Ballpen

I swallowed.

I stared at the dark blue unicorn with a green mane who was glaring at me.

So, Zhenyok, don't be silent. Say something smart.

For example, “Hello, did you just notice how I kissed your daughter?”, right?

Yeah, mega option.

“Mom?” Alyatara repeated, shocked. “We didn’t… I mean, you could have at least warned you were coming…”

"Oh, and I glad to see you too, Alyatara," said the second unicorn. "Even though you didn't bother to reply to the letter. So I figured there was little point in warning you, since you don't read them anyway."

Okay, now I definitely need to turn a phrase...

I stepped out from behind the counter and bowed ceremoniously.

“We are very glad to see you in our shop, Mrs...” I turned slightly towards Alyatara.

"Diamond Star," the guest answered instead of Alyatara. "May I ask your name, Mister..."

“My name is Evgeniy Komarov, Mrs. Diamond Star,” I bowed again. “I am Lady Alyatara’s business partner in our modest enterprise”

Alyatara finally came out of her reboot. She followed me around the counter, nervously lashing her tail against her legs. Diamond's tail was moving from side to side in a very similar motion.

"And my flatmate," added Alyatara. "Remember, I told you when I came for Hearth Day."

“Oh, of course I remember.”

Alyatara twitched her ears nervously.

“You should have warned me about your arrival. I would have at least met you at the station.”

“Oh, Alyatara, you shouldn't have. I'm traveling light, and you're clearly overworking at your new job, since you're still there at eight in the evening,” the pony measured me with a glance. “Your shop doesn't even have working hours standards, or what?”

Alyatara lashed her tail against the counter.

“Mom! We are equal partners and Evgeniy can't just let me go from work. We have a lot of things to do that we have to finish in our free time!”

I coughed.

“Are you staying with us for long, Diamond?” I swallowed with a titanic effort of will, "What, you won't even have some tea?"

"I'm heading back to New Haysey in a couple of hours," was it just me or did a sigh of relief escape Alyatara's chest? "I was planning on visiting you at home, but I ran into a locked door. I had to look up your shop in the directory."

She looked me up and down.

"By the way, what kind of creature are you? I heard something about... humanlings, right?" Her eyes narrowed.

I hastened to put on the most benevolent smile possible.

“Humans, Diamond. And yes, I can guess what kind of rumors you've heard, but believe me, they're exaggerated. We're just a handful of wanderers, accidentally thrown into Equestria and trying to settle in.”

Alyatara's hooves hit the floor as she shifted from foot to foot.

“Maybe we should at least go to the back room?” she suggested awkwardly. “We have coffee and cookies...”

"Oh, those Manehattan cookies," Diamond grimaced. "I brought a bag of homemade cookies. You can't get those in this town, I promise."

Without waiting for further invitations, the mare passed us and headed for the door at the back of the shop. I slowed down, looking from one door to the other. Should I close the shop or not? On the one hand, it would be very impolite to remain at my post, leaving Alyatara to greet her dear guest alone. On the other hand, it was still business hours, and one of the ponies might well drop in for a visit.

Oh, screw it. I'll leave the door to the hallway open, if someone comes in, I'll hear the bell ring.

Glory to all the gods of this world and the previous one! If I hadn't hung it, Diamond would have caught us by surprise. Having watched the kissing scene from the front row!

Alyatara looked at me with a helpless look and darted after. I followed the unicorn.

The both.

"Be careful, Diamond!" I called out to the guest, who was about to enter the workshop. "We keep reagents for work there!"

Diamond turned around.

“So you also have toxic production here?”

"Nothing that would be life-threatening," Alyatara assured her. "If you want, Evgeniy and I will show you. You just have to be careful there so as not to spill anything or drop anything, that's all."

“I doubt I'll have time for that. Thanks for the offer though.”

“The utility room is here,” Alyatara pointed her horn at the right door.

I opened the thermos and poured the coffee left over from lunch into cups. Luckily, Alyatara had taken extra today, counting on Steele and Remy, who hadn't touched it. The wrapping paper rustled.

“Er… bon appetit?” Alyatara said uncertainly.

"These are great cookies, Diamond," I said, lying. No, the cookies weren't bad, but Donut Joe's was just as good.

“Thank you, mister,” she said ceremoniously. She took a sip of coffee and put the cup down on the table.

She turned her gaze to Aljatara.

“So what are you doing in Manehattan, Mom?” she said quickly, clearly trying to seize the initiative.

“What, I can’t come to visit my only daughter anymore?” Diamond smiled, softening the tone of her words, but there was no smile in her eyes.

“Mom! Of course you can, but it’s so sudden…”

“Speaking of suddenness, I'd still like to know if you're planning to visit your family on Hearts and Hooves Day or not. My father and I have to plan the holiday somehow.”

Alyatara had good control over herself. The expression on her face didn't change, only her ears twitched slightly in an attempt to press to her head.

“Hearts and Hooves Day is in a little over two months,” she said after a short pause. “Honestly, I haven’t planned anything for that time yet. And besides, Mom, don’t get me wrong… The holidays are a busy time for us! I can’t just up and leave if I let my friends down!”

Diamond nodded slowly.

“Yes, friends are, of course, important,” the unspoken “much more important than parents” practically oozed sarcasm into the air.

"We can redistribute the shifts," I quickly intervened. "The holiday itself is a lull, the wave comes on the last day before it and from the morning of the holiday. Technically, you could leave on the holiday itself and be visiting in the evening.

“Be home, Gentlecolt, be home,” Diamond corrected me. “Or whatever they call your kind?”

“Eugeniy” will be quite enough,” I faked a smile.

Alyatara sighed.

“I could visit you at another time! Say, next week. Then it will be easier for me to adjust my schedule to the trip…”

"Listen, I was your age too," Diamond interrupted. "If you're trying to say you want to spend the holiday with someone else, just say it, and don't beat around the bush."

Alyatara muttered something.

“What? Speak louder, filly, I guess I've become hard of hearing with age.”

I heard the gnashing of Alyatara's teeth very clearly.

“Mom. I have no plans for Hearts and Hooves Day! And I'm going to celebrate it at this counter! We could come another day if you want to see me so much...”

“We?!” her mother cut her off, piercing her with her gaze. “Who is this ‘we’?”

Oh, my God. Figuratively speaking.

Alyatara stopped short. She stared at Diamond in a hunted manner, not even daring to glance in my direction, and I realized that the unicorn had to be saved.

"The thing is, Diamond," I forced my most professional smile again, "I've hardly had a chance to see Equestria outside of Manehattan. I already told Alyatara that I want to get out to the capital someday, when things get easier. And I'd love to see your city, too, of course."

“Really?” the older unicorn looked me up and down. “Well, if you happen to be in New Haysey, we'll be glad to see you.”

Judging by the coldness in his grey eyes, which didn’t match his welcoming tone, they weren’t very glad to see me there.

“I’m afraid these are just rough sketches,” I sighed artificially. “Work leaves us with too little free time. We expect that this will change when things get going.”

“Well then, I wish your business prosperity,” Diamond put down her cup. “Sorry, Alyatara, but I have to catch a train.”

“Y-yes, it’s okay, I understand,” she said in a strangled voice. “Should I walk you?”

“Oh, no need, the station is not that far, and I’m traveling light.”

• Well, whatever you say, Mom. Say hi to Dad.

The pony bowed briefly in my direction, kissed Alyatara on the cheek. The door slammed.

Alyatara, who had come out into the trading floor with me, exhaled. And she slid down to the floor where she had been standing, exhausted.

I plopped down on my butt next to her, ruffling her mane.

“Parental overprotection, right?”

The unicorn groaned.

“How does she do it, huh? She doesn't seem to say anything bad, so I can't even get upset! But with every word she makes it clear that I'm not really twenty-three, but thirteen at the most! Ooooh...”

I sighed.

“Believe it or not, I have encountered something similar. That is partly why I moved away from my family. When you reduce the contacts, it stops being so annoying.”

Alyatara shook her bangs.

“I'm already home once every six months, and it still doesn't help. She probably just can't accept that I'm a grown pony and not a foal.”

She closed her eyes. She moved to the left, snuggling her side against me.

“Do you think she suspected something?”

I shrugged.

“You tell me. It seems like she didn't catch us at the entrance...”

She chuckled.

“Oh, I don’t know, Evgeniy... And I’m fool, I blurted it out without thinking...”

I have issued another VHS.

“Yes, my excuses weren't very convincing. But now I have an official invitation to visit yours.”

Alyatara placed her hoof on my hand.

“I don’t even know what will look more suspicious now. If you go with me – or if you don’t.”

We both sighed in unison.

“Oh, okay, we’ll figure it out as we go,” I patted the pony on the scruff of the neck again.

Oh my god.

I did it.

I overcame my phobias and fears, trampled my masculinity, redefined my gender…

Anyway, I got on this sugar machine of horror and defecation called the Friendship Express.

And no one, not a single intelligent being on this planet, not even Alyatara, will ever know what it cost me.

The trip, however, was not far - New Haysey was located three hours from Manehattan. So we did not buy tickets for a compartment, but settled down on the soft sofas of the local reserved seat carriage.

Yes, even the reserved seats here were equipped with sofas.

To my relief, permission to leave the city was given to me in Committee without any particular delays. I didn't even see my old friend Soft Grit, limiting to a conversation with the guard in the groundfloor window.

And now I was staring out the window, expecting something... Well, magical-friendly-pony-magic.

Expectations have not yet been met.

We crossed the strait – on a long railway bridge hanging on the delicate threads of the cables. The grey-steel waves licked the foot of the coastal cliffs, rolled over the log barriers that protected the bridge supports from ice floes. Far to the north, the northern shore of the bay was visible in the haze. A stone lighthouse tower flashed on the right side, then the train went deeper into the expanses of mainland Equestria, and the sea disappeared from sight.

The railway stretched between gentle snow-covered hills. The slopes were covered with thick bushes, from which here and there rose groves of trees - both ordinary pines, oaks and poplars, and also something unfamiliar to me, like spreading trees with white bark or lush bushes with dark green needles. However, I couldn’t closely examine the flora from the carriage window, and I didn’t try to.

Every now and then small houses in a framework of load-bearing beams flashed by - with some effort I even remembered the term "half-timbered architecture". Smoke curled from massive brick chimneys over thatched roofs. In the hollows between the hills there were hedges, boundary stones, somewhere from under the snow you could see even rows of some plantings left for the winter.

Alyatara was deep in the book she had brought with her. The other ponies, crowded into the carriage, were chatting among themselves, or, like Alyatara, were in reading, solving crosswords and other train entertainments, or, like me, were staring out the window…

They all had only one thing in common.

Every pony in the carriage, openly or furtively, managed to glance in my direction.

Stop, Zhenyok.

It's high time you got used to this.

Alyatara, as if sensing my anxiety, raised her head.

“Everything is fine?”

“I was just thinking,” I almost didn't lie. “Listen. Maybe you can tell me what to expect from your parents? You know, what not to say, how to behave? Pros, cons, pitfalls?”

The pony raised her eyes to heaven.

“Well, you've already met Mom... It'll be easier with Dad, he's a cheerful and happy pony, without Mom's quirks. So I don't even know what to say... We're not some kind of hermits from stone farms or Canterlot nobles, so you can behave like any other pony!”

I leaned towards her ear.

“Are we going to confess?”

Alyatara shuddered.

“It's scary. Maybe Dad would have taken it normally, although... although... But I don't even want to think about the way Mom looks at me!”

I nudged her slightly with my shoulder, in the spirit of her habit of giving me a friendly nudge on the thigh.

“We don't have to.”

“Let’s wait,” she nodded. “Honestly, I don’t want to explain anything to anyone. This is just about us.”

I wanted to hug Alyatara, who was probably as nervous as I was in the dungeons of Commitee, by the shoulders. But tenderness in a train carriage full of ponies... No, that would have to wait until we got home.

New Heysey emerged from behind another hill just as the sun was about to dive below the horizon in the direction we had come from.

I guessed that we had reached our destination, even without Alyatara's hint, a split second before the unicorn tapped me on the shoulder with her hoof and whispered: "We have arrived!"

In general, it looked like a city only by Equestrian standards.

In my homeland, a cluster of one- and two-story houses surrounded by sparse forest would only qualify as a village. And the village is not very big.

The street lights came on, illuminating the city as a bright spot among the undergrowth. Then we entered a valley, and the branches of the trees hid the cityscape from our view. There was a whistle of steam, and the train jerked, slowing down.

The station was empty. And the station itself looked more like a halting - a wooden platform attached to the railway, and a brick building with a couple of windows. We went down a rusty, creaking ladder to the ground, following three or four ponies, who, like us, had left the reserved seat. I grabbed the bag with the presents more comfortably.

“Follow me,” Aliatara whispered.

“Lead the way, Virgil.”

“Who?”

“Oh, sorry, an earthly cultural reference. I'll explain it to you later.”

We set off along a cobblestone path flanked by two rows of firefly lanterns. There was surprisingly little snow on the road, and Alyatara's hooves clicked loudly on the stones. The city must have a good street cleaning service... Oh, right. The local weather crew must know their stuff and not pile snowdrifts on the city unnecessarily.

The first buildings began to flash around. The forest – or rather a park, the thickets were neatly trimmed, the pines and oaks grew at the right distance from each other – somehow immediately turned into the city, the trees rose between the houses. There were no fences and vegetable gardens familiar to our eyes, the buildings stood close to each other, their facades facing the street. There were no passers-by, only a couple of times ponies passed us, looking sideways with curiosity at the two-legged figure.

The street made a couple of sharp turns, it felt like it was laid out without a plan, just each house was built where it was most convenient for the owner. Thatched roofs were replaced by red tiles, two-story mansions were increasingly common. Another turn - and we found ourselves in a round square. On the far side of it towered a three-story building, crowned with a high turret, and to our left - a rounded arch rose, behind which some covered pavilions were visible.

“The city hall and the theater,” Alyatara broke the silence. “And the market,” she pointed her hoof somewhere to the east. “In that direction is the school where I studied before entering the academy.”

“Are we going there?”

“No, the other way. Or do you want to walk around the city? I can show you...”

“Oh, let's get this all figured out quickly,” I shook my head. “The sooner we sit down, the sooner we get out.”

"Sit down?" the pony asked. "Is this some kind of cultural reference?"

I snorted.

“Right on target.”

Looked at Aljatara more closely.

“Do you want to delay the moment?”

The pony sighed.

“I'm a coward, right?”

This time I decided to stroke her head.

“I'm on pins and needles myself. Okay, relax. They won't eat us, after all.”

Warm yellow light filtered through the lancet windows. The ponies ignored curtains on their windows, limiting themselves to lace curtains and patterned shutters. However, I still tried not to look unnecessarily into the insides of other 's houses. We wandered along the pavement, turning after turning.

Until a two-story cottage surrounded by juniper loomed ahead. A small decorative tower rose above the green door, and to the left of the porch a small pond was visible, now empty and filled with snow.

We exchanged glances.

“On the count of three?”

“One, two...”

Alyatara's hoof and my palm touched the door knocker at the same time.

“Coming, coming!” the stallion's voice was heard on the other side. “Who's there? We're busy!”

“Dad, it's me!”

The door swung open.

“Alyatara?!” a tall, light green unicorn, up to my chest, with an aquamarine mane, the same color as Alyatara's fur, stepped onto the porch. On his thigh was a mark in the form of a gray cobblestone and an open eye.

“Hi, Dad!” Alyatara hugged him around the neck.

“We thought you were coming tomorrow,” the unicorn muttered confusedly, hugging his daughter.

“Our schedule changed, we were only able to find a window for this evening. I didn't even have time to send the letter!”

This was the absolute truth. The supplies of the reagents Remy coveted had arrived earlier than expected, and the earth pony had warned us that she would only be able to help Steel in the shop that evening – after that, she would have all her time filled with her direct duties. So the decision to break out to New Haysey was made rather spontaneously.

“Oh, we’re always glad to see you, even when you appear suddenly,” said the unicorn. He looked at me. He narrowed his eyes.

“Alyatara, isn't this by any chance your friend that you were talking about on Hearth Warming Day?”

“Exactly! Let me introduce you. This is Evgeniy Komarov, my friend and partner, and this is Stone Watcher, my dad.”

"Alyatara's friends are my friends," the unicorn extended a hoof to me. I grabbed it just above the pastern and shook it gently.

“Well, come in. Diamond, my soul! We have guests!”

“Guests?” A clicking sound came from the depths of the house. Diamond appeared in the illuminated doorway. “Oh, Sisters, Alyatara, you are in your element! I was not prepared to welcome guests, the house is untidy, there is nothing to put on the table!”

"We're a very unpretentious species, Diamond," I tried to force a smile. "A glass of water and a crust of bread are enough for us to be happy."

“Mister Komarov?” the pony dramatically pressed her hoof to her face. “Well, I can only hope that you don't think that my house is always such a mess! And please, don't judge all the unicorns in Equestria by our home!”

"Come on, my dear," Stone intervened. "Come on in, daughter. And show your friend where everything is."

My jacket found a home on the varnished branches of a tree-style coat rack in the hallway. Alyatara glanced out of the corner of her eye at the huge oak-framed mirror on the far side of the room, smoothing her mane. I swiveled my head, looking for a place to put my shoes.

“Don’t take off your shoes,” the unicorn whispered to me.

“Come in, come in,” Stone pointed to the right door.

We sat down in front of the huge fireplace, where the flames still danced in the embers. They gave off enough light that the firefly lamp on the coffee table was turned off. Alyatara took up a strategic position between me and my father, in the corner of a massive sofa with dragon-headed arms and cast-iron legs. I nestled into an equally menacing chair, leaning back carefully. It was a little awkward to sit in thing designed for a pony's size, but I had gotten used to it over the past few months.

Diamond Star disappeared somewhere in the depths of the house, from where the sound of pots and spoons could be heard. Apparently, she had exaggerated about "nothing to put on the table."

“I can't wait to hear about your shop first-hand. It's crazy, my baby is now a grown-up and responsible business pony,” Stone grinned. “And about you too, mister. Are the rumors true? Are you really an alien from beyond our world?”

Well, he didn't say "invader." Or "monster." Good sign.

“That's right. Just don't ask me how I got here. The best scientists in Equestria are struggling with this mystery.”

Stone whistled.

"I heard about the Ponyville invasion and the camp, but I thought it was half-truth at best. Something's always been happening in Ponyville, ever since Nightmare came back."

“Well, I wouldn’t call it an invasion,” I carefully interjected. “I certainly didn’t intend to invade anywhere.”

“And how did you end up in Equestria?” Stone asked curiously.

“Well... basically I was just thrown almost on Alyatara's head,” I wisely decided not to clarify the small details about the bath and so on. “That's how we met.”

“And we started a joint business,” Aliatara put in. “By the way! Dad, Mom, we brought you something!”

She pulled out from her saddle bag a massive stylomech, painted blue and green.

"A funny toy," Stone twirled the stylomech in front of his nose with telekinesis. "Are these the famous human quills they talk about in Manehattan?"

"Exactly. Only we don't call them quills," I said, resisting the urge to make a joke about a featherless animal.

"What difference does it make what they're called if they're meant for the same thing?" Stone asked rhetorically. "Thank you, daughter." He sent the stylomech flying onto the mantelpiece with a flash of green light.

The door opened, and Diamond's head appeared in the doorway. Around her neck hung an apron decorated with an image of three strawberries. Exactly the same as the one on her hip.

“Please come to the table,” she said ceremoniously. “Excuse me for the meagerness of the refreshments.”

Well, if this was a small dinner by New Haysey standards, I wouldn't want to be invited to a big one. For fear of bursting.

On my plate, steaming, crumbly, fried boiled potatoes were piled high with a generous portion of vegetable ragout. Thinly sliced slices of black bread sat next to a bright yellow slice of butter and something bright red in a sauceboat. The salad bowl gave off a rich herbal aroma mixed with a subtle scent of olives and vinegar.

“Mmm!” Alyatara sniffed, wiping her hooves with a towel. “I missed home cooking so much!”

"Are you living on hay and sandwiches in town again?" Diamond asked menacingly. "You'll ruin your digestion before you know it!"Mr. Komarov, you must watch her diet!”

I thought it best to remain silent. Fortunately, there was a very good reason - a mouth full of potatoes with spicy sauce.

“Diamond Star, you are a magical cook,” I flattered the hostess a minute later. This time – much more sincerely.

“Yes, that’s what we have,” Stone said in a satisfied tone.

"You're welcome," Diamond said. "I'm really ashamed that I had to treat you to whatever I had in the fridge. If I'd known beforehand..."

Alyatara, not listening to her, put a spoonful of salad on herself. Sniffed.

“Is it with alfalfa?” she said, looking at her mother.

“Yes, what is it? Honestly, I thought you had left your foal pickiness behind. Alfalfa is good for your health…”

The unicorn raised her hoof.

“Evgeniy! You remember...”

"I remember, I remember," I assured her. "Sorry, Diamond, but I'll pass on the salad. We humans don't digest alfalfa very well."

“Oh my God,” the hostess let out a VHS. “Alyatara, you should have warned me! I didn't even think...”

“It’s all right,” I hastened to assure her. “I’m already used to keeping track of such things.”

The kettle whistled on the stove. Diamond stood up, placed a plate of blueberry pie on the table, and poured chamomile-scented tea into cups.

Stone Watcher, having gobbled up the pie in a split second, looked at me.

"Tell me, are your kind allowed to move around Equestria?" he asked. "For some reason I thought that humans were forbidden to settle outside the boundaries of this camp of yours."

"Since Alyatara took me on bail, I was allowed to live freely," I explained. "Within the limits of Manehattan, of course. To go to New Haysey, I had to get a special permit from Committee."

“Committee?” Diamond asked again.

“A special office of the Department of Friendship,” explained Alyatara. “Which deals with issues of human adaptation.”

Stone nodded.

“The Department of Friendship, huh?” He leaned back in his chair. - I knew its head. Once I had to attend an interrogation with her.”

“Darling, our guests are unlikely to be interested in your work stories,” Diamond noted dryly.

“At Starlight Glimmer's interrogation?” Alyatara asked. “I've never heard of that before! Dad, tell me!”

“And I wouldn’t refuse to listen,” I joined in the request.

Stone chuckled. He took a big sip of tea.

“Well, it happened when you left for Manehattan, and then it was somehow forgotten due to the time that passed. It's been about four years since then... Or a little less.”

“Four years?” Alyatara asked. “Wait, really…”

“Well, yes, then she was not yet the head of the Department of Friendship. Actually, then the Department did not exist yet. Then she had just been discharged from the villains and became the personal student of Her Highness. Well, so there you have it.

We were doing a survey in the Foal Mountains back then. Of course, the mines there were considered exhausted in the first few centuries from the Hearth, but the dowsers of those times couldn't even dream of the magic that we have! Search spells with solution and impulse adjustment, thaumic carotage matrices, sympathetic resonators...”

“Stone,” Diamond cut him off.

“What? Oh, yeah... Well, that's it. Our base camp was in Bales, Shift Jump, our teleporter, sent us to the mountains to the northeast. There were four of us - me, two hoofponies and Rick Digger, our expedition rocktor. A good guy, even though he's an earth pony...

“Daddy!” Alyatara exclaimed indignantly.

Stone coughed in embarrassment.

“Look, I'm not some kind of speciesist. I have nothing against even griffins, not to mention pegasi or earth ponies. I just think that it's better for each race to live separately than to mix. What would happen if all the unicorns moved to Cloudsdale, and the earth ponies settled in Canterlot and practiced magic? Nothing good, just running around and chaos, like in Ponyville...”

“Then why do you live among earth ponies?”

“Well, that's a different matter. I can't afford housing in Canterlot, and it's a long way from there to the mines... Okay, you distracted me. So here it is.

We set up camp and set out early in the morning. We worked as usual - I set up search amulets, do a general scan, give Rick the scan, he looks at the results and tells me where to do additional exploration. We walked about ten miles, opened up a couple of promising veins, although nothing of great value, and came out to an old sanctuary. It was already getting dark, and Rick and I decided to pitch tents. Of course, not in the ruins themselves - about three miles away, behind the mountain. There were no fools among us, not only could the ruins themselves collapse on your head at any moment, but the unicorns of antiquity were also masters of all sorts of unpleasant surprises for those who decided to lay a hoof on their treasures - and not all of their spells have dissipated over time. Let Daring Do climb such places, and not us, humble equiologists.

Anyway, we went to bed – and three hours later we were awakened by a roar. It felt like a thunderstorm had broken out over Ponyhedge in a clear sky. Green bolts struck and struck the rock, lightning flashed, the earth shook. I felt echoes of alien and strange magic, although I would never have been able to determine who that was and what spells he was casting. And was it even a unicorn mage, or was it just one of the old magic traps that had gone off.

This went on for about half an hour, then it died down. The workers started muttering about ghosts, so I had to fill them in that the Baltimare Mining Trust wasn't paying them for scary stories. In the morning we continued along the route, but made a big detour - no one wanted to go near the shrine after the night show.

Well, here we are. We finished the loop and went back to camp to spend the night and go on the next route. And then this pony, Starlight, showed up.

She teleported right into the middle of the camp and immediately started to find out what we were doing near the ruins. I must admit, I was a little scared, after all, you remember what rumors were about her then. We didn't hide anything - we honestly admitted what we were doing and what we saw.

She got very excited when she heard about the storm last night. She was very persistent in asking me what I had managed to notice and what I could say about the spells that were happening there. When she realized that I have nothing to tell, she sighed heavily, muttered under her breath, "Twilight won't like this," and melted into thin air.

“What was that?” Alyatara asked curiously.

“The princess doesn’t report to me,” Stone spread his hooves. “I heard a rumor that either some ancient artifact exploded there, or the ghost of Starswirl himself appeared, or something else. But I think it’s all just tales. I myself suspect that some kind of magical protection against robbers really did work there, maybe even squashing somepony. That’s why the princess sent her student to find out which of the ponies could have fallen under it.”

Alyatara shuddered.

“What, do you mean to say that ponies died there?!”

“I hope not. But who knows? For some reason the princess suddenly became interested in this.”

Stone yawned. He glanced at the minibar with a slight melancholy in his eyes. Diamond caught his glance and shook her head menacingly. I thought it best not to show that I noticed this exchange of glances.

The hostess stood up.

“Excuse me, I’ll go clean up the guest room,” she said. She headed for the kitchen exit.

Stone smiled at Aliatara.

“And you? Maybe you can tell me something interesting about your work? Or you, mister, can you share some interesting story from the world of humans?”

I'm a little stuck.

Yeah, the classic "tell me something funny" ploy. What to tell? Especially since lately interesting stories from Earth have been associated with something wrong for me...

“Oh!” Alyatara came to my rescue. “Since we're having an evening of celebrity reminiscences... Dad, guess who made a purchase in our shop about a month ago?”

“Princess Celestia?”

“Oh, well, we didn’t fly that high... I’ll give you a hint – it starts with “Spit”, ends with “fire” and commands the Wonderbolts!”

“Wow,” Stone raised an eyebrow. “Tell me in detail.”

“Well, it all started when Mike and Silver - you remember them, right? - came to visit me in the shop...”

Listening to this story that was already familiar to me, I began to study the glasses standing on the shelf with smiling ponies laid out in colored glass on the walls. Then I looked at the massive clock hanging above the bar. The numbers were laid out in gold inscribed with green stones - I even wondered if these were real emeralds or glass imitation. That in Equestria they had a free attitude to the value of precious stones - I already understood after the countless number of times when they paid us with them for stylomechs.

“Stone Watcher,” I interjected when Alyatara paused for a sip of tea. “What were you looking for in the mountains? Jewels?”

Stone chuckled.

“ Well, looking for gems is actually a simple matter. Find a place with an intersection of ley lines or concentrate them ungulally, like on a stone farm, cast a simple search matrix - and collect them with a shovel into a bucket. But a deposit of bauxite or polyalanite suitable for development is a rarity! Now the mines of Eastern Equestria are considered exhausted, the main development is taking place near Dodge City and in the Smokey Mountains. But give us another ten years, young colt - and we will change that!” He fervently slammed his hoof on the armrest. I did not even correct my species.

Diamond Star returned. She sank into a chair, pouring water from a decanter into a glass with a green pegasus.

“I made a bed for you in the guest room, Evgeniy. It's to the left of the stairs, at the far end of the corridor. And for you, Alyatara, in your old one. Everything there is still the same as it was when you were in school.”

“What, even my poster of Songbird Serenade and the porcelain collection?” Alyatara smiled.

“Of course. I'm not going to throw them away. I was hoping that my grandchildren would play with them... But it looks like I won't have any grandchildren, will I?”

Alyatara flinched as if she had been struck.

“Mom!”

Diamond looked us over.

“What? Or am I wrong?”

All the goodwill in the room seemed to have been blown away by the wind. I really wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what. So as not to make the situation even more tense.

"Diamond!" Stone said sharply. "For Celestia's sake, let's not now..."

“Let’s not - what? Or are you okay with this?”

Alyatara rose with a jerk.

“We are tired,” she said coldly. “Tomorrow is a hard day for us. We are going to bed. Good night, everypony.”

She stepped toward the door, her head held high. She took one look, and I knew I'd better join her.

“Thank you for dinner,” I said awkwardly. “It really is late… Good night.”

“Uh… yes, you’re welcome,” Stone muttered. Alyatara stepped out the door, turned around for a second, and I caught her pleading gaze again. I almost ran out of the kitchen as if scalded.

She was silent as we climbed the double staircase with its carved supports. Only when the unicorn stepped toward the door on the right, and I was about to move on, her hoof rest on my hand.

“Come with me,” she whispered. “Please.”

I let myself be pulled by the hand into a cozy bedroom, with a fluffy feather bed and drawings on the walls – judging by the winter theme and execution technique, they belong to the pen of the unicorn herself. Paper snowflakes, darkened by time, were glued to the window. On the windowsill were h-painted porcelain figurines of ponies, griffins, and some other intelligent creatures – this must have been the very collection.

Alyatara fall onto the bed, closing her eyes.

“Why?” she asked with a quiet, bitter resentment. “Why… like this?”

I sighed. I sat down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder.

“She's probably just... worried about you. She's just showing it the best way she can.”

The pony groaned.

“Can't she see that she's hurting?”

I could only shrug. I sat next to Alyatara, listening to her breathing calm down, watching the shadows move slowly across the snow outside the window. Hoofsteps were heard below, and Diamond's voice was tense. I couldn't make out the words.

It's for the best.

When it seemed to me that Alyatara had fallen asleep, I carefully freed my hand and headed towards the door.

Or rather, I tried. Because the unicorn jumped up on the bed.

“Don’t go,” she asked quietly. “Stay here.”

I forced a smile.

“We won't shock yours completely?”

“And anyway,” Alyatara sat up in bed and kissed me. I smiled, running my fingers through the mane. I lay back down, hugging Alyatara, who was pressed against me with her back, like a big plush toy. The pony smiled through her reddened eyes and covered my hand with her hoof.

And yet I had to get out of bed.

For the most prosaic reason. The tea I drank began to look for a way out.

I carefully, so as not to wake the unicorn, removed my hand. I stood up - she sleepily stirred and muttered something. I quietly kissed her on the cheek, she hugged the pillow instead of my hand and began to snore peacefully.

I crept up to the first floor, cursing the creaky steps, and used the amenities in the small room under the stairs. I washed my hands, looked around for a towel, but couldn't find one. I crept back, raised my leg over the first step.

"Mr. Komarov," Stone's voice came from the living room through the half-open door. I turned around.

Pony was sitting in the same place he had been before dinner, looking into the fireplace. On the coffee table in front of him were several strange devices that looked like a hybrid of a hookah and a smoking pipe.

“Come in,” he ordered. The tone of his voice was friendly, but it was clearly an order, not a request.

I didn't dare disobey, and also took a seat in the same chair. The pony opened the cabinet door with telekinesis and pulled the thick-walled bottle towards him, gurgling.

"Would you like some?" he asked, tilting the glass slightly. "Three-year-old apple brandy. Sorry, I'm not offering you that," he touched the pipe, "that stuff doesn't always work as well on non-ponies."

I nodded silently. Stone poured brandy into glasses, handed one to me. He raised his.

“To our acquaintance, perhaps,” he said. Glass clinked. Alcohol burned my throat.

Stone disconnected the thin rubber hose leading to the pipe. He struck a lighter, holding it to the bottom of the cup. I couldn’t help but stare at his hooves, wondering what would happen next. This thing hardly looked like a smoking one after all…

The unicorn sucked in air through the tube. He held it in his lungs and exhaled forcefully but slowly. A huge soap bubble appeared from the cup of the tube, followed by a second and a third. They rose to the ceiling, sparkling in the dim light of the coals.

"They say it's not very good for the lungs, but it clears the brain really well," he drawled, seeing how fascinated I was by the play of thin films. "Well, at my age it's a bit late to bother about it."

The unicorn turned his gaze to me.

“Sorry about this evening, Mr. Komarov.”

I shrugged awkwardly.

“Mother is mother.”

“Yes. And I hope you can understand her. She had long dreamed of grandchildren, and when she realized that Alyatara had other plans...” he paused. He took another drag from his bubble machine."

He pierced me with his gaze.

“She's right about you and her, right?”

“Mr. Stone Watcher...”

• I'm just asking.

“Let's say so.”

The unicorn looked at the translucent balls.

“I'll be honest - I'm not a supporter of modern morals. I don't even like the mixing of ponies, let alone foreigners. A filly should look for a mate among those who are close to her in spirit and nature, and not...”

“Well, excuse me, but I’m more concerned with Alyatara’s opinion than yours,” I blurted out sharply.

The unicorn suddenly grinned.

“Courage? I like that.”

He splashed half a finger of the amber liquid again.

“You know what? I agree with you.”

My jaw dropped.

“Sorry?”

Stone chuckled. He clinked glasses with me and drained the glass.

“No, not in the sense that I share modern views. But I am more concerned about Alyatara's happiness than about my rightness. If she is happy with you, then I would rather be dissatisfied than her being alone.”

He glared at me again.

“Is she happy with you?”

I touched my lips to the brandy and put the glass down.

“Stone,” I said quietly. “She came to my aid when I was lost, scared, and confused. She kept me from breaking. I don’t know how I can repay her for that. Making her happy is the least I can do. I don’t know what the future holds… but I’ll do anything for that. Anything.”

The unicorn was silent.

“Well then. May Celestia shine upon you.”

He suddenly pinned me to the spot with his gaze.

“But remember, friend, if you hurt my daughter... I don't mean if you get tired of each other or anything like that, life happens... But if you suddenly hurt or betray her - then know this. I will find you not only in Equestria - even in your world, and I will send you to the deepest of the abandoned adits of the Foal Mountains. Got it?”

“Well, I’d rather! ...”

“Okay, okay. Forgive old pony for father worrying. Another one?”

I shook my head.

“We really do have to hit the road tomorrow morning. I'll go to bed anyway.”

“Well, whatever you say. Just try not to make so much noise as to wake Diamond.”

My cheeks were flushed, and not just from the brandy I'd drunk.

“We don’t…”

Stone chuckled softly.

“Good night, buddy.”

“Cood night, Stone.”

A thin snow, almost invisible in the sun, was falling from the sky. The rare clouds from which it was falling were sliding across the sky from Manehattan, and between them, almost invisible at altitude, the dots of the weather team were flickering.

The whistle of an approaching train blew. Alyatara turned to her father.

"Well, see you later, daughter," he said warmly, hugging the unicorn. Alyatara hugged her father back, still nodding coldly to her mother. She responded with an equally prim nod.

I bowed.

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Come by anytime,” Stone said cordially.

“Somehow, dad. If business allows.”

Stone smiled.

“It would be better if it allowed it, especially in a year. I think we could use some extra hooves to babysit your little sister.”

Diamond Star turned to face her husband.

“What?!”

He nudged her in the side.

“Oh, come on. Since we don't have grandchildren in this direction, then we need to take care of the issue ourselves, huh? And you and I aren't so old that we don't think about such things?”

Diamond blushed.

“Stone Watcher! You... you are impossible!”

“Ha-ha! That's why you married me at the time, no?”

I found myself smiling. Widely and genuinely.

“See you.”

“See you.”

The morning car was less crowded, and Alyatara and I found a place in the far corner, fenced off by saddlebags filled with all sorts of home-made treats that Stone thrust upon us without listening to objections.

The unicorn sniffed.

“I didn’t notice you drinking yesterday,” she said, puzzled.

I smiled.

“Your father and I had a drink last night.”

Alyatara jumped up.

“You don't...”

“We didn't even quarrel. As you said, he's a great guy.”

The pony sighed with relief.

“I’m glad that at least you got along with him.”

I wanted to joke that the situation was quite in the spirit of classic jokes about mother-in-law and father-in-law, but the words got stuck in my throat.

Because the words “mother-in-law” and “father-in-law” immediately led to other thoughts about family status through a chain of associations...

Yes, the situation is developing quickly...

Oh, fuck it all. We'll live and see. Firstly fight and than decide.

At least it has worked in business so far.

We entered the shop with Alyatara hand in hand... Hand in leg, more precisely.

Even just a little bit late for the start of the morning rush. Although, of course, we didn't have time to throw our luggage home.

And I immediately realized that something was wrong.

First, the front entrance was closed.

Secondly, Remy and Steel were in the back room instead of a counter or workshop.

And thirdly, Steele glanced timidly at his uncle.

Who held a paper scroll in his hooves.

“Bronze?” I dropped the bags on the floor. “What brings you here?”

The earth pony turned around.

“O. Evgeniy, Alyatara, hello. Look at this.”

He handed me a letter.

I looked at the ligature of Equestrian letters in bewilderment.

"To the authorized representative of the trading partnership "Stylomechs of Alyatara", Broncklin, 28, 3rd Avenue, 2-1, Manehattan UD , Alyatara Kiri.

From the trustee agent of the legal department of the trading house of Whitefeather & Co., Haypacking, 1, Sunrise Street, 195, Manehattan UD , Law Rider.

Dearest Alyatara!

By this letter the trading house of Whitefeather & Co. has the pleasure to inform you that the said trading house has been granted the privilege of royal banalites for trading in inks, inkwells, writing ink, drawing ink, goose quills, other bird quills, pegasus quills, writing pencils, drawing pencils, resinous and other erasers, calligraphy brushes, artist's brushes, drawing paper, writing paper, blotting paper, carbon paper, blotting sand and goods equivalent thereto, in accordance with the commercial law of the Kingdom of Equestria and in accordance with the highest act of HHPS Celestia dated April 20, 857, Era of the Sun.

It was established by the decree of HHPS Celestia of June 11, 721, Era of the Sun, "On the Privileges of Trade", paragraph LI , chapter I , that anyone wishing to trade in goods falling under the decree granting a royal privilege is obliged to obtain the consent of the holder of the privilege and pay this holder a fee in the amount agreed upon by the parties, but in no case less than eight hundred and fifty full-weight gold bits per month.

It was also established by the decree of HHPS Celestia of May 18, 1021, Era of the Sun, “On additions to the Law on commercial violations”, paragraph VI I, chapter I, that anyone guilty of violating a monopoly established by law is obliged to pay the holder of the monopoly a fine in the amount of one hundred and twenty percent of the amount of funds received for the entire period of such trade.

As determined by witness testimony, newspaper publications and street signs, the trading partnership "Stylomechs of Alyatara" from November 20, 2nd year of the Era of Friendship (1112th year of the Era of the Sun) to the present day has been engaged in the wholesale and retail trade of goods called stylomechs, which in functionality and design are a mechanical analogue of a writing quills, thereby violating the privilege of royal banalites granted to the trading house of Whitefeather and Co.

Based on the calculation of the value of the claim attached to this letter, the total amount of the debt of the trading partnership "Stilomechs of Alyatara" to the trading house Whitefeather and Co. is twenty thousand two hundred sixty-five full-weight gold bits.

However, guided by Friendship and Harmony, with the aim of maintaining the spirit of business cooperation, the management of the trading house Whitefeather & Co. offers you and your partners to voluntarily conclude an agreement on conducting trade ratione privilegii for a price of one thousand two hundred bits per month, or to transfer your enterprise to the ownership ad remanentiam of the trading house Whitefeather & Co. for a price of seven thousand bits.

In case of refusal of the above-described offer, the management of the trading house Whitefeather & Co. notifies you of its intention to apply to the arbitration court of the city district of Manehattan for the purpose of collecting the debt owed to the trading house Whitefeather & Co. with all due payments, duties and taxes cui vectigal.

Please accept assurances of my highest consideration.

Written on February 18, 3 EF (1113 ES) in Manehattan.

Sincerely yours, Law Rider."