we shouldn't...”

“We should,” I interrupted him. “We definitely should.”

We froze. I didn't want to ruin the moment... but the scarf that Yev'eni had touched during the previous kiss chose just that moment to come undone and slide down to my feet!

“Ouch!” I shivered, feeling the cold wind tickle my neck. I grabbed it with telekinesis, took it with my teeth and tried to awkwardly throw it back on. Smiling, the human grabbed one end and helped me wrap myself up.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, welcome,” Yev’eni said distractedly. He looked thoughtfully at the sea.

“Beautiful scenery, right?”

“Yes, it's beautiful...” he took a few steps towards the water. He bent down, picking up a shell. He looked closely at the ice chips on the sand.

“The water is rising,” he said.

“Well, yes,” I glanced sideways at the sun in the sky. “The tide is coming in. Really, let's move away, I don't want to get my hooves wet.”

“The tide?” the human asked.

“Well, yes. Do you have tides on Earth? Although you don't have princesses who move the sun and the moon, so there probably shouldn't be tides...”

“We have tides, Stargaze.”

“Yes?”

“Yes. No one moves the Sun and the Moon around the planet because the Earth itself rotates around its axis. I was surprised that you have them...”

I closed my eyes, imagining this picture – the whole world spinning like a top, making a turn in just one day. No, I knew before that the world of human is completely different from ours, and their planet is not located in the center of its system, but rushes in orbit around a colossal fiery Sun, as the Celestial Church taught in ancient times… But now this image – a whole world larger than Equus, rapidly rotating around its axis, and even more rapidly flying around a fiery giant – was so clearly before my eyes… Holy Celestia, my head is spinning!

“Is everything okay?” Yev’eni asked.

“Yes, yes. I was just thinking.”

“So, I'm curious. If your luminaries are moved by a princess with magic, then perhaps the tidal waves should move faster? Well, following the Moon?”

“And the Sun,” I corrected him. “Listen, I don’t know much about astronomy, but I remember what happened when Her Highness was fighting Tirek. The tide came in and out almost instantly, two or three times. It was a big problem for all the coastal settlements, actually. The waves damaged a lot of docks and ships, and others ran aground when the water suddenly went out. No one died only because the princesses warned us in advance. It’s just like you said.”

“Yeah, but...” Yev'eni also looked at the sun. “I suppose the tide should be felt on land too, no? Why don't we feel earthquakes every day or something?”

I laughed.

“Well, that would be very inconvenient, wouldn't it? Look, I really don't know much about this. But if it is, I'm sure the princesses somehow figured it out long ago. After all, Celestia has been moving the sun and moon for over a thousand years!”

“I see, this is very powerful sorccraft...”

“What?”

“It doesn't matter. It's an untranslatable cultural reference, don't pay attention to it.”

I walked up to an old, worn-out beach chair. I brushed the sand off it with my tail. I sat down, stretching out my legs…

And then she jumped up.

“Brrr! Cold!”

Yev'eni sighed.

“Oh, goodbye, my coat… Okay, I’ll clean it later,” he sat down on the bench, stretching out to his full height.

“Get in here.”

“Mrrr, that’s so cute,” I murmured, stretching out on his chest. “Isn’t it hard for you?”

“It’s fine,” Yev’eni pulled the hem of his jacket from under my hooves and tried to cover me with it. The coat, of course, wasn’t wide enough for a human and a pony to boot, and after an unsuccessful attempt he abandoned the idea. Then I slid down to his side, onto the unbuttoned hem, Yev’eni grabbed me and covered me with the other hem on top. I sighed blissfully, feeling the warmth of his chest.

The sun was almost at its zenith, and the air began to warm up a little. Ice chips sway on the waves. The water came very close.

“And yet,” Yev’eni suddenly said.

“Oooo?” I moaned.

“If the sun and moon sweep across the sky every day, shouldn't a tsunami like the one you described happen every day? At least in the lands over which they are dragged?”

I twitched my ears, feeling them brush against the human's chin.

“Can you talk about this while hugging the filly?”

Yev'eni chuckled.

“My curiosity works on all levels, including sexual.”

“Hey! If we do this right here, we definitely have a good chance of getting a fine from the city guard!”

“Yes? Then distract me. Tell me, for example, what actually happens with the tides.”

I craned my neck to look at the ocean splashing ten feet away from us.

“Well, in those places where they are "dragged", as you said, no one lives. That's why they are called "Shadow Seas" - because there is no land there except for a few islands, and it is eternally twilight. And they are very far from here, thousands of miles from Equestria.

“Hmm. That makes sense. It must be very cold there?”

“Yes, it seems that even the sea there is covered with ice floes... But nothing is really known about them. Nopony get there, except for some travelers. These places are not even mapped in detail.”

We fell silent. Yev'eni absentmindedly stroked the fur on my chest. I covered his hand with my hoof. A bold seagull landed on the sand near the neighboring bed, turned its head, examining us with one eye.

“I wonder where this ship is going?” the human asked thoughtfully next to my ear.

I glanced sideways into the distance. Indeed, a tiny ship was seen far out at sea, from such a distance. The sails on two masts were furled, a long ribbon of smoke was coming out of the funnel.

“Trottingham, probably,” I suggested. “You know, I was there once, on a school trip. Did you know that it was the first city founded by ponies in Equestria?”

“Yes?”

“Yeah. Long before Hearth's Warming, it was founded by unicorn settlers, when their home village was conquered by Pegasopolis. Then it was taken over by earth ponies, who invaded the Griffish Islands from Prance. Under them, the islands turned into a pirate kingdom, which plundered the coasts "wherever ponies and griffons smell salt water," as one of their sagas said. But soon after defeating Discord, the Sisters brought them under their rule, and since then it has been a quiet and peaceful place. With many museums and very picturesque ruins and monuments.”

Yev'eni whistled.

“It’s hard to believe that you ever had wars here.”

“Once?” I sighed. “The last time Equestria had fight was three years ago. When Princess Luna invaded the Storm Islands.”

“Storm Islands?”

“It's a country far to the southwest of here. Their king conquered and plundered several neighboring kingdoms, and was about to invade Equestria. But the princesses got ahead of him, made an alliance with Abyssinia and the sea ponies, and struck first. Defeating him in battle.”

Yev'eni was silent.

“In my world, this happens all the time.”

“And in ours, something like this hasn't happened for hundreds of years. In Equestria, I mean.”

“I guess there's nothing wrong with preventing an enemy attack.”

“Many did not think so. No, no one would dare to openly argue with the Triarchy's decision... But there were many who were dissatisfied. The ponies said that even if Storm was really preparing an invasion, we should have defended ourselves, but not invaded someone else's land first.”

“It sounds like you agree with that.”

“I don't know, Yev'eni. I guess the princesses know best what's best for Equestria...”

The human sighed and ruffled my mane.

“Okay, let's not talk about your politics. Tell me more about this Nottingham or whatever it's called.”

“Trottingham,” I corrected him. “There are a lot of ancient unicorn towers, earth pony fortresses, very beautiful forests and parks… They showed us the home village of Rockhoof – he is a great hero of the ancient earth ponies – then a reconstructed pirate ship, and we even went out to sea on it – though not further than a few meters from the pier.”

“Maybe we’ll to walk there sometime.” Yev’eni chuckled.

I smiled too.

“You can’t «walk»! There is no land route there, only by sea or air, it’s an island. True, literally a year ago they were going to build a railway bridge across the strait. We just published a big article about this project. At the summit of the cities there was a dispute about where it would be better to build a bridge – to Trottingham or to the Griffin Lands. And there were only enough bits in the treasury for one bridge. In the end, both projects were submitted to the Princess of Friendship, and she approved the northern crossing.”

“Well, then, we'll either swim or fly,” Yev'eni stirred. “Listen, are you cold?”

“A little,” I admitted. “What, are we going back?”

“Let's go. And Steel and Remy are probably already waiting for us. Listen, should we tell them that we were lying on the beach instead of working?”

I twitched my ears.

“That we were lying namely?”

“Well, not in such details...”

“Let's just admit that we decided to take a little walk in our free time. I don't want to lie to my friends, you know!”