Author's Notes:

Long delay from the stage of Writing to the point of Publishing due in part because of how tedious proofreading feels. I said I'd get it up on the weekend, though, and did the best I could over 3 editing passes but 70k+ words to pick through made me go cross-eyed on a few occasions so hopefully you, reader, don't find anything glaring I missed in my haze.

Looking forward to getting the next chapter out so I can update the story page with some great cover art that I commissioned and have been sitting on for far too long!

"You're trying too hard, love. It's already a part of you and everything around you, relax and it will come to you when you are ready," Titus instructed.

Following a positively wonderful morning full of cuddles, a shared breakfast, and a trip to the ship, both he and Twilight had cleared a small amount of floor in the lab so that they could both sit in quiet beside each other as Twilight continued with the experiment she had been running the last few days which had come at Titus' request. Rather surprisingly Titus had given in to Twilight's pleading and let himself be hooked up to many of the machines in her laboratory to test his connection to Harmony, and after all of the excitement had settled (all of which had stemmed from Twilight because no matter what the data showed it would be groundbreaking) Titus had asked if they could reverse the experiment and check her for Force aptitude and as it had turned out, he had been right. In the last few days of instruction Titus had been observing Twilight and feeling the ebb and flow of the Force around him slowly change as the unicorn joined him in his meditation and found her focus, and last night had been no exception as he felt his own connection to both her and the Force strengthen considerably.

"One more time... but this time don't try and make something happen, just wait for it to occur on its own."

"Ugh! I just want some sort of sign that I'm doing things right." The first hurdle Twilight had had to overcome was thinking of nothing during her practice meditation which was something that didn't come naturally to the unicorn's ever-active brain. To make things even more difficult, however, was his explanation that envisioning an empty white room was still thinking of colors and spaces and would only partially help in clearing her mind. Currently they were both connected to several machines she had set up to try and get some data on what happened when he connected to or manipulated the Force, so she had to be careful not to jostle any of the cords or equipment before leaning against the human for a quick, endearing nuzzle, "But when you keep calling me 'love' it gets progressively harder to concentrate."

A small snort and smooch on the nearby ear in return was the only further communication they shared before Twilight giggled briefly and took a deep breath to try to clear her mind again, "Here goes..."

Once again the lab fell into complete silence except for the hum of machines and the rhythmic breathing of Twilight and Titus though the muted scratching of Spike as he took regular notes from the numerous readouts being actively printed out in long sheets as he had been instructed could occasionally be heard. For Titus, the exercise was second nature and he was comfortable (and perfectly capable of) meditating for hours on end however he could identify with the irritation Twilight was feeling for seemingly not making any progress, having felt similar frustration when he was a youngling trying the same exercise.

As time continued to drag on with nothing exciting happening slowly Spike was worn down until he fell asleep on the couch, obliviously snoring as the constantly printing data proceeded to buried him.

Titus hadn't expected the connection he felt Twilight had change so rapidly, however. The Force around him abruptly shifted to flow unfettered through her like a valve in a pipe opening so that several bits of stationary that lay scattered about and one slumbering baby dragon vibrated briefly before they lazily drifted into the air. He was a little taken back and didn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth, "Twi... you're doing it-"

"What?! Really!?" Twilight's concentration immediately broke and by the time the sudden exclamation had passed her lips everything that had been floating dropped back to the ground, though Spike bounced off the cushion to land in the pile of paper he had been using as a blanket which startled him awake.

"Spike! I-I did it, I actually did it! Quick, get a reading off the spectro-Harmonizer and log it!" she instructed the groggy dragon as she dashed over to the camcorder to replay what it had recorded. Watching the small screen with baited breath and her muzzle sat a scant inch away the somewhat grainy image showed the objects shiver and lift into the air. Turning about, Twilight anxiously confirmed with Titus that he hadn't done anything to interfere with the experiment and after he answered he had only been monitoring her growing connection to the Force her excitement reached an all-time high, "T-This is astounding! A non-Harmony based energy, for lack of a better term, that's accessible to Equestrians without the need of channeling through a horn... the discovery of the Force was huge, but this? This could change everything!"

"Hold on-*yaaaawn* Twilight. We don't know if this is unique to you, unicorns, or if it's universally applicable to Equestrians as a whole," Spike, who was well versed in dealing with Twilight's excitement, expertly talked her back down from an incoming lecture on all the possible what-ifs she was about to launch into before he stretched with another long yawn, "We need to follow the scientific method and run more tests on you to establish this as a repeatable trend rather than a random event, then test others to check that your aptitude isn't an isolated occurrence. We've been at this for a long time, though, so maybe we could take a break for lunch or something?"

Although Twilight now wanted nothing more than to get to the bottom of what had happened her grumbling tummy and Titus inquiring with the dragon what was on the menu was a strong argument in favor of taking a break.

"That would give me time to formulate a procedure for all of the upcoming experiments I want to run..." she said to herself with a nod which was enough of a sign of agreement to stop that the skilled dragon chef eagerly jogged off to whip something up for them all. With him gone the unicorn and human were now alone in the lab where Twilight continued pouring over the data her equipment had recorded for several minutes before realizing Titus hadn't stirred from his seated position. More than a little curious and slightly worried as to why, she anxiously tip-hoofed up behind him and carefully draped her head over his shoulder to rub cheeks affectionately, "Hey... is everything okay? I thought you'd be a bit more excited."

Titus was quiet for a second which Twilight knew meant he was in thought but eventually he sighed and leaned into her cheek, "Everything is... well, I can't say 'fine' because this does raise a few questions for me and it's a lot to think about, but you're wrong if you thought I'm not excited about this."

Twilight was glad to hear she hadn't disappointed him in some way but immediately wanted to know what sort of concerns he had though Titus wasn't sure how to voice them off the top of his head so the pair migrated to the couch where he sat in thought for several more moments before nodding that he had sorted things out.

"Let's wait to see what your machines say before we go getting all worked up. The reason I say that is because I, personally, wasn't one of the Jedi who would go out and look for Force sensitive children so I'm not an expert, but from what I felt you were connecting with the Force on some level or another. I just can't be certain how," he said, the revelation clearly heightening the unicorn's excitement as she gasped and climbed into his lap to give him a big hug, "What concerns me is this... if confirmation does come back and you can go further, what do you plan to do? Are you going to explore it and see what you're capable of? Are you going to share what you've discovered with others-"

"Yes, of course I want to know more! This is a huge discovery!" she blurted but suddenly her stomach churned with fear, her ears drooping and shoulders sagging, "Hang on. T-This doesn't mean you and I can't be together or something because of a Jedi statute or something, does it? I'd never risk that, so if that's even a possibility we're stopping here."

His chuckle that followed brought a big sigh of relief and after sharing a long kiss he explained that that was hardly the case, "It makes things a little more complicated, but nothing like what you said. I only ask because I want to know what sort of approach you would make with your new knowledge and, if you'll let me, I'd like to guide you through this as best I can..."

"Are you asking if you could teach me? Of course! Oh my gosh, I'd love that!" Twilight gasped, at which point Titus had to quickly point out again that, as Spike had suggested, this was all still speculative and that further experiments should be done before they got worked up into a frenzy at the apparent discovery which could be nothing more than an errant Harmony hiccup. His explanation, however, had to be made around several more kisses from the eager unicorn.

Twilight was excited regardless, and after quickly removing the tie holding her mane up she planted a hoof on Titus' sternum and pushed him onto his back, the comfy couch cushion breaking all of his fall and making him bounce slightly as she crawled over his form. Her lips eagerly sought his as her magic and hooves unbuttoned the lab coat that matched the one she was wearing before "helping" him out of the short sleeved shirt underneath by tugging the hem up before he was ready. As soon as he had gotten the article over his head she tossed the white coat back at him and went to work unfastening his belt.

"Lab coat stays on..."

------------

"Be right there!" As another series of knocks at her front door rang out Twilight skipped lightly down the hallway, humming a cheerful tune as she went. It's just been such a wonderful day!

After their night of lovemaking she had woken up early and with the aid of a little sleeping spell she had guaranteed she wouldn't rouse Titus while untangling herself from the covers and would keep him asleep while she slipped out to surprise him with a trio of fresh fritters from Applejack's cart, all of which were selected with the farm pony's recollection of his favorites. Breakfast in bed was followed by what she hoped would become a morning ritual of sharing a shower and though they were both a little too sore for a repeat they nonetheless enjoyed each other's company immensely.

Together they had walked to his ship because he had wanted to show her the progress he had made on repairing the helm. Twilight could immediately recognize the remarkable improvement over the disarray Piloting had been in - the smashed console where Rainbow Dash had found him dangling upside-down had been fixed and the screen blinked warmly with light and colored buttons; wall panels that had once been bent and tossed about now sat in their rightful spots with a fresh coat of crisp, cool white paint; and most impressive was the show of the wall of monitors all being lit up at the same time to form a single image of the outside almost like a big window which she had gotten to power on thanks to a quick tutorial at the repaired console, much to Twilight's delight.

Following that activity had been a reintroduction to Iana, the first voice Twilight and her friends had encountered on the crashed ship, and again to the unicorn's delight the AI greeted her by name which Titus briefly explained had been made possible by updating Iana's database with the interactions she had had with Fluttershy and the others the night of his rescue. Naturally Twilight had numerous questions for the now-operational computer personality and devoured as much information as she could through a long conversation, though from what she had come to understand was that the AI might have been damaged in the crash and was undergoing repairs like everything else aboard so much of the sensor data that had been out of reach was still momentarily irretrievable. After a quick farewell and passing along wishes that the AI would feel better Twilight had lead her human back to the library to conduct the Force affinity experiment which had had surprisingly exciting results that culminated in a celebratory whoopee on her laboratory couch.

I couldn't help it, he just makes me so happy! Plus, seeing him in that lab coat? Maybe I need to get him down into the lab more often... Twilight giggled as she sorted the images flashing through her mind for later and collected herself in the hallway mirror before calling upon her magic to open the door where a grinning mint unicorn eagerly stepped into the entry.

"Sparkles, hey! The big guy ready- oh, right. Sorry. *Ahem.*" Lyra's exuberant greeting came to an abrupt halt as she bonked herself on the head for her oversight before clearing her throat to try again with a bit more formality and an impressive attempt at a haughty Canterlot accent complete with a small curtsy and several rolled syllables.

"Good evening, Lady Twilight. Would Master Titus be available for our scheduled rendezvous?" The mint unicorn had obviously dolled herself up, her usually free-range mane now lusciously brushed into order and shiny from conditioners which were probably Bon-Bon's and doubly probable borrowed without asking (Twilight correctly assumed on both accounts) and accented with a small pink bow behind an ear, in addition to a subtle amount of green lipstick a shade or two darker than her coat and the faint smell of mint in the air. When Twilight didn't say anything for a moment Lyra shifted from hoof to hoof and raised an eyebrow, "Uh, you didn't forget about Friday, right? Friday night is EFC Fight Night..."

"And your EFC Date Night," Twilight couldn't help to interject as the chance presented itself to finally reverse the lighthearted teasing her friends had given her throughout her ordeal of starting a relationship with the human, "You look great! I can't remember the last time you got all fancy for a night out, Titus is going to-"

Lyra, however, shoved her back inside the library with a huff, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just figured I'd give the big guy something nice to look at seeing as I can't take part in the usual sparring what with this sprained horn."

"And just whose fault is it that it hasn't healed yet? The doctor told you to lay off the magic if you wanted the charms in the bandage to be the most effective," Twilight retorted, rolling her eyes as she continued down the hall toward the living room with Lyra beside her, "Look, you're my friend and I want you to get better. Titus does, too, he told me he feels guilty about it."

"Thanks, Sparkles... and I have been better about it recently. Look, the big guy came up with this!" Lyra procured a small notepad from her saddlebag where entries in what was clearly Lyra's writing of time-stamps and small descriptions nearly filled the page, such as the "8am - retrieved cookie jar from top shelf with stool" scribbled at the top. When Twilight asked what the log was for the mint unicorn beamed proudly, "Whenever I do something for myself rather than use magic I record the time and what I did. When I fill up a sheet with entries the big guy gives me an extra long ear rub, like, five whole minutes per ear! I haven't used magic almost all week! Ooo! Let me see that a sec..." Lyra quickly added another entry for physically pulling the notepad out of her saddlebag to show Twilight which completed the final line. Yes, one more ear rub coming my way! I think I'll bank it for later, though.

Packing her log back in the saddlebag Lyra gave a quick look around the library, expecting to see Titus sitting in a chair reading or waiting for her to show up but the living room was empty save for her and Twilight, the latter of whom had an odd happy look about her. "So... I stopped by the ship but no one was home except the droids and that floaty orb thing the computer is talking from. Sergeant Quickbolt said she hadn't seen the big guy since the morning and this is the only other place he'd be, right?"

"He's actually upstairs getting ready. And there are other places in town he visits besides the library... just want to point that out."

Lyra had recently made a little bit of a stink that Twilight had been hogging the human's free-time so despite her statement being technically true she opted to not mention that list of other locations was woefully short. Aside from the lone time he had been enjoying a cup of coffee early one morning Lyra had only seen Titus a hoofful of times on his own about town and all of those times had been running errands with R6 or Dex to one side while on the other was usually the pegasus Sergeant who was tagging along as his bawdy bodyguard.

"Yeah, well... he never hangs out at my house," she pouted and leaned back on her haunches to cross her hooves in front of her chest, "I'm just astounded the reporters haven't found that suspicious."

"Well for starters it would help to actually be invited over," Titus' voice suddenly coming from the doorway caused both unicorns to quickly peek over the back of the couch to find him tousling his hair with a towel before giving a dog-like shake to settle it messily into place, "As for the reporters, Twilight and I have been comparing her notes on the portal magic and the sensor data I've collected which serves as a great excuse for me to be here. On the other hand, I get the feeling the tabloids would swarm your place in hopes of catching something scandalous... plus I don't think your roommate likes me."

That last bit got a curious look from Twilight though Lyra was quick to wave it off before she explained to him that Bon-Bon could appear faintly aloof when she was actually just cautious about opening up to strangers. She went on to state that the fact that even after having a stressful morning she hadn't stared him off her stoop the day of his interview spoke volumes of how much she had come to like him from the stories Lyra had told her (or, more accurately, that she hadn't voiced any dislike for him).

Vaulting over the back of the couch to join them Titus landed between the two unicorns which bounced both of them into the air amid a brief fit of giggles and after they had settled back down Twilight wormed her way into her normal spot against his side for a nuzzle. Lyra watched their affections curiously and paid particular attention to Twilight because she had felt that something looked or felt different about her friend when she had answered the door though she hadn't been able to place why and only just began to form a conclusion as she noted the way Twilight's muzzle stayed buried in a spot slightly below Titus' ear to whisper something too low for her to hear which got a quiet chuckle and a squeeze of violet unicorn's cutie mark.

Any further observation was brought to an end when Titus gave Twilight a big one-armed squeeze and a closing chaste smooch before turning to Lyra and nudging her with a shoulder. "Evening, Lyra. I've been looking forward tonight but I also remembered we made a deal a long time ago that I needed to wear these-" he said with a glance that drew her attention to the muscle shirt and knee-length shorts he had changed into after his shower before giving the mint unicorn a look-over, "But you look... wow. 'Fantastic' wouldn't do it justice."

"Awww, thanks! Don't go getting used to it, big guy," Lyra shoved him back playfully with her own shoulder but gave him an appreciative grin when he kept admiring her, "I used to have to dress myself up like this for all the Canterlot snobbery when I still lived with my parents because they'd hold a ball or party to keep in standing with the neighbors. Needless to say it got old pretty quick, but I figured it might be fun for one night because this was a special occasion." Titus reiterated that she looked great and he was looking forward to the night's festivities before clapping his palms on his knees and dismissing himself to put on his boots which left Twilight and Lyra a moment to themselves.

"So, Sparkles... you've been, like, radiant since you answered the door," the mint unicorn broke the silence after Titus had rounded the corner and was out of earshot before turning a mischievous smirk at Twilight who was still watching the door where the human had disappeared, "It's obvious something changed between you two by the way you look at each other..."

The subtle sign of lips clenching shut meant Twilight didn't want to say anything though her attempt to hide it with a fake look of confusion to what Lyra had meant only drove the mint unicorn on to get the details. We've been friends for far too long for that card to work on me, Sparkles. With a ploy of her own she shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't care and jerked her head toward the window to indicate to something outside, "Oh, it's just that with Bon-Bon away on her trip I have to do the grocery shopping. On my way home today I bumped into Spike, who had an odd question for me-"

"Spike?"

Lyra grinned internally that picking her friend's defenses apart was so easy. Well that got her attention. She had a good idea what had gone on between the two because she had come to realize the look Twilight had about her was hardly indicative of anything else, and because she actually had run into Spike on her way home and had been told he had slept over at those foals' clubhouse it would only take a nudge in the right direction to get the unicorn to spill the beans on her own accord - or at least close enough for Lyra's sense of guilt not to burden her overly much.

"Yeah, he said he came back to get some comic books for some foal friends he was hanging out with and he heard these noises and wanted to know what was going on." The sight of Twilight's eyes expanding to the size of dinner plates was a sure sign the ball was rolling as was the small lock of mane finding its way into her mouth to be chewed on which was something she did when she was nervously thinking something over. Lyra, however, wasn't prepared for when Twilight suddenly vaulted over the back of the couch and hastily trotted out to the hallway calling to Titus before any juicy details had been spilled.

Shoot, that's now how I wanted this to happen!

"Sparkles, wait!" Lyra scrambled over the back of the couch and hurried to follow her in hopes of keeping Twilight's panic from spreading to Titus which, she feared, might run the possibility of ruining their anticipated get-together with the others and knowing the details she sought was nowhere near worth that. As she rounded the corner with her mouth open to try and convince her that everything with Spike was probably no big deal (along with numerous other excuses she was ready to fire off) she saw Twilight sitting rather calmly and waiting for her with a mischievous grin of her own which brought her to a slow stop.

"W-What's going on?" she asked and looked around for Titus who she thought would be lacing up his boots but was nowhere to be seen, "And where did the big g-?"

Lyra's question was cut off because out of nowhere there was the familiar feeling of an arm looping around her barrel. After a startled look to her side she now saw Titus who somehow had managed to sneak beside her in the narrow hallway, utter bewilderment crossing her face as he hoist her up to rest against his hip, "Hey! How'd you do that, big guy?!"

"See? Told you she'd try something like that, Twi." Much like the window she had gotten stuck in Titus' arm wasn't budging even with her squirming and after several seconds of trying to wiggle free she gave up and accepted her position slung under the arm. Twilight couldn't help but give an amused chuckle at the way Lyra relaxed and hung there limply while Titus awarded her a patronizing pat on the head, "Alright you mint menace... we're leaving before you do something that actually causes my fillyfriend to get all worked up."

Lyra squirmed about a bit more to escape before looking at him expectantly though the blank look he and Twilight both returned as if they had rehearsed it made it clear they wanted her to say something.

"Well? Are you going to put me down or are you going to carry me all the way to the farm like this?" she said with more than a little hint of a rhetorical tone but the contemplative hum Titus gave as he picked up his shoulder bag and stepped toward the door like he was actually considering Lyra's idea caused her to squeak with bonafide trepidation, "C-Come on, you wouldn't carry me through town like a sack of potatoes would you?" The idea of how embarrassing that would be to be lugged around in such a manner for everypony to see was a bit unsettling though what was mortifying was the thought that it was similar to her fear of getting caught in tight spaces and being on display and her continuing to think about it had the effect of her tail subconsciously flattening against her flanks.

Twilight, who giggled because she knew full well of her friend's phobia, waited a few more moments to relish in her friend's discomfort before she walked over to pat Titus on the knee a few times which was the signal that had become second nature to him by now to kneel down to eye-height. "I don't think that will be necessary, provided she apologizes-"

A grumbled apology quickly came from the mint unicorn which meant she was to be duly released but not before Twilight had looped a forehoof behind Titus' neck for a short smooch, quickly followed by another and another. Each time he thought she was finished and was letting him go she pulled him back and after the fourth chaste kiss she leaned over to to the ear on the side Lyra was still being held on and shot her a playful smirk before intentionally whispering just loud enough for the captive to hear, "That's for being my four-time amazing human. Love you..."

"Well congrats, you just defeated the whole purpose of everything we did..." Titus sulked lightly as he had hoped to at least make it through a few days before having to deal with either Rainbow or Lyra finding out and now that one had the other wouldn't be far behind. Twilight saw he was slightly upset and nuzzled him in response before informing him that she was entitled to a little bragging about having the best coltfriend in Ponyville which he quickly asked if that meant he was entitled to do so as well.

When Lyra was finally set back on her hooves she cast a disbelieving look at Titus from head to foot then held a hoof up to hide her lips from him to mouth the number back at Twilight for confirmation only to get a stifled giggle and a motion of zipped lips before Twilight pushed her and the human toward the door with her magic.

"Alright, you two better get going or you'll be late! Oh, Lyra!" she stopped shoving the mint unicorn just short of getting her across the threshold to ask but kept up pushing Titus until he was several strides into the street in an attempt to keep him from hearing, "You told the girls, right...?" His flat ears, however and as always, were not to be underestimated and she had to dismiss his curious expression with a casual shake of her head as she stepped out with them, "Nothing, just don't want you getting roped into an all-night marathon, but go have fun! And one more thing."

Tonight was a big night for Lyra, in fact it was so big that the unicorn had invited Twilight out for a sit-down dinner the evening of his interview to discuss her intentions for the E.F.C. Night. This naturally had caught Twilight more than a little off guard with how uncharacteristically serious the mint unicorn had been before she had communicated that the final decision was up to Titus, though she added would be rooting for her musician friend, so again Twilight tapped him on the knee though this time the whisper was only for the two of them and she clearly struggled with how to word her thought, "I, um, don't know how things are going to go but Lyra might want to talk. I don't want to say anything else, but just remember I love you and know I'm okay with whatever you decide."

She wouldn't provide any more information than that during Titus' quick inquiries into trying to figure out what she was talking about and with Lyra hopping from hoof to hoof in anticipation of getting going he gave up. Still kneeling, he took Twilight's jaw in one hand and placed a long smooch on her lips, the unicorn's eyes going wide before they darted to the other ponies in the street as several of them cast a glance in their direction.

"What are you doing?! W-We're out in public, you dolt..." she whispered when he had finished and though she scolded him she knew it had been obvious that after recovering from the initial shock she had pressed eagerly into his lips herself so she was being a bit of a hypocrite.

"I know, but when you tell me you love me I just can't help myself," he joked but saw the concern in her eyes as they continued to zip between the ponies around them before he moved a hand to brush her neck reassuringly, "I'm just making small steps in being more open so we can eventually be a bit more... normal. Remember the concept of 'easing them into the idea' of us being together? I'd say it's as good a time as any to start, wouldn't you?"

Twilight quickly recalled the conversation they had shared after he had gotten better and nodded with the realization that starting small like very close friends exchanging a brush like he was currently doing or parting smooch would be a good place to start and the several passers-by that had seen them didn't appear to be overly fazed by it as they hadn't gawked. "I'm not actually going to go around bragging, but just to be clear you're saying it's okay if I'm a bit more cuddly with you when we're out and about?" she looked for confirmation and when he nodded she launched into a hug and excited nuzzle. Oh my gosh, this is it! ♫I've got a coltfriend, I've got a coltfriend!♫ It took a good deal of restraint not to sing her thought out loud to share her happiness though she felt perfectly content for the time being to just hum it in her head and her rump did a little bouncing dance as she did so.

After getting a warm hug and pat on the withers in return they separated and she waved them off, "Say hi to Applejack and Rainbow Dash for me! *Squee!* This is the best day ever!"

Titus and Lyra quickly fell into their normal antics but because his speeder was in pieces on the cargo bay floor to diagnose what had caused the return of the turbine vibration at low speeds he wasn't able to take her out on one of the rides she so greatly enjoyed. Still wanting to make the trip a treat for her he stepped in front of Lyra and crouched down, both arms making loops near his waist and before the library and its waving librarian were even out of sight the mint unicorn was whooping and hollering from aboard her human chariot as he carried her on his back and dashed through the street. Titus leapt over any sort of obstacle that got anywhere remotely close to their path, even going so far as to do a short wall-run down an alley that culminated in a Force Jump over the Quills and Sofas shop before cutting across the small field to hit the dirt and gravel road that lead to the Apple Family farm and with nothing in his way he could really get the lead out.

With further assistance from the Force his speed increased beyond anything remotely natural, his strides lengthening until he was covering ground at that exhilarating pace where the wind was whipping through Lyra's mane and battering at her ears as if she was flying. Following the road at such a speed meant it didn't take long before the outskirts of the expansive apple orchard were whizzing by them and, compared to the last few minutes of nothing to do but run, the addition of fences to jump over in flips and bounds and run precariously atop added enough spice to the trip that Lyra was a constant source of whoops and laughs. Titus soon spotted a big barn and small house next to it and put on a final burst of speed to finish Lyra's ride in a long skid to stop right at the front gate of the farm where she gave a big whoop for how much fun she had had before hopping off Titus' back to enthusiastically ring the bell that hung nearby. Several seconds of Titus hunching over to catch his breath while Lyra bounced a little circle around him recounting what it had felt like for her passed what little time they had to wait as Applejack appeared fairly quickly and waved her signature hat upon seeing them.

"Howdy you two! Was wonderin' when you'd be showin' up," she greeted and unlatched the gate for Lyra and Titus to walk through before closing it behind them and taking the lead to head them in the direction of the well-lit barn where the faint hint of music could be heard, "Sorry 'bout the gate, got to keep it closed on account of all the timberwolves I've been spottin' recently while apple buckin'. I uh, was sorta figurin' you'd be on that machine of yours..." Titus was in the middle of explaining that it was undergoing a few repairs before Lyra jumped in to tell her about the amazing piggy-back ride he had given her, the farm pony understandably a little dubious that he had run all the way out to the farm in such a short time let alone carrying Lyra on his back when a voice called out from the porch.

"Applejack, who was that at the gate? Telemarketers?"

"No, Granny, that's now how telemarketers work..." that was a conversation AJ had no interest in revisiting for the umpteenth time and instead just shook her head, "It was Lyra and Titus at the gate; they came over to watch E.F.C. with me, Big Mac, and Rainbow."

"Titus? The same fella you told me about?" A withered yet lively pony figure rocked forward out of the chair she had been sitting in to stand at the top of the porch stairs in the lone spot of light, her eyes straining in the group's direction before she tsk'ed at Applejack, "Well, what're ya waitin' for? Bring him on over here, my eyesight ain't what it used to be and I want to get a look at him."

Being lead the short distance over to the house Titus had a small amount of dread crop up in his throat that this was going to be one of those "look at the funny alien creature" situations he had encountered not long ago but instead found a smiling elderly mare who AJ introduced as Granny Smith, though his attempt at adding a Mrs. at the front of his greeting earned a sharp snort.

"It's just 'Granny' or 'Granny Smith,' nothin' fancy 'bout me outside of this newfangled hip I got me. Goodness, look at you! Tall like an oak tree and just as wide in the shoulders! They grow 'em big where you're from, don't they?"

Titus was immediately fond of the old green pony and gave a genuine chuckle, "Well, Granny, you might be surprised when I say humans are on the smaller scale compared to a lot of other species, but what we lack in size we more than make up for in scrappiness and dogged determination."

"Strong headed then? Well, us Apples got a good dose of that runnin' through us, too, but that don't mean we don't know when to accept a bit of help. Applejack told me how you helped her get the cart to the market on one of the busiest days this season and I know she already thanked you for that but that's the sort of kindness this family doesn't forget. If you ever need anythin' our door'll be open, ya hear? Oh, almost slipped my mind... Applebloom, come on out here!" Titus had spotted the foal lurking on the other side of the screen door several minutes ago and hadn't wanted to say anything but only now did she emerge to slowly walk over and come to a stop at the hooves of Granny Smith, her face cast downward at the porch. "I was goin' to have your sister take you over tomorrow, but seein' as he's here might as well save you both the time and do it now. Go on, Applebloom."

Applebloom shuffled uncomfortably from the stern stare she could feel coming from Granny and the presence of the large human but she realized he must have seen how she felt and quickly crouched down to gave her a smile which made her feel a little less scared, though to her he was still very large and imposing. "I-I'm really sorry about sneakin' on your ship, Mister Titus. After what you said at school about your lightsaber being your cutie mark me and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo got to thinkin' that maybe if we got on board we could find the parts and make our own to take to school and show everyone so they'd stop callin' us Blank Flanks, that's all... a-and we never meant to hurt your robot!" She glanced up only briefly to convey her sincerity and, much to her surprise, instead of scowling like she thought he would be he chuckled again.

"Ah, the cutie mark conundrum... look, having a blank flank doesn't make you less of a person than someone who has a cutie mark. I told you I don't need anything to tell me who I am but maybe I don't fit into the equation because I'm not Equestrian, but tell me: would she stop being your hardworking and dependable big sister without that?" he pointed at Applejack's cutie mark and waited for Applebloom to shake her head before reaching over to pat the back of his hand against Lyra's, "And Lyra here would still be rambunctiously lively and the adorable pain in my butt she is without hers-"

Titus caught himself before he used Twilight as another example when Lyra shoved him playfully with her shoulder before slipping under the outstretch arm with a grin, "What I'm trying to say is that you, Applebloom, aren't defined by your cutie mark. If there's someone who insists on valuing you based on whether you have one or not they're probably not the type of person whose opinion you should concern yourself with because chances are their own insecurities are what's driving them to be like that so you shouldn't even worry about them, especially when you can surround yourself with friends like Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo who'll go on adventures inside alien spaceships with you."

"But the names Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and the others are callin' us... they hurt," Applebloom's brow furrowed as she pictured the two tormenting fillies snickering at her and her friends' expense before she shook her head to rid herself of them and sighed heavily, "We haven't had any luck with anythin' we've ever tried to get our cutie marks to appear and we usually end up just gettin' in trouble. Y-Yesterday talk came up about maybe disbanding our club and just giving up."

What? That's not what I was saying at all. Ugh. Titus took another look at the disheartened foal and stopped himself from resting his face in his hand from how much they were missing what he was trying to tell them and instead leaned a little lower to catch Applebloom's downcast gaze, "Hey. There were some times when I was a Padawan that I was training so hard to keep up and make progress that I just got tired and felt weak, I felt like I wanted to give up. But my Master told me that... well she definitely didn't take the sting out of the words before she said them, that's for sure, but that's just the way she was. She told me to search within myself for my inner strength and pull that out and get the motivation to not give up and not be a quitter, no matter how bad I wanted to fall flat on my face and collapse. And she was right, because every time I wanted to give up there was always a piece of me that knew if I just stuck with it a little longer I'd prevail, there was always a piece telling me I could do anything I put my mind to. Somewhere that's deep within you, too."

With both Applejack and Lyra chiming in that she shouldn't give up Titus watched a bit of hope creep onto the young pony's face and he gave her a small mischievous grin, "Twilight gave me a lecture and a half about the Harmony involved with cutie marks but I still don't get it, which apparently puts me in the same boat as pretty much everyone else, but maybe Equestria just isn't ready for you three to get the coolest cutie marks ever. That's my alien opinion on it, anyway."

"The coolest ever? You really think so?!" Applebloom lit up at that assessment but quickly returned to shrinking away from him as she remembered the Crusaders' little adventure on Titus' ship and anxiously asked if his robot was feeling any better, "H-He just sorta screeched and fell over. We didn't know what to do..."

"Don't worry, you didn't hurt Treadwell. It's just that he's pretty solitary and not used to getting many visitors so to remove a cover plate and suddenly come face to face with three dust-covered and thoroughly lost foals was a bit startling and overloaded his circuits, which was the sound you heard," Titus explained. Boy had that been a fun day.

After a fruitless search for the repulsorlift pack in the still-unorganized lower cargo hold (a task Twilight had begun to undertake of her own accord) Titus had no other option besides hanging upside down by the knees from one of the ladder rungs built into the underside of his ship working on something particularly annoying to access whenever gravity was a factor when an unexpected pop-up on his wristpad indicating the droid had malfunctioned. He had decided to finish what he was repairing first and upon finally investigating roughly half an hour later he had come to find Treadwell tipped over and offline, though rather than a live power cable to indicate a cause he discovered three sets of dirty hoofprints leading out into a corridor. Titus had followed the tracks around the ship for a good time as they often split down different paths or went into air ducts, forcing him to crawl along only to find they eventually exited and regrouped with the others until he finally had R6 put the ship into lockdown to restrict their movement.

The droid took things a bit far with the lockdown when he triggered the intruder alert alarm as well so when Titus finally caught up with the trio they were understandably a bit scared. Still, after showing them the way out and getting a guard to take them home he had thought that would be the end of it but the next morning Sergeant Quickbolt brought a small card to his attention that was addressed to a "Mr. (or Ms.) Droid" using colored marker, "It didn't take me long to get him back up and running and once I showed him the card and drawing of him you made he immediately liked it, and I mean really liked it! He wanted me to attach it to his chassis but I thought it might get ruined when he went back to work so I tacked it up in his charging closet instead, right where he can see it."

Applebloom was absolutely beaming that the card she and her friends had made had been appreciated, though Titus reiterated that they were lucky they hadn't gotten hurt and told her that if she wanted to visit they should use the front door next time rather than crawl into his ship from the trash compactor chute. They then shared a brief hug and with her new-found enthusiasm she excitedly asked if she could sleep in the treehouse which Granny hemmed and hawwed about before agreeing with the condition that she'd have extra chores to do in the morning.

After saying goodnight to Applebloom and Granny, the orange earth pony lead Titus and Lyra to the barn which he quickly discovered had been completely repurposed for the night's events. The center of the floor had been cleared and had been roped off to form a ring while some equipment like improvised sparring pads and a large burlap sack hung down from one of the rafters was nearby, and off to one side against the wall was a small wood stove and an old television was surrounded with cushions, one of which was occupied by a large red stallion who gave the entering party a simple nod of greeting before stretching out again to stare blankly as the commercials ran. Titus didn't get off so lightly when Rainbow spotted him and before he knew it he had gotten an enthusiastic pat on the back knocking most of the wind out of his lungs.

"Yo Stretch! Glad you actually made it, dude," Dash completely ignored the coughed return of her greeting and flew a quick circle around Titus to check out the attire he was sporting. From Rainbow's experienced eyes it looked like his clothing awarded him much easier range of motion, the shorts that left his knees exposed and sleeveless shirt posing no threat of hindering his movements, "Alright alright, not only that but you came ready for action! You look pretty comfortable in that."

"Well I did make a deal with Lyra that I'd wear this stuff but I've honestly been looking forward to tonight for a while. Kark, you guys have a really cool setup in here! You used the space well," Titus said, the three ponies following him as he took a quick tour of the barn.

The roped fighting ring was octagonal in shape featuring a heavy tarp pulled taut over a floor of hay bales which formed the ring's floor and each of the posts had a hole so they could easily yet snugly slide into and out of the ground to make it quick to disassemble. As he had expected the well-worn burlap bag was full of sand and the hoofmarks were further indication that it was a punching or bucking bag, ingeniously strung up on a set of pulleys which looked much newer and after he was caught inspecting them Lyra informed him that Applejack had devised and installed the system earlier that week so he could use it. An additional look at the other equipment revealed similar modification, including a larger set of arm pads that he hadn't noticed before that looked sufficient for him to wear and when he turned to thank Applejack for doing all of the additional work he found her, Dash, and Lyra crowded together as they attempted to hide a box behind them, "Oh jeez. Come on now... you didn't get me something, did you?"

Lyra was the first to speak and nodded enthusiastically, "Yup, but hear me out. We've all asked a lot of our friends to come hang out with us but none of them have because they're not interested in EFC so, aside from Big Mac coming every once in a while, for the longest time it's just been us three-"

"Which is totally lame because EFC rocks!" Rainbow interrupted before she got an elbow from Lyra.

"Let me finish! Right, then Dashie told us about your encounter with bola spiders which got us really excited that you didn't immediately turn down the invite like the others had but then you got sick so we all pitched in to give you this as a sort of 'get well and see you soon' gift..." she finished as Applejack passed the plain brown box to Titus and Dash moved to hover over his shoulder to watch. Carefully undoing the packaging on what turned out to be a very nice deep blue and black padded head protector, complete with his name embroidered on the back in elegant cursive. Lyra continued while he tried it on and Dash gave him a bop on the head to test it, "We only just got it earlier today because part of the surprise required that Rarity take your measurements subtly and she ended up having a bit of trouble doing that until you had that costume made."

"You guys really didn't need to do this, I mean... I'm just happy to be have been included," Titus tried to tell them as he pulled a clear rubber something out of the bottom of the box and after a questioning look to the ponies he learned it was a mouth guard when Applejack pulled hers out of a small container while Dash took it from him to drop in the pot of hot water that was sitting on the wood stove.

While his mouth guard was being warmed up so they could mold it to his teeth Applejack lead him over to the television, "Hooves can hurt and none of us want this to be the last time you come over on Friday night, sugarcube. We want you to be a regular so I don't want to be hearin' any sort of 'y'all didn't have to buy me stuff' because we all agreed it was a good investment and we were more than happy to do it. Of course, gettin' in the ring is totally optional, none of us are gonna force you to do that unless you're comfortable."

The farm pony then caught Titus' glance at the bandage wrapped around her brother's barrel as he lay stretched out on the large pillow and immediately knew what he was thinking, "Don't worry, that didn't happen in the ring because we're really careful not to hurt each other like that; bumps and bruises happen, though. As for my brother, remember when I snapped at you and Lyra? Well, the day before Big Mac here got hurt workin' the orchard when he was buckin' apples out of a tree and a big branch fell on him. Doc said he strained a buncha muscles in his back and has to take it easy for a while or it might get worse and cause permanent damage." Applejack snuggled up gently against her brother's side and went on to say how after she had gotten home from the market the day he had helped her she had gone and looked at the branch that had fallen on him and found it and a few others on nearby trees had been cut almost all the way through like the wagon wheels.

"Me and Granny need him to rest up so he'll hopefully be better in time for the big harvest, in the meantime Doc Horse put him on some painkillers on account it hurts to move and the injury has been keeping him from sleeping. Darn magic can't do nothin' for muscles like it can for broken bones or the like," she added with a nuzzle against his shoulder that the big red stallion responded to by wrapping a hoof around her to pull her close for a nuzzle to be returned before he wearily let go and slumped back to the cushion, "Worst part 'bout it is that watching me and Applebloom doin' his work makes the poor fella feel near useless layin' around recoverin'."

"Eyup."

It was clear he was feeling the effects of the drugs but the Big Mac's tone still came through loud and clear that he felt especially disappointed but suddenly Lyra was bouncing on her hooves in excitement and ooo'ing at Titus until Dash, who had returned with a hot mouth guard to clamp his teeth down on which kept him from speaking, asked if she was having some sort of fit to which Lyra shook her head, "If your brother's muscles hurt maybe the big guy can help! A few days ago I dropped by his ship to surprise him with a Hayburger lunch only to find he was already eating with Princess Luna who had come over on one of her regular visits. It seems like they're really good friends."

A few questions were tossed Titus' way from Dash and AJ about what it was like to have one of the Princesses for a friend with Lyra chiming in with an inquiry as to what she and Titus did all the time. Because their curiosity seemed to stem mostly from how the reserved Luna behaved around him more than anything else so he didn't mind satisfying them with answers but he was careful to provide only what Luna would be alright with. Taking a moment to think he told them exactly what he told Princess Celestia when she thanked him for being Luna's friend - Luna felt a bit out of place because of her recent return and they had developed a bond over that because they were both the closest thing to finding someone who knew what it was like. He explained that he and Luna often met up at night or in the very early morning after her sister had taken over duties to talk though most of the time he would simply tell her about the things from the other side of the portal which, he had to guess, made her feel a little less alien in her own world.

Before they got anymore sidetracked Lyra retook the conversation where she had left off. "Anyway, I'm not sure what got us talking about it but when I told him I was having problems with my shoulder because I had helped Bonnie with some heavy luggage the Princess urged me to let him have a look then he suddenly started doing this kneading thing with his hands and fingers that just melted the stiffness away! Apparently when he was in Canterlot he got a little training from a professional and oh my gosh, I thought I was going to drool with how good it felt!"

Titus wiggled his fingers and joked with that he was a pretty big deal before he voiced he'd be happy to try and help so Applejack looked questioningly to Big Mac, "What do you think? If he's real careful would you wanna give it a try?" There was a long pause as the large stallion looked blankly forward in a drug-hazed thought about the question before laying his head down heavily on the cushion with his answer.

"Eeeyup."

The first few minutes were full of small twitches and Applejack asking her brother if he wanted to stop but he adamantly grit his teeth and said he was fine. Somewhere within ten minutes later, however, the massive pony had been reduced to a sprawled out lump on the cushion that was so comfortable that he fell asleep right then and there with a content grin on his face. Titus didn't say anything as it wasn't any of his business, but he could have sworn at one point when the red pony was just drifting off he had mumbled the name Cheerilee and told her to move up a little higher though he could only guess about their relationship.

AJ gave Big Mac a peck on the cheek and a goodnight nuzzle before she drew a nearby blanket over him and dragged the whole pillow off to a quiet corner where he could rest undisturbed. When she returned she gave Titus an unexpected hug of thanks, "You've got some magic fingers, sugarcube. He's been strugglin' to get to sleep on account of the pain he was in but goin' off that face of his I'd wager anypony a week of fritters he'll sleep straight through to morning!"

Titus hands were slightly cramped from the rigorous massage he had given, Big Mac being roughly the same size as Luna but with twice the amount of muscle mass to work on he was used to, so to relieve some of that stress by cracking his knuckles though with Lyra being the only one that had been around him enough to know he hadn't hurt himself with the loud pops she had to assure Dash and Applejack that his fingers were fine as he stretched lightly, "Not going to lie, a fritter sounds amazing right now. After the run here with Lyra I'm on empty and I seriously need to restock on calories."

"As if I'd let my guests go hungry! I threw a batch in before anypony even arrived and they should be 'bout ready to come out. You sit tight for a tick, while I go check on 'em Lyra can show you were we keep the other snacks," Applejack offered before taking off at a canter toward the house while Rainbow retrieved a set of bowls and plates from a nearby shelf.

Titus was soon overwhelmed with the variety of munchies at his disposal as Lyra literally crawled halfway into the cupboard the television sat on to blindly toss him several varieties of potato chips, a large mason jar with a handwritten label identifying it as chocolate hazelnut spread (whatever that was) and a package of crackers. Following that was soda of several flavors and brands, a few sports drinks, and more than enough tubs of dip mixes to last them the night. Among all the bags with their labels designed to get his attention what really caught his eye was the icon of a pony spitting fire on a bright orange bag labeled Flamin' Hot Cheesy Poofs that somehow sounded appealing.

"Hey, just a bit of an afterthought but did you bring any snacks tonight, Stretch?" Dash suddenly called, her voice coming from a completely different spot than where he had last seen her.

Titus, who had gotten distracted in a side conversation with Lyra about what sorts of junk food he liked, turned to answer only to discover Dash was hovering over his shoulder bag and had already flipped the flap open to begin rummaging around. He wasn't too bothered by that but before he could say that nobody had told him that bringing a snack was expected of him Dash cast him a funny look. "Dude, it's practically empty outside of this small box of tool thingies, a first aid kit, and your swords," she flew the short distance to land in front of him and put the bag down on what could be its back so that she could nudge the items she mentioned out. Lifting the front fabric so that Lyra could see that it was, in fact, empty besides those, Dash looked at him curiously, "Seems like a pretty big bag for small stuff you could fit on that belt you usually wear. Heck, I could fit in here nice and snug for a nap!"

"Perfect size to dispose of the bodies," Lyra said dryly, waiting for a moment to say so until Dash had tested her theory and wiggled herself partially into the bag. The mint unicorn, however, quickly joined the pegasus in her curiosity in why Titus carried the larger than necessary bag with him wherever he went, especially considering she rarely if ever saw him pack much into it, "Maybe you don't have anything else, in which case I'd be happy to find or have something made for you, but I just don't understand why small stuff like this necessitates carrying a bag this big."

Helping Dash out after she got tangled up and slightly stuck, Titus replaced the items that had been removed and dropped the bag beside him while his other hand found its way to Lyra's ears, "The bag's not for what I take, Lyra, it's for what I find along the way."

"You mean like pieces of your ship?" Dash asked.

Titus nodded and shrugged at the same time to indicate that she was partially right, "Yup, or other stuff I could use to fix it though I sort of pick up a lot of odds and ends. On a lot of planets people just throw things away when they stop working if they don't have the time, knowledge, or parts to fix them but I also pick things up that I might be able to turn into something else-"

"Oh! Like Sparkles' brush," Lyra chimed in, having become familiar with the simple gift after Twilight had shown it to her proudly and given her a demonstration of how great it felt to drag through her usually unkempt mane, though she had to go into further details for Dash when she looked a little puzzled, "The big guy here made a manebrush himself just from some scraps laying around his ship. I got to use it once, it's really nice and Sparkles likes it so much she sleeps with it under her pillow."

"That I didn't know," Titus chuckled lightly and brushed a hand up and down Lyra's neck before targeting her ears as a reward, one that she happily accepted with a long hum, "I'm glad she likes it that much, thanks for telling me." The happy grin she was wearing and the way she was pushing up into the scratching fingers made him want to continue though a raucous melody suddenly erupted from the television box.

"Come on and grab a pillow, Stretch, the show's about to start!" Dash called from a rafter above the TV, her pillow balanced precariously on the narrow beam in what Titus soon found out was her normal viewing spot when Applejack returned with a platter of fresh-from-the-oven fritters. With the human's bowl already piled-high with fiery red snacks an additional plate was necessary for the trio of pastries he snagged as well, including AJ's new experimental flavor that she'd been perfecting: rhubarb and vanilla ice cream pie.

Aside from the one Big Mac was sleeping on the largest pillow had been saved for Titus and, after spotting a support beam, he dragged it over to make an impromptu recliner. The pillow was nearly square so it stuck out to either side quite a bit and was a little too short in that while it was comfortable to have it behind his shoulders it wasn't long enough to get enough under his butt to form a proper seat however Lyra thankfully came to his rescue and offered to add her own smaller pillow for behind his back if he sat on the larger one and she could scooch in next to him on the excess that stuck out. It turned out to be a very nice arrangement as Lyra found that laying her head just above his knees meant she was in the perfect position for a continuous stream of scratches and ear rubs and Titus got to use her barrel as a comfy armrest while the other hand was free to pick at his assortment of snacks, the first and most logical choice naturally being to take a bite of the steaming hot fritter, the taste of which was tangy with undertones of sugary sweetness that never overpowered and instead played in the background across his palate.

"Oh... oh jeez..." was all Titus could bring himself to say around the need to take another bite before he could form his absolute approval of the experimental fritter into words.

"Ha ha HA! I think he just came, AJ!" Dash whooped uproariously after watching Titus' expression as he savored the flavors of the experimental fritter and let them slowly work through his senses.

In response and out of his sight a snack was launched out of a yellow magic aura to bounce off of the pegasus' nose with pinpoint precision, almost knocking her from her perch from the following violent sneeze. Meanwhile Titus commented that the farm pony had outdone herself with the flavor and he emphasized that he would definitely be looking to purchase more as he licked the remnants of the flaky pastry shell from his fingers and the hyped-up theme for the EFC began blasting out of the television.

To the sound of catcalls from the unicorn and pegasus and a simple whistle from Applejack, a pair of chiseled stallions appeared on screen to greet the viewer before they talked back and forth about their coverage of the previous tournament. Having done no sort of research into the EFC Titus felt a little lost so with an extra scratch behind the ears he got Lyra's attention, "Hey, you're going to have to explain how things work before they start throwing hooves or I won't know what's going on or what the rules are."

"Hmm? Oh," Lyra said a little surprised that she nor her friends had thought to explain the Equestrian Fighter Competition before it had started, "Alright, so the basic premise is that two ponies enter the ring and fight and there are three ways they can win: knockout or the ref intervening when an opponent isn't fit to fight any longer, then there's submission by tap-out, and finally the last method of forcing the opponent out of the ring for more than five seconds." She watched as he nodded, half his attention on what she was saying as the other half keenly observed the theatrical entrance of the pegasus and earth pony competitors in preparation to start of the first bout. Thankfully and much to Titus' benefit tonight's opening bout was a rookie match which meant things would happen a little slower so Lyra was able to point a few things out though a good number of technical terms needed to be reworded for them to translate properly for his understanding.

"Of course with all three flavors of ponies competing there's a few things to look out for. See how that pegasus left the area of the ring and a little countdown clock started? That's the time to get back in the ring, it's called the Five Second Rule, or you'll see it as FSR on the scoreboard if the pony didn't get back in time - as long as they touch the ropes they're considered back in. So if Applejack threw me out of the ring I'd have five seconds to get back in before the round goes to her, but at the same time Dash could use those five seconds to intentionally leave the ring to build up speed for a flyby hook, which is what you'll see a lot of pegasi doing."

Titus' brow furrowed, "That doesn't seem fair..."

"Oh it's totally fair," Dash leaned over her pillow to peek down at him, "Pegasi have to rely on our speed and agility so if we were confined to the space of the ring it wouldn't be fair to us because we'd be easier to corner. A pegasus has to risk losing a round to the FSR to build up speed to land hits that could actually hurt an earth pony."

"So how does it balance out for Applejack or earth ponies in general? It seems like her opponent is given time to run back into the ring after she throws them out and flyers get the added bonus that they're free to dive-bomb her into oblivion," he commented as the two fighters on screen went at it, the pegasus launched into the air and began circling the ring at a fast rate while the earth pony tracked her though her orbit as best she could. The earth pony stood her ground at the center rather than back off into a corner so when the pegasus came at her she dodged to the side at the last moment and gave her a hard kick which sent her flying into the springy ropes only to be flung back and into the prepared earth pony's hooves for an attempt at a pin.

"No no no, you got it wrong, sugarcube; the rule was put in place for earth ponies to benefit. Used to be that they had a low win rate because once you touched the floor you'd be 'out' so pegasi and unicorns had the advantage what with bein' able to fly and magic their way back in. Plus, now if they go out to pick up speed or to get a little breathing room all we have to do is keep 'em out for a second or two," Applejack chimed in, nodding toward the screen when the pegasi fighter managed to lift both herself and the earth pony into the air with several strong flaps before a barrel roll maneuver slipped her off and into the open area around the ring. The Five Second timer began counting down but the earth pony managed to grab the ropes a mere fraction of a second before it ran out, "There, see? She's still in the fight thanks to the rule, though a pegasus' got the speed to get back in quicker than any earth pony could so the trick to beatin' one as an earth pony is to grapple until you can pin the wings because if they get you off your hooves they'll try and carry you out of the ring to drop you where you can't get back in in time... other option is ya just clobber 'em, they can't take the hits like we do."

"Of course we can't take the hits like you do, you're a bucking earth pony! It's like punching a refrigerator filled with cement that just gets back up and keeps coming at you again and again," Dash emphasized with a jab of a hoof in Applejack's direction, "Only way for us to take you down is whittle at you until we can get you out of the ring for a FSR win or hope for a reversal out of your grapple into a choke hold."

"Alright, so the fundamentals would be that Dash can't trade blows so she hits and runs until she sees an opportunity to get you out of the ring. Then your game is to stay grounded and lock her in a grapple, right Applejack?" Titus summarized what he understood with a nod, meanwhile the earth pony on TV managed to duck a flyby and catch her opponent in the belly with a hoof before she combo'd that into a hoofbar for the tapout. Popping several more hot snacks into his mouth he waited for the next match to begin but it was pegasus versus pegasus match which was difficult for the camerapony to track on account of how fast they were moving. The only time he was able to make out the low-resolution blurs being when one of them would get hit and stop moving briefly which left him to ask about the final type of contender without images to back it up, "Alright, so what about you? How do most unicorns compete?"

Lyra had taken several of the Cheese Poofs from Titus' bowl when he wasn't looking and, while she had no problem talking with her mouth full in terms of etiquette, in this case the fiery treats would set her mouth further ablaze were she to open it and before she could clear enough room to speak Dash interrupted with a grunt.

"They cheat."

"D-Do not!" Lyra cried defensively with a hurt look to Titus to convey her innocence before jabbing a hoof first at Dash then at AJ, "You get to use your wings and fly around and Applejack has the advantage of her strength and fortitude. Unicorns get to use their magic."

"Exactly! Magic is cheaty. Me and AJ have to get up in each others' faces while you can dodge around and try to blast us from across the ring, plus all the other stuff you're allowed to do with magic. That's not fair," the pegasus reasoned as Applejack nodded in silent agreement as the argument they had had several times over repeated itself in a somewhat playful manner for the newcomer to hear, "Oh, and don't try to use Flash Flurry as an excuse to show magic is fair. I mean, yeah he goes toe to toe but he's got to teleport all over the place and hit from the blindside to win!"

When Titus agreed with Dash that the use of magic in a fist or hoof fight seemed a bit lopsided in favor of the magic Lyra because he hadn't sided with her and shook away from the ear rub amid his pleading for her to explain her side better so he could understand.

Lyra's protest lasted all of a brief moment before she was sliding herself back within range and waggling her ears at him to continue which he, of course, did to keep his crash course in E.F.C. coming.

"Hrmph! There are rules we have to follow when using magic, even when a muscle-head is looking to bolster your dentist's job security by knocking a few teeth loose or some flappyflanks is trying to see how far they can fling you into the crowd so you lose to FSR. I'm sure Sparkles has gone into detail about how hard it is to cast reactively to a situation, and when somepony is in your face it's very hard to stay focused," she stated and for the most part ignored Dash sticking her tongue out at her when Titus clarified his earlier stance that the rules would have to be very restrictive to keep magic in line so the opponents would have a chance and voiced several of the concerns he had that lead him to believe magic was overpowered - a term he had picked up from gaming with Luna, but now learned worked well in this context as Lyra nodded, "Well despite what these two will say it's not as simple as a swish and flick of your horn, big guy. To address your first concern; no, we can't just teleport somepony out of the ring. The only teleporting we can do is to bring somepony back into the ring like when a pegasi tries to build up speed or to teleport ourselves around but we're not allowed to teleport ourselves when we're being grappled. Secondly, our unicorn telekinesis is completely against the rules because, unlike teleportation spells, there's only one layer of Harmony that needs to be woven-"

Lyra was briefly interrupted again and asked to explain what it meant for a spell to only have one layer. The unicorn quickly gave him a brief lesson until he got a rudimentary understanding that spells with very few layers were uncomplicated, common, and drained little from the unicorn in terms of energy or attention compared to spells with more than one effect which she went on to explain.

"So, the laymare's explanation of magic: let's say you wanted to cast a spell to bring a pegasus down from the air and hold her in place for a few seconds which would probably involve the popular combination of a gravity spell to bring her to the mat and then an anchor spell to hold her down. First you figure out what sort of delivery system would be the best - projectiles like fire balls and ice orbs are cheap and easy to cast but hard to hit because they're fairly slow moving and missing means you have to cast it again. Another option would be a ray or beam though those drain more the longer they're channeled but you can sweep them until you make contact with your target but they have the added benefit of being able to hit multiple targets when swept. Nova type casts are just generally too straining on the caster in most situations but if your target is in the area of effect they're almost guaranteed to get hit."

"With a delivery method chosen then you need to add your gravity and anchor effects with each one being constructed individually and woven to your ray or orb or whatever in the order you want them to activate. Your standard Gravity Anchor Bolt will take one to one and a half seconds to cast in the lower divisions with the inexperienced unicorns, so that's a big window of opportunity for your opponent to attack," Lyra paused as she readjusted herself to a slightly more comfortable position against his thigh where he asked why a unicorn couldn't just surround their opponent with magic and move them like so many did with everyday items. "Telekinetic levitation is something so basic even unicorn foals can do it naturally once they get a feel for channeling Harmony so it becomes almost a matter of 'think about moving object, object then moves' whereas everything else that needs spell weaving requires time to do it so you've got to be familiar with your spells and you'll want to get 'em off quick-"

"Pfffft! Unicorns want to get 'em off quick!"

Lyra shot a glare up at the pegasus who was too busy chortling away behind a hoof to pay her any mind and instead continued answering Titus' question, "Levitation would make the matches a simple task of picking up the opponent and holding them outside of the ring for FSR wins so all forms of it are banned from the ring. I can lend you my copy of the EFC unicorn rulebook, it's as thick as my forehoof but even with that limiting us we unicorns have a lot to work with, it just depends on how creative you can be with the application of your spells. I wish I could show you but, well, the horn and all..."

"There's always next time," Titus pointed out and gave the unicorn's ears a ruffle which got a very content smile out of her before she lay her head back down to watch the next fight. In this match a somewhat large pegasus was pitted against a rather ordinary looking unicorn, and after each had entered the fighting area with fireworks, smoke, flashing strobe lights, and their chosen theme music they immediately went at it, though what Titus found rather surprising was that the pegasus shot right for the unicorn without gaining much altitude or circling the ring like the pegasi from the other two matches. Applejack enlightened him that the pros would often get a unicorn out of the fight by knocking them on the horn to disrupt their concentration and shut down their ability to cast spells, Dash adding to that the little quip "Control the horn and you control the fight."

Lyra was quick to protest that hitting somepony's horn while they were channeling hurt a lot and to provide perspective said he could probably equate what it felt like to getting kicked in the groin, prompting Titus to reach out and scratch lightly at the bandaged horn in front of him which earned a little hum of relief from Lyra as the near-constant and nagging itch was alleviated, "Okay, so no hits to the horn or wings when you guys spar. Anything off-limits that relates to you, Applejack?"

"Shucks, uh..." AJ tapped her chin with a hoof and looked toward the barn's roof in deep thought over all of the sparring sessions she, Lyra, and Dash had had but ended up shaking her head, "I haven't really managed to get hurt yet, so I reckon we'll find out when I do." The conversation pretty much dropped off after that because of the tension over the match happening on the television.

Both contestants put up a hell of a fight which gave Titus the opportunity to see what sort of creativity Lyra had been talking about when the unicorn teleported herself behind the pegasus' charge and, using the brief second she was out of her attacker's line of sight, she cast what Lyra identified as a mirror image spell to create a good number of copies of herself with which she blended in seamlessly with. The pegasus paused for a second at the sudden sight of numerous identical opponents all of whom had glowing horns as another spell with a much longer weaving time was prepared though she quickly launched at the images to try and find the right one and disrupt the spell. Each swing that landed causing the clone to disappear in a light puff of smoke but despite her valiant effort of clearing nearly all of the images the unicorn finished her cast and a large glob of jelly shot across the battle ring to splatter over the pegasus and carry her outside of the ropes where it pinned her against one of the support beams earning the unicorn a win by the Five Second Rule.

Thinking the match was over when Titus took his eyes off the screen to snag a few more snacks he got a poke from Lyra, drawing his gaze back up to the TV where the unicorn contestant cast another spell on the green goo and the pegaus was freed. "Another thing we unicorns have to do is dispel what we cast on somepony after the fight," Lyra said as the pegaus reentered the ring and shook hooves with the unicorn for a match well won, "It's not actually a rule or anything, but it's encouraged because it shows sportsmareship." The win brought on another debate between Dash and Lyra about the fairness of magic but when Dash turned to Titus for support this time he sided with Lyra, and this time it was her turn to stick her tongue out. Citing that the pegasus had been aware a spell was coming and when she realized she couldn't find the real unicorn in time he said she should have focused on using her superior agility to dodge the gooey projectile before returning to the task of clearing out the mirrors of her opponent.

There was a brief commercial interlude which served as a welcome break to refill on snacks and drinks which Lyra happily got for both of them; more salty and cheesy munchies of numerous varieties and two bottles of ice-cold hard cider to wash it all down. They clanked the latter together in a lighthearted toast as the second match began between a pair of burly earth ponies that turned into a real knock-down drag-out fight as each pony slugged away at the other for a good several minutes until both were completely out of breath and after one final stumbling swing they had a very battered and bloodied winner.

The final advertisement break began to roll and Applejack and Dash got up from their pillows with stretches that were interjected between their excited analysis of the fights before the farm pony briefly disappeared to check on her still-snoozing brother before joining Dash in the barn's octagon as Titus shifted his pillow seat around to watch.

"So... is it okay if I just watch you guys spar for a bit?" he asked Lyra as she chugged the last of her cider and finalized it with a small burp before leaving her spot to drop the bottle in the recycling bin, an action that quickly became another entry into her ear-rub log, and when she started digging around behind the television he gave her a joking grin, "You could put me in charge of playing your cheesy music intros."

Lyra emerged and after a glance gave the boombox she had been untangling from the TV cords a subtle shove with her back hoof to try to keep it out of Titus' sight only to cause several cassettes to clatter to the floor at her hooves which she pretended not to notice, "Oh, we um... don't do anything like that-"

"Yo! Hurry up and get the boombox, Lyra, I need to hear my jam to get pumped up for this!" Dash called and when Titus looked back at the unicorn who guessed was giving a quiet curse she begrudgingly unearthed the obnoxiously large sound machine and carried it back over to the pillows though she attempted to not acknowledge the wide grin he was wearing for catching her in a small fib.

Rainbow reared up onto her hind legs to shadowbox, the speed of her jabs creating sharp snaps in the air in Applejack's general direction though the farm pony hardly paid it any mind and instead rolled her shoulders to get them good and loose while torquing her neck until she got several satisfying pops, all finalized with a challenging snort at her adversary. Meanwhile, Lyra had to give Titus a quick rundown of how the boombox worked as he wasn't familiar with the basic geometric shapes denoting the machine's buttons or how their cassettes worked, let alone know what to call the small rectangular objects labeled with each pony's initials. After a few moments of demonstration Titus was ready and waiting to receive his cue from Lyra as she assumed the role of announcer.

"Ladies and gentlecolts, welcome to the main event..." Lyra began softly before giving Titus a nod and hollered as the music picked up, "Let's get ready to rum-baaaaaaaaaal!" After completely exhausting the oxygen in her lungs with the drawn-out enthusiastic cry that was their traditional opening act accompanied by the very hyped-up music Lyra slouched forward with a heavy breath and gave her DJ the signal.

The music didn't stop, however, and glancing over to see what was up she caught him fidgeting with the buttons as the music continued and, had it not been so loud, they probably would have heard the old voice shouting from the farm house to turn the racket down.

While Lyra quickly moved to help Titus stop the blaring music that had played for far too long Dash half draped herself on the ropes and half hovered in place to cast an annoyed glare at the operators, "Come on stage crew, get it together! Lyra, I get you can't do the light show because of your horn, but Stretch... I figured with those spindly plot-pokers of yours you'd be good at pushing buttons!"

One could say that the pegasus' constant innuendos being teasingly flung at Titus and, in essence and to a lesser extent at Twilight, was successfully pushing Lyra's buttons. Add on to that the fact that her friend's self-titled "love guru" was readily spouting off things that had been discussed in supposed confidence (Lyra, meanwhile, was ignoring the several occasions where she had "coincidentally" found herself at the cafe at the same time as Twilight would be having a meeting and had found a seat nearby) knocked the unicorn over the metaphorical fence. With a small glare over a shoulder Lyra very casually kicked the nearby brass bell with a hind hoof and what accompanied the ringing was the very satisfying startled cry of Dash being caught off-guard which placated any of her desire to protectively shoot a few choice words back as Applejack eagerly took advantage of her opponent's unpreparedness.

Settling in beside Titus and gladly taking a few of the offered snacks in an open palm Lyra gave as much of a play-by-play as she could for his benefit, educating him to the rules and moves both Applejack and Dash were employing. In the pegasus' case, though, she could tell most of them were to try and take control of the situation as the unexpected start of the match had really thrown the fight toward Applejack's favor by allowing her to get in close and corner her. Jumping the ropes to get some space bought Dash only a few seconds though she quickly had to reenter the ring for fear of being out of bounds too long and was back to avoiding nearly getting pulled from the air by the earth pony's hooves, each attempt swatted away or dodged in an impressive display of acrobatic skill as she looked for an opening.

Applejack eventually caught one of Dash's hind legs and pulled her from the air with a hard slam against the mat before she scrambled atop her in the blink of an eye looking for a pin but the wily pegasus threw an elbow back into her soft stomach just below the ribs which broke AJ's grip enough that she could buck her off. In the opening she created Dash got her hind legs wrapped around the earth pony's barrel and her forelimbs locked around her neck which soon had a blue-faced Applejack tapping out.

"Yes yes yes! Time for some Mareowar!" Ever the empathetic winner Dash did a small dance and pumped her hoof into the air before zipping over to switch out the cassettes to one with her name on it which she quickly began singing along with the heavy rock, or what she could manage to sing around her panting breaths.

Meanwhile AJ pushed herself to her hooves and shook herself out, blindly catching the towel tossed to her by Lyra to dry the sweat from her coat but what surprised Titus was that she approached Dash to ask for another go starting at where she had been put in a choke. Even more surprising yet, the pegasus happily agreed to and several minutes of squirming and experimentation later Applejack had found a way to break the hold with a little outside observation and hints from Lyra and Titus who had got up and moved to the edge of the ropes, the latter of whom realized the EFC night wasn't necessarily an excuse for some playful roughhousing but that the trio were actually out to help each other learn.

Dash and Applejack went for a fresh round though this time the farm pony scored the win when she intercepted an attempt at using the Five Second Rule to build speed and clocked Dash before she could get back in, stunning her just long enough that even the pegasus' speed couldn't get her back in the ring as the last second wound down.

Both of the ponies were thoroughly exhausted and collapsed on the mat in a heap next to each other and panted heavily to catch their breath. After a few moments Dash lifted her head just enough to peer over Applejack's shoulder, "Hey Stretch, Lyra. Either of you want to use the ring?"

Flicking the last few snacks from his bowl into his mouth Titus responded that he would take a go because he had missed out on morning training, though that small revelation got a knowing grin from the pegasus that went unnoticed as he searched around him for a napkin to wipe the bright red flavoring that had stuck to his fingers from his snacks.

When he found none he turned to Lyra for assistance thinking she might know where they were stashed however she just rolled her eyes. "Why do you need a napkin? If I had fingers I'd just *nom!*"

With absolutely no warning she snatched up the hand and stuck his middle finger into her mouth, rolling it around with her tongue until it was clean and moved on to the next before lolling her tongue out and fanning it with a hoof, "Ooo! I love those hot snacks! Alright, all clean and no napkin needed. Let's go!"

Before Titus could recover from his slight discomfort that Lyra's finger cleaning had reminded him how Twilight had lead him down the hallway after the shower she had squirmed under the ropes and was bouncing excitedly on the mat in wait for him. Deciding to hold his tongue Titus started crawling under the lowest rope only to have an impatient Lyra grab a hand with her hooves and begin tugging on his wrist as another form of invitation to join her inside the ring, and after he had rolled in he found Dash had already caught her breath sufficiently to retrieve the sparring pads and strap them to her forehooves and legs.

"So Stretch, let's get those gangly limbs- ow!" the pegasus rubbed her tender ribs where Lyra had jabbed her in response to the unappreciated descriptor before smacking her padded hoof several times to test that it was secured properly, "Get limbered up, Stretch, I've been dying to show these two what sort of moves you used on those spiders!"

Titus was initially hesitant and only gave the armpad Dash was wearing a few soft straight jabs with his leading arm but she dropped it and scowled at him, "Come on! These things may be enchanted so they're able to take a full-strength buck, but I know you can hit harder then that! Look, AJ and Lyra can take low and I can cover high, so just throw everything you got."

While the padding did keep hits as strong as Applejack's from hurting one odd thing that didn't make sense to any of the three ponies that had been using them was that, while the pads would absorb the impact of the blow, the inertia would still transfer and on more than a few occasions where AJ would hit one of them the wearer could be sent flying. Though they didn't want to acknowledge their fault in the issue, neither Dash nor Lyra had had the patience to wait for the long two-week shipping time from the store to get an E.F.C. licensed set of guards so Lyra had instead cast the enchantment herself from a quick bit of research, though "hasty" and "not overly thorough" were probably better descriptions but the home-made pads had proven sufficient enough to not to be replaced yet.

As Titus gained a bit more confidence that the padding was sufficient that wouldn't hurt any of them he put a bit more strength in his punches, his usual hesitance to put faith in Equestrian magic remained and he still subconsciously held back a bit however Dash continued to goad him until Lyra and Applejack had to step back as only the pegasus was able to keep up with his speed. Compared to a pony the human was startlingly fast - with his arms and legs arranged as they were there was no need for him to plant his forehooves and look over a shoulder to buck like Applejack would so he could easily fire off a series of kicks in the span of time it took her to get one off of her own.

"Yeah! Just like with the creepy spiders, there ya go-oof!" Dash's praise for Titus for actually putting her through a few of her paces was cut off as a high kick impacted her padded hoof and sent her tumbling lightly end-over-end higher into the air before he launched himself after her for another kick. She knew it was coming and easily blocked as it was reminiscent of the kicks he had used against one of the spiders shortly before he had sliced it up with his lightsaber which had been a move she had thought was supremely cool and wanted to try for herself but, as previously stated on several occasions when she had tried to get her hooves on a lightsaber, they were strictly off limits.

Dash had recovered from her tumbling by the time Titus landed and kicked one of the pads from her hind legs off at him, "Up high! Surprise attack!" Almost instantly he had snagged it midair to send it flying back at the pegasus but, Dash being Dash, speed was never an issue and she fired it right back at him with a slap of her wing and followed up with another one of the pieces of gear she was wearing for a double attack. The back and forth continued until both pegasus and human were out of breath and standing a few paces from each other in a stalemate with all of the hoof pads strewn about the octagon.

Suddenly a winded Titus heard a shout from behind him.

"SpiderLyra attack! *Rawr!* and other spider noises!" the mint unicorn accompanied her cry with her best spider impersonation of a funny scuttle at him using some of the discarded pads for prop legs which flopped about realistically enough to cause just a flash of squeamishness in Dash as Lyra shuffled toward the falling human before she pounced and brought him to the mat. Thinking she was playing and probably felt a little left out on the sidelines when he moved to roll out from under her he was surprised by her speed, one hoof looping around behind an arm to pull it against her chest while the other hoof bent it at the elbow and torqued it uncomfortably above his head and against the mat.

"Give in, big guy," Lyra commanded though it carried little weight because Titus huffed and simply shifted a different way so he could stand up which meant his arm wasn't being pushed against the mat and left Lyra in the awkward positon of clinging upside-down to his outstretched arm as he stared at her with a comically unimpressed look.

The spunky unicorn wasn't done, however, and rather nimbly swung her weight to leap from the limb onto his back to wrap her hooves around his torso and neck and lock them against each other, "I've still got you!"

"I thought you were a spider. What sort of hold is that?" Titus asked as he tried to shake the unicorn loose but she refused to budge.

"SssnakeLyra is going to get you to tap out with her sssignature move..." she giggled before tightening her grip to the point that Titus' back and chest gave several audible pops, "Anaconda Sssqueeeze!"

"GAK!"

The crushing hug Lyra gave him didn't actually hurt and in the process it did loosen several kinks in his back he didn't even know he had though it certainly forced the air out of his lungs so with the last breath of air he gasped his surrender, "Gaah! Okay Lyra, I give. I karking give!"

"Yay! That's one to zero in my favor, big guy, but we'll keep the loss off your record because it was just a warm-up," Lyra immediately released her grip and gave a happy chirp at her victory, also accompanied by a friendly nuzzle to the top of Titus' head, before she slid back to the mat and lightly socked him in the thigh, "When my horn gets better you and I are so going a few rounds-"

"Speaking of going a few rounds," Dash cut in as she zipped over to the ropes with both hooves full of the discarded padding which she dropped in one corner, "Think you and me could do some actual sparring real quick? We three pair up so often we're sort of used to each other so I want to try myself against a fresh opponent, see how I really stack up."

"Now hang on, I thought we all agreed we wouldn't go roughin' him up on his first night and we'd stick to bag and pad training," the voice of Applejack cautioned Dash from the sideline as Lyra helped her get the pads back in their mesh bag before the farm pony turned to face Titus, "And no offense, sugarcube, but I don't think startin' off against Dash here would be the best idea..."

Rainbow didn't agree and rhetorically asked her if pitting him against the pony most likely to break a bone with a light punch was a better idea which Applejack countered with pointing out she would be far less competitive than Dash ever would be. This, of course, brewed a back and forth between the two that Lyra made a point to stay out of and explained to Titus that, while it had been obvious that Dash had wanted a go at him in the octagon when they had talked about inviting him over, Applejack had also expressed an interest in sparring with him after hearing how well he had handled the spiders. She, however, was a little more hesitant to ask because she was afraid her innate Earth pony strength might cause him to get hurt and Lyra went on to say that most importantly neither of them wanted something to happen and then have everypony think they had beaten up a stallion.

Titus decided he had heard enough of the two bickering about which one would hurt him worse and a little bit annoyed with the last bit of Lyra's explanation he snatched the pair of larger arm guards and the blue head protector up to jam it on his head before popping his mouth piece in, "Hey Dash, you and me. Let's go."

The cyan pegasus hesitantly gave Applejack a quick glance before casting him a skeptical look, "Uh, you sure, Stretch-?"

"What, now you're having second thoughts? Look, I grew up getting bumps and bruises and I can promise you I'm tougher than you think I am," he responded to the the way Dash and AJ were looking him over by popping the joints in his neck not loosened by Lyra's earlier crushing hold before pulling the pads over his fists as improvised gloves, "Alright. One of you two stay in here and let's do this." As Applejack and Lyra slid under the ropes to watch from the sidelines Dash once again gave him a peculiar look, or more specifically the padding he had pulled over his knuckles, and her comment that he wouldn't need them was cut off when the farm pony took on the role of bell-ringer and the pegasus narrowly avoided a jab sent right at her snout.

Whoa! I guess he's serious... Somersaulting midair to avoid the jab Dash decided to counter with a kick which Titus hopped lightly back from to dodge though the pegasus didn't miss a beat and only used her body's spinning to add further momentum when she spun around again with another hoof. He slapped that with an open hand in another direction to keep it from landing before launching several more straight punches at her that failed to find their mark in her twisting and rolling aerial acrobatics to avoid them.

"Don't let the flips and fancy flying distract you, big guy! You can do it!"
"Watch those jabs, Dash! Stay ahead of him!"

Both pony and human were far too absorbed in their sparring to register the excited cheers as anything more than background noise. Dash swatted aside another punch with a wing and nearly got caught with a roundhouse kick to the gut which she pumped her wings to get out of the way of before hovering on her back to bicycle-kick at Titus' face with her hind hooves. The constant assault of blows put the human on the defensive and backed him up toward the ropes until he deflected one of the kicks with a forearm and latched onto a hoof with the other hand to throw the pegasus to the mat. Dash was too quick for him to move on her while she was down and she rolled to one side to escape the knee that came down that would have pinned her and proceeded to show Titus that hooves weren't the only weapon in her arsenal - wings could be used to block and deflect or distract and her tail could be whipped around a limb to pull him off balance which was a technique she had learned from Applejack's very effective use of it in her own fighting.

On Titus' end he was still slightly surprised how much strength was behind the small pony's strikes. Each impact jolted all the way to the bone when he was forced to block rather than deflect, the latter he quickly came to prefer as his mode of defense as the fight continued because it gave him a bit more control over how Dash would react in that he had noticed the pattern of redirecting a hoof to the outside would always result in her following it with the rest of her body to keep up the momentum. Controlling her in such a manner made her movements that much more predictable and allowed him to get a sharp jab into her exposed belly when, rather than deflecting a blow outward, he deflected it upwards to throw her flow off.

The sudden feeling of the wind being knocked out of her lungs brought Dash's assault to a grinding halt and it took several strong flaps to carry herself up to the rafters to catch her breath whereupon Lyra flipped over the large hourglass to signify she had gone out of bounds and would need to return. With a little bit of showmareship she did a slow climb a bit higher into the air before faking a stall and plummeting back to the mat that forced Titus to jump away lest he take the hit or attempt to block a downward strike with that much additional velocity behind it.

Changing up her strategy, the pegasus stuck low to the mat and focused on attacking his legs or lower body in hopes of getting him off balance, zipping sideways with an extra burst of speed provided by another pump of her wings culminated in scoring a hit on the back of Titus' thigh. In response and to avoid any further blows he pitched forward into an aerial cartwheel to get away and landed back in a ready stance facing her.

She failed to register the additional motion in time to dodge the kick that snapped out and connected with her shoulder and sent her sailing toward the ropes but, being the practiced flyer that she was, Dash performed a quick mid-air somersault to diffuse her momentum completely and landed lightly on the top rope in an intentional display of her expert balance to the applause of Lyra while Applejack called the round in Titus' favor. That came as no surprise to her because with neither of them tapping out or losing to the FSR the round had to be scored based on who had landed the most decisive hits.

"Not bad, not bad... I'm okay with letting you have that round," Dash said as she hopped down and went to her designated corner for a drink and a quick dry-off with a nearby towel before shooting a cocky grin at him, "Foal gloves are coming off, though. Think you can take all of The D?"

"Aha, um... excuse me?" Titus paused in drying the thin sheen of sweat from his brow though Rainbow didn't get the chance to answer as their break came to an end when Applejack called for them both to return to the center shortly. Having not finished and still feeling the sting of sweat in the corner of his eyes Titus quickly buried his face in the crisp towel for a vigorous rub and when he emerged ready to square up with Dash again he was met with an exuberant Lyra.

"Wow! You're doing great, big guy, and Dash wasn't kidding. I had no idea you could move that fast! You and I are so going to tag team once my horn is better," she chirped and reached through the ropes with no warning to pull the crouched human into a hug. She only let him go of after he had patted her on the shoulder in return, though not before she gave a final parting squeeze, "Watch for her to go low to pump-fake around you. If she goes out again get in the corner so she has to come at you head on or try and intercept her before she can get back in."

She gave him a final motivational swat on the butt as he turned around which was followed a cheeky wink when he gave her his usual look of mild disapproval over one shoulder, "Kick her flank, big guy!"

"Not going to happen, Lyra!" Dash called around Titus with a confident grin as he approached a moment before Applejack rung the bell and both of them immediately shifted into their respective fight stances with Dash stalking around him in a wide circle well out of his kicking range while Titus bent at the knees to lower his center of gravity and his arms came up.

As Lyra had warned the pegasus' initial attack involved her lunging one way only to feign and go the other while closing the gap frighteningly fast with a strong flap of her wings to propel her forward though Titus slid out of the way and used her momentum against her, his body moving in a different manner than before that threw her off. Where before he was very direct in his blocks and attacks he now moved more smoothly, his arms and legs almost flowing through their motions. His leading leg slid back behind the other to retreat while his arm gently pushed against her shoulder to use her own momentum against her which sent her almost face-first into the mat though her reflexes were sharp enough that she simply tucked into a ball and rolled out of it before vaulting back up into the air and zipping out of range again.

"Whoa! Looks like you've still got a few moves up your sleeves, eh Stretch?" she said as she rounded on him again and reassessed her options. She took particular note of his off-balance looking stance. Not that he had looked very steady on two feet when they had first met, however Dash had come to recognize just how nimble and acrobatic he could be when he'd leap and dangle off of things to work on the exterior of his ship or casually walk along the thin antennas jutting out of its nose that were only half the width of his foot. Currently he was situated with the majority of his weight on the back leg while the front rested lightly on the ball of his foot let him easily shift and pivot to follow her orbit of him as she looked for an opening which she knew would be fleeting and one she'd have to take advantage of so she stayed back for a moment to further analyze what she was dealing with.

Hmm, maybe go at him like I'm going for a punch and when he grabs the hoof flip myself around to put him in an armlock? No, I can't let him get a hold of me because I haven't seen him grapple and with his size and range he's definitely got the advantage in that regard. Because he wasn't built like a pony the usual tactic of trying to get to be facing the side of an opponent's barrel where she wouldn't have to worry about punches or bucks - a "dead-zone of defense" as Applejack had called it - was greatly complicated by his relatively unknown bipedal range of motion and alarming speed. Only his back seemed vulnerable like that but he was actively tracking her with readied fists to keep from presenting it. He's not showing me his back because he knows that's his weak spot. Being up on two feet means he can turn quickly, too, but overall speed is on my side. I just need him to make a mistake...

"You know, I'm actually surprised Twilight let you come tonight," Dash teased in an attempt to get into Titus' head and throw him off and zipped to one side to make it look like her chit-chat was secondary to her plan, "But what surprises me even more is that she let you come and didn't encase you in every sort of protective bubble she knew. Right now the egghead is probably worried to death you'll come back looking like a bruised peach." She flitted about just out of his range, occasionally feinting in to try to create an opening because she knew all it would take would be a single hand finding a limb to grab and she would be on the mat but he wouldn't didn't bite enough for her to feel safe to commit.

Ignoring the jests and staying focused on the agile pegasus as she dipped and dived around him, Titus decided to join in on the shit-talking, however, he had a lot more success getting into Rainbow's head. "Like I even need a bubble! She knows the only way you're going to hit me is if I let you because you're. Too. Slow."

"Slow, huh?"

In retrospect it might have been a bit too effective (and admittedly a dumb idea in general) to call her slow as Dash gave an angry snort and rocketed at him, Titus only just dodging to the side to watch her fly straight for one of the posts though in the blink of an eye she somersaulted around to push off of it with all four hooves right back at him with even more speed. The continued fluid motion of Titus' hands did a good job at deflecting the hooves swung at him though she was ricocheting from post to post so quickly he was afraid to do any more than that lest he put her off balance and send her face-first into one of the padded poles or, potentially even worse, out of the ring and into one of the barn's support beams. He was so focused, in fact, that he couldn't hear Lyra and Applejack calling to Dash to tone it down because from their point of view her form had disappeared into a rainbow streak as she ricocheted around the octagon like a pin-ball.

The next thing Titus knew he was laying on his back on the mat and looking up at the high roof as it spun around in a lazy circle and a slight ringing muddled the voices he was hearing. What he could make out, however, was most of AJ's drawl simply from how loud she was as she shouted something about hitting him after the bell.

Oh right, I heard the ring of a bell a second ago. Wait... was it a second ago? The passage of time didn't seem be something he could readily track at the moment. As he lay there blinking slowly to regain his senses a worried green blob that had been in the corner of his vision that he'd paid no mind to up to this point slid into view and began spinning like the ceiling.

"Hey, he's awake!" Lyra shouted over a shoulder in relief, having immediately come to Titus' side when he had hit the mat in an unconscious heap and had been hovering over him in anxious wait, "Thank Celestia! You were out for a second or two and had us all worried. You okay, big guy?"

There was no way she'd know but the ringing in his ears meant he couldn't readily process what she had said however he could guess and he reached out to pat her on the neck and tell her he was alright, however, in reality and his still dazed state of mind when he reached a hand up toward where he was seeing her he instead contacted empty air. The hand hung there for a moment in his confusion before Lyra, seeing his distress, moved slightly to one side to place herself where it could find her as he proceeded to stumble over his words in a rather unconvincing reassurance.

Titus attempted to sit up with a groan and some assistance from Lyra who moved behind him to help gently push him up into a sitting position and catch him if he found he couldn't make it. His face hurt, though the pain was by now distributed around that it was more of a general ache rather than something he could pinpoint, made only worse as he slid the head protector off slowly and removed his mouth-guard to speak, "Wo-ow..."

The room had begun to slow down so the blue blur that had been pacing back and forth in the background became Dash, "Oh jeez, oh jeez! Twilight's going to kill me!"

"Yeah, and you'll have it comin' to ya! Just what the hay were you thinkin', Rainbow?!" came AJ's reply after she rounded the barn door carrying a metal bucket in her mouth and a sock draped over her shoulders, both of the items she put down next to the human. Applejack proceeded to ignore Rainbow as she cried in her defense that she had been moving too fast when the bell had rung to stop, the earth pony instead digging what turned out to be ice cubes from the bucket to dump them into the sock before tying off the end in a knot.

"Just hold still, sugarcube, this is gonna sting-" the dubious look at the single sock caused her to pause before she shook her head, "Relax, I just pulled it from my laundry line so it's clean, now hold this against your eye to keep the swellin' down. Won't do much for the shiner though, so somepony's gonna have a mess to explain to Twilight and I'm plannin' on hunkerin' down in the storm shelter when you tell her."

Oh kark. My first EFC night and I get laid out... ow! Did Dash really have to hit me that hard?! Thankfully the sock full of ice made his face hurt a bit less through sheer numbing cold but for a bit of a break from it he briefly pulled it away to allow some heat and a warm stinging feeling to return.

The pegasus continued pacing with several more similar exclamations to her first before seeing him lean forward to remove the sock so she hesitantly took a step closer to Titus to see how he was. "Hey, Stretch, look I'm really sor-"

Her eyes immediately went wide when his face shifted toward her slightly and revealed his already swelling-shut eye, "Oh Celestia, I'm bucking dead... so bucking dead..." Around a wince stemming from Lyra gently urging the icepack back against his face, even when Titus reassured her that he knew it had been an accident and would tell Twilight as much Dash could only shake her head and return to pacing and mumbling.

"I've gotten worse than this from my training with the MagnaGuards so what's the big deal with her and Twilight?" He said with a nod toward Dash and watched as both ponies shared a look of nervousness that made it clear they had hoped that the other would take the lead in saying something before they both quietly returned their gaze to him. Lyra only met him with darting eye contact which raised more than a few red flags for the human who now knew there was something neither of them wanted to talk about so, dropping the ice-laden sock once again, Titus crossed his arms and gave them both a serious look, "Okay, out with it. Now."

He continued to scowl for a second but it turned into a grimace and he returned the compress to his face where he went back to his stern look though with half of his face being hidden by a soggy sock.

Lyra couldn't help but feel a bit bad for his sorry appearance and stepped a little closer, "Um... you remember after your interview for the school paper I met with Sparkles to 'sort things out' so you could come tonight? Well, she was one of the ponies we invited a long time ago in hopes of adding her to our little party every weekend; after I invited her she went a bit crazy and did all this research on ancient Equestria and their army's fighting techniques, namely the unicorn stuff. Initially she was super interested in seeing how that had evolved to modern day but she found out she could barely stomach the show when in the first match a stallion had a few teeth knocked out and bloodied the mat, so when Applejack and I jumped in the ring afterwards and threw down she almost puked."

Titus' only visible eyebrow arched at that revelation but the fact that he didn't seem as mad now that she was talking gave Lyra a bit of hope that the situation and, more importantly the night, was redeemable, so she plopped herself down in front of his crossed legs, "When I met with her she was totally open to you coming tonight. In fact, she was excited that we had asked you and said you'd probably fit in because of how much you enjoyed sparring with your robots. However, she also said she's always concerned when you train with them because they're so ruthless and she really, and I mean really doesn't like when you write off the bruises and stuff you get. Essentially Sparkles was worried about you getting hurt so she... she made us promise we wouldn't go as hard on each other and we were especially to take it easy on you if you decided to get in the ring with somepony-"

"I see, but unfortunately that's not her call to make," Titus grunted but realized his tone had been laced with annoyance and probably come off as if it was directed at Lyra who was now looking down at her hooves like a foal being scolded. It's not Lyra's fault, she was just doing what she thought she had to to get you to come tonight, but this means I'm going to have to sit Twilight down to talk about how she doesn't need to protect me, whether she thinks it's her job or not. With a heavy sigh he put the issue of overprotective fillyfriends behind him and gave the unicorn's mane a muss which brought her gaze back up for a peek at him from under her forelock. After a second she hesitantly scooted up beside him to test the waters if he was still aggravated and, much to her relief, he draped an arm over her shoulders in the usual manner that pressed her shoulder against his side, "I was looking forward to actually sparring with you three and it would have been nice if you told me you were going to pull your punches-"

"We weren't thinkin' it was that big of a deal for her to ask because even though Lyra, Dash, and I really do push ourselves we're never out to hurt one another and we for sure weren't aimin' to rough you up any. I reckon we all just brushed off Twilight's concern as a mare lookin' out for her stallion," Applejack explained and in the process shed a bit of light on just how much Twilight's friends were privy to what Titus had thought was a bit more of a secret, though where that information was coming from was something he intended to find out. The farm pony drew his attention back from this thoughts when she gave a sigh of her own and slumped a bit, "Guess we sorta blew it for you tonight, didn't we, sugarcube?"

"Look, Applejack. I had a lot of fun tonight so I'm not going to let this stop me from coming back again next Friday whether Twi makes a fuss about it or not because... never mind," he grumbled as he felt the cold compress become a bit less effective and a fresh but dull spike of discomfort shoot across his cheek. Maybe I should have the med droid look at this when I get home. Though the sock helped to some degree to lessen the pain it still hurt to press it against his sore cheek and, despite making an attempt at not wincing, he caught Lyra's expression changing to one of empathy before she closed her eyes and a sudden relief flooded his cheek and eye as her face twitched in pain. It took a second for him to figure out what had happened and his question bore through an expression was confirmed when Lyra gave him a weak smile with a shrug. The arm around her tightened in response and her smile widened at his show of appreciation but to her surprise he also leaned down to nuzzle an ear which she happily pushed upwards into as he spoke, "Thanks, Lyra. You really didn't need to do that."

"But seeing your face when a little of that pain was relieved made it worth it, big guy. Even without this... this ear rub you're giving me... ooooh sweet celestia, what I would do for fingers..." she hummed as the throbbing in her head dissipated and the impromptu ear rub was concluded with a loud smooch on the brow below the bandaged horn, Titus failing to catch the farm pony going slightly red under her fur before she quietly excused herself to strike up a conversation with Rainbow.

It was clear to Lyra that Titus was probably going to sit out any further matches for the night and Dash was probably done as well, judging from how worried she seemed with each glance she cast over at Titus' swollen face she would be too distracted for Applejack to feel safe even using a fraction of her strength in a sparring match against her.

"Well, it's definitely not the worst E.F.C. night we've had," Lyra muttered. With none of the ponies looking like they were willing or capable of reentering the ring to continue for all intents and purposes the night's festivities had drawn to a close so she looked up at Titus from under his arm, "Want to go home now, big guy?"

Though she offered, Titus handled getting through the ropes without her help, any sign of struggle keenly watched for by Dash which garnished a nervous fanning of her wings. Lyra rolled her eyes at that because she trusted if he said he'd sort things out with Twilight so that the pegasus wouldn't experience much of the nuclear fallout (Lyra wasn't sure what that was, but it sounded bad) he would do his best so it was out of her hooves. She stuck by his side and gave a parting nod to Applejack who paused in her conversation to call out for them to have a good evenin' though whatever farewell of her own that Dash added became a stumbled reply when it came to saying goodnight to Titus that ended with her looking at her hooves.

Titus gave both ponies a wave as Lyra said goodnight for the both of them, giving particular attention to the uncharacteristically quiet pegasus with an extra little nod to try and convey things weren't as doom-and-gloom as she thought they were. Passing the bucket of water and ice cubes he emptied the sock and draped it over the side despite Applejack's offer for him to take it with him to be returned later though she conceded his reason was a better one when he reached into the icebox for another bottle of the Apple Family's hard cider to hold against his face and another which was picked up by the neck between two other fingers.

Reaching for his shoulder bag, however, Lyra zipped forward and squirmed under the strap until she wiggled it back to balance on the top of her hip like a saddlebag before darting awar when he tried to take it off of her. She scooted around him with a playful giggle and trotted out the barn door, her head turning to make sure he was following before giving him a cheeky wink, "The mare always offers to carry the gentlecolt's bag, big guy!"

"Oh she'll offer, will she? Except in this case you just snagged it from me like a marketplace cut-purse..." he said and made several playful swipes at her when he caught up but the ever-spry unicorn dodged away so he waved at the bag, "Ah fine, if you insist you can lug it all the way back to town. Just don't go trying to hock it back on me in a few minutes when you get tired." Lyra cheered at her victory and skipped happily along in circles around him humming a small tune and making the bag bounce against her hip with each movement.

After a few solid minutes of prancing about she slowed down to fall in at his side where the pair walked in content quiet together almost all the way to the bridge crossing the creek where he had first gotten a ride into town when Lyra spoke up. "Hey, not that I don't mind the quiet walk home but... are you okay? I can't help but feel like you're still thinking about the sparring and I don't think I've ever seen you get worked up like that with anypony; was it something Dashie or Apples said?"

"It just... I've told you a good bit of the stuff I had to go through before and after Order Sixty Six. I've been a lot of places and done a lot of things, more than I've told even Luna, and it just gets on my nerves a little when you guys look at me like I'm less than I am," he responded. Lyra quickly said she wasn't sure where he was getting the idea that she thought less of him to which he gave a sigh and shrugged his head to one side as if to say he sort of understood her confusion, "I know you don't mean to, but you do it subconsciously like when Applejack and Dash were worried about hurting me simply because I'm a guy and thereby I'm supposedly inherently weaker or less tough which is a culturally-ingrained idea I'm still working on getting Twilight to shake. All the training, all the workouts, and all the bumps and bruises that come with them; I push myself hard to get stronger because..." Titus paused and let his sentence drift off.

"You did this before," Lyra said after a moment of letting him be quiet, having keenly observed him the whole while, "You had the same look on your face when you told Apples you wouldn't let Sparkles keep you from coming to Fight Night again but you stopped before telling us why." Titus didn't say anything and instead turned his face away down the road making it impossible for Lyra to see what he might be thinking, "Hey... come on, I'm just worried about, you big guy."

He sighed heavily and closing his eyes to concentrate on putting what motivated him into words, as hard as it was for him to say, "I push myself because I'm never going to be weak again. When my Master needed me most I was too weak to help her, and I feel like she knew that and that was the reason she pushed me through the blast doors-"

"What? That's... no, that's not right," Lyra scowled in thought and shook her head. When his look was directed at her for her interruption and its rather unexpected wording, however, she found herself on the back hoof scrambling to explain, "Alright, what I mean is... what if Master Krua didn't push you through the doors because she thought you were weak? What if she did that because she knew you were strong enough to survive out there on your own? With all the adventures and hardships you've told me of I really can't see how she'd think you were weak, then or now. Plus she didn't sound like the sort of, um, person? Is that still the right word if she's not a human? Well whatever - she didn't sound like the type of teacher to tolerate it in her pupil."

Titus was quiet for another long moment before his expression changed and he looked at her with genuine hope, "You think so?"

"I know so. We're practically the same age and I mean you were, what, a few years younger than you are now? I think we both know and Bonnie can attest that I'm not the best role model when it comes to adult responsibilities like rent and chores and stuff so the idea of me a few years ago suddenly having all this extra stuff I'd have to start thinking and worrying about like who to trust and where to go would probably have caused me to roll up in a little ball and cry," she answered honestly and looked up at the swirl of constellations of the night sky, "And I definitely couldn't have handled suddenly being all alone out there... but I guess if I didn't have any other options and had been taught like you had been when I was growing up I would find a way to manage, even if it was just scraping by. That's what she trained you to do; to survive."

Titus gave Lyra a heartfelt smile for the praise and a pat on the barrel, "Master Krua would have liked you; if ever she had a soft spot in her gruff demeanor it was for people who spoke from the heart. Thanks, Lyra, that means a lot to hear you say that."

Along with their conversation Lyra and Titus had stopped halfway across the bridge and looked down at the churning creek that had grown significantly as it drained the large amount of water from the surrounding basins choked from the recent storm, the water brown like chocolate milk and small rapids kicking up where soft ripples used to be. Lyra was the first to gaze upward again at the stars, her ears betraying the storm of thoughts going on in her head as they pivoted forward, fell flat, then a single one stood back up as she turned a tilted head to Titus to find he, too, was looking at the sky again.

"I um, I hear you're making good progress on the repairs. Rumor going around town is you've got a demonstration or something in the works..." she started out but trailed off. It was definitely an odd change of subject and while Lyra hadn't shown anywhere near the same interest in his tech that Twilight did (if that was even possible for anypony else to do in the first place) Titus chocked it up to her wanting to move away from the subject of Krua's death.

"Yeah, things are going as well as they can but there'll always some form of complication when it comes to fixing a star ship. Arsix and I finished repairs to the repulsorlift system so I cleared it with the Mayor's office to put on a little show of reorienting the craft so that I can begin work on the starboard engine and test the port-side one without frying you and your friends on the hill," he explained before catching that she had been looking at him for a bit so he turned to face her a little more, "You might have noticed the pair of construction ponies working around my ship the last few days digging and pouring concrete to make big slabs. Well, I've got to line up each of the landing gear feet with those and, now that I think about it, when the time comes I could use an extra set of hooves. Interested?"

"Y-You want me to help fly your ship!?!" Lyra really hoped she'd get to play with all the screens and buttons and maybe activate a turbolaser, though she guessed that would only happen under strict supervision. Not that I can blame him. Lasers were already cool, how much cooler would a turbo-ified laser be? An idea immediately formed in her mind and unable to contain it she hopped about excitedly and made several ooo-ing noises to get his already-acquired attention, "Hey! Could we take it over the Everfree Forest and go bola spider hunting? I could totally brag to Dashie that I went spider hunting with a space ship! Pewpewpew! Imagine the look on her face-!"

Her excitement was soundly squashed when he apologized that flying wasn't the case - at least not yet - and clarified he wouldn't actually be going much of anywhere. The plan was to instead gain enough altitude to take the weight off of the landing gear to rotate the ship so it sat on the concrete slabs to prevent it from slowly sinking into the soft soil so he would need her to stand by one and let him know when he was lined up.

"Oh... yeah. I'd be happy to help with that," she replied, clearly more than a little down that she wouldn't get to do any flying or spider hunting. What followed was another long pause of both of them stargazing before Lyra mustered up the guts to ask a question that had been plaguing her mind for a while now and after she figured out how to best express it she crossed her hooves on the railing to rest her muzzle on, "Hey, big guy? If you're moving it, how long until your ship is fixed?"

Titus made a noise like a deflating balloon as he mentally ran through a portion of the long checklist of things he still had to do, "Well I can't really give you a time estimate but most of the damaged systems needed for flight and general ship control are more or less operational; life support, power, shields, navigation... those sorts of things. Despite that I've still got a little work to do before I'd rely on them to get me anywhere, and then there's a good bit of welding on the hull that needs to be done, too. There's still a whole load of work that needs to be done on my ion engines, especially the starboard one because I still need to strip it completely down to figure out why it lost power and flung me into the portal in the first place which is hard to say how long that'll be. Without at least one working engine I'm not going anywhere in any hurry."

The list of things still on his plate continued for a few more minutes then Titus' brow furrowed as he thought for a moment before turning to her, "You sound worried..."

"Oh I um, I was just wondering if you'd given any thought to, you know, going once your ship was fixed." Lyra really didn't want to say "leaving" because to her it sounded more permanent whereas "going" could be he'd just go somewhere to check something out and come back, like running an errand to Sugar Cube Corner during TV commercials.

"There's this indescribable feeling of having a ship at your fingertips... there's absolute freedom in being able to point it in a direction and just go where you want to," he answered with a longing sigh before resting his forearms to lean on the bridge's railing much like she was doing, "That's what I love about flying, Lyra."

"Absolute freedom? Sorta like the on the speeder bike, but bigger?" Lyra didn't move but looked out of the corner of an eye at him and arched an eyebrow curiously, "C-Could I come with you?"

"The next time you come over for lunch I'll have to show you the literal room of mail I've got from scientists of every conceivable variety, countless reporters, and even an author of adventure novels looking for inspiration. All of them sent letters looking for a spot on board," he answered and watched the little pony sag in disappointment a moment before he bumped her with an elbow, "But you're the first friend who has asked so you have first dibs on a seat. I can honestly say friends are the most important thing to have out there-"

Faster than he could react the mint unicorn had turned to wrap both hooves around his waist before burying her face in his shirt. Unsure what had prompted her to suddenly embrace him with the amount of enthusiasm Lyra was showing he returned the gesture, one arm looped around her while the other gently brushed over her mane, however when she didn't let go after a quite a long time and instead tightened her grip when he patted her shoulder, however, he had to ask. "Not that I don't appreciate this, but what's up?"

Turning her face to rest a cheek against his stomach, Lyra couldn't resist the urge to give him a small nuzzle before speaking. "Promise me."

"Lyra, I can't hear you if you mumble into my shirt-"

"Promise me," she repeated louder so he could hear, "Promise me you'll take me flying in your ship when you get it fixed, and promise me that when you leave-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Titus pulled her off enough that he could kneel to be at eye level with her, Lyra taking the opportunity while he was crouching down to snag one of his hands to bring to her cheek. It wasn't necessarily an unusual thing to do, in terms of how Lyra liked to share the friendly forms of physical contact that Titus had grown accustomed to, but her expression was different and somehow she felt like she was holding on to keep him from jetting that very moment.

"I never said I was leaving, Lyra," he pointed out and pressed his hand into her cheek in hopes of alleviating some of her tension which it appeared to do if her brief smile and small nuzzle against his fingers was anything to go by. Is this what Twi meant when she said Lyra might have something she wanted to talk about? Jeez, no wonder she warned me, Lyra looks really worried. Coming out of his thought she had returned to looking a little concerned which prompted him to explain, "Ignoring all the work I still have ahead of me, I'm not sure I can leave because I have no idea where Equestria is in regards to anything on my star charts. There's also a few other extenuating circumstances but even if I could leave, if the Empire showed up there's too much evidence that I was here; I mean, they made me into an action figure, for kark's sake-"

"Yeah, Mom thought it would be a top seller so she contacted one of our toy factories and had them create a line. From what she said the first wave of the series is putting up some solid numbers," Lyra chimed because posed on the nightstand beside the picture she had framed was her own alien action figure and astromech droid; the set had been the first one off the assembly line so it was highly collectible but she'd never part with it because it held a special sentimental value in that it was one of a kind, much like him.

"And your parents' lawyers have sent me a heap of documents about using my likeness and the ludicrous amount of royalties I'll be making from it. Anyway, between that and all the other information about me out there even if I left the Princesses have no way of covering up that I was here. I've seen what they've done and the lengths the Empire will go to to catch a Force sensitive but I can only imagine what they'll do to eliminate me once they find out I'm a Jedi, and even if I ran that still leaves the issue of Harmony which they'd probably see as a threat..." he trailed off and sighed. This topic had actually been on his mind recently, thanks to the errors IANA was encountering after booting her back up, and it was one he had been thinking about long and hard. The enemy is out there somewhere and no matter the cost I've got to be ready to protect these people. His thought drove him to briefly scan the night sky but he quickly returned to Lyra, "Even with the absolute freedom that comes when flying I've learned some things are just as valuable, if not more, such as finding a place that feels like home and people to share it with, ponies included. I can't and wont easily abandon that... or you, Lyra."

The small heartfelt smile he gave was soon reflected on Lyra's face and she once again leapt on him to tangle her hooves around his neck which turned into an even bigger hug when he promised to take her flying the first chance he got. As they swayed back and forth in their extended embrace Titus felt immensely happy to be with his friend but couldn't explain why he felt a sudden ache in his chest. Was it that this had been a subject he had been hesitant to breach with anyone and it was a relief to be not bear it in silence any longer? Or maybe it was the realization that he felt close enough to Lyra to be comfortable sharing something that concerned him. Either way, he was immensely appreciative that there was another friend whom he cared about who was willing follow him to the stars, at least at some point in the future. When they finally gave a communal squeeze and parted the earlier anxiety over what had occurred at the party had been forgotten and replaced with their usual enjoyment of each others' company as they started once more back to Ponyville.

"Oh, and don't go thinking I'll let you go up against those Empire meanies alone, big guy," Lyra suddenly leapt onto a stumpy pole at the end of the bridge and, having found a somewhat straight stick in the grass during her mad dash, now held the imaginary weapon in her hooves like a sword while balancing on her hind legs and staring stoically off into night sky as if she was waiting for a Star Destoyer to warp into orbit in the next few seconds, "Lightsabers in hoof, we'll face a vast army of baddies that spans the horizon. Back-lit by the rising sun we will walk fearlessly forward like the absolute recalcitrant badflanks that we are to meet them in combat, eventually defeating them and thereby saving Equestria from certain doom! After that we can star in our own TV series, 'Master Lyra and the Big Guy' could be the title and it'd be all about our adventures in spaaaaace!"

The unicorn stayed perched upon the pole and there was a lasting silence as Titus regarded her with what was a little concern for her sanity although this was easily overwhelmed by the amusement of watching her while she made quiet lightsaber noises and pew-pews of the imagined blasterfire being shot at her being deflected.

It didn't take long, however, before the wild swings of her weapon resulted in her hitting herself in the snout when she lost control of it and she gave a startled squeak and dropped the stick to clutch her sore nose with both hooves. His continued lack of verbal response drew her attention and caused her to quickly blurt out that she had only been kidding and wasn't trying to belittle what it he had been through as Jedi.

Her worry snapped him out of his unresponsiveness, "What? No, no. That was actually... kind of adorable."

"A-Are you sure?" Lyra asked with hope and anxiety in her voice as she hopped lightly down from the perch to look at him, her head cocked to one side and genuinely curious about his answer, "Because this is the part of the night where I’ve usually said something stupid and the guy leaves."

Titus' shoulders rolled in a big shrug, "Well, I'm still here."

"Yeah, but now you make me wonder what’s wrong with you, big guy." There was another brief pause during which Lyra thought that once again maybe she hadn't been clear enough with her tone of voice that she was kidding. To her relief, however, Titus soon gave a loud snort and shook his head before telling her he wasn't sure where to begin on what would be a rather long list.

Neither knew what to say after that and quietly fell into a slow walk as the road curved a bit to run parallel to the line of trees of the Everfree Forest, Lyra walking beside Titus like usual which meant she was close enough to receive a barrage of slow ear rubs, brushes down the side of her neck, and what was fast becoming her favorite was the gentle scratches to the bandage wrapped around her horn that warranted extra hums of happiness and several giggles. Whereas Twilight had a ticklish cutie mark Lyra's ticklish spot was her horn and tummy, the latter of which she had "let him discover" (or that's what she told him, at least) after he had retaliated from a merciless attack when she had found he was ticklish under his arms during one of their playful wrestling matches after a picnic put on for the press before they had just lay in the grass watching the clouds pass for the rest of the afternoon.

That had been a great day. I'd like to do that again... Lyra shifted slightly to get an ear into range of his fingers while she played the afternoon back in her mind before finally breaking the silence to jerk her head at a nearby hollow log that looked like it would suffice as a bench, "Hey, can we sit a minute?"

Titus shrugged and nodded before following her over but waited for her to sit before he took his seat a little distance down the log, one arm rummaging around in his shoulder bag for the two remaining bottles of hard cider to pass one to Lyra. After opening the bottles and taking a satisfying gulp once again they fell silent and looked up into the clear night sky where a full moon hung above them. While the stars and sky were gorgeous - more so than usual, Lyra thought - she tore her eyes away to look at the human before scooting a little closer, though he was clearly too engaged with gazing upwards to notice her movement until she spoke, "I um... I hope you had fun tonight."

"Hm? Oh yeah, I had a really great time. Thanks, Lyra."

Compared to Twilight, Luna, or Sgt. Quickbolt, to Titus it seemed that Lyra was always a bit more animated when it came to the way her ears would react to her emotions though she didn't realize he was partially watching hers rotate toward him like soft felt radar dishes when she turned to him a little more, "Sooo... would you want to make this a regular thing? Like, maybe once a week or more we could get together and do something fun?" Titus looked at her a little curiously and asked if she was talking specifically about getting together for E.F.C. though she quickly shook her head and opened her mouth to speak for it to only hang open when she found she was at a loss for words.

Going a little red and shying away, her ears flattening back as her face burned with embarrassment. You doofus! Just... speak from your heart and puke out the words without thinking overly much about them. Okay, maybe not 'puke', that has too much of a negative connotation to it and you definitely should think about what to say but... get it over with, like ripping off a band-aid!

"Sorry, butterflies in my tummy won't let me think. No, I mean... um," with a sigh of determination she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to dislodge her indecisiveness before looking back at him with a hopeful yet anxious grin, "Okay. So. You're literally the best guy friend I've got because I can be myself around you without worrying you'll think I'm weird-"

"Which you are, I might point out," he interjected with a small bump of the shoulder with that lopsided smile of his, "But your weirdness doesn't bother me, what with the whole gangly alien and fingers thing I've got going on. Us weirdos got stick together, right?"

"Come on! I'm trying to be serious, big guy..." she rolled her eyes in mock irritation and bumped him back appreciatively before he sat up and said she was free to continue because he wouldn't interrupt again, though his overly-serious face earned several giggles which were infectious and after they both finally calmed down she leaned against his nearby arm, "I just... I've had a lot of fun hanging out with you and goofing off in front of the cameras; with you and Sparkles agreeing to begin being a bit more open about each other in public I sorta can see signs of the curtains dropping on our little act and I was hoping... oh jeez, these butterflies won't settle down, haha!"

Lyra's nervous laugh ended with her scooting a little bit away down the log to turn completely to face him, though she found it hard to look at him with the concerned way he was looking back at her and instead stared down at her hooves to speak, her ears subconsciously folding back which was revealing as to how anxious she was.

"At first it all started out as a fun game where we'd secretly be tricking everypony watching us play Celebrity Couple but as time went on the cameras mattered less and less because I was looking forward to the walks in the park and picnic lunches atop your ship because I'd realized you, big guy, where what made it so fun. It's pretty rare for me to find somepony like Bonnie and Sparkles that aren't weirded out by my weirdness so I really treasured that and looked forward to those afternoons and mornings of just being myself with you, and now with Sparkles and you starting to go public I was hoping we could drop the act and keep... seeing each other like that but at the same time..."

Lyra paused, her words suddenly feeling as if she was painting herself into a corner when she realized she didn't really like what she had planned to say so she quickly rearranged her thoughts until she was satisfied and after nodding in appreciation of the moment he had given her to collect herself she continued, "Going back to you being the 'best guy friend' topic, I probably should have said you're literally the only legitimate guy friend I have; guys just being plain rare, especially here in a small town like Ponyville, but even rarer are guys that aren't put off by my weirdness. It's a rarity that I'm comfortable being myself with somepony else and it seems y-you actually like me for who I am..."

Her anxious pause for confirmation that she hadn't misread things was quickly and thankfully fulfilled when Titus nodded and explained he was happy she felt she didn't have to hide her personality from him and hoped she realized the same was true for him. That disclosure that he enjoyed being himself around her bolstered Lyra's self confidence that she was doing the right thing and after a (mostly) internal squee of excitement she had the motivation to continue, "I'm really glad to hear that, big guy. What I'm trying to say is that you've been so open and accepting of this weird friendship we've got and, after managing to have fun together tonight despite the setbacks, I'm hoping we could sorta test how we feel about seeing each other as maybe... something more?"

Titus was more than unprepared for this sort of request, let alone that serious of a topic coming out of someone like Lyra, and he thought his brain had shut off for half a moment as it processed what had been asked and after he worked through her statement again he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees in a hunched position, "You're asking... me out? I'm not sure how I'm supposed to respond to this. I mean, Twi and I just got together-"

"I know, I know! But when I met with her to talk about what it would take to get you to come tonight I also wanted to get her permission so I could ask you-" Lyra's explanation was immediately cut off with a weird look and the question as to why she'd need to get Twilight's permission for such a thing first was something that brought her a little pause before she cocked her head to one side and one ear rotated forward from the curious question.

That's when she looked a little deeper and realized he probably wasn't aware of how things worked.

"Oh, well I wanted to ask you a while ago. Remember right before you got sick you asked if I was coming on to you? I realized I actually sorta maybe was coming on to you because I was interested. So, I ended up stopping by the library on my way back from the Human Watchers' meeting and was going to ask Sparkles if it'd mess up anything she might had planned if I took you out to dinner or something one night. Before I could ask, though, she got super excited and announced she had already asked you out and you'd said yes so at that point I sort of stepped back so Sparkles wouldn't feel crowded because I knew how much it meant to her and now that you two are officially a thing I had to ask her because she's the alpha mare and it's just common courtesy-"

"That's common courtesy?" Titus asked, not exactly pleased that he had been left out of the loop on something as monumental a discussion as Lyra and Twilight had apparently had though his displeasure went unnoticed or was misinterpreted by Lyra who didn't see what the deal was.

"Well yeah," she said with a tone that made it seem like it was something he should have known however the shrug and hand motion that he'd need an explanation that followed came as a little bit of a surprise and after learning he was completely out of the loop Lyra struggled for a moment on how to get him to understand, "So, basically it's considered really rude to ask out a member of a herd without consulting with the rest of the members first. Let's say you were already in this herd and Sparkles and I weren't and wanted to go out with you, okay? Well, we'd have to ask the alpha mare first - that's the first mare to court the dude, by the way - then she would go to the other herd members and see if they supported the idea of you joining. After having a serious discussion about it and giving everyone a chance to either meet us or share their thoughts or whatever she'd come back to Sparkles or me with an answer on whether or not we'd be able to ask you out based on what the herd had decided."

"That sort of sounds like it's taking the freedom away from the stallion to see who they want. So let's say I'm in a herd with Twilight and there's another mare I want to ask out, what happens? Is the system different?" he asked the next most logical question.

Lyra was clearly not expecting that question and floundered, "I-I don't know, the guy being the one who steps up happens so rarely that it's a bit of a dream for a lot of mares... I guess you'd have to check to see if they were in a herd or not, then do something similar with the alpha mare who would probably talk with the already established stallion to make sure there was compatibility. It's not unheard of, but it's definitely not common in everyday society for a herd to have more than one because of the contrast in population so herds that have multiple are generally looked down upon as hoarders. Despite that, you'll see a lot of music videos and stuff of mares surrounded guys as a sign or status symbol of wealth, power, or prestige."

With that little bit explained, based on his summary of what she had said Titus seemed to have the very basic understanding of how herding worked. With a sigh he added on at the end that he would have appreciated her asking him at the same time rather than have this potentially going on for days behind his back to which she pointed out that was just how society had done things for as long as anypony could remember. Still, Lyra apologized that he felt slighted and that she nor Twilight had thought to inform him of something that could land him in some very hot water sooner as he could have really insulted somepony by making the wrong move.

"Last thing I need is to make a mistake like that," he said but quickly assured her he wasn't mad and was glad to understand another societal quirk before nodding for her to continue where she had left off.

"Thanks for understanding, big guy. Sparkles is one of my best friends so when I talked with her she was really supportive but said she'd side with whatever your decision was, which is why I really tried everything I could to make tonight fun..." Lyra's ears flattened back and she picked at some loose bits of bark nervously with a hoof, "So you'd hopefully consider saying yes."

Okay, so scratch my earlier assumption that Twi's warning had to do with Lyra worrying I was leaving. Kark, what do I do? Titus leaned forward to rub at his eyes for the placebo effect of clearing up his mind to think.

Relationships where a whole new thing to him, what with the strict rules of the Temple prohibiting nearly all forms of romance from seeing the light of day save for a few occurrences where the Council's approval had been earned in a special case where one of the Masters sought to bear children because she belonged to a species whose population was dwindling due to the inherent low birthrates. Then there were the more clandestine relationships that the Council was less aware of, some of which were fleeting and others long-lasting. Having personally dealt with numerous races that followed polygamy and never been brought up to view one way as right and the other wrong because the universe was so vast that opinions on it varied from world to world. Titus just couldn't say whether or not he'd be comfortable outside of the monogamous relationship that he was in with Twilight, not that he had given it much thought to begin with, but he did remember Master Krua voicing a more or less understanding of the idea of polygamy though whether that stemmed from her heritage as a Zabrak he didn't know.

Lyra grew increasingly fidgety under the silence, though it went unnoticed as Titus sat hunched over with his forearms resting on his knees for support and tried to organize his chaotic thoughts. She certainly could be rambunctious at times, but she had an energy he found wonderfully infectious and the time they had spent together had been full of laughter, and even when he was bummed out from a hard day of work or stressed from being in the media's spotlight she had always managed to make time to find a way to change his mood for the better by sharing the lighthearted or silly side of the things that were bothering him and just generally being so carefree that he couldn't help appreciate the way she saw things. Lyra was remarkable in that after their first meeting at Twilight and Spike's surprise picnic she had approached him the next day with a friendly greeting like he was completely normal and belonged whereas the other ponies had remained on the hill to gawk until he had started working on his bike and while he was perfectly happy to have been answering all of Twilight's questions, at the time it was a very appreciated relief to have someone that enjoyed discovering who he was rather than what, which might have been why their friendship had grown so quickly.

Above all else the mint unicorn was his friend, and a very close one at that, and if there was ever anyone he would openly say he had come to care about she would be one of the three he could think of off the top of his head. Why am I having such a hard time? I don't love her the same way I love Twi, but... life is just so much more enjoyable when Lyra is at my side and she's definitely someone special to me, so... but at the same time maybe I do, but I just do so differently? And Twi said she'd back whatever I decided, but I can't rightfully make a decision to jump into things if it means there's the possibility of this somehow being unfair to either of them.

"Lyra, I just..." he sighed and sat up to watch the unicorn's face and ears fall with disappointment which felt like a knife being stabbed into his gut. Seeing her in her state of almost absolute despondency pulled at his heartstrings and it would have felt even worse if he knew that internally she was telling herself that somehow this was her fault and that she wished she could go back and take back everything had said since sitting down on the log because she was convinced she had just lost him as a friend.

Slowly a small light of realization went off in his mind. I do care for Lyra because she's special to me, but can what I feel for her still be considered love if it's not the same way I feel for Twi who I know I love? Can love feel different from person to person? I just don't know... this is all new to me and that's definitely where this uncertainty is coming from but damnit, this 'feelings' shit is so complicated! Scooting a little closer to Lyra, Titus slowly reached out to lift her downcast face back up to look at him with the intent of just being honest with her about his uncertainty, "I hope you understand I'm not sure how to go about this..."

"I-It's okay to say no, big guy."

"Lyra, I'm not saying no! Not because of anything you might be thinking right now, anyway," he cut her off before she could go any further and in response her ears rotated toward him and her eyes shot up to meet his with a glimmer of hope in them, "I still want to think things over and talk with Twi a bit about this but... kark me if I can't think of a time we haven't had fun when we've hung out. When we're together you constantly remind me that it's okay to just let loose and relax a bit, which wasn't something I got to do very often but it's something that's sorely been missing. Then there's the whole thing about actually saving my life and telling me you'll be there because you've got my back, which you know means an immense amount to me."

"But the reason I'm not saying 'yes' right off the bat is that I just don't know if I can balance myself between two people I care about. Even with Twi I'm overwhelmed at times, I'm just flying semi-blind and just doing what feels right. I've told you this, but when I was growing up we had to focus on our duties as Jedi above and before everything else... I was never taught or got advice because everyone was too preoccupied with keeping the galaxy from falling apart. What I'm trying to say, Lyra, is that I don't have an opposition to the idea but I need some time to think on it because if we were to keep seeing each other and I had to divide my time or attention between you two I don't want one of you feeling like I've got a favorite-" Titus watched as Lyra's face screwed up in confusion for a brief second before she cocked her head to one side and looked at him funny.

"Favorite? What are you talking about? I know you love Sparkles, and like I've told you before I'd never do anything to jeopardize things between you two. It's not my goal for you to fall equally in love with me right away or down the road, big guy... though if you did I certainly would consider myself exceedingly lucky, but I'd never want that to come at the cost of lessening your love for my best friend. So no, I know Sparkles will always be your number one."

"I don't think that's fair," Titus responded with a mildly disapproving look, "I care about both of you, I just care for each of you differently so blame it on me being an alien but I'm not able to think of either of you as a number."

"Well regardless, it doesn't necessarily have to be a romantic connection because I just really enjoy seeing and being around you two together so herding would mean I'd be able share in a little bit of the love and happiness you have for each other. Plus it gives me a reason to hang out with two of my best friends whenever I wanted, though maybe in the process of exploring we'd see that our friendship is a bit deeper than we think it is," she paused and waited as the expression on Titus' face made it clear he was processing what she had said and when he nodded several times in understanding she gave him a small but hopeful smile while reaching out to touch the back of his nearby hand. Much to her appreciative surprise it turned over to take hold of her hoof and a thumb brushed gently against the pad on the underside before she tapped him on the chest where she knew his heart would be, "So... think we can see if you've got a little space in there for-"

"Well, well, well. Looks like we bumped into two lovebirds out on a stroll."

The close proximity of a voice startled both Lyra and Titus to bolt upright and scan the trees for the speaker though without much wait a vanilla-colored unicorn mare with an eye-catching mane of silver and gold swirls melted out of the shadows with several other ponies emerging behind her. "Oh dear, did we interrupt?" the mare asked with dripping insincerity that set the hairs on the back of Titus' neck on edge.

Though they had snuck up on him using magic of some form that had prevented him from sensing their presence there was no mistaking the hostility that Titus felt rolling off of them in waves. Before he could do anything, however, Lyra's nostrils flared and she was standing in front of him like a wall, "Show Stopper! What are you and your herd doing here? The guards told you to hop a train out of Ponyville and leave him alone."

"But it's such a quaint little dump of a town that we just had to come back. We couldn't just leave without an apology for before, now could we?" Show Stopper continued with the same nasty tone which earned snickers from her supportive audience - a sunset orange pegasus mare with a short-cropped sandy mane who was dwarfed by the large frame of the smoke grey earth pony stallion beside her whose jet black mane was lost in the night except when the moonlight caught it. Standing just at the back as the other two joined Show Stopper was a very casual looking unicorn stallion with an electric blue coat and cyan mane with two jagged white streaks who seemed to be taking great pleasure in watching things unfold.

It took a second but Titus eventually recognized them as the hecklers that had thrown banana peels at him the night Twilight had made the foolish decision to rush out to see him and gotten attacked by timberwolves. While this was the first he'd heard the name of their leader he knew the earth pony was Big Knockout, or "BK" as the pegaus named Dive Bomb had called him that afternoon during their jeers. Knowledge of the blue unicorn's name had come from Snappy Scoop when she showed him the pictures and asked if he'd heard of somepony named Savage Shock.

"Yeah well... we don't want an apology, we just want you to leave us alone. Come on, big guy-"

Titus turned to the road and Lyra picked up his bag once again with the intent of walking away but the herd spread out to block their path as the clearly hostile Show tsk'd, "Oh no, no, no. I'm sorry dear... now what was your name? I know the guard mentioned it, and I think it was L... Lyra... Heartstrings, wasn't it? Yes, well I'm afraid you've misinterpreted what I meant. We weren't going to leave without an apology from you."

"From me?" Lyra paused in confusion before rounding on Show Stopper, "What the hay do I have to apologize to you for? You were the one hassling him!"

Show Stopper's tone changed from the feigned dulcet tones to a snarl an instant, "Because you were the one who went and got a guard! We were supposed to be on a train that night to take us back to Las Pegasus but the guards held us overnight; because of you we missed our tournament and our sponsors pulled out when they heard what had happened! You cost us everything!" A loud rabble of agreement from others had the effect of spurring the unicorn on to the point that she stomped the dirt in front of her, "We're going to get an apology out of you..."

Titus didn't like the way Big Knockout or the other two were eagerly eyeing him up and, sensing trouble brewing, he patted his friend on the shoulder, "Lyra, just apologize and let's go home-"

"Home? Na, you're not going anywhere!" Dive Bomb interrupted before launching herself into the air to hover roughly face-height with Titus so she could look down on Lyra, "The only apology we're gonna accept is a pound of flesh. See, we were looking forward to getting in the octagon to sorta vent, right? Well, we ain't been in no ring since the guards locked us up and thanks to her we can't get a hoof into the pro circuit because we can't get a sponsor on account of who she is and who her parents are. None of them are willing to back us!"

"Our gym even revoked our membership so we didn't have a place to practice or catch the eye of new sponsors! You're not going anywhere, Lyra baby, because you're gonna apologize after we each get our nine rounds in for making us miss our shot at the big leagues." Though the venom in her words hardly lessened, Show Stopper's tone changed again and what alarmed Lyra the most was that she had gone back to her calm way of talking, "A simple banana peel and a herd out for drinks and a little harmless fun on the town, and one mare decides it'll cost them their dream..." Show Stopper's horn began to glow, distracting Lyra long enough that Big Knockout launched herself at her faster than she could move out of the way of the sudden charge.

Titus, however, was even faster and shifted Lyra to the side, dropping low to brace himself and meet the mid-air pony with a shoulder which still sent him stumbling back upon impact while BK was deposited roughly into the dirt on his backside before he scrambled to his hooves with an angry snort.

"Look, Lyra and I aren't looking for trouble tonight so let's just stop and go our separate ways. The problems you're having finding sponsors are only going to get worse if you keep this up," Titus straightened up to full height and directed his gaze at Show Stopper with the idea that if he could convince her this was a bad idea chances were that her mates or whatever they were would follow, "I don't have a problem with you and as far as I'm concerned we can both walk away from this and nothing else has to come of it." His attempt at reasoning with the herd seemed to have an effect because all attention shifted to Show Stopper who closed her eyes in thought for a moment before her horn stopped glowing.

When she opened her eyes again, however, her face split into a devilish smirk.

"Oh, catching your little lover with you wasn't our actual goal, but it was definitely a nice bonus. Speaking of her, I don't think she'll be going anywhere anytime soon..." Show nodded toward Lyra and paused long enough for him to look over his shoulder to see the silver shimmer that coated Lyra's fur, the mint unicorn made unable to answer the human's anxious call if she was okay due to the paralysis spell cast upon her. When demanded to release Lyra from the spell the hostile mare only cackled confidently, "You're in no position to be making demands, monkey. Simply put, we don't like you, and the fact that a monster like you can waltz into town and make friends like it's a pony disgusts us. You don't belong here and if nopony in this backwater town has the guts to do anything about letting a freak live among them I guess we'll just have to do something about it. Not that we won't have fun doing so..."

Despite her mind screaming at her to do something Lyra was stuck in her pose and unable to act. All she could do was watch as Titus stubbornly stood his ground and moved between her and the four ponies to shield her from the first attack. Dive Bomb whipped herself around to strike out with a hind hoof at Titus' face which necessitated a block to keep it from hitting his injured cheek, the distraction allowing the burly earth pony to tackle him at the waist and bring him to the ground.

What is he doing?! Don't worry about me just get out of here, big guy! As he and Big Knockout rolled with numerous hooves and fists thrown Dive Bomb fluttered about looking for a space to get a few hits in of her own. Titus, however, was doing a good job of grappling the earth pony to use much like a shield and kept him off balance enough to prevent his crushing blows from landing but he clearly didn't have the upper hoof. H-He can't keep this up, I've got to do something!

In her desperation to help, Lyra forced herself to tune out the sounds of the scuffling to turn her attention fully to using the unique ability of unicorns to dissect spells by feel and though her injured horn hurt like Tartarus she pushed it to the back of her mind with the noise of the fight. Her own expertise was heightened by her desperation to the point where even the weaving Show Stopper had put into her cast looked like a knit scarf with several loose threads standing out waiting to be yanked.

Got it! Unweaving the final strand there was a loud crack of energy as the holding spell over Lyra broke and she leapt to her hooves, though she knew she would only have time for two words, if that.

"Run, Titus! RUN!"

Immediately her foe's horn resumed glowing and they reengaged in their magical struggle. Lyra's eyes squeezed tightly shut as she focused on disassembling the spells being flung at her or constructing wards to deflect them before they could hit and launching attacks of her own, including concussive blasts, holding spells, gooey globs, cantrips, absolutely anything in her arsenal of spells that could potentially help her win this fight. She was quickly getting put her on her back hoof as more and more of Show Stopper's own attacks zeroed in on landing to the point that she physically took a step back, though it did nothing to give her any additional time to work. Amid one of the barrages a particularly complex spell was sent her way, one she scarcely had time to analyze so she frantically pulled at its harmonic threads to disassemble which almost got through.

Because she hadn't had time to examine its components, however, she failed to find the spell hidden within the weaving until it had already slipped through her defense and it was suddenly over, her whole body locking up again in full paralysis and the glow of her horn fading out as its access to Harmony was sealed behind a much stronger ward then before.

Buck! Buckbuckbuckfuckbuck! Please Celestia, let that have been enough for him to get away. Before the paralysis took complete hold of her she had enough time to glance at her surroundings to spot Titus locked together with Big Knockout and her repeated scream to run died in her throat as the tendrils of magic reached her jaw and kept it closed. Being paralyzed her eyes which had gone wide that her human friend hadn't taken the opportunity to run were held open and she was unable to blink, leaving her mind to race as things unfolded before her.

Despite their grappling Titus heard Lyra's squeak and watched out of the corner of his eye as she went rigid, "I'm not going anywhere, Lyra. I'm not abandoning you!"

With a wriggle he managed to slip an arm past the pony's shoulder and get a good handful of Knockout's mane, his fingers intertwining with bundles of hairs granting him a strong grip his opponent had no chance of squirming out of and, taking advantage of his new-found leverage, Titus yanked the pony to one side. With one arm free of the pin and still in the extremely close quarters he immediately slammed his elbow into the exposed windpipe which, needless to say, took the fight out of the earth pony faster than the air left his lungs when a second later Titus' knee thrust up into his soft underbelly. A firm grip kept Knockout from breaking off to catch a break as the human turned the tables and rolled to be on top to rain several brutal, fully cocked-back punches to his face and jaw that sent bloodied knuckles smashing through the hooves raised in feeble defense like a jackhammer.

The reversal only lasted a second as mid-swing for a forth blow Titus was blasted off of the earth pony with magic and came to a rolling stop beside Lyra in a heap as the jarring, almost familiar energy arced through his body and slowly dissipated and his heart painfully refound its normal rhythm.

"Hey! I wanted a go at him, Shock!" Dive bomb sulked having almost gotten into the fray and narrowly avoided the bolt of electricity.

"Tsk. Really, Knockout? You're going to make me intervene so you don't get your flank kicked?" Savage Shock snorted at his earth pony companion that was bloodied and wheezing in the dirt before turning his attention to the prone human who was just beginning to get back to his feet. "Ah ah ah! None of that, now," a smirk accompanied his magical aura as it surrounded Titus and floated him a bit off the ground where the unicorn stallion held him for a moment, watching as he squirmed to break free, "Why don't you just go over there for the time being?" With a flick of his head Savage sent the human sailing through the air before slamming him into the ground on the far side of the dirt road, again in a heap.

By the time Titus had recovered to look back at the unicorn the battered earth pony had gotten to his hooves and he and Dive Bomb had moved between him and the still-smirking Savage Shock.

"You know what I think?" Show Stopper's voice rose up above her herd's amused chuckles at the struggling human. She, herself, struggled to channel her spell and talk at the same time, having learned her lesson to not to leave Lyra any room to begin unraveling another cast-and-forget holding spell like the last one, "I think maybe the papers were right, this skag actually loves the monster." Show Stopper was in more control now, having built up several additional layers of protection that her foe would have to work through before even getting to the actual holding spell's weaving and was able to talk with much more ease. Putting her own face menacingly close to further torment her captive, she refocused her magic briefly and allowed the shimmer surrounding Lyra to retreat from her face and muzzle before smirking, "Am I right? Do you love him?"

Finally able to close her eyes after so long the tears flowed freely down Lyra's face. I-I can't do anything! I can't protect him! "You've won, okay? You have me, so p-please, just let him go..."

"ANSWER ME!" Show Stopper snarled and shook the stiff unicorn in her magic roughly, "Do you love him? Come on, tell us you love him."

Despite her mind screaming at her body to do something to break free of the magical bonds holding her it was no use without full access to her magic, so all that was left open to her was to sob, "Yes... yes, I love him-"

With a lewd laugh Show Stopper reformed the magic around Lyra's mouth, though she realized she enjoyed watching the helpless and pleading looks cast her way and let her captor's eyes remain free from her hold. "It's sickening, she actually wants to herd with it!" A chorus of retching noises erupted in response before their mare continued, "S-She's still fighting to get free. Why? Why do you still fight for him? You realize he's just some monster from another dimension or something, right? Why would you choose this monkey freak over your own kind!?"

"Maybe she hasn't gotten a good rutting in a while," Savage piped up, nodding his head toward Titus, "Doubt the monkey knows what a mare wants, let alone how to give it to her."

"Hmm, that is a good possibility... Biggums, baby? Seeing as you took the blows from the creature perhaps you'd like to remind this skag what a real stallion feels like?" she walked up beside her large earth pony mate and nuzzled at the scuffs and cuts Titus had left on his face before casting a hate-filled glare at the human, "All the better that you could make the alien watch while you do, too. Shocky and Dive can hold him off while you go about your business, then when you're done... we'll geld him and finish them both off."

"I'll pass, thanks. Let Savage have her, he's probably the only pony kinky enough to have a go if she's actually let the freak mount her," the earth pony huffed, hocking a bit of the blood that was flowing from a busted lip a good distance onto Titus as he struggled to his knees, "Besides, I'm much more interested in crushing this gangly monster into paste when it tries to stop him."

Savage slowly walked around Lyra and gave her features a disapproving frown before stopping behind her and shrugging, "I mean, she's not really my type and she's not even remotely in the same league as you, Show. Her flanks are pretty nondescript and she looks too weak to give me a good ride, but I guess I could give it a go-"

"You're not going to even touch her," Titus growled and took a step toward before everything in his vision stretched and distorted and his mind struggled to process what had happened until he came crashing down to the ground amid the familiarly uneasy feeling of post-teleportation sickness.

"Aww, so cute! The monkey freak is trying to look brave for his nag!"
"You let everypony walk all over you like a rug and now you want to try to look tough?"
"All bark and no bite. To think ponies are afraid of this pathetic mess."

The jeering continued as he retched the snack food and cider he had consumed at the barn party up on the grass in front of him though much to his relief the sharp, repugnant smell and return of the burning hot spice flavor gave him something to focus on and helped him recover, albeit slowly. Returning to his feet he was immediately teleported into the air again and fell back down to the ground amid hooting laughter as his second bout of vomiting turned into wracking dry heaves. Get up, Titus. Get. UP. You have to fight. Struggling upright Titus gritted his teeth against what felt like a rancor trying to claw its way out of his skull, his head throbbing with every word of the taunts thrown his way and, as before, he felt himself torn from the ground to be instantly flung to another location much higher up in a flash of light blue light.

This time, however, he had already blacked out when he emerged from the teleport and even though the darkness was all-consuming he could still hear the laughter. As his body reached the apex of his flight he felt that stomach-churning feeling returning where his upward acceleration was negated to zero by the pull of gravity and he came to a complete stop for the briefest of moments.

Be calm, be at peace.

It was only a faint echo but Titus knew that voice from anywhere. How he could be hearing it now was currently beyond his capabilities of reasoning though the whisper still escaped his lips, "Master?"

Sight. Hearing. Touch. All unnecessary once you feel the Force all around you and trust in it. Open your mind and let it guide you, my Little Koochu.

Yes, Master. I will try-

No, you simply will. The voice came again but this time with that endearingly biting tone that Krua had always spoken with. After all, I am not one to raise a padawan who 'tries.' Now wake up, Little Koochu, your little green friend needs you.

Titus' eyes snapped open just in time to correct enough of his fall that he didn't damage anything overly much though he still hit the ground with a jarring amount of speed that knocked the air out of his lungs. Ignoring the pain he forced himself to his knees where he caught sight of Savage Shock pushing Lyra's chest to the floor before lining himself up behind her in preparation of mounting her.

"No!" His hand shot out toward the stallion just as he disappeared into the underbrush in a colored streak and a second later the shockwave hit, showering everything in a rainbow light as the nova expanded across the sky.

Uncertain what had happened, the herd of ponies stood stock still in shock.

Dive Bomb proved the fastest of the group to recover and was also the first to assume Titus had gotten some form of attack off so she launched herself at the human with a roar. To her utter surprise the opponent she thought would still be reeling from the teleportation sickness easily sidestepped the blow and as she sailed by all she had time to do was give Titus a perplexed look before the human's arm intercepted her flight, connecting right at the throat in a clothesline that shot her directly into the dirt in an unorganized pile of hooves and wings with such speed that she bounced off of the compacted road. A hit like that probably would have been the end the fight for a regular pony but Dive Bomb had taken hits before and certainly felt like she would have some scrapping in her left if she could catch a breath so she rolled to her hooves to propel herself away from Titus.

Much to Dive's appreciation Big Knockout had shaken off his stupor and charged the human which forced a change to the more threatening target, distracting Titus long enough for the pegasus to take to the air again.

For Knockout, however, things didn't fare much better.

Compared to a pony a human could change their facing much faster than he was accustomed to and he suddenly found that his attack from behind that was intended to take out the human's back leg became a frontal charge when Titus pivoted on the balls of his feet. Unable to react in time the earth pony caught the knee that snapped up directly under his jaw and his vision exploded in stars only to be made worse when the blow threw him upwards onto his hind legs where an elbow smashed down directly on top of his head which shattered any thought of counterattacking and left him open to the rain of blows that followed. Hooks from either arm batted his muzzle from side to side to keep him up and backpedaling on his hind legs, jabs staggering him further when they slipped past his raised hooves, and the combo finalized with a hand grabbing him just under the jaw to hold him up.

Seeing his opening, Titus smashed the side of his hand between his thumb and index finger into BK's throat to cut off his air supply for a second time leaving the earth pony gagging in the dirt as the human whipped about to face the pegasus as she returned to help her battered herdmate.

Dive Bomb had learned from last time and gave herself enough space that when Titus sidestepped the swing she wouldn't be in danger of another clothesline though, as she soon found out, that hardly meant she was safe from the grasping hands that took hold of the closest wing while the other wrapped around the hind leg on the same side. Using the pegasus' own momentum Titus leaned back on his heels and held on as Dive Bomb's momentum spun him around at the center of the orbit's arc and only released his hold when he had corrected his attacker's trajectory.

Dive Bomb screamed at him to let go, though she quickly came to regret this when she found herself careening face-first and at full speed into the nearest tree trunk where she crumpled motionless amid the roots.

"Ouch, I don't think she'll be flying straight anytime soon," a voice came from the rustling underbrush near the still-paralyzed Lyra and a second later a bruised and battered Rainbow Dash emerged, limping and with one wing hanging loosely to one side. Despite the obvious pain she was in her nostrils flared with a dismissive snort, "Yeah well, you should see the other guy, Stretch... he must have moved or something at the last second 'cause I hit him funny and we both went careening through the bushes."

So I did get Shock with my Force Push but it caused Dash to get hurt worse. Fan-karking-tastic. Before Titus could ask if she was alright or thank her for intervening Big Knockout, who had weathered the beating Titus had given him and had stubbornly gotten back to his hooves for another go, now took several steps back and looked at his unicorn mate with uncertainty, "Hey Show, m-maybe we should split. I was down for messing with the monkey and his floozy but you didn't say anything about this involving an Element Bearer."

"There wasn't supposed to be one involved but because you three idiots couldn't handle the freak while I kept his nag locked-down we had one show up," Show snapped back from beside the limp form of Dive Bomb. Though she was relieved to find she was just out cold and hadn't broken her neck in the crash - not that that held a high probability as pegasi had evolved to survive crashes much worse than that - seeing her feathered herdmate laid out stirred her blood up to a boil, "Whatever. The Element Bearer didn't walk away unscathed from the crash either, and the unicorn is still out of the fight so I'm able to step in and help end this. We've just got get 'em weak enough then we can cast a spell to lure the timberwolves or whatever other Everfree monster will crawl out to clean up the mess."

Though the bloody nose and other bruises where beginning to pile up with two opponents out of the fight Titus was feeling slightly more confident; the addition of Show Stopper, however, was a point of concern. The earth pony doesn't stay down for long despite my attempts to disable him so my window to get to Show before she casts anything will be short. I can only deal with one of them at a time. "Dash, Lyra's been immobilized by a spell and I need you to take her and get back to AJ's farm-"

Rainbow, of course, cut him off and told him she wasn't going anywhere and would take one of the two hostile ponies while he handled the other but this was no time for her bravado and Titus let her know by repeating the command more forcefully, "We're not debating this, I'm the target they're after. Get her to safety-"

"Like we'd let either of them leave now!" Big Knockout said with a roar as he launched himself at Titus again, though rather than go for the legs like he had been he used the momentum of his whole body to quite literally plow through the human's guard and lock his arms up in a grapple while getting his hind hoof and dexterous tail wrapped up around a leg to topple Titus to the ground where he slammed several close-range hits home to unprotected sides of his foe. "Go, babe! I've got the monkey!" he hollered after successfully protecting himself from an attempt from Titus to elbow his way out of the hold and with the coast clear Show Stopper strutted past them confidently toward Lyra and the cyan pegasus that had jumped in front of her protectively.

"Going to need a hoof over here, Stretch, and quick; I can't go a full round with her without the use of my wing," she called over to him but stomped at the dirt while giving her best Don't-Buck-With-Me glare to the approaching Show Stopper, "I'll hold her off until- AHHH!"

"Sorry, come again? You'll do what?" Show Stopper asked after enveloping the hurt wing in her magic to give it a small twist that brought Dash to the dirt with a loud cry, the unicorn coming to a stop to tower over her with a cruel snicker as she writhed in pain, "You're going to stop me? HA! Before I move on to your little statue of a friend I think I'd better show you that you're not even an obstacle to get to her. You're just a speed bump." A motion of her head lifted Dash by the wing, the pegasus flapping frantically to take her weight off the one that Show Stopper still had engulfed while her hooves kicked wildly from the sharp pains she was unable to stop. Show watched her prey continue to spasm for a second before tilting her head to one side in thought before a sinister smirk split across her face, "And seeing as speed bumps don't fly, you won't be needing your wings anymore-"

Titus' mind was racing for ways to help as he struggled to break free of the crushing hold Big Knockout had on his arms, one of his forearms alight with pain from the way it was being bent in a manner it wasn't ever supposed to be when suddenly he heard Dash's voice.

"Remem-AAAH!-remember what we talked about!" Dash hollered hoarsely around a cry as her other wing was snatched up in the unicorn's magic and slowly pulled in the opposite direction until both were fully extended, "Think! How would I fight an earth pony?"

She wouldn't brawl, she'd get him out of the ring! With no leverage or grip available for his arms or hands and no other option available Titus ceased his resistance and in the process went a slightly more limp which allowed him to get his hands on Knockout's chest when the earth pony didn't tighten his grip to compensate in time. Locking eyes with him, Titus took a calm breath.

"What, giving up alrea-?" BK's taunt died in his throat when felt like he had been bucked square in the gut, the shock briefly robbing him of the sensation of flying through the air as he was blasted off of Titus until he had landed in a rolling jumble a few body lengths from the human. Leaping to his hooves just his opponent did the same Knockout charged at him again with a yell, "No brakes on this buck train, freak!"

Big Knockout wasn't an elegant fighter by any stretch of the imagination but that's because brute force had generally served him well in his long list of matches within the octagon so rushing headlong into his opponents was an engagement he was accustomed to winning, like most earth ponies were. He also liked to have a battlecry of some sort when he did because Show had taught him that having some unique characteristic or signature trait was important when it came to marketing oneself to the crowd and in this case he was already planning on saying "Choo choo, comin' through!" It was a combination he had used in the ring before which had earned him a bit of applause and a video clip that went somewhat viral within the EFC scene and he intended to use it when he made contact with Titus who made no move to get out of his way. Even in matches against other charging earth ponies, Knockout was used to plowing forward like an unstoppable force so he paid no mind to the feeble-looking hand that the bruised and battered human raised to stop him when he was only a few strides away.

Irony could be painful and this was certainly the case when suddenly Knockout felt like he was hit by an invisible freight train going the opposite direction and in the span of a single firing of the synapses in his brain his forward momentum came to an abrupt halt as he was launched back the way he had come end-over-end. The blow came with such strength that his first tumbling bounce wasn't made until he was half way across the bridge and the whole structure shuddered upon his impact, boards and lumber splintering to leave a large hole as the living wrecking ball that was Big Knockout continued onward with no loss in speed past the bend in the road before he smashed into the field on the other side of the creek. After several more bounces of ragdolling hooves flying every which way he came to rest with enough force to create a small crater of torn up grass and tossed dirt.

He made one stubborn attempt at getting up only to collapse in a heap, his earth pony fortitude and stubbornness finally pushed past its limits.

Show Stopper had only heard small bits of scuffling in the background and the enthusiastic yell of her mate but the crash in the distance drew her attention away from her tormenting of Dash only just in time to catch a blur of Titus already in a lunge. Almost as if it was in slow motion she felt her head cradled in a pair of hands before she could react outside of her startled squeak, though it hardly escaped her lips because his flying knee caught her directly on the brow with a loud crack whereupon blackness erupted across her vision to ultimately consume her consciousness.

Crouching over the limp body of his opponent with a knee on her neck to keep her pinned and a fist cocked back to make sure she wasn't a threat anymore, Titus' first reaction was to check on Dash as she struggled to her hooves from where she had dropped. She was in a lot of pain but she voiced she didn't think any further damage had been done, much to both of their relief, and as she carefully pulled the wing back against her barrel Titus dropped to one knee next to Lyra, "Are you okay?" Of course with her entire body held stiffly in place by Show Stopper's magic there was no way for her to respond outside of eye movements.

Before he could ask what he could do to help she squeezed her eyes shut which sent a stream of tears down her cheeks, Rainbow explaining that probably meant that she was working on dispelling the paralysis and all they had to do was wait. Thinking Lyra would probably be dead on her hooves much like he currently felt as the adrenaline from the fight faded and not wanting her to fall once she was free of the spell he told her he would help her into a sitting position before gently bending her hind hooves for her. Lyra opened her eyes briefly to convey her gratitude before closing them again, though if she could have she would have leaned into the hand that remained on her shoulder comfortingly brushing back and forth.

The hair on the back of Titus' neck suddenly stood on edge which was the only warning he got before a snarl and loud crackling came from the nearby underbrush, giving him only enough time to get to his feet and plant himself between the noise and his weary friends just as arcs of lightning erupted forth toward them, several tendrils reaching out to lash and leave smoldering black scars across the trunks of nearby trees while the main body of energy dropped to dissipate into the ground a short distance from Titus. The familiar *fwink!* noises of a back-to-back teleportation behind him caused him to whirl about again to find Savage Shock had blinked in and scooped up Show Stopper before quickly teleporting them both a distance away to the other side of the gravel road before he put her down and faced Titus who had already resumed a fighting stance.

"Darn, guess I misjudged the range," Shock snarled while wiping at a cut above his eyebrow that had affected his depth perception and caused the error though the strong healing spell he had cast was making progress of sewing it up so wouldn't pose an issue much longer. Despite the injury he was still fast on the uptake so when Titus' hand motioned at his bag and it started bouncing past him he put his hoof down on top of it, "Oh, come now... you were so much more fun without your little tricks!"

A bright green ray shot from Savage's horn and hit Titus directly in the chest where it washed over his whole body before fading away, the unicorn giving a small chuckle when the confused human checked himself for injury as a tingly sensation soaked into his skin. "Feeling at a bit of a loss? Most magic users are when they're cut off from Harmony for the first time," his eyes narrowed and he cast a glance over at his mate who was just beginning to stir before returning his angry glare to Titus, "You should never have left the Everfree, monster, and for hurting my mare I'm going to enjoy taking my sweet time picking you apart bit by bit. First things first, though, you're going to stay put and not butt in this time..."

Dash's hooves were briefly engulfed in light which took on the form of a pair of hoofcuffs and she found herself anchored firmly to the ground where she stood, a devious smile crossing Shock's face before he focused on Titus to engulf him in a magic aura. A sharp jerk of his head to one side ripped Titus from the ground and flung him into the patch of thorny bushes growing at the treeline before dragging him out to find he had curled up into a ball in a rather pathetic manner to protect himself. Still not satisfied the unicorn continued dragging him roughly through the gravel back toward Lyra and Dash to lift him into the air and slam him through the hollow log hard enough that it broke in two in a shower of splinters and bark.

The pained groan from the human as he rolled off the crushed log to lay face-down in the gravel only made Savage Shock tsk'd with disappointment in how quickly the fight had left his opponent but the voice of Show coming to brought his concerned attention to her. Trotting to her side and after a brief moment of assistance she was back on her wobbly hooves exchanging a nuzzle until they both cast their hate-filled glares at the laid-out Titus who had begun to get an arm in place to push himself upright.

"Hey! You'd better collect your friends and beat it while you've got the chance!" Dash shouted to get their attention as she struggled in vain with the magic holding her hooves to the ground, "I can break these cuffs! And when I do, me and Stretch are gonna tear into you two so hard, so you'd better scrammph-!"

Anything further she had intended to say was halted when a magical muzzle was summoned by Show Stopper to compliment the hoofcuffs and restrain the pegasus' annoying empty threats, her incoherent mumbles easy to ignore as the angry mare instead had her attention snatched away by the ache in her jaw that her innate healing abilities, which were much slower than even the weakest of healing spells, was only beginning to lessen which understandably heightened her ire for the biped struggling to his feet.

"Hey babe, you said you want to take this freak apart bit by bit, right? So, why not start where you left off?" she started with a small nod toward Lyra before bumping him with a hip in her direction when he instead looked more interested in continuing with Titus, "Don't worry, I promise to save a few of his things for you to break like a hand and maybe a leg... we can't have him giving the timberwolves indigestion when they get around to them, but in return I'm going to want a little attention from my Shocker when we get home."

"Oh, I know the sort of mood you get into after a fight and I think I can handle that," Shock replied with a coy grin and a long stare at his mate's flanks as he took a few strides toward Lyra, "I'll be sure to make this quick and save my energy for you-"

The unicorn found his path blocked by Titus who had used the short exchange with Show Stopper to get to his feet and plant himself right between Shock and the immobilized ponies and despite his battered appearance the look of determination to stand his ground was evident even to the two unicorns. Arms and legs covered in bleeding scratches from being thrashed about in the thorn bush and less evident were the barbs that had gotten through his shirt though they had begun to seep into the fabric to create small, slowly-expanding splotches, some of which had broken off in the process and still remained painfully embedded within his skin.

All of this was tuned out as the adrenaline his body was pumping through his veins let him focus his attention entirely on the two assailants in front of him.

"I've already told you... you're not going to even touch her..." he growled, locking eyes with the blue stallion who only gave a snark-filled confident snort before he called over his shoulder to Show Stopper to handle the obstructing human whereupon the mare strode in front of him to stop halfway across the road.

Preparing himself for unknown magical assault that was surely coming his way, Titus dropped his center of gravity a bit lower with a practiced whisper under his breath, "In Darkness I shall be Light. In times of doubt, I shall keep faith. In the midst of battle, I shall have no fear. And in the face of death, I shall have no remorse-" It was the shorter version a mantra of his Master's that she would often repeat in times of trial that she had shared with him during his early days of training, the message of which he had found great solace in after her death and it was the same one he had said to himself before the disastrous press conference.

Though he meant to say it to himself Lyra was close enough to inadvertently overhear him and, though he couldn't tell, it had the effect of causing her to work even faster to deconstruct the spell holding her.

"Your stubborn loyalty to these two skags is commendable, almost like a dog protecting its owner," Show Stopper looked at him curiously as he whispered something which she shrugged off as it was probably of little consequence before her horn started glowing, "And everypony seemingly likes the lovable stray mutt, but nopony actually wants to bring it into their home from the rain. It's just a mangy mutt after all, and eventually somepony on animal control has to come along and put it down before it bites somepony so I'm going to keep you on a short leash, toying with you between making you watch Shocky take your mare. Then we're putting you down for the good of Equestria." When she finished speaking there was a flash and suddenly Titus was a dozen meters in the air and falling with a twisting flail of arms and legs which got an amused laugh out of Savage Shock.

What looked like uncoordinated, panicked movements, however, turned out to calculated to land him back on his feet much to the displeasure and confusion of Show, "W-What? You're supposed to have Positional Displacement-"

His Master's instruction to trust in the Force eliminated most of the post-teleportation symptoms he was used to and the look of steely determination was etched even more firmly on Titus' face as he growled at both unicorns, "Last chance; take the other two of your herd and walk away."

A defiant snarl was the only warning before Show tried teleporting him again, this time depositing him upside down and easily three times as high up which was as far as she could send him because the clear night sky had nothing to use as a target destination save for a few lonely clouds that had drifted over from the Everfree Forest for use in the spell's weaving and teleporting with the advanced technique of set distances was beyond her skill. Show and her mate both watched him tumble but this time they recognized similarities to the techniques employed by Dive Bomb of controlled twisting in a fall to land on his hooves.

They were hardly prepared for the concussive shockwave that hit and knocked them back to the other side of the road when Titus touched down, the remaining momentum that hadn't been absorbed by the cushion of air he had created beneath him being physically absorbed by his whole body dropping into a crouch before he stood up to address his adversaries, "You came looking for a fight and won't be dissuaded. So be it, I shall give you that fight. I'll become the enemy you think I am, I'll become the monster you so desire to test your mettle against because as long as I draw breath you'll not touch Lyra or Dash."

Show was at a loss for words as she got to her hooves until Titus took the first step toward them that broke her free of her stupor, "I-I thought you put a magic dampener on him!"

"I did, damn it! I saw it activate and everything!" the blue unicorn responded to being snapped at with equal amounts of venom in his voice before turning his spitting rage at Titus, "You should't be able to access Harmony! I blocked your magic!"

"Probably worked, too-" when Show's horn took on an ominous glow again as she channeled magic for a second assault Titus' hand shot out toward it, his fist clenching around empty air but the effect was immediate. Dash told you the strategy; control the horn, control the unicorn's ability to use magic. The mare's eyes went wide in bewilderment as a firm pressure took hold of her horn, the painful ethereal squeeze breaking her concentration and instantly causing the spell she was casting to fizzle in a shower of sparks, "But I don't use magic..."

"AAAAH! Ow! Get him off, Shocky!"

With a roar Savage lowered his head to demonstrate the origin of his name and jagged lightning-bolts cutie mark as snapping tendrils of energy swirled around his horn in a crackling light show that lit up the road in bright flashes before streaking out toward the human.

Titus had to leap back to give himself enough time to raise a hand in defense, the lightning spreading to arc between his fingers before the brunt of it was deflected outward as it sought other ways to ground itself. His arm felt like it was on fire as he fought to bend the lightning to his will, and when Shock finally stopped channeling and the stream of bolts subsided his arm was numb to the point he couldn't feel his hand when he clenched it closed and he had to pant for breath from the physical strain. Seeing his attack must have had some sort of effect on his opponent, the blue unicorn braced himself again and launched another stream of arcing lightning, this time throwing all the strength he could muster into the spell which caused Titus to release his Force Grip on Show Stopper's horn to bring another hand to bear to diffuse the attack as he backed up several feet under the onslaught.

Her horn free, Show shook what lingering discomfort out that was preventing her from focusing before she saw how much the fight had shifted with the spell her mate was using and though her own personal talents in magic lay elsewhere she conjured her own somewhat weaker arcs of lightning, "Careful! Don't cross the streams, babe!"

Titus suddenly found himself being attacked from two fronts as Show and Savage both took several steps toward either side of him to attack from two angles, forcing him to split his hands to accommodate which, while it was his only option, proved to be enough that his defense started crumbling. He could feel the hair on his forearms burned away when small arcs would sneak through his barrier to connect with exposed skin and as he gritted his teeth to tune out the fire in his arms his muscles fought to seize up the and the taste of ozone flooded him, however he did not falter and held his ground. No matter what I just need to hold on and hope they stop channeling soon. Force Grab the first one to stop casting by the horn, when the other stops pull my lightsaber from my bag-

A loud crack emanated from just behind him followed immediately by a *Fsshyak!* before the appearance of the mint green unicorn came into view in his peripheral vision, Lyra making a slash at the stream of electricity flowing from Savage's side with the blue lightsaber held in her golden magic aura. "Lyra! How did you-"

"I've got your back, big guy! This one's mine!" she shouted over a shoulder and advanced into the path of the continued channel of the lightning which was intercepted and danced along the lightsaber's blade, the blue flickering and flaring in intensity as it absorbed the charge in a song of angry but harmless snaps. Titus took advantage of the sudden intervention of Lyra faster than either of his adversaries could react by using the hand she had freed up to grab Show's horn again and Force Pull her completely off her hooves directly at him into a waiting upper cut that connected square with the point of her jaw and sent her on a complete back-flip before landing roughly at Titus' feet in an groaning heap.

Show Stopper was no pushover and though she was fairly dazed she only took a second before pushing herself partially upright on her front hooves. "Monkey... freak..." she rose cursing though when she brought her eyes up to look at the hated human she found an open palm aimed at her and from behind it was visible Titus' stony face.

"Your part in this fight is over."

Savage watched his mate struggle halfway to her hooves only for the waiting human to extend a hand toward her. What he saw next he could only describe as a shockwave of high-pressure erupt from Titus' hand to blast her back to the ground, a cloud of dust obscuring his sight briefly before revealing Show motionless in the dirt. Seeing her like that and with Titus hovering over her with hand still extended to cast whatever magic again should she move drove him into a frenzy, made all the worse by the ease of which Lyra was swatting aside his strongest spell with the alien's sword, "You bucking monster, I'll kill you for that-ack!" When Titus turned his attention to him his voice was suddenly cut off in his throat as a tight pressure encompassed his horn like a vice while simultaneously wrapping around his throat before it encompassed the rest of his body.

With a simple wave of a hand Savage was tossed against the nearest tree, pinned upright on his back and held firmly at eye level as Titus brushed passed Lyra and advanced on him while she moved to stand above Show Stopper with the lightsaber at the ready in case she stirred.

Counterspells raced through his mind but as he was unable to decipher the spell Titus was using to hold him aloft all that was left for the unicorn to do was to erect a simple emergency barrier spell between them, made possible by the small amount of magic all unicorns were taught to keep in active reserve when foals. Shock continued to struggle until Titus had closed half the distance whereupon he spat in his face in contempt, "You think this is over? We're not the only herd out there that hates you... hates you and the freaks that think you belong like that orange bumpkin we tried getting with the wagon and trees! We'll be back! Back with more than just us four, and after we sort her out I'm going to rut that spunk dumpster you call a mare because next time-"

"And therein lies your error, thinking I'll let there be a next time," Titus growled, his eyes narrowing menacingly after he had wiped the slime from his face. He pushed his hand a little closer and pinned the unicorn's hooves to his side as the wall of pressure increased with each inch he grew closer, "I can feel the Dark Side within you and the others. The hatred, maliciousness, intolerance, and ultimately the weakness that plagues you reeks like rotting flesh on a humid day and when that flesh cannot be tended to or repaired by others through compassion or reasoning with you until you understand the pain you're causing all that is left for a Jedi to do is extirpate it before it spreads to infect and harm others. It is not a duty we take lightly, nor one we find enjoyment in executing-" the next step forward the pressure increased further to the point that Shock couldn't even wiggle anymore with how hard he was being forced against the trunk, "-but I have watched a galaxy fall to ruin because of those like you, and after what you tried to do to Lyra I will rest easier knowing the wickedness of one of you does not last to see another morning."

Savage was only able to watch from his pinned position as the boughs around him bent backwards and loud groans could be heard as the the tree strained against the wave of Force that continued to roll forth. His only protection was the barrier he had created, though that was slowly eroding without a constant stream of his Harmony being channeled into it and a second later the faint outline of a triangular shield flashed and the accompanying sound of breaking glass signaled that it had reached its limit. Savage, however, never heard it as he was suddenly hit by the buildup of Force energy and had the wind completely knocked from his lungs. With the amount of pressure pushing him against the tree he struggled to breathe though he watched the human extend a hand toward his bag that was quickly filled with the other lightsaber which leapt to life with green light.

Defiant till the end, Shock strained his head off of the trunk give Titus a hate-filled glare, "Buck you, monkey!"

"Sir! Stop!"

The sudden shout came from down the road where it was too dark to see who it was coming from but a second later the familiar form of a Royal Guard pegasus rocketed into view before landing at a trot between him and the pinned unicorn, "Stand down, Titus!" The command came just as a large body of guards came galloping around the bend in the road revealing that Quickbolt had charged ahead of the main body when her heightened pegasi vision had caught sight of the human. "Put the pony down, bud, you don't have to do anything more," she continued, her head lowered non-threateningly as she took a step closer to the human who glanced from her to the unicorn struggling against the tree, "Let me and the guards take over now, okay?"

"They attacked us... they were planning to leave us for the timberwolves. And he! He was going to rape Lyra!" Just saying those last six words brought a snarl to Titus' throat as he stared fiercely at Shock and somewhere in the back of his mind something urged him to impale the burning hot blade of his lightsaber through the pony's exposed chest but his teachings quickly quashed it and calm returned, though his guard and saber remained up and poised to strike, "He said they're also behind the sabotage of Applejack's cart and the tree limbs that hurt her brother because they wanted to get her for showing some kindness to me-"

"W-Well we're here now so he's not going anywhere, just put him down and the guards will handle things from here. All you have to do is put... him... down..." very carefully and calmly Sergeant Quickbolt flew up to his side and gently placed a hoof on the forearm that was pointing a humming beam of light at the unicorn to slowly encourage it downward, "It's okay, we'll all go back to town and everything will get sorted out-"

Slowly but surely she got him to lower the weapon and eventually retract the blade back into the hilt, Titus' unblinking stare continued to bore a hole into Shock after he released the Force holding him up to slide him to down to the roots of the tree. He chanced only an instant of a glance at Quickbolt which was all Savage needed to blink behind him and go after Lyra one last time because the spiteful unicorn knew hurting her would cause Titus far more pain than any damage he could do to him.

He didn't get far, however, because before he was even halfway to reaching his target Quickbolt had gone off like a shot from Titus' side and tackled him midair into the dirt. There was a brief scuffle however her superior training allowed her to quickly roll on top to pin one hoof behind his back while another pushed his face to the gravel and kept a constant, uncomfortable pressure on his horn to prevent him from casting anything. A quick prod from her stun baton took the remaining will to fight out of him.

The rest of the guard contingent arrived as this was unfolding, several of them encircling Lyra to shout commands at her when they saw her standing over Show with the blue blade of light still held in her magic.

"Weapon! Got a weapon here!"
"Miss, put it down! Slowly!"
"Extinguish your magic immediately!"
"Back away from the mare!"

Lyra was understandably a little shocked and confused by the ponies suddenly in her face and only heard what they were saying as an unintelligible hubbub and her lack of a response to their commands prompted them to take a step toward her to bark again which had the desired effect of her backing away from them and Show. That still left the issue of the humming lightsaber, until the blade suddenly retracted as if on its own before it flew to Titus' hand to be dropped to the shoulderbag at his feet with the one that had been in his own hand thereby diffusing the standoff and enabling the guards to see to the unconscious unicorn.

Meanwhile, Quickbolt secured Savage against any further aggressiveness with a pair of shiny hoofcuffs and a dull black ring which she jammed over his horn and taped in place before passing him off to a burly earth pony and quickly approached the still startled Lyra.

"Sorry about them shouting at you like that, Miss Heartstrings. Everypony is a bit on edge from being scrambled out here," she said, pausing briefly to direct a pair of pegasi guards to retrieve the large earth pony from the other side of the damaged bridge while sending a third pegasus back to town to alert the Royal Guard Engineers that repairs would be needed. There was a brief interlude in ponies approaching her for orders or to make a report on the situation where the Sergeant gently draped a wing over Lyra's shoulder to lead her away from where the guards carefully transferred Show Stopper to a stretcher, "We've got everything under control now but it's going to be a little bit before we head back to town because we have to cordon off the area and get an idea of what happened for our report. I need you to sit tight for a few minutes, I've just got to coordinate with my teams real quick then I'll be right back to check on you and T, okay?"

Lyra gave a distracted mumble of an okay and watched Quickbolt zip off to check on how the unicorn guards were doing with dispelling the restraints on Rainbow Dash. None of it really processed because Lyra's mind was still in the state of being half alert and half shut off from the shock of what had happened. She said... what is her name, again? I-I don't remember, but she's in charge and said to wait; she'll be right back to check on me and T-

It took a second for Lyra's slow-churning mind to catch up to the internal dialog she was having but the fuel of her adrenaline returned and suddenly the clutch was released which sent her mind racing as she realized that the guards shouting at her had stressed her to the point that she'd forgotten to check that her human companion was alright.

"T-Titus!" she whispered for fear of drawing the angry guard's attention again. She rounded on the tree where she had last seen him standing but while the shoulderbag and two lightsaber hilts were exactly where she remembered when she didn't see him there with them her heart jumped up into her throat, "B-Big guy, where are you!?"

A frantic scanning of the nearby area quickly located his familiar form reclining against the log they had sat on together before everything started, his fingers interlocked over his stomach and his head resting on the top of the log. She sprinted to his side where she noticed his eyes were closed and, much more thankfully, he was breathing steady as if asleep. "Hey, big guy?" she whispered but, as this was the first time they had faced each other for any amount of time since being ambushed she hadn't seen what being dragged through the thorn bushes had done to his arms and legs which bore crimson stripes reminiscent of Zecora's coat. The sight of the bleeding gashes was startling, Lyra tracing the lines that ran toward his elbows which the lowest part of his arms currently and her question if he was okay died to a murmur in her throat.

"Dash was right... unicorns cheat."

Sitting up with a grunt, Titus found himself confronted with a wide-eyed Lyra whose gaze quickly jumped from his arms and legs back up to look at him, clearly worried and waiting for him to do or say something. To calm her a bit he reached out to brush a palm against her shoulder, though he wouldn't realize until after the fact that he, too, found comfort in the physical contact, "I'm just sore all over, though my arms and shoulders a bit numb because of that lightning spell. It's hard to tell what hurts and I'm crashing off the adrenaline high, but I'll be alright. I'm more concerned about you, are you oka-"

He was suddenly interrupted as Lyra leapt forward and wrapped her hooves around his chest, the unicorn paying absolutely no mind to his dirty shirt or small wince from the pressure she put against his arms. She buried her face in his neck and her body became wracked with sobbing that caused her hug to tighten as she cried amid imparting a grateful nuzzle, "I-I was so worried..."

"Hey, hey now," Titus wasn't entirely prepared for Lyra's reaction but the only thing that seemed right in that situation was to gently drape his arms over her back, "Everything's okay, Quickbolt and the guards have everything under control and there was no way I was going to let anything happen to you, or to Dash."

"What? I was worried about you!" she said angrily but it all came out as a sob anyways and Titus didn't pick up on her tone, not that she was actually mad at him or anything but the fact that he was in the state he was in because he hadn't listened to her frustrated her more than a little bit. "I told you to run! They could have and wanted to seriously hurt you, and now just look at you! W-Why didn't you run..." Lyra's hind legs collapsed at that point due to her exhaustion and she just lay against his side while still maintaining a near-crushing hold of him, her tears of weariness and elation that he was more or less alright rolling down her cheeks to soak into his shirt. For several unchecked minutes this went on before she felt the bearhug he had wrapped her in tighten which drew her face up to his where she found him scowling, of all things.

"Because that's not who I am. I didn't run because it would be fundamentally against everything I am to abandon you and leave you here alone with them," he answered while nodding to where Savage and his herd were being grouped though the hostile unicorn was still staring steely daggers at him until Titus returned his gaze to Lyra's teary face, "If I don't do everything I can to protect others and be the shield for those that can't protect themselves, what is my purpose as a Jedi?"

His question went unanswered and instead Lyra reburied her face in the wet shirt, the tears still flowing freely as she tightened her grip protectively. "Thank you. Thank you for not leaving me," with a sigh she wiped her cheek dry and shifted herself to wrap her hooves behind his neck and rest her head on his shoulder though she continued crying and soon his shoulder was wet, too, "You've got a big heart, big guy, but don't ever do anything like that again... don't get yourself hurt, not for me."

Titus gave her a small squeeze, "I stubbornly refuse."

Both of them breathed a heavy sigh of fatigue before he leaned a cheek into hers which got a tired but appreciative hum and over the course of a few minutes Titus felt her hooves slowly slacken in their hold and her body relax against him. He wasn't surprised because he himself had done the same thing as a youngling, and glancing down he found the exhausted Lyra had fallen sleep in the first place she had felt safe and probably hadn't heard what he said. Shifting her a little more onto his shoulder to keep her from sliding from where she had been comfortable Titus reached up to brush a hand down the side of her neck which got the reaction of a coo amid hooves tightening their hold and a gentle, unconscious nuzzle from the zonked out unicorn. Titus found it impossible not to smile, "The fact that you're okay and this hug you're giving me right now made it all more than worth it, Lyra."

When Quickbolt finally came over several minutes later to check on them she found both human and pony holding onto each other and dozing comfortably against a broken log.

------------

Ugh, where are they? They're almost an hour late! I was hoping to have some time with Titus myself tonight, like maybe to watch a movie together and snuggle but it's late enough that we wouldn't be able to finish it. Twilight wasn't sure why she felt worried or had started feeling this odd anxiety even before they had been schedule to be back. She scowled from the couch at the grandfather clock in the hallway, half of which was directed at how late it was and the other half partially directed at herself for thinking more time had gone by since she last checked the clock. Spike's already home and will start to get suspicious if I keep shuffling him from Applejack's to Rarity's when I want a night with Titus, and as nice as they are about helping me out I think I'm starting to wear on their patience. It's not fair to them... or to Spike, for that matter, so this was going to be the last time before I told him about us. Drat! Drat drat drat!

Turning back to the book Titus had given her for her birthday she continued reading where she had left off, her progress slow due but rewarding because recalling what symbols were what made letters which made words which, in turn, created sentences and paragraphs that revealed more of the puzzle on the page. Hunting and pecking at the datapad with its stylus pen Twilight entered the alien characters as she saw them on the page for it to translate and display the word for her which she scribbled down on a set of running notes that lay beside the book though more than occasionally the datapad wouldn't have an exact translation and would instead provide several words.

Pausing for another moment, Twilight switched her attention to the opposing page at the picture of a bipedal alien balanced on the ball of one foot looking calm and serene while his or her lightsaber was held above their head ready to strike. Not that long ago she and Titus had started going page by page each night while cuddled up on Master Krua's armchair (which she had come to agree with him it was incredibly comfy to sleep in) but because she had forged ahead of the pages he had read aloud to her she wasn't sure what word of the caption denoted the pictured being's species but after only a brief look at it her thoughts had returned to her own alien. Inadvertently she found she had flipped back several pages to where a picture of a grey and wizened-looking human was, not that that surprised Twilight much because she was at that point where she was either nearing her cycle or had only just started it so it was her biology that was causing her mind to gravitate to Titus more than usual, though at this point the thoughts were simply of a desire to be with him to enjoy his company rather than out of any need for intimacy.

A sudden knock startled her back to the library's living room from where she realized she had spaced out for a good deal of time because the clock's hands had moved ahead significantly and Lyra was getting him back well over an hour past when she said she'd return. Thank Celestia! A little distractedly, Twilight quickly but carefully cleaned up her work area and set it aside out of thought that maybe Lyra had mustered up the courage to ask Titus about joining their little herd and that she might want to stay for a little bit to talk. Going at a mild canter to the hall where she stopped in front of the mirror, which she was thankful she did as she had several spots of ink on her face that were quickly washed off before there was another, firmer knock that would have sounded a little off to Twilight had she not had been rushed to dry her face.

"Well, you two are a teensy bit late so I guess you must have had fun-" opening the door a crack and peeking around the corner the grin she was wearing immediately fell off when, rather than Titus and Lyra, Twilight found Sergeant Quickbolt and a trio of the largest earth pony guards she had ever seen flanking her waiting on her doorstep. Her tongue suddenly felt incredibly dry and she had to gulp before she could speak again, though there was no such remedy for the knot her stomach had tied itself in, "T-This is a surprise... I um, i-is everything alright, Sergeant?"

"Yes ma'am, but I need you to come with me right away." To Twilight the pegasus' grim expression said otherwise and despite asking what was going on and if this had to do with Titus or Lyra the guardsmare only shook her head, "I can't go into depth at this time, Miss Sparkle, however he is fine and asked that I come get you as his Intermediary. After you get your things here we'll stop at his ship because he also asked that you bring him a change of clothes, so-"

"No, I've got a set here. I um... I'll just need a minute," Twilight didn't see the small amount of confusion and surprise from Quickbolt that she'd have spare clothes for the human. Instead, her mind was already too busy with what she labeled as the essentials which meant dashing about the library in a series of rapid teleports scooping things up like her datapad and the wristpad Titus had left behind though with the complete change of clothes taking up all of the space in her saddlebags she was left with no room and instead fastened it on her forehoof. Stopping halfway out of her bedroom door she turned briefly to look at her small stationary desk with a bit lip and after a second of thought grabbed the nearly used-up strip of the special stamps the Princesses had provided for cases of an emergency where Spike wasn't available to send a letter. When she came back down the stairs going over her mental checklist one last time Quickbolt was waiting for her in the hall and the door was closed behind her, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Quickbolt looked over her shoulder to make sure door was securely closed while Twilight made some form of quick apology while coming down the stairs but when she reached the hallway the pegasus took a step closer which brought her to a startled halt. "Titus and Lyra are at the hospital. Now, just... shhh, hang on," she started explaining out of the blue but paused to hold up a hoof to stop the slew of worried questions hurled her way, "He's a little banged up but it's superficial and Miss Heartstrings is stressed and in shock. Look, I'm not supposed to say anything and I could lose my job over talking about an ongoing investigation... but he's a good guy and I feel like you've got a right to know. What he's told me is that on their way back from this event thing at the Apple Family Farm he and Lyra were attacked by a herd, the same herd the guards had to haul off for heckling him a few weeks after his arrival-"

"Them again? Snappy Scoop and Action Shot showed me pictures of them," Twilight interjected which surprised the pegasus.

"They got pictures? Good, those will come in useful so I'll send somepony to get copies. Now come on, we'd better get going." Pulling the door open Quickbolt followed the librarian into the street where the earth ponies were waiting, "Change of plans; we're going right back to the hospital and the faster we get there the better."

Twilight found the ponies fall into position around her, Quickbolt flitting up to hover a little above and behind her while the other three guards moved to either side and one took point. They quickly started moving at a healthy pace down the street drawing a good number of curious and worried looks from those they passed, winding their way through the streets and avoiding areas of known congestion around places like Club Wub where ponies not able to get into the packed building instead started their own rave in the street to the still-audible beats playing inside. Instead, Quickbolt used her height advantage to scout ahead and direct them down side streets or cut through alleys which allowed Twilight and her troupe of guards to make good time in getting through town but when the hospital was nearly in view over a hill the pegasus launched ahead citing that she would be doing some recon on what was waiting for them.

"Hey, pst."

Quickbolt had only just disappeared over the hill when Twilight felt one of the stocky earth ponies beside her close in until they were nearly brushing shoulders to lean a little closer, "I couldn't say anything with the Sarge around, but we're in a hurry because Lyra Heartstrings and her coltfriend, Mr. Aelius, were attacked by a heard on their way home-"

Suddenly the pony on the other side, an olive green stallion, also closed in and tsk'd at the pony that had been whispering to Twilight to get his companion to quiet.

"Quake, what are you doing?! Quickbolt finds out you disobeyed orders and said something and you'll be on latrine duty for a month!" he whispered back and gave the sky a quick scan before looking forward again while subtly catching Twilight's attention so nopony could tell they were having a whispered conversation, "J-Just being cautious, the Sergeant is really good at sneaking up when you least expect it. Anyway, don't get too worried, both of them are reportedly fine other than a few scuffs and bumps. It looks like they got to Titus when Miss Heartstrings wasn't around but by Tartarus did she give 'em what for, injured horn and all, but it must have tuckered her out something fierce because he carried her all the way back."

Quake nodded in agreement, "I don't doubt she'd be tired... from what I heard she blasted one through a bridge like a cannon ball and put another in a complete body cast before Rainbow Dash showed up to help with-"

"Eyes up! Sarge's back..." was the warning under the breath of the pony in the lead who evidently was throwing her lot in with the other two in disobeying the orders of nondisclosure.

Quickbolt came in hot and, if looks were anything to go by, she wasn't happy.

"You three must think I need glasses. I could see you waggling your tongues to Twilight here..." she growled and shot them all a look that caused the earth ponies to all go stiff to attention and stare ahead, ready to be chewed out. To their surprise, however, when she touched down in her spot behind Twilight she instead shouted orders instead of the usual drill instructor threats of peeling potatoes or scrubbing bathrooms with their toothbrushes. "Alright, listen good; I scouted it out and there's a lot more media gathered than when we left. Quake! Iron! You two are going to hold this formation and stick by Miss Sparkles' side so don't let any of them get between you and her. Breaker, you're the cattle catcher on this train so use those burly shoulders of yours and carve a path for us. You three didn't have the brains to obey the last order of keeping your muzzles shut, but you've got the brawn to obey this next one which is exactly why I brought you along! Now, technically you're to tell these ponies to clear a path, but if they don't get out of the way or they don't do it fast enough you do not hesitate to push them out of the way. We. Keep. Moving... I don't care if Nightmare-bucking-Moon herself is in your way, this escort does not stop for anypony! If that's clear enough for you numskulls, form up!"

"Ma'am! Yes ma'am!" all three grunted in unison, the earth ponies' jaws set firmly and eyes locked ahead as they fell into a measured pace with each other which resulted in the group increasing to what was a quick trot for the much smaller librarian. It didn't take long for her to note that the pegasus' earlier metaphor of a train was spot on - with their strides matched up there was almost a rhythm to the stomp of the guard's hooves and the clanking of their armor plates bouncing that almost sounded like a steam locomotive rolling down the tracks.

Chugging their way over the top of the hill Twilight immediately saw the crowd that had gathered and it was well past the size of anything she had seen outside his ship and rather unfortunately with numerous newsponies standing in front of their camera crews with the hospital in the background many of the reporters had no trouble spotting the easily-recognized silhouettes and the crested helms of the guards. Almost like a tide they surged toward the succulent source of information so that even before reaching the bottom of the hill Twilight and the guards were engulfed two dozen ponies deep on all sides as questions were hurled their way.

Twilight fell into what had become the practiced habit of replying to every inquiry that she had no comment and simply followed behind the wall of earth pony in front of her as she plowed forward through the mass, the two beside her occasionally bumping into her as they were pushed by the crowd only to shove back with a bark to make way. Their progress, however, slowed the further they waded into the crowd until the sheer number of bodies pressing in against the stout guards bogged them down and the small group was reduced to a crawl.

Breaker forged forward as best she could but pushing the ponies in her way aside was literally pushing them and every pony shoving them from behind and it was very difficult to do so without hurting them because she was big and muscular, even in terms of being earth pony, and with a name like Breaker a lot of ponies got the wrong idea about her. She had originally wanted to go into the Medical Corps to help others but she had passed out at her test when they had presented an "injured" soldier with stage blood which cemented her ejection from training and with no other feasible way of covering the sizable academy tuition to be a foal doctor she was stuck as a general rank-and-file soldier until her term was completed and the Crown would pay her way. Whispering little apologies as she nudged a shoulder forward with the result of nearly knocking a line of reporters down and not wanting to hurt anypony with her earth pony strength she called back to Quickbolt, "Sarge, it's like slogging through cold molasses up here! I can keep going, but-"

With the crowd pushing in and the hospital doors just across the lawn Twilight turned to the pegaus who was busy shoving a reporter back with the threat of further advances being met with her stun baton and called out to her over the noise of the crowd, "Sergeant, I'm sorry but we either need to get moving again or I need another way to the doors."

"'But'? Is that what I heard you say? Because 'Sergeant Butt Breaker' is going to be my name if you don't get yours moving again pronto!" Quickbolt barked, one overzealous reporter that tried to get past her to Twilight after a warning getting a good shock to the neck before the pegaus turned around enough to shout to either side of her, "Iron! Quake! Tighten up this formation and follow our plow; drive forward like a wedge!"

Progress resumed after that, and though it was painfully slow eventually the group made it to the line of guards stationed at the hospital doors who quickly ushered them inside before sealing the gap they had made to let them through whereupon Quickbolt dismissed the escort so they could go rest while she and Twilight proceeded to the front desk. Because of the incident they had to spend an arduously long time checking in before they were allowed past the waiting area though guards were stationed at the elevator doors to greet them and as they waited for it to arrive further down the hall Twilight also noticed two more in the stairwell. What greeted her on the next floor was a flurry of activity though the Sergeant was quick to guide her through it to a room at the end of the hall.

Several nurses were peeking around the corner and giggling until the pegasus rudely pushed through their group with Twilight right behind though they were right back to their peeking and whispers a second later though she paid them no mind because her attention was immediately drawn to the three beds in the room. On the first directly facing the door was Rainbow Dash reclined with her hoof in a sling and her wing wrapped up in magic healing bandages while on the bed beside it she saw Titus sitting up with a limp and snoring Lyra laying over one shoulder with her hooves holding loosely around his neck while the familiar Nurse Redheart seemingly plucked at his arm.

Her first step into the room was met by Titus, one of his hands that was gently brushing down Lyra's neck pausing as he gave Twilight a pained grin through his swollen face. Before the words could even leave his mouth she had leapt up on to the bed and looped her hooves around him into a tight embrace before a desperate kiss was laid across his lips which caused quite the stir among the peeping hospital staff and shocked the pegasus guard a good bit. Twilight broke off the kiss and gave him a quick look over, or at least as much as she could without loosening her hold on him, before reinstating her hug and nuzzling his cheek, "You're okay... thank Celestia, you're okay..."

Twilight had failed to notice the patch of healing bandage taped to the cheek she was nuzzling, much to his discomfort, until Titus winced and fully ceased the brushing he had been giving Lyra to slide the arm around Twilight as he retracted from her nuzzle, "Ow... not that cheek, please."

"Sorry sorry sorry! Oh, just look at what they did to you..." Twilight regarded his eye that was nearly swollen shut and only now realized he was wearing a hospital gown that, while it was probably the largest the hospital had in pony sizes, did very little in covering his longer legs and a few inches of his boxers were still visible though what drew her eyes were the cleaned cuts and gashes on his legs. As Nurse Redheart dabbed a cotton swab at a spot on Titus' shoulder a small *clink!* drew Twilight's attention to the metal basin on the bed which she discovered held a small pile of black thorns that were wet and sticking together with small amounts of fresh blood. Her stomache felt like it did several somersaults as the realization struck that those were probably the cause of the numerous red blotches she had seen on him and that the nurse had been pulling the thorns out of him since before she had even gotten there and still had much more do do if the numerous black spots on his back were anything to go by. Twilight retook her hold but expanded it to include Lyra which in the process slowly stirred her from slumber, "A-Are you sure you're both okay? Have the doctors looked at you?"

"Yes... as best they could, anyway," Nurse Redheart interjected dryly as she pulled a thorn well over two inches long out from under Titus' skin to drop it in the basin with the others before catching Twilight's concerned expression, "Ms. Heartstrings hasn't left that spot since her arrival and refuses to take to her assigned bed where her medical clipboard is-"

"Because she's comfortable and I don't think there's much risk of confusing our medical records. She'll stay here until she's ready to move and not before then," was Titus' retort and it came with a challenging look at the nurse who grumbled in response but made no further audible complaint, or at least for the moment. Seeing Lyra slowly opening her eyes from Twilight's hug he squeezed his own arm around her to reinforce that she didn't have to go anywhere as Lyra woke the rest of the way up with a start and gave a worried look about the room before firmly latching on to him again, "It's okay, Lyra; Twi's here now and the sergeant has the herd secured down the hall."

Very slowly Lyra removed her muzzle from the spot on his shoulder to confirm that Twilight was there before she released him for the first time that night since dozing off at the fallen log and slid down to the bed beside him though she didn't stray farther and sought out his empty hand with her hoof.

Twilight watched the small exchange before giving Titus' state of affairs a second glance and then turning between Lyra and Quickbolt who had quietly but not at all politely shoo'd the gossiping nurses gathered at the door away. With the relative privacy that awarded she thought it was the opportune moment to ask what had happened.

Her eyes cast down at the hand that held her hoof firmly, Lyra remained silent as Titus explained events after they had left Applejack's barn up to the point when Sgt. Quickbolt and her guard had come to the rescue and taken over. With a small squeeze to get the mint unicorn's attention he stood up, releasing her hoof but letting the hand slide up to brush against her shoulder before he swung himself off the bed to walk stiffly over to where Dash was laying and sit gently down on the empty space beside her. "After the guard showed up and stretchered you off this is the first opportunity I've had to say thanks for intervening when you did."

"Eh, no big. Loyalty of Element, and all that," she replied oblivious to the otherwise obvious symptoms of her pain killers until her brain caught up with what she had said and her brow furrowed in the process of sorting things out, "Uh... Loyalty, I mean. Element of Loyalty... words are hard."

"I know what you meant. You don't know how relieved I was to hear you wouldn't miss more than a few days of flying," he said, leaning over and very carefully avoided putting any pressure on her hurt wing or hoof as he slipped an arm behind her and gave her a heartfelt embrace of gratitude, "Thank you, Dash. I know how much flying means to you, yet you put it all on the line for Lyra and I so if there's anything I can do that'll make you feel better faster-"

"Whoa Stretch, just doing my job and looking out for friends. Don't go getting all mushy and mess up your image as the stone-cold spider-slayer," a goofy grin crept across her face as he tried to retreat but the drug-addled Rainbow instead snagged him to return his hug with one hoof when he paused in confusion, "Aww what the hay. C'mere, you big softy... I know it's hard to resist The D."

"Okay, I said I'll do anything but we've got to get you a new nickname because I am never calling you that."

A small knock at the door was answered by Quickbolt and when Twilight saw her having a whispered conversation with a guard who didn't move into the room she grew both curious and concerned about what was happening so she slipped off the bed and snuck a bit closer while their attention wasn't on her.

"-she's already involved. Now that they're disputing the charges and claiming he attacked them the situation report got kicked upstairs... there's nothing we can do, you know the procedure, Sarge."

The small excerpt she overheard triggered her to respond in angered disbelief, "What?! I don't care what they say, he'd never attack somepony!" Her sudden exclamation caused Quickbolt to jump with a small, uncharacteristically cute squeak of surprise but Twilight continued without letting the sergeant recover, "They attacked him, and the only reason they'd lie and say otherwise now that they're caught is to try and get him into even more trouble or to bury the truth! Where are they, what room are they in?! I know a spell-"

"I can't let you do that, ma'am," Quickbolt turned to block the door when Twilight tried to move out into the hall in search of Show Stopper and her herd, the laid back and generally carefree posture of the pegasus instantly shifting to commanding and more than a little intimidating in the flash an eye that caused Twilight to shrink away, "Even if they did confirm they were lying and had been the instigators while under your spell they could later make the argument to the court that it wasn't cast in a nonpartisan manner. They coulds say your spell made them say everything, which would be very hard to prove otherwise."

Dash quickly offered her own opinion that agreed with Twilight's earlier statement but the sergeant remained level-headed and objective about the whole thing and shook her head with a sigh, "I agree with both of you and I want it to be clear I'm not questioning an Element Bearer's word, but I have to point out you weren't there to see the start of the fight, Rainbow Dash, you came in near the close. I know this is frustrating and doesn't seem fair, but look, just... everypony sit tight for now, I'm going to go get those pictures Ms. Sparkle told me about to help our case. We're in a bit of a hurry so walk with me on my way to the roof, bud."

Sgt. Quickbolt barked an order for the guard she had been talking with to assume her post until she got back and was out the door before Titus could ask why she needed him to follow her so he did his best to catch up, Twilight and Dash receiving a quick hug while Lyra got one much deeper that she visibly melted into before he was around the door and thundering down the hall after the speeding pegasus. Nurse Redheart wasn't far behind as she stormed off hollering that she hadn't finished and that he was the least cooperative patient she had ever dealt with.

All that excitement having left the room Dash announced she was going to sleep before rolling over to pull the covers around her and she was promptly snoring loudly, leaving just Twilight and Lyra alone.

With Dash snoring in the background Twilight scooted up next to Lyra who was still staring blankly at the door though when she gently reached out to touch her shoulder the mint unicorn squeaked and jerked away from her, her bright golden eyes wavering as they looked her over, "Hey, it's just me, Lyra. I'm worried about you and want to make sure you're okay..." There was a quiet pause where Twilight waited for Lyra to say something which came when she suddenly burst out sobbing and launched herself at Twilight to take her into a crushing, almost fearful embrace.

"I-I'm so sorry, Twilight... I'm so, so, so sorry," she sobbed over her friend's shoulder as the emotions from the night's encounter came bubbling up so when she felt Twilight's hoof reach around her back to pull her closer the floodgates were thrown open, not that Lyra was in any position to stop the flow of tears from streaking down the fur of her already-matted cheeks. "I w-was... there was nothing I could do. T-They cast a paralysis spell on me..." Twilight tried to comfort her by saying everything was alright but Lyra tightened her grip and shook her head lightly, "N-No, it's not."

"Dash and Titus were there for you, and neither of them were going to let that scoundrel lay a hoof on you-"

"I know that... but... this stupid horn injury. Maybe if I had listened to you two sooner and not been so careless with using magic while I was hurt I would have been healed, Maybe I would have been able to fight them off, but I couldn't do anything but watch them teleport Titus around to make him sick or toss him about with telekenisis or when Show Stopper was hurting Dash when she stood up to protect me. I... I was useless..." Lyra backed off down to the foot of the bed away from Twilight who tried to follow her to stay in comforting contact of some sort but Lyra kept shying further away until Twilight stopped advancing. Lyra's once immaculately brushed mane was disheveled and her makeup had long since started running from all the tears she was crying and somewhere in the grass back near the bridge one of the guards would find a small pink bow that had been stomped into the dirt road to put into an evidence bag. None of that mattered to her, though, and instead she stared at her hooves and the small dark splotches that would appear on the covers near them before she snuffled and wiped her cheek on a forehoof, "Now I understand, big guy."

"W-What do you understand, Lyra?" Twilight asked with concern.

"I understand what he's afraid of-"

Twilight's brow furrowed and her shaking head interrupted Lyra, "Afraid? He's not afraid of anything. He said fear wasn't something a Jedi could afford to have."

"Not the fear that would make him run from something, but there are still things he's afraid of," Lyra rectified Twilight's statement with her own knowledge discussed between herself and Titus earlier in the night, "He thinks it's his fault he wasn't able to help Master Krua in her fight with the bounty hunter that killed her and, even worse, he has this... this feeling that she thought he wouldn't be able to help which was why she pushed him away." When Twilight tried again to sit beside her this time Lyra gratefully leaned into her friend's shoulder, which she found the point of contact to be immensely comforting and she wished she hadn't retreated from Twilight earlier, "He's afraid of not being strong enough to protect others, like I was tonight. I broke Show's first holding spell on me and tried to buy him enough time to run, but he wouldn't take the window I created and stayed which is why he's all beaten up. I'm sorry, Twilight, I did my best but even then I couldn't protect him. You trusted me and I... I failed to protect him like a mare should."

"It's not your fault," Twilight comforted and draped a hoof around the mint unicorn to pull her closer and brush down her mane, Lyra slowly sinking lower to the hard hospital mattress to provide her with an easier time, "You did you best and it was enough that you both made it out safe. I don't know if you noticed but the way he was looking at you when he told me about the part where you jumped in with his lightsaber I could tell that really struck a deep chord with him beyond the appreciation of you helping. You made the difference tonight, Lyra, and even if you don't recognize it I'm fairly certain he does."

Lyra leaned back to anxiously look at Twilight, her eyes searching to find that her friend was speaking genuinely which, for the first time in what felt like a while, made her heart sing and she bore a small semblance of her usual smile before reaching over to pull the violet unicorn into a hug, "Thanks, Sparkles, I really-"

Lyra caught the flash of light off the metal basin sitting nearby and chanced a look inside to discover the wicked black thorns - the physical embodiment of her inability to protect Titus. Her stomach suddenly churned at the sight of the red-tinted sterilization liquid they were submerged in necessitating an unexpected scurry for the nearby sink where she promptly loosed its contents in several wracking, full-body heaves until she slumped limply over the edge of the sink with a small groan.

"A-Are you okay, Lyra?" Twilight asked hopefully and, after a brief gargle and rinse from the faucet, to her relief Lyra came back up with the faintest of grins.

"Yeah, I feel better now. I think some of my guilt came up with those fiery Cheese Poofs the big guy and I were noshing on earlier. They were a lot hotter on their way back up though..." she replied glumly and though Twilight was glad to hear she was alright she insisted Lyra let Nurse Redheart or the doctor give her a checkup, especially if she was feeling any abdominal pains. "Na, I'm not worried I'll start choking on anything because what I coughed up is all mushed up in the drain like goopy cereal that's sat in milk too long-"

"Oh for the love of Celestia! Please don't describe it," Twilight almost retched herself at the colorful thought of what might be clogging up the sink's drain at the moment just as the door was opened and Titus made his return.

"Uh... you feeling okay, Twi? You look sick," he asked, walking through the door in time to catch Twilight almost gagging though he didn't realize it was because of the conversation they had been having until she waved his concern off. He took a seat on the bed heavily and reclined against the headboard with a good bit of stiffness while the curious librarian was quick to ask what the sergeant had needed him for on her way to the roof.

"She was asking me if there was anything that she might find at the bridge that would back up our version of the story. I walked her through everything again and tried to give her as many details as I could," he opened an arm and Twilight eagerly took it, scooting up against his side for the arm to drape lightly over her shoulder and curl around whereupon she asked if he knew what they could expect now that things had apparently escalated according to what the guard had said. When Lyra joined them on the rather uncomfortably stiff mattress he noticed she looked a little different and offered her an open palm and a moment later he had Twilight under one arm and Lyra had taken his offer of the hand for squeezes and rubs to the pad of her hoof before he continued, "Quickbolt said there'd be somepony that would be taking our statements anew and cross-examining them with our previous ones to look for discrepancies compared to evidence from the scene. She wasn't sure on the details, but apparently the team she left behind at the site will be using a spell to try and view what happened-"

Twilight was quick to jump in with her knowledge and explain the process of how the scrying spell would work and went fairly in depth. Titus only heard half of it as he noticed Lyra had gone slightly tense at the mention of the viewing of the encounter and knew she was probably reliving it again, her ears folded back and head bowed slightly as she stared off into space. Removing his hand from her hoof startled her back to being in the hospital room with them again where she looked at him with uneasiness that he had broken contact only to find he held an arm open to her much like he had offered Twilight. She almost immediately accepted, diving in to once again wrap her hooves over his shoulders and tuck her face in against the base of his neck in the manner that felt immensely comforting.

Minutes faded away as they waited for the pony that would be questioning them and somewhere all three dozed off for an indeterminate amount of time. When the firm knock at their door finally came Lyra, who had only been able to lightly doze, was woken with a start before she quickly roused Titus with a shake as the guard at the door poked her head in to let them know that Quickbolt was reportedly on her way back as well as alert them that the investigator had arrived and to expect company shortly.

Twilight felt a lump of nervousness form in her throat as Titus gave a small stretch before squeezing Lyra a little tighter, the mint unicorn returning the gesture. Realizing that she probably should be acting as Intermediary first and fillyfriend second, Twilight moved to dismount the bed but was stopped when Titus' hand brushed down her back as she went and looked as if he was asking her not to leave. Sitting down just a little within arms reach, she was about to explain her motive when there was another knock at the door, this one much softer than the last. Calling for whomever it was to come in, all three were shocked when the door was opened and Princess Celestia stepped into the room.

"P-Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, jumping from the bed to stand before her mentor, "You must be here to sort things out! Oh thank goodness, this whole thing is has gotten way out of hoof."

"Indeed it has, my faithful student," she replied before turning to face Titus as he moved to stand up out of reverence though Lyra, who hadn't been so close to the Solar alicorn in all her life, was a little awestruck and still clung to Titus' shoulders, "Good evening, Mr. Aelius, although as the evening hours are nearly drawing to a close perhaps 'good morning' would be a more appropriate greeting, one which I wish I could give under different circumstances."

Titus returned the greeting and shared sentiments that this was not the way he would want to necessitate a meeting between them before he inquired why they hadn't been told she would be coming which, after closing the door behind her, the Princess sighed heavily and more than a little wearily, "We had laid out a contingency for your involvement in a violent altercation after Luna had her talk with you the night of your arrival so once it had been reported either my sister or I were to be alerted. In regards to me being here despite duties having shifted over to Night Court, I'm convinced it was in the best interest of resolving this matter that I take charge as Luna's personal friendship with you might call into question her objectivity should that knowledge become more public than you two have made it. To the matter at hoof: I have completed my preliminary inquiry with the herd in question and the accusations levied against you are hefty-"

"But they're not true!" Lyra's interruption caught both Twilight and Celestia off guard and the latter seemed a little taken back with how much emotion had been put into the exclamation.

"Be that as it may, little one, I still must set aside my own familiarity with Mr. Aelius and assume the role of neutral arbiter in this matter, but rest assured I will get to the bottom of this," Princess Celestia replied before walking to the foot of the bed and looking Titus in the eyes, "As I did with the lone member of Show Stopper's herd that was close enough to conscious to be capable, I will hear you tell your version of events in their entirety. I shall then perform a deep-thought reading by joining our consciousnesses, much like Luna did-" She held up a hoof for him to pause when he looked a little apprehensive at the mention of probing his mind, "Much like Luna did when she initially questioned the purpose of your stay. I understand your uneasiness toward magic but please know that this is a necessity to resolve this."

To her relief he seemed to accept that, his jaw tensing briefly before he nodded and what followed was a long recounting by Titus of the night's events, starting from the time they had left AJ's barn to when Quickbolt and her guard had shown up and it was nearly identical to what he had told the Sergeant for her report. Throughout this Lyra confirmed what he was saying by giving small nods in agreement, though she was decidedly elsewhere in her mind and only operating off of small contextual ques which the Princess realized meant she would have to place her reliance on the human's retelling and any evidence retrieved from the scene.

"... and then we arrived at the hospital where a nurse pulled what I think is the majority of the thorns out of me before Sgt. Quickbolt shot off back to bridge to look for evidence," he concluded with a shrug before pausing when Lyra tightened her hold on him lightly and when he looked at her she buried her face back against his neck out of sight. Returning his attention to Celestia he looked at her grimly, "I think it's obvious who's the traumatized party here, which I would think would lend credibility to the version that we were the ones attacked."

"It does, Mr. Aelius, though what I garnered from the other individual was broken and incomplete as he was heavily sedated at the time so for the record as well as the certainty of my judgement against the wrongdoer I need to follow the same procedure," the Princess replied, catching the small sigh of disappointment he made and the scowl from Twilight before she moved closer to the bed and the nuzzling Lyra, clearly addressing her.

"I believe you to be Lyra Heartstrings, is that correct?" the Princess knew who Lyra was from the television spots and newspaper articles but she waited for the unicorn to respond with a subtle nod though the face remained only half visible from where it lay buried against the human, "I was told by the doctor in charge that you've got a hurt horn that prevents you from using Harmony comfortably and, with his warning against it, I won't be straining your injury with my scrying. However, is there anything else that you want to add to or amend in what Mr. Aelius has said?"

A whisper that he hadn't done anything wrong was followed by Titus brushing a hand up and down her barrel which the unicorn seemed to appreciate and though she deeply wished to let them continue to comfort each other the Princess had an unpleasant job to do so she cleared her throat to get Titus' attention. "I fear my invasion of your privacy and comfort only begins, Mr. Aelius. Might you find space so that I may join you on the bed? I believe it to be marginally softer than the floor and thus more comfortable for us both because for the spell to work I shall need to channel while maintaining contact with your brow."

Twilight reluctantly gave up her spot under his arm though she remained close, scooting behind Titus to share a shoulder with Lyra and peek over to watch as he leaned toward the Princess who hopped nimbly upon the mattress to lay on her belly in the space between the edge and him. Closing her eyes, the Princess' horn glowed faintly before her hoof hooked behind Titus' head to pull his forehead into contact with her own just below her horn.

Celestia saw a bright flash and then was walking along a familiar ethereal hallway as floating images drifted by where stopping to look at one resulted in it playing back as if she was living from Titus' point of view. Rather than one hall, however, the path wound around and split into an uncountable number of other paths, all with other little windows into his memories. "I-I'm in, though it's a bit of an unfamiliar jumble in here... no offense intended, Mr. Aelius. I believe your mind to be arranged differently than that of my subjects so your guidance will be needed," she explained a little hastily as she discovered she needed a little more focus on her spell than normal, "Your most recent memories are readily available to me though I can slip off to explore others should I need to. What you think or experienced, I will see..."

She sees what I think of? Shit-

A small, uncontrollable grin crept across Celestia's muzzle as the most recent image was of Twilight getting up to walk off the hospital bed which played back for her, one human arm stretching out from the border of her view to brush down the unicorn's back until she stopped. It was the subconscious emphasis of attention that lingered for a few moments on Twilight's flanks, however, that brought the smile to her face and she stifled a hearty laugh. Moving further to the other images there was a flurry of what could best be described as snapshots that drifted past of other flanks he had seen that he tried to shuffle under a rug in his mind.

Included in these was one of her own voluptuous rump and the handwritten letters "Princess Sun Butt" appeared next to it, the image also bringing up the phrase that he had heard somewhere which Celestia then followed the breadcrumb trail back through his mind to see from where only to find the source to be her sister. Really? One little crack I make about all the sweets you consume going to your flanks and you feel the need to escalate things by joking with Mr. Aelius to "Praise the Sun!" I hardly think bringing him into our friendly little war seems fair- Several more images joined the rest, in particular a few of Luna stretched out on the couch beside him playing her game from his stay in Canterlot which Celestia hardly had expected.

Oh my. Hmm, maybe I'll commission a painting of that last one of Lulu to hang somewhere prominent in the Lunar Wing and sit back to watch how flustered she gets when I tell her I've sent him a copy as well. Perhaps "Praise the Moon" might be a good caption, one that will make her fret about how I've become privy to the phrase... The Princess thought to herself as she had long outgrown being a prude and she found the human's frantic attempts at not thinking about such things which only brought those thoughts to the forefront adorable and highly amusing. After several moments of letting him flounder and watching the snapshots go by to pick out scenes to share and embarrass her sister with at a later date she decided it would be best to rescue him before he got too stressed out so she finalized their link so they could communicate more efficiently.

"Mr. Aelius, I am here."

Titus heard Celestia's voice echo in his mind and it was an unwelcome sensation he had felt once before with Luna and he gritted his teeth against it like it was the sudden onset of a migraine. Ugh, that doesn't feel right.

"I'm sorry, let's try to make this as brief as we can," she replied though his own voice suddenly came to her through the ether of the hallway.

"Wait a second..." Titus interrupted as he found himself transposed into a vast emptiness where he touched down on ethereal stonework of a corridor and beside him appeared the form of Celestia, who seemed a little startled to see him. Images that weren't his floated by of a recent trip from the ornate hallways of the Canterlot Palace to the bleached decor of the hospital though as one picture drifted by he stopped it to watch as the Princess regarded an image of her flanks before moving through his memories of brief glimpses of Luna's butt and remarking she'd save one to show her sister later.

"Kark. I uh... please don't do that."

Princess Celestia, however, was more shocked at the sudden discovery she had made than the fact that he had seen her rifling through his memories for something to use against her sister, "This is very peculiar. I've never heard of nor encountered a subject able to forcibly create a two-way connection from this spell. It shouldn't be possible, in fact. Perhaps it has something to do with the different structure of your mind that you're able to pull up my memories, despite the spell being engineered to not let you..." Realizing her hypothesis could wait for later as he was tensed and probably awaiting some form of punishment she simply shook her head to dismiss his building apology, "It is quite alright, Mr. Aelius, and I suppose I find it a little flattering that somepony my age could still garner that sort of attention, though it would seem we've both revealed something we hadn't intended. While I can't forget what I've seen just as much as you can't, if we can come to the agreement to not dig further into each other's privac-"

In the process of summing up her thoughts rather inadvertently her amusement in Titus' scramble of shoving images under a mental carpet only for them to be displayed prominently came back to bite her in the flank because in doing so her own mind subconsciously connected her memories with what she was saying. Running parallel to the pictures of various pony butts along what could be described as "his" wall, on the opposite wall numerous little tiles of the Princess appeared to show her in more than a few compromising positions with varying ponies, mostly stallions though the occasional mare would also appear. This, of course, caused the images to propagate over to Titus' side of the wall like a chain letter spreading and, for the first time he had ever seen, she was wide-eyed and blushing which was a far cry from her usually-composed self.

Titus wasn't sure what to do as nothing could have prepared him for the pornography playing across the wall in front of him and somewhere from the back of his mind the night he had spent with Twilight was brought up, prompting a playback of his own sex act to appear which drew the Princess' attention and a quick fanning of her wings before they remained spread. Both of them stood in a stunned silence for what felt like several minutes as the frames of compromising material kept running, audio and all, which left Titus shuffling from foot to foot and examining the floor as Celestia's eyes stayed glued to the video of Twilight and Titus before she cleared her throat with a small ahem.

"I um... well, I certainly can't recall a time I have been at this much of a loss for words."

"Princess, I'm beyond sorry for this. I didn't-" he tried apologizing, though the way in which the usually regal Princess was now shrunk back meekly was too much of a shock for him to continue. He watched her pause to regard the faces of several of the stallions she had been with almost with a sense of longing and a moment later the lewd images faded from either wall and all that was left were the depictions of the ponies they both cherished though he occasionally caught glimpses of Celestia in mirrors or other reflective surfaces within the memories and he noticed she looked slightly smaller, leading him to believe that she must have been younger in the times he was seeing her. "They must be important to you if you have this many memories of them. Are they herdmates?" he asked hesitantly, seeing the care she held for them in her eyes.

"Some of them were, yes, though that was a long, long time ago," the Princess replied quietly with a distant tone as she stopped in front of one particular image of a sleeping maroon earth pony with a pair of slender white hooves wrapped around him lovingly, "When one lives a thousand lifetimes, with countless thousands upon thousands more to come, one soon realizes that the lives of those that become close are fleeting and all too short. All of them I have treasured, but watching them grow old and die, or watching them be taken by illness or war... after a while it hurt too much to let myself become attached." To her surprise she felt a hand against her shoulder, made all the more surprising as the sensation of physical contact shouldn't be possible within the realm they were in, but her disbelief was shuttled off as Titus looked at the slumbering pony with her.

"Life is that pain, Princess. It's unavoidable that we'll lose people we care about but you can't let that fear prevent you from living. Don't let it rob you of being happy because, however fleeting it might feel to you, to the other person you've provided a lifetime of love and happiness," tears welled up in Celestia's eyes as what he was saying had the inadvertent effect of causing her mind to fill the wall with happy images of the maroon earth pony looking at her with unabashed love until she couldn't take the pictures any more and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Across all of these scenes that's what I see in his face, and the faces of the others. You gave them that and they were grateful."

"Thank you for those words. I have said it once before but it deserves saying again; you are truly a gift, Mr. Aelius."

"What was his name?" he asked with quiet respect, stepping a little closer to the alicorn as she leaned an appreciative shoulder against his side so his arm draped over her withers.

"He was Sunray Dancer, a court performer and my last love. He was kind and soft-spoken and always believed in the good in others. What was most endearing was that, unlike all the others around me at the time, he didn't let my standing as Princess stop him from cutting the pleasantries to tell me when I was acting like a stubborn stick-in-the-mud or innocently delusional fool. Back then I wasn't entirely in-touch with the everyday lives of my subjects, but whereas my advisers read off their sheets and reports and grovelled for my favor he took me out to see what sort of impact my governing had on everypony," she replied and gazed upon the visage of her long lost lover, "He loved me like none of the others had and taught me that even a Princess can make mistakes, though that lesson would hit hard in the year after his passing when I was too preoccupied with the hole left in my heart to see the hole forming in my sister's..."

A small bench appeared out of the ether in the center of the hall, whether conjured by the Princess or Titus' will neither bothered questioning, and both simply took a seat to talk.

------------

Twilight desperately wanted to be a part of whatever was going on between Titus and Princess Celestia though she was left to try and decipher what they were doing or seeing by the small twitching changes in their expressions and after only a few minutes of being under the spell the Princess unhooked her hoof from behind Titus' head and eased backward.

There was a long pause where nopony said anything before Twilight anxiously spoke up, "So... did it work?"

"Yes and no, I'm afraid," the alicorn answered, her eyes closing as she gently pulled him back and touched her brow back to Titus' briefly with a warm hum in what Twilight thought was a gesture a little too informal and out of character for the Princess (though naturally that opinion went unvoiced) before Celestia let go of the human and sat upright again, "We spoke and he showed me what he could. My screening of the member of Show Stopper's herd that was conscious enough to give a reading was inconclusive with some sort of interference that potentially could be caused by his sedation which is something I intend to investigate as my spell should clear any sort of fog away. What I have uncovered seems to confirm that events unfolded as Mr. Aelius tells them however the structure of his mind caused a few... problems, as well as unexpected surprises, which disallows me from fully applying what I learned using the spell to my judgement of the incident, as much as I wish that wasn't the case."

Thankfully Titus quieted Twilight's outburst that that wasn't fair before she had to, though the Princess agreed with the sentiment that it was unfair and tried to explain why she couldn't proceed without further evidence, "While I personally believe Mr. Aelius, there are those on the Council that held a different opinion when the Crown decided to provide him residence within Equestria. They would without doubt take the opportunity to call my decision in his favor into question should I bring the herd before them for judgement without irrefutable inculpatory evidence against Show Stopper and the others."

Lyra slumped upon hearing what Celestia had to say, "B-But you're the Princess... can't you just make them understand and see things your way?"

"No, Miss Heartstrings, that I will not do. The voices of the displeased councilponies are few and far between at the moment because the others rightfully believe they do not have a hoof for their ideas to stand upon but were I to bring the full weight of the Crown to bear and force those dissonant voices to obey they would feel vindicated and cause further complications for myself and Mr. Aelius in whatever way they could."

This drew a good deal of concern from Twilight who didn't understand why these ponies on the council would be opposed to helping the human after he was discovered to be friendly. While Celestia was doing her best to explain that they were mostly the same holdovers that had also opposed removing the long application process for citizenship for batponies purely on the grounds that they were different an unexpected knock at the window drew all of their attention where they found a thoroughly winded Quickbolt struggling to stay in the air. Titus tried to jump to her aid and hurry to the window however the Princess was way ahead of him and had magically opened the latch holding the window closed before he had even gotten his feet over the edge of the bed.

Barely making it into the room, Quickbolt still managed to give the Princess a snappy salute which she held until told to be at ease whereupon she promptly collapsed and panted heavily, "Sorry... I didn't get back sooner, T... I flew all over the place. Went to those reporters and got those snaps they took, then to the barracks before I zipped over to the scene for another look around without all the hustle and bustle distracting me."

"Please tell us you found something!" Twilight's pleaded, the anxiousness in her voice clearly discernible as the pegaus got to her weary hooves and accepted the small cup of water Titus had fetched from the water cooler to down in a single gulp.

"That's better, thanks bud. Well, Miss Sparkle, if you'd call securing the two photographers as witnesses after they offered to take the stand to identify Show and her boys as the ones who, unprovoked, harassed and hurled obscenities and trash at him finding something, then yeah, I found something," she replied and though Twilight cheered her elation was short-lived when the Princess indicated that wouldn't establish anything more than their motive but the sergeant wasn't done and quickly addressed that issue with an accomplished grin, "Reason I'm late is because before I went out to the site of the attack I did some digging into the report that got us scrambled from the barracks in such a hurry. Turns out a Cloudsdale weather station located not far from the Apple's farm that's used to spot storms from the Everfree before they blow into Ponyville limits. Their radio operators picked up a call on their short-band that they dismissed because they thought it sounded like some radio-kit hobbyist goofing off because of all the static but when the call came in again a few minutes later to say there was somepony being attacked on the road to the farm they sent their fastest flyer over to our barracks, which is how I came by that information. I followed that new breadcrumb trail of information back to the weather station to talk to the operator on duty at the time who gave me the details I needed to track down who placed the distress call."

Titus waited for her to continue but the shit-eating look she was giving him and the glint in her eye made it clear she wanted him to ask for more and wouldn't provide anything until he did; a good sign, he thought, so he cleared his throat and gave in, "And this pony...?"

"Saw everything! She confirmed that you and Miss Heartstrings were approached while minding your own business and that Show Stopper was the first to channel magic which contradicts what her herd member said happened," Quickbolt excitedly interjected before Twilight asked her to explain how the witness had seen the attack though it was clear Princess Celestia was also eager for the details and bid the sergeant to give a brief report of her activities, "Okay, so when I got to the Apple's farm the family was out on the front porch to meet me; Granny, Applejack, her brother, and the little squirt, Applebloom. Well, I show up and all of a sudden everypony is in an uproar trying to explain the situation at the same time 'cept the big red stud who kept saying yup to everything that they said and all this is a bit much because keep in mind I'm pretty tuckered out from my flight..."

Quickbolt realized that in her excitement she had been talking faster than her lungs could keep up with a supply of oxygen and she had to pause until the lightheaded feeling went away. After a deep, calming breath she continued at a much more normal pace, aided by another fetching of water by Titus, "Thanks again, T. Anyway, after I eventually calm everypony down I'm finally able work out that the weather station was right that they had gotten a call from a kit radio and that the only one on the farm belongs to Applebloom and it's located in the filly's clubhouse on the property. The little filly was excited to show me her shortwave radio which she said she used to communicate with her two friends who live in town but it was still picking up the weather station's chatter. Then - and this is the biggie - she took me over to this telescope that's pointed out the window, but the thing is that it's angled super low and when Applebloom had me look through it I find out there's a clear line of sight to the bridge and the spot where me and the guards met up with you."

"Excellent work, Sergeant! An exemplary display of the tenacity of the Royal Guard, one which I'll be making your commanding officer aware of personally," the Princess commended which had the effect of visibly bolstering the pegasus' sense of accomplishment so much so that she swelled her chest out proudly and her wings spread to their full width, "Did this foal have anything to say in regards to what she witnessed?"

"Yes, Princess! However it took a good bit of cajoling just to get the little Apple filly to admit she had caught sight of T and Lyra walking back to town and spied when you two stopped on the bridge," Quickbolt added and deflated a little, but only just a little, before continuing on with what she had been able to find out. "She was watching when you two were on the fallen log and Show and the others snuck up. After the shit hit the f- um, I mean, after the engagement had started..." she corrected herself, remembering that language befitting the barracks was definitely not something to use when giving a report directly to a superior, let alone a Princess, though the alicorn didn't appear to bat an eyelash at it much to Quickbolt's relief.

"The Apple filly says she had picked up the skill of lip-reading in an attempt to earn her cutie mark and remained at the telescope, transcribing what she saw into a notebook which I have here as part of the evidence, though the writing is understandably a little messy," she said, lifting a wing to gain access to the pegasi version of saddlebags beneath it that blended in with her armor and hugged her barrel in a very slim profile which Titus had to guess was to reduce drag while flying. The sergeant removed a flowery notebook which she passed to the Princess to examine before glancing over a small pad to check she hadn't missed anything and continued, "I could tell she was pretty unsettled watching T get tossed around which prompted her to rig up the club's little kit radio to call the nearby weather station before things got more serious but then he got an opening and fought back, wiping the floor with a few of them."

Quickbolt went on to say that that was the end of her notes and that anything further had yet to be drafted up into a report which she was waiting to do until the foal had been formally interviewed.

"Thank you, Sergeant, in that case I will leave affairs here to you. I believe Applebloom may hold the key to uncovering the night's series of events so I shall go to her now," Celestia said and gracefully slid to the floor before turning to face Lyra and Titus, "It is merely a formality at this point, but I ask that you remain here a little bit longer." Heading for the door with Quickbolt in the lead, the Princess paused and made a quick return to the bed where she reared up with her forehooves on the mattress to place a quick appreciative peck on his cheek, much to the astonishment of him and the two unicorns though the latter's quiet gasps went unnoticed as she dropped back to the floor, "And thank you, Mr. Aelius, for lending me your ear for all those hours as I feel a weight has been lifted from my chest. I hadn't known how much I had wanted to talk to somepony about that."

"A-Anytime, Princess, my door is always open to you or your sister if you'd like a non-pony mind to pick... just preferably not telepathically, if possible-" Titus responded as the realization dawned on him that his cheek was no longer causing him a dull ache. To test that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him he gingerly poked it with no sudden spike of pain, much to his surprise, before he turned appreciatively to Celestia, "Wow, I'm not sure what you did but my face doesn't hurt anymore!"

She gave a small chuckle at his wonder as Twilight happily nuzzled at his now pain-free cheek, "Alicorn healing magic is a few tiers above what you would find on common hospital bandages, Mr. Aelius, so fixing a small hairline fracture that might arise from something like a knockout punch is well within its means." The coy sparkle in her eye reminded Titus she had seen he hadn't gotten that injury in the fight with Show's herd and that the culprit was snoozing in the nearby bed though it was a moment only shared between them before she bowed her head lightly, "On the chance we do not meet face to face after my business is completed: good night, Mr. Aelius, and to you two as well, Twilight and Lyra. I am only a letter away should you need anything further."

After they had the room to themselves once more Twilight was quick to inquire what the Princess had meant but Titus didn't answer until after he had scooped her up in his free arm and pulled her close against his side again where she was met with an unexpected but eagerly returned kiss, "As always with me there were a few complications with Princess Celestia's spell. We encountered each other and inadvertently saw each others' memories which got us talking about a few things and before either of us realized it we had sat down and just gotten a lot of things off our chests that had sort of been festering somewhere in the recesses of our minds. I figured I would have woken up to find you two asleep because we must have talked for, oh jeez, at least two to three hours-"

A glance at the clock to confirm made Titus do a cartoonish doubletake when he saw the clock's face had barely changed since the Princess had arrived and cast her spell, "Well it certainly felt like three hours, I'm wiped out."

"I was observing the spell the Princess used but I've never seen a weaving like it. It was too complicated for me to follow," Twilight stated glumly as she had instantly noticed it was a spell she didn't know and wanted to dissect but within only a few layers of its weaving she wasn't sure what went where or how. For a unicorn disassembling an alicorn spell, however, she did remarkably to make it as far as she did. "Princess Luna comes to us in our dreams if we're not sleeping well but it's something she does almost naturally so my first guess would be Princess Celestia used something like that in spell form. I'd be interested to know what you mean by 'encountered each other;' was it a disembodied experience or were you in a dream-walking state?" she asked and he explained how he had quite literally appeared in the ethereal hallway beside Celestia when she had spoken to him and after a moment trying to figure out how he had managed it she had noticed a few memories which had gotten them talking.

"And just what did you spend so long talking about?"

"That would be private," he answered which only had the effect of amplifying her curiosity.

"Oh. D-Does that mean something that's between you and the Princess or something personal you're not comfortable talking about... with me?" Twilight slumped a little and hoped the latter wasn't the case though she certainly understood as there were a few topics she was hesitant to breach with him. "It's just that I've never seen Princess Celestia act like that-" she started until she realized he was looking at her with an odd sense of fondness which she tried to reflect but as it grew more intense she cocked her head to one side inquisitively.

"We just had a long heart-to-heart conversation," he answered her searching look with a small chuckle, "It was a private conversation, but one that made me realize how lucky I am to have you in my life. I've never been as happy as when I'm with you, and I hope you know that-" Titus suddenly leaned forward to meet her muzzle with his lips which Twilight enthusiastically pressed into, her tongue slipping into his mouth to tangle briefly before she gave a happy squeak from the arm that had tightened around her lovingly in the meantime. Breaking apart despite not wanting to Titus nuzzled at her nearby ear, "I hope you know how much I love you, Twi, and I always will."

Getting several small bumps to the underside of his chin in acknowledgement from Twilight's nose he leaned his head over to rest his cheek against Lyra's as she softly nuzzled at his shoulder. "That goes for you, too, Lyra. You're always right there when I need you most, whether that's on a day where the pressure from the media is getting me down and I need a breath of humor to see the lighter side of things or when you appear in the nick of time to have my back, just like you promised."

"Us weirdos have to stick together, big guy," she echoed his earlier statement though the arm tightening around her shoulders brought her gaze up to meet his. He didn't say anything but the smile he gave and the look in his eyes made her heart bound several times faster and she tightened her hooves around him to try and hold on to that feeling for as long as possible before he reached up to gently rub an ear and press down against her cheek with his.

"Like weird glue, me and you. Thank you, Lyra," he hummed with another squeeze, "Thank you for standing with me when few others would."

All three found comfortable positions and dozed off again though their rest was short-lived when a distant commotion out in the hall woke them, the sound of shouting and a crash causing all three to look at each other a moment before their door burst open.

A bandaged and thoroughly rabid Show Stopper was followed by her earth pony mate who kicked the sturdy door closed behind her to be sealed with a quick spell seconds before the pounding and shouting of guards outside could stop her. Turning to Titus, who had already leapt from the bed, Show snarled as her horn glowed, "Bucking monkey! No glowysword to save you this time-"

Before Show could say more she felt the spell she had been weaving come undone violently in a small explosion that sent her careening across the room into the far wall and after a quick scramble back to her hooves she briefly saw Twilight had taken a braced stance at the foot of the bed. "W-Who the buck are you?" she spat a moment before her opponent closed the distance with a quick teleport which placed the violet unicorn right in front of her.

Staring down the glowing horn Show found herself face-to-face with a very angry and evidently very skilled magic user, one well beyond her own because the small unicorn had not only dismantled the key components of the shock beam she had been constructing but also counterattacked by reweaving Show's own magic into a concussive blast within the same window of time. Confounded by this, it took Show Stopper a second before she caught the widely-known cutie mark on the violet flank, "Another Element Bearer-?!"

"I'm his fillyfriend, that's who!" Twilight glared at Show as she backed herself up into the corner. Her anger was quickly building at being confronted by Titus' and Lyra's attacker and that she had the nerve to try again caused her to snort and stomp a hoof in agitation, "You picked a fight with an uninjured pony this time, so you come at him again and I'll really blast you!"

Show Stopper ground her teeth at that threat and lowered her head to attack but Twilight's eyes narrowed menacingly which caused her to visibly pause as she realized how serious it would be to get into a fight with the Element of Magic who growled a final warning.

"Go ahead and try me..."

"ENOUGH!" Titus' sudden holler startled Twilight, causing her to lose her channel of Harmony and to look over her shoulder to find he was standing with Lyra clutching him in one arm while the other was outstretched toward her and Show. Following its aim Twilight turned back toward her adversary and discovered that her horn, too, had extinguished though the pained look on Show Stopper's face was telling that she hadn't let her magic go of her own choice. Soon to join her a second later the large earth pony was catapulted across the room, first sent crashing into the cement ceiling and then slammed roughly to the floor next to his mate. Knockout strained with his considerable strength to get to his hooves to mount an assault but he was pushed to his belly because Titus easily increased his application of the Force to the point that several of the tiles beneath him cracked as he spread himself out like a very large and angry pancake.

"I have had enough of this for one night..." he grunted before instructing Twilight to get the door and let the guards in but when nothing happened she had to be asked again, Titus coming to learn she had thought he had yelled at her and shrunk back submissively out of instinct. Her worry she had done something wrong was quickly erased by a short nod of his head toward the door as he asked again a little more calmly, "Sorry for sounding gruff with you, Twilight. I have this under control so see to the door, please."

As Twilight was making quick work of the spell sealing the door Titus returned his attention to the subdued pair in the corner, his voice dropping threateningly low as he advanced several unfaltering steps closer. "It's my respect for the Princess that lead me to leave the Guard to handle you and were it not for her I would have dealt with you as I did the Jedi Hunters or other similar threats like I did back through the portal. That respect is what stayed my lightsaber... but you barging in here is coming dangerously close to the point where I would look past that and be willing to cut you and your herd down to protect myself or anyone else in this room. So, if you know what's good for you you're going to stay right where you are until the Guard come."

Titus released the crushing pressure that was pinning Big Knockout to the floor but didn't let his guard down. When the earth pony pushed himself to his hooves with a growl he was ready with a simple sweep of his hand at the nearby shoulderbag and in the blink of an eye the silver hilt of his lightsaber was in his grasp and the blue blade was humming with life. It still looked like the bruised earth pony wanted a retaliatory go at him or Lyra so as a demonstration that the weapon was could do more than deflect a stream of electricity a nearby metal bench was cleanly severed in two with a quick swipe of the saber before Titus leveled the point at Knockout and glanced at Show, "Remember what I said about being dangerously close? If you can't get him under control then I will."

While the bloodlust she felt when looking at the human was by no means lessened the hostile unicorn could tell Titus wasn't making an empty threat and, with another glance at the glowing-hot metal of the bench, she quickly moved in front of her mate to keep him from advancing. "B-Biggums, let's regroup with Shock and Dive and figure out what to do," he seemed to listen to her, but the defeat was written on his face and between that and the pressure still being exerted on her horn Show couldn't stop herself from turning to look back at Titus, "I hate you, you monkey freak! You'll never belong here so go back where you came from!" She spat in his face at the end of her venomous words but, rather than rile him up, his expression remained unemotional and flat as he carefully wiped it off with a sleeve while maintaining his sight on the pair, the lightsaber blade still angled between them.

"Spit and hate on me all you want, but until the Guard get here if I see your horn light up you're going to lose it and if he moves anywhere but backward I'll put him straight through the karking floor."

Twilight wasn't aware of the warning Titus was giving as she was fully focused on disassembling Show's spell and indicated she was almost finished when she caught sight of a pony-sized square glowing on the wall nearby. With the brief second she had to analyze what it was she picked out several of the foundation components of its weaving before quickly shouting to Titus, "Look out! They're coming in!" Completely on instinct she leapt in front of him and created a barrier. She was just in time, too, because the whole wall disintegrated inward in a shower of brick and mortar which pinged harmlessly off of her shield before barked orders to move in could be heard and something erupted out of the billowing cloud of dust created.

Show Stopper was further from the breach and not engulfed in the quickly-settling cloud like Titus, Lyra, and Twilight were though the phantom squeezing on her horn abated when they disappeared from sight. Free to use her magic once again she caught the briefest sight of Quickbolt rocketing toward her and Big Knockout and saw it as an opportunity to slingshot her back at the human.

Unfortunately for her, her attempt to pluck the charging pegasus from the air with her telekinesis failed when the magic fizzled upon contact due to all Royal Guard armor being equipped with warding against such base-level unicorn spells which left Show open to the flying hind hoof that connected square in her side, blasting all the air out of her lungs and breaking her concentration to channel magic. Big Knockout was much slower on reacting to the evolving situation and only saw the pegasus go by in a blur when he felt a sharp poke in the side of the neck and every single muscle on his large frame tensed and spasmed as Quickbolt's stun baton found its target, discharging a healthy (but intentionally higher than regulation) dose of disabling jolts to his system that reduced him to a harmless pile of twitching muscles and groans.

"Everypony in here okay?" Quickbolt called over a shoulder before giving Big Knockout a second zapping "for safety's sake" as fully-armored guards poured through the small hole in the wall to surround and subdue the spitting-mad Show Stopper as well as put a set of hefty enchanted manacles around the large earth pony's hooves. After overseeing those procedures the pegasus sergeant approached Titus and the others who had returned to sit on the edge of the bed in the meantime where she confirmed that everypony was alright before giving a sigh of relief and jerk of her head toward Show and Knockout, "These two banged up the squad of town guard I sent to secure them and made a beeline down the hall, knocking patients and hospital staff over to buy time to get here. They must have overheard orders of the Princess dismissing the accusations against you-"

"Princess Celestia is the one who let the monkey freak into the community in the first place! How is this fair?"

"You think it's not fair?!" Quickbolt wheeled about to look at Show with disbelief before taking a step closer, "You're lucky that you'll be going before Princess Celestia's court and not Princess Luna's because, let me tell you, no matter what the Princess does it'd look lenient compared to what her younger sister would prescribe as punishment." Receiving a nod from one of the armored guards that the earth pony was ready to be moved Quickbolt gave both Show and Knockout another once-over to make sure they wouldn't be slipping out of their bonds before jerking a hoof toward the door, "Wrap these two up for expedited delivery, they just secured themselves an uncomfortable ride on the midnight mail train. The other two will follow them to Canterlot in the morning."

With more than enough guards surrounding the pair to prevent any fruitful resistance the room was quickly cleared and back to its quiet stillness though something was bothering Titus so he cleared his throat to get Quickbolt's attention, "Sergeant? What exactly did you mean when you said that Princess Luna would be much harsher than her sister? I spent nearly a week as her court aide and she was always well composed and reasonable when it came to deciding how to handle matters."

"T, let me tell you something. While I was only at the Palace for the first night and afternoon of your stay before being assigned to watch your ship, after you had shaken your fever the barracks was abuzz about how different Princess Luna was acting. Generally when you're stationed somewhere around the Palace and Princess Luna approaches you get super worried that something on your uniform is out of place or you salute with the wrong hoof from how nervous you are. It's something even veterans worry about because she hasn't been back for very long and her stiffly formal demeanor is intimidating but during that week there were several occurrences where patrolling Guard encountered her humming to herself and, what was almost strange, was that she'd pass by and give us smiles like Princess Celestia does," Quickbolt closed her eyes and relayed her own encounter with Luna coming out of Princess Celestia's office after being told he was being sent to guard the human's ship and in her hurry to leave to see the much-talked-about spectacle that was a source of a good amount of gossip within the barracks she had run straight into Princess Luna with enough speed that both of them had been knocked to their rumps. The pegasus had nearly choked on her own heart as it jumped up into her throat and she made her best attempt at an apology to curtail at least an iota of the doom she was certain to experience it was cut short by the Princess helping her to her hooves with the assurance that no harm had been done.

"So I'm nearly downing in a puddle of my own sweat at this point but Princess Luna just looks at me to ask what I was in such a rush for and, after finding out I'm being stationed to watch your recently relocated ship, she lights up to excitedly start talking about the visits she'd made before asking if I'd ever 'met my good friend, Titus Aelius' before. I was so shocked I don't think I did anything but mumble throughout our conversation, which I will say is something the girls back at the barracks give me endless shit about," she finished with a shake of her head before checking that the room was empty of everypony but them, "I um... I've always been good at reading somepony, which is one of the reasons Princess Celestia said I'd been selected from all the applicants for this job, and I've kept this to myself but I've been observing it for a while so I'm confident enough to say this to you. I've noticed how both you and Ms. Sparkle try and hide the way you glance at each other and the nighttime visits teleporting from the hill are more than just an Intermediary doing her job, aren't they?"

Twilight's mouth went dry and she cast a nervous glance at Titus only to find he nodded in confirmation and wrapped her up in an arm, "You've seen the stuff they put in the papers about me so we're trying to be subtle about how we feel for each other. I don't want her to become a target just because of what I am-"

"You might be different but what you are is a good guy, doesn't matter if you've got hands or hooves and I think you've found at least two mares that understand that better than anypony else," the Sergeant replied with a nod toward both Twilight and Lyra before a voice out in the hall called that she was needed elsewhere. Calling back that she was finishing up and would be along shortly she turned back and looked a little hesitant to continue but did anyway, "Right, back to when I bumped into the Princess. It came as a pretty big shock to see the once-reserved and formal Princess Luna getting so animated and she shared quite a bit about you because, as I understand it from Nightwatch... actually, gimme a second." The pegasus paused to poke her head through the hole in the wall and called out to the pony she had been talking to a moment before and soon the familiar batpony guard walked into the room with a polite greeting toward the human and his friends as well as condolences for what they had been through that evening.

"Hey Nightwatch, would you agree with Titus that Show and her herd didn't get lucky tonight in regards to getting their hearing in the Solar Court?" Quickbolt asked though when Nightwatch tried responding she indicated that her answer should be directed at Titus.

"N-No, Sir, I have to agree with Quickbolt. I have no doubt that she'd be incredibly harsh in sentencing Show's herd in court because..." Nightwatch paused to shoot Quickbolt a hesitant glance which got a small nod that what she said wouldn't leave the room and was shared in confidence, though she sighed lightly in preparation for what she had to say.

"As her personal guard, we Thestrals spend a lot of time around Princess Luna so we have the unique advantage that any little change in her behavior is immediately noticeable. During your stay it quickly became understood within the Lunar Corps that you're... uniquely special to the Princess. I don't want to speak on matters I have no business in, Sir, so I'll beg your pardon for saying so, but it's fairly widespread consensus within the Corps that you've grown closer to her than anypony has, outside of her sister, and that bond makes her incredibly happy."

Nightwatch went on, stating how seeing the Lunar Guard's matron Princess happy bolstered their own spirits and that the week of his stay had been a very lively and cheerful one, "It wasn't all rainbows and sunshine, though. If you recall your fevered encounter with the Solar Guard, the following night at the end of the shift before duties were switched over the Lunar Corps got assembled in full dress on the parade grounds where Princess Luna rightfully chewed us out for not getting a Solar Guard stationed outside the infirmary door which could have been enough to stop you and prevent somepony or you getting potentially hurt in the encounter. In my opinion it felt like most of her emphasis was put on you getting hurt, though, and as a punishment for not switching posts we were ordered to remain at attention for the entirety of the Solar Corp shift through to the start of our next shift that night. Thankfully enough Captain Armor convinced her we should be allowed a quarter ration of water on account of the sunny weather and heat."

From the description it had been trying, to say the least, and made all the worse for the nocturnal nature of batponies in their restrictive dress armor but Nightwatch chuckled lightly as she recalled the commanders pacing up and down the lines of assembled Night Guard to thoroughly shout at anypony who didn't seem to be taking the exercise seriously or dole out the small amount of water allotted for the day. She also revealed that what stood out the most in her mind, however, was Princess Luna's stern and disappointed gaze cast from on high on her balcony which was far more intimidating than any drill sergeant could be. With a sigh Nightwatch shook her head solemnly, "Seeing how upset Princess Luna was over our blunder I can't begin to imagine what she'd do to somepony that willfully tried to do you harm which is why Show and her herd are going to be getting off lightly. Not that I think Princess Celestia won't bring the hammer down on them, of course, she's very attentive when it comes to rooting out prejudice and bigotry but the punishment won't be anywhere near the level of what Princess Luna would prescribe."

A crash from further down the hall was followed by a deep voice shouting to stop resisting and a moment later a guard poked his head in through the hole to alert Nightwatch and Quickbolt that the prisoners were being difficult which got a exasperated grunt from both of them. "Well, looks like somepony is eager for a second date with Mr. Zappy," Quickbolt quipped as she slid the loop of the shock baton around her hoof before turning to the batpony beside her, "I'll go deal with this. In the meantime, you get them signed out and home for whatever's left of the night. And thanks for holding off on submitting your own report, Nightwatch, I owe you one."

The batpony nodded and indicated she'd be back momentarily after securing a route through the hospital that went around where Show and her herd were being kept and asked that they have their belongings ready to go before she disappeared into the hall through the door with the Sergeant in tow.

"W-Wha-?" Dash suddenly stirred when the door closed behind Quickbolt though the groggy and still half-asleep pegasus hadn't caught sight of her and paid no mind to the gaping hole in the wall, "What'd I miss, Stretch?"

"Nothing, Dash, so go back to sleep. Lyra and I have been cleared to leave so we're all going home," he replied before striding over to tuck her in when he saw she was having trouble getting the covers the way she wanted them, "Thanks again for everything you did tonight. I'll come back in the morning with some snacks because I'm familiar with how bad med bay rations can be." Dash hummed in agreement with that idea and as she snuggled back into the warm blankets she was almost instantly asleep again, though as Titus was gathering his things he heard her talking in her sleep.

"Mmm yeah, The D could totally use a sponge bath, Mr. Hunky Nurse..."

Titus slipped into the extremely cramped bathroom to change into the clothes Twilight had brought with her and by the time he was squeezing back out Nurse Redheart was back checking up on Lyra though she paused in what she was doing to shoot him a scowl which he imagined was for his uncooperative behavior earlier. In her final revenge for being difficult, before she would sign the paper Nightwatch returned with she gave Titus one final inspection which involved pulling a few more thorns out, one of which was lodged deeply in the flesh of his buttock which was both uncomfortable and embarrassing to have her extricate though when all was said and done it was well worth the signed clearance to leave.

As they left the room Nightwatch indicated that Quickbolt had come up with the plan to take Show and Big Knockout out the front door to serve as a distraction while they slipped out the back. Following the batpony they eventually came to a stop before the exit where she walked up to the nearby intercom and, speaking a coded phrase over the loudspeaker system that wouldn't tip anypony off as to what was going on, she waited a few seconds and lead the trio out the rear door.

By that point, however, it had been long enough that the media ponies had spread themselves out to cover all of the hospital exits and Nightwatch and the pair of additional guards she had procured to not raise suspicions were quickly pressed back as the reporters surged forward upon sighting the human to shout questions at him, Lyra, and Twilight simultaneously.

"Ms. Heartstrings, rumor has it that you defended Mr. Aelius against the attack tonight and left two ponies hospitalized. Some are calling you a hero for standing up for your coltfriend, what are your thoughts?"
"As his Intermediary, where were you when the event occurred, Miss Sparkle? How is this going to affect pony/human relations in the days to follow?"
"Titus! TITUS! Do you have a comment for our viewer's on tonight's attack?"

The ponies pressing in against them in search of a view-boosting soundbite was almost infuriating but what pushed Titus over the edge of actually confronting them was the way Lyra buried her face deeper into his neck and tightened her grip on him to try and hide from the attention as they ignored Twilight's instructions to give him some space until he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Back the kark up!"

His unexpected shout boomed over the crowd and brought them to a dead silence as they obediently shuffled back several body-lengths from him and the guards because the human had never shouted at them before. The change to assertiveness coupled with his battered appearance and sudden imposingly large size which was held a good deal more aggressively than before sent each reporter shying back as his stern expression scanned sections of the packed-together ponies to convey how exasperated he was.

"Yeah, I've got a comment for all of you, how's this? From the unending hounding by the media when I've wanted some space to the derogatory words you've spawned to whisper behind my back or even say directly to my face I think it's safe to say I've been more than accommodating in putting up with a lot of undeserved crap. Despite that, because the friends I've made and love I've found make all of that worth it I'll keep putting up with it because this is home, or the closest thing I found to it in a long while," he paused and readjusted Lyra in his arms, getting a small peek from one golden eye which he made sure to smile for to let her know everything was alright before continuing with what he had to say.

"I'm completely open and welcome to the idea of making friends so don't be afraid to come up and introduce yourself. On the flip side of that, if you don't want anything to do with me I'm also perfectly happy to give you your space if you show the same courtesy and give me mine. However, to those of you that feel like you've got some bone to pick this is the only warning I'm going to give you: come after me, my friends, or after others simply for associating with me and I'll become a whole different animal to defend them. I'd gladly lay my life down to protect these two, because that's just how much they mean to me-" Titus knelt down to wrap an arm around Twilight, much to her surprise, and pull her close for a nuzzle before he leaned a cheek into Lyra's ear and returning his serious look back at the reporters, "But I won't go quietly. I'll fight with every bit of my strength and none of you are prepared to see me like that."

"Tonight I was attacked because I'm different from you, and Lyra was attacked for thinking that being different shouldn't prevent she and I from being friends. We were attacked because..." he went on to say, though he felt a knot in his throat at how uneasily the words sat with him until he forced it back down around the words he felt he needed to speak, "We were attacked because they thought I didn't belong here and that I should go back to where I came from, they believed I am some monster on the basis that I look and dress differently and that I'm from a different place, and because Lyra could look past all of that and see me for who I am. We were attacked because of intolerance; something that the images and stories circulated through your newspapers have helped to spread through misinformation and outright lies, though many of you have tried to remedy this more recently others of you continue to stoke the fire because it sells."

"We're just doing our jobs!" a voice shouted from somewhere in the crowd before another chipped in from a different part, "If we don't get the story our boss wants they'll get somepony who will!"

"I get that you need your jobs, and I'm sorry it's come to this but I've had a very trying night and I just need to be left alone for a bit because I am sick and tired of constantly being heckled and hassled for interviews to the point that it interferes with my everyday life. The only reprieve I get is hiding in my ship so tell your bosses that in the next... let's say, seventy-two hours, any reporter that shoves a microphone in my face is going to cost their paper any form of response from me-"

"Or his Intermediary..." Twilight added, leaning against his leg and giving a look around to make sure they weren't still ignoring her.

"-Or my Intermediary for the indefinite future. I'm not against your curiosity but if there's something you want to know or some topic you'd like to discuss come up and ask in a casual conversation because if I'm not engaged with someone else or otherwise overly involved in a task I tend to respond to that more favorably than when you hound me. There are some of you who already know that and we've had some great conversations that both of us have enjoyed and I look forward to continue them, but most of you just treat me like I'm only here to provide little soundclips to use on your evening news show or print in your paper with no regard for how the message you send out effects me or those around me. Well, tonight it did in a major way, so I hope you're proud of yourselves. That's all I've got to say about it," he finished before urging Twilight closer to him as he stood up with a hand on her shoulder and a small squeeze for Lyra though she slid herself out of his arm afterwards to stand beside him, "We're going home for the night for some much needed rest so I suggest you do the same and enjoy the three day vacation."

The crowd stood in shocked silence for several moments more before a lone reporter near the front made an apology at which time more joined in as a path parted for the trio and guards to easily continue. Several ponies that he had shared amicable conversations stepped forward to offer encouragement and support and much to Titus' surprise there was no move by the crowd to follow him so before long it was just him, Lyra, Twilight, and the guards walking down the street back toward the center of town. The two guards Nightwatch had commandeered from the hospital for their escort didn't stay close and eventually dropped back to have a conversation of their own in their thick accents with her.

As the group neared an intersection that required a decision Titus spoke up. "So, are we going back to the library or are we headed for my ship?"

Twilight indicated she would prefer the privacy of the ship but with Spike back at the library she didn't want to leave him alone again for a night, though she had forgotten to wake him in her rush out the door. She was busy hazarding the guess that he was probably still asleep in his basket when Lyra said she wouldn't be joining them which caused Titus to stop dead in his tracks in the middle of the deserted road to reach out to her, "Are you sure? I don't have any problem if you want to spend the night, and I don't think Twi does either-"

"I-It's okay, big guy," Lyra interrupted and stepped back out from under his arm before her head dipped below her shoulders and she cast Twilight an apologetic look even though her friend confirmed she was welcome to join them, "Thanks, but I've taken enough of your time tonight and Sparkles here is worried sick about you so you two go ahead and go back together. I'll head home, a soak in a bubbly bath sounds great right now."

Nightwatch had overheard the end of their conversation and stepped in, offering Lyra an escort home and when Lyra replied she'd feel better with somepony else at home what with her roommate out of town the batpony expressed she could spend the night on the couch. As Nightwatch quickly sorted out a few details with the other two guards a grateful Lyra bid Twilight and Titus goodnight before taking the left fork in the road while they went down the right which would eventually lead past the library.

After a moment of discussion Twilight and Titus scooted inside briefly, the latter waiting in the living room while the unicorn went up stairs for several minutes before coming back down in a set of magenta pajamas carefully holding Spike in his basket within her magic aura. After taking advantage of their momentary privacy to exchange a quick kiss they returned to the street where the two guards were waiting. Twilight proceeded to carry Spike with them through the streets past the darkened houses and shops to the ship where, after parting ways with their escort at the airlock, he was set down in one of the extra rooms next to Titus' quarters though she left her assistant a note so he wouldn't wake up and be startled with his new surroundings.

"I'm just going to leave our doors ajar in case he wakes up," Twilight explained as she returned from tucking Spike in and left a baby dragon-sized crack so that a shaft of light from the hall crept a little bit into the room.

Despite having free access to the ship Titus had declared his quarters to be off-limits and been coyfully shooing her away for the past few days while saying he had a surprise in store for her but, because of how tired he was, he had forgone that this night and apologized that he was showing her his project before it was finished. The bunk Twilight was used to seeing had been taken down and so the wall that was shared with an adjacent room could be carefully deconstructed to effectively double the room's size and, during her first tour several minutes ago, she recognized some of the scrap she had helped the R6 pick out from the salvage yard had gone to constructing a large bed frame which was bolted down at one end of the room. Gone were the two small bunk mattresses that had been pushed together on the floor and instead of them being on the new bed frame there was a brand-new cloud mattress which was larger than anything she had seen but looked perfectly sized for his height (she correctly guessed it was custom-ordered, though how he had managed to sneak it aboard without her noticing was a mystery). The room's previously-monotone decor had also received some attention with the gloomy grey that was the natural color of the metal walls having gotten a fresh coat of cool white paint while several monitors had been recessed into the wall to display a view of the outside like a window. Lastly, most noticeable to Twilight and much to her appreciation was that the cold metal floor was no longer an issue as it had been covered with a wall-to-wall carpet so as a whole the room felt much more homey and comfortable which made the set of pajamas and socks she had slipped into at the library more for show than anything else.

Nimbly hopping onto the mattress she crept up behind Titus as he sat on the opposite side and wrapped her hooves around his chest and draped her head over one of his shoulders. From her new position she found he was deep in thought staring at a framed picture she had taken of both of them happily squished together within the confines of her hot air balloon's basket from their trip to Cloudsdale. A feeling of worry caused by his expression crept through Twilight and, seeking to squash it, she nuzzled softly at his cheek, "Hey. Love you..."

Titus felt the unicorn's hooves tighten around him slightly and realized Twilight looked a bit concerned for him so he reached the hand belonging to the shoulder she was leaning on up to rub an ear and lean into her nuzzle, "Sorry, Twi. I was just... thinking."

"I could tell, you could say I have some experience in the subject," she replied dryly in hopes that he would find it humorous and to her relief he pulled her in to give her a raspberry on the side of her muzzle which she squirmed out of with a giggle. After her wiggling had stopped he responded that he loved her, too, and she rested her head back on his shoulder again where the ear rub resumed, "But the look on your face worried me. Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't know, Twi. Today was rough to the point that it just took something out of me that I don't know if I can ever get back," he answered and again returned his gaze to the photo in his lap, "I was beginning to think that maybe I'd found a place where I wouldn't have to worry that who or what I was would lead to people I care about getting hurt, but just like through the portal-"

Twilight surprised him by pulling him from his seated position onto his back and then placing her hooves on his chest to keep him from getting up, "You can't blame yourself for tonight!" Looking him square in the eyes Twilight could see a tiny image of herself reflected there, the frustration she felt at what he was saying clearly on her face but when he started to look worried that she might be mad at him her expression softened. She dropped into the crook of his arm and side to lay partially atop him within reach for a slow, heartfelt kiss which lasted several moments before she broke away and nuzzled at his neck, "I won't let you, okay? Show and her herd are just mean-spirited and wanted to find somepony to focus their nastiness on and you were the easiest target because they think you don't belong here."

"But do I?"

His question stung to the very core and Twilight looked at him almost as if in pain, "Of course you do. For whatever reason, whether it was by chance or by Harmony singling you out, my spell misfired in just the right way to pull you through that portal. Since then you've grown to mean so much to me, and so many others, like Lyra and Princess Luna, so if somepony says you don't belong here or haven't earned or deserve a place they're just plain wrong."

Titus pulled the snuggling unicorn closer, "I'm sorry, Twi, I didn't mean to sound as harsh as I did. It's just... Show said something which is still bugging me, and as much as I want to let it go something inside just won't let me." Titus went on to explain what had happened while she was disassembling the lock Show had put on the door and told her that the hostile unicorn had said he would never belong in Equestria so he should go back through the portal.

Twilight, of course, reiterated her earlier statement that the Show had been wrong and that both Princesses had agreed to allow him to stay so any argument anypony had was null and void until they rescinded that which, by all accounts and purposes, Twilight didn't see happening but she suddenly sat up and looked at him with worry.

"T-Tonight doesn't make you want to go back, does it?"

"No. This is home, Twi, and it would take a lot more than that to make me want to leave. But, even if I wanted to, I don't think I can go back. I um... I've found something digging through the old sensor data you should probably see," he said as he tapped a few times on his wristpad before pulling it off to pass to her, Twilight's eyebrow arching as she glanced over the screen of data being presented to her, "As you know, few weeks ago right around the time of your party I finally was able to reboot the ship assistant, Iana, from her main shipboard system. I want to get her help with diagnosing repairs as well as automate a few day-to-day tasks but, most importantly, we need her so we can get the rest of the data from the sensors before they went offline, most of which I didn't get transferred to the datapad you've been using. I was digging through the logs to find the data and she kept giving me these reports that seemed like errors which I attributed to damage from the crash so I've had Arsix running a complete comprehensive check of her systems for any problems. The only thing he found was that her databanks were absolutely chocked full of data, way more data than should be on them, so she was running slowly and hanging up on simple tasks occasionally but otherwise there was nothing technically wrong with her-"

"Okay, so what's this number here?" she interrupted and pointed to a very large number in one of the columns that seemed important, "And how do I read this data? How does it tie in with not being able to go back through the portal?"

"Remember when I explained how the computer system keeps everything organized by compiling the data it collects into smaller chunks to save space so the AI can easily access it?" he asked, receiving a nod as Twilight kept pace with him, "Well then you know that compiling occurs four times every planetary cycle or roughly every six hours and what you're holding there is the log recording all of them. Fourteen thousand six hundred and twenty; that number is roughly how many times the sensor data was compiled, give or take a hundred or two."

Every six hours? So divide that by four for how many times per day gives us three thousand six hundred fifty five days, convert to... that would be something like ten years of data? Twilight was more than a little confused, "H-How can your ship have ten years of sensor data saved to the computer if you said you had taken it as a prototype from the manufacturer's yard not that long ago? Iana wasn't even fully operational at that point."

"I know. At first I thought the time stamps on the entries were wrong or that the data must have been corrupted in coming through the portal but when I asked Iana to bring up data from the date I got sucked into the portal I watched as the massive list scrolled by for several minutes. After making her do several repair sequences on her storage banks to weed out corrupted data nothing changed because there was nothing wrong with Iana or her system," he explained before looking hesitantly at the datapad in the unicorn's hooves, unsure how she was going to take what he was going to say next because he himself still didn't understand, "These data points span from when I got sucked up to when I exited the portal right before I had cut all of the ship's power and crashed into the Everfree. Ten years, Twi... that's how long I was in there. I'm not sure how I didn't age, though my guess would be that the standard slipspace shielding created by the warpdrive had something to do with it but until I can get Iana's systems fully operational I can't be sure-"

Twilight stared at the wristpad with a deeply furrowed brow though she only partly heard Titus go on as she mulled over his discovery before she looked to him to search his expression, "So you're not sure about going back because you don't know what's waiting for you on the other side, is that what you're saying?"

"Ten years is a lot of time for the Empire to secure its hold on the galaxy. That's a lot of time to hunt any remaining Jedi down... what few were left, anyway."

There was a long stillness that hung in the room as each of them looked at the other, neither of them sure what to say next until Twilight calmly set the datapad on the small nightstand next to the bed and returned to embracing him, "All the more reason that you belong here."

Mutually deciding it was something they could save delving into for the morning as it was a topic too heavy prior to sleep, Twilight held on as Titus shifted them both properly onto the bed with his head on the pillow. While she was more than comfortable laying across his chest because his back was still sore from all the thorns being pulled out he reluctantly rolled onto his side to relieve his discomfort and instead rested his head on a folded arm to act as a pillow. Twilight very quickly re-positioned herself to snuggle up against him as much as she could with her back against his chest so his other arm could drape over her to wind between her front hooves in what she had learned on prior nights was the "Little Spoon" arrangement which, of course, was rather set in stone due to their size difference though not that that hadn't stopped her from trying to be the big spoon at least once for her own experience. Craning her neck up and around, she sought him out for a goodnight kiss and he sat up to meet her half-way, eagerly engaging with her as his arm that was between her hooves brushed slowly over the pajama shirt she was wearing in a warm, comforting way before they both curled back up and dozed off together.

------------

The sound of slow hooffalls echoed down the hallway as a thoroughly worn-out Celestia made her return to the Canterlot palace which, by this hour, was devoid of any sort of activity which allowed the solar alicorn to be alone with her thoughts for her slow-paced walk toward her destination. Guards would, generally speaking, receive a nod of acknowledgement when snapping to attention or a small smile of appreciation for opening the door when she approached but by the time she was standing in front of the twin slabs of ornate obsidian within the Lunar Wing of the palace she realized she hadn't even been aware of passing anypony on patrol or on station. Leading with a small knock Celestia only paused for a brief moment before pushing the door inward.

"Sister! What is the meaning of this!?"

Luna's angry voice boomed through her chambers to hit the weary Celestia like a sack of bricks as she closed the door behind her before the lunar alicorn dismounted her large bed with a hop to quickly trot toward her, "Why was I not informed of Titus' situation? I only recently learned of it while watching over a pony's dream and then come to find that you, sister, had already long departed to deal with it!"

Princess Celestia could see the anger clearly written on Luna's face but while most ponies would only see that as they cowered in fear she could also see the worry that lay just below the surface of the angled brow and fiery eyes of her sister. With a sigh and a nod she slowly worked her way across the room to find a seat on the couch and as far as she was concerned it had never felt more comfortable than it did this night, "Yes, I owe you an explanation, Luna. When the report came through I decided it would be best to handle this myself-"

"But without even telling me!?" Luna cut her off as her anger grew and, having followed her sister, she took a seat in the human-sized armchair she had recently added to her quarters in preparation for his next visit, "Not only did you overstep your jurisdiction into duties that would have fallen to the Night Court but you then disappear without even alerting me to what has happened. I was left to hear about it secondhoof while watching over dreams which, I will say, felt like a slap across the muzzle. As your sister I had a right to know, but ignoring all of that what I find the most hurtful about being kept in the dark is that he is my friend, Tia... my best friend whom you know means a great deal to me. Now that you have finally deigned to return I will be made aware of everything immediately!"

Celestia had to summon what moisture she could into her mouth as her tongue felt too dry for it to be used to speak coherently and after a brief pause that Luna obviously felt was too long she spoke, "I am truly sorry. I will not hide from you that the method to which I became aware of Mr. Aelius' plight before you was one of design. As you yourself said, he is your best friend and after watching you two grow closer during his week-long stay it became apparent to me that our earlier arrangement of both of us being alerted if he fell into trouble was no longer as objectively sound as it originally was so the report from Ponyville was forwarded directly to my office so that I could act. I understand your anger, dear sister, but for Mr. Aelius' sake it was best that I handle the interrogation and mind-sampling because my personal feelings for him were not strong enough to interfere with my judgement. I do not have as much of a conflict of interest as you would."

Opening her mouth to protest, Luna found that it hung there with no comment forthcoming as she realized she had very little in the way of credible counterpoints to offer that would make the case that she should have been involved and instead frowned at her own agreement with Celestia's statement before nodding. "I-I begin to see the merit in your argument, sister, but that still leaves the issue of you leaving without informing me. It was my understanding that I was to be in charge of every aspect of orchestrating his stay, including any trouble he might cause or that might arise because of his presence," she glared at her older sister for several moments more and the silence hung heavily in the air before the crease in her forehead softened as she leaned forward to speak with a much softer tone, "What was the outcome? He didn't... right?"

"No, sister, thankfully and much to our collective relief, I'm sure. Mr. Aelius and Ms. Heartstrings, as well as Rainbow Dash, were defending themselves and were well within their rights to do so. He and Ms. Heartstrings were accosted while on their way home from an evening activity by a herd that had been aggressively disapproving of his presence in one other incident that the Ponyville guard thought had been handled after keeping them overnight for drunken misbehavior and sending them away on the next train. It would appear, however, that their prejudice against Mr. Aelius was more volatile than previously believed and after the consequences of their actions came back to haunt them they placed the blame on him and sought him out once more. Blinded by that, they were not prepared for Ms. Heartstrings' defiance despite her horn injury nor Rainbow Dash stepping in to help even the odds though their gravest error, it would seem, would be engaging Mr. Aelius in a way that threatened others and prompted him to act on his sense of duty to protect them," Celestia explained as she floated over a pitcher of ice water and two glasses and set them on the cluttered coffee table along with a vanilla-colored folder which she summoned and dropped on the table with a loud thwack, "According to the report he destroyed a hoofbridge by hurling one of the herd through it much like a cannon ball, among other things..."

Luna's eyebrow arched before Celestia waved her concern off with a hoof and stated that the pony hadn't been overly injured and had been more than capable of making another failed attempt at attacking him later at the hospital. Halfway through her explanation, however, her sister shook her head, "If no harm was done then my concern shifts to whom shall be going before the Council to allocate funds for repair to the bridge."

"As a meager sign of penance, Luna, I will take up that task." Neither sister particularly enjoyed handling this sort of thing because it was such an arduous process of paperwork and listening to advisers grumble about unexpected expenditures from the Crown's budget and the two would often argue and draw straws to see who the duty was stuck with. This time, however, the solar alicorn accepted it, though her heavy sigh was revealing of just how much she was not looking forward to it before she leaned forward toward Luna, "I realize it is more than likely that this does not make up for going behind your back. Because I will be otherwise occupied, perhaps in exchange for dealing with this headache you would could take over preparations for Mr. Aelius' award ceremony?"

Luna's ears immediately perked up at the mention of being put in charge of Titus' next stay at the Palace. "Would the griffon delegation accept such a last-minute change?" she asked.

"I do not see why not," Celestia answered with a hum, a hoof moving to tap her chin absentmindedly as she considered the inquiry, "They certainly can be sticklers when they want to be but from what the emissary has explained the King wished to extend a belated greeting to Mr. Aelius as he had been too tied up in other matters and missed the opportunity to when he first arrived. At the very least, my sister standing in for me should not pose an issue."

"Very well, I shall see to preparations," Luna nodded and made a mental note to arrange her schedule to allow time to speak with Captain Armor to switch posts over from the Solar Guard to the Lunar for the event after which there was a brief pause in the conversation where Luna looked toward her sister to continue though Celestia simply stared back wearily in no mood to guess what was on her mind. "Well, while you have provided ample information on Titus' status I would appreciate some insight into what will happen to his assailants," she supplied, a slight bit of snark in her voice as she was still upset about being left out of the loop, "Where are they so that I might-"

Celestia took another sip from her cup before setting the porcelain down with a small clink, a motion signifying she was being serious and didn't want to be distracted by anything as she continued, "I shall be bringing them before the Solar Court for their hearing and sentencing at the next available opportunity. With both of our schedules currently full I believe the the only opening to be after Mr. Aelius' ceremony, so they will be staying under guard and confined to one of the subterranean quarters until then." When Luna scowled and opened her muzzle to say something Celestia could already guess what it was and responded with a slow but resolute shake of her head, "By the Elements, Luna, we are not throwing them in the dungeon. You know it has been decommissioned because the days of manacles and heavy chains are thankfully long gone though you're familiar with the rooms of which I speak so you will agree that there is little in the way of comfort to be found in their furnishings. I assure you Mrs. Stopper and her herd will hardly have a pleasant stay."

Luna snarled under her breath that she would be paying the herd a visit to get a deeper understanding of what would motivate them to attack Titus but Celestia quickly shut that down with a firm statement that she was not to interfere or cause any disturbance that would delay or disrupt their ability to appear before court. With a heavy sigh stemming from her knowledge that her sister's tone meant she would not budge from her stance on the subject Luna slipped back to the floor and headed for the balcony amid continued grumbling. Celestia's inquiry into where she was going caused her to stop only a few paces from the sitting area they had been sharing, however, and Luna looked a little shocked that her sister hadn't easily determined that, "I would think it is fairly obvious that I am worried about him. I'm going to make sure my friend is alright and see if there is anything I can do for him, perhaps he needs somepony to talk to-"

"Leave him be, at least for now, Luna. When last I saw him it was clear he was weary and in need of rest," Celestia again curtailed her sister's plans with a shake of her head though the anxious stare at the balcony and shuffle from left hoof to right and back again that Luna made was telling of how much she desired to check on her friend, "Twilight Sparkle is sure to be with him and seeing to his needs, so give them a day or so of space before you go for a visit." Dismounting the couch she headed for Luna's work desk while her disappointed sister returned to her previous seat to flip on the television where she switched through several channels for something to watch though nothing overly riveting appeared to be on.

The rustling Celestia was making naturally proved to be the more interesting of the two.

"If you told me what you were looking for I could point to the proper drawer, unless I am forbidden from doing that, as well..." she grumbled after several more seconds of watching the white alicorn open a drawer to poke her nose inside for a peek at the filed papers before moving to the next to repeat the process.

"Judging by how some of these drawers look like they haven't been opened in eons-" though it lacked a lock one drawer stubbornly refused to open until the Princess gave a stronger tug which almost jerked it off the rails and in the process launched a small puff of dust into her face unexpectedly, causing her to retreat with a sharp draw of breath, "*A-achew!" With a shake of her head and fresh air once again flowing through her nose after her tiny sneeze she more carefully peeked into the dusty drawer to peruse its ancient contents before floating a sheet of paper out and closing it once again with an accomplished and clearly worn-out sigh, "Good, you still had a few copies."

Now Luna's curiosity was piqued and with her head cocked quizzically to one side she made her way toward the desk. "Sister, what is going on? You come back to the palace positively dead on your hooves and rather than seeking your own quarters for an admittedly short nap before you take over duties for the day you instead come to mine to rummage through drawers of old paperwork and court forms. What happened tonight to cause you to act so strangely?"

"It was a very tiring night, more than I was expecting it to be..." she responded with a small slump in her posture as she tucked the papers partially under a wing to conserve her magic, something Luna immediately noticed which caused her to quickly ask if she was alright, "Unlike you, sister, to enter somepony's mind I must rely on the spell you crafted for me long ago and with how seldom I have need of it the weaving and focus are still unfamiliar which requires an additional amount of effort on my part." Luna then proceeded to point out that, despite her unfamiliarity and the complex nature of the alicorn-only spell, it was hardly one warranting any expenditure of magic that would put a drain on either of them which left Celestia to further explain things to her sister who was clearly growing increasingly concerned for her, "I am alright, Lu, I simply exerted myself a little more than I should have. Reading the mind of the individual from the herd posed no issue, however when it came time for me to connect with Mr. Aelius..."

Luna knew that her sister trailing off at the end of her statement meant that Harmony had once again interacted strangely with her alien friend and she anxiously leaned closer, "Something went wrong with the spell, didn't it?"

"Indeed. The process of entering Mr. Aelius' mind was fairly similar to what we are accustomed to, however, rather unexpectedly and by no conscious effort of his own he joined me-"

"Joined you? No, he can't have done that unless you had woven the spell to allow a bridge of your consciousnesses," Luna stopped her sister there and shook her head defiantly though it was only for a moment before sitting down heavily with a sigh of admission that such impossibilities might not be so far out of the truth when it came to Titus' unpredictable interactions with magic. "So he joined you on the plane of dreams, and I suppose it could have been worse though I doubt he was enthusiastic about the mind-sharing, but bridging the connections..." she paused again and her brow furrowed in thought, "That would normally mean your thoughts and memories would have been displayed as well, which I'm guessing is what happened. What did he see?"

"A great number of things were shared by both of us and none of which we wanted the other to see, unfortunately," Celestia answered but refused to go any further into depth outside of assuring no state secrets had been revealed when Luna attempted to probe her for information and she stayed quiet for a moment after shushing what would be the last of her sister's attempts at uncovering the details.

"It took a little bit of time to work around the initial awkwardness, but then within the dreamscape Mr. Aelius and I found a common ground and had a long, rewarding conversation spanning several hours, during which time I was made to remember..." she said, her eyes closed as the night replayed for her in her mind before she reopened them and gave Luna a small smile, "My current state of exhaustion is well worth the cost because he reminded me of something very happy and lightened a burden that had weighed on my heart for quite some time. Luna, my dear sister, do not be the foal I have been for so long and let fear hold you back. Follow what your heart is trying to tell you."

Lifting her wing, Princess Celestia floated one of the discolored forms to her sister's desk while plucking up a quill to quickly write something and after a moment of blowing on it gently to dry the ink she slid it almost completely under a stack of other paperwork which Luna had yet to finish before making a slow walk for the door, and as she was pulling it closed she paused to look over a shoulder at Luna, "Give it some serious thought, but do not hesitate too long lest an opportunity to be happy slip through your hooves that you'll later regret as so many have for me. Goodnight, my dearest sister, rest well."

With a final parting good night, Luna watched the obsidian door close and waited for the sound of the latch settling before she walked over to investigate what Celestia had slipped onto her desk. Carefully sliding out the paper that had browned from age from under the tower of fresh, pristine white forms and with a glance compared the typeface to what she had worked with since her return to the palace because it looked primitive, to say the least, as the whole format was slightly askew on the page as if the printing press hadn't been aligned properly and some of the ink was heavier on one half than the other. Princess Celestia's elegant calligraphy of Titus' full name was on the first available line but the identifying letter and number combination at the top of the page wasn't one immediately recognizable so Luna quickly homed in on the bottom of the page where the form's common title was printed in infuriatingly-small letters to make it fit and her eyes went wide when she read it aloud.

"C-Clearance Application for Royal Companionship?! She can't be thinking-" she sputtered and turned her glowing red face to the door even though her sister was long gone, "It's not like that! H-He's just a friend, Tia!"

The closed door, however, caused an echo to bounce back and she quite literally heard her own words which she found to be almost hurtful in how belittling they sounded and brought her pause as both ears dropped and she looked down at the paper once more, "T-That's not what I meant... I mean to say, of course, that he's more than 'just a friend,' Titus is..." A longing look at the balcony was made before Luna silently returned to her bed for sleep. Unfortunately, even dimming the lights did little to quiet the thoughts rolling about in her mind which left her tossing and turning to try and get comfortable but her gaze would always inadvertently return to her work desk where the form lay agonizingly in clear sight.

He is my best friend.

------------

A soft bleep of an alert tone from the wristpad that had been left on the nightstand was enough to jar Titus fully awake though much to his relief the minor amount of movement he had made hadn't disturbed Twilight, who was still clutching his head to her chest. A very careful effort of untangling himself from the pair of hooves holding him lightly in place had to be made and, once he was free he reached over her to pluck the small device up for inspection. Somebody tripped the security alarm. Bummer, there's still a few kinks in the system so I can't isolate it yet.

Swinging his feet to the floor and rather than cycle through the numerous cameras Titus stopped and closed his eyes which accelerated the speed at which the Force answered his call, his sense of perception expanding out like a radar ping from the room to quickly eliminate his initial assumption that Spike had woken and was up and about when he felt the slumbering dragon still resting comfortably in the room next door. Pushing the wave further he eliminated both droids as culprits as the Treadwell unit was currently in the charging closet and R6 was working on some circuitry panels at one of Iana's interface stations down the hall though there was a sharp pinch in his chest when he neared the lounge. As he swung his feet to the floor to go investigate the familiar presence he had felt there was a small murmur from behind him.

"Oh no! No, please don't go..."

Turning around, Titus watched as a pained expression crossed Twilight's face and deepened, her hooves twitched lightly as if she was running somewhere and he realized she was probably having a nightmare, one which he immediately felt responsible for. Sitting back down he reached out a hand to her shoulder to brush gently, "Wake up, Twi, it's a dream. Listen to my voice and follow it-"

Twilight bolted upright and gave the room a quick, confused glance like she was lost before looking to him and literally leaping on him to wrap her hooves behind his neck amid light sobs.

"I-I thought it was real... you were walking toward the portal and I tried to follow you but you were always just getting further away. I couldn't catch up and you wouldn't stop because you couldn't hear me when I asked you to wait... and then you were gone and I was all alone," she spilled her nightmare out for him and probably would have continued but she just wanted to hold on because she still feared this might be part of her dream and he would disappear if she didn't. She continued to hold him like that for several more minutes, her sobs turning into small nuzzles as the relief of his own arm around her back slowly melted the despair she had felt until it was more or less gone. With a peck on his neck she finally let go enough that she could lean back and look him in the face though she quickly noted his feet were on the floor and the wristpad was in the other hand and put the two together, "W-What's going on? It doesn't appear that I woke you, it looks more like you were already up and going somewhere..."

With a nod Titus lifted the wristpad up a little so she could see the flashing screen, "I was going to go check it out when you started tossing about from your nightmare, but someone came aboard and tripped the sensors so I got an alert-" A worried Twilight cut him off with the obvious question of who it was though it was quickly replaced with the suggestion of getting the guard when she jumped to the conclusion that Show or a member of her herd had gotten aboard. Titus, however, quieted her with another squeeze of his arm and a small smile before she got too worked up, "Relax, Twi, it's nothing like that. I'm pretty sure I felt Lyra's presence so I'm just going to go down to the lounge and see what's going on." He could still see the concern on her face so when he leaned over to pick up the shirt he had cast off earlier he paused to tangle his fingers into Twilight's mane and gave her a long, comforting kiss before breaking off to place a final peck on her forehead, "I'm going to go sort this out, then I'll be back. That's a promise."

Cutting a quick path through the ship he found that he slipped into the shirt a little more stiffly than he had anticipated. He was tugging the hem down as the lounge door opened with a whoosh muffled by the sound of familiar music to reveal it was in fact Lyra who had tripped the alarm, "Hi Lyra, everything okay?"

The mint unicorn's head turned to look over a shoulder from where she was reared up on her hind legs and had been examining the jukebox to give him a small smile. "H-Hi, big guy," she started before her eyes went wide and she glanced back at the brightly colored and almost hypnotizing animated innards of the machine, "Shoot! I hope I didn't wake you, I must have spaced-out because I didn't realize how loud this was..."

"It wasn't the music, no worries; that whole thing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders lead me to set up an alarm with the interior sensors. I had a feeling it was you, but is everything okay?" he asked again and quickly stepped further into the room so the door would close and the noise wouldn't potentially wake the slumbering dragon down the hall, "I didn't figure I'd see you until... well, later today because it's almost four in the morning now."

"Oh, yeah, I just..." Lyra started but then fell quiet as she stared at the flashing lights and spinning thingamajigs in front of her. By the time she recognized she had lost herself in her thoughts again for several minutes she came back with a small jump and found Titus had taken a seat at the table on the bench and had been quietly waiting. With a sigh she turned a knob, dropping the volume of the music considerably before she slid to all four hooves and slowly trudged over to the table to join him, though she found herself unable to translate what was on her mind into a competent sentence structure which lead to an awkward silence between them as he leaned on an elbow and waited patiently for her to recollect herself. The feeling of a hand lightly touching the closest of her shoulders was shocking at first but it served as a point of focus that allowed her to form her thoughts together, something she appreciated so she quickly shimmied her shoulder so the whole arm slid over them and she could scoot right up beside him.

"Wha-? Lyra, you're soaking wet!"

She had forgotten that until he mentioned it and offered a sheepish apology in the form a grin and a shrug though that also meant she felt the cool air of the ship and gave a small shiver, "S-Sorry, I just... I went home with that guard and after she secured the house she crashed on my couch. I hopped in the tub with the intent of getting a relaxing bubble bath, but I ended up just sitting there in thought. I just couldn't stop thinking about what I could have done differently. What if I had made sure Dashie wouldn't knock you out so we wouldn't have left early? Why didn't I think to check Show's spells for a hidden effect, would that have let me get the upper hoof in our duel? What did I do wrong that lead to you and Dashie getting hurt?"

"What's done is done, Lyra. Analyzing what you did to improve for the future is fine, but do not dwell on it so much that it consumes you-"

"I know, I know," she shook her head and leaned against his side, oblivious to her damp fur slowly soaking his shirt as she did so because outside of his initial shocked exclamation he made no move to stop her, "But as I sat there it was all I could think about. Before I knew it I had been soaking so long that the bubbles had all disappeared and the water had gone cold so I got out. I realized that I didn't want to be home alone, so I headed out and the next thing I know I'm teleporting into your ship and standing here listening to that jukebox play because I went by your room and saw you and Sparkles all curled up together and I couldn't bring myself to disturb you two to tell you I was wrong and that I really, really, wanted somepony's company... and you and Sparkles were the only ones that I felt could help."

Restraint wasn't a trait Titus would equate with Lyra and he imagined her going by their room and simply squirming under the covers to find a comfortable spot with him and Twilight would be much more in character so the fact that she had come back to the lounge to listen to music a bit worrying. Snagging a dish towel from the kitchen to float over to them, he lifted his arm enough so that it draped over Lyra's shoulders before returning his limb to its previous spot and wrapping it back around her, "Well I'm glad you didn't crawl into bed as wet as you are because Twi and I probably would have caught a cold by the morning, but why the hesitation to join us? Neither of us would have minded, I don't think."

Lyra looked at him for a second then down to her hooves, "But I wasn't sure and didn't want to risk it. My brain just won't stop thinking or settle down for half a minute to let me get some rest because I can't help but think I could have done more to keep you from taking the brunt of Show and her herd's abuse. My brain won't stop coming up with 'what ifs' and breaking everything down to what I could have done differently. I-Is this what it's like being Sparkles?" she asked a little jokingly because a small amount of her humor had returned due to her feeling a little more comfortable now that she had Titus to speak with, her human friend as usual proving to be a comforting presence.

"I would imagine so, more or less, but Twi's got practice with it so you should leave the analytical thinking to her. Wouldn't want you to strain your brain doing something it's not used to doing too much," he retorted with a small smile that got a feigned indignant snort from Lyra before she twisted about to lay her cheek on his shoulder, her whole body resting against his side which left her in a very comfortable position, both physically and emotionally, that the previous comforting presence was heightened and she relaxed considerably with a tired sigh.

"I know you said you didn't like when me, Dashie, and Apples thought that because you're a guy you're supposed to be less tough than us but when you stood in front of me after I got hit with the paralysis spell I couldn't help but scream at myself to do something. I wanted to protect you, I really did, and not because I was thinking less of you but because..." she paused to give him the faintest of nuzzles that even he didn't pick up on but it was enough to bolster her courage to say what was causing her such trouble, her eyes locking with his and conveying more than what her words could as the nuzzling stopped, "Having to watch them toy with you like they did because I couldn't do anything to stop them hurt more than anything they could have done to me because I care about you, big guy, I care a whole lot." Lyra shifted again to return to the position she had spent much of the night in by pulling herself into his lap to bury her face against his neck where she could feel close to him. The feeling was made all the more satisfying when both his arms wrapped around her barrel before she felt his cheek press down against her as he returned the hug she was giving, "I wish I could have told you myself instead of having it be forced out of me like that."

His face solemn, he slowly worked his cheek in circles against her ear which got a small purr and what he knew was a nose poking gently against his neck in reciprocation before he spoke softly, "So when Show made you to tell them you loved me, you weren't just giving in to satisfy her?"

Lyra went still for a moment and because of their chests being so close he felt her heart thud several times stronger than it had been (something she also was aware of) before she took a heavy breath and nodded, or at least nuzzled him in a nod.

Without realizing it he had placed a soft kiss on her ear which, after a pause, was probably why her hooves tightened around him in a small squeeze. "I didn't really get to say what I wanted to either, but Lyra? You mean a lot to me, too, and when you leapt in to help fend off that lightning Savage was channeling I realized just how special you are to me," Titus paused for a breath and looked down at the soggy pony carefully wrapped up in his arms, a small appreciative smile crossing his face as he did so, "It was a very brave thing to do-"

"But I couldn't protect you like I should have or wanted to, and what little I did do with grabbing your lightsaber was only because I didn't know what else to do to fight back with my horn out of commission. I wasn't even sure the lightsaber would do anything or if it would just get me fried, but if that bought you enough time to get the upper hoof I would have been happy," she said with a small amount of wavering in her voice before she removed her face from his neck long enough to look at him, "But... you really think I was brave?"

Titus tightened his grip on the mint unicorn and hummed, "You little koochu..." Lyra gave him a curious grunt which was understandable because Twilight was likely the only one who'd heard the word before and knew what it meant so he sighed and shook his head for her to not put much thought into it before he spoke again, "You were absolutely brave. You, Dash, and I are alright because of what you did. If I'm honest, at that point I could only wait for an opening in their casting and was hard-pressed to diffuse the electricity through me without doing any lasting damage."

"I know. I heard that thing you said after S-Savage flung you through those thorn bushes," she breathed in a low whisper, the name of the aggressively hostile unicorn and the memory of watching him crash through the thick brambles causing her pause as she swallowed a lump in her throat, "It really scared me that you'd go and do something stupid when you were talking about fear and death and remorse so I flew through disassembling Show's paralysis as fast as I could. I don't even remember if my horn hurt while doing it, either, because of how worried I was..."

It took a second for Titus to try and figure out what she was talking about until Lyra noticed his subtle contemplative expression and repeated it for him at which point he hummed in acknowledgement and gave a small nod when he remembered, "Sorry. That was a Zabrak mantra Krua would say to stay focused and keep the Jedi tenants at the back of her mind, something she passed on to me that I've taken a lot of comfort in over the years but it wasn't supposed to scare you. It was to remind me to place faith in the teachings of my Master and the Jedi. It reminds me to not let fear take hold lest it dissuade me from the path I must walk because if I must lay my life down to uphold those teachings I could do so with no remorse or regret because what I was doing was right and just. I was ready to to keep you and Dash safe, so when you jumped to my side to stand with me... no one has done that since fellow Jedi fought beside me against the darkness of the Separatists."

Titus paused and let the gravity of that sink in before he took a deep breath, his mind made up, "If you're that willing to toss your lot in with me there's nothing more I can give you than my heart and the promise that I'll be there for you through the thick and the thin."

With a hopeful arching of her eyebrows Lyra sat up a little straighter and titled her head inquisitively, though beneath his hands he could feel her muscles tense up with anxiety, "T-That sounds like you're saying I've still got a shot, even with how tonight went..."

"You'd really expect me to hold it against you?" he asked rhetorically and with plenty of dryness in his tone that she easily understood and gave a small shake of her head before she stood up to slide her forehooves over his shoulders in a standing hug, happily wiggling back to nuzzle at his neck. Meanwhile, Titus went back to wrapping both arms around her and relaxed into his seat a little further, one hand subconsciously rubbing her shoulder at a steady pace.

Over the course of several minutes he eventually picked up on a small vibration against his chest and, after focusing on what was causing it, he found Lyra had begun humming in time with the rhythm the hand was making as it brushed over her fur. Oddly, it followed the gentle music the jukebox was playing in the background and when he paused at this discovery her eyes darted up to his questioningly though only for a split second as he quickly resumed because he didn't want her worrying that something had changed. With both of them settling back into their previous rhythm Lyra began intentionally humming a little louder, Titus matching her tempo to add small pats to her barrel which added a bass-like thump to the scratchy beat. In Lyra's case it was Harmony pulling her to a song and she gave in to it, her human friend soon becoming aware when her humming evolved into a combination to include some whispered lyrics that were too low for him to hear the entirety of.

His eyes drifting closed, Titus couldn't help but let his shoulders shimmy gently from side to side in time with her song much like her hips were swaying - it was all the energy the two bone-weary friends could muster to fulfill their desire to give in Harmony's pull to dance but both enjoyed the contact and simplistic motion immensely. Within his arms Lyra found she could forget the night and ignore the voice at the back of her mind telling her it was somehow her fault, meanwhile Titus took enjoyment in her as-always fantastic singing voice and the realization that he could, in fact, trust Lyra to be there for him when he needed her which he struggled to communicate just how much that meant to him. The only course of action he could think of was to tighten the hold he had on her and slide a hand up to rub an ear like he knew she liked until the urging of Harmony eventually subsided at which point Lyra's song once again dropped to a hum until that faded as well. With nothing but silence the two were left holding on to each other in quiet as the jukebox waited for another song to be selected from the playlist Lyra had pieced together earlier.

"Mulligan."

"Huh?" Titus leaned away as it was his turn to convey his confusion with a look.

Lyra briefly buried her face once more into his neck before giving a big sigh and sat back more normally on the bench, "I call for a mulligan, or a do-over of tonight." Titus indicated once again that he was more than willing to attend their next EFC night but Lyra shook her head which stopped him mid-sentence, "I wasn't thinking another get-together like that but I'm definitely happy to go with you again and I know Dashie and Apples will be glad you'd come back, but I was thinking something else with just me and you, big guy, and maybe Sparkles if she wants to come-"

"Oh, shoot!" Titus suddenly sat up and Lyra caught the anxious glance he gave the lounge door before he looked back at her, "Sorry, didn't mean to cut you off. That would be great and I do want to get to another EFC with you guys because I genuinely had fun, it's just that I told Twi I'd be right back and she's probably worried where I got to. H-How long have we been here, exactly?"

A check of the clock on his wristpad revealed it had been a good chunk of time longer than he had initially thought and after explaining to Lyra the nightmare that Twilight had shared with him she quickly let him go and nudged him toward the end of the bench, "That's odd... bad dreams don't tend to last very long because Princess Luna always intervenes before they can develop into a nightmare like that. I wonder what happened? Go on, make sure Sparkles isn't chewing her mane ragged or something, I can find the door and head home by myself. See you in the morning, maybe?"

Halfway off the bench and bracing himself on the table to stand, he paused in what looked like a rather unwieldy position to her to look at her quizzically before dropping heavily back to his seat. "Twi will be alright for a second more," Titus responded to her confused question and her attempt to urge him off the bench to check on Twilight. Lyra sat back down only to get a sigh cast in her direction before a hand reached out to wrap around her hoof, one thumb gently starting the kneading of the pad on the underside which she had voiced numerous times was surprisingly soothing and now found increasingly so as he turned a little more to face her, "I'm still worried about you so I'll ask again: are you sure you don't want to stay? Twi brought Spike over, so if you want to crash in the same room as him you can or if you'd prefer some privacy Krua's old room is also available."

"I-If the offer still stands that'd be great but if I was to spend the night I kinda don't want to be in a different room, not from you and Sparkles," she interjected a little hesitantly though to her relief the thumb made no pause to indicate he was surprised in any fashion. Her confidence got a little boost when he said he was fine with that as well so after a small pause to simply focus on and enjoy the attention her hoof was getting she explained further, "I just think Sparkles should have some sort of say in whether or not I can stay because I wouldn't want to be crowding in on her time with you... not again, especially."

"I really don't think that would be her sentiment, but we'll go see. C'mere, you!" Before she could protest he had scooped her up, though any argument he thought she would have made at the sudden hoisting never came and instead she settled into the cradle his arms comfortably made beneath her for the brief jaunt through the ship. A small stop was made when they crossed paths with R6 where the still-soggy unicorn got a beeping greeting that she answered with as much enthusiasm as she could muster that they were on the way to see if she could spend the night and earned a bloop and clunk as a goodnight wish when they parted that seemed to cheer her up.

The door to Titus' quarters wasn't much further and as they approached Lyra indicated she would prefer to walk the remaining way on her own so Twilight wouldn't feel pressured by her being carried. After putting her down just outside to save her a few strides across the uncomfortably cold floor he waved a hand in front of the sensor and the door slid open with a soft whoosh.

"Hey, Twi, I'm back," he said as he stepped in to find that Twilight hadn't moved from her spot and appeared to have been eagerly awaiting his return, her ears perked and a warm smile spreading across her face on sight of him which he couldn't help but reflect back, "I was right; it was Lyra in the lounge who had tripped the security alarm."

Upon her name being mentioned Lyra stepped over the threshold and onto the soft carpeting with a sigh of relief and brushed her hooves over it to warm them a little faster before turning her attention to Twilight. Lyra's head drooped a little lower made it obvious by her body-language that she was uncertain whether she would be welcomed or not, "H-Hi, Sparkles. Sorry 'bout waking you two up at this hour..."

Despite waiting a few seconds for Lyra to continue after her voice trailed off nothing more came from the nervous-looking unicorn so Twilight and Titus shared a quick conversation of looks and expressions before he took a seat on the end of the bed and spoke up.

"Lyra and I ended up talking for a bit and I found out she was having trouble falling asleep at her house, what with Bon-Bon being out of town and Nightwatch snoring," he quickly constructed a story and gave her a not-so-subtle wink to play along which seemed to visibly lessen her anxiety as she stood up a little more normally, though he caught that her eyes would occasionally dart to Twilight which he thought was to gauge what sort of response she had to what he was saying. He missed the underlying message, however, due to his unfamiliarity that this was the behavior of an outsider making a demonstration of their submission to the alpha mare, behaviors ingrained by pony herd mentality even present in somepony as boundless as Lyra, "We've all had a pretty long night as it is and instead of letting her go back home with a guard or walking her there myself she wondered if she could just crash here. Personally it'd make me feel good to have her here with us, but is that okay with you, Twi?"

"I-I don't mean to impose," Lyra added softly and remained near the open door.

Her behavior was easily recognized by somepony like Twilight who, of course, had read every psychology text within the library but the realization that she had taken on the role of the alpha mare hit her quite suddenly and left her uncertain what the proper etiquette she should follow was as there were no books that had covered such a thing available to her. Seeing Lyra's anxiety heighten over her brief pause, however, was all the catalyst she needed and she hurried to scoot so there was visible space for her on the bed. "Oh of course, there's plenty of room for all of us!" she quickly followed her exclamation with a smile and a hoof that beckoned her friend over.

Lyra's ears perked up to full attention at that but she remained where she was and cast a glance at the bathroom door on the opposite wall, "I'm still a little wet from my bath, is there a way I could dry off first?" Expecting to be directed to where she knew a set of towels hung she was a little surprised when Twilight dismounted the bed and came to stand close beside her.

"I brought my spare manedryer over a while ago, we can use that. I'll help hold it on account of your horn," Twilight lead her friend to the bathroom and followed her in but before closing the door she gave Titus a mildly cheeky wink. A good ten minutes or more past as Titus stared on and off at the door waiting for them to emerge, the general silence of the room occasionally interrupted by the characteristic noises of the ship settling much like an old house allowing Titus to pick up that they were talking behind the door though it was only audible as an unintelligible hum. Just as he was about to flop onto his back from the stiffness he was feeling from propping himself up on an elbow Twilight emerged, however she did so alone and closed the door quietly behind her.

Titus was, naturally, a little worried as to what that meant had happened behind the scenes. "Everything okay?" he asked, shifting slightly into a sitting position, "Did she change her mind about staying? You two were in there for a while..."

"Sorry, it took a while to get her dry with just my little manedryer and the hooftowel so we had some filly talk," Twilight looked behind her a little hesitantly then back at Titus, which raised more a few more red flags in his mind that something was wrong. She, of course, understood his expression and shook her head, "Everything is fine, she just asked for a second to herself-"

Lyra's nose poked out of the small crack, the door apparently had not been shut all the way and she peeked into the room to find both Twilight and Titus had both sets of eyes on her. "I-I'm ready, sorry for taking so long."

"That's fine, I imagine it's much nicer to be dry," Titus responded and scooted himself toward one side of the bed for Twilight to teleport herself close to the other whereupon the violet unicorn turned toward her and beckoned with a hoof with a second invitation that there was enough room for her as well on the giant cloud mattress. Lyra advanced slowly and leapt stiffly onto the foot of the bed though curiously she paused there to look from Titus to Twilight expectantly and when neither seemed to understand she sat down.

"I-I'm just waiting for you two to get situated, then I'll find a spot-"

Again the submissive behavior eluded Titus though Twilight had had quite enough of it by now because this was her friend and she shouldn't have a reason to feel so timid so, with a roll of her eyes at Titus, she jerked her head toward Lyra in a "let's get this over with already" expression. That gesture didn't get by him and with a small grin Twilight watched as he leaned forward at the waist to snag Lyra's forehooves in either hand before slowly dragging her to the spot she had offered moments before. Clearly a little uncertain that she should have the prime location in the middle, Lyra made a questioning look at Twilight who giggled before draping a hoof over her confused friend's shoulder, "Come on, I'll show you the best way to snuggle up against him." Getting Lyra to lay down on her side facing Titus, Twilight took up a position on the other side of the mint unicorn to drape her hoof over her barrel and under one forehoof which pulled her right up against Lyra's back before she had Titus lay his arm across both of them.

"There. Comfortable, right?" Twilight asked amid a small nuzzle she placed on one of Lyra's ears before following the contour she made to take on the role of the big spoon, in response the mint unicorn humming contentedly. Waiting a moment for her and Titus to settle into their positions Twilight eventually returned her muzzle to Lyra's ear however this time her good-night nuzzle also hid a whisper from Titus, "Thank you, Lyra. Thank you for being there for him tonight and keeping him safe."

Hearing Twilight thank her even though she herself felt that she had fallen woefully short of protecting him did Lyra wonders and she choked back the knot that formed in her throat to squeeze the hoof Twilight had slipped between hers as appreciative acknowledgement. A moment later she felt Titus' arm tighten over her as he, too, said goodnight before he leaned over to wish Twilight the same, both of them exchanging a passionate kiss they tried to keep outwardly-subdued. When he settled back in, however, he locked eyes with Lyra for moment to jokingly ask if she wanted one to, and with the tiniest crack of a smile she gave him in return he placed a soft smooch on her forehead and closed his eyes. Lyra snuggled in where she was against his chest, whispering something small to both of them and after a startlingly short amount of time had passed Twilight and Titus' breathing had become regular and rhythmic, and any passing person or pony would have thought the three asleep.

Very slowly a green eyelid cracked open and blinked once as a single ear that had been flat back perked up.

"Mmmbig guy," Lyra whispered low and gently ground her face against the sleeping human's breast which she took immense comfort in that allowed her to say to him what she had partially been robbed of by Show Stopper's appearance after she had practiced it several times in the mirror before she had gone to pick him up from the library, "I just... I've known there was something special about you for a while now. I should say thanks for not being put off by how obsessively curious I was about your fingers at our first face-to-face meeting at Sparkles' picnic and for seeing past leaving what was, in hindsight, a boneheaded first impression because you mean so much more than that to me. I know I'm a bit of a black-sheep when it comes to ponies, for the longest time Bon-Bon was always sticking up for me when I'd get passed-over by a stallion because he had heard of 'that weirdo Lyra' from his friends, she would say I'd find the right somepony who'd make me happy without having to change who I inherently was. Even my brain couldn't have imagined I'd have a guy drop from the sky who would take me for who I was, odd-ball behavior and all, and not only that but he seemed to actually enjoy that part of me."

Shifting herself slightly she freed one of the hooves that had been underneath her and very carefully wormed it under the arm Titus had draped over both her and Twilight, and after getting it around his side she pulled herself in closer. "You're alien; a weirdo; strange; different; you don't fit in," Lyra whispered as she returned to the nuzzling against his chest to convey to him the disparaging implication of the words carried no weight behind them for several more seconds before her muzzle slid up to the soft flesh of his jaw near his neck - unbeknownst to her the same spot Twilight so often zeroed in on - where Lyra only gave the most tender and fleeting of brushes, "You might be labeled all of those at any given time but what I see when I look at you is somepony that makes me happy. I see somepony that makes me happy to be me rather than scared of being myself - that's why you're my 'Big Guy,' and that's why I love you."

Pulling herself away from his neck for what she told herself would only be a second she stared fondly at his relaxed mid-sleep face for a few moments before she brushed some hair back that had fallen across the bridge of his nose with a small smile as she realized just how peaceful he looked and she only became aware she had started to lean in when she found her attention was drawn to his lips. I-It can't hurt, right? Lyra paused briefly in hesitation as she thought about whether or not kissing him in his sleep was okay to do but the more she looked at him the more she felt her heart was telling her he wouldn't mind so, throwing caution to the wind, she slowly inched closer until she could feel the heat of his breath on her lips, "Love you, big guy."

Suddenly Titus' mouth stretched open in a wide yawn and his head twisted away as it ran its course, startling Lyra and causing her face to go flush with embarrassment that she had almost gotten caught though thankfully it wasn't visible in the room's low light. Still half asleep and in the process of returning to slumber he adjusted himself to Lyra's new position though he was awake enough that his eyes lazily half-opened to look at her at which point he realized he might have woken her, "Sorry, I thought I heard your voice. Were you... talking to me?"

Snuggling back in Lyra smiled at him though she was a bit sad her hesitation had caused the opportunity to pass, "Nah, go back to sleep."

"Mm, okay. See you in the morning, but I'll be here if you need me before then," Titus was soon enough back asleep almost before even finishing his statement which left him unable to hear Lyra's hum.

"I know you will, big guy. And I'll be here, too." This time Lyra was quick to follow him to slumber, the feeling of Twilight snuggling up to her from behind and Titus holding her close genuinely convincing her that things would be alright from here on out.