After breakfast, the herd all paid for the air fare and headed off to Canterlot with their small amounts of luggage. Once they landed, they hastily made their way to the Canterlot train station. They bought their tickets but were rather saddened that the next train for Trottingham was not for more than an hour. They debated looking around Canterlot, but they decided against it agreeing that it would be far too easy to lose track of time. They decided to just sit around on one of the many benches at the station and relax for a while.

The mares were all idly chatting with one another while Artex reclined against the backrest with his hands laced behind his head. He listened to the various conversations taking place around them and subtly smiled at all the attention they were receiving.

"Isn't that a Human?" One female voice spoke.

Another answered, "Yes it is. I wonder what it's doing here? I hate to use the word 'it', but I cannot tell if it is male or female."

"He," the first voice clarified, "You can tell from the lack of udders on his chest."

The second mare gasped quietly, "Their females have their udders on their chests? Oh my, that sounds very... wait, is that why they wear clothes all the time?"

The first mare spoke again, "That is part of it. My herd attended the New Humansville festival and we found out that with Humans, their... erm... private parts just hang out there. They lack a pelvic curtain so they must use their clothes to keep their decency. That and they can become cold fairly easily."

The second mare hummed thoughtfully, "That makes good sense. I can see the logic behind it."

"Behind what?" A third mare's voice asked.

The first mare spoke again, "Oh Bright Spark, there you are. Did the rest of your herd fall behind?"

"They always do when we bring the fillies. So, what were you girls talking about?" Bright Spark asked.

"Him." The second mare said. Artex assumed she was pointing at him.

Bright Spark gasped loudly, "Oh my goodness! Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no!"

"Whatever is the matter?" The second mare asked.

Artex tuned them out as he traced his memory back, 'Her name sounds so familiar... Bright Spark... Insabre Tunti... Bright Spark... where have I heard that name before?' He puzzled and thought for several moments, 'She sure remembers me though, so it must have been a big deal.' His face contorted into a scowl, 'Where oh where have I heard that name before?' And like a bolt of lightning, it hit him.

Artex' eyes snapped open and he surged to his feet. He turned his head toward where the mares' voices were coming from. He saw a trio of mares all staring at him in surprise. One particular mare stood out from the other two Unicorns. Her coat was brilliant yellow and her mane and tail were cut short and dark pink.

"Artex?" Oriana's voice called from behind him, "What's wrong?"

He was beyond hearing the Zebra's question. His eyes were fixed onto one of the Unicorn mares. She met his eyes for a moment before her gaze shifted to his disfigured face. Upon seeing his mangled countenance, she raised her left forehoof to her mouth and let out a choked sob.

A small voice called out from behind the ticket window, "Mommy? What's wrong?"

The filly's worried voice was followed by four more mares, a stout stallion, four fillies and one tiny foal being carried in the side pouch of a Pegasus mare. Bright Spark's eyes never left Artex. She pulled her forehoof away from her mouth and pointed at him. Her herd followed where she was pointing and the stallion gasped loudly much in the same way his wife had.

The other four mares in the herd as well as the two friends and the fillies all seemed puzzled. The stallion was gray and his mane and tail were dark brown, worn long. He gazed at Artex in complete surprise. His surprise turned to horror when he saw the man's face. He bit his lower lip, closed his eyes tightly, and turned his head in shame. Artex could not move a muscle. His mind was locked up, 'It's them,' he thought, 'How could I have forgotten?'

The feeling of a hoof against his right knee brought Artex back to his senses. He looked down and saw Razor Wit peering up at him with concern written all over her face, "Artex?" She addressed him, "You're scaring me." She looked at the herd, "Do you know these Ponies?"

Artex nodded in a neutral fashion, "I do." The other mares rose from their seats and joined him. Artex placed his right hand against the misshapen portion of his face, feeling the bones beneath the skin which never healed properly. He lowered his hand and walked forward, toward the herd.

The mare and stallion backed up fearfully as he began his approach. The Pegasus mare of the herd looked back and forth between her loves and the towering Human. She took to the air and flew right up in front of Artex' face, her foal still hanging in the side bags, "Take it easy there, Human. We don't want any trouble." She said putting both her forehooves on his chest.

Artex stopped and calmly looked down at the two hooves laid upon his person. He looked back up at the Pegasus mare, "I haven't even said anything until now. You assume too much." His eyes flickered down to the hooves again and back up to her face, "Take your hooves off me... now."

The mare lowered her hooves and back winged in the air, "You're scaring my herd." She accused.

"Am I?" Artex asked, "Or are they scaring themselves?" He took a step toward the Pegasus, "Have I yelled? Have I made any aggressive gestures? Do I seem enraged to you?" He cocked his head slightly to the left, "By what right do you make such accusations? What proof do you have besides an assumption?"

"W-well... what I mean is..." she sputtered.

Artex waved his left arm dismissively, "Cool your wings, mare. I'm going to talk."

The Unicorn couple had watched the exchange worriedly, but they held their place as Artex strode up to them and knelt down, "I know you two." He said softly, "You were the two I met when I was trying to beg for help," he rubbed the side of his face with a chuckle, "In a way, it's a good thing that you kicked me." He said to the stallion, "We learned that day that Humans are physically more frail than Kavim."

The stallion shook his head, "I-I-I-I-I'm so sorry about that." He stuttered, "I wasn't trying to hurt you, I swear. I didn't even use all my strength. I was only trying to get you away from her. I just saw my daughter and she was screaming and there you were with your... whatever they are, on her head and... I-I just panicked. I'm so, so sorry," he stared up at the man, "I never thought..." he hung his head, "I ruined your face... forever."

Artex chuckled quietly, "If it makes you feel any better, you didn't make me look too much worse that I already did."

The stallion looked up sharply, "W-what?"

"Even among my own kind, I was never what any logical Human would call 'attractive'. I was very upset about my face at first, don't get me wrong." Artex sighed, "It could have been much worse though. Think of it this way: if you had kicked with all your strength you would have certainly killed me, but you didn't. If it hadn't happened then some other Human would have been hurt, probably worse than I was. It took me a while to get used to it, but everything works right. I can see as well as I was able to before and I can feel everything from both sides of my face. You just... took a flat grassland and turned it into rolling hills."

"So... you're not angry?" The stallion asked.

Artex shook his head, "Not anymore." He smiled rubbing the disfigured side of his face, "Besides, ladies like the scars. Makes me look tougher than I really am." He chuckled again, "I mean I can beat the stuffing out of you if you really WANT me to, but I have no inclination to do so."

The stallion smirked and held out his right forehoof, "I'll pass on that. Friends?"

Artex took and shook his hoof, "Close enough." He released the stallion's hoof and looked toward the mare, " I probably remember you the best. I heard you, you know, when I first woke up. You tried talking to me and I didn't respond. I'm not entirely sure why... I think it might have been the painkillers. I heard you, but I wasn't able to respond and I'm sorry about that." He sighed, "I remember you sounded so sad. You shook me and it almost sounded like you were crying when you left."

Bright Spark nodded, "I-I thought you were brain-dead. I was afraid that Stout had killed you..."

Artex reached out and petted her on the shoulder, "I'm sorry I gave you that impression. I really couldn't move right then. I am fine though," he rubbed the mangled side of his face, "Well as fine as I can be."

"Artex?" Vaiawa called from behind him. He recognized her by her voice. She had been in disguise all day so as not to cause a stir, seeing as they were in Canterlot. She trotted up next to him and peered around him at the mare and stallion, "Who... who are these Ponies?" Oriana, Rose, and Razor Wit came up beside him as well.

"Girls," he said, "I would like to introduce Bright Spark and Stout. They were the ones I met when I set out to find help."

Bright Spark looked curiously at the mares, "Are you his friends?"

Rose giggled, "More like Emissarial Staff."

Stout blinked, "So that WAS you in the newspaper!"

Artex laughed, "Yeah. Apparently Celestia liked my bravery... or stupidity. I'd say it was fifty-fifty."

"Wait," Oriana said quickly, "I thought the two Ponies you met were the ones who destroyed your face." Upon remembering the event, Razor Wit laid her ears back and narrowed her eyes at the two.

Artex saw her posture and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, "It was a misunderstanding girls. They already apologized and I'm not angry. Let it go." He spoke calmly, but with authority.

Vaiawa stepped forward and extended her forehoof toward the two, "It is good to meet you."

Bright Spark took the offered hoof and shook gently, "You as well. I'm Bright Spark and this is my husband, Stout."

Vaiawa lowered her hoof, "I am Vaiawa." She gestured to the other mares in turn, "This is Rose Thorn, Oriana, and Razor Wit. Of course you already know Artex."

Bright Spark cocked her head to the side, "Crash?" She asked in surprise, "After his accident you call him Crash? I'm having trouble deciding if that's hilarious or malicious."

Artex chuckled, "Actually it was a nickname from my friends back on Earth."

Bright Spark blinked, not sure what to think, "Your name is unusual as well." She said to Vaiawa, "Where are you from to have such an unusual name?"

Vaiawa shrugged, "My parents thought it was a good name so I kept it. I'd rather not say where I'm from. Plenty of Ponies hate the native species of my homeland, but I live in New Humansville now."

Stout squinted his eyes, staring at Vaiawa for a brief moment before he blinked in surprise, "Don't worry too much dear," he said quickly, "She seems like a nice mare, who cares where she's from?"

The sound of the train whistle halted all the conversation as all eyes turned toward the rails. Artex stood up and stretched, "Erg!" His back popped in several places, "I hope you won't think us rude, but we need to be going. We're heading for Trottingham."

Bright Spark smiled up at him, "It is good to see that you are alright. I hope we can meet again."

Oriana asked the stallion, "Where are you heading?"

"The Crystal Empire. I'm a crystal enchanter so I'm hoping to do some business and we can enjoy a little vacation while we're there." Stout replied.

Artex and his herd waved to the other family as they boarded their train, "Goodbye!"

As soon as they were seated, Razor let out an irritated huff, "I'm sorry for getting so upset... but... your face!"

Artex waved off her concern, "Oh who cares? On our first date, you told me I was ugly as all get-out. And now here you are, about to introduce me to your family so we can get married. What's the big deal? Seriously. Who am I trying to impress? I have four wonderful mares who love me and I'm happy with that. Anybody who judges me by my ugly mug probably isn't worth knowing anyway." He got up and sat down beside her. Placing his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her in close, "Just because you're nervous about us meeting your family, don't take it out on somepony who doesn't deserve it." He finished the statement by planting a soft kiss above her horn.

Artex felt her tension melt away and she sighed, "I'm sorry, you're right. They didn't deserve that."

Oriana nuzzled Razor's face on the other side, "Relax Razor Wit, everything will be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

Razor shot Oriana a flat look, "My Mother could fly into an incoherent, violent rage thinking that Vaiawa or Artex are controlling my mind and abusing me."

Oriana nodded, still nuzzling her future sister/wife, "Well we won't let that happen. We've faced down rampaging dragons, and aided countless thousands make peace with their new neighbors despite language and cultural barriers. We even helped the Saddle Arabians and those people from... what was the name of that country, Artex?"

"Afghanistan." He supplied.

Oriana nodded, "Right. They have that strange custom of covering the faces of their women and we managed to get them to calm down about the mares not covering their faces. Be reasonable, Razor. With everything we've accomplished, how bad could it really be?"

Razor nodded, nuzzling Oriana back, "You're right," she said feeling more confident, "With everything we've been through together, there's no way we can fail."

Author's Notes:

I'm sure this chapter is littered with typos. Let me know where they are. *whispers* Don't tell my editor I'm doing this.