Vaiawa was not accustomed to carrying unresponsive, full grown Unicorns around in her magic, but she did so without complaint. They decided to forego walking through the town and instead walked around it to their home. Artex groaned when he saw the state of the lawn, "Ugh, even from this far away the grass looks as tall as me. I forgot that you Kavim haven't invented lawnmowers yet." He ran both hands down his face, "Oi, how am I supposed to clean this up?"

Rose Thorn nudged her right shoulder into Artex' left thigh, "Don't be such a baby. You have your khopesh right?" She could not help but to laugh at his expression, "Oh relax, we have lawnmowers, just not ones that you're familiar with," she cut him off as he opened his mouth, "And 'NO' I do not mean to throw a lawn party and have the guests eat the grass!"

Artex snapped his fingers in seeming disappointment, "Foiled again. Darn you Ponies you drive me to use classical figures of speech."

The mares laughed, except for Razor Wit who was still in shock. Oriana was the first to spot the new construction beside the house, "Did you ask for a detached workshop Artex? That building is nearly the size of our house... and... is it made of stone?"

Artex followed where the Zebra mare was looking and shook his head, "I know what that is." He absently reached his right hand up and scratched Suey behind her ears. She was always there next to him, "That's Suey's house. Here soon, she'll be too big to fit into the main house, so I paid a bit extra on the side to have that built for her. The second story is capable of housing extra supplies, and the basement, which is VERY well reinforced I might add, is also a large root cellar."

The line where New Humansville ended and their property began was clearly defined by the white picket fence that stood as high as Artex' waist, "Looks like they kept the grass cut around out property, but left the upkeep for me... thanks guys." He said with a dry chuckle.

The grass was so tall that Oriana and Rose both disappeared once they walked into it. Artex led the way to the front door and unlocked it. He pushed the door open and ushered the girls in, once he found them in the grass. He closed the door once Vaiawa and Razor were inside, "And now we can finally get started on our own lives."

* * *

Traditionally the stallion was the only one who was to sleep in the master bedroom every night. The mares would each take turns spending the night with him so that all had a fair share. That old notion did not please Artex in the least. When they had originally drawn up the plans for the house, Razor Wit and Oriana had expected him to keep to the social norm and keep the master bedroom for himself. With Artex, they hit a brick wall. He adamantly refused to be the only one to sleep in the master bedroom every night. He had expressed in no small, uncertain terms that he would sleep with all his wives every night and that the only time he would be alone with one particular wife was when they were making love. He, Razor Wit, and Oriana had all paid extra for a colossal bed to be made that would sleep more than two Ponies.

The bed was two and a half Fathoms long and wide with an equally large canopy above it. The frame was made of polished black oak and held together with thick bolts, Artex had been insistent that the frame had to be sturdy and solid but could also be broken down and moved if necessary. As such, the bed itself was a masterpiece of comfort and style. Carefully carved vines snaked up each of the canopy posts and budding flowers adorned the headboard. The wood of the foot of the bed was likewise carved with blooming flowers and the entire frame was lacquered to a shining finish.

The home still had rooms for each of the mares, but those rooms were work rooms for their individual projects, hobbies, and interests. Artex had accepted the large family study for his own workroom, but he also insisted that there be no door to the room since it was meant for everybody to use. All the adult bedrooms were on the ground floor and there were a series of other bedrooms on the second floor. They had agreed that a minimum of five small bedrooms for foals would be on the second floor with three extra bedrooms for guests. Each of the four full bathrooms was large enough for two Ponies to occupy. Hopefully there would be very little to no need for anybody to practice the 'pee-pee' dance in the house.

The herd had congregated in the master bedroom to put their things away before deciding what to do next. Vaiawa had taken the time to cast what she called a 'clean' spell on the master bedroom so there would be no dust to deal with. The entire herd sat on the humongous bed resting and discussing the way that life would go, now that they had time to live it.

"I think we should discuss who gets married first." Rose said bluntly. She was lying on her back, exposing her belly and teats openly in what would be considered an extremely provocative pose in any circumstance. Needless to say, Artex was not complaining about the view.

Oriana nodded from her position, lying near the foot of the bed, "I agree. We need to schedule these things. Every mare deserves her special day and not all of us are in a position to be married right away."

Vaiawa cocked her head from her position laying up against the headboard, "Forgive me for being ignorant, but what is stopping any of you? You are all mares of consenting age, are you not?"

Razor Wit blinked in confusion, "I forget, do Changelings have weddings? I know that you tend to marry eventually, but I don't know the specifics."

Vaiawa nodded politely, "We do, but from what I have seen our commitment ceremonies are nothing like your weddings." She turned to her boyfriend, "And it occurs to me that you have never discussed what traditions Humans have for their own weddings."

Artex, who was lying down with his head on Vaiawa's back, merely shrugged, "I suppose it never really came up. Weddings are things that you just assume are the same, although in retrospect I should not have assumed that, seeing as our cultures are so different in nearly every other way."

Razor's ears wilted, "I'm sorry Artex. I forgot about that."

Artex waved his hands at her, "Don't worry about it hon. We have time to discuss it now, don't we?"

Oriana nodded, "We do, and I believe it is time to do so."

"So, do the different tribes of Kavim have different traditions?" Artex asked.

Oriana cleared her throat, "How about we decide who gets married first, then we discuss traditions. Otherwise it may end up being too confusing. Let's handle one at a time for simplicity sake."

Razor Wit nodded, "That's a good idea. There aren't many, if any, herds like ours."

Rose just wiggled around on her back, "Fine with me."

"That sounds logical enough." Vaiawa said.

"I can roll with that." Artex said. The mares all looked at him oddly and he ammended, "Human figure of speech. It's a very casual way of saying that I am willing to go along with the idea."

Vaiawa began, "I believe the most obvious choice would be Razor Wit. She is the First Mare and tradition states that normally it is the First Couple who wed before the others."

"But Oriana's family has already given their approval and we haven't even met Razor's family yet." Rose stated.

Oriana shook her head, "Even if we sent the invitations now, it would take weeks if not months before we could organize the wedding. My family is very prominent in Zebra politics. They would need to clear their schedules and manage to get here to help plan it. I doubt that we could be wed by summer unless we found a way to 'pull some strings' as Artex would say." Oriana cocked her head to the left and pushed her ears forward, "What about you Rose? You said that your brother was working as a construction worker here in New Humansville. What about the rest of your family?"

Rose frowned, "My Lamine and Lamane and my Unicorn Petamine all passed away when I was little. My remaining Petamines are all Pegasi and live in Cloudsdale with my Vindamines who are also all Pegasi. My Uldimane is my twin and we're the only two Earth Ponies. I haven't had any contact with my Petamines or Vindamines since they moved to Cloudsdale. We just kind of drifted apart after my Unicorn Petamine passed away. She was the one who held us all together. Without her we never felt much like a family again. Really the only one who would probably be interested that I'm in a herd would be my brother, Straight Edge. I could get married today and I doubt any of them would make a fuss."

Razor Wit lowered her head in contemplation, "Hmm..." she looked up at her fiance, "Artex, do you have a ring for Rose yet?"

Artex crossed his arms and turned his head away with his eyes closed, "I refuse to answer that. I'll propose to Rose when I'm ready and I want it to be romantic. The same applies to Vaiawa and whomever the last mare happens to be."

Razor Wit looked to Rose. Rose nodded, "Yeah, I'm in no hurry. I've got more than a hundred years left before I even begin to feel old and I only want to be married once. Romance is worth waiting for as long as it's memorable."

Razor finally turned her attention to her fiance, "What about you Artex. Who would you want to marry first?"

Artex pointed to the tan Unicorn, "You. You were the first one I fell in love with and you were my friend long before I even thought of romance with anybody other than a Human. Besides, the only other mare who even could get married soon is Oriana and she already said that it will take months before we can even begin planning." He turned to Oriana, "Feel free to send those letters as soon as Razor and I start planning."

Razor smiled warmly at her future husband, "Sounds like a plan. I'll send a telegraph to my family when we go into town next. When should I say we'll be there?"

Artex smiled as he reached his left hand over and held Razor's right fore hoof, "Is a week alright?" He asked.

Suey, who had been lying on the floor next to the bed, raised her head and snorted. Artex chuckled, "I'm not sure we could bring you on a train Suey. Besides, where would you stay while we're there?" Suey lowered her head with a sad grunt and Artex rolled his eyes, "I'll find somebody for you to stay with while we're gone. Would that be better?'

Suey raised her head again and snorted while her little piggy face broke out into a beady-eyed grin.

Author's Notes:

I hope there are few typos in here. I have had trouble getting in touch with my editor these last couple of days. Also, many of you have expressed that you do not receive notices when the stories update. One reader suggested that hitting the Follow button may help.