Boundary Point

In the name of the noble spirit of the sky.

Today, the 3rd day of Inundation, I, King Guto, being of sound mind and wing in the Stronghold Griffon Grad, prepare my last testament. There is no will, as when the end comes, Giffonstone will be decimated, with the soul exception of my spirit to the wind, and the only one who will inherit the highest perch will simply be the one with the greatest might.

However, there is my testament. Why I did the things I did. I could talk about how I was 4th apprentice in the Starswirl academic line. Or of my accomplishments of laying perch above all other Griffon clans despite being lowborn. Or of my kingdom’s aid to the Crystal Empire, despite the outcome, and being the recipient of their gratitude in the form of the Idol of Boreas, a symbol of how far we have come in such a short time as a kind.

But I will only speak of my academic apprehensions. Yes, under my orders, vagrant unicorns were taken. While we originally only intended to study those who had already passed to their “goddess’s” fields, it was realized that living specimens were required to understand their connection to magic. For this, we made great effort to only abduct unicorns of the most debased sort. Who by themselves were proof that beings with no soul could wield magic.

And yes. Under my orders, the dead or dying members of my citizenry were taken for experimentation. We even had volunteers who’s last act was to help our kind reach what Unicorns so easily claw.

But read this: I did so only to level the playing field against Unicorns and their two “Goddesses”. There is a way to close the distance between beings of their kind and not just ours, but all others. I know it. It is on the tip of my beak. But alas, with the spiriting away of Dutchess Stormfire who was caught in the act of torturing a Griffin subject, one of MY subjects, they finally have recourse to declare our treaty in abeyance. They have already dropped their magical protection of our mountain lands. And the beasts that roam have already begun their attacks.

To any Griffins who read this far from my here and now, know that you were not born to lower your head towards the horned ones, or any of the kind with hooves. But to soar high above even their crass imitation of divine beings. The Centaur, whose population only a scant few remain, knew this far better than any other creature. Do not let them slice your feathers. Do not let them dull your claws. Do not let them take your meat. And above all, do not let them take the wind from you like they did their own sister tribe.

-King Guto

“Fifteen minutes!” Brownie shouted as the work ponies started moving supplies back into their respective wagons. She turned back to give Honeycomb a nod as they rolled up a large mat on the forest floor. A reddish orange earth pony behind them placed a bucket of water on a tree stump next to the fire, then knocked it over with a kick. The clear fluid poured forth, flying into the air and onto the fire, smothering it. Smoke, ash, and steam burst forth as the orange pony kicked parts of the pile of dirt next to the fire into it, suffocating even the tiniest of embers.

“There you are,” Twilight let out a huff as her tail flung to the right. Her own sleeping bag was laying next to a wagon. Carefully, with her front hooves, she lightly kicked the bag. It rolled up, each tap rolling it into a larger swirl. Then, finding the little bit of the exposed string from the bag, she bent down and bit it. She then squished the bag down with her front two hooves, and laid the string down with her mouth. Carefully maneuvering the thread, she tied the string into a loose pile of weaving fibers. Finally, she stepped back, letting her bag regain its form. But as it expanded, her knot work failed, and the bag flopped out. Taking a deep breath, Twilight let out an exhale that rumbled her barrel as her head fell forward, her eyes rolling at the result of her lack of mouth dexterity.

“Would you like some help with that?” a peppy voice behind her said.

Twilight turned to see Henry, mane clean cut and shooting her a smile with a thin line of white as he approached. His face had a golden, olive glow. His clothes were bright, a mix of milky white placed atop a deep sky blue.

Twilight returned the expression and gave a nod, “I’d very much appreciate it.”

Henry stripped off his white shirt, tossing it atop the wagon’s side, revealing more than half his form as he walked to the other side of the flopped out sleeping bag. His long, pristine arms reached down and rolled the bag up, then quickly tied the two strings together. Twilight tilted her head as she watched him work, while one thought crossed her mind; Are human nipples really so high?

Then the human stood upright, letting the bag do as it will. The bag tried to unroll itself, only for the string to do its job. He turned to Twilight and nodded at her with a wide smile.

“Thank you,” Twilight nodded back. “This would have been a lot easier if I had magic,” she said with a delighted snort.

“Yeah,” Henry said, “I completely understand. Spectrum isn’t happy with the idea that me and the other unicorns can do something she can’t.”

“You know,” Twilight gave a soft chuckle as her ears perked up at the human, “it’s nice meeting another, more dignified human after so long.”

“Oh?” Henry raised an eyebrow. “More dignified? Has your companion been giving you a hard time?”

“You could say that…” Twilight rolled her eyes, then glanced into the forest, her ears falling back. “He has an attitude problem, I try to lead him somewhere, and he gives me flak.”

“Well,” Henry chuckled, a glowing smile shined forth. Slightly tilting his head at the mare, he glanced in the same direction Twilight was looking at for a moment, then turned his head back to her. “I mean, is he your herd mate?”

“Very much so,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes and exhaling through her nose, a tiny grunt plopping forth. “Though I agreed not to publicly advertise it, but since you asked…”

“If that’s the case, why not just leave him and join our herd,” Henry said, rolling out that same smile from before and placing his pristine hands on his hips.

Twilight froze. A frown overtook her lips as she furrowed her eyebrows and her eyes shot up at Henry, “Ha, Um… excuse me, what?”

“I asked if you’d like to join our herd,” Henry laughed, then flared out his arms while his hands remained atop his hips.

Twilight adjusted herself and looked at the human in front of her, scanning him for a moment. He was taller than Xavier, more chiseled. His mane shined almost like electrum. But his expression. His face. Though it was happy, the smile that poured forth was the kind of smile you would see only at court. Even while being flat-faced, as his lips curled in joy, the rest was empty. The sort of expression one uses to make a request, whether that was for more cotton for uniforms or an invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala. Shaking her head, she finally said, “Uh… um…you uh, you already have three mares. And it’s not just, you know…”

“Yeah, but there’s no rule that says I can’t have more, right?”

Twilight looked to the side and gave Henry an amused look. Her lips made out the shape of, “More?” with no sound rallying forth. Shaking her head, she motioned at the sleeping bag. Henry gave a nod as he walked over, picking it up and plopped it on her saddlebag. Rarity’s inscription work acting like rotating magnets, clamped the little blunt hooks at the back of Twilight’s bag around the tied string, quickly locking the sleeping bag into place.

“True, but,” Twilight turned around to face Henry, her ears facing him once more. “Its not just your choice. And four mares, well…” she trailed off for a moment, lifting her forehoof to her chin before resuming. “That’s a lot of work, you can’t just arbitrarily ask every mare that you come across if they want to join your herd,” Twilight gave a gentle laugh.

“Why not?” Henry once again chuckled as he turned his head slightly and gave a subtle wink. “That’s how Mystic and Symphony joined.”

Twilight froze for a moment and blinked, then gulped at the mention of Symphony’s name. But the deeper parts of her mind clicked, like a well-oiled machine. The gears of her head turned, the revelation that this human dropped in front of her like a bag of cogs, bursting out and dancing on the floor with a brass chatter. Twilight thought to herself, I’ve only seen him really talk to his lead, his actions last night... If he is just inviting, that… that means he hadn’t even evaluated Mystic or Symphony has he?! Nor his lead! He has no clue who any of the herd members he sleeps with at night really even are beyond maybe Spectrum…

“And uh,” Twilight looked left and right. Then she turned her head to check quickly behind her before letting out a sigh of relief and turning back to the human. “You got Spectrum’s input on the matter at least, right? Can I assume she and the others are going to want to at least talk to me?”

“Well, I mean,” Henry trailed off for a moment. “Spectrum can’t say no to me,” Henry gave an empty smile. “And besides, I’m the ‘stallion’, what I say goes, otherwise...”

Twilight shot a quizzical look at Henry, then raised an eye. Biting the tip of her bottom lip for a second, and once more looked left and right, she looked back at Henry. Swallowing, she pushed out her best porcelain smile and asked, “And my stallion? It may be very… old fashioned, and he may seem like trouble, but can I bring him with me?” Twilight lowered her head, but kept looking at the human square in the eyes, watching closely, reading him carefully as she selected her next words with care, “He could even help you out when you get sick or too exhausted, I know how sleepy your kind can get right after being so helpful in keeping us well taken care of…”

“Your human?” Henry looked confused for a second, then shook his head. “Honestly, he seems like as much fun as the mud ponies pulling us.”

Twilight’s smile dropped. Her ears folded back so fast, they slapped the back of her skull. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as her head recoiled. She let out a strained chuckle as her pupils darted from one side to the other before she quickly gathered her wits and continued, “Well, I can’t just leave him…”

“Why not? Even I can tell that he’s been an asshole to you. I mean, sleeping in his own sleeping bag? Leaving you out in the cold like that?” Henry reached out to Twilight, his hand converging on the side of her head, aiming to brush against her folded ears.

“Right but,” Twilight’s voice laughed as she took two steps back from the hand, preventing him from reaching her. She then wavered her head from her left side to her right side, “I’m not just leaving him out in the middle of the woods…”

“So? Ditch him at the next town we get to.”

Twilight took another step back, and looked at Henry’s blonde hair, his brown eyes simply staring at her. After a moment, she spoke, “I can’t just leave him, I have a responsibility to him, just like you have a responsibility to your mares, and they to you…”

“Responsibility? I just have to see them through estrum or whatever,” his hand wobbled up and down dismissively. “That’s no work at all. And having you join won’t be a problem, I’ll take care of you,” Henry said, reaching out to Twilight once more, the palm of his hand cupped as his dull claws hovered towards her.

Twilight took another step back from the human, “Just uh, how many mares… did you think were going to be in your herd?”

“Like, a maximum number?” Henry just stared at Twilight for a moment, a tinge of confusion sweeping over his face before he took a step towards her. “I thought I could have as many as I wanted.”

“Henry, is it?”

The human nodded, the long strands of mane bobbing with it.

“Again, you do know that you have a responsibility to each of your herd mates right?” Twilight’s eyes now flickered as she looked at him, darting from his left side to his right.

“I mean, just you know,” now Henry gave a nervous laugh. His lips stretched below his nose as his cheeks rumpled up.

“No,” Twilight’s eyebrows sharpened toward the middle of her face as she took a step forward. “I don’t. Explain it to me.”

“I mean, I know I have to help them through their menstrual cycle or whatever,” Henry flopped his left hand into the air taking a step back. “But the only thing I need to do is… you know… get inside, enjoy the ecstasy, and move on.”

“All right,” Twilight’s voice cracked with concern. “And what happens when we all need your help and you’ve used up your seed for the day? Even I know that you can get to a point where nothing is coming out.”

“I mean, you can just take care of each other, right?”

“Well,” Twilight tilted her head, and clamped her eyes shut for two seconds. Frustration oozing through the cracks of the mask of a smile she wore. “I’m not into other mares,” Twilight’s voice sharply rose as she angled her face at Henry. “And even then, that’s not the relief we need!”

“Hey, look, if you’re not interested–” Henry said, only to be cut off.

“Of course I’m not interested!” Twilight nearly screeching at the human. “You’ve… You’re just collecting mares like we’re books to be read and dropped when you’re done with us! And you’re taking three of them to a new home! I mean,” Twilight lowered her voice to a hiss, “Do you even have a slight inkling of what you’re doing?”

“Hey, just calm down for a moment,” Henry held out his hands, shaking them.

“What happens when you finally get tired of one of us? Are you going to drop us off at a thrift store? Or a ‘no waste’ center? What happens when two of us get into a fight? You…” Twilight just stared at Henry. She was hyperventilating, “Are we just collectibles to you?”

“I don’t need this,” Henry threw his hands in the air at Twilight. He hurried to the side of the wagon to grab his shirt, then he turned around and walked away.

Twilight just stared at the human, her mind already completing the pattern that he started. They’re going to get there, they may pick up one or two others, he keeps focusing on Spectrum, it all falls apart, and… Twilight gulped, two or three of them are in a new town where they have very little support because they left their communities behind…

Twilight’s heart swelled as her eyes caught Mystic laying next to a tree by herself. She was just staring at the dark brown ground below her. A sullen expression plastered on her face. She let out a mighty exhale, forcing up dead leaves and tossing them about like confetti.

A thought flashed through Twilight’s mind, For all his bull headedness, at least Xavier doesn’t do that. At least he has a tacit understanding of the gravity of what being in a herd means, even if he’s in denial. Twilight let a subtle frown take over as her head turned out to the woods, then let out a quiet whine when all she saw were trees and leaves. A memory of her making that same sound to her brother dredged up, when she was small and could not find him in games of hide and seek. The foliage had already turned gold, orange, and red, almost like his mane. She once again let out a breathless cry, but her eyes could only catch the repeating brown trunks at various lengths ahead of her.

Her chest tightened. She lifted her right front leg to it. Her foreleg’s pressure squeezed the tension out of her. Her guts chimed in, like a ship in a storm, they churned. She remembered him standing there and saying nothing as she finally put him in his place. His initial expression was as if he had been cut down like wheat that had just been reaped by a team of earth ponies pulling a combine. She thought to herself, Comparing Henry and Xavier, it’s like I’m comparing a lothario to a verdant one despite Xavier’s poor attitude.

Then her ears flickered. A song. She could hear a song. A song she had heard years ago, but couldn’t quite make out where or when. She froze and looked at the front of the caravan, then her ears meandered left. Her head followed as she stared into the sea of tree trunks. No other pony turned and looked at the same direction as Twilight, each one still on their task. Only she seemed to notice the smooth fusion of shrill whistles and discordant chirps coming from the woods. Her legs nearly leapt towards the direction, now more cry than song. She finally shook her head as she turned, a gentle grimace took over her face as the bird song slowly faded into the rustle of leaves in the wind.

Twilight emerged from the forest. Her breathing becoming heavier and heavier. Her mind had moved to the next location, and by command, her body followed. Dashing across the caravan, the work mares were tidying up, cleaning up the rest stop before they resumed. She looked left, then right, then dashed over to the next section.

“Mares and Stallions, last call! We leave in five minutes! Stop what you’re doing and load up now,” Brownie shouted.

Twilight’s ears were pushing forward, and along with her eyes, were scanning the other side of the woods. There was nothing, nothing but tree trunks and bark and the abyss of plants.

Where is he, where is he, where is he… Twilight repeated over and over again in her mind. Less than two weeks and I’ve already lost him!

“Thought you’d be funny, huh?” Symphony’s voice poured boiling oil onto Twilight’s panic.

Twilight turned to see Symphony towering above her. Her mane was stiff, her eyes glaring.

“If you did anything to him,” Twilight growled.

“I did nothing,” Symphony said, tapping Twilight’s chest lightly with her front hoof. “And it looks like under your instruction, you have a lost herdmate.”

Twilight reeled back, the truth dawning on her face.

“To be fair, I would’ve kept watch over him if you had just sent him over,” Symphony once again encircled Twilight. “I would’ve taken care of him for you, but, well, here we are.”

Twilight shook her head and dashed away from Symphony, the unicorn laughing behind her. Weaving her way around the wagons, Twilight finally found Brownie, who was in the middle of getting a pulling harness on herself.

“Excuse me ma’am,” Twilight burst out, herself nearly out of breath.

“Yes, what can I do you for,” Brownie said as she lifted her head high. A grey mare that was already hitched next to Brownie used her head to help position the harness. Brownie shook her head, forcing the harness to slide down to her collarbone, then tapped her hooves on the ground.

“We can’t leave yet, we’re missing somepony,” Twilight said, her breath finally catching up.

“Y’know the rules, darlin’. When we leave, we leave,” Brownie said, turning her full attention to Twilight.

“It’s my human herdmate, and he’s–”

“It’s an adult, right?” Brownie asked.

“Yes… what?”

Brownie snorted, “Might be tall enough to be one, but you never can tell. That bein’ said, I do apologize, but rules are rules, and we can’t afford to be delayed just ‘cause you couldn’t keep track of your stallion,” Brownie finished, then stretched her legs.

“But he’s a human,” Twilight gasped in exasperation. “He’ll die out here.”

“Well, we’ll be in the same boat if we linger any longer,” Brownie said. “That scatterbrained bird pony mentioned a whole flock of somethin’ takin’ flight from them treetops to the west of here. And I’d rather not stick around to discover what in tarnation that might be.”

“But he’s my responsibility!” Twilight gasped out.

“Well, tough luck, my stallion’s all set to go, and the rest of the herds managed to keep a proper eye on theirs,” Brownie said. “So the real question is, are ya gonna join us? Or are ya plannin’ to stay behind?”

Twilight took a step back, biting her lower lip and staring at the tall mare ahead of her. The trees rustled. She tried to force the words out, pursing her lips together and then finally saying in a hushed breath, shaking her head back and forth at Brownie, “… I can’t leave him out here. I just… I just can’t.”

Brownie nodded, “Like a lead mare oughta.” The caravan leader glanced around, left and right, before turning back to Twilight, “Ya got yerself a compass on ya?”

“No, we were going to pick up one of the towns along the way…”

“Honeycomb! Grab the spare compass! Also, bring the bit bag!”

Twilight frowned and looked away as soon, a tan earth pony quickly scurried up to the wagon that Brownie was attached to. In her mouth she carried a sack, and around her neck, a compass.

“Give her back seventy bits,” Brownie instructed Honeycomb. “And hand over the compass, too.”

“But Brownie,” Honeycomb shifted her eyes, then hissed, “The debt!”

“I got ya, but this here young mare’s fixin’ to depart from our company, and even though we usually stick to a no refunds rule, it just don’t sit right takin’ her money when we’re leavin’ her out yonder in the midst of them woods.”

Honeycomb gave a nod as she quickly counted the pieces and approached Twilight. Twilight motioned her head to her saddlebag where Honeycomb quickly found a pouch and deposited the bits in. Then, deftly with her leg, she took the compass off of her neck, and motioned for Twilight to lower her head. Twilight ducked her head as Honeycomb shook off the compass around her neck, catching the thread on the tip of her snout. Quickly, Twilight threaded her head through the loop, taking the compass.

“Start headin’ west,” Brownie told Twilight. “But ya gotta be mighty careful now. We ain’t got a clue what done spooked them birds, and we ain’t stickin’ ‘round to find out neither. Y’ever been ‘round these parts before?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Well, if y’somehow manage to find him, yer best bet’d be tryin’ to make yer way back onto the road we’re travelin’ on right now. That road cuts its way from south to north through these here woods. So every time ya come across it, ya know which direction to head to find us. Now, mind ya, there’s all sorts o’ critters in these woods. One of our rival caravans even claimed they done spotted an Ursa Major. If ya happen to come across one, the general rule o’ thumb is to find yerself a hidin’ spot. And if ya lay eyes on anythin’ else, well, once again, hide. But I gotta mention one exception to the rule—them Timberwolves. If ya happen to catch sight of them, and they catch wind of yer scent, well, that’s curtains for ya. With them, ya gotta stand yer ground and get ready to buck ‘em. Understand?” Brownie imparted the warnings, dreadful seriousness woven through each word.

Twilight gave a nod, “Thank you…”

“Don’t y’go thankin’ me,” Brownie said, giving an intense stare at Twilight. “Ain’t no need for an Alicorn to tell that you’re his lead mare. It’s yer duty to fetch him back, just as it’s mine to safeguard my herd and this here caravan. ‘Cause of yer stallion, if I don’t do this, I won’t be able to rest easy come nightfall. Now, listen up. If by some grace you make it outta them woods, send us a letter to the Mareacuse thirty-fourth caravan company lettin’ us know you made it safe. If I don’t hear from ya in three months’ time, reckon we’ll have to add ya to the list."

“List?”

“The list of them who’ve gone missin’ in these here woods,” Brownie said, looking down on Twilight. “Ain’t nothin’ magical or enchanted ‘bout it, nor even haunted. But,” Brownie lifted her head, and gazed up at the treetops, and slowly scanned them. “It does hold its own perils.”

Twilight nodded as she turned away to face the forest. Swallowing, she took a step forward.

“One more thing,” Brownie drawled.

Twilight craned her neck to look at the brown earth mare.

“I reckon I know y’all weren’t too keen on each other. Honestly, I can’t rightly figure why y’all ended up together, or why ya don’t have no other herd mates. Tartarus, some might even say you’re playin’ the princess,” Brownie said, lowering her head and looking at Twilight from the top of her eyes. “But whether ya fancy it or not, worn are the hooves of a Lead Mare.”

Twilight turned in full to look at Brownie, her stance was strong, her eyes focused on Twilight. Her tone changed, moving from annoyance to colloquial, as if speaking to a peer, “He’s yer responsibility, just like I’m responsible for my own herd members. I’ll keep the pace slow for ‘bout an hour or so, but after that, I gotta think ‘bout the safety of my own herd.”

Twilight looked to her left and snapped back to Brownie. Quickly trotting up towards her, Twilight whispered into her ear.

“You ain’t bullshitting me?” Brownie asked, her eye raised at Twilight as she pulled back.

Twilight nodded, “I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to stir up drama before we arrived somewhere we could get off at. But if this is the result of her actions, you should be made aware before we part ways.”

Brownie gave a solemn nod. Twilight, rotated around, looking west. Gulping, she pursed her lips before she ran off into the woods at a full gallop. The clatter of hooves against dirt banged their beat as she soon disappeared from view.

Brownie tilted her head up and bellowed out, “Honeycomb!”

Quickly Honeycomb came from the back of the caravan to her lead mare, “Again? Is everything okay? We’re about to start the moving call.”

“That sea green one, Symphony,” Brownie turned to Honeycomb and said. “She’s the horn-head with the full-sized herd, ain’t she? The one with the other human?”

“Yeah I believe so,” Honeycomb said.

“What’s their final reckonin’, Honeycomb?”

“End of the line,” Honeycomb said. “They implied that they would catch another caravan at our last stop and go further up north.”

“Well, darlin’,” Brownie drawled with a deliberate nod, locking eyes with Honeycomb. “Seems like she might be chasin’ after somethin’ beyond her own herd. And that stallion of theirs ain’t takin’ his responsibilities serious-like. Looks like our spotter ain’t cuttin’ the mustard for ‘em, I reckon.”

Honeycomb replied with a slow nod, “Should I make Pepper and Apricot aware?”

“And the other pullers,” Brownie said, nodding. “If what that unicorn’s spillin’ is true, and the full moon’s a-callin’ her and her stallion is bein’ less than helpful...”

“Me and the other pullers will keep an eye on her,” Honeycomb nodded towards her lead. “May I suggest something?”

Brownie nodded.

“Apparently, Pepper made good progress with Apricot last night. Perhaps it would be wise to ask Apricot to escort Pepper around until we know what the Sea Green one is playing at. At the very least, it would help reassure her that we trust her with Pepper’s safety, despite what she thinks of herself.”

“That sounds mighty fine and dandy, I tell ya,” Brownie said. “But mind ya, don’t ya or her hesitate to holler for help. Spread the word quiet like to the others too. That there unicorn seems to have a knack for stirrin’ up mischief. And if she decides to kick up a fuss, we ain’t got no other unicorns to rein her in or no black obsidian to keep her in line. If she starts causin’ any sort of ruckus, we’ll kindly ask ‘em to hit the road at the first town we get to.”

Honeycomb nodded and trotted to the wagon behind them, and started talking to the two mares that were hitched to it. Brownie turned her gaze towards the woods where Twilight had departed and let out a grunt.

“You think she will find him?” the grey mare hitched next to Brownie said, her dusty mane fully tossed to her right side.

“They reckon themselves a herd, bless their hearts, but they don’t even bed down together,” Brownie turned to her pull mate. “Seems like she’s fresh to this whole shebang. I reckon they lost their original leader right off the bat, and now she’s callin’ the shots while they both point hooves at each other. Blamin’ one another for the mess they’re in.”

“But they’re still sticking together?”

“Well, if I reckon correctly, and If their old lead mare was the glue that held ‘em all tight, then I reckon they’re prob’ly tryin’ to navigate their relationship without her,” Brownie mused, her eyes almost welling up with tears. “If he ain’t got no faith in her, and she’s the one pullin’ him outta the mess he done got himself into? Well, he just can’t see that she cares ‘bout him enough to make sure somethin’ gets done. And rightly so, he deserves to stay lost in them woods forever.”

“That’s a bit harsh. Especially for a stallion...”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Brownie said, looking to her left and spitting. “But we done lost too many brave mares already. And ya know, with her useless horn and fancy Canterlotian accent, I didn’t reckon she’d go and do what she did, but she went ahead and did it anyway. Any mate in a herd who can’t see the sacrifices a lead mare makes to protect ‘em, well, he don’t deserve a herd at all.”