The movie was played in the concert hall. Romeo and Juliet as performed by Olivia Hussey, and Leonard Whiting, was the film. Thankfully whomever volunteered to have their memory plunged was good enough to mentally translate the movie into Velensovth for the audience. Artex was not entirely certain how they had managed to do it, but it had worked well enough. As the ending credits rolled there was barely a dry eye in the whole place. Artex and his herd were seated with the Apple family for the evening. He would have discussed the film with the Apples, but he had four sobbing mares all clinging to him. To his surprise, Rose Thorn cried the loudest. The tough mare had decided to show her softer side and it apparently had the consistency of warm jello. She nuzzled against Artex' chest sobbing loudly and soaking his shirt with her tears. She was not the loudest one crying either. Pinkie Pie's wailing, way off on the left side of the concert hall, was causing echos and making other Ponies cry harder. Artex looked to his right and saw Big Mac sitting in place, stoically holding an absolutely broken Fluttershy.

Vaiawa was the first of the mares to recover, "That... that was both sad and beautifully done." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes with her left forehoof.

Artex took a longer look around at the gross reaction. It was almost unanimous. It was sad but very good.

* * *

As Artex led his herd back to their home with the Apple family following closely behind, he spotted a white piece of paper sticking out of their mailbox. Puzzled, he approached the receptacle and removed the piece of paper. What at first looked like one piece of paper turned out to be two telegrams from Trottingham.

Artex turned, holding out the pieces of paper toward the tan Unicorn, "I think this is for you, my love."

Razor Wit bit the edges of the papers then let go of them and levitated them side by side with her magic. Holding them up in front of her face, she read them silently before folding them up, "We all need to talk once your adopted family is settled in."

* * *

Once the tired Apple family had all gone to bed, the herd gathered in their living room. Razor was the last to enter the room. She had called for the meeting and she had likewise heated water and prepared a full tea service, which she carried with her when she came. While she had been doing that, Artex had started up the fireplace.

Oriana was lying on a plush red cushion with her haunches close enough warmed by the fire. Vaiawa and a still sniffling Rose were both comfortably reclining on the big couch. Artex was in his overstuffed chair. Razor Wit set the tray down on their little coffee table, but remained standing. She levitated the two telegrams out from where she had hidden them in her mane.

She laid them down on the table while she began pouring hot water, "Before we begin, who would like some tea?"

Oriana spoke up first, "Do you have the chamomile? If so, that would be good."

Razor nodded as her horn lit up, "I'm going to have the chamomile myself. I need it."

Concern creased Artex' eyebrows, "What's wrong, Razor?"

Razor shook her head, her fuchsia mane swaying with the motion, "I'll tell you after I've served the tea. The repetition will help calm me down."

"Do you have any cinnamon flavored tea?" Rose asked sniffling, "I don't generally care for tea too much, but it sounds good right now."

Vaiawa put in her request as well, "I will have the chamomile please."

Artex stayed silent. He had his right fist up to his mouth, chewing on his knuckles subtly. Razor looked up as she levitated the teas over to her herdmates, "What did you want, Artex?"

He barely broke away from nibbling on his knuckles to reply, "I want all my loves to be happy." his gaze was intense as he spoke. He met Razor's eyes and his expression softened, "As far as tea goes, is there any lemon tea?"

Razor poured hot water into the final cup and dropped in the steeper then levitated it over to him, "It so happens that we do have that one."

She finished with her cup and set it on its saucer to cool. She took a deep breath and levitated the telegrams up in front of her again, "This first one is from my Lamane. He says that everypony was excited to hear about the herd and that they're looking forward to meeting all of you." She lowered the first one, "I did not mention which species any of you are, so they, or more specifically my Lamine, will not have any reason to fret over anything. I figure it should not matter what species you are." She sighed and hung her head, "The second telegram is from her though. I will read it for you:

Dear Razor -stop- Glad to hear from you -stop- eager to meet the Ponies you love -stop- Trained in that Human town where you live -stop- It was a nightmare -stop- The place is dangerous -stop- I pity the Ponies raising foals there -stop- Hope you come to your senses -stop- and come home soon -stop-

She let the telegram fall to the floor, "It sounds like she's gotten worse after I left." She hung her head, "I don't want to get into an argument with her over this," she raised her head, eyes firm, "But I will not stand for her speaking poorly of any of you because of what species you are. Please tell me that at least one of you has an idea for how to deal with her."

Vaiawa spoke up quickly, "Razor Wit, it seems to me that no matter how you look at the situation, the problem is not merely with your Mother, but also your perception of her. You said 'deal with her' like she is an unpleasantness that must be simply put up with, as opposed to an individual to be reasoned with." Razor opened her mouth to speak, but Vaiawa held up her right forehoof, "Please, let me finish." Razor closed her mouth with a frown, so Vaiawa continued, "I understand that she may aggravate you, but before you let yourself become angry with her remember that she is your Mother. Is there any doubt in your heart that she loves you? Any at all?"

Razor scuffed her left forehoof against the hardwood floor, "I know she loves me! That's not the problem! The problem is that she's too closed-minded to accept you and Artex as family!"

"If I may?" Oriana said quietly, "Does it really matter whether or not she accepts them? Or any of us? Are you going to decide to leave the herd based on your Mother's decision or opinion?"

Razor's head snapped back as if she had been slapped, "Of course not! I love all of you! You're my family!"

Oriana nodded hiding a small smile, "Then it doesn't matter. Razor Wit, you are like a sister to me. You accepted me without question or concern. If one member of your birth family cannot accept us... well one member is better than all of them, right? Is anypony else in your family likely to have such a difficulty?"

Razor shook her head, "No. They're all very nice, and my Lamine is too. I just..." she sighed and hung her head, "I just want her to have the chance to get to know all of you for the wonderful Ponies I know you are. It hurts me that she sees other species as dangerous and won't give them a chance. She's depriving herself and it hurts me. It hurt me so badly when she refused to talk to Slobber Chops when I invited him over for dinner. It hurt my Lamane when she refused to talk to his Minotaur friend too. Her actions are hurting others but all she cares about is her biases. I know that in her heart she only wants to make sure everypony she loves is safe... I guess I should have expected for her to join the Civil Guard. Looking back, it's easy to see now. She wants to protect others, it's in her heart and I know she'd do anything to ensure the safety of the Ponies around her but..." Razor trailed off, tears glistening in her eyes.

Rose understood what she meant, "But protectiveness taken to the extreme can be dangerous."

Artex then realized what she was really afraid of, "You think she might do something extreme because of Vaiawa and I."

Razor nodded sniffling softly, "Now that she's been trained... I don't want her to do something dangerous to either of you. Her magic may not be very powerful, but I inherited my quick thinking from her..."

"And tactics are what really win battles." Rose finished for her.

Artex pursed his lips in thought, "What if... what if we spoke to the rest of your family first, before we introduce ourselves to your Lamine. Is there a chance that we could... I don't know, maybe convince her to wear a blindfold or something? She could talk to us and get to know us before she saw us."

Razor shook her head, "No. She'd be even more suspicions if I asked her to do that."

"What if she were confronted by the rest of her herd and they vouched for us?" Rose asked.

Razor shook her head again, "She would only be defensive then. The only thing I can think of is for me to try to reason with her... again."

Rose spoke up, "Oriana and I could help you."

Razor shook her head, "Not at first. She would feel like we were ganging up on her." She sighed, "I just have to be willing to defy her if I need to. I know the rest of my family will jump on her case if she does anything too extreme. They were upset when she refused to talk to my Lamane's friend and even more upset when she ignored Slobber Chops. The rest of the family got along well with him. If she did anything crazy they would be on her in an instant." Razor slowly raised her head and looked at the ceiling, "I just don't want my family split because of her prejudices."

Artex rose from his chair and knelt down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her close, laying her head against his chest, "That will be up to them, sweetie. We won't judge you on what she does. You are not her."

Razor reached her right forehoof up and hugged her fiance, "I know, Artex. I just want her to be proud of me."

The rest of the herd joined in the hug. Vaiawa placed her muzzle next to Razor's ear, "If she is not proud of you by now, she never will be... and if that is the case, then her approval isn't worth much anyway."

Razor Wit reared back and enveloped her herd in a huge embrace, "I love all of you so much. Thank you."

Author's Notes:

Coming soon: Artex and Vaiawa meet Visceral Slaughter.

As always, please let me know if I missed any typos.