Razor Wit saw the Humans ready to step through the portal. Oriana and Tip were with her while Rose was on duty with the C.W.G. Razor looked from person to person, piecing together who was who from her husband's descriptions. Thanks to Chris, word had reached them that a number of Artex' and Chris' family were immigrating to New Humansville. Razor and the other mares had all quickly agreed to house as many of Artex' family as they could. After all, if these Humans were Artex' family, they were the family of the mares too, by marriage if nothing else.
Chris walked up to them, "Hey girls. I can house my family when they come through. There's plenty of room in the Palace. If you need help finding places for everyone from Dan's family, just let me know. The Palace has more rooms than we know what to do with."
Razor spoke first, "We appreciate the offer, Chris. But we want to be as welcoming as possible."
Oriana pointed toward the portal, "Look, something is happening."
Everyone's eyes went to the portal as John led his son by the hand through the portal and onto a different planet. Chris took his leave and approached his brother and nephew. John set down his bag then released his son's hand and he and Chris exchanged the most odd and outlandish hug anyone had ever seen.
Chris spread his arms wide and waddled up to John as if he were morbidly obese calling, 'Jaewn', in his best mentally challenged voice and while wearing a ridiculously silly and vacant expression. John did the same thing and the two brothers met in a hug, both still waddling while they hugged in a most silly fashion and with their arms flailing and patting each other on the back and head alternately while laughing like they had both taken the gold medal in the Special Olympics.
Razor, Oriana, and Tip all observed the reunion with blank expressions, not sure what to think of the outlandish display of dubious affection. Shortly thereafter, Chris picked up his nephew and settled the boy on his shoulders. John's wife, Chrissy stepped through the portal pulling their daughter with her. John, being a gentleman, took his wife's bag and brought it over to Chris.
As Razor and the others watched, Razor recognized Brian P. from her husband's description of him. She rose to her hooves and approached him, the other mares following. She stopped in front of the tall, bespectacled man, "You must be Brian."
Brian adjusted his glasses and peered at the Unicorn who had just addressed him in fluent American English, "And you must be Dan's... mate?" He immediately sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "My apologies. That sounded a lot worse than I meant. I'm better with numbers and physics."
Razor smiled up at the awkward man, "It's okay. You have an entirely new world to adjust to. We're willing forgive a few social oopses while you transition. It would help no one if we verbally crucified you every time you spoke or acted in error."
Brian chuckled dryly, "Yep, you and Dan are perfect for each other. He uses too many words too."
Brian Felker and his wife and their three children then carefully stepped through the portal. The little girl, Zoe, saw Razor Wit and broke away from her Mother, crying 'horsey' all the way as she dashed toward the tan mare with open arms. Razor took the impact from the little girl and wrapped her left forehoof around the child, "Heh, close enough, little one."
Cheryl opened her mouth to reprimand her daughter, but upon seeing the pregnant tan mare, she recognized the description from her brother and instead turned around to accept bags and other articles as they came through. She trusted her brother's judgement enough to let her highly unusual sister in law watch her daughter for a few moments. Besides, she had her psychology books in one of the bags.
Razor Wit saw a Human woman hug Artex then kiss him fully on the lips. She turned to Oriana, "Is that... could she be Artex' former wife?"
Since their eyesight was not as keen as that of Humans, Oriana stepped closer to Razor and squinted at the portal, "The description fits and I don't ever remember Artex ever kissing females like that normally. It has to be her."
Razor groaned quietly, "There isn't any way for this not to be awkward, is there?" She asked softly as her head sank slightly toward the ground.
Oriana shook her head, "I don't think so."
The woman stepped through the portal. Razor swallowed and stepped up to her, "You must be Danielle. Artex has told us a lot about you. You're welcome to stay with us. We have plenty of room." She smiled as earnestly as she could manage. Razor's welcome was met with only awkward silence as the woman stared at her in near disbelief. Razor swallowed nervously then added, "Would you like me to take your bag?"
Danielle was completely unsure of how to respond at first. The situation was as awkward as she could have ever imagined and more so beyond even that, 'How am I supposed to act here? This is the... female who married my husband...' her eyes gravitated to Razor's swollen belly, 'And she's carrying...' the woman's breath came out as a frustrated huff. Razor Wit had achieved the dream that Danielle had been hoping for, for years. She was married to the man she loved and she was pregnant with his child. To Danielle's eyes, Razor had taken everything in life the woman wanted for herself.
Lacking a better, more elegant response, Danielle settled for simple compliance, "Uh, thanks. How far is your house?" He shuffled her feelings to the back of her mind to be dealt with later.
Razor levitated the bag with her magic, "It's outside of town, but not too far. Suey should be here with the wagon in a minute or two."
Danielle then turned and walked back to the portal after Artex' parents came through the portal. She reached out and began working with Brian P., Brian F., John, and Cheryl in stacking bags and suitcases in a neat pile separated by family. Razor watched the industrious Humans work, still amazed at how quick they were to get going on anything which would have taken Ponies at least a few minutes to organize.
Danielle was confused. On one hand, she had the chance to get her husband back, provided she was willing to share him with other females; a difficulty which sounded simple to say but was looking to be much more difficult to actually do. On the other hand, it was all but impossible not to be bitter or jealous or both at the tan mare. An alien creature, or several to be precise, had captured the heart of her husband, and while she understood the situation was unusual, she could not help but to feel as if her husband had been stolen by something else. She had little enough experience with Kavim that she still could not easily consider them people yet.
The rattle of a wooden cart and the sound of heavy hooves on cobblestone behind everyone signaled the arrival of Suey and the promised cart. Suey stopped directly behind Razor and leaned down her massive head, "There are more Humans than I was expecting." Her large nose twitched as she took in the new and different scents, "Many of these Humans smell like Father. Are they his family?" She asked in her deep feminine voice.
Razor gestured to Danielle, "We're pretty sure that one is Artex' first wife." She then lowered her head toward Zoe, who was still clinging onto her, "And this is his Sister's Daughter, I think."
Suey eyed the tyke briefly before she looked up and swept her eyes from person to person. The Humans finished moving the bags through the portal and Suey decided it would be a good time to make herself useful. She turned around carefully on the road and slowly backed up the cart until it was only a few feet from the pile of belongings.
Don, Brian P., and Brian F. all stopped and stared at the monstrously large swine before Brian F. spoke, "Uh, does anyone know who this cart belongs to?"
Razor walked up, careful not to jostle Zoe off her foreleg, "The cart is going to our house. Any who are relatives of Artex are welcome to stay with us until you get back up on your feet."
Brian P. caught on, "Every time they say Artex, they mean Dan. Come on, load up your stuff." Brian F., his wife, and their two boys, Caleb and Jace, all began loading their belongings onto the cart.
Chris took the easy way out. He waved his hand and opened a portal which led to the Palace then helped his brother, sister in-law, their children and Chrissy's mother through. After his brother's family were through, Chris opened a portal and pulled their bags along too, then closed the portals and they were gone.
Christine, Don, Brian P., Danielle, Brian F., Cheryl, and the kids all just stared with open mouths at the scene. Don then said, "That... looks useful."
Razor giggled demurely, "Magic can be very useful, but we often have to be mindful that we don't become lazy from using it too much."
"Will we be able to do the same thing?" Brian F. asked.
Razor shook her head, "Probably not. Chris has a very unusual magical set. I'm sure all of you will have your own specialties. It just takes time for you to develop your screfulas. After that you'll be able to use magic whenever you want, well, after some training to make sure you know how to use it safely." She looked at the cart, "Is everyone ready to go?"
Cheryl held up her hand, "Introductions first," she pointed to herself, "I'm Cheryl," she then pointed to each of her children, "This is Caleb, Jace, and the one playing octopus on your leg is Zoe. Brian is my husband." She finished gesturing to the man.
"I'm Brian as well. To keep us separate, call me Brian P. and call him Brian F." He said.
"And I'm Danielle." The woman said abruptly.
"Christine and Donald Pering. We're Dan...erm, Artex' parents." Chris said.
Razor nodded smiling widely, "It's so nice to meet you all. Artex has told us so much about you." She gestured to the other mares, "This is Oriana and Feather Tip. Rose Thorn is at work, so you'll see her later tonight. I'm Razor Wit." She then gestured to the Great Pig hitched up to the cart, "And this is Suey." In response, Suey snorted loudly then spoke up, "It is good to meet all of you. Father has spoken of you a great deal."
The Humans all froze as the monstrously large porcine spoke fluently in American English. With Razor as a mother figure and the one to help her learn how to speak, of course Suey would be multilingual.
Razor spoke up again, "Suey and I are fluent in American English. Oriana and Rose are almost completely fluent. Tip over here doesn't speak any at all. If you need anything, feel free to ask and we'll be more than willing to help. If you're out and about in town, many Ponies and Changelings speak English too. There are going to be many, many things you'll need to adjust to. If you feel overwhelmed, take a break and calm down. Don't overload yourself. It is going to take some time for you to acclimate to the way things work here, but we all want to help make the transition as smooth as possible."
Mayor De La Cruz walked up, "The transition is not over yet. We still need to register all of you as citizens of New Humansville. Thankfully, it's not a lengthy process. We can get it done now if you want, or we can come by where you're staying tomorrow morning and get it taken care of then."
Razor Wit spoke for the family, "I think it would be best for us to get it done tomorrow."
Mayor De La Cruz smiled softly, "Of course. I'll come by tomorrow morning with a record keeper." She then turned and departed. The newly arrived Humans unfortunately could not understand a single word that the Mayor said. She spoke only in Velensovth.
Razor Wit motioned with her head, "The house is this way. Come on."
Cheryl quickly darted up and grabbed little Zoe away from Razor's leg as they all began walking, "I'm sorry about that. I hope she didn't hurt you. By the way, who was that?"
Razor shook her head as they all walked, "That was the Mayor. She was speaking in our native language, Velensovth. She was talking about registering all of you as citizens. In regard to your daughter, I could have walked with her there for hours. Even the weakest Unicorn is many times stronger than a Human. She was no problem at all."
Cheryl was taken aback, "Many times stronger? What do you mean?"
Razor spotted a potential pitfall immediately and began to clarify, "Humans are weaker, but far more flexible. We Kavim are faster, but Humans have endurance that far outclasses us in every way. It balances out. Honestly it seems like our two species were specifically made to compliment each other. It may be difficult to see now, but our two species are much more alike than I would have ever imagined before I met any Humans."
"So much alike that we can interbreed?" Brian P. asked bluntly.
Razor took a quiet breath to steady her nerves, "Not normally. Natively, the genetic differences between Human and Kavim are far too different for us to ever hope of having foals. With a blood transfusion of the right kind, a Human body can take on many of the properties of a Kavim. The changes afterward are what allow a Human and a Kavim to have foals. The Humans becomes a Kavim on the inside."
"What would happen if a Pony received a transfusion from a Human?" Christine asked.
Razor shrugged, "I have no idea. I suppose someday some brave soul will find out, probably by accident."
Don suddenly spoke up, "Uh, it isn't going to be a problem that we all own guns, is it?"
Razor shook her head, "Not at all. All citizens are allowed to carry weapons if they so chose. Now, misuse or careless storage of weapons around children or foals is a big deal and will get you a hefty fine. Most use melee weapons though."
"Enough about that. I don't want to think about it right now," Brian F. said, "What kind of schooling goes on here?"
"Well we have our school buildings, one for each year of student: first year through eighth year. The classes become steadily more advanced the higher year you attend. At the end of year eight, you have the option to continue your education at a University or to enter the work force in your field. Now for us Kavim, it is pretty easy." She gestured to her haunch, "Our Cutie Marks help to guide us toward the field we are most suited for. The marks do not force anyone into a specific field, however they tend to be a good indicator as to which field we would find the most satisfying and challenging. Humans, as you well know, do not get Cutie Marks, so none of you will have to worry about that."
"Back to the education programs we have: our most important courses of focus are Math, Social Studies, Language, and Science. From those four, come all other fields of work. Students do have to pass basic courses in all four subjects in order to graduate and move on to the next year level. The names of the year levels are misleading. It more refers to the difficulty of the four core subjects. Any potential employee who never graduated is going to be looked upon poorly, so education is very important. I am preparing to teach a Language course myself." Razor beamed proudly, "I can speak literally every language commonly spoken on the planet... well except one. The Red Changelings speak some form of Latin and there are no books about it anywhere."
A deep rhythmic beating sounded from overhead somewhere out of sight, Caleb shielded his eyes, looking around, "Is that a helicopter?"
A gaggle of Kavim foals and Changeling foals darted across the street, all giggling and yelling as they made their way toward the schoolhouse playground. The Humans observed the young as they played, but a huge dark shape overhead caught their attention. The collected Humans all gasped loudly and Cheryl and Brian F. both clutched their children when they saw the huge black shape buzz by above them. The shape stopped and began to descend toward the ground. The Humans all began to move away, but a wave from Razor stopped them. She motioned toward the shape and smiled, "He's friendly, don't worry. Here, watch." She quickly pointed toward the colossal Changeling as he settled down next to the playground and extended his left battle arm. Amber Eyes slid down his limb, giggling the whole time.
Caleb's eyes were huge, "Coooool!" Almost any boy of 14 would think it was neat.
Cheryl placed a sturdy hand on his shoulder, "Cool from a distance for now. Let's wait until we know everyone a bit more before we go asking... him for a ride."
Razor cleared her throat and yelled, "Sorry for staring, Rifin. We have some people who just moved here from the Human home world and they haven't seen a Changeling like you before."
Rifin turned his head and regarded the Humans evenly, "Nobody had seen a Changeling like me before." He raised his eyebrow ridge, turning to the Humans and seeing their expressions, "Do you fear me?
Brian P. responded, "Should we?"
Rifin tilted his head, "I would recommend caution if I am cutting down trees, otherwise no. Now I have foals to monitor." So spoken, he turned his attention back to the giggling, laughing, playing young.
The Humans did not know how to take what he said and all simply walked away, puzzled. Sensing the confusion, Oriana took the chance to speak to them, "It is startling at first for us, so I cannot imagine how it must feel to you. Rifin comes from a different culture and New Humansville is a cultural mixed bag so it is best to take everyone at face value. Assume everyone is being honest and open." She pointed to Rifin with her muzzle, "Like Rifin. He meant what he said. He really is not dangerous."
Brian F. spoke next, "I apologize, but I'm confused about your connection to Razor and Dan."
Oriana snorted in dismay, "If he has not mentioned anything, it would probably be best if we waited for him to approach the subject."
Danielle slowly inched her way over to the Zebra mare, "You're the second wife, aren't you." She said softly. It was not a question.
Oriana kept her posture as she replied, "I didn't want to upset you. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. He told me, but the rest of the family will take some time to understand. I don't fully understand it myself but... I'll adjust, I suppose. Just don't expect us to be best friends right away. You have no idea how difficult this is going to be for me."
Oriana huffed quietly, "That's fine. It is not easy for us either. Let me be clear. Razor is very dear to me, like a sister who is also a wife to our husband. She is a very kind mare with an incredibly warm heart. I don't expect everything to go smoothly at first, but if you need us, please let us know and we will help in any way we can. I want you to think of us as family. In our eyes all of you are family."
Danielle kept her expression neutral, "I'll try, but you all need to be patient with me too. I'm trying to adjust to a hell of a lot right now."
Razor kept talking while Oriana and Danielle were making their necessary arrangements, "We're almost there." She pointed ahead with her horn, "That's our home."
Brian P. was the first to comment, "It's huge! Has to be at least 4,800 square feet."
Razor turned her head she she continued trotting, "We don't use feet, yards, miles, meters, or kilometers. Our measures of distance are different as are our measures of volume, and weight. For some reason our measures for time are exactly the same though. Our year consists of ten months with thirty-six or thirty-seven days per month. Our months are different but the days of our weeks are, remarkably, the same as yours. Our seasons are the same core four, but the way we bring them about is vastly different from your own."
Brian F. weighed in, "How so?"
Razor tried not to smile as she explained, "Our Pegasi control and change the weather. They manipulate clouds and control wind, rain, shade from clouds, and bring the snow when it is time. Unlike you, we do not have a weather forecast, we have a weather schedule." She then smirked and looked upward, "Take a look for yourself."
The Humans all stopped and looked up. Pegasi were flying around overhead pushing clouds to and fro all over the sky. As they watched, a trio of the winged Kavim pushed a cloud directly above them and waved as they flew off. The Humans dumbly waved back almost mesmerized by the sight.
Their attention was pulled back by Suey clearing her throat, "Ahem, we should continue to the house." Cheryl looked back at the Great Pig with curiosity, "So what was your name again?"
"Suey." she replied, "Father has an odd sense of humor."
Christine spoke up with a worried look, "You called him 'Father' before..."
"He raised me. He and Razor are the two I consider to be my parents, though as you would imagine, I am no blood relation to either one of them. As the saying goes, 'the blood of brotherhood is thicker than the water of the womb' and I believe that can extend far past mere brotherhood. Adoptive parents don't love their children any less than blood parents and the same is true here."
"So... what kind of pig are you?" Cheryl asked.
"I'm what is known as a Great Pig. Father has referred to me as a Dire Boar several times. I believe there is a type similar to me on your home world?"
Brian P. spoke up, "Not in real life, but in games like Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder."
Caleb and Jace began singing an odd song from The Lion King. Everyone listened as the two boys went back and forth,
"If you're looking for a hunk of fat and juicy meat,"
"Eat my buddy Suey here because she is a treat,"
"Don't you wanna dine,"
"On a tasty swine"
"All you gotta do is get in line,"
"Are ya ackin',"
"Yum, yum, yum,"
"For some bacon."
"Yum, yum, yum,"
"She's a big pig,"
"Yum, yum,"
"You can be a big pig too, oink!" After finishing, the two boys laughed heartily while the rest of the Humans rolled their eyes or chuckled good naturedly.
Suey let out a huge sigh, "More Human cultural references I don't understand."
Razor opened the door to the house as everyone began unloading their bags. After the door was wide open, she aided in levitating some of the bags off the cart and into the foyer. Once the bags were unloaded, Suey took the cart around to the back of the house to unhitch herself from it.
Inside, the Humans looked around at the surprisingly modern looking home. They had been expecting oil lamps and outhouses. What they saw was a home little different than one they would see on Earth. The differences were there, but they were not as distinct as they imagined. Everything was shorter than they expected, but nearly every modern appliance they were used to was in evidence, except one, "I don't see a microwave." Caleb said.
"We don't have any use for one." Oriana responded, "We reheat food on the range top or with magic. If you're hungry, we can make you something. It's about lunchtime anyway."
"We should figure out where our bags go first." Cheryl said, "Where will we be staying?"
Razor headed toward the kitchen to prepare food while Oriana showed the Humans up the stairs, "Pick whichever one you want. Kavim houses are made to have extra guest rooms and rooms for plenty of foals. An average house has twelve rooms with space to build more. We tend to have big families."
"Or herds." Brian P. said as the younger Humans began filling into the different rooms, leaving only the adults to talk quietly in the hallway.
Oriana stopped and looked around pensively, "Y-yes. Herds."
"All of you live here together... as a family?" Cheryl asked, "Razor mentioned there was another one, Rose I think."
Oriana nodded, "Yes, and two others besides, including Artex."
Brian F. had his eyes wide, "Not Queen Luna!"
Oriana decided to bite the proverbial bullet, "No... Vaiawa."
Donald and Christine froze in place and stared openly at the Zebra mare.
Silence reigned in the hallway for a time while the Humans absorbed the new information. Eventually Brian P. spoke up, "Herd or hive?"
Oriana's nostrils flared briefly, but she controlled her reaction, "Neither truly. We have a marriage, just like on Earth, only with more wives. I cannot imagine how unusual this must be for all of you, but I will ask you not to judge us. We love Artex and he loves us in turn. Our love is no different than your own, it simply involves more members. Herds are not a requirement by any means, but they are the norm. There are many families that have only a single husband and wife, like the rulers of the Crystal Empire. Both are Kavim, but they only have eyes for one another. Here in New Humansville families have no particular set of rules. You love whomever you love, so long as all parties are consenting adults. There is another Changeling Queen in town and she is married to our resident Human doctor. They just had twin colts, erm boys."
"We don't mean to sound judgmental or anything, it's just a lot to take in." Cheryl replied, "Polygamy is illegal in our home country and most consider it immoral. We aren't judging you, but try to see it from our point of view. We were all raised that a family is two adults and any children they have or adopt. This is a huge difference for us and it will take some time for us to adjust."
Jace piped up from behind her, "Speak for yourself, Mom." He grinned, "Now I've got a bunch of Aunts to spoil me and I get magical powers too! This is SO COOL!"
Oriana leaned her head toward Jace, "There is a lot of responsibility that goes with having magic. It's not something to play around with. It's a tool to help you and those around you." She very gently tapped his nose with the tip of her hoof, "And don't think any of us are going to spoil you. We all work hard every day to make life here better for everyone. I brew potions and salves to sell or use in an emergency. With those, I can fix teeth, dull pain, instantly cure many diseases, and do a wide myriad of other things." She raised her head back up to the shocked Humans, "Now, arrange things however you want them. We want you all to feel that this is your home as well. One of the other Kavim traditions is that family is always welcome and make no mistake, you ARE family. I know we may seem very strange to you, but I promise you, we are more alike than we are different. The biggest differences are the way we look." She gestured to the rooms with her hoof, "Please, make yourselves at home. Lunch should be ready soon."
Caleb asked, "What's for lunch?"
Oriana turned with a smirk, "Do any of you like bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches? Artex is highly fond of them."
Caleb set his bags down in the room his parents had chosen then went back to Oriana, "But I thought horses didn't eat meat."
Oriana smiled, "Well then it's a good thing we aren't horses, but you are partially right. Most of us don't eat meat. Razor can. It was a wedding gift to her from a friend. She and every foal she has can eat meat, as well as every other Kavim descended form her will be able to as well. She likes bacon quite a bit. I, myself, received the same gift from the same friend, though I prefer steaks."
"But what about Suey?" Caleb asked, "You aren't going to eat her, are you?"
Don chuckled briefly, "Good luck with that. We don't eat anything that can speak anyway."
"The animals the meat is harvested from come from Gryphonvale. Here in Equestrian lands, animals are sapient, that is not the case for Gryphonvale. Animals there are just like the ones you know from Earth. Here in New Humansville or any Equestrian lands really, animals are as likely to hold a conversation with you."
"So definitely no mousetraps." Danielle said as she approached, "Or am I wrong about that?"
"No, you have it right. Mousetraps would be murder here. Instead we would send for a specialist to ask the mice to leave or find an arrangement which was beneficial to all involved parties. For example, there are mice living in town who keep an eye out for things. Most inspectors cannot get into the small spaces of a home's foundation, but mice can. They can let tenants know before there is a serious problem. Foundation cracks, leaking pipes, problems with a house's power crystals, mice can monitor all of that for the simple price of crumbs and an occasional piece of cake. They are nowhere as dirty and diseased as mice you all know. They keep themselves clean and don't pee and poo everywhere, nor do they chew holes in everything."
Razor yelled from the bottom of the stairs, "Lunch is ready."
As Oriana and the Humans descended the stairs, Christine had another question, "What about spiders and insects? Are they sapient too?"
Oriana tilted her head from side to side, "Some that live close to us, yes. Most others, no. We have a large family of jumping spiders who live here and keep fly populations down. Even before Artex knew they were sapient he had a rule..."
"Not to kill any spiders, just put them outside." Danielle finished for the Zebra mare, "He had the same rule in our apartment too. Even on Earth, spiders are good to have around and most aren't venomous anyway."
They arrived in the kitchen and saw that the table had been set with a place for each of them. Razor stood slightly away from the table loaded with B.L.T.s and gestured toward it, "Take any spot you want. I'm afraid Tip won't be joining us. The smell of any kind of meat makes her queasy and her sense of smell is much better than ours since she's blind."
Brian F. spoke as he sat down, "I wouldn't have guessed she was blind at all. She didn't seem to have any trouble getting around."
Brian P. held up his hand, "Wait a second. We're still thinking like this is Earth." He looked toward Razor, "Pegasi don't have horns, but Dan said that everyone has magic. The Pegasi we saw earlier were using their magic to fly. They had to have been. Their wings would be too small to support them otherwise. So if they have magic linked to the air... she was using her magic to... see air currents, right!?"
Razor's eyebrows rose, "Very perceptive. You are absolutely correct."
Brian P. pumped his right hand into the air, "Yes! I think I'm starting to get the hang of this."
Oriana giggled behind her hoof, "There is much more to understand, but you got that one spot-on."
Razor spoke up, "How are the sandwiches?" She asked looking around the table, "I didn't know if any of you wanted something else so I just went with something easy. What do you all want to drink?"
Don turned his head and asked, "What do you have?"
"We have water, milk, juice, coffee, and several flavors of tea. We do have alcohol, if you prefer, for the adults only, of course." Razor replied.
Jace put on a pouty face, "No soda?"
Razor shook her head, "None, I'm sorry."
Brian F. waved her concern away, "Don't be sorry. Soda is best only in small quantities. The children will have juice and I would like some iced tea." He looked to his wife, "What about you, dear?"
"Iced tea please, no sugar." Cheryl replied.
"Ditto." Brian P. said.
"Water with lemon, if you have lemons. Otherwise just water is fine." Danielle said.
"Unsweetened tea for us as well." Christine said. Her husband, Don, was busy demolishing his BLT.
Razor levitated glasses and the appropriate drinks to each person at the table. While Razor served the Humans, Brian F. spoke up, "Okay I have to ask, how is it so comfortable in the house? The weather outside is nowhere near this temperature and I haven't heard an air conditioner running. Does it have something to do with the House Power Crystals that Oriana mentioned earlier?"
"That's right," Razor said, "The House Power Crystals maintain the internal temperature of the house and provide power to the light fixtures and various appliances. Easy rule is if you see a crystal inside a house, don't touch it. Power Crystals are integrated into the house and are not easy to access, but better safe than sorry. If a House Power Crystal is tampered with or handled improperly, the results can be... permanent, if you take my meaning."
"It's a good idea to remember things like that. If baby Kavim are anything like our babies, they get into everything." Cheryl said.
"Foals, and yes they do." Razor corrected politely.
"What kinds of video games do you have here?" Caleb asked.
"We don't have any in the house, but there are a few that exist in other towns. We haven't opened an arcade here in New Humansville, but there are plenty of other fun things to do. Besides, you're going to be busy learning, once your family decides where they want to live."
Brian F. turned toward Razor again, "What do you mean? I thought we had to live here."
"Oh no, Humans are allowed to live in any area they want. Humans live with other species all over the world. Some live underground with the Diamond Dogs, some live with the Gryphons, some with the Crystal Kavim... you can find Humans in every nation and region, even the Dragon Lands. Granted the Humans tend to congregate in the capital cities of the different kingdoms in which they reside, but here the Humans live in New Humansville. Artex was very happy in Ponyville for over a year. He was even adopted by a family of local farmers. That's where he received his blood transfusion due to an accident."
"Dan told us about that." Brian P. looked unhappy, "Despite popular myth, wolves don't usually attack people."
Razor shook her head, "Not regular wolves, Timberwolves. Imagine a wolf twice the size and mass of one of us, except made out of branches and thorns. They are animated by wild magic in the Everfree Forest and often attack those who enter it. Ponyville was built right up on the edge of the Everfree. He was staying with his adopted family at the time: the Apple Family."
"Are the Apple family Pegasuses or Unicorns?" Jace asked.
"The word is Pegasi, and neither one. They are Earth Ponies. They don't have horns or wings, but they are incredibly strong and tough and they have a connection to the soil, hence the name: Earth Ponies. They work with earth, or dirt, if you prefer. Don't call them 'dirt Ponies' or 'mud Ponies' though, it's considered a very serious insult. Earth Ponies make the best farmers and tend to be the hardest workers because of their strength and their connection to the soil."
By that point, the Humans were finished eating, so Razor collected the plates and began washing them. Oriana took over talking to the Humans for her, "So what would all of you like to do now?" She asked.
She was interrupted by the sound of the front door closing, "I'm home!" A female voice called. The Humans could not understand her words for she spoke in Velensovth. Moments later a sturdy looking Kavim covered in some strange sort of armor strode into the kitchen and stopped as soon as she saw the Humans, "Oh! I didn't know we had guests."
"Artex' family from Earth." Razor explained, "They don't speak Velensovth yet. Do you think you know enough American English to talk to them?"
"I'll try." Rose said. She removed her helmet and shook out her mane, "Hello, I'm Rose Thorn." She managed to say somewhat slowly.
Razor spoke over her shoulder to the Humans, "This is Rose. Her English is not as fluent as mine. She works with the Community Welfare Guardians, our version of emergency service personnel. They enforce laws, perform first aid, fight fires, and are first responders to any and all emergencies."
"Soooo, they're Police, Firemen, and E.M.S. all at once?" Donald asked. At Razor's confirmatory nod, he whistled, "Wow, talk about a crazy skill set."
"Uhh... is that a gun on her leg?" Brian F. asked.
Oriana decided to field that question, "Yes it is. Most members of the C.W.G. are not allowed to bring their weapons home, but Rose is one of the most trusted members. You do not need to worry. She has a safe place to put it. Trust me, there is literally no way to open the safe unless you are her. Rose is one of the few who has seen combat... and everything that comes with it. She respects what her weapon can do and she does not play around with it. She does not even let Artex touch it unless she is there with him."
Don laced his fingers together, "Darn right. Guns are not toys. I had a relative who became too complacent around his rifle and accidentally killed himself while cleaning it. Always assume..."
"That a gun is loaded and never point it at a person." Rose finished with a grin, "Artex drilled that into me for weeks once he heard I had a gun. I did not have the heart to tell him we had already learned about gun safety for three days before we even touched one."
"I have to ask, what would you do if someone broke in and attacked you?" Cheryl queried.
Razor smiled as she turned around, "I could immobilize someone with magic, Oriana could throw a potion of adhesion onto them and glue them to the nearest surface, and Rose could launch them into a low orbit with a single kick." Razor's smile turned almost devious, "And that's if they are lucky enough to get past Suey. Most would never even try to contend with a Great Pig. We could hardly be more safe."
"Still best to be as safe as possible." Christine said, "So hunting is a definite no-go? Don and I used to hunt rabbits all the time."
Rose raised her head, "Big no, unless you went to Gryphonvale. We could arrange that if you want."
Don waved his hands, "No thanks. We have many more important things to do." He stood up and brought his plate to the sink, "I want to go register so we can get that out of the way. Could somebody guide us there?"
Rose raised her left forehoof, "I can. Let me change and I will take you there."
* * *
Rose took Don and Christine to register while Razor Wit escorted Cheryl, Danielle, Brian F., and Brian P. around town to get more acquainted. Oriana stayed behind and worked on her potions and elixirs.
"Over here is the hospital. Doctor Jewel is in charge of overseeing everything, though we have many specialists who work there as well." Razor explained.
Danielle suddenly spoke up, "Is there a cure for mental diseases?"
Razor stopped and turned around, "I'm afraid not. We have ways of making certain disorders more manageable, but there are no simple cures for disorders of the mind. It is simply too complex a thing for easy fixes. We can cure many, many diseases of the body, but most of those of the mind are beyond us. Cancer can be cured in a matter of hours, blood diseases can be cured in a similar time frame. I'm sorry."
Danielle waved her off, "No, it's fine. I've dealt with this for years and I'll keep doing it."
Razor felt bad for having to give the woman such news, but she could not think of anything else to say. She continued trotting, "Over there is the C.W.G. Headquarters. Our Officers work very hard to keep everyone safe."
A yell from the right startled Razor, "Hey sis!" Cloud Cutter called as he flew toward them, "Doing tours now?" He came to a stop and landed on the ground, "My shift is over and I have an hour of free time before I have to go train."
A squealing little girl launched herself at the Pegasus stallion before Cheryl could stop her. Cutter froze stiff, not daring to move a muscle. Flashbacks of what Artex had told him echoing in his head, 'Humans are much more frail than Kavim...' He did not dare move a muscle, 'If adult Humans are frail, how much more frail would their foals be?' He did not move. He barely breathed. His pupils dilated in fear, "Razor," he grunted, "Please help me!"
Cheryl was getting fed up with her daughter, "Zoe! Let go of him this instant!" She scolded. Zoe looked back at her mother with a pleading expression. However, having already dealt with two boys, Cheryl was immune to her daughter's cuteness attack. Cheryl crossed her arms and Zoe got the picture. She reluctantly released Cutter and walked back to her Mother.
For his part, as soon as the little girl released his leg, Cutter took to the air and landed on top of the C.W.G. Headquarters. He put his right forehoof to his chest, panting and trying to stave off a panic attack.
Razor grinned as she gestured to Cutter, "This goofball is my little brother, Cloud Cutter. Sorry about his reaction. He had a bad time with a Human once before. He froze up, probably because he thought he would hurt your daughter."
Cutter leaned down over the lip of the Headquarters building, "What language is that, Razor? And who are these Humans?"
Razor turned toward her brother, "This is Artex' family. They decided to live here. Why don't you come down and say hello?"
Cutter shook his head, "No way, sis! I'm not having a repeat of what happened before!"
Razor turned back to the Humans, "Yep. He's scared of hurting somebody by accident. He did that before and he's leery of getting too close and doing it again. Come on, there is more to show you." She led the way toward Town Hall.
A caramel colored Unicorn filly watched the Humans as they went. She followed them from a distance, always watching carefully. She was curious about the neat new Humans, but what really caught her eye was that there appeared to be some younger Humans close to her own age. The only others in town even close to her own age were Changeling foals, but none of them were even close to her age. Most were only five or six. She was twelve and even though she did not know how to tell Human age very well, she could guess that there were two who were probably close to her own age. She hoped so anyway.
Deciding to be bold, not that she knew how to be much else, Amber Eyes trotted up close enough to hear what Razor was saying, but still far enough away not to be easily noticed, "Town Hall was one of only a few buildings which were here when the Humans first arrived." She pointed around to the others surrounding Town Hall, "These others ones were the rest of them. Everything else has been built in the last three years, since Humans first arrived here. Over there is The Melting Pot, the premier restaurant in New Humansville. There are one or two others, but The Melting Pot is the best one, by far. The only other place of interest is the school where I'll be teaching soon."
Seeing her opportunity, Amber trotted up, "My Mom is one of the main teachers." She spoke in fluent English, "My Mom had to help teach all the Humans Velensovth, so she thought it would be good for me to learn English too." She trotted up to the Humans and sat down on the cobblestones, "I'm Amber Eyes. I heard you talking about the school. If you want to meet my Mom, I could take you all there. You're all going to be in her or Mrs. Razor's Velensovth class. Besides, my Mom is bored right now with no classes going on yet."
Cheryl leaned over to her husband and whispered, "She's so adorable!"
Brian P. knelt down to Amber's level, "Wait, you look familiar." He suddenly snapped his fingers, "Now I remember! You were the one on the back of that Ultralisk."
Amber cocked her head, "What's an Ultra-lisp?"
"Ultralisk," Brian P. corrected her, "Never mind. Its from a video game I'll probably never play again."
Amber perked up, "Video games? Oh like the big machine we have in our shed? It's called Dig-Dog."
* * *
Amber opened the door and let the Humans into her house calling in English, "Mom, I brought some guests!"
"Amber? I thought you were out with Rifin..." Long Wind trailed off when she saw the Humans and Razor Wit. Now understanding why her daughter was speaking English, she cleared her throat and spoke American English as well, "I apologize. We were not expecting guests." She gestured deeper into the home, "Please make yourselves comfortable."
Razor led the way, "Thank you. They just arrived from Earth. They chose to live here."
Long Wind regarded the Humans warmly, "You're the first to voluntarily come here. It's good to see some will want to. Hopefully more will come in the future." She turned and trotted into the Living Room.
The Humans all emerged into the Living Room which was filled with toys and Amber's sisters. The other fillies all stopped and stared at the Humans. Zoe, ever rambunctious, dared out and plopped herself down amidst the fillies, squealing with delight. The fillies, became likewise enthusiastic about the new Human girl.
"Girls, be sure to be careful. Humans are not as tough as we are. You don't want to hurt her do you?" Long Wind said quickly. She received a chorus of, "No Petamine."
Long Wind laid down on the floor and motioned for the Humans to do the same, "I apologize for that. The girls can get quite excited around new Ponies, or Humans, as the case may be. I'm Long Wind. I'm one of the teachers at the school. I teach entry level Velensovth to whomever needs it. I prefer working with younger foals, but I will teach anyone who needs it."
"Mom," Amber addressed her Mother, "Can I go show the Humans the Dig-Dog game?"
Long Wind blinked in surprise, "I suppose so. Those who want to anyway. I never knew you were interested in video games."
"It's for the boys." Amber pointed to Caleb and Jace.
Long Wind giggled, "Go ahead, dear."
Caleb and Jace looked to their parents with hole in their eyes. Cheryl waved her hand, "Go ahead, boys. But be mindful to be polite. This is not our house."
The two boys ran off with Amber. Long Wind smirked at them then turned her head back the the Humans, "She's so happy to have someone else to play with. How old are they?"
"Fourteen and eleven." Brian F. said.
Long Wind closed her eyes, "Oh thank goodness." She opened her eyes again, "Amber has nobody else near her age to play with. She's twelve and she used to get so upset that there was no one else her age to play with. She usually has Rifin around to keep an eye on her, but it's good that she has others now. She needed this. She was a filly forced to grow up a little too fast. She's almost ready to start sixth grade. She's a year ahead of where she needs to be, but that is mostly due to boredom."
Cheryl and Brian F. shared a look, "Well maybe she could teach our boys to pay more attention in school."
Long Wind smiled, "And maybe they could teach her to slow down and enjoy being a filly while she can." The Unicorn mare cleared her throat, "Now I understand you arrived recently. Will you all be enrolling in one of my language classes?"
"I don't know." Danielle said, "I'm not entirely sure why we're here. I thought Razor Wit was a language teacher too. Wouldn't it be easier for us to learn from her?"
"The boys might be." Brian F. said, "What grade do you teach?"
"Mostly younger ones, but none of the other teachers aside from Razor know English. I can tutor the boys in Velensovth while I teach them other things. Instant applied knowledge is guaranteed to be remembered."
Cheryl and Brian F. both smiled at Long Wind. Things were looking good so far.