Razor was worried about Artex. Ever since they had the discussion about the Day Of Sorrow Artex had been distant. She, Twilight, and Spike were chatting while waiting for Artex to return from Sweet Apple Acres. True to his word, he had begun taking Suey with him to work every morning and the little piglet was putting on more than a little weight.

"I'm worried about him." Razor said quietly, "He's been not only distant but it almost seems like he's upset with us. Did we do something wrong?"

Twilight shrugged from her position on the couch,
"I have no idea but if you're so concerned why not just ask him about it."

Razor shook her head,
"Already tried that. He claims there's nothing wrong, but it's as plain as the smell after he's done with work every day."

Spike, who was nestled between the two mares decided to speak up,
"Well it could have something to do with the Day Of Sorrow. You did say you were talking about it. Artex seems to be naturally curious, maybe he took your advice and read up on the Day Of Sorrow. Twilight won't tell me much about it, she says I'm too young to... how did you put it Twilight?"

"You're too young to fully grasp the true significance and social ramifications of such an atrocious calamity." Twilight repeated, "And I hold to that. You're not old enough. I promise I'll teach you someday, it's far too important an event to be ignorant of, but to show you so early might have an undesired effect on your psyche." she turned her attention back to Razor, "If he did read it by himself and he never completed the section, he probably lacks all the facts in order to make a sound judgement. You have to admit, if taken by itself it paints all mares in a monstrous light. Granted the whole situation was the fault of the mares of the time, we understand that today, but he also has no idea how much Pony psychology and physiology has developed and changed in that time. If he doesn't know all the facts, especially about how the Natural Magic altered mares and stallions, he probably thinks we're monsters. The mares back then certainly were."

Razor wrinkled her nose in distaste,
"That they were. Can you imagine how horrible it must have been for several thousand stallions to jump off a cliff? It's like holding today's Gryphons to the same standard we would have before the Balzac Genocide. There's no fair comparison." Razor put her hoof to her chin in thought before speaking, "If that's what's happened, we need to sit down with him today and explain everything that occurred after the Day Of Sorrow."

Spike scratched the scales on the back of his neck nervously as another thought occurred to him,
"You know, it could be something completely different, but related."

Twilight and Razor exchanged a confused look before Twilight prompted for him to continue his thought,
"What do you mean Spike?"

Spike shifted uncomfortably, suddenly very aware of his proximity to two mares,
"Well... you know he can only marry mares now, right?" he asked for clarification.

Spike had received an age appropriate explanation from Twilight in regard to Artex' changed biology. She had omitted the explicit details, but Spike had the general idea.

Spike continued his thought,
"Well since he can only marry mares, maybe he was interested in one and... whatever horrible thing the mares did to stallions in ancient times really bugged him and he thinks maybe modern Ponies are like that."

Razor pondered Spike's idea, 'It's possible I guess, but who in all of Equestria would have caught his eye? I know him better than anypony else, except for Applejack, and he's never mentioned any interest. Then again Humans are so hard to understand with their small, inexpressive eyes and ears. I know how to read a Human's body language probably better than any other Pony in Equestria and even I have some difficulty telling when he's making a joke. Maybe Spike is right.' She breathed a heavy sigh, 'I suppose we're going to have to just ask.'

* * *

Artex and Suey watched Big Macintosh talking to the fuchsia colored Earth Pony, Cheerilee and watched for any signs of her ordering his adopted big brother around. The little piglet was proving more and more intelligent by the day and Artex had to admit, she even understood the concept of stealth. Ever since he read about the Day Of Sorrow, he thought he understood Applejack's protective streak in regard to her brother. It had all finally clicked for him when he read the entry about ancient Pony history. Stallions were seen as the 'weaker sex'. He already knew Pony society was female dominated, Celestia was proof enough of that. The fact had been so obvious during the meeting which spawned The Unity Pact, he kicked himself for not realizing it sooner.

Once he read the entry about the Day Of Sorrow, it all made sense. He had at first though that stallions were considered property, but he quickly realized that wasn't the case either. They had entirely too much freedom for that. The realization caused him no end of confusion as he tried to puzzle out what place stallions had in Pony society. Obviously the Ponies' society had progressed, but the specifics of said progression were lost on him. He didn't dare ask Razor or Twilight about it either. He didn't ask Twilight because he didn't completely trust her not to confuse him with some long tangent and he refused to ask Razor because of her first reaction and refusal to talk about the Day Of Sorrow. The topic had obviously made her uncomfortable and he considered her one of his only friends.

He was contemplating asking Big Mac about it, but his adopted brother was so shy and sensitive he didn't want to upset him. Artex had also considered asking Applejack about it, but he decided against it because she could be plenty sensitive as well. Granny Smith had hinted that the decision of whom Big Mac ended up with was her choice, and the thought of arranged marriages made his stomach turn. Besides, if Applejack had grown up with that kind of a mindset, she might get it into her head that Artex needed to be set up with a mare and try to do so behind his back, well-meaning but completely unwanted. He cared for his adoptive family, but if they tried to force him into any sort of arrangement, he would have strong words with them about it.

The problem was that the way Big Mac was acting was not as if the relationship was arranged, but that he had wanted it and maybe even initiated it. Artex watched his posture and bearing, making note of every move, 'Head up and erect, his posture isn't submissive, heck it's more like dominant and Cheerilee is the one with the more submissive posture, but that only barely. For all intents and purposes they both look like they consider each other equals, yet Equestria is female dominant.' As Artex continued watching the pair, Cheerilee lifted her left forehoof and placed it gently on Big Mac's chest then turned her head away bashfully. Big Mac raised his right forehoof, which was nearly the size of Cheerilee's entire head, and guided her face back toward his.

From his hiding place not thirty feet away, Artex could see the deep blush peeking through even Cheerilee's already ruddy complexion as well and her eyes drifting closed as Big Mac slowly lowered his muzzle toward hers. Artex was stunned, 'I can hear her whimpering from here. This doesn't make any sense. Mares used to use stallions as sex slaves, but Cheerilee is acting more like the submissive one.' As he watched, the lips of the two Ponies meet, Cheerilee nearly collapsed and Artex could see her legs shaking violently.

A hoof suddenly wrapped around Artex mouth and eyes and pulled him back, deeper into his bush biding place with incredible force. He struggled immediately and was let go just as quickly. Trying to keep quiet, he turned furiously toward the interloper and came face to face with Pinkie Pie.

Forestalling Artex yelling at her, she held a hoof up to his mouth,
"It's not nice to spy on Ponies." Pinkie whispered, "Especially at a time like this." Pinkie looked over Artex shoulder and shook her head, "I'm disappointed in you Artex. Cheerilee is trying her hardest to Accept Big Mac right now. That's super-duper personal and private. It's not right, imagine how Mr. and Mrs. Cake would feel if I watched them when they're alone in their bedroom?"

Artex was surprised, Pinkie was actually acting serious,
"I'm curious." Artex whispered defensively.

Pinkie patted him on the head gently,
"Silly Artex, all you had to do was ask your auntie Pinkie. You see when a mare and a stallion love each other very much..."

Artex quickly slapped his hands over Pinkie's mouth, but she just kept talking.

Out of morbid curiosity, he lifted his hands for a moment as Pinkie spoke,
"...and the other mares have to hold her down the first couple of times until she Accepts him so she doesn't accidentally hurt the stallion..." Artex put his hand's back and blinked rapidly as Pinkie's words sunk in, 'Hold her down?' he wondered, 'What the hell?'

Turning back to Pinkie, Artex pulled her close,
"Pinkie, stop talking for a few minutes."

To his absolute surprise, she actually did and he decided to take advantage of it,
"If this is so private, why are we still here? Why don't we go somewhere else? I need to be getting back to the Library anyway."

It was a logical move, 'If this is so important that Pinkie is serious about it then I shouldn't be here. She may be nuttier than squirrel shit, but if SHE'S serious about this then I shouldn't be here.'

Artex took one last quick look at the two reddish colored Ponies. Cheerilee's eyes were still closed and her legs were still shaking, he even spotted the telltale glint of light off her cheeks which indicated tears. They weren't engaged in a full blown make out session but their lips were pressed together. Big Mac had his eyes closed and looked to be whispering something to the smaller mare. His lips ghosted their touch on those of his mare. Her whimpers steadily growing in volume, she slowly cracked open the tip of her muzzle as Big Mac inched his way around the sides of her mouth gently nibbling with his lips and whispering softly to her. Her breath came more and more quickly with each passing second. Cheerilee's legs shook with greater and greater tremors until she suddenly cried out and turned her head away breathing heavily. She wedged her head against the underside larger stallion's neck as he sat down and pulled her against himself his voice silent now as he held her. The scene seemed almost obscenely tender and Artex was more confused than ever. He had seen the two rub noses several times publicly, but this was obviously something much more intimate, even if it was almost the same thing as far as he could tell.

He rose to a crouch and silently patted Suey on her head and the piglet rose and followed the Human and Pony out of the bush.

* * *

Artex opened the door to the Library and let Suey in before he closed it behind himself. He was about to yell that he was back when he looked up and saw Twilight and Razor Wit both sitting side by side on the couch and Spike nowhere to be seen. His shoulders tensed, his mind registering something was up.

Neither mare said a single word as he removed the straps of his khopesh holster and laid it down next to the couch. He looked for Suey, but she had already made her way into the kitchen, probably to her bed. His eyes wandered to the table just in front of the two silent mares and he spotted the same history book he had read two nights previous, 'Ah, they must have figured it out. So that's what this is about. Drat, I didn't want to do this to Razor, but if she and Twilight want to talk about this, at least I'll know for sure.'

Artex walked out in front of the couch and was preparing to sit on the floor to begin the conversation when Twilight rose from her position,
"Here, take my spot." she offered.

Artex wasn't in the mood to argue, but a testing probe wasn't out of the question,
"You know, where I come from, it's men who offer their seats to women."

Twilight quirked her right eyebrow and pursed her lips,
"There's no obligation to do it in Equestria, but it's considered polite if one is willing to do so." she took a breath as Artex sat down in her previous place, "Something is obviously bothering you Artex. Razor and I are concerned about you. She noticed it before I did, but once she mentioned it, I realized she was right. You've been distant these last couple of days and we're worried we might have done something to upset you."

Artex waved his right hand dismissively,
"It's not you. I've just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Would it happen to have anything to do with what we talked about the other night? The Day Of Sorrow?" Razor asked.

Artex knew he had been found out and decided to charge in,
"Well yeah," he said bluntly, "I mean it's a pretty big deal to learn about something like that. I didn't bring it up to you because you were so uncomfortable with it in the first place and I didn't bring it up to Twilight because I didn't want her running circles around me in lecture mode. No offense Twilight."

Twilight shrugged,
"None taken."

Razor swallowed but pushed on despite her discomfort with the topic,
"Did you read that entire section about ancient history or just the section about the Day Of Sorrow? It's important because without the rest of the material that follows it, it would be pretty easy to take out of context."

Artex' face revealed his confusion so Twilight clarified,
"Mares used to be like that, we aren't like that anymore, we literally can't be like that now." Twilight explained as as she began to pace, "The part of ancient history referred to as the Gender Wars was a terrible time, but there were some very significant changes that took place during that period. We wanted to talk to you about it and help you understand so you don't get the wrong opinion. Are you willing to talk with us about this? Neither one of us is going to force you to do this, but we do thinks it's important."

Artex thought about it briefly before he sighed,
"Sure, why not. Go for it."

Twilight sighed and looked to Razor,
"Did you want to start, or did you want me to?"

Razor shook her head,
"You do most of it. I can fill in the blanks and explain. Remember Twilight, ten sentences or less so it's not confusing."

Twilight visibly cringed,
"Ten sentences, right." she said to herself before she began, "Where did you leave off on the book Artex?"

"At the very beginning of the Gender Wars." Artex said, "A rather ominous name I admit."

Twilight nodded as she began to pace,
"And rightfully so. After the Day Of Sorrow, the noble mares rounded up every single stallion they could. The stallions who survived the Day Of Sorrow were cared for with the very best treatment that was to be had at the time. The noble mares confined the stallions, held them prisoner, and restricted their freedom. The Earth Ponies have the most accurate account during the time so I'll be referring to the Gender Wars from their perspective. The stallions were cared for, but the mares considered them too precious a resource to risk even going outside. There were so few stallions left that they were practically pampered. The problem was that nothing had really changed. Stallions were now not only expected to service mares every night, if they tried to refuse they were held down and forced to. The noble mares reasoned that because the stallions were no longer required to work and were being pampered at all times they would be willing to... perform. The common mares were unhappy with the arrangement before the Day Of Sorrow and certainly not happy about raping the stallions, but the nobles held power and so they went along with it instead of challenging it."

Twilight paused, took a breath, then continued,
"At first the nobles expected the new arrangement to work, thinking that the stallions would adjust given enough time, but there was a problem. No foals were conceived or born for the next ten years. Before the Day Of Sorrow, Pony biology worked the same as you explained that Human biology works, with the sperm and eggs being alive and active all the time. Well that had changed. The Natural Magic had altered the stallions' bodies so that their sperm was rendered inert unless they wanted a foal. As you can imagine, nopony wants any foal that is the end result of a rape. The noble mares discovered this fact, history isn't clear on the 'how' only that they did. The nobles, falling back on old habits, thought they could force the stallions into wanting foals and most even went so far as to beat them if they didn't sire. The stallions still refused. History states that for nearly ten summers there was not a single foal born in any of the three tribes."

Artex had to almost literally pull his jaw off the floor,
"Good God on a bread stick. A decade of daily rape and imprisonment? I know some historic dictators that could take notes from you Ponies."

Twilight took another breath and continued,
"The common mares seeing the simple answer, pleaded with the nobles to release the stallions, but the nobles refused. A group of common mares broke a single stallion free and ran off, disappearing from civilization. Two years later they were found and at that time every single one of them was pregnant. The stallion was taken back into custody and the nobles, seeing pregnant mares for the first time in years interrogated the mares demanding to know how they made the stallion sire for them. The answer they received was unexpected. The mares simply said they had cared for the stallion, but hadn't forced him to do anything at all. They left him to his own devices and expected nothing in return, they felt terrible for what he had endured and had tried to make it up to him. Eventually the stallion saw the good that the mares were trying to do and decided to do his part, offering to do what the nobles had tried to force on him to do. The nobles were stunned."

Twilight paused and screwed up her courage for the next part,
"In a move that was both needed and mindlessly stupid at the same time, the nobles rounded up the stallions and freed all of them at the same time. They expected the stallions would be so grateful that they would immediately offer to sire. They could not have been more wrong. Bitter beyond belief and hating the mares for their treatment, the stallions attacked. The mares were taken completely by surprise and the histories say that the total number of Ponies was cut in half that day. The stallions left civilization and swore that any mare they saw they would kill on sight. The stallions had no faith in any mare, the common mares had no more faith in the nobility, and the nobility had no faith in anything. It very nearly spelled the end of all Ponies."

Twilight shook her head sadly,
"The foals born to the mares who were already pregnant were treated like precious treasures, both the fillies and the colts. That is why foals are treated with such care today. We remember this era of history because it shaped all of modern Equestria. The nobles, deciding they had utterly failed all Ponies, decided they would try to raise the colts to do what the stallions refused to do. It was not to be. The stallions discovered the foals, snuck into the nobles' estates at night, and took every single foal. The nobility tried to pursue the stallions and managed to corner a single one. They tried to force him to turn over the colt he had but instead of surrendering, he killed the foal and himself. That single heinous act, the sight of a young foal dead on the ground and a dead stallion who would rather kill himself and an innocent colt than return back the the nobles, broke their hearts and wills. The mares just gave up at that point. They fell into despair and stopped everything. They let their crops grow wild, they didn't even squabble with the other tribes. History says that fifteen years after the Day Of Sorrow, almost to the day, a group of common mares discovered the caves where the stallions had been hiding, while the mares were mindlessly wandering through the countryside. The mares decided to spy on the stallions, history says, to gaze once more on what they had destroyed."

Twilight paused but cracked a small smile this time,
"The stallions had been almost as deeply affected by the cornered stallion who killed himself and the colt. They had dedicated themselves to raising the foals successfully. They were surprised to learn that the growing fillies bore no similarities to what they had expected. Raised harshly but treated fairly enough, the fillies and colts actually got along. The stallions had been treated so badly their entire lives, they were expecting the fillies to act the same way toward the colts as the mares had, but they didn't. The stallions were still bitter, but they were slowly warming up to females again."

Twilight's face fell somewhat as she took a deep breath,
"The mares who discovered the caves returned to civilization and secretly, behind the nobles' backs, began planning. The nobility had utterly failed them and the common mares wanted nothing to do with them. Soon thereafter, steeling their nerves, a group of several hundred mares boldly walked right up to the mouths of the caves and waited in silence. The stallions attacked them on sight, but to their surprise the mares didn't lift a hoof to fight back. Many of the mares were slaughtered without ever blinking, but their gamble worked. The stallions were stumped once they realized the mares weren't fighting back and instead of killing the mares, they took them prisoner. When asked why they were searching for the stallions, the mares said it was because they were willing to give themselves up as slaves. They offered to do whatever the stallions wanted if only they would just consider siring for them."

Twilight paused briefly and looked to Artex,
"This is one of my favorite historic quotes, 'The suffering we endured at your hooves outside the cave is nothing compared to what we've done to you through our own lack of action. We are guilty of so much more than death can give, but we beg of you, punish us until our final day if you wish, but do not let our crime steal the future from future generations. Withhold your rage, ravage us, beat us, it is no less than we deserve, but let our people go on and learn from this. Let not this suffering and death be in vain. Let us suffer now so that others may learn from our folly and in so doing, be free from the same pain.' The stallions were obviously reluctant to believe anything the mares said, but the fillies had softened their hearts just enough for them to take the offer seriously. The stallions reluctantly agreed and took the mares as slaves. It may seem strange, but every tribe shared similar experiences. The mares, many bearing the humiliation of being roughly rutted publicly while stallions watched and jeered and slapped and insulted them, submitted to any stallion who told her to present. The stallions took out their frustrations and anger on the only mares who had enough character to try to do the right thing. The mares never uttered a single complaint and their mistreatment continued, but their plan worked and within a few months mares were pregnant again."

Twilight grimaced and cleared her throat,
"The Natural Magic went to work again. The common mares, the ones who never wanted the stallions mistreated, were being forced to work and now were forced to act as pleasure slaves for them. It was during this time that the mares began having trouble submitting to the stallions to be serviced. To quote the historian of the time, 'He strode up and ordered her to present. She did, but as he moved to take her, she cried out, shaking and crying and weeping loudly. The stallions stopped, every one of them. All ears turned to the cries of the terrified mare who huddled, still presenting on the floor. None moved to mount her, her cries froze them and they could do naught to act against her.' Mares came down with a type of terror. It quickly became a problem as other mares would have to hold down a single mare to be serviced, even if she actually wanted it. Stallions not only found they couldn't force a mare if she cried, but the sound also took his desire to do so and left him impotent for hours afterward."

Twilight's smile began to widen as she spoke,
"The Ponies eventually came to realize that a single mare could come to accept a single stallion mounting her and after several encounters with the same stallion, she could do so by herself. The Natural Magic had altered the mares this time. The mares kept their word and worked hard for the stallions even through their pregnancies. The stallions, seeing how much difficulty the pregnant mares had, and fearing for their unborn foals, began helping them work and the numbers of Ponies slowly began to rise again. And so our society began to grow and develop while the nobles and every mare who was unwilling to swallow their pride and humble themselves died out, the ones who were willing to do what was hardest survived. That same fact holds true today. That's why herds are composed of five mares and one stallion. The gender ratio worked out. When a mare marries a stallion, she has to force herself to 'accept' him and often has to be held down by the other mares, even when she wants him. After several encounters she becomes accustomed to him and she no longer has to be held. The Natural Magic forced our ancestors to come to an understanding and they realized it. Instead of letting the Natural Magic force them into a healthy balance in every aspect of life, our ancestors took the initiative and began figuring out how to self regulate in order to avoid such unpleasantness in the future. That's how our barter system came into existence, most everything we do is geared toward bettering ourselves because of the horrors of the past. It was an offshoot of that same mentality which led to the three tribes unifying, but that is a story for another time."

Twilight let out a sigh of relief,
"You see Artex, we may seem perfect from an outside opinion, but we paid the price for our modern lifestyle in hatred, humiliation, and blood. I will ask that you don't tell Spike about this, he's far too young to understand. Fortunately, the Day Of Sorrow through the Gender Wars Era was recorded. Historians have researched and riffled through that part of our history more than any other part. We've learned from out past and we genuinely do our best not to repeat it. I will caution you not to use any references from the Gender Wars Era. It is still a touchy subject today. There were no guilt-free parties involved and we learn about this in the latter portions of school. Nopony ever makes jokes about it except in very, very poor taste. That's why we take any sort of domestic abuse of any sort so seriously. Everypony feels strongly about it. It's kind of like the Gryphons' Eternal Penance." Twilight cracked a jaw popping yawn and shook her head, "Did you have anything to add Razor?"

Razor shook her head,
"No, you pretty much covered it." she shuddered and rubbed her right forehoof along her left one.

Artex finally had a good idea why the tan Unicorn was so uncomfortable with talking about that part of history.

Dark history is dark. Remember to Like if you like and feel free to leave any comments you wish. If you P.M. me, I will respond. If you leave a comment, I may respond to that too. Or if you've read The Vagabond (my other story series here on Fimfiction) you have my cell number if you want to text.

Chapter 20 will probably be the next Live Character Q & A. To those who participated in the first one, please come on back for it. For those who missed, that was likely my fault for not providing enough forewarning. All fans are welcomed to participate so long as you have actual question for a cast member from the story.