Boundary Point

The time worn hazelwood door shook as a knock emanated from it. A chain on the other side jangled as three more knocks sounded before the light glow of magic unhatched the chain lock and encased the lever handle, pulling it down. As the door opened, a light tan earth pony with blond mane and a cowboy hat revealed herself with a smile.

“Twilight! It’s been what? Three years?” Applejack trotted a step forward and instantly offered her hoof in a hug.

“Applejack!” Twilight accepted, and the two wrapped each other side-by-side, letting their presence be felt before Twilight closed the door. “It’s Dusk these days, well, when I can get enough paint to cover my rump, how have you been?”

“Things are all jumbled, ya know?” Applejack answered as she dropped her saddlebag next to the door with a thud. Looking around for a second, she uttered, “Oh, this is certainly um,” as she was being absorbed in the cramped, dark brown living quarters.

The quiet scent of the blending of fragrant dried flowers invited all who came, but the doors were open to dark, bare rooms sans the living room, which was lit by a grey presence. Books were piled neatly on worn, well cleaned shelves in nearly every nook of the living enclosure. The furniture, worn with age, while still looking neat, was easily judged to be on their last legs. “I’ve got to be honest; this is no royal apartment is it?”

“I’ve… made do,” Twilight flinched, and looked away from Applejack as she led the tan pony from the entrance hall into the main living space. A kettle with steam still coming out the top cried out that it was ready, as Applejack took a seat on the brown, scraggly chair next to the couch.

“Well, you know they say, home is where the heart is,” Applejack answered in a quiet tone, taking in Twilight’s abode.

“Well… I’ve been trying to get out of here and into something nicer,” Twilight answered, “But with what I’m earning at the bookstore and the amount of money it takes to keep out of sight,” Twilight got on the worn plaid couch and faced her friend. “It’s been stressful.”

“Have ya tried some kinda herd service?” Applejack looked at the grimy window emanating smoky light, “Or even just the classifieds?”

Twilight spoke before her ears drooped and she looked down, biting her lower lip, she finally said, “I was actually in a herd interview yesterday.”

“Oh really? How did that go?” Applejack asked, her ears suddenly facing Twilight.

“How do you think,” Twilight groaned as she rolled her eyes. Letting gravity take her, she shifted from sitting to lying on the couch, her tail landing with a thud atop the soft upholstery, “The lead mare figured me out.”

“Twilight, ya didn’t really lie at the interview, did ya?” Applejack grimaced, “Mind if I get some tea?”

Twilight sat up as her horn glowed, pulling one teacup at a time, each one brimming with a blue paint curl along their rim, from below the spool coffee table, and poured the contents of the kettle carefully. Levitating a cup over to her guest, Applejack carefully grasped the drink with the softs of her hooves and inhaled, taking in the wild berry scent, before finally taking a sip.

“I had to,” Twilight shrugged as she looked away and took a sip, “You know, once I got banished, that was basically it for my herd prospects.”

“Maybe here and the Kingdom, but the Union?” Applejack shook her head, “I bet there are herds there that would admit you without question, and because you got banished!” she took a sip before placing it on the table.

“I…” Twilight looked at the smeared window, “I don’t think living in the Union would be a good idea.”

“Why not? Heck, the Crystal Empire,” Applejack shook her head, “I mean, Republic might even give you a stipend just to piss off the Princesses.”

“I don’t want to make Celestia angry,” Twilight trailed off as she let the last of her breath gently go, waiting a moment before her lungs tightened before breathing in. “I refuse to turn myself into a pawn for some committee of mares that don’t have the faintest idea on how to properly lead. Also,” Twilight put down her cup, “I’m a bit surprised you would make that kind of suggestion.”

“Eh,” Applejack waved a hoof about, “Just because I’m still with the Kingdom doesn’t mean I don’t have a problem with it,” she then shot Twilight an annoyed look. “Even we at the farm could see that the Princess deeply messed up, like watching a turkey trying to pull a wagon.”

Twilight let out an anxious groan as she got up from the couch with a slight wobble, and approached the single window. Her reflection lightly showed off, covered with a sludge on the other side, “I don’t want to get into trouble.”

“And I don’t think you will,” Applejack replied. “I think the Princess has so many things on her plate that her banished student from years ago setting up shop in the Crystal Republic or something isn’t even going to be a blip on her radar.”

Twilight turned to look at Applejack and shot her an annoyed look as her tail briefly swung to the right before falling back into place. “Any place that takes me in won’t just let me be a blip,” Twilight sighed as she looked up. “Anyway, I think I’m a bit more important than most things on her plate.”

“Twilight look,” Applejack said in a dull tone. “When I read the papers, it’s almost always about either Celestia and the reconstruction efforts, or Celestia and her diplomatic efforts, or just Celestia doing positive PR. Honestly, with all the work she does, I’m just surprised she doesn’t have either Luna or Cadence help her out,” Applejack wrinkled her nose, and tucked in her front legs, “It’s like for her, the war hasn’t ended yet.”

“Have you heard from either of them?” Twilight turned to face Applejack, her ears drooping while her lower lip pushed up.

“I, um…” Applejack looked at her tea on the coffee table and looked back up, shaking her head, “Honestly, I can’t say that I have.”

“That’s a little worrisome,” Twilight exhaled as she returned to her seat, curling herself into a semi-ball while keeping her head up. “I can definitely understand her behavior during the war, but even in peacetime, she should be delegating out…” Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she scowled at the coffee table.

“Speaking of Cadence,” Applejack winced for a split second, “The memorial for your brother was finally finished two months ago in Canterlot.” Applejack gave a nod towards her hostess, “I know you can’t go see it, but the last time I was in the city, I made sure to lay some flowers for you,” Applejack glanced to her right and looked at a single row of brown and tan photos that lined a shelf.

The unicorn said nothing as she stared at her teacup in midair. The ticking of a clock in the kitchen rang out across the flat as the subtle scent of old wet wood made itself known. Quiet clopping suddenly bellowed through the room as neighbors above were walking around. Steam from the kettle had finally eased off, clearing the air.

“Thank you,” Twilight finally said after minutes passed by. A tear emerged from her only for a moment, before a quick swipe from her foreleg hid it from view.

“I know you would lay them yourself if ya could. And I know how much he meant to you,” Applejack nodded.

“How’s Maud been doing?” Twilight said with a glance towards the floor.

“Still on the rock farm,” Applejack answered, “Last I heard, she was the one running the place now, ever since she formed a herd with Mudbriar.”

“Is she still taking it hard?” Twilight grimaced.

“We’ve all been taking it hard,” Applejack said as the quiet once again froze the ponies in place. Specks of dust floated above the coffee table as neither pony looked at each other. Even the neighbors upstairs stopped their ceaseless walking and the darkroom’s brown grew darker, from the worn rug to the water-stained ceiling.

“I…” Twilight paused for a moment, “I hope Spike is doing well,” Twilight finally said, exhaling. “I’ve been getting fewer and fewer letters from him,” Twilight looked at the shelf behind Applejack, where two shelves full of opened letters were neatly categorized and sorted, each nook with a symbol representing each party. While a green and purple emblem’s letters took up almost the entire top shelf, at the very end was a cloud with a lightning rainbow with only one letter placed neatly in line.

Applejack shook her head as if pulling herself out of a trance, “If what the papers have been saying is true, he’s been pulling double duty as envoy to the dragons. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s overloaded with work, given he has to play off the human emissary.”

Twilight snorted as she got up from the couch and started shifting the books on the shelf next to the window, “Humans…”

“Not a fan?” Applejack stammered out in a near whisper as her ears folded back.

“I don’t know what to make of them,” the unicorn said as she divided the stack into two and started a third stack with an order that only she knew.

“Well um, just a heads up, you should know that I um…” Applejack closed her eyes as she straightened herself up. The tufts of her chest prominently thrust forward, “I’m in a relationship with one, I think…”

Twilight turned, gazing at the tan pony on the seat for a moment only to tilt her head, “What do you mean you think? Also, how did you even meet one in the kingdom? Isn’t there a travel ban on them?”

“Well uh, you see,” Applejack cleared her throat, “The kingdom gave out special visas for human consultants and well…”

“Hang on,” Twilight shot up from her seat, standing on all fours on the couch, “Human consultants?”

Applejack pursed her lips, “I don’t know all the details except that the Kingdom is letting in a small number of humans to help with the rebuilding efforts.”

“I thought Sweet Apple Acres was well protected, did I miss something?” Twilight sat back down with her head tilted and one ear standing on edge.

“Well, we did a lot of over farming during the war and we needed a way to get the soil back to the way it was, so we filed the paperwork and got a human stallion and…” Applejack trailed off as a smile grew on her face. “I’ve been too busy to start a herd of my own, but when we talk, he,” Applejack trailed off as a blue glimmer flashed across her eyes. “He just gets me.”

“Honestly, I haven’t met a human yet,” Twilight turning in full to face Applejack, “What are they like?”

“Well, you already know that they’re tall and walk on two legs. And their coats aren’t as vibrant as ours, but once you get past that,” Applejack smiled as she casually lowered her muzzle, hiding it beneath her hooves.

“And what about their claws?” Twilight glanced left and whispered loudly.

“They’re not claws, they call them fingers, and once you can get over the shudder,” Applejack looked up. “If you ever meet one that catches your fancy, oh the things they can do with fingers,” Applejack rolled to her side and stared, lost in the worn ceiling.

Twilight looked left and right, “What… what kind of things?”

Applejack righted herself and looked over to her left, shrugging with a coy smile, “Let’s just say that Gerald knows how to help a mare after a long day tending to the trees.”

Twilight blinked as Applejack raised her front ankle to her muzzle and tried to hide her smile.

“I don’t think I could start a herd with a human, I hear they’re really prudish,” Twilight sighed.

“I know some are, Gerald told me about them. But others like Gerald?” Applejack shrugged, “It comes natural to them. Gerald is definitely something different. He specialized in what he calls ‘soil science’ back where he came from, he says he has an idea on how to help reinvigorate the land, but he has to get authorization from his bosses and cut through Canterlot red tape.” Applejack shrugged as she smiled, “I’ve never seen anyone so fascinated in dirt, but he’s got this down-to-earth personality that…” Applejack laid her head on her hooves as her hat fell off.

“Human study soil?” Twilight raised an eye as her left lip curled.

“Human study everything Twilight,” Applejack’s ears flickered back and forth, “Honestly it’s like they’ve got the greed of griffins, the curiosity of unicorns, and earth pony grit.”

“Humans are greedy?” Twilight asked.

“Ehhh,” Applejack lifted her head, lifting her hoof and shaking it back and forth for a second. “The stallion-human we talked with an order to get Gerald tried to take the farm, so to speak. When I bucked them off, and sent a complaint to Canterlot, they sent another representative, some mare-human, a week later, who was practically on her knees apologizing!”

Twilight raised her foreleg to her chin and tilted her head, “Maybe the humans got scared of the Princess?”

“Well, rumor has it that the few humans that Canterlot will work with are on a short leash. Like so short that you could stamp their hooves! I’m guessing when the Element of Honesty sent a complaint saying that the humans would help us with growing apples on our land, but only if they got the land might have sent the ministry in a tizzy,” Applejack closed her eyes and nodded. “They probably got rid of that stallion-human. He has no business in business if you ask me, and sent a mare-human who knew what she was doing to try and get in our good graces,” Applejack then laughed, “She was apologizing so much, even Apple Bloom thought she lost her marbles!”

“Huh,” Twilight grimaced, her eyes sharpened, but the mare behind them was somewhere else.

“I’m surprised you haven’t met a human,” Applejack chided.

“Once, and I didn’t so much as meet them as I watched Peppermint frantically trying to get them to leave the bookshop,” Twilight answered.

“What was the human doing?”

“As far as I could see from the register, they were just browsing. Though being honest, Peppermint has been pretty vocal about her problems with them,” Twilight sparkle rolled her head, “And that’s ignoring the ones I see on the street. They always seem to be wearing clothes…”

“The one thing you’ve got to get used to if you meet a human is the clothes thing. Nudity is a big no no to them. Even Gerald nearly covers his body daily.” Applejack said.

“Humans do know that wearing clothes is asking for them to be peeled off, right? I mean, any pony knows that you’re teasing with the eyes by putting something on,” Twilight’s ears folded back. “Unless they were wearing hazard equipment…”

“Everyone where they come from wears clothes, that’s the thing!” Applejack nearly hissed, “Rarity would appreciate it that’s for sure, but they have clothes for every occasion! Even swimming!”

“That doesn’t make any sense, if you could swim, why bother wearing clothes?”

“I don’t know!” Applejack rolled her eyes, “But that’s just how they do things over there.”

Twilight placed her foreleg against her chin and frowned, “Maybe they have a weakness to light?”

“Hmmm… Doubt it, when Gerald has to move heavy things, he just takes off the clothes that cover his top half.” Applejack answered.

“Wait, so they do take them off?” Twilight tilted her head, “That makes sense, they can’t wear that stuff forever.”

“I mean, they do take them off for, well,” Applejack blushed, then shook her head. “Look, Twilight, if you want to meet Gerald, he’s in town with me at the convention, if you have anymore questions, I’m sure he could answer them! Beyond that, there’s a human in Ponyville that’s part of a herd, Annytiny I think’s his name…”

“Speaking of herds, I think I’m going to try something drastic,” Twilight got up and looked for a book, “I think I’m going to try using Heartsong.”

Applejack’s smile suddenly disappeared as she gazed at her companion, her jolly tone fading like a crack of lightning, “Twilight, you know that’s a bad idea, right?”

“No, it’s not,” Twilight responded as she finally found the book she was looking for, “And besides, I’m going to use an ancient song so that anyone who responds has to respond in the right language,” Twilight magically lifted the book, ‘Ancient Pony Love Songs’ in the air.

“Twilight,” Applejack narrowed her eyes, almost growling at her friend, “I’m going to say it again, Heartsong is a bad idea. You don’t know who you’re going to get, or worse, you don’t know whose life you’re going to ruin if you commit yourself to this.”

“The tale of the Bakery Mare and the Duchesses’ Son? Really?” Twilight rolled her eyes as her ears folded back for a second before returning to attention. “And besides, I’ll only sing it someplace I know that is clear of both royalty and the criminal element.”

“Yeah, but what if their lives are genuinely messed up? You’re throwing yourself at them only for them to put you through the ringer,” Applejack stood up, staring down her friend across the coffee table.

“Another bedtime story?” Twilight narrowed her eyes in annoyance, “I’ve got this under control.”

“Your interview couldn’t have been bad enough to warrant this,” Applejack responded, her hard countenance melting into worry, “What’s really going on?”

“What’s going on is I have no previous herd history,” Twilight snorted, turning to put the book back. “I’m going to have to start one myself and this will simplify everything,” Twilight smiled, “And besides, that’s how Cadence and my brother got together.”

“Cadence and your brother just so happen to work out. And even then, if I were there to talk to Cadence years ago, I’d have told her the same thing I’m telling you now. It’s a bad idea,” Applejack got up and walked around her seat. “If it’s herd history you’re looking for, I got family in one of the Union towns that might take you in.”

“Applejack,” Twilight walked over to her friend and placed her hoof on hers, “I’ve made up my mind about this. I’ve saved up every bit that I have just in case they’re in dire financial straits, and I’ll be sure to only sing in places where the worst can’t happen.”

“Can you at least tell me why?” Applejack’s eyes were both raised. “You never seemed interested in joining one. Honestly, I pinned you down as one of those mares that’s so dedicated to their talent that there was no room for a herd!”

Twilight looked down, turning away from Applejack and walked back to her seat, “I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

Applejack sighed as she set herself back down on the seat, “You’re intent on doing this, aren’t you?”

“Applejack, I know what I’m doing,” Twilight smiled, “Even if I get a Griffin or Dragon, I’ll still hold fast to my commitment.”