Full Spectrum awoke feeling refreshed but stiff. She blinked her eyes and rubbed at them sleepily as she yawned and stretched her back and shoulders. She slowly sat up, confused as she looked at the room she was in. Feeling rather good, she turned her legs and slipped off the bed, right onto Starburst who was lying right beside her stone bed. Her feet slipped on his haunches and she fell to the floor with a heavy thump. Starburst startled awake and zipped out from beneath the weight on top of him, wings spread defensively as he turned toward his startling assailant. He blinked and stretched his neck out toward her, "Full Spectrum?" He asked.

The woman in question groaned and rubbed at her sore bottom, "Yeah Star, it's me. What am I..." anything else she might have been ready to say was lost as the Pegasus stallion tackled her to the floor and began peppering her with kisses. The young woman squealed, writhing beneath him as he continuously poured out his love for her with small smooches to her face, neck, and shoulders. Eventually she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close so that he was forced to stop kissing her, "Now, where's Catalyst, silly. And what happened to me? I don't remember anything."

Starburst tried to speak, however his face was firmly planted amidst some very appealing cleavage and came out as nothing more than a muffled series of grunts. Full Spectrum let go of his head and he held up his face so their eyes could meet, "You collapsed two days ago. The Princesses don't even know what happened to you. You were bleeding out of your nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. We were so worried about you." He quickly leaned in and kissed her fully on the lips. She returned the kiss and held him close.

When they parted from their affection, she smiled at him, "Something wonderful happened but... I have no idea what it was. All I know is that I feel good." She half way closed her eyes and leaned up to whisper into his left ear, "I mean really, really good." Starburst blinked in confusion as she withdrew her head from his ear and kissed him again, but with a fierce, fiery passion. Unable to help himself, Starburst moaned into the kiss. Taking the initiative, she deepened the kiss by slipping her tongue into his mouth as her hands roamed his sides and neck. His reaction was the same as one would expect from any young adult male who had never been with a woman. He lost himself to the moment. He pressed harder against her and his own tongue slipped into her mouth. She gripped the back of his mane and pulled him with her as she laid back onto the ground. Starburst's tail whipped back and forth wildly in excitement. Full Spectrum held him in place with her right hand and slipped her left hand along the underside of his chest...

"STARBURST, NO!" The loud scream echoed off the walls as Catalyst levitated him bodily off Full Spectrum. He reflexively tried to cover his free-hanging stallionhood with his hooves, but he could not reach it. It was dangling, pointed straight toward the stone floor.

The young woman groaned as the target of her affection was pulled away from her, "Noooooo!"

Starburst suddenly impacted the floor as Catalyst gasped loudly, "You're awake!?" Her eyes were locked onto Full Spectrum.

"Catyyyyy!" The young woman whined, "You stole my boy-toy!"

Catalyst blinked at the odd combination of words, "Erm, boy... toy?" She looked back to Starburst, who was lying on his back groaning in pain, having fallen belly-first onto a very sensitive organ. Realizing what she had done to him, Catalyst ran over to him as fast as her legs could carry her, "Oh Star, I'm so sorry! I walked in and i-i-i-it looked like she was still unconscious and that you were... doing things while she was asleep and... and... is there anything I can do to help!?" She asked frantically.

Starburst groaned again and rolled onto his right side, facing Catalyst, "It's... broken!" He pulled his forehooves away from his crotch and Catalyst felt sick. The middle of the shaft of his penis was bent almost ninety degrees. The skin had torn and blood was slowly pooling on the floor beneath him. He grunted in pain, gritting his teeth, "URRRRRGH!" He gasped for breath, panted then groaned again.

Catalyst felt beyond terrible. She mentally checked every spell she knew as quickly as she could and realized she knew no spells to fix a broken phallus. She wondered if a time reversal spell could help. She was interrupted as Full Spectrum crawled over and gripped Starburst's fifth leg in both hands. The young woman closed her eyes and opened her screfula, but instead of her hands glowing, her whole body was glowing. The color of the aura was not her usual color, the new aura was brilliantly prismatic. It formed a perfect outline around her body and by extension, it also outlined Starburst's penis. A few moments later, Full Spectrum opened her hands, revealing a penis that was perfectly formed and, 'Is it a little more thick than it was before?' Catalyst wondered.

Full Spectrum sat back on her bottom and yawned hugely, "Oohaah!" She shook her head and blinked, "Woo, that really takes it out of you." She smiled at Starburst and gently scratched the side of his muzzle, "Guess Catalyst kind of killed the mood, huh?"

Catalyst looked to the side in embarrassment, "I made a huge mistake," she looked back to Starburst, "I'm so sorry, Star."

Starburst shrugged from his position on the floor, "At least Full Spectrum healed me. I'm going to remember THAT pain for a loooong time though." His erection slowly slipped back into the sheath which tucked seamlessly against his belly.

Catalyst turned her attention back to her future sister/wife, "What was the magic you used to heal Star?"

Full Spectrum looked askance at the black Unicorn mare, "Uh MY regular magic?"

Catalyst blew out an exasperated breath and rolled her eyes, "If you say so, Spec."

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" A sudden, blood curdling scream echoed through the hallways of the stone citadel. Two Ponies and one Human all sprung up and ran for the doorway. They watched as a hugely muscular Balzac ran naked down the hallway with two dozen female Gryphons chasing him. The Gryphons' talons and paws struck the floor sounding like a stampede as they yelled at the Balzac in Aerophene. The Balzac suddenly turned a corner further on down the hallway, but before he took a step, a shimmering, prismatic forcefield sprung into existence, courtesy of Full Spectrum, barring his way. He screamed and clawed in futility at the forcefield. The Gryphons caught up to him and the Balzac was quickly lost under the avalanche of leonine and avian body parts.

Starburst, Catalyst, and Full Spectrum watched as the Gryphons untangled themselves and stepped back. The Balzac was suddenly wearing a pair of pants and was trying to get them off. The Gryphons slapped his claws away from the pants, admonishing him in their native tongue, which the tall reptile had no way of comprehending. He looked sheepish, but he began inching his claws toward the pants again. One older Gryphon slapped his claws away from the pants a second time and the Balzac held his claw in a childlike manner, eyes downcast. The Gryphon scolding him began gesturing to his groin while making motions of disapproval for his previous naked state. Full Spectrum decided that the older Gryphon would have made a horrifying opponent in charades. Being able to pantomime decency with raptor talons was a truly impressive skill.

After a few more moments of scolding, the older Gryphon spread her wings and grasped the claw of the Balzac with her talons, gently escorting him back down the hallway like a mother would with a child. The trio of lovers just watched in fascination as the other female Gryphons all walked calmly back the way they had come, with the Balzac in tow.

Full Spectrum snorted in amusement, "Well that went well, I suppose." She eyed Starburst's haunches hungrily and licked her lips. For reasons he could not understand, the Pegasus stallion felt a sudden icy chill crawl up his spine. He slowly turned his head and met the hungry eyes of an amorous young woman. He felt a tingle in his stomach at the way she was looking at him. Full Spectrum reached for him but she was interrupted as an amethyst colored aura suddenly surrounded her entire body. She grunted and tried to escape the grip, "Catty!" She yelled, "Let me go! I need..."

Catalyst stepped out into the hallway, carrying the young woman behind her, "You need to get a check up first, is what you need. I can do scans all day long, but I'm not a medical professional. Something strange happened to you and we need to know what it was and what it did. You can make kissy faces at Starburst all you want, later. For now, we need to make sure you're not in any danger."

Full Spectrum squirmed in midair, reaching out for her fiance, "Noooooooo!"

* * *

Morning Mist dropped a single hair from her own head into the vial of blood she had taken from the massive pool. The hair burnt away into ash as it touched the surface and the red blood turned clear like water. She held the vial up for Princess Luna, "The pool is attuned only to the Balzac." She stated with finality, "Anything else will be burnt away and the pool will become useless." She dumped the liquid out onto the ground, "I was very careful about my tests. I used a Balzac scale for an earlier one. The scale was absorbed into the blood and the blood itself formed into more scales and tiny bits of flesh. The scales and flesh filled the vial and used up all the blood."

She carefully placed the vial back into her saddlebags, "The pool is finite and every resurrected Balzac drains some of the blood. Once all the skulls have been thrown in, I believe all we have to do is drop a single hair into the pool and it will become inert. The magic will be gone and the spell will be done."

Luna nodded in understanding, "Would it be possible to remake it, or to craft a new one?"

Morning Mist shook her head, "I don't know. But even if it were possible, would we want to? The blood of hundreds if not thousands or even more went into filling that thing. Their blood was kept fresh through a system of Blood Magic I have never even heard of and understand even less. I know of no way to recreate it and... I think it's for the best. This kind of power is beyond what anybody should ever use. Life begins and life is meant to end. This spell this... device, if you will, works against the natural order of the world. We cannot use it, we don't have the right."

Luna smiled softly at the Pegasus mare, "I see." She took a deep, slow breath and steeled herself for the next conversation topic, "Onto a different subject, I have heard that you met my fiancé and that you know what he did."

Morning Mist lowered her head and nodded, "I realized... recognized him four days ago... but I... I don't know how to feel."

Luna adopted a look of compassion, "I cannot tell you how to feel, nobody can. You must decide what to do. I have no right to offer my opinion nor suggest any course of action. Your course of action is yours alone. Just remember that you must live with whatever decision you make." She finished then thought better of it, "Do you wish to remain here until the pool is neutralized?"

Morning Mist scuffed her right forehoof against the floor of the tent, "I should, just to be on the safe side." She raised her head and regarded Princess Luna, "I appreciate you allowing me to help here."

Luna turned her head to the side and scoffed lightly, "You know Blood Magic and you were willing to come. You have demonstrated your eagerness to do better and you deserve that chance. You have proven our faith in you to be correctly placed."

Morning Mist blushed at what she perceived to be a compliment, "I... thank you, your majesty."

Luna waved her left wing dismissively, "You are one of a very small number who have seen us-me, at one of my most vulnerable and low states. You may call me Luna should it please you. I would have nothing against it."

Morning Mist was aghast at the casual nature of the statement, "I... I... don't know what to say..."

Luna smirked, "Then say nothing. I have other things to attend to." She rose to her hooves and trotted to the entrance of the tent, "I bid you a good day, Morning Mist."

* * *

(Many Leagues away...)

The morning might have been frigidly cold, but sweat poured down Cloud Cutter's face as he finally managed to keep pace with Darryl and Rose. On this morning, Cutter's future brother in-law had joined them. Cloud Cutter had been run ragged the first week, but the second week showed a noticeable increase in his endurance and muscle mass. Darryl had been tough, but Rose Thorn had been nothing short of brutal with the exercise routine. The mare was a muscular marvel. The Human and mare were an almost perfect team. They worked, thought, and moved in complete unison when on the job. They could practically finish each other's sentences. Cloud Cutter had been worried that his two 'truant officers' as they called themselves, would do nothing but run him ragged every day for two years so one can imagine his surprise when they told him that after morning exercises, that they would be taking him on patrol with them to learn.

Despite the deep aches in his body, Cloud Cutter was looking forward to learning something. Rose and Darryl had led Artex and Cutter on a run around the entire perimeter of the treeline surrounding New Humansville ten times before they stopped. They finished the run at the Emissary's house.

Rose, Darryl, and even Artex were hardly winded by the run. Cloud Cutter was exhausted and panting hard for breath. The inside of the house was toasty warm and Cutter felt his head swim from the sudden, drastic change in temperature. He stumbled for a moment before he gave up and flopped down on the floor of the foyer. His mouth hung open as he greedily gulped down air as quickly as his lungs would allow.

He heard chuckles from the other runners and looked up, only to see the three of them all smiling and giggling to one another. Artex knelt down next to the badly winded young stallion and patted him none too gently on his back, "The endurance will come with time." He gestured to Rose and Darryl, "It took nearly a full month before I could even DREAM of keeping up with these two." Artex drew back his hand and began walking toward the back of the house, "Come on, it's time for us to begin your REAL training."

Darryl and Rose waited until Cutter was on his hooves before they followed. As Cloud Cutter limped through the kitchen he noticed the pile of eggs, toast, and other breakfast items set out while his eldest sister and Oriana busied themselves around the kitchen. Despite her height and long legs, Vaiawa was already in the living room in her natural form, lying on a stout perch board close to the ceiling. She watched everything below with silent fascination. Cloud Cutter saw Artex sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and a strange look on his face.

Cutter laid down on the floor directly in front of Artex and waited silently. Rose Thorn and Darryl Hord laid and sat down, respectively, on either side of Artex. All of them were looking at Cloud Cutter silently. For his part, Cutter waited for one of the three to speak first. He had said little since his arrival and Darryl made him run a lap around the town if he spoke out of turn.

So there he sat, waiting for one of the three to break the silence. He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Cloud Cutter's eyes switched from Darryl to Rose to Artex and back again. He was determined to wait until one of them spoke first. When his eyes moved to Rose the next time, she met his gaze and held it. Her eyes bored into his for long minutes, but he held her gaze. Finally she spoke, "Answer the questions we ask you. Do not ask any questions of your own. Is that understood?"

Cloud Cutter held his body still as he replied, "Yes." He was afraid to move, 'Is this some strange Human custom?' He wondered.

"Good." Rose replied. It was Artex who spoke next. His question was a single word, "Why?"

Cutter only barely managed to refrain from asking, 'why what?' He gave the question some thought, 'Well I'm here because I almost murdered him, so that's probably what he is asking about.' Cutter opened his mouth and answered, "Because I thought you were dangerous."

Darryl asked the next question, "Why?"

Cutter blinked in confusion, 'Did I say the wrong thing? Did I give the wrong answer?' He pondered that question briefly before he looked back to Darryl, 'No. If I had answered wrong, he would have had me running more laps I'm sure. Was he asking me why I thought Artex was dangerous?' Deciding to go with that thought, he answered, "Because I had heard what Humans had done at Flankfurt and because I heard what the museum said about Humans."

"What happened at Flankfurt?" Rose asked.

"Humans attacked." Cloud Cutter said quickly.

"Why?" Artex asked.

Cloud Cutter opened his mouth to answer, but he quickly realized that he did not know. He closed his mouth and thought some more, 'I never stopped to ask why the Humans would attack Flankfurt.' He decided to go with his best assumption, "Because they wanted something."

Darryl was the next to ask, "Why?"

Cutter thought he was catching on the the reasoning for the questions, 'They want me to always consider the reasons for everything before I act so I don't make a mistake like that again.' Feeling the impetuous nature of youth, he answered, "I get it..."

"No you don't." Artex said quickly, "Answer the question. Why did the Humans want something?"

Cloud Cutter answered without thinking, "Because they didn't have it."

"Why?" Rose asked.

Cutter was stumped and he knew it. He hung his head feeling like a failure, "I don't know."

Darryl asked the next question, "Do you know what it was they wanted?"

Cutter simply answered, "No."

"They wanted revenge." Rose said. Cutter's head whipped up in keen interest as she continued, "They wanted revenge for seventy of them that the E.U.P. Guard massacred. They were traumatized and heartbroken. They were stricken with grief and not thinking clearly."

Cutter spoke without thinking again, "But those Ponies didn't do anything to them."

"Nor did Artex." Darryl quickly said.

Cutter closed his mouth, 'The comparison is not the same.' As if reading his thoughts, Artex spoke next, "The situations are not identical, but see the pattern: misunderstanding, violence, misunderstanding, violence... the pattern could have kept going. It was by sheer luck that it did not. Had it been any other Human, you would be guilty of murder."

Cutter hung his head even lower, "I'm so sorry for that."

Rose spoke next, "We know, but sorrow and contrition are not enough. The damage was still done." She lapsed into silence before speaking again, "Do you know why Artex wanted you to come here? Why he wanted you to undergo rehabilitation at New Humansville?"

Cutter shook his head, "I do not."

Rose's voice was hard, "Because he knew you could be better." She let the words hang in the air for some minutes before continuing, "When he got the stitches removed from his mouth a few days ago, we all sat down and had a long talk about this. He did not bring you here to keep punishing you. He had you brought here to learn to be the best. He brought you here because he. Saw. Your. Heart."

Darryl spoke next, "You were the one who flew all the way to Canterlot to tell the Guard about the Diamond Dogs over two years ago. You saved a lot of lives and I know that could not have been an easy flight. You acted to protect your city, at risk to yourself. In Trottingham, you and your friends were willing to confront an unknown creature you saw as a danger to your home. You thought he had skin as hard as diamond and some other powers, and yet you still did it. It was stupid, but the fact remains that you were willing to take on unknown odds to do what you thought was in the best interest of your home. You are here to learn how to do the same thing, using the right methods and thought processes."

Darryl paused and took a breath before continuing, "I heard you crying in your bed the first night... and the second and the third. I was surprised you lasted until day four before you broke down during the exercises. It's something we do in the Marines. We break down who you think you are and mold you into who you need to be. It's not pretty or gentle, it's rough and harsh. It's not meant to change who you are personality wise. It's meant to break you down until you're teachable, then build you back up. The eight days after your breakdown, was to get you to accept where you were and what you were doing. Now comes the instruction."

Rose grinned, "Oh don't worry," she said with a smirk, "You're still going to be doing the exercises with us. The difference is now you're going to learn."

Razor and Oriana trotted into the living room and set down platters of food in front of everybody. Artex looked at Cloud Cutter sternly, "You have ten minutes to eat. After that, the teaching begins."

* * *

Rose and Darryl left with Cloud Cutter eleven minutes later. Razor, Oriana, Vaiawa, and Artex finished breakfast at a leisurely pace, "What time are your parents coming, Razor?"

Razor Wit swallowed her mouthful quickly, "Some time before noon. We'll get the big stuff that involves you out of the way right now. I know you've been waiting to get to work in your workshop."

Artex nodded and swallowed his own mouthful, "I have. Are you sure you don't need my help with everything?"

Razor shook her head, "No. You deserve some time off and I've been planning this on and off my whole life."

Artex bobbed his head in acceptance, "As you wish, my love." He looked around to Oriana and Vaiawa, "If anybody wants me to build something specific, just let me know and I'll be happy to make it for you."

Oriana spoke up immediately, "A lab table! I'm going to need a good lab table to work on."

Artex smiled, "Sounds good. Give me the specifics after we clean up breakfast and I'll get right on it."

* * *

Rose and Darryl were decked out in their armor for their patrol. Cloud Cutter had been instructed to follow behind them and observe silently but to get himself to safety and not intervene on the off chance that something violent happened. Their patrol route was a set pattern for the week. All the other patrols were random. It was a good system and it was not regular. Every week a pair of officers drew straws and whichever team picked the short straw had the set pattern.

Cloud Cutter was bursting with questions, but he stayed silent and followed the two officers. He knew he had wings and he could fly away if he wanted, but he also knew he would eventually be caught. He also knew that he would be feeling terribly guilty for doing so. So he followed them silently as they walked their patrol.

Throughout the day he saw sky carriages come and go, landing on the roof of Town Hall then taking off again. He saw Cloudsdale hanging above the town as it had been for the past week, without providing any snow. There had been some sort of ongoing disagreement between the town and the cloud city about the weather. The Human Mayor and a number of the C.W.G. officer had gone up to the cloud city and resolved the issue, though Cutter had no idea what that entailed. He saw the nearly completed railway which could connect Flankfurt and Canterlot, depending on which switch was flipped at any given time. He saw Changelings and Bloodmages walking around openly. The first day, it had been a shock. After that it was not as jarring. The Humans seemed to be everywhere. They went about their business with Ponies, and Changelings as if it were an every day occurrence. Nobody acted nervous or jumpy around neighbors who would be shunned at the very least in most other towns and cities in Equestria. Nobody did anything he could not expect to see on any given day in Trottingham. The only differences were the races and backgrounds of the citizens.

Changeling and Pony foals played games of tag in their yards or on the playground of the school. Males and females of all races went to work, ran errands, and bought groceries. Everything was almost nauseatingly normal. He kept his eyes roving, always looking for something to learn. He was determined not to miss any opportunities and ignored as much of the goings on as he could. By the end of the day, Cloud Cutter had given up on learning anything useful. Nothing had happened.

Filled with disappointment, he followed Rose and Darryl back to the C.W.G. Headquarters. He followed them into the locker room and sat down on a bench while they changed out of their uniforms in the curtained off individual changing rooms. Darryl was the first to speak, "So what did you learn today, Cloud Cutter? You were pretty much silent the whole time, you must have learned something if you were doing that much thinking."

Cloud Cutter snorted, "I made it a point to be open to learning anything I could, but nothing happened so I didn't learn anything. I was totally focused on learning something and I didn't let anything distract me from it." His pent up feelings of disappointment began spilling out, "I was observant. I was attentive. I was focused. I WANT to do better! I don't want to hurt anybody again because of my own ignorance! I want to do my best and keep everybody safe and... and... and today was just a big waste of time!"

The shuffling of clothes ceased from beyond both sets of curtains. All was silent for a few seconds before both Darryl and Rose began laughing hysterically. Rose actually rolled out from behind the curtain of her changing booth, rolling around on the floor, clutching her sides and kicking her hind legs into the air.

Cloud Cutter felt his face heating up with embarrassment. There was obviously something to have been learned and he had missed it completely. He stayed quiet and went through his memories of the day as quickly as he could, looking for anything that he could have learned from, 'There must have been something I missed. Something that was really subtle. Some sort of minor event that I overlooked...' he wracked his brain, trying to come up with some lesson he should have learned.

Darryl pulled back the curtain from the doorway of his changing room and proceeded to hang his armor up in his locker, chuckling the whole time, "C-Cutter," he laughed, "Have you ever heard the saying, 'you can't see the forest for the trees'?"

Cutter tilted his head to the left, "Huh?"

Darryl waved his hand, "Nevermind. Human saying. What I mean is that you were so focused on not letting anything distract you from learning, that you didn't learn anything. You missed what was right in front of you."

Cutter felt like an idiot, "I don't understand. What did I miss?"

Rose trotted up beside him and nudged him with her shoulder, "What was it that you kept from being a distraction?"

Cutter was still confused, "Well... everything. I noticed that everybody went about their business like normal... honestly it was boring just walking around all day. Everyone I saw was completely... average, normal."

Darryl suddenly clapped his hands together dramatically, "TA-DA! Ladies and gentlemen, we have our lesson for the day! Let's go one step farther than that, though."

Cutter was feeling extra dense at that moment, "Huh?"

Rose snickered, lowering her head, "THAT was the lesson! You expected something big to happen, didn't you?"

Cutter nodded, "Of course I did."

"Why?" Rose asked.

Cutter opened his mouth to respond, but then he gave the question serious thought, 'Why DID I expect something to happen?' His thoughts turned inward, 'I know I was anticipating something significant, but it never came. Why did I have that kind of expectation? Officer Rose and officer Darryl never gave me a reason to believe I would see something so why did I?' The answer came to him and the realization made him blush with shame and more than a little humility, 'I expected something to happened just because I was hyped up. I WANTED something to happen... just like with Artex. I did not see what I expected, so I made something happen just to live up to my expectation.' The realization nearly made him tear up, 'I... am I so self-centered that I almost killed an innocent person JUST so I would not be disappointed?'

Darryl saw the realization on the young stallion's face. He closed his locker and sat down on the bench next to Cloud Cutter, "So to repeat my earlier question, what did you learn today?"

Author's Notes:

Something which took me entirely too long to understand myself. Let me know if you spot any typos.