The moment the bright light shone out, Artex opened his screfula and raised his hands to a prepared position, ready for anything. He stayed his hand even though his heart longed to go to the poor mare who's throat had just been cut. The image was burned into his mind and he felt his initial shock morph into righteous anger. The second he could see again, he planned to make that muscular bastard pay for his crime.

Sound ceased for the entire duration of the light and as it dimmed the scene revealed to the Human Emissary was one that had him blinking in disbelief as his anger evaporated, replaced by confusion. The brown mare was laying on the ground sobbing brokenly between Celestia's fore hooves. Her throat was whole and undamaged but the blood from her, now healed, mortal injury still saturated her neck and chest. For her part, Celestia stood protectively over the mare with her wings spread to full length and her eyes smoldering. Even after being exposed to her presence on a frequent basis, to the point of it being more casual than anything else, it took every ounce of his will not to cower before the sheer enormity of her presence right then. There was no doubt in his mind that she could kill every person present, each in a unique way, within half a second and not break a sweat. The people all around had no such prior experience and every one of them was cowering on the ground, weapons dropped and completely forgotten. The muscular man who had cut the mare's throat was not cowering, but frozen standing in place, eyes wide as saucers and barely breathing.

The first one to break the moment was Veronica. The young Hispanic woman scrambled over to the brown mare and all but tackled her in a hug. Artex was initially surprised but it made sense, 'Veronica did take the risk of venturing to Canterlot alone, it only stands to reason that they're friends.' His notion was supported when the mare embraced Veronica right back.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat,
"Artex Rias, Eduardo Ortega, I am calling on you both to act as impromptu Magistrates. Do you accept?" she asked loudly.

Artex nodded,
"I accept. I've done this once before."

Eduardo also acquiesced, albeit nervously,
"I'll do it. I saw enough."

Celestia turned her gaze to the muscular man who cut the mare's throat,
"This man stands accused of attempted murder. What say you? Is he guilty or innocent?"

Eduardo looked at the man and his jaw clenched briefly before he straightened out his shoulders,
"Guilty."

Artex agreed,
"Guilty as charged."

Celestia took a small breath,
"Eduardo? Would you please inform that man that he has been found guilty of attempted murder?"

Eduardo turned and began speaking to the man while Celestia powered up her horn, Artex spoke up quickly,
"The rest of the people didn't want him to do it, they can't be held accountable for what he did."

Celestia answered without taking her eyes off the man,
"I understand that Artex. I would never hold them accountable for his actions. From all appearances, they were doing their best to tend the mare's injury, I can find no fault in them thus far. They threatened us with weapons out of fear but not one, save him, made the move to follow through."

The muscular man's eyes bulged as Eduardo spoke, and he turned and took half a step before his body was engulfed in a golden aura of light, the same color as Celestia's horn.

"Princess?" the quiet feminine voice came from the brown mare.

Celestia turned her head toward the mare,
"Yes my little Pony?"

The mare rubbed her neck with her left forehoof,
"What... what are you going to do to him?"

"What is your name?" Celestia asked.

"Fiber Stems, I study bark morphology." the mare answered.

Celestia smiled sadly down at the mare,
"He has been convicted of your attempted murder. He followed through with the action and even though I managed to heal your neck in time, he still performed the act. He is to be given your memories from the time you were captured until he... followed through."

Fiber swallowed hard,
"Will he... die?"

Celestia shook her head,
"Not if I have anything to say about it. He will feel everything you did though. He will relive every second of every day from the time you were injured and taken into the custody of these Humans, until the very moment he acted to take your life."

"Will it keep him from doing it again?" Fiber asked.

Celestia nodded,
"That is the idea."

Fiber looked long at the man who had slit her throat, even though he was still held in place by Celestia's magic,
"Let him feel what I felt."

Celestia's face grew solemn,
"Very well."

The solar Alicorn turned her head back toward the man in a swift motion,
"Eduardo, would please inform this man that for the crime of attempted murder he is sentenced to live out and remember his victim's memories."

While Eduardo translated the sentence for the man, Celestia walked over to Fiber,
"I need to touch my horn to your head to retrieve your memories. Do not worry, any secrets or other details of your life will remain unknown to both me and your intended murderer."

Fiber lowered her head toward Celestia and the Princess pressed her horn to the mare's head for a brief moment. Celestia raised her head and turned and walked calmly over to the man with the solemn expression of an executioner. The man's eyes were wide with terror as she pressed her horn to his forehead. After a brief moment she withdrew her horn and released the man from her magic.

The man toppled to the ground into a sitting position and stared off into space. He sat frozen in place like a frozen statue for more than a full minute before he blinked and shook his head. He cast his eyes around, seemingly in confusion until he spotted Fiber Stems, then he froze again.

He stared at her with a slowly falling expression, his eyes gradually accumulating moisture before he whispered,
"Dios mio."

Eyes still lock onto the brown mare, he slowly reached out his hands toward Fiber before his eyes flickered to her still moist blood glistening against his skin. His eyes widened suddenly, as if only just realizing what it meant . He quickly withdrew his hands to take a closer look at them, mouth opening when he whimpered softly at the truth of what he had done. Silent tears slid down his cheeks as he sought his answers in the blessed anatomical gifts he had desecrated with the blood of an innocent. His face morphed into a hideous scowl and his lower jaw trembled. The terrible realization had dawned on him. He threw back his head and let out an ear piercing scream. He screamed long and loud before drawing in a breath and looking back down at his bloodied hands. Without wasting a breath, he plunged his hands into the loam and dirt in front of him, scrubbing furiously while he tears fell from his eyes like a waterfall. He grunted in frustration and scrubbed furiously at his bloodied hands. His efforts only seemed to smear the blood around on the ground and he grit his teeth when he saw the mess he had created. He pulled his filthy hands back up to his face and gazed at them forlornly. He had not cleaned them, only made the mess worse. He clenched his eyes shut and pulled his hands in close to his chest as he let out a sobbing breath, mouth opening and closing as if he were trying to speak. His chest hitched as he opened his eyes again to look upon his weapons of murder and drew them close to his face as tears cascaded down his visage. He drew in a quick, shuddering breath and tipped over onto his left side as he let out a long, hoarse, sobbing bellow. He curled himself into the fetal position and rocked his body back and forth. His fingers flexed into a claw shape as he pulled his arms and hands tightly against his chest. He took another shuddering breath and let out a sobbing cry his eyes shut tightly once more.

Everybody watched in stunned silence at the spectacle presented before them. Never before in his life had Artex seen such a display. It was so real, so honest, and so visceral that words failed him utterly. He felt somehow humbled by the sight and actually felt some measure of pity for the man.

Celestia gave a sad, resigned smile as she spoke,
"Do not be afraid of him, my little Pony, when he comes to you." she then looked to Eduardo, "Would you please translate for me Eduardo?"

Eduardo nodded and Celestia began speaking,
"What you see before you are two faces. One is the face of justice, the other is the face of repentance. Remember these two faces well for the visage of vengeance is far far more terrible to behold. In Equestria, we hold all life as sacred..." she trailed off as she took a calming breath, "All life, even the sentient animals you have killed and eaten."

There were hundreds of gasps from the gathered Humans as Eduardo translated Celestia's words,
"Those deaths were by your hands, but we understand that it is different where you come from. Therefore, by royal decree you are all pardoned, provided you never intentionally kill another animal. We try to be an understanding species and we will welcome any who are willing to attempt to live in peace. This man will receive the same offer. He is paying for his actions and his sentence will have been served shortly. We take no pleasure in doling out any sort of punishment. We ask that after this event, you do not bring it up to him."

Celestia paused while Eduardo finished translating before she spoke again,
"On a much more pleasant note, thanks to the efforts of Veronica here, we are aware of you and we wish to extend to you an offer. There are carriages just beyond the forest that have medicines and food for you all. Allow the volunteers who are with the carriages to ensure you are healthy and they will make you comfortable and give you hot food and drink. We are here to help you in any way we can, if you will give us the chance. This man," she gestured to Artex, "Is the Emissary of Humans in our world. He will listen to your needs and convey them to us as he deems appropriate. He and all of us are here to help you. You may take your weapons with you if you wish, as your Emissary has secured for Humans the right to carry whatsoever weapons they feel necessary. At this time, we ask that you follow Veronica and the man who is translating for you. They will take you to receive your food and comfort. We have a town where each of you will have homes built for you. Please follow Eduardo and Veronica to the edge of the forest."

Eduardo finished his translation mere moments after Celestia finished speaking. The Humans looked unsure and nervous until Veronica reluctantly withdrew from Fiber and began speaking to them, Eduardo joined in. Within a few minutes, the Humans nodded their heads and Veronica and Eduardo led the way out of the little camp and off into the forest. Artex stayed behind.

Princess Celestia waited until the Humans were out of sight before turning back to look upon the man who was still sobbing brokenly on the ground.

Her expression softened into a sad smile before she slowly walked over to Fiber and laid down next to her,
"Do not fear him my little Pony. He would never hurt you now." her horn lit up, a golden glow surrounding the man as Celestia levitated his sobbing form over to her, still speaking to Fiber, "Do not harden your heart and feed your anger, for every being is deserving of comfort after a harsh punishment has been rendered, so long as repentance has been achieved."

Fiber, who understandably looked fearful of the man, turned to Celestia with angry tears springing to her eyes,
"Where's the comfort for me!?" she cried, "I'm the victim here!"

"You were the first victim, yes, but not the only one." Celestia said softly, "Is he not suffering the consequences of his actions against you? Before, when he was prepared to do you harm, he didn't know you. Now he does. Not only does he know exactly how you felt during the entire process, but he now knows you like a sister. He has to live with the knowledge that he killed not only an innocent mare, but somebody who is now like a beloved sibling to him." Celestia's voice grew infinitely soft as she spoke, "That is a pain the likes of which are indescribably terrible. I almost wish he did not have to endure it." she paused before continuing, "You may choose to have me comfort you, that is why I am still here, or you may choose to have him do so. I believe you will find he is actually more capable than I. Do not be afraid of him."

Fiber looked puzzled beyond words and Artex found he could not blame her. She turned away from Celestia angrily, but ended up looking directly at the man. She didn't move for many long moments as she sniffled, gazing down at the man who had wronged her so.

In a slow, gradual movement, Fiber reached out and touched the man's arm. The man, still crying his eyes out, slowly looked up at Fiber. A brief second of confusion flashed over his face as he processed the fact that the one comforting him was the same one he had hurt so terribly. The two locked eyes briefly before the man's jaw quivered and he burst forth into a fresh bout of howling, sorrowful, agony. The expression on Fiber's face indicated that she actually felt somewhat sorry for him. He suddenly reached out and wrapped his arms around the startled mare as he began babbling in Spanish.

Fiber's eyes widened, but Celestia quickly interjected,
"Do not be afraid!" she spoke quickly but quietly, "He does not speak your language, but he's trying to tell you something."

Fiber, confused as she had ever been, struggled not to fidget as the man sobbed into her bloodied barrel,
"Well I can't understand it." she hissed quietly.

Celestia placed a gentle hoof on Fiber's back and gingerly pressed her to lay down on the ground,
"Be still and hold him." she instructed in a gentle, matronly tone, "Listen to what he's saying. Hear the message beyond the words. There are things which surpass spoken language. Listen to the meaning behind his strange words. There is Natural Magic at work here," Celestia raised her head to the sky, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply, "Let the message pouring out from his heart reach yours." she whispered, "There is a connection forming here. Open your wounded heart and soul to him. Listen beyond your ears and allow him to speak through you. Feel what is happening and let it guide your actions."

Fiber's eyes had drifted closed by that point and Artex watched in disbelief as she very gradually lowered her head on top of the man's. I any, ANY other situation, Artex would have found Celestia's words ridiculous, weak, sappy, and clichéd, but right there, in that solemn moment, there was an undeniable power at work. Artex realized he had felt it before. He had felt it back on Earth in secret, private moments of his most intense prayer. Artex suddenly realized he had felt it when the storm hit The Complex back on Earth, he had felt it briefly when he awoke after his blood transfusion, he had felt it during the funeral after The Battle For New Humansville, and he felt it now. He had always thought it was the power of God, and who was he to say it wasn't, but in that moment he knew the four of them were being touched by something far beyond even Celestia. The potency of what he felt at that moment brought a humbling tear to his eyes.

Fiber held the sobbing man close to her as she laid her head atop his and the man held the Earth Pony mare close as he babbled a few words after every breath. Fiber held perfectly still as she held her murderer close. Artex could hear what he was saying and after a few moments he was astounded as Fiber began speaking the same words,
"I'm so sorry." he sobbed.
"I'm so sorry." Fiber parroted.
"I didn't know." the man said.
"I didn't know." Fiber whispered.
"I hurt you."
"I hurt you."
"I was wrong."
"I was wrong."

The man took a shuddering breath,
"Forgive me." he whispered.
"Forgive me."

He took a deep breath and howled out,
"FORGIVE ME!"

Fiber didn't translate the man's last words. She didn't need to. Tears ran down her muzzle and intermingled with his own as the two held each other in a way and in a situation that until that very moment, Artex would never have believed.

In his mind, he came to a sudden realization, 'This... this is love. This is real love. Not romantic love, this is agape love in its raw form. Only one power could make such a... such a miracle occur.' he stopped trying to rationalize it and understand it. What he was seeing went far, far beyond the understanding of mortal men or Ponies. At that moment, Artex just accepted that despite the violence, hatred, and bigotry he had grown numb to, there in front of his very eyes, was a type of love only spoken of in children's books and fairy tales.

Celestia nuzzled the mare and man,
"Never allow your heart to become hardened. Let it guide and direct you in times of crisis. See and speak from your heart of hearts and you will never go astray, for rare are those who cannot be reached through acts of understanding and love." she planted gentle kisses on each of the two beings as she carefully pulled them both into her grasp, tears seeping even from her ancient eyes.

Artex had no idea how long he stood in place, but he was content to watch the spectacle out to its conclusion.

NOTE: The man's words near the end of the chapter are translated through Artex' point of view.