After Clean Cut and her nurse left, Vaiawa climbed back up onto Artex' bed and snuggled with him. The two of them had rarely had time alone together. The past year had been one hectic rush after another. She snuggled against him and they talked for several hours. They even shared a few kisses. Vaiawa and Oriana were sure to be easier to handle during their first time as neither one needed Comforters. Oriana was shy but she had never cried out in fear when they kissed. Vaiawa by comparison was quite eager to be with Artex, but she respected him enough not to push the subject. She was going to live the longest of any of the mares and she was in no rush. During their talk, Artex discovered that Changeling Queens lived a very long time. According to Vaiawa, the Queens only died when they were killed or died of disease or starvation. They did not age. Artex expressed his concern that she would go insane after the rest of the herd passed away. She told him that she would miss all of them dearly, but she would also eventually find love again someday. Artex was willing to accept that and before long the two of them were snuggled up and napping. They slept from mid-morning until late afternoon waking occasionally to enjoy many more slow, tender kisses.

Later in the evening after the sun set, there was a knock on the door, "Come in." Artex called.

The door slowly opened and a tan Earth Pony stallion poked his head through the opened portion of the doorway, "Good evening, are you accepting company?" Artex nodded in reply. The stallion shouldered the door open and trotted inside followed by Clean Cut, Cloudy Skies and five other mares he did not know. Bringing up the rear were Razor Wit, Oriana, and Rose.

Artex blinked in confusion, "Uh... hi. You're going to have to forgive me for not getting up. I've been explicitly ordered to stay in this bed until told otherwise."

The room was filled with mares. Artex could not hold back a comment, "Wow, I think I can smell the estrogen."

The stallion chuckled in a deep voice, "Welcome to my world." He turned and started gesturing to each mare in turn, "This is Fresh Brew. She owns a specialty tea store here in town." He said pointing to an autumn orange Earth Pony mare who sported a light brown mane and tail with auburn highlights.

Next he pointed to a creamy yellow Earth Pony mare with a baby blue mane and tail which had bright pink highlights, "And this is Greasy Gear. She works at the train station lubricating the wheels of the trains when they stop."

He then pointed to a younger Earth Pony mare, "This is Dusty Document. She's a local historian and Greasy Gear's daughter." Dusty Document was gunmetal gray in her coat, while her mane and tail were jet black, shiny, and voluminous.

He then gestured to a soft pink Unicorn mare with a custard yellow mane and tail, "This is Second Chance. She's a trauma therapist and Clean Cut's daughter."

"And lastly," he began as he pointed to a younger, dark blue Earth Pony mare with ox blood red mane and tail, "This is Due Process. She took some time off from the E.U.P. Guard to be here with us."

The stallion inclined his head toward Artex, "My name is Mason. I'm a brick layer by trade."

Artex smiled and bowed his head as much as he could, "A pleasure to meet all of you. I'm sorry that we have to be meeting here instead of your home." He gestured to the Pegasus mare lying next to him, "This is Vaiawa in case you were unaware. I assume you've already met Oriana and Rose Thorn. If none of you know Razor Wit then we have a problem."

Mason chuckled heartily, "Glad to see you still have a sense of humor after what Cutter pulled on you yesterday." His face fell, "When I get my hooves on him, why I'm gonna..."

Artex interrupted him, "Hold on a second there, sir. I've got a plan in motion already that'll guarantee he gets to fulfill his dream AND learn some discipline at the same time. Trust me," Artex said with an almost manic twinkle in his eye, "He'll never do anything like that again."

Cloudy Skies looked worried, "What do you have planned for my son?"

Artex met her eyes evenly, "He'll come to no harm, I assure you. Once it's all over, I'd be surprised if he didn't thank us. It's out of your control one way or another but, with the plan I have in mind, at least I can exercise some measure of control and look out for his best interest and the best interest of the family as well. You can either trust me, or leave his fate up to a trio of Magistrates." He scratched his chin, "I have Celestia's ear and I can do a thing or two with a bit of effort. Do you really think I would bring the brother of my future wife to harm?" He asked pointing to Razor, "She would kick my butt and she'd have help doing it."

Razor, Oriana, Rose, and Vaiawa all giggled at his statement, "Very true." Vaiawa said.

There was a very timid knock on the door. Razor turned and lit up her horn, opening the door, "What are YOU doing here?" She spat.

On the other side of the door was an eggshell colored Unicorn mare with a mane and tail which matched Razor's. She had her ears laid back and her head was held low but her eyes were looking up at Razor. Her voice was small and frail when she spoke, "Razor, please... I... don't push me away." Razor began closing the door on her face, "I know I was wrong!" Visceral Slaughter cried, "Don't shut me out! Razor please! I'm here! I want to meet them!" The door clicked shut as the older Unicorn mare tearfully pleaded to be let in. She did not pound on the door, she was not going to force her way in, she wanted to be let in.

The door clicked and opened. Visceral Slaughter looked up hopefully but Razor was facing away from her. She looked around, but she saw none of them had let her in, until she met the eyes of the disfigured Human who had his arm outstretched toward the door. The two of them kept their eyes locked on one another. It was not a battle of wills, it was not any sort of battle. Each was searching the other, learning and getting to know one another. Their eyes spoke of many things which could not be put into words. A quiet, inexplicable understanding formed between them. It did not solve all their problems magically, nor did it make peace between them. It only allowed them a certain, small comprehension of the other.

Visceral Slaughter nodded her head subtly, "T-thank you."

Artex raised his hand and the door clunked closed behind her, "I'm going to be direct. I've heard a great deal about how much you hate other species and how you've treated them in your home, even the close friends of your own family." Artex paused for a breath, "I'm not your enemy, but I can assure you with absolute certainty, if you make me your enemy, you will have a foe like no other. I am not asking for equal treatment. I am saying that it is what WILL happen. I will also tell you that no matter what you decide or how you act, I am going to marry Razor Wit. What I am offering is a chance for us to get along. Despite her anger toward you, Razor loves you dearly. This trip of ours meant so much to her she was nearly making herself sick with worry. She wanted so much for you, for the whole family to accept us." Artex held his arms open, "Well, here I am. Love me or hate me, it's up to you. I am giving you this chance, after Razor made her feelings perfectly clear. From this point on, what happens is your doing."

The older Unicorn gulped. He was not a Pony, nor was he even shaped like one. She slowly looked toward Razor Wit. Her Daughter had her head turned away, she did not even deign to look at her. Her husband and her sister/wives all regarded her, waiting to see how she would handle the situation. Visceral Slaughter swallowed loudly and forced on her best neutral face, "So," she tried to sound relaxed, "You're the stallion who stole my daughter's heart, huh?" She looked him up and down, "Well you're certainly tall enough, but do you have it where it counts, hmm?" It was a bluster that she had practiced dozens of time ever since she heard about Razor having a stallion. Granted she had never expected to be saying it to a Human, but Razor Wit was far more important to her than her own prejudices.

Artex stared back at her silently for a second before he smirked. He lifted up the sheet covering himself and looked down in the direction of his crotch, "Weeeeell... I sure hope so..."

Clean Cut interrupted, "Oh, who are you kidding? We'll be lucky if we don't hear the girls all the way from our house." Subtle chuckles made their way around the room.

Artex was satisfied with the attempt at normalcy with him, but there was a bigger secret yet to be revealed, "Well, we're missing somebody. Before we begin an evening of getting to know one another, we should know who one another really are."

The girls got the idea, "You know how most of you have had a chance to talk to us?" Rose said, "Well, not all of us are exactly what we seem."

Razor swallowed the grit in her throat and decided to include her Lamine, "Now keep in mind that you've accepted who my sister/wives are, but most of you probably don't realize... what we all are." She turned to her parents, "Lamine, Lamane, meet... Vaiawa." Razor almost smiled vindictively, 'She doesn't mean it. The second she sees Vaiawa she is going to freak out and show her true colors.'

As she spoke, green flame enveloped the identified Pegasus mare, revealing a Changeling Queen who bowed her head, "A pleasure to meet you."

Mason's eyebrows rose almost off his face. Visceral Slaughter's eyes bulged so large, Razor thought they might pop out of her head. The older Unicorn mare turned a significantly lighter shade as she stared at Vaiawa. Her eyes twitched, her legs shook, and her mouth felt dry. She stared at the towering Changeling, physically shaking as she stared. She opened her mouth then coughed and closed it. She cleared her throat and raised her head, even if her ears were flat against her head, "W-w-well... I n-n-n-n-n-never thought I would meet a m-m-m-m-m-m-mare who is t-taller than m-my own husband." She gave an extremely strained, lopsided smile that twitched with uncertainty, "H-how is he s-supposed to m-mount YOU? W-with a s-step ladder?"

Polite chuckles flitted around the room. Even Razor had to acknowledge, albeit grudgingly, that her Lamine was obviously trying, 'Keep it up and I just might forgive you... someday.'

Author's Notes:

As always, let me know if you spot any typos.