The night could not have ended on a better note for Artex and his herd. It had been far from perfect, but there had been less rage and angst than he had feared there would be. Visceral Slaughter had been extremely awkward to say the least, but she did put forth a significant, concerted effort to be pleasant to Vaiawa and Artex. Razor had barely acknowledged her Mother the entire night and had not said a word to her, despite Visceral's best effort to engage Razor in conversation. Razor had at least refrained from being nasty to her Mother anymore that evening. Rose Thorn and Due Process had gotten along famously. Vaiawa had been the center of attention, which made her uncomfortable, but the family was more accepting than she had feared.

Razor had been right about the rest of her family being accepting of Artex and Vaiawa. It had been obvious to Artex through the night that the Trottingham Ponies were extremely worried about Cloud Cutter. They kept their concerns to themselves, though. They laughed and told stories through the evening. Due Process, and even Visceral Slaughter, thanked Artex for being the proponent of mares joining the different branches of the Guard. The family had been amazed at the changes to Equestria that had been Artex' ideas. Once they found out that Vaiawa had died helping the Humans fight Bloodmages, even Visceral Slaughter was impressed, even if she hid it well. Greasy Gears was nothing but positive toward the odd herd, wishing them the best in everything. She was also intrigued by the many, many technological advances pioneered by Humans. Clean Cut was as pleasant as ever, but even more relaxed. Her work persona apparently stayed at work. Second Chance was very quiet throughout the evening. She spoke briefly about her job and interests, but was overall quiet. Fresh Brew was very happy to learn that the better portion of the herd liked tea and, was more than happy to offer for them to come by her store to sample some of her wares. Dusty Document was highly interested in the history of Humans and Changelings; she and Vaiawa spent a good portion of the evening chatting. Visceral Slaughter spent her time trying to deal with everything. There were many times that she had to excuse herself to step out into the hallway for a breather.

Mason turned out to be a firm but pragmatic stallion. He was a problem solver. He and Artex chatted extensively about what to do with the museum, and while he tried to talk about Cloud Cutter, Artex politely guided him back to topics he could do something about. The two males found common ground once they began talking about the ladies in their lives. Artex was somewhat out of his element since he was not used to being around so many mares. Mason confirmed that he should get used to it since it was likely that he would have mostly fillies from his mares. An estrogen filled home was rather unavoidable in a species where the females outnumbered the males five-to-one. As one would expect, Mason promised Artex a world of unimaginable pain if he hurt his eldest daughter. Artex promised to love and cherish Razor as she deserved and the gesture seemed to be just enough for Mason. The evening ended with everybody agreeing they had a better time than they had expected.

After Razor's family left, the mares all snuggled up to Artex and they slept through the rest of the night, as short as that was.

Artex was the first one to wake up, as usual. He yawned and opened his eyes, blinking in the sunlight streaming in through the window. An oddly shaped brown blur leaning over the bed caught his attention. He turned his eyes upward and the deviously smiling face of Discord came into focus, "Well it's about time you woke up." Discord said snidely, "I arrived here nearly two minutes ago and there you were," a saw cutting a log appeared next to him as he spoke, "Sawing logs," the log disappeared and was replaced by a floating pile of Ponies with hearts floating above it, "Underneath a cuddly Pony-pile." He snapped his fingers and the floating pile disappeared.

"I'm surprised to see you, Dragnet." Artex said with an evil grin.

Discord crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and looked away, "Are you REALLY going to start that again? I might be inclined to undo the healing I just worked on your poor wittle tummy."

"Huh?" Artex gently pulled his arms out from under Razor and Oriana and lifted the sheet and shirt covering his injury, "Holy smokes!" He quickly lifted Oriana, receiving a startled squawk from the surprised Zebra, and set her down next to Razor. He leaned over and openly hugged Discord, "I take it back! Oh dude, I so totally take it back! Thank you!"

Discord leaned his head away from the suddenly huggy Human, "Alright... OKAY! Enough!" He pushed Artex off and dusted himself off as if wiping away cooties, "Eesh! Too huggy this morning." He crossed his arms, "If I knew I'd get THOSE kinds of reactions, I would have been healing Ponies in hospitals from the start."

Artex laughed and rechecked his stomach, "Yes!" He sat up in bed and nudged Rose Thorn, "Come on, sleepy head. Wake up."

Rose yawned and smacked her lips, "You're certainly in a good mood."

"As well he should be." Added Vaiawa from just above where the Human's head had been lying, "Discord showed up and healed his wound." She turned to Discord, "Thank you for that."

Discord waved his dragon claw, "Ooh pish. Celestia sent me here to oversee the sentencing of that fool colt who decided to use one of my favorite Humans as a dummy for practicing his Wing Blade technique. She said it was to," his head suddenly became Celestia's head and spoke in her voice, "Foster trust in the Ponies, especially since they seem to have a problem with other races. I'm sure you can handle something like this. Feel free to bring some levity to the situation. There are probably quite a number of hurt feelings involved with this case. Be sure to ask Artex about the instance of Natural Magic." His head returned to normal, "Well here I am and there you are," he sat down, floating on this air and propped his eagle talon under his chin, "Sooooooo, what's this I hear about Natural Magic, yet AGAIN in this generation?"

Artex put on his serious face, "The young stallion who cut me is the same one who warned Canterlot about the Diamond Dog attack. Both events sound like they link him to Humans. That would be quite a coincidence if it's not Natural Magic."

Discord disappeared in a flash of light, then reappeared moments later, "Well it COULD be Natural Magic, but it could also be a coincidence. I'm sensing that you have something in mind. Some way to manipulate the situation as you see fit and the claim of Natural Magic was just the right tool for the job. Why don't you tell me what it is and I'll decide if it really IS Natural Magic or not?"

Razor chimed in, "You're going to balance my brother's fate on convincing Discord that your idea is best?" She was not happy, "Artex, that's... that's..."

"Perfectly acceptable to me," Discord said with a wink, "Provided the little cretin isn't just let off the hook. And since I'm here in Celestia's stead, which I'm sure is no coincidence, she must want ME to be satisfied with the end result."

Artex turned to his first love, "Do you trust me, Razor?"

Razor Wit bit her lower lip, "You know I do, but this just seems... like it's twisting the system. And no matter what you do, the trial is in a few hours!"

Discord let out a chortle of delight, "Well when you phrase it like that... I LOVE IT! A last minute council to determine how we can change a system with FAR too much order for its own good! Oohoohoo! Oh, I'm enjoying this so much!"

Artex smirked, "Well... do you have a sense of irony?"

* * *

"The Magistrates have come to a decision." The old Earth Pony stated, "We, the Magistrates in the trial of Cloud Cutter vs. Artex Rias find that the defendant, Cloud Cutter, guilty of all charges. Because this is a case of violence against a Human, and as Humans are residents of a Protectorate of Equestria, we Magistrates agree that Cloud Cutter will undergo rehabilitation in New Humansville. This is on the recommendation of acting Magistrate: Discord." Discord cheerfully waved at the gathered Ponies, as the old Earth Pony continued, "This being the case, we remand Cloud Cutter to the Community Welfare Guardians of New Humansville for rehabilitation in the manner they so chose for an amount of time which is not to exceed two years and will not bring any lasting harm to Cloud Cutter. He will be under the direct supervision of Sargent Rose Thorn of the Community Welfare Guardians or of other Community Welfare Guardian Officers which she determines, until his sentence is complete. As Sargent Rose Thorn is currently on paid leave from her post, Cloud Cutter will remain under the supervision of Sargent Slaughter of the Trottingham Civil Guard until he is retrieved by Sargent Rose Thorn. This concludes the case of Cloud Cutter vs. Artex Rias."

A few minutes later Razor's family trotted out of the courtroom and met Artex and his herd. Discord had already said his goodbyes and vanished. Visceral Slaughter was standing next to Cloud Cutter and the young stallion had his head hung in shame. Mason trotted up to his son, "Head up." He ordered quietly. Cloud Cutter raised his head, his face full of shame. He did not say a word. Mason regarded his son sadly, "You should consider yourself extremely lucky, Cutter. There could have been much worse repercussions for you. Now, I am still your Lamane, and you first punishment falls to me." He looked to his wife, "With your permission, Sargent?"

Visceral Slaughter nodded solemnly. Mason trotted around behind Cutter and sat down. He leaned back on his haunches and used his left forehoof to lift his tail. He reared back his right forehoof and began administering spanks in three ways: fast, hard, and continuously. All this was performed publicly at the base of the steps of City Hall.

Feather Tip trotted out of the doors of City Hall and strode up to the gathered Ponies and Human, amidst Cloud Cutter's wails of pain, "Well that certainly could have gone worse." She nuzzled Razor in a friendly manner, "I'm so glad you stopped by the hotel the other night. I hadn't seen you in ages."

Razor giggled behind her hoof, "Well when was the last time you SAW anypony?" It was a long-running joke they had developed in school. Feather Tip had been a helpful ear to chew on for Razor in the past and she had proven more than willing to do so again.

Tip giggled as well, "It's like everypony is constantly playing a game of hide and seek." She closed her wings, "Hey, where did you go?" She opened them slightly, "Oh there you are."

Her laughter was infectious and many of the other Ponies laughed as well. Mason dropped Cloud Cutter's tail and the young stallion wiped his nose. Mason trotted back to where he was standing in front of his son, "I believe you have something to say to your future brother in law?"

Cloud Cutter's head jerked up suddenly, his eyes wide, "B- brother in law?"

Razor stomped up to Cloud Cutter, "Yes! Brother in law!"

Cloud Cutter swallowed hard and licked his lips, "I'm so sorry, sir. Whether or not you're my future brother in law, I shouldn't have attacked you. Even if your skin HAD been as hard as diamond it would have still been wrong."

Artex nodded thoughtfully, "I accept your apology. You still have a sentence to fulfill though. You're going to spend the next two years in New Humansville under the watchful eye of the lovely Rose Thorn over there." He gestured to the almost ridiculously well built Earth Pony mare, "But until we leave, you're going to come with us. We have some things to do. Our first stop is the training center where you learned your Wing Blade technique." He gestured to all of Trottingham, "Lead on."

Tip suddenly spoke up, "Uh, I have the day off... may I come with you?"

* * *

Cloud Cutter trotted along at the head of the group, limping from the thorough spanking he had received. Artex walked on his right and Visceral Slaughter trotted along on his left. Artex decided to get to know his future brother in law. "So Cutter, what will your master say when he hears how you used the skills he taught you?"

"She, sir. She'll be mad." Cutter said in a clipped tone.

Visceral Slaughter’s horn lit up. Half a second later Cloud Cutter yelped loudly, "YEEOUCH!" He ruefully rubbed his bottom, "Petamine," he whined, "I'm sore back there."

"Don't take a tone with the Emissary. My personal feelings aside, he is the stallion your sister fell in love with and by my estimation, he managed to lighten your sentence significantly. You will be polite to him. Do I make myself clear?" She said evenly.

"You're the LAST Pony I would think would be on his side." Cutter mumbled. Another half a second passed and he let out another yelp of pain as Artex heard another swat hit home.

"As it was explained to me, he IS a Pony on the inside. Even if that were not the case, your sister managed to... convey the strength of her feelings and I am a big enough mare to admit that I have been too harsh with other species." Visceral Slaughter said.

Cloud Cutter whistled, "Wow," he looked up at Artex, "You sure you're stallion enough to deal with my sister?"

Artex laughed, "Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho! Young lad, you have no idea who you're talking to. With Razor Wit, Oriana, Rose Thorn, and Vaiawa by my side, we have traversed the vast plains of the Zebra nation, we have been carried by Gryphons to meet with warriors of my people, we have been chased by angry Dragons, we have made peace between the Buffalo and more of my people, we have braved the icy mountains North of the Crystal Empire, we have arranged negotiations between the Minotaur and even more of my people, and we have faced down Bloodmages who outnumbered us and had us in a trap. It is not I who must handle your sister, it is she who must deal with me." He chuckled again, "Do you know what the most INTERESTING part of all that is?" Cloud Cutter shook his head so Artex elaborated, "It all happened within the last two years. Imagine what YOUR next two years will be like, hmm?"

Cloud Cutter gulped as he led them toward a simple stone building. There was a sign painted on the front wall which read 'Wind Dancer School Of Self Defense, under Song Breeze’. There was no door to open, they just walked right in. The interior of the building was cool and comfortable. The floor was solid rock but the inside did have some things that were very familiar to Artex. Punching bags hung suspended from the ceiling and white uniforms lay folded on the floor in neat rows.

There was nopony around, "Intermediate Cloud Cutter and guests here to see Song Breeze." He said loudly to the open air.

Half a second later a charcoal colored Pegasus mare simply appeared in the center of the room. Her mane and tail were deep blue and although her wings were open, they were motionless as she floated serenely over the floor. She descended to the floor, her hooves making no sound. She opened her eyes, "I am glad to see you Cutter. I have heard things these past three days. Things which disturb me. Things which indicate you used one of the self defense techniques I taught you to attack another creature without provocation." Her cerise eyes were intense, "Tell me of these things."

Cutter bent his forelegs and bowed his head, "You heard right. I did attack somepony... and it was not in self defense or the defense of others."

Song Breeze never flinched, she never even moved, "I am disappointed." She turned away from him, "You, the tall one. You have something to say?"

Artex was surprised, he had not indicated he had anything to say, "I do, actually. Cloud Cutter is to be dismissed from your school. He will spend the next two years among my people as punishment for what he did."

Song Breeze did not turn around, "That has been decided by the court?" She asked.

"It has." Artex replied.

"Then take him. Teach him what it means to be a warrior, a real warrior. That is your plan is it not?"

"It is." Artex said.

"And what would your people teach this wayward student, in whom I am greatly disappointed?" She asked.

"It takes a skilled warrior to make their weapon go where they want it to, but a master can make the entire conflict go where he wants it to. The barbarian fights with only his muscle, but the warrior fights with his mind. The only true control one ever has is self control. The first battlefield is the mind. Any fool with a weapon can do harm, but it takes true skill to pacify an opponent without causing injury. These are principles which have been passed down from master to apprentice for generations. They will be some of the things he learns."

"Cloud Cutter, you have abused the knowledge I gave you. You have corrupted ancient technique and used it against an innocent being. What have you learned from your mistake?" Song Breeze asked. Cloud Cutter did not answer so Song Breeze continued, "When the powers of life and death are at your disposal, the chance and temptation to abuse that power grows. That kind of power is not to be used lightly. It takes years and great effort for any life to grow to maturity, but only a brief moment of violence to destroy that life." She sighed, "Take those final words of wisdom and apply them to your life. Go with the wind. May it ever guide you to paths of righteousness." So spoken, she flared out her wings and disappeared again.

Cloud Cutter kept his head held low as he turned to leave, "Come on. I'm not a student here anymore." His shame was palpable.

* * *

The museum was pretty big and fortunately there was only a short line to get in. This time Artex took the lead. The Ponies going into the museum, as well as the ones coming out, all looked nervous when they saw Artex. They made it up to the ticket counter and the Earth Pony mare behind it was smiling from ear to ear, "Wow! I've seen the skeletons in the exhibit, but I never thought I'd ever see a real live Human! Have you made your morning rock sacrifice to Olympus yet?"

Artex' eyebrows rose, "Olympus?" He asked slowly, 'How do they know that name?'

The mare nodded energetically, "The Founder and Foundation of the world? The mountain which formed all Humans?"

Artex rubbed his eyes with his right hand, 'Fuck the fact that they got one goddamn name right. The end result was still somebody trying to fucking kill me.' He took a breath, "I'm here because the exhibit is all lies. Lies which convinced somepony to try scaring me away by cutting open my stomach, which nearly killed me. Tell every patron after us that the Human exhibit is closed until further notice. I'm going in and these Ponies are going with me. Where is the curator?"

The mare laid her ears back, "She should be in her office... take your first right once inside, then follow the hallway straight back. Her office is at the end of the hallway."

Artex strode past the mare and proceeded to follow the directions. The inside of the museum was very nice. The floors were polished granite and fluted columns adorned nearly every corner. He turned right and followed the hallway straight back to the office at the end. He did not bother knocking and just walked right on in. The office was neat and clean with many old pictures adorning the walls. Sitting behind an old wooden desk was an elderly Earth Pony mare.

Her eyes bulged when she saw Artex, "Good heavens! A real Human? Here? In my office?" She rose to her hooves, "Good sir, it is an honor to meet you!" She knelt and bowed to him.

Artex grunted, "Your exhibit on Humans is now closed. It has spread lies to the Ponies of Trottingham and caused ME to be attacked and almost killed by a young stallion who thought my skin was harder than diamond. For the record, I was almost cut in half by a single blow. Furthermore, if it is true that you have a Human skeleton, then somepony is guilty of stealing the remains of somebody who died in the last two years. We have a law about that, it's called: Desecration Of Sacred Remains." His voice was not polite or gentle.

The old mare stood up with a shocked expression on her face, "B-but sir, the archaeologist said she found it and the artifacts in an ancient burial ground high in the mountains of the Minotaur lands. She brought back photos of the dig and the skin she recovered IS extremely tough."

Artex flashed his teeth in a growl, "Close it down... now."

The old mare nodded, "Right away sir. If you will please follow me."

The mare made her way past Razor's family, who were waiting in the hallway, and trotted off toward the back of the museum. Artex and the rest of the Ponies followed behind the mare. They soon found themselves in an exhibit that boggled Artex' mind. There was an old, barely recognizable xiphos lying behind a box of thick glass and a large, badly worn, round bronze shield below that. Artex stopped immediately, "Wait!" He yelled to the curator.

She trotted back to him with a curious expression, "Yes, sir?"

Artex pointed to the xiphos and shield, "Where did you get these? This style of weapon and armor haven't been used in about two thousand years."

The old mare nodded, "They were some of the artifacts brought in with the skeleton. We have more items further toward the back."

Artex' brow creased deeply, 'There is no way they fabricated this exact style from lies.. and then the reference to Olympus. What the fuck is going on?' He looked back to the old mare, "Don't close it down just yet. Let me have a look around first. Something isn't right here."

The old mare nodded with a nervous smile, "I'll be with you the whole time in case you have any more questions, sir."

Artex continued further in to the exhibit. There was a suit of very well preserved leather and bronze armor, made to the exact specifications of a Human body. There were old clay urns, cups, bowls, and even iron silverware. There was a small lead cauldron and a set of old, raggedy clothes which amounted to little more than a tunic and brown trousers. There were tattered sandals with torn leather straps and thong. All of it, every piece, Artex could place in history, 'By God it all looks... REAL!'

The things which made his stop completely were a trio of old scrolls which were unrolled to display the writing within. Artex stopped and knelt down, peering at the writing on the scrolls, "... kai taxidépsame gia éndeka iméres..." Next to the scrolls was a preserved set of remains which was obviously Human. Artex peered closely at the remains, "Remarkably good condition," he mumbled peering closely, "...no missing fingers or toes... skull looks intact... the skin is obviously fossilized in an odd way... perhaps a type of mummification..." he was really just talking to hear any talking. His mind was spinning and finally caught up with his body. Artex sat down on his bottom, mouth hanging open, "Oh my God..." he whispered, "This... this is real." He turned his head to the curator, "How? How did you get so much wrong when this stuff is real?"

The curator shook her head, "I'm sorry sir, I have no idea. I'm going to close the exhibit down anyway. I won't have my museum teaching falsehoods." Artex nodded, "Yeah..."

A voice on a microphone caught his attention, "We are not certain when Humans originally appeared in our world, but two years ago they returned. We know little about modern Humans as they have only recently opened their doors to the public, but the questions remain: what is their culture? What strange powers do they possess? What are they like? Fillies and colts, mares and stallions, we present: Humans, the ancients returned."

Artex suddenly yelled, "I'm sorry I'm late!" He scrambled to his feet and spoke to the curator quickly, "Be ready to close it down after I'm done speaking."

Saying nothing more, he dashed off toward the voice. The rest of the Ponies followed after him. He rounded the nearest corner and skidded to a halt. A brick red Unicorn mare was levitating a microphone up to her face while what looked to be more than twenty entire herds all looked at him. The expression on the mare's face was confused at first, but then quickly became ecstatic. She levitated the microphone over to him.

Artex held used his magic to pull the microphone into his hand so he would not give the mare a backlash. He held the microphone up to his mouth as he slowly walked up to the stage where the mare was standing, "Good day everypony. My name is Dan Pering, but you may call me Artex Rias. I am the royally sanctioned Human Emissary. Now, unfortunately, it has come to light that the museum has had a few facts mixed up. As such the Human exhibit will be closed after you all leave. However, you have all paid good Bits to come and learn about Humans and what better way than to ask the very source. I'm sure that most of you have a number of questions about Humans, especially seeing as the museum is suffering from an unfortunate inaccuracy in its facts. That being said, I would like to open the floor to any questions you have. Ask and I shall answer. Raise your hooves please and I will call upon you one at a time."

A small ocean of hooves shot up as the Ponies gazed at him in amazement. He pointed to a Pegasus filly right up front, "What's your question, sweetie?" He held the microphone up to her muzzle.

The filly leaned in, toward the microphone, "What do Humans eat?"

Artex straightened back up, "Excellent question, and an intriguing one at that. Before I answer though, I need to clarify something..."

* * *

The Ponies applauded Artex as he concluded his impromptu question and answer session. His herd and Razor's family all trotted up to him as he handed the microphone back to the Unicorn mare, while the other families were trotting out, "So," he clapped his hands together, "Did we learn anything?" He laughed at his own joke, "I'm sorry. It's just... well I'm an Emissary and this was a perfect opportunity to fix an ongoing mistake." He looked around, "A mistake that I now believe really was made in error and was not malicious at all, like I had thought."

The curator trotted up with an orange colored Unicorn mare, "There he is." The curator looked up to Artex, "This is doctor Tall Tale. She is the one who headed the archaeological dig."

Tall Tale's face lit up like the sun at seeing Artex. She dashed up to him and offered her right forehoof, "I'm so excited to meet a modern Human! We only returned from the dig a few months ago. I've been saving up so I could go to New Humansville and see what modern Humans are like, but this?" She gushed, "This is such an honor!"

Artex shook her hoof calmly, "I would be more excited if your presumptions about Humans were even remotely accurate."

Tall Tale's face fell drastically, "But... that can't be right. We interviewed seven Minotaur elders high in the isolated mountains. Granted they occasionally gave us different information, but we only publicly displayed the things they agreed upon so as to be as accurate as possible." She stepped back and scuffed her left forehoof on the granite floor, "I am so sorry, sir. Is there a chance you can tell us what we have wrong? I hate the idea that we're giving Ponies the wrong information and I can tell just from talking to you that we're portraying your species incorrectly."

"I have a better idea. Close down the exhibit and I will ask one of our historians to come and help you... provided you can guarantee their safety. I don't want any other Human to be attacked and end up having to hold in their own internal organs like I did." Artex said. Thankfully all the other herds had already left the exhibit.

Tall Tale gasped, "Oh no! No, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! Sir, you have to know that was never our intention!"

Artex rubbed his belly where his wound had been, "I certainly hope not." He turned and began walking away, "I will send you a telegram in a few days. Do not reopen the exhibit until the Human historian gives you permission. You portrayed us as blood thirsty barbarians. Be glad I'm not pressing charges right now." His herd and Razor's family followed him out.

Author's Notes:

Remember to let me know if there are any typos.

I am attempting to display that Artex is not quite in his right emotional state. He has been traumatized by the events which occurred and he is not in as good a place as he tries to make it seem.

Also it seems that I have given myself a little case of burnout. It may be some amount of time before I have another chapter ready to go.