It was finally finished. I had a place to call my very own. I stood on my front lawn and just marveled at how wondrous it felt to be looking at my new home. My friends and two girlfriends were standing there with me. It was only right, after all. Without them, this never would’ve come to pass.

That sentiment went double for Twilight. Not only did she basically finance the thing by giving me a job, but she also put her bottomless reservoir of knowledge to use in securing me the best possible loans and repayment plans for the property the house was built on.

Of course, Pinkie being Pinkie, insisted that there be a housewarming party, hence why everyone was there. Me being an overly emotional dumbass was why everyone was still on the lawn. Getting your own place was a landmark in anyone’s life, but for me that goal had seemed so ephemeral and unobtainable, and now here I was, with keys in hand and staring down the reality of home ownership.

“I remember being the same way when I first purchased my boutique,” Rarity said in a stage whisper with an impish grin on her face. I, very maturely, favored her with a raspberry. But her prodding had the intended effect. I unlocked the front door and entered my house for the first time after its completion.

Pinkie had already set up the food and drinks so the only thing to do was explore and mingle. I know I keep harping on it, but it was still unreal to me that this was happening. The house was huge. When I had made the floor plans, I had already been intending to ask out Luna and Fluttershy, so I had made it with plenty of room to grow. As the eldest of 7 siblings in a family that moved constantly, I had lived in one too many houses that had far too little space to accommodate all of us.

I might have overcompensated somewhat, but that all depended on how the future panned out and in my mind it was better to have too much space than too little. Especially when it came to bathrooms and the kitchen. One bathroom between seven kids is nowhere near enough and my old man was insane for thinking otherwise.

As for the kitchen, mealtime between 9 people in a very confined space is going to lead to spills and fights and generally bad juju. It also leads to fights over table spots, but that’s a consideration for down the road.

As for the house itself, I don’t think it was anything special in terms of construction. It was just a very big house not unlike what one might find on Earth. It had 2 stories and a basement. Some floors were wood, some were tiles, and some were carpet. In some respects, that might make me an outlier among the others. Pinkie lives in a gingerbread house bakery, Twilight lives in a crystal tree palace, etc and so forth. Still, I couldn’t help but already love it.

Eventually the housewarming party was over and the resulting gifts had been opened and put away. Now it was just me, my girlfriends, and Thistle. We were all sitting on a rather comfortable couch with Luna and Fluttershy on either side of me and Thistle next to Fluttershy.

If there was a greater contentment than this, I could not fathom it. Two women I loved dearly and another I had also grown to care deeply about sitting next to me… May I never stop being grateful for them and the life I live.

I got my CPAP machine a few days ago, which is great. What's less great is the doctor in charge of my case has decided he's going on vacation until mid-June. So hopefully I can find a decent temp to adjust my pressures and get me a mask that fits. They started me off on a nose-pillow type mask, but even the super wide size still pinches my nose and I sometimes open my mouth in my sleep, which sends pressurized air through my nose and out of my mouth, which needless to say wakes me right up.

So I'm going to be asking for a full face mask. Hopefully it won't take too long to arrive.