Artex awoke early and inched himself out from beneath his mares. He dressed himself quietly then headed downstairs and began making preparations for a big breakfast. He wanted to show off for his family, both current and future. Oriana, being ever practical, had gone out of her way the day before and purchased a large amount of food for the household. Kavim ate a great deal and their pantry and ice box proved it. There were five cartons of eight eggs each on the top shelf. The eggs were situated right next to four bottles proudly displaying their logo: New Humansville Orange Juice, the only juice made by Humans. Next to the juice bottles were glass milk bottles containing unpasteurized milk. The final item on the top shelf was a brown paper bag. Artex curiously unwrapped the paper bag and fell in love with Oriana all the more. Within the bag was one third of a Stone of uncut bacon.

Cooking breakfast for so many was a somewhat new experience for Artex. He had loved to cook when he had lived with his wife back on Earth, and that love had not diminished over time. Making a meal with the quantity that would likely be needed for his family was a task he thought worthy of a ballad. It took him some minutes to locate the cast iron skillet he needed and another few minutes to remember from Twilight's home how to turn on the range top.

He cracked eggs, toasted bread, grated cheese, sprinkled cheese, sliced onions, cut tomatoes, and chopped peppers. In fairly short order, he had more than a dozen omelets, three dozen pieces of toast, and what he estimated to be one fourteenth of a Stone of bacon. He was so busy that he failed to notice he had gathered an audience. He grabbed two plates with an omelet and three pieces of toast each, and turned around to set the table. He was met by thirteen pairs of eyes.

He startled and nearly dropped the plates, "Geeze! Sneak up on a guy, why don't you." He set the plates down on the table amidst titters and chuckles from his family. The table was rectangular and had enough spaces for twelve settings. Average size for a full Kavim family. Granny Smith took her seat at one end of the table while Big Macintosh, Lyra, Bon Bon, Zecora, and a very pregnant Cheerilee took one entire side. Razor Wit, Oriana, Rose Thorn, and Vaiawa all took places on the other side. Vaiawa was still in her Pegasus disguise for the sake of Applejack. Fluttershy was absent, but nobody was surprised. She and Big Mac had agreed to wait until Artex returned to have their wedding. He was the brother of one and the friend of the other. Big Mac had wed his other loves the previous year but did not have the heart to deprive his adopted brother of attending his final wedding.

Artex set out all the plates then quickly slid butter, jam, and two spreading knives across the table. He did not bother with silverware since it was proper etiquette not to use them or use magic while eating, if there were Pegasi or Earth Ponies present. He knew from experience that his family would not mind, but he felt it was only respectful to do so.

He sat down with his plate last, "Ah," he paused as he noticed that they had waited for him to be seated before eating. There was butter and jam on most of the toast, but nopony had began breakfast yet. He cleared his throat realizing that he had an opportunity to do something he had not done in far too long a time. He held out his hands toward Razor Wit on his right and Cheerilee on his left, "This is a Human religious custom at meals. Hold the hooves of the Ponies on either side of you and close your eyes."

He watched as his family did did so with many curious glances. Once they all had their hooves linked, Artex closed his eyes and began, "PATER noster, qui es in cœlis, sanctificatur nomen tuum, Adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua, sicut in cœlo, et in terra. Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie, Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris, et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen." He released Razor Wit and Cheerilee and opened his eyes, "You may begin eating."

As logic would dictate, Razor Wit was the first to speak, "What was that?"

Artex smiled as he began spreading the soft butter onto his toast, "That was a prayer. I know I haven't said one in quite some time, but now that things have settled down, I figure it would be a good time to start. The prayer was in an ancient Human language called Latin. I can tell you what it means, if you like."

Razor Wit nodded her head vigorously, "Please do!" She was obviously excited.

Artex smiled back at her, "It translates roughly into: Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. There was a part which I left out because I don't know the words in Latin: For Thine is the kingdom, the Glory, and the Power, for ever and ever, Amen. Praying is part of my belief. Albeit a part that I've neglected for quite some time. I hope it isn't inconvenient for any of you."

He received a small ocean of shaking heads in response. Oriana swallowed a mouthful of omelet and had a question, "What is the purpose of prayer to you? We know what it is, as some Ponies and other creatures pray to the Natural Magic of the world, but what is the significance to you personally?"

Artex thought while he chewed on a mouthful of bacon. He swallowed and cleared his throat, "Well for me it is more symbolic than anything. The purpose of praying over a meal is the belief that nobody will get food poisoning from bad cooking. The basis is asking for a blessing from God on whatever it is that you are about to do."

Rose Thorn snorted, "I'm sure your cooking isn't THAT bad." Her comment earned a series of low laughter all around the table.

* * *

After breakfast, the Apple family and Artex' herd all went out to enjoy the second day of the festival. The theme of the day was The Dark and Middle Ages. There were Humans garbed in period appropriate dress, and many of the Changelings wore dull colored iron armor. The sight of the Changelings gave Artex pause. He leaned over to Vaiawa, "Why are so many of the Changelings wearing armor?"

Vaiawa used her lips to point to one of the closest ones, "It is a very old tradition. About seven hundred years ago, we were beset by Dragons who would raid our hives at random times. The death toll was catastrophic and our ancestors had to be ready to fight at a moment's notice. A single flight of dragons could consume an entire hive, but for some reason they seemed to choke when they swallowed a Changeling wearing iron armor. It was later discovered that they only choked when they neglected to chew a Changeling wearing spiked armor before swallowing. Thankfully Dragons have developed better taste over time and prefer gems to Changeling flesh. It was during that time that the hives split. Our ancestors feared that we would be extinct and so they broke off into groups and fled in different directions. There was no contact with other hives for fear of the Dragons learning of other locations and consuming them as well. After the Dragons ate all the Changelings in what is now Equestria, they abandoned hunting us. Several times through our history we have sought out other hives, but they have eluded us. The present belief is that they were all eaten, but some few hold out the old hope that someday one of the other hives will make contact with us again. It was a very dark time in our history."

Artex scratched his chin, "Huh, I guess you guys have had a hard time over the course of your history."

Rose Thorn poked Artex in his side, "What are those Humans doing over there?"

Artex followed her hoof and spotted a number of Humans dressed in long robes speaking to a single chained man kneeling on the ground. He recognized what it was almost immediately, "That's a reenactment of The Inquisition. The Inquisition was a group of greedy Humans who used religion to accuse other Humans of wrongdoing and torture them to death so they could steal their possessions once they were dead. The Inquisition, along with The Crusades, is the main reason why many Humans today hate religion. Evil people use religion wrongfully to persecute others instead of following what the religion actually says to do. Most religions teach you to love others and be kind to those less fortunate, but some people twist the teachings to suit their own purposes. There are few things that I can honestly say that I hate. People twisting religions to hurt others is one thing that I hate to its core."

Rose whistled in awe as they passed the reenactment and Oriana pointed ahead of them, "What are they doing? Another reenactment?"

Artex looked to where she was pointing and smiled, "Ah," he sighed blissfully, "Now THAT is something I can get behind!" He pointed to one Human man who was gesturing to other Humans on a stage. The outfit of the directing man was one that he recognized, "They're reenacting a Shakespeare play." There were three Human women all gathered around a large cast iron pot speaking. Artex spoke in time with them, "Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble..." he paused as he realized his mares were all looking at him oddly, "The name of the play is: The Tragedy of Macbeth. It's a story about a man and his wife who murder a king and usurp his throne. The play goes on to detail how Macbeth is overcome with guilt and fear. He thinks he has to keep murdering people to keep his throne and in so doing, he causes a civil war. At the end of the play, a man who's family Macbeth murdered is the one who kills him. The meaning of the play is to convey that what is considered the 'natural order' should not be messed with. Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes his throne. The natural order of the time was thought to be that titles and even kingship was to be passed down from parent to child. Macbeth disrupted that order and he suffered the consequences. This is an excellent example of how Humans used to think at this point in history."

"I'm so glad that Humans have developed beyond what we're seeing." Razor Wit said, nuzzling Artex' leg.

"Most places have, Razor. I'm sorry to say that there are still some places that still practice those kinds of things." Artex said.

"No place is perfect," Vaiawa said serenely, "They will learn in time."

Artex nodded silently as they continued walking through the festival grounds.

"Greetings Mr. Emissary." A voice spoke out behind them suddenly.

Artex spun on his heel and came face to visor with one of the Community Welfare Guardians. He recognized the inflection of the voice easily enough and leaped onto the man, grabbing him in a crushing hug, "Damn good to see you Darryl!"

Darryl slapped Artex on the back heartily, "Good to see you, too, buddy." The two men released each other and took a step back, "At least you managed not to put on all your weight again, fat-ass." Darryl jabbed playfully as he removed his helmet.

Artex smirked and planted his fists on his hips, "Up your's, jar head."

Darryl chuckled, "Hey, at least I got some combat training out of it. The only training YOU had was with a fork."

"The fork is a very versatile tool, thank you very much. You can use it as an impromptu weapon, a lock-pick, a comb... the list goes on." Artex countered. The two men stared each other down for a brief moment before they both cracked up laughing.

"I can't stay and yak for too long, I've got a patrol to walk. Hopefully now we'll be able to see you once in a while now that you're home." Darryl added.

"I sure as hell hope so. Used to be I was too big to miss." Artex replied.

Darryl crossed his arms and tilted his head, "And yet you still had that damn nickname from the hospital. Fat Ninja? Seriously?"

Artex blushed at the memory, but his mares all began snickering, "I heard that you were kind of big... but how big were you?" Rose Thorn asked.

Artex blushed and scuffed his right foot bashfully, "A-about twenty-two and a half Stones."

The mares all looked at him strangely. The entire time they had known him, except for Razor, he had weighed roughly thirteen Stones. Rose had an idea that he had been big, but she hadn't realized exactly how big, "Twenty-two STONES!?" She asked aghast, "I only weigh fifteen Stones and I'm covered in pure muscle! You must have looked like a fat little roly-poly beach ball!"

Artex held his face neutral for a brief moment before chuckling, "Yeah, I was pretty big." He silently gritted his teeth at her comment. He had been picked on a lot back on Earth for his weight. The teasing had only depressed him and had left many very sour memories about the topic. He bottled up his feelings about Rose's comment out of habit and carried on as if nothing was wrong, thinking that nobody had noticed. He could joke with Darryl about his old weight because the former Marine had also been somewhat 'big' at one point and they had formed a habit out of teasing one another, but Darryl knew Artex better than most. The only ones who knew him better were Chris Vacca and Razor Wit.

The tan Unicorn mare had indeed caught Artex' brief pause and had put the pieces together when she noticed his face. She had spent enough time around him that she knew most of his expressions and habits. She was also one of the few Ponies who even could read Human facial expressions. She remembered how Artex had internalized his feelings about his wife for a long time before he opened up about how he felt and she recognized what he was doing again. It was very subtle, but she knew.

Darryl also knew the effect Rose's comment had on his friend and decided to try to distract him, "So, you looking forward to the movie tonight?"

Artex peered sideways at his friend, "What movie?"

Darryl mentally pumped his fist, "You haven't heard? Romeo and Juliet. Don't worry, it's not the one with Leonardo De Caprio. There was a long debate about it, though. The argument was that the modernized version was much more gritty than the older versions, but it lost on the basis that none of the actors wore period dress and the context would be difficult enough without Ponies thinking that's how we still spoke. The one they're showing, I think, is the 1967 version with Olivia Hussey, and Leonard Whiting."

Artex sighed gratefully, "Thank God. West Side Story was bad enough. Although I wouldn't mind seeing the version of Othello that featured Laurence Fishbourne."

Darryl smirked, "Yeah, that version was pretty good. It was a toss-up between Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet featuring Mel Gibson. Somebody actually suggested the movie Ten Things I Hate About You, stating that it was the same as The Taming Of The Shrew." Darryl clicked his tongue, "Needless to say, the debate over THAT was short lived." Darryl continued his thoughts, "Oh, the theme tomorrow is Colonial Times. There is going to be another movie tomorrow night..."

Artex cut him off, "Wait a second," he said holding up his right hand, "I thought that the modern music was going to be tomorrow night."

Darryl shook his head, "Nah, I got mixed up last night. I blame it on the alcohol. Tomorrow is Colonial Times through 1800s all the way up to the start of the 1900s. Tomorrow will feature the movie Johnny Tremain. The day after will cover from the early 1900s up to today. A few people wanted The Patriot to show, but it was way too inaccurate."

Artex agreed, "Yeah, the British Dragoons were good on the field but they would NEVER slaughter civilians. They were held to a high standard and would have been hung if they did that kind of 'crap'. Were Dances With Wolves and The Last Of The Mohicans even mentioned as possibilities?"

Darryl crossed his arms, "Last Of The Mohicans was, but Dances With Wolves was way too bloody. In the end they were both deemed too violent. At least Johnny Tremain doesn't have pretty much any blood. There's violence, but it isn't as prolific as the other two and far less depressing."

Artex smiled, his spirits brought back up by the quick thinking of his friend, "I look forward to it. I really can't wait for the modern music. Do you happen to know which songs they chose and how long the concert is going to be?"

Darryl cocked his head in thought, "The 1900s is going to be a bit of a short day for history and the concert is going to be going on for almost half the day with breaks between sets for the musicians to rest while the Ponies get to check out more from recent history. I can't tell you which songs they're going to have, but I can definitely say they do have at least one song by your favorite group."

Artex' eyes lit up, "Ooh! Which Disturbed song?"

Darryl shook his head, "Sorry man. I can give you the groups who are going to be playing, but not the songs."

Artex shrugged, "Good enough, lay it on me."

Darryl held up his right hand and tipped off each finger consecutively as he listed groups, "Simon and Garfunkel, The Beetles, The Terrible Who, Todo, Journey, Def Leopard, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Motley Crue, Metallica, Disturbed of course, Powerman 5000, Evanescence, Lacuna Coil, Nightwish, and Dragonforce."

Artex shot his friend a flat look, "Please, please, please, PLEASE tell me that nobody is playing Through The Fire And Flames." He groaned.

Darryl only threw up his hands, "Can't say bro. You'll just have to wait and see."

Artex moaned, "Oh come ON! That song is so overused! They have so many other good songs, who does everybody always focus on just one!?"

Darryl laughed openly, "Alright, alright keep your pants on. It's not Through The Fire And Flames. Does that make you feel better?"

Artex nodded, "Yeah it does."

Darryl did not wait for him to say more, "Sorry bro, I have to get back to my patrol. Go enjoy the festival."

As they parted ways, Razor Wit was thinking about how to approach the issue Artex was sure to have with Rose.

Author's Notes:

Enjoy my readers. As always, fell free to point out the typos I missed. Remember that a Stone of weight is roughly 14 lbs.