Boundary Point

“Covid-19, meningitis, MMR,” the poorly shaven man answered the mare in uniform in front of him.

“Rabies?” she asked while double checking her notes.

“Got that the first time I came here,” the man exhaled.

“Let me see, oh,” there was a pause between the two. “Wait, are you?”

The human gave the golden mare a mirthless look. His green eyes widened and locked the pony into place. Her hoof shuddered as her attempt to glance away snapped her back into his eyes. The fur on her spine stood up as a chill rolled in from above.

“Go on through. Thank you for your service,” the mare quietly said, finally looking away and nodding her head.

The man nodded in return and mumbled a “Thanks,” as he turned to see a long, empty chain queue that wrapped around itself and into the station proper. Letting out a sigh, he ducked under the chain and kept crouched as he skipped the empty snaking line.

“Sir, I don’t think you can d-” the mare shouted, but stopped as Xavier entered the flow of Earth and Equestrian inhabitants into the Corridor.

Double checking he had all his papers, he took stock of his surroundings. A Griffin reading a pamphlet to his left, a Bison to the right, drinking from a fountain, but mostly ponies and humans on the moving walkway. Four lanes, both ways: one slow for those wishing to take their time and one fast for those rearing to move forward.

Xavier stepped on the mover as beings of all kinds slowly slid down the long transverse ahead of them. Glancing to his left, he could see the cargo mover slowly following his group, moving goods from terra firma to Equestria. To his right, several advertisements screamed human friendly accommodations less than a kilometer from the train station. In front of him was a Griffin in a business suit pitching something to a human and a pony. Behind him was a woman simply filming herself as she talked to an audience that would not see her until at least tomorrow.

“All right, I have to shut off the camera now otherwise the effects will fry my equipment,” she wrapped up and tapped here and there on the screen.

Bit by bit, he grumbled, “Should have taken the fast lane,” as he closed his eyes, and breathed slowly.

Seven minutes later, he finally leapt off the mover and looked around. A grand central hub of stores and restaurants lay before him, while the scent of pot-pourri wafted gently with his movements. Above them was the ever magical pony-esque architecture that towered over all the migrants that made their way through the bright white halls. He could see the meat eaters restaurant, T-Bones, with a small line of people and a few dragons slowly shuffling in, and next to it was a human pizza franchise, and a young dragon dancing with a sign advertising the freshest pizza ingredients you’ll find within 100km.

“Great, have your first taste of human cuisine at the greasiest pizza joint you can think of,” Xavier muttered. Letting out a sigh, he looked away from the pizzeria, and started scanning the central complex.

“Of course we would welcome with open wings your worst restaurants. Your kind did turn the tide,” a harshly feminine voice rose behind him. Xavier slowly turned to see a mare with a cracked horn and orange mane. A cutie mark of a small flame hid itself behind the smile of a unicorn. Xavier slowly nodded his head toward the pony.

“Solstice."

“You look surprised to see me,” the mare laughed as she approached. She wore a military jumpsuit, snow camo and lieutenant pips.

“Commissioned now, I see,” Xavier raised an eye at Solstice.

“Well, not with who you think,” the fiery horse glanced left and right before asking, “Can I buy you a drink?”

“I’m not sure. I think my train is due to leave in fifteen minutes,” Xavier pursed his lips while pulling out his ticket.

“Let me have a look at that,” Solstice nabbed the ticket from the human hand with her magic. Narrowing her eyes at the text, she chuckled. “It’s departing in two hours."

“Are you sure about that?” Xavier raised an eye as he fussed.

“Very sure. Two months ago, the realignment happened and the time zones between here and Terra still get mixed up,” the mare responded as she floated the ticket back to its owner.

“Well, I guess I got time then. Lead the way,” Xavier raised his gloved right hand and motioned it towards the general food court. Following the officer, the myriad of smells finally overcame Xavier’s other stimuli. He could smell the spiced meat from the left, and pungent odor like that of cut grass came in from the right. However, instead of being led to a restaurant, the mare simply led him to a bar with a dark oak themed finish and bronze-emerald lighting. Both pulled a hybrid stool to their liking and sat.

“So how long have you been out of the loop?” Solstice asked as she flagged a unicorn waiter. A gray furred stallion approached and stood still as he awaited the orders. “Pear whiskey if you got any.”

The waiter nodded his head as he turned to Xavier, “And for you, sir?”

“I don’t suppose you got any Zif’s soda, do you?” Xavier let out.

The stallion raised an eyebrow at the human and snorted, “I can certainly check to see if we have any.”

“If you got none of that, I’ll take water instead,” Xavier nodded, closing his eyes. The stallion bowed his head to both parties as he left the table to the two customers.

“Don’t drink?” Solstice prodded with a playful energy.

“Alcoholism runs in the family. I have to take great care not to fall into the same traps as my dad and uncle fell into,” Xavier moaned as he rubbed the sides of his head.

“You know what they say, every party needs a pooper,” the mare stuck her tongue out at the human, ”Honestly, If I’d known that, then I would’ve just taken you over to T-bones."

“Trying to bribe me with meat?” Xavier cracked. Solstice let out a laugh.

“You couldn’t have known,” Xavier waved his hands down at her as he looked around. “So this is the Corridor, huh?”

“Oh yeah, you’ve never been here before, have you? This is what, your second time on this side of the veil?” Solstice adjusted herself in her seat as the clanging of glass subtly echoed through the ambience of background conversation.

Xavier raised an eyebrow and looked up, “Fourth time, actually. Wait, maybe fifth, honestly I didn’t keep count,” he finally shrugged, “But my first time was when I was with the original survey team near Syracuse,” Xavier paused as his appearance went from that of a bumbling tourist to a stoned face that gazed past his partner from across the table. He blinked a few times and looked away from his table companion before Solstice’s eyes flickered and she spoke up.

“Oh… You uh, saw the bodies?” She bit her lower lip and frowned at Xavier.

“There was a…” Xavier stopped dead. Breathing in and out, he tried to begin again. “There was, um…” he glanced from his left to his right, starting and stopping a few times before the lieutenant spoke up again.

“We don’t have to talk about that. Didn’t mean to pry open those memories,” Solstice quickly said, her eyes glistening in panic over the can of worms she might have accidentally opened.

“Yeah, I um…” Xavier clasped his hands together and balled them up into a hard grip. “Well, what’s been happening at your end?”

Solstice smiled as the atmosphere cleared up. Puffing up her chest, she made sure that her lieutenant pips shone brightly as the lights from above hit their silvery exterior. “Well, I’m commissioned now, as you already saw. Las Pegasus has officially signed up with the Union. The Kingdom was not at all happy about that.”

“I’d assume so,” Xavier answered as the waiter brought the drinks. He placed the light caramel colored whiskey glass in front of the mare, and a clear one in front of the human before giving a nod and leaving. “The Princess is not at all happy about that, I assume.”

“Not in the slightest. Supposedly, she had to pull out all the stops to keep the Pegasi from just leaving. On the bright side, their veterans will probably have a cozy time if rumors about the negotiation are true,” Solstice lifted the whiskey glass and took a sip. For a moment, her face audibly cringed as the effort of lifting the glass to her lips unleashed a drop of pain.

“Inscription causing you issue?” Xavier asked while rubbing his covered hands.

“The fact that your kind developed a method to circumvent my fractured horn’s lameness is miraculous, but yeah every time I use it, it’s an aching like pain that just makes me almost wish I amputated it,” Solstice slowly put down the glass, a slight shaking back and forth as she focused intently on ensuring the rest of her beverage didn’t spill.

“Next time you go in, ask them about runic line 17 alpha. Make sure that not a drop of lead is in the initial binding and I think you’ll find a serious chunk of the pain will be gone after the two-week realignment phase,” Xavier said as he dug around his pockets for paper, biting his lip as he pulled out a napkin he stuffed in during his flight to the Corridor. Pulling a pen from his jacket, he wrote the instruction down on the napkin.

“Speaking from experience?” Solstice chuckled while Xavier wrote his instructions.

“Emphasize that any lead in the binding will fuck you up,” Xavier put his pen back in his pocket and slid the napkin over to the mare.

“I will… thanks,” Solstice smiled as she once again shakily levitated the whiskey glass and finished her drink. “Now what I was saying, the Princess only has Canterlot, and the other two cities left. She’s dispatched special envoy to the dragons last I heard and the griffins are demanding concessions and a new trade deal.”

“Huh... an article I was reading on the flight here said that Manehatten is going to have a referendum to see if the populace wants to rejoin the Kingdom,” Xavier looked down at his drink, “When they seceded, that vote passed the 70% threshold, and they’ll need to do so again if the city wishes to rejoin. If I recall, poll numbers had it dead 50-50.”

“I hope that’s true,” Solstice gave a soft grin as she glanced at her drink. “After all we suffered? Losing Manehatten is more than Celestia deserves,” Solstice’s tone shifted to an almost growl as her bright eyes became dark and narrow.

“It’s not your fault that she lied to your kind for–” Xavier was cut off.

“For over 9,000 years, my kind has been under her rule. Any attempts at independence were swiftly cut with whispers of eternal night,” Solstice grimaced as she narrowed her eyes at the human across from her, “Xavier, she lied to us. She lied to us for over 9000 years. We thought that…” The mare stammered as she forced her eyes closed, “That mare lied to us.”

“I get it, I mean–” Xavier was once again cut off.

“I don’t think you do. A lead mare doesn’t just lie to her herd,” Solstice spat, looking towards bright overhead lights keeping the bar dimly lit.

Xavier waited a few moments before continuing, “I mean, in a sense, she did do that, didn’t she?”

“Are you implying that all of her kingdom was her herd?” Solstice slowly lifted her drink, gazing heavily at it.

“Many political structures are based on the prototypical family. Just look at a few of the cultures from my species,” Xavier wrinkled his lips as he finally reached the water.

“I think a better comparison would be to your Catholic Church. What if one day the devil appeared on your doorstep and showed you the King was a lie?” Solstice rebutted.

“King?” Xaviar tilted his head.

“Who leads them?” Solstice glanced left and right, as she tapped her hoof on the table.

“The Pope?”

“Yes! The Pope! What if one day the devil appeared on your doorstep and showed you the Pope was a lie?” Solstice exhaled in relief.

“Maybe it’s just hard for me to accept a horse demigod.”

“Alicorn,” Solstice corrected.

“Alicorn. I find it deeply difficult to assume that any corporeal being can be a God,” Xavier took a sip of water, “That said, whether she is a God or not is irrelevant. What she is, is a politician.”

“An awful one at that,” Solstice spat out.

“I’ve got to disagree. Keeping a kingdom in good order for over 10,000 years?” Xavier implored, “That some real fucking statecraft right there,” Xavier took another sip and put the glass down slowly.

“Are you really going to admire a monster?” Solstice snorted as she once again magically reached for her drink.

“Separate the artist from the art. I can tell you right now, there are some real dictators in my world that would kill for what she’s done."

“Delude an entire race?” Solstice sighed, “You think too lowly of your kind."

“And you think too highly. Just because we came in and turned the tide doesn’t mean we’re saints,” Xavier rolled his eyes, “I mean look at this place,” Xavier gestured around, “I count at least ten franchises around me. And none are homegrown Equestrian businesses."

Solstice laughed at her companion across from her, “You think being able to get rice at the Chopsticks Express is worse than having your youngest filly drafted to put down a small diamond dog rebellion?”

Xavier paused as he looked at his glass of water and caught the dim green light in his eyes. “What I’m trying to convey is that the ponies that have freed themselves might be falling into another trap."

Solstice frowned and closed her eyes. Xavier could tell that she was trying to hold back a biting remark. “I don’t think you can appreciate what she did to us. Maybe on some level you just can’t comprehend it, but she was supposed to be the Goddess that rose the sun and rose the moon. Then he showed us all that she was lying. She wasn’t a Goddess. She was just another unicorn with wings."

“That… I can appreciate,” Xavier nodded in concession. “But even you said it yourself, she’s not a Goddess. But she’s probably not a monster either. She’s a politician. She has to proclaim to uphold certain values in order to secure the tacit approval of your kind. That’s just the nature of political survival."

“To secure power at the price of your people?” Solstice sneered as she returned to her drink.

“Yeah."

A blanket of silence enveloped the table. The two didn’t even look at each other. Xavier massaged the condensed water droplets on the side of his glass while Solstice signaled the waiter for another round. The screech of the emptiness continued until the mare finally spoke up.

“I don’t understand. Why are you defending her?” The unicorn turned her head away, refusing to catch Xavier’s eye.

“I guess because in the world I come from, politicians lie. It’s in the job description. You have to lie, and you have to break your promises, because sticking to your values more often than not loses them power, and…” Xavier paused for a second to breathe, “A politician without power might as well…”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Solstice gave Xavier a quiet scowl. “The Crystal Republic is holding its second round of elections and most of the representatives seem on the up and up."

“Wait until you discover gerrymandering,” Xavier chuckled into his water. Lifting the glass, he nursed the beverage while relaxing. “You already have your ballot picked?” Xavier lifted his eyes from his glass.

“Yes!” Solstice nearly screamed as she almost knocked over her whisky glass. “Rad-”

“Shhh!” Xavier lifted a finger to his mouth. “Take my advice. Never talk about your picks out loud. You might get into an argument you weren’t looking to have,” the ill kept man trailed off.

“Personal experience?” Solstice gave a sly smile.

“You think it’s funny now. Just wait on Hearth’s Warming when you sit down with your herd mates and discover, I don’t know, Glistening Blossom voted for the other pony and you two argue over it instead of enjoying your time together,” Xavier rubbed the sides of the cold water, clearing it of condensation.

“Her name is Glistening Granite and we would never have that kind of argument,” Solstice cooed.

“Because you two like each other?”

Solstice snorted, “Because I’m lead mare."

“And that gives you a gag order against her?” Xavier cocked an eyebrow.

“It means you don’t argue with the head of the household,” Solstice stated matter-of-factly.

“Remind me about how herds work again,” Xavier narrowed his brows, “I can’t remember if your hubby gets to argue with you."

The dark oak of the bar deepened its natural hue, while the green shades overhead hummed aloud. Solstice’s face was audibly melancholic. She closed her eyes and exhaled.

“My stallion, of course,” Solstice paused for a moment and pursed her lips, “He can say what he likes to me,” Solstice looked over to the bar and let out a grunt towards her companion.

“You’ve never talked to me about your herd,” Xavier breathed a sigh of relief as he lifted his drink to the waiter, shaking it and putting it back down again.

“Well, there’s Granite, she’s, how do I put it?” Solstice looked up, her mane jiggling with the swing. “Lets just say she doesn’t laugh too often. And then there’s Ruby, she’s an administrator over at the granary."

“And your stallion?” Xavier asked.

“Oh, Sedy takes care of the foals. He’s big and strong, so sometimes he heads out to plow the fields for a little extra cash, when he can find someone to foal sit, of course,” Solstice nodded. “We’re also thinking about bringing in a new mare named Red Rush. She’s a pegasus and everyone but Granite is on board."

“Oh?” Xavier hummed.

“Granite doesn’t think too highly of Rush. But I’m sure she will come around. Sedy is really pushing for her to join."

Xavier’s eyes focused. Straightening up, he stroked his raggedy beard, “How come?”

Solstice looked over her shoulder, and slowly looked over the area before bending over atop the table, “Can you keep a secret?”

Xavier raised the glass in his gloved hands and shook it like a rumba shaker, “You know me."

Solstice sloped over the table, a frown molded over her face like a potter peeling a line out of clay, “She’s probably not going to be around next Hearths Warming."

“She dying?” Xavier burst out.

“Elysian Fields no. It’s just,” Solstice once again paused and looked around and whispered, “Her attitude has gone downhill. Complaining about her allowance, not to mention the arguments between her and Ruby over Iggy,” Solstice stopped, and took in a breath of air, “And with Iggy a month out from leaving the herd to find her own mates, well."

“Ejected."

“Don’t be so harsh,” Solstice shot a dreadful eye at Xavier, “But yes. We’ll probably ask her to leave two months before Hearths Warming."

“Honestly, this is the first time I’ve heard of this kind of departure. Can you elaborate?” Xavier bent over, looking directly at Solstice, his eyes unmoving.

Solstice sighed and started: “Most mares will go through at least two herds in their life,” the burning mare shrugged and lifted her newly refilled glass, “This one is my third. Back in the old days, when herd forming was mostly communal, you might only have one. But now, it’s not uncommon to take applications from prospective mares."

“Wait. You’re taking applications?” Xavier tilted his head with a coy smile, “Are you giving out herd interviews?” Xavier asked.

“Why? You want to apply?” snorted Solstice.

Xavier huffed while he pulled back and leaned against his seat.

“I’ll take that as a no. And if I wasn’t already committed…” Solstice licked her lips and ogled Xavier, “I’d see about forming one with you."

Xavier spat out his water in mid-drink and coughed. He reached for the napkins the waiter provided and quickly dried himself off.

“Ha! Look at you, all flustered,” Solstice purred.

Xavier just sat, frozen, every muscle halted, the glass still in his hands.

Solstice blinked at the human across from her and her expression went from trollish enthusiasm to faux pas scowl. Quickly looking left and right of her, she let out a brief sigh before returning her focus to the man ahead of her.

“Did I,” Solstice trailed off for only a second, “Did I touch a nerve?”

Xavier relaxed and finally put his glass of water back on the table. Looking into it, he finally responded. “Let’s move on."

Solstice’s brow wrinkled for a second before her expression cleared and began again, “Look, um,” Solstice took a moment to bite her lip before whispering, “You should know that if broaching this topic is difficult for you, if you head into Union towns, a mare or two might see about cozying up to you then."

Xavier exhaled and closed his eyes for a few moments, “I guess it would make sense. Your kind has more experience in the interspecies relationship department given other sentient beings on this planet. And given my species history of hegemony over Earth, I would be surprised if nearly all of us have issues with the idea of intimate relations with anything other than a human."

Solstice rocked her head back and forth for a moment, before lifting the whiskey glass and finishing her second serving, “Two days."

“Two days…?” Xavier uttered.

“If rumor is to be trusted,” Solstice leaned forth, again doing a quick roundabout to make sure no one was listening, “First time a human and pony fucked was two days after the corridors were established."

“Really?” Xavier’s voice perked at the question, “I’m sorry, I’ve got to call bullshit on that. Not after what I saw."

“Well the rumor was one of the crystal ponies, by virtue of crossing over, was freed of her enslavement spell and met a human that was amicable to the idea apparently,” Solstice continue to keep her voice low, “Anyways, I think you would be pleasantly surprised at the number of humans who’ve been open to interspecies intimacy. If I recall, there was a woman and a Griffin a few miles away from Las Pegasus who’ve made quite a home for themselves…”

“Escaping an enslavement spell only to find a human to fuck? Sounds like the human took advantage,” Xavier muttered.

“Pffft,” Solstice hummed, “Sounds like the other way around to me."

“How?!” Xavier nearly hit his glass after dropping his hands on the table, “Enslavement, then going to a strange new world, only to see a strange gawky figure who walks on two legs totally up for using you as a towel for his dick?”

“Now hold on,” Solstice thrust a hoof forward, “He probably took her in and cared for her. Taking advantage of such hospitality? No, no, no. If anyone took advantage of anyone, it was her."

Xavier’s visage crinkled as he was trying to comprehend what he was being told. “You can’t expect me to believe that it wasn’t the human that took advantage of a helpless pony."

“Helpless? Ha!” Solstice rolled over her gaze at Xavier, “You really are naïve. Take my advice now and go back to the other side if you honestly believe that. Because the truth is if you’re not comfortable with the idea that a mare wouldn’t take advantage of any male that throws her a modicum of attention,” Solstice gave Xavier a raised eye, “Then frankly you’re asking for it."

“Wait, time out. You’re going to have to explain that last one to me. How exactly was he asking for it?”

Solstice paused as she glanced thoughtfully downward. Taking a moment to breathe, she began, “A naïve colt meets a mare. He has yet to settle down with a herd, but she’s in one, and it’s been a very long time since her stallion has given her any loving. So she invites the colt over, she showers him with compliments and goes out of her way to help them with his life, and almost orbits him. Then one day it’s raining, her heard mates are gone, and he’s all alone with her,” Solstice narrowed her eyes at Xavier, “Worse yet, he’s a Pegasus and she’s a unicorn. She’s been studying up on some spells and soon has taken full advantage of that naïve colt."

Silence echoed throughout the table while the quiet conversation of others washed over the two like a wave atop a bubble. Xavier remained quiet as he slowly breathed in and out. Solstice kept looking at her plus one.

“It’s too bad my stuff has already been sent to the city…” Xavier finally responded, “I think I’ll be fine."

“Not with that attitude,” Solstice said with tightened lips as she flagged the waiter, “Can I get the bill please?”

“All right,” Xavier let out a sigh, “Where is this overprotectiveness coming from?”

“Look I just don’t want you to flee Equestria because some mare gets it in her mind that you’re easy pickings,” Solstice mumbled, “Though I know that if you want to get violent, you might be able to take care of yourself in the case of a Pegasus. But don’t underestimate the strength of Earth ponies, not to mention my kind."

“You’re really worried, aren’t you?” Xavier crossed his arms.

Solstice rocked her head back and forth before answering, “And that’s ignoring the antihuman sentiment in what’s left of the Kingdom. If you’re going to Manehattan, they have just as many ponies from the Kingdom as they do from the Union. It could be real troublesome if you find yourself at, say, the wrong hotel. Or the wrong bakery."

“I was under the assumption that Manehattan was egalitarian,” Xavier said as the waiter arrived and put the bill atop the table.

“Pfft,” Solstice snorted, “We both wish, but in the end that place takes trade from everywhere. If anything, the only egalitarian thing about that place is if you’re a rich Pony, no one would give you flak,” Solstice pulled out a billfold from her uniform and pulled some paper bits from its interior and laid it on the table.

The duo walked out of the bar and back into the center, where the sound of hooves clicking against ceramic tiles bellowed.

“If you have any issues, just head to the Union consulate and have them send a message to me, I’ll come bail you out of whatever you get yourself into,” Solstice said.

“Oh, so you are expecting problems?” Xavier laughed.

“Only because you’re the one who starts them,” Solstice goaded.

“Bullshit, I don’t make problems. Besides, I’ll just turn on the charm if I piss off the wrong pony,” Xavier gave a smug glance.

“Right, right, because you’re so mature. I have to get back to work. Go enjoy waiting for your train,” Solstice started walking away.

“Solstice…” The unicorn turned to face the human, his right lip curled. “It was good seeing you again."

“It was good to see you too, Xaviar, take care of yourself,” she turned away and continued walking. “And don’t fall for the first mare who throws herself at you!”