Boundary Point

The purple mare with a planet for a cutie mark that seemed to have been painted on crossed the street and immediately stepped into a puddle. Freezing in place, she groaned as she lifted her hoof and continued past the main thoroughfare of Manehattan and stopped just outside a bistro. Her horn lightly flared up as she quickly dug around her saddlebag, pulling out a neatly folded handkerchief with lace edges. Lifting her hoof, she wiped the mud off, as if to the beat of a slow song. Finishing, she examined it and groaned. Ringing it out, she carefully folded it back into a tiny, dirty, wrinkled square before slowly trying to put it back where it came from. The dirty cloth froze in midair when she saw she would put it right next to her notepad. Letting out a snort, she switched sides and the second attempt stopped when she realized that the other side of the saddlebag was packed to the brim as well. The mare’s face furrowed, and with a sigh, she walked up to a trashcan and levitated the handkerchief above its empty porthole. But her face grimaced, then she let out a second dejected sigh as she put the dirty handkerchief in her saddlebag.

“I really, really hope that it doesn’t move around too much,” the lavender mare mumbled to herself as she walked back to the bistro’s entrance. Approaching a long chain fence that zigzagged the front, she quickly found the entrance and walked the entire length, making sure not to bump into the chain, and approached the waiter’s table.

“Dusk Nightlight, I’m looking for a Pop,” she said, quickly glancing into the empty restaurant.

The server checked his reservation book on the podium and nodded, “This way, please.”

The two meandered through the restaurant as the clicking of hooves echoed across the empty eatery. Dusk looked out the windows to her right and saw that the sun had yet to reach the highest point in the sky. She could see dark clouds in the distance, like giant mounds of dark cotton balls. After passing by the bar, she saw an enclosed dining space surrounded by framed windows. And within the space, she could see three mares, a red one, a yellow one, and a teal one. She could instantly see that the yellow one had wings, but the window warped the red and teal ones. Stopping to narrow her eyes, the waiter turned and gave a simple “Mhmmm…” before she shook her head and quickly returned to the server’s path.

The waiter opened the door, and the sound of ceased conversation bellowed the room. While the yellow one studied Dusk with her eyes, the horned teal one had already formed a grimace on her face while staring intently at the entering pony. The red one had no horn, nor wings but wore a gentle smile as she turned to face the newcomer, concealing her silver weighing scale cutie mark.

“Dusk welcome!” The earth pony exclaimed. Her fellow mares flanked either side of the earth pony as they took their seats. “Cinnamon has told us so much about you,”

“It’s good to meet you too,” Dusk said as she placed her saddlebag near the door and took a seat in front of the trifecta. “I’m grateful to be considered for admittance to your herd,” Dusk bowed her head while the red and yellow one followed suit.

“Yes, yes,” the center mare nodded, the yellow one nodding as well. The teal one’s ears shivered as they quickly snapped themselves back into place. “I’m Pop, to my right is Dandy, and to my left here is Horizon,”

Dusk bowed to each pony individually, following the order of introduction. Dandy returned a nod, but Horizon simply snorted.

“Honestly, I was surprised that Cinnamon extended the offer,” Pop flatly stated, as Horizon kept her steely eyes on the guest. Letting out a chuckle, Pop continued, “He really should know better than to extend an invitation without consulting us.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience,” Dusk’s ears quickly folded back as she once again bowed her head ever so slightly, keeping eye contact with the lead mare.

“No need to apologize,” Pop gave a warm smile, “Cinnamon truly is the kind of stallion that is enthusiastic about meeting new ponies.”

Horizon grunted as Pop continued, “Regardless of the circumstances, I think that it still warrants at least an interview,” Pop paused for a moment and nodded to her herd mates before continuing. “We’re already kinda full, but I think we can always make room for one more,” Pop nodded to her herd mates. “So, what does your cutie mark say about you?”

Dusk blinked a few times before opening her mouth, only to pull back at the last second. Finally, she spoke, “When I was young, um,” she paused and closed her eyes. Wrinkles appeared on her lids as she slowly pattered out, “My teacher had brought a telescope to class and I got to see one of the outer planets after nightfall. That’s when my cutie mark appeared,”

Dandy nodded matter-of-factly, while Horizon simply scowled. Pop gave a gentle laugh and responded, “I didn’t ask how you got your cutie mark. I asked what does it say about you?”

Dusk pulled back her head and scrunched her muzzle. Looking left and right of the group, she recited, “Well, it means that I’m consistent. I like to be where I predicted, because that’s just how I like my routine,”

Pop spoke up, “I see, I see. So tell us about the daily life of Dusk Nightlight. What does she do? What is her routine?”

“Well, every morning I get up two hours before sunrise and head to work at the bookstore. There, I meet up with my boss and–”

“You work at a bookstore?” Horizon spat out, raising an eye.

Dusk jerked back her head in surprise, her mane bounced for a moment before she could respond, “Yes, is that uh,” she paused for a moment, “Is that a problem?”

Pop hummed and rotated her head back and forth for a moment, “That seems quite a long fall from astronomer. What happened?”

“I, uh,” Dusk stammered, and looked down, “I didn’t make it into Canterlot University and,” Dusk trailed off.

“So your cutie mark flat-out says you should be staring at the night sky and the best you can do is stacking books?” Horizon thrust a hoof at the guest at the table. “Do you at least stack astronomy books?”

“Um, no. Mostly fictional…” Dusk gazed down at her hoofs as she answered.

“Let’s move back to the routine question. Tell us about a day in your life,” Pop said while tapping her hoof gently on the table.

“Well, when I arrive at the bookstore, we go through the stocking of new books and pulling of old books we don’t think will sell. Then two hours later we open,” Dusk exhaled with relief.

“So, do you meet with any of the customers and help them find a book they’re looking for?” Dandy asked.

“Um, no. I just work the register when I’m not stocking,” Dusk answered.

“And why not?” Horizon asked, her ears folded back for a moment before relaxing.

“You see,” she paused, “Because we have another pony, and he does a great job at the customer service stuff. But I’m better at crunching the numbers, so they leave me with the task of taking the money,” Dusk closed her eyes and gave a vigorous nod.

“And that’s it? Any other responsibilities?” Horizon grunted.

“Well, a few hours after noon, they have me count the safe just to make sure that our numbers match up.” Dusk gave a short laugh, “I’d say being trusted with a business’s money is a pretty big deal,” as she closed her eyes and gave a smug smile.

“I don’t suppose you get to drop it off at the bank as well?” Pop asked, her head tilted.

“Um, no. Boss does that,” Dusk mumbled.

“So what do you do after work?” Dandy asked with a nervous smile.

“How much do you get paid?” Horizon lashed out.

“Horizon!” Pop turned to Horizon and said in a nearly satirical tone, “That’s uncalled for,”

“I, um, I make 200 bits a month,” Dusk quietly expunged.

Pop turned to face Dusk again, “That’s, well, that is to say,” Pop looked up, taking her time.

“That’s pretty low,” Horizon finished.

Dandy nodded in agreement with the other two, “How do you make ends meet with that kind of pay?”

Dusk frowned and kept quiet, Dandy’s eyes flickered between the lavender mare and teal unicorn, while Pop coughed at the guest. After a few moments, Horizon gently pushed herself up and began walking around the table. Dusk could see Horizon’s cutie mark in full: fireworks. Turning the corner and coming to the other side of the table, she squinted her eyes as she inspected Dusk’s flank.

“Is everything okay?” Dusk asked Horizon.

Horizon snorted as she circled around Dusk and returned to her seat next to Pop.

“Right, so anyway,” Pop continued, “Why should we admit you into our herd?”

Dusk adjusted herself as she straightened her back and began, “I’m a hard worker. I know I don’t bring in much bits now, but,” Dusk folded her ears back, “I’m sure that I’ll eventually be able to carry my weight. I also have a lot of bureaucratic experience, so any issues with taxes or the like, I can take care of.”

Dandy nodded as Pop spoke up, “Horizon takes care of our taxes, but perhaps a second set of hooves on the ground would be helpful?” Pop turned to look at Horizon, who simply offered an annoyed look to her lead.

“Despite what Horizon asked, we can overlook your,” Pop looked up for a split second before returning her attention to Dusk. “Less than stellar income, but that still doesn’t answer what you yourself would bring to our herd.”

Dusk shifted in her seat while the mares across from her sat motionless, except for Dandy, whose wings fluttered for a moment.

“Organization,” Dusk finally exhaled. “Organization is what I bring to the table, I know that you’re already highly organized, this interview proves it, but I believe I can bring a new level to how organized and efficient everything is.”

“And beyond taxes, can you give us an example of how you would organize things?” Pop gave out a small chuckle.

“Well, I was responsible for the chore wheel when I was young in the herd that I grew up in. And we had nine members, so if we didn’t stay organized on who was supposed to do what, where and when, things would fall into chaos pretty quickly.”

“They couldn’t have just been in complete chaos before you were born,” Horizon interjected.

“Before it was my responsibility,” Dusk cleared her throat. “Chores were always kind of just handed out by my father, but using the chore wheel that I read up on, I was able to increase herd efficiency by at least 30%,”

The three mares looked at each other, Dandy giving out a grimace as Horizon rolled her eyes.

“You can’t expect me to believe that you collected data on your own herd and showed an increase of productivity, do you? I bet all you did was delegate, and did no chores yourself,” Horizon glared at Dusk.

“Actually, I have a small sample from that time period, with chores I was responsible for noted, if you would like to have a look at it,” Dusk’s horn glowed as she lifted a file from her saddlebag and presented it to the trio. On the file, light brown streaks of diluted mud from where the handkerchief rolled up presented themselves for all to see. A small gasp left Dusk’s mouth as her ears folded back violently.

“I’m so sorry!” Dusk immediately summoned a paper handkerchief from a dispenser on a nearby table and immediately went to work on cleaning the exterior of the folder.

“Oh, don’t worry, that won’t be necessary,” Pop once again gave a warm smile towards the mare, “Let’s move on to another question,”

Dusk blinked and nodded in acknowledgment as she quietly hovered the dirty paper towel into the trash can.

“Hang on, I’m tired of waiting,” Horizon got up as she walked around the table, “On your application, you list plenty of job experience and education, but you’re what, twenty-four? Twenty-eight? The only herd you cited on it was your birth herd,”

“That is kind of strange,” Dandy finally spoke up. “A mare like you should have already found a herd, that is to say, you should have had at least one by now, even if you got kicked out,”

“Well… with the war, I spent all my time studying, and I just never found time to join one,” Dusk stammered.

Pop raised an eyebrow before Horizon spoke up and hissed, “So you avoided the draft with a deferment?” Dusk slowly looked down before nodding in affirmation.

“And how the hell do you deal with estrus? Don’t tell me that you’ve been chugging thornback juice,” Pop said as the other two burst out in laughter. Dusk’s eyes looked down at the table and her ears folded back.

“No, no, I have experience,” Dusk muttered.

“I don’t know,” Dandy giggled, “Just because you got laid in secondary school doesn’t mean you know, well, dick,” the three other mares once again burst out laughing while Dusk just sat there and sighed.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry Dusk,” Pop’s laughing trailed off, “It’s just that, your resume seems strange without a previous herd we could at least confirm you were a part of. Even if you happen to leave on less than good terms,”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to join a herd,” Dusk frowned as her ears lowered, “The first few I applied to turn me down and,” Dusk stammered for a second, trying to find her words. “I just became so engrossed in my studies that finding a herd really wasn’t that important to me,” Dusk trailed off.

“So, during the war, what did you do?” Pop suddenly became serious.

“Oh, the war,” Dusk’s ears suddenly thrust forward as she took in a breath before finally saying, “I was primarily working logistics, making sure that the mares on the frontlines got all the apples they could eat and keeping the factories supplied so they could keep producing the equipment we needed.”

“Oh, how successful were you?” Pop tilted her head.

“As far as I know, the group I worked with and I did an exceptional job,” Dusk smiled.

Pop let out a sigh as Dandy looked over at the lead mare with a curious visage. Horizon picked herself up and once again circled the room, focusing in on Dusk’s cutie mark.

The light of the room slowly darkened as an enormous cloud passed overhead. No one said a thing, except for the rumbling of the waiters preparing for lunch service across the hall.

“I just… find it strange, first you say that you were studying during the war, but now you’re telling me that you were with the logistics unit, can you explain?” Pop’s eyebrows furrowed at the unicorn from across the table.

“Well, you see…” Dusk looked away from the lead mare and looked down at the table, “It was a weird part-time thing, you know?”

Horizon grumbled loud enough to catch everyone’s attention as she opened the door and walked out the room.

“You’ll have to forgive Horizon, she’s very protective of Cinnamon,” Pop’s mellow smile returned to her face. “You understand,”

“Of course,” Dusk’s attention returned to the two mares in front of her, “It’s very important to keep your stallion safe,”

“Indeed, it is,” Pop nodded in affirmation, “But there’s a few sketchy things about you to be honest. And we have a stallion to protect. My firstborn will be leaving the herd soon, and Dandy here just discovered she was pregnant,”

“Oh? Congratulations!” A sunlit smile emerged on Dusk’s face, “When did you find out?”

“Two days ago,” Dandy smiled, looking at Pop.

“So you see, we’re not just protecting Cinnamon, we have foals to protect as well,” Pop nodded at her herd mate.

The door quietly opened as Horizon returned with a glass of water hovering ahead of her. She calmly walked to Dusk and then tossed the contents of the glass at her cutie mark.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Horizon’s sarcastic voice lit up the room as Dusk recoiled and gasped. Slowly, the water on her cutie mark blended and distort it, changing it from a planet to a pink, purple smudge.

“Dusk, if that is your real name,” Pop gave a smug downward look at the wet mare. “We have a herd to protect, no references are a huge red flag, and the fact that you only came to Manehattan what, nine months ago? With no proof of where you came from, like you just popped out of the blue? And that pathetic cutie mark story that was obviously a lie? And outright lying about what you did during the war, I mean,” Pop shook her head. “I’m a lawyer and I’ve heard better lies from my clients!”

Horizon let out a laugh while Dandy had a look of genuine surprise, Pop tossed a paper napkin to Dusk as she just sat there, staring into the ground.

“We have a herd to protect, especially from scum like you,”

Dusk ran.

She ran out of the room and into the galley and burst out onto the street, where storm clouds had just let loose globs of rain. She ran into the chain guide, tumbling into the shackles for the queue. Righting herself, she tried to flee again, only for the chains of the line to tug back, keeping her in place. Laughter poured from the restaurant, as Dusk turned to see the three mares watching her from the safety of the diner. Suddenly, her horn glowed and the chains that bound her let go. And then she ran. The rain was pounding. Pounding the city. Pounding the mare. And she ran. Pounding her cutie mark where the sludge of cosmetic pain dripped and fell away. And in its place, all that was left was a six-pointed star.