The Ponyville library was serene and quiet in the early morning. Two figures lay cuddled up in front of the dimly glowing embers of the fireplace wrapped in a thick blanket. Artex was the first to awaken. His eyes shifted beneath his closed lids for a few seconds before he cracked them open blearily. He was far from completely coherent, but he was genuinely content for the first time in more than half a year. He was warm, snuggled against something incredibly soft with a second warmth nestled in behind him. He blinked six times as his eyes attempted to adjust to the brilliant sunlight filtering in from the outside. As his eyes cleared, he looked down adoringly at the tan mare sleeping under him. He realized he had been using her as a pillow with his legs curled up behind him and his chest and head slumped over her barrel using his left arm as a pillow.

He smiled down at Razor Wit then closed his eyes and leaned his face in close to the back of her neck and took a long slow sniff trying to remember her scent. She smelled lightly of peppermint and tulips with a slight undertone of something slightly spicy, not a disagreeable smell. Eyes still closed he laid his head back down on her and felt her soft pelt against his cheek. A shifting feeling behind his knees snapped his attention to the fact that there was a weight against his right thigh. He lifted his head and quickly turned toward the sensation.

Oriana was lying curled up behind his knees with her head resting on his right thigh. She was not covered with any part of the blanket and it was her light shivering which had disturbed him. Artex honestly didn't know what to think, 'On the one side, I'm a bit pissed. This was supposed to be only for Razor and I and she's interfering. On the other side, she's obviously cold and she's been there long enough to fall asleep. I kind of feel sorry for her. She doesn't really have anybody to talk to all that much, which is probably why she goes to see Zecora so often. I wonder why she curled up with us.'

Artex sighed and reached out his right hand, scratching Oriana behind her ears. The Zebra mare's eyes snapped open and met Artex' own. Artex held his face perfectly, utterly, and completely neutral to see how Oriana would react. Her ears instantly perked upright as she stared back at him with a hopeful expression. After a few moments her ears slowly wilted against the back of her head. Artex continued to hold his neutral expression and she began to scoot away as quickly as she could, her face crimson while she wore an extremely embarrassed expression. She edged away and quickly stood up then trotted toward the kitchen.

Artex pursed his lips and shrugged off the actions of the young Zebra mare. He turned his attention back to the mare underneath him who was still sleeping soundly and felt an involuntary smile creep up onto his face. The straining of his facial muscles in a natural smile, instead of the forced ones he usually wore, told him that it had been far too long since he had smiled in earnest.

He reached his right hand around and caressed the very top of Razor's head barely touching the fine, soft strands of her mane. His hand made lazy, languid strokes of the fine, fuchsia gluten adorning the top of her head. It felt like the finest and purist silk as it slid between his fingers. He remembered doing the same thing to his wife's long hair and his smile widened. While the memories of his wife still made his heart hurt every time he thought about her, the pain was somewhat less severe with Razor so close.

He continued his gentle caresses while he listened to her breathing steadily, in and out. He slowly leaned his head down on his left arm once more, enveloping himself in the simple pleasure of her company. He remembered that he cherished such moments. There was a pure simplicity which went along with the simple act of cuddling and holding somebody you cared about. He felt guilty about enjoying himself, but he pushed the feeling aside. He knew what he was doing. He was taking the time to remember the close memories of his wife and overlap them with new memories of being with Razor Wit. He felt his eyes water slightly as he admitted the finality of the action to himself. It felt like burying her, but somewhere in his heart he realized that it had to be done. He needed to fully move on. If he was going to be serious about a romantic relationship with Razor Wit, she deserved all of his attention and affection.

He thought about how he was supposed to split his affections evenly between five females who he had decided to wed; it was time to contemplate how such a relationship would work, 'How do I divide my affections between five wives and who knows how many foals? I need to figure out the wives first, then once I've acclimated to that, then I can work on how to spend time with little ones. Should I dedicate a portion of every day to one of them?' he pondered, 'No, that would require us to stick to a schedule and that, in turn, would kill any and all opportunities for spontaneity. Being spontaneous is important in keeping any relationship 'fresh' and exciting, so we will need spontaneity.'

He mulled over the problem for several minutes, staring off into blank space while he continued stroking his fingers through Razor's mane. He eventually came to a conclusion, 'I suppose... the best way to go about this is to start with Razor and just ease my way into everything else. She'll surely be willing to help me adjust to everything. We don't have to take things super slow with just the two of us, but we should take it somewhat slow when introducing others into our herd... that sounds SO weird.' he thought with a grin, 'I could afford to take my time with Danielle because I had plenty of time for everything, but now... now time is against me. I'm aging here and I need to be a father before too long or else I won't have time to watch our little ones grow up. Heck, I'll be lucky to ever see grandchildren... grandfoals I suppose.' that sobering thought led him to another, even more somber thought, 'Is it really fair to Razor and whomever else I marry? They're going to live twice as long as I will but, my own short life is just a flash in the pan as compared to theirs. I can't just expect them to live with me for forty years then live without me for another seventy. What I need to do is ask Celestia about any kind of magical means to prolong my life, maybe tie it in with those of my other wives? This world is full of magic, surely there's a way to live a bit longer. I may have to pay for it, but if its to keep my loved ones from suffering my loss for seven decades I think it would be well worth it.'

He emerged from his lapse into introspection and decided that he and Razor needed to greet the day. He looked back down at the slumbering mare beneath him and smiled once more. He could admit he didn't find her sexually alluring, but she did have a beauty to her that he couldn't deny. Curiously, he leaned over her and examined her right ear, wondering if it was a ticklish. He smirked impishly and drew in a deep breath then pursed his lips and gently blew out on the back of her ear. Said ear twitched wildly as the air stimulated and tickled her felt-covered ears. Feeling curious and somewhat emboldened he ceased stroking Razor's mane and brought his hand up to her soft ear. He extended his index finger and thumb then gently gripped her velvety soft ear-leather in between his fingers and rubbed them together gently.

Razor's ear flicked again and Artex decided he had explored enough, 'Best to stop before I become entirely too bold and do something dumb.'

He leaned down and placed his mouth next to her ear,
"Razor," he softly called, "Razor Wit, it's time to wake up now."

The tan Unicorn mare groaned and stirred beneath Artex and he shifted his weight off of her back, sitting up straight and taking the blanket with him. Razor shivered at the sudden absence of warmth and raised her head off her hooves. She shook out her mane and yawned hugely, tongue curling at the tip as it carried past her lips. Then winced and groaned as she closed her eyes.

She turned her head and regarded Artex over her shoulder with eyes which were still heavy with sleep and also bloodshot from her dehydration and hangover,
"Ughh," she groaned blearily, "Hangover."

Artex chuckled to himself,
"Water is the best cure for a hangover. Lots and lots of water. The headache is mainly due to dehydration and tends to clear up once you have enough water in you. You should also stand up very slowly in case you get dizzy."

Razor blinked slowly,
"Need to pee." she groaned.

"I can help you get there, but the actual process is something you will have to handle on your own." Artex warned.

He held out his left arm and leaned back then propelled his hips up off the floor and got his feet beneath him,
"Come on sleepy Pony." he encouraged her, "Let's get you to the commode."

Razor grumbled and attempted to stand, only to overbalance and start to fall to her right. Artex reacted faster than gravity and wrapped his hands around her stomach and barrel, holding her upright. He stepped closer and pulled her upright the began to guide her toward the bathroom.

"Why is the room spinning?" Razor asked, voice slurring, "UhhULP!" she pressed her left forehoof to her muzzle, "HURK!"

Artex, realizing what was going on, picked up Razor and made a bee-line for the bathroom. He shouldered the door open and set Razor down in front of the toilet just as she lurched. She pulled her hoof away from her muzzle and practically screamed as she vomited violently. Foul smelling liquid squirted out of her nose and burned her nasal cavity as the alcohol came right back up the same way it came down. Artex sighed and held Razor's mane out of the way dutifully, it was going to be a long morning.

* * *

Steady Hoof sat down hard on her haunches, a look of utter disbelief on her face. Bobby shook his head and patted her on the shoulder as he walked past. Leo stood outside, next to the door of the room with his back leaning against the wall. The clipboard in his hands gripped casually as Bobby dictated instructions.

"Alright, since there aren't any forms for adoption due to anything except for the death of all family members, we're going to have to make one up." Bobby paused and tapped his right foot, "Yeah, there isn't any choice in this. Did you want me to take care of it, or did you want to do the honors?" he asked Leo.

Steady Hoof's head shot up toward Bobby and she rose to her hooves like lightning,
"Honors! Honors!?" she almost yelled, "There is an expecting mother in there," she gestured toward the room with her hoof, "Who doesn't want her foal!"

"Baby." Bobby corrected her absently as he closed the door to the room, "Let's not discuss this here."

"FINE baby! She doesn't want her own baby!" Steady Hoof was yelling at that point, "She doesn't want her own..." she shook her head, spraying angry tears left and right, "How could any mother not want her own... baby!?"

Bobby moved quickly and clamped his hand around her muzzle, holding it closed,
"You're dangerously close to betraying Doctor-patient confidentiality. We'll talk about this in the break room, not here." he said in a stern hiss.

Steady Hoof shook her head free of his grip and glared at him with barely restrained anger,
"Fine, but this isn't over."

The angry Pegasus mare all but ran to the break room with Bobby and Leo following behind her casually. It took less than two minutes to reach the break room on the floor, which was thankfully empty, and as Bobby closed the door Steady Hoof rounded on him with fire in her eyes.

"How can you be so... callous!?" she cried, "We're talking about a mother not wanting her own flesh and blood! How can ANY mother not want their own child!? It's unnatural!"

Bobby crossed his arms,
"Your professionalism needs work doctor." he said leaning against the door, "It's a violation to talk about confidential patient information where other patients can hear. I'm going to have to write you up I'm afraid. You HAVE to keep calm no matter what you experience. If the patients see one of US panicking they're going to panic too." he sighed and rubbed his eyes with his fingers, "Look, this sort of thing happens sometimes..."

"Where you come from maybe, but here it's abandonment and abandonment is a serious crime!" Steady Hoof explained emphatically, "There is no written form for something like this! It's criminal!"

"No, it isn't." Bobby said patiently, "A woman has the option to give her baby up for adoption at birth if she wishes. She's not abandoning the baby. She deems herself unable, unfit, or incapable of raising a child and she wants to ensure the baby has a good home; a good home that she doesn't believe she can provide. That's not abandonment, it's figuring out what's best for the child. She believes that she and her living situation are not what's best for the baby and she's trying to establish that her baby goes to a good home so the child can be raised by a loving family."

Steady Hoof shook her head back and forth,
"It's not right," she wept, "No newborn should be unwanted." she slid down onto her stomach weeping bitterly, "It's all wrong. How could this be acceptable to any of you?" she asked.

Leo set the clipboard down on the floor and sat down leaning against the wall,
"Where we come from, it happens all the time. Hell, some women and girls actually KILL their babies or toss them in the garbage and leave 'em to die. Compared to some o' the shit we seen, this ain't nothin'." his Velensovth was imperfect, seeing as expletives had no place in the language, but he got the point across.

Steady Hoof began hyperventilating as she coughed, trying to breathe through her choked sobs. She had never heard of such a thing and it horrified her beyond words. It was unimaginable to even contemplate such an atrocity, but to carry it out... Steady Hoof found herself unable to even accept it as fact. It was so far beyond monstrous, it caused her physical pain to hear it. To abandon a helpless infant, a tiny living being that you had grown in your own body, and then not want it? It made no sense, it was absurd, and according to everything she had ever heard or known it was simply impossible.

Bobby placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently,
"This is something you're going to have to deal with from time to time. We can't force her to care for the baby. I don't like it either, but it'll be better for her and the baby if we can find a family to adopt. This is one of the things our society does, like it or not. I'd much rather find a family that will raise this baby than force the mother to take care of a child she doesn't want."

Steady Hoof looked up at Bobby with angry, hurt eyes,
"Then she should have never given herself to a man if she knew this was a risk!" she wiped her eyes, "We...," she sniffed, "We have to tell the Princesses. Any case where a little one doesn't have a home, they have to be notified so they can send out a proclamation for families to adopt." she wiped her nose again, "It's just so... sad and it's... unreal. I've never heard of anything like it."

Bobby kneaded his hand into her shoulder soothingly as he stared off into space,
"I know." he patted her gently and whispered, "I know."

The second part of this chapter was inspired by one of you readers. (You know who you are)