Author's Notes:

I missed my self-imposed deadline of my birthday for this by a week, but I suppose it's just as fitting I get it published on Thanksgiving. I'd like to give thanks to you, all of my readers, whether you're a veteran or a newcomer who has just found the story (and I suppose read this far). Without all of you I wouldn't have anyone to share this journey with and it's been incredibly humbling to see and hear your support of my scribblings along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you are!

Titus and Twilight worked their way through the busy avenue, the Canterlot shops and windows drawing their attention as they passed with their alluring goods on display. Cheerful working ponies flashed smiles in an attempt to lure a few more potential customers inside before closing for the evening. It was a far step from the marketplace in Ponyville and full of lights and distractions though neither human nor librarian strayed from their path.

The train ride they had taken earlier that morning had definitely been exciting, especially for Titus as his previous ride he had been a little out of sorts due to his transmogrification into a pony so he had missed much of the scenery which Twilight happily pointed out. That was another improvement from the last time; Titus and Twilight had squished together in their cabin which was devoid of any other passengers - Celestia had graciously secured them the cabin as a thank you for him agreeing to attend the event - and because of the privacy they were free to cuddle up together and stare out the window. The only minor issue in the whole trip was a run-in with All Aboard who insisted R6 must be loaded in the baggage car with the rest of their belongings as he "didn't meet the requirements of a carry-on bag." Titus had stormed off and purchased a separate ticket for the droid so he could ride in the cabin with them which placated the uptight conductor and though he had entertained the idea of bringing Dex in hindsight he was glad he had made other arrangements.

Titus had brought the astromech as well as the upgraded Marksman-H remote droid with an instance of Iana uploaded to it so that he could remotely monitor the progress of repairs while he was gone; admittedly these would be slowed without R6 present and everything falling to Treadwell but with the portable signal booster still missing the only available option was the one integrated in the astromech itself so he had been brought along despite this.

After arriving and causing a small commotion of ponies seeking autographs and pictures for the duration of their trek to the Palace Twilight and Titus were busy dropping their luggage off in their room when Princess Celestia had taken a moment out of her busy schedule to stop in and welcome them. She inadvertently stayed a little longer than she intended when she was introduced to both Iana and R6, the latter of which she found to very amusing and a delightful pick-me-up in the way he wobbled and beeped happily from her trying day in Court. Luna had still been asleep and rather than disturb her Titus recorded a brief message for her using the astromech and gave it his lightsabers to impart per usual. Celestia then offered to lead R6 to her sister's quarters and bid them farewell to return to the last of her meetings for the day while Titus and his fillyfriend left for an engagement of their own.

"I'm really excited about this," Twilight chirped as she walked shoulder-to-thigh with Titus, one of his hands brushing against her neck as they went, "I haven't had the chance to eat here in forever! Mostly because I moved to Ponyville, but that's beside the point... the last time was when my parents took us all out for Shiny's graduation from the Guard Academy. These days I hear it's hard to get a dinner reservation with how popular it's become."

Titus nodded and flashed a smile at a group of ponies across the street that called his name and waved excitedly before he gave Twilight a small scratch behind the ear, "Quickbolt was raving about it so I'm interested to see what the hype is about. It was really nice of her to get us a reservation on such short notice."

"It was. I imagine being owed a favor by somepony that works there can open doors," Twilight pointed out, "Or open a table, in this case."

The Sergeants had both seen them off from the train station somewhere around mid morning and, after helping them load their baggage, the pegasus had asked about their plans for their stay up until Titus' ceremony. Because the arrangements had been so last-minute they hadn't planned anything so Quickbolt excitedly told them she was going to get them a reservation at the prestigious Les Verts Pâturages restaurant to get things started. Despite Titus and Twilight both insisting that wouldn't be necessary she wouldn't hear any of their protests and they had been sent off with a wave from the Sergeants and the request to say hi to somepony named Rose for them.

They were about to be rounding the last corner when Titus abruptly stopped and stared into a dark show window. A sign reading Fantastic Alien Artifacts and Gifts Inside! hung about eye level with Twilight which immediately got her attention.

"Do you see something you like?" she asked hopefully from the immediate onset of a desire to purchase something for her coltfriend, partially because she understood that was something other couples would do but mostly because she felt an urge to do something nice for him. Perusing the items that lined the window there were a few that caught her attention; a tourist's guide book covering the crash site and some information on Titus that had been compiled from numerous sources, several items on display in glass cases that looked to have been salvaged, and a scale model kit of Titus' ship that she thought was very accurately detailed. "Oh! That must be a new model because I haven't seen it available in Ponyville's toy shop. I think it might be neat for the library, but we'll have to come back tomorrow to browse around when they're open," Twilight added while she eyed the encased items and made a mental note to alert the Princess on the off chance these were some of the debris that had slipped past the Ponyville guards before they could collect what had been salvaged from the crash site in all the chaos of Titus' arrival.

"Oh, I wasn't really looking at that stuff," Titus answered absentmindedly because he was preoccupied with adjusting what he felt was a lopsided collar to the sharp-looking dress suit he had donned for the evening's outing that had been a gift from Rarity before they left thanking him for all of the clothing he had lent her though one of the pockets had been stuffed in a not-so-subtle manner with a stack of her boutique's business cards "should he receive any compliments on it," she had added. Despite his best effort the odd Equestrian style of a silk noose around his neck failed to adjust the way he wanted and he suddenly grunted in frustration and quickly turned toward Twilight with arms slightly spread, "I feel like I've made things worse. Do I still look acceptable?"

Stallions. Twilight rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time since leaving the Palace. Taking a stride closer she tapped him on the knee several times with her shoed hoof and in short order he was kneeling in front of her.

"Of course you look fine... though maybe a little overdressed for the occasion, it's not like we're going to the Gala," she mused and after a little adjusting and fussing of her own decided the tie just had to go. No offense, Rarity! With a small pull it slid smoothly off though for Twilight it seemed to happen in slow motion before she unfastened the top two buttons of his shirt for what felt like a much more relaxed appearance befitting him.

A sudden chuckle snapped her out of a daydream she hadn't even been aware she was having. "Sorry, it just looked like you were enjoying yourself-"

"Ugh, I know! You don't have to tease me about it..." she grumbled and passed the tie to him to be shoved unceremoniously into a breast pocket, "I can't help that something as simple as removing your tie or unbuttoning your shirt a little felt like I was... unwrapping you, and you can guess where these stupid hormones took my imagination."

"Yeah, I can. I just wanted to be sure you weren't about to ravage me where I stand," he continued with his light teasing which earned a huff and a turned cheek of disapproval from his date. Still knelt down he quickly reached a hand out to surprise her with a warm, chaste kiss on the lips, one which lasted several seconds before he rocked backwards and away. "At least not until after dinner and we're back at the Palace," he added then nodded to the long cream-colored dress Twilight had opted to wear for their evening out (again, an old gift from Rarity) before resting his forehead against hers to share a whisper, "And just so you don't feel like it's one-sided I'm looking forward to doing some unwrapping of my own."

Before she could respond there was a warm sigh and a bright flash of light which they soon found out was a passing stallion and mare couple who had snapped a picture. The stallion apologized for intruding when Twilight went beet red and as recompense he passed along the picture which the camera spat out. After a short conversation which Titus initiated he and Twilight both posed for another picture with the couple included and they were on their way with an exciting story to tell their friends in the morning.

Slipping the slowly-developing photo into a pocket for safekeeping Titus stood up and rested a hand on Twilight's neck, careful to avoid mussing up her slightly styled mane in the process. "Ready?" he asked and with an excited grin at each other they rounded the corner and cross the street to the attractively lit restaurant.

"Hellooo~! Welcome to Les Verts-" the hostess said cheerfully but clearly on autopilot when the door opened because she was preoccupied with rapidly sorting what guests where in whose serving section. This only took a second before she had enough figured out that she could look up to her next guests when she suddenly found the towering human standing before her, the almost pure black outfit he was wearing adding to his intimidating factor and she couldn't help but squeak in surprise and duck behind her lectern on reflex.

After a second where nothing catastrophic occurred to her she peeked out over the top. "H-Hello? C-Can I h-help you?" her voice shook, uncertain what the tall biped was doing in the restaurant - at the very start of her shift, none the less! - and the pearly fangs he suddenly flashed at her only made her more nervous.

"Hi, we have a reservation for two. The name will be under Twilight Sparkle, I believe," Titus said softly as he could because the well-dressed mare before him looked like she was going to shake right out of her fur although the attempt at a friendly smile he made was quickly ceased when she shrunk down further out of sight.

A hoof quickly swiped the paper on the lectern so it could be read from the safety of the small hollow that was serving as her hiding space and after a second a snout and eyes poked back over the edge, "Y-Yes, you're on the list. Just... um, t-through the curtain to your left-" A hoof jabbed off to one side at a dark velvety red curtain that hung over a doorway which obviously lead to the dining area and served to keep any outside noise from disturbing the patrons with noise from the street, "You're in b-booth four against the f-far w-wall, a waitress will be with you shortly to take your order. H-Have a great evening and please don't eat me."

Titus wanted to say something to try and calm the hostess down but Twilight, in her excitement, was already halfway through the curtain so he just nodded his thanks and followed. Pushing the barrier open so he could pass he found a softly lit room of many tables and booths, most if not all surrounded and filled by ponies in hushed but jovial conversations if the smiles and quiet laughs were anything to go by.

Twilight waited for him to catch up though she could hardly contain herself and her hooves stomped giddily against the carpeted floor until he was once again beside her with an arm draped over her neck. Crossing the room, as each table passed Titus could feel eyes on him and the conversation shift. A glance down at Twilight quickly erased any of his unease when she noticed and beamed back up at him.

Ignoring the slightly louder atmosphere that seemed to follow them like the wake of a ship Twilight and Titus found their booth nestled in the corner. Twilight eagerly hopped up onto the semicircular bench seat that wrapped around the round table while Titus slid in with a little more effort due to the lack of legroom his size afforded.

The booth wasn't what somepony would consider crowded but Titus' larger frame meant that the small sliding privacy door with the large number four in elegant script had needed to be stooped through and the slightly lowered ceiling was that much closer to brushing the top of his head. Aside from these issues the space was rather cozy once he had settled in across from Twilight and, with an excited smile at each other, they dove into the two menus that had been waiting for them. They had barely gotten through pointing out appealing appetizers to each other when the booth's door slid open and a batpony waitress popped in, her mouth open to give a greeting before she came to an abrupt halt to stare at Titus wide-eyed.

Silence fell on the booth for a second before Twilight, who had ignored the panicking hostess earlier, stepped in to try and not have the same thing happen with their waitress, "I-It's okay. Titus here is-"

The waitress suddenly gasped and her hooves stomped excitedly much like Twilight's had not long ago though the booth's hardwood floor made them have a thunderous effect, "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She leapt forward and fluttered about eye-height to look over pretty much all of Titus at which point it became abundantly clear she wasn't scared like the hostess had been, "Oh. My. Gosh. You're him! I mean, of course you're him, but you're him and you're here! At my table! *squee!*" The energetic response wasn't what either Twilight or Titus had expected and they shot each other a glance as the batpony turned around to close the door behind her before returning to the table with a grin.

"Sairy 'bout that," she said in the warm highlands accent Titus had noticed many batponies around the palace possessed and looked from him to Twilight before doing a small doubletake when she remembered she was on the clock and these were her patrons, "Oh, right! Introductions. Hi, I'm Thistle Rose, I'll be your server tonight-"

Twilight was quick to speak when the batpony gave her name, "Oh, you're Rose? A pegasus named Quickbolt actually set this dinner reservation up for us-"

"Wait, what?! She..." Rose squee'd again and did a little somersault in the air as her face was split by an even wider grin, "Quickbolt knew I was bummed that they wouldn't be here for my birthday and for having to work. She said there'd be a surprise tonight, but this? This is the best. Gift. Ever! So, is that sister of mine giving ye any trouble?"

Titus' brow creased in worry, "N-No? I've got nothing but praise for Nightwatch-"

"Not Nightie, she's a bonnie lass. Nae, I meant that potty-mouthed pegasus and 'fore ye ask; yes, she's an adopted sister so I kin where your confusion stems from. She's got a good heart in her, but if she gives you any trouble you let me know and I'll sort her out proper! H-Hey, hang on..." Foregoing her job as their waiter she excitedly sat herself down on the edge of the seat next to Twilight to look at her with further but newfound excitement, "I kin you, you're Twilight Sparkle! Oh my gosh again! Took me a wee tick being all dolled up like ye are but I've read just about every news article I can get my hooves on for your insight and expertise. You're the go-to pony to talk to about our friendly alien- oh, it's not offensive to call ye an alien, is it?" she suddenly interrupted herself to ask Titus.

Rose had her head in her hooves and propped up on the table on her elbows as she stared at him starry-eyed in wait for him however he was a little taken back by her enthusiasm and the attention (as well as her ability to jump a conversation in every which direction) to the point he was beginning to question whether this pony was related to Quickbolt let alone Nightwatch.

Pinkie Pie seemed a much more likely candidate.

He realized his answer was rather delayed and he shook his head to rattle the confusion away, "Oh, um, no offense taken at all. I mean, I come from a dimension or time or whatever so pretty much everyone is an alien from one place or another."

"Oh, okay." Despite getting her answer the batpony continued to stare at him for a second longer before bolting upright. "Sairy, ever since you crashed I've been dying to take a train out because sis said she could give me a tour of the crash site but hotel prices have shot waaay beyond the price range I could afford and are booked solid six months out," she explained a little glumly but almost instantaneously switched back to her fanged grin, "I'm just- EEEEEEE! Really excited you're both here, ya kin?"

"I'm glad we were able to contribute to your birthday," Titus responded more comfortably now that the reason behind her excitement was clear. Both he and Twilight then wished her a happy birthday which the batpony surprisingly blushed at and quickly hid her face in her apron for several long moments as Twilight began singing the birthday song for her and Titus joined in when he could for the chorus from his recollection of her party.

Eventually she finally peeked over the top of the apron when they were done but fidgeted with the corners of it in obvious anxiety which Twilight was quick to catch on to. When she was asked, however, Rose bit her lip hesitantly all the way through Twilight's attempts to assure her she could speak but it wasn't until Titus joined in that she visually gulped in nervousness before landing to look at her hooves. "I realize this isn't what either of you were expecting to do over dinner and were probably looking forward to spending time with one another before I came barging in fan-fillying over you two, but would it be okay if..." she directed her gaze briefly to Titus before dropping it back down to the floor, "Could I get a picture with each of you? It'd really mean a lot."

"I mean, sure," Titus answered with a look to Twilight that he was okay to speak for both of them, "We've been getting that request a lot since we got off the train, so one more won't hurt. You're already next to Twi so if you want to give me your camera..."

Like a balloon with a leak Rose suddenly deflated, even her wings went limp and drooped to the floor as she sighed, "Why did I even ask when I didn't think to tote my camera to work."

There was a heavy pause that hung in the air as no one said anything and neither noticed Titus undoing the button on one of his cuffs. "I think I may have a solution," he said which drew both Twilight and Rose's attention in time to see him roll his sleeve up to reveal the wristpad he had concealed under it.

"I thought you left that at the Palace," Twilight said with surprise because she had left her datapad behind so it wouldn't distract her from the meal and she thought Titus would do the same but he simply shook his head and turned it on which was a clear interest to Rose who's eyes were glued to him and the device.

"I was going to, but leaving R6 behind with Luna while we went out I wanted to have a way for either Princess Luna or Celestia to contact me if something came up," Titus responded, meanwhile the batpony excitedly asked one of them to clarify that the "cool little robot guy" had come along. As Twilight explained briefly Titus shifted the wristpad to the function he wanted before aiming its small integrated camera at both of them, "Okay. Whenever you're ready." Twilight and Rose both put on smiles and squished together, the latter doing so more enthusiastically than the former but not by much, and once they held still Titus snapped a quick picture. Removing the wristpad he passed it over for inspection which was met with absolute approval before the device was given to Twilight.

"My turn I guess," Titus said and scooted over enough that Rose could sit next to him like she had done with Twilight.

Rather unexpectedly she instead jumped up onto the small ledge created behind the back of the bench seat and almost lay down which put her head just above where his shoulder was. "Oh, are you sure that's where you want to be?" he asked, turning over his shoulder to do so.

"I guess a better spot would be sitting in your lap for it, maybe in a hug or something..." Rose shrugged then quickly looked to Twilight apologetically, "B-But I don't think your fillyfriend would be okay with that-"

"No, she wouldn't." Twilight surprised herself by how suddenly she had felt the need to protect her stallion from a strange mare and she went a little red in the face, "S-Sorry, Rose, that came out stronger than I meant it to. If he's comf-"

"Nah, don't worry 'bout it. This'll look just as great without treading on either of your toes! C-Can I ask you to do two things for your picture, though?" she stopped and eyed one of the hands he had on the table which he followed until he raised it closer to her for instruction, "Yeah, can you do that thing with the stubby finger, I think it's called 'thumb's up' or something?" She watched the hesitant flash of the gesture and indeed it was what she was looking for, "That's the one! Quickbolt wrote to me and drew sketches of all these gestures and stuff you do with your hands and she said that one means 'cool' or 'good,' or is a positive sign along those lines. And the other thing is... um, would it be okay to bite your shoulder?"

"Uh, what?" This time Titus was uncertain and gave her another look which he also shot to Twilight.

"It'd be really lightly, and just through the clothes!" she tried to assure him and the unicorn, both of whom were looking curiously at each other. Rose didn't want to lose her opportunity at a picture with the famous biped whom she had a secret celebrity crush on (secret if you didn't count Nightwatch and Quickbolt, and pretty much all of her friends) so she shook her head dismissively, "N-Nevermind! I shouldn't have thought you might be okay with it, i-it's just a Thestral thing-"

"Oh, now that I think about it I might've read about that," Twilight piped up with curious interest because she let the wristpad sink to the table. Titus was still uncertain but turned to her which was enough of sign he was open to hearing what she had to say that Twilight nodded, "Please let me know if my evaluation is wrong, but if I'm thinking of the right book it covered Thestrals in ancient times. As you know, on their upper and lower teeth batponies have a set of incisor and canine fangs unlike Earth ponies, unicorns, or pegasi, among several other biological differences and senses that aren't relevant to the discussion. Anyway, it used to be that when Thestrals from two different clans would meet it was customary for either party to bite the other lightly on the neck. It was a sign of trust because at the same time both would expose their neck freely to what would be a fatal wound in most cases because of the jaw-strength inherent to batponies which they used to fight off the griffons during the eras where they were predatory to all of pony kind. At the same time it was a sign of being worthy of that trust by biting just lightly enough to be felt without drawing blood, however historically there are a few recorded instances where both parties bit each other with the intent to harm and in all of them both parties succumbed to the wounds caused either from the immediate trauma caused or later by infection, though the number of recorded instances leaves scholars to believe it was very rare for either Thestral to betray the other like this."

"The book went on to discuss how the biting gesture has shifted within the clan system since their unification by Princess Luna and then over the course of her banishment where it became no longer necessary as they were ousted from Equestria and had cease their clan infighting to band together to fend off invasions from neighboring Griffonstone which further cemented their unification," Twilight went on but decided to save them from unnecessary history and cut to the end of her lecture, "The book I had was a little older so it might be outdated, but in these more modern times it's fallen out of custom and is now primarily used among close Thestral friends or from one Thestral to another pony they're familiar with as a greeting. In this sense, her biting you for a picture where you're giving a thumbs up is, I'd imagine, an equivalent exchange of gestures of some sort - her being comfortably familiar enough to demonstrate a gentle bite while you display willingness to being bitten with the approval of a thumbs up."

Titus' sudden hum got both Twilight and Rose's attention. "That actually sounds really similar to the human history of handshakes. Historically originating from Parliament, the Alderaanian form of shaking someone else's hand was to take them by the wrist while they did the same as a greeting as well as to check for a concealed microblaster or blade," he explained which, as usual, was of particular fascination to Twilight to hear of another parallel between their universes. Before she could draw them off into another conversation he turned over his shoulder again to the batpony where a sudden flash of silver around her neck caught his attention. Shifting focus to it he glimpsed enough to realize it was a familiar medallion with a silver hand; the Canterlot Human Watchers. This was more then enough for Titus to make up his mind on the matter and subconsciously he nodded, "I've gotten to know Quickbolt quite well since she took her post, though Nightwatch not so much because she's pretty quiet, but I trust both them unequivocally with my ship and my well-being because they're honest and kind, and I get the feeling you're very similar. I imagine you've heard of my unique abilities to some extent, one of which allows me to sense what someone else is feeling or their intentions, and you? Well, I don't feel any malice coming from you, just anxiety and excitement. My intuition says you're not that different from your sisters, am I right?"

Rose nodded her head but didn't utter a word as he had correctly guessed or felt (she wasn't entirely clear how it worked, but either way she thought it was really cool) her anxiousness and exhilaration that she was to finally be this close to the famous alien she'd read and heard so much about.

"It's your birthday so let's do this picture right," he said with a final glance at the medallion and adjusted his collar on one side to expose just a little bit of his neck.

Rose read the gesture and hastily questioned if it was really okay, most of which was directed toward Twilight with a concerned look because she didn't want the unicorn to feel like she was muscling her way into their relationship but no sign from Twilight came. Very, very gently she pinched a small bit of the exposed neck-

"Please be careful," Twilight's voice, even though it was whispered, almost spooked Rose enough to bite him but she froze and looked to her in case she was doing something wrong. Twilight, however, hadn't meant to voice her thought and only realized when she caught the batpony staring at her, "O-Oh, it's just that his skin is thinner than you're probably expecting. Okay, ready?"

Titus only felt a pinch but it was enough to communicate just how sharp Rose' fangs were but she was being very considerate of Twilight's warning. Flashing a thumbs up he gave the wristpad aimed at him a big grin and a second later as Twilight fine tuned the angle there was a beep.

"How's this look?" Twilight asked and passed the wristpad back to Titus.

Peeking over his shoulder from her perch Rose eagerly leaned in for a better look at the screen. "T-That's perfect!" she cried happily at the image of the human wearing that lopsided smile of his and giving a thumbs up while she nipped at his neck - it turned out exactly she imagined and hoped it would. Hopping down from the back of the bench she stared at the wristpad, "So... does it print them out like one of those instant cameras or are they stored to be printed later?"

This time it was Titus' turn to slump from an oversight of his own, "Right... shoot. Sorry, I'll have to hook it up to a terminal back in my ship."

"We can give them to Nightwatch or Quickbolt and they can get the pictures to you, right?" Twilight interjected quickly, "We see both of them on almost a daily basis so getting the pictures to them once they're printed won't be any trouble-" Nervous laughter from Rose about what either of her sisters - especially Quickbolt - would think or say if they were to see the last picture cut her off.

"Well if I forward them to the ship with Arsix's signal booster when we get back to the Palace then Iana can print them out almost immediately so we can just hand them an envelope. Here," Titus tapped the screen and passed the wristpad over to Rose who was much more in favor of the idea of an envelope, "If I have your address I can send that along with the images and can have them mailed to you, no sisters involved." That seemed very agreeable with the batpony and as she got a little help in the form of pointers from Twilight, who was more familair with the technicalities of how to use the device from the standpoint of a pony, a sudden recollection on the conversation they had just been having struck Titus.

"Just a thought, but another option would be to come out and get them yourself," he offered tentatively.

"Oh believe me, I'd really love to," Rose responded and paused in entering her address because it was a tad difficult and required concentration, "But again, cost is the problem. Waiters don't make too much, even at an upscale restaurant like this one, and at current rates it'd take me at least a month of pinching Bits just to save up for a hotel room. Then there's the train ticket and the lost income from the shift I'd probably miss and I can't just go for the afternoon on account of how much there is to see. Right before, uh... ye were on the news last - I was so sairy to hear about that, by the way - I tried asking Nightie and Quick if they could put me up at the barracks but she said they could get in big trouble for violating military protocol. Quick said she could pull it off but I didn't want to put either of 'em at risk, then they offered to pay for my hotel but I'm the big sister, I cannae do that-"

"I mean, if it's just for a night I've got a spare room aboard you could use."

It quite literally took a second for Rose's brain to process what he had offered, her eyes going wide and her whole face lit up with absolute uncontainable excitement, "R-Really!? Like, I would get to stay on your ship for the night and get a tour in the morning?!"

"You'd have to be in your sisters' company at all times because they're both familiar with all the safety precautions. But yeah, I'm saying you could spend the night on my ship," he shrugged then grinned playfully at the excited batpony, "I'll even toss in breakfast for you and your sisters."

"Maybe I could swap shifts with somepony in the morning and catch the afternoon train, see what I can see before spending the night, then have the tour in the morning with my sisters and be back before the evening," the gears in her head started working and formulating a plan before she nodded enthusiastically. "Let's do it that way! Ye have no idea how much this means and-" Rose suddenly noticed the open menu in front of either of them and sheepishly brought out her pencil and pad, "Jeez, here ye two are spending your dinner reservation doing me all sorts of favors for my silly little birthday when this whole time I'm supposed to be taking your orders. Sorry for being insensitive, what can I get ye?"

They both spent another moment going over the long menu, flipping back and forth from page to page and discussing their options in hushed whispers before Twilight made her decision and Rose scribbled it down in shorthoof, "Alright, one cheese quiche plate and garden medley salad for the lady. And you, sir, what strikes your fancy?"

Titus was still undecided and flipped back to a page he had just visited to look at it blankly then turned to Rose no surer in what he wanted than before, "In Ponyville I tend to order what a pegasi might because I'm used to a high protein diet. Everything looks good but I keep coming back to the fish section because of how wide of a selection you have. I can't decide, do you have any recommendations?"

The batpony responded she had assumed that's where his interest would lie and ran him through the most popular choices of their winged customers; the gingered honey salmon, the grilled swordfish steak with latholemono sauce, and the crispy herb crusted halibut fillets. "They all come with a pasta side and parmesan brussel sprouts. Do any of those sound better than the others?" she asked.

"Tell you what," he said and closed the menu before passing it to her to be tucked into the belt of her apron, "Those all sound really good so you can pick for me. I leave myself in your hooves..."

Rose giggled and hardly tried to hide her blush before flipping to a new page in her notepad to scribble something down, "Alright, one surprise coming right up, cutie! And I'll bring a bottle of our white wine if that's okay, it'll pair nicely with both of your orders." Folding the slip of paper in half she slid it under his napkin with a wink and was out the door in a flash.

Titus watched her go, as much as could anyway because she was fast like her pegasus sister, and with the mention of the wine he turned back to look at the restaurant's tap list to see if they might have some of the cider he enjoyed but found Twilight was smirking as she leaned on the table. He gave her a curious look over the top of the drink booklet in wonder what it was about but she just kept staring at him so Titus stared right back for a moment before huffing that he couldn't figure her game out, "So are you going to tell me what's so amusing...?"

"Just wondering when you became such a flirt."

"Flirt? What are you talking about?" he asked then looked to their glass privacy door, "You thought I was-? I was being nice is all, I wasn't trying to flirt with her."

"Oh really? 'I leave myself in your hooves~!'" Twilight coo'd in an imitation of his voice complete with sultry bedroom eyes before snatching the folded paper away in her magic with a giggle when he reached for it, "It certainly felt flirty from over here, even going so far as to offer that she could spend the night with us rather and you'd her make breakfast. Don't think I'm mad or anything, it's just funny because I imagine if I weren't here with you... yep-" Peeking at the slip of paper Twilight proved her hypothesis correct and passed the note back for him to read.

Here's my address:
3649 Hay Field Ave. North, Canterlot City
It's the little yellow house on the corner with the pink door. Just in case you want to swing by...

"No, I didn't mean..." he mumbled and stared at the quick doodle Rose had done of herself giving a playful wink as a form of signature before turning an abashed look Twilight's way, "Jeez, did it honestly sound like that?"

"I think if you weren't here with another mare it's possible you might be going home with more than just her address. She did call you cute, after all," Twilight mused with another smirk.

"I've already got my hands pretty full with you and Lyra," he scoffed but slid the note into a pocket which Twilight made sure was clear to him that she watched. Titus rolled his eyes in response, "It's just in case we need her address to mail the pictures... and it has nothing to do with her being kinda cute, too."

"Sure it doesn't," she shot back and then scooted around the circular bench to get herself in range for her hoof to be taken in a hand when it reached out, "With Lyra sidelined in hibernation I'll have to keep on guard for the both of us for any mares that think they can muscle in on our guy-" Twilight paused and put her other hoof on top of his hand to gently hold it in place so he wouldn't let go and her smirk shifted to one something much more heartfelt, "I know I'm repeating myself but I'm really touched that you wanted to talk with me last night. I was caught a little unprepared and wasn't exactly in the right state of mind for such a conversation so I doubt I helped much."

"No, you actually managed to help me make sorts of my mess of thoughts on the afternoon," he corrected and when she proceeded to ask if he wanted to talk about it further when they got back to their room or if he had come to a decision he sighed and shook his head, "It's still really unsettling. After Krua's death it was just me... and the droids, Iana, and Dex, of course, but I mean outside of them it's just been me on the ship for such a long time and the only human I've seen is myself in random reflections. Then after the crash I come to accept that I'm the only one of my kind and will likely live out my life in that solitude when my best friend strolls in and just... *poof*-!" He made a hand gesture to help communicate the sudden and unexpected change he had witnessed then fell silent for a moment. Twilight respected the quiet and didn't jump in and instead waited because she knew him well enough to know he wasn't finished with his thought yet. Finally he shook his head in mild defeat, "I know she didn't mean it, but it was a sharp reminder I wasn't prepared for and everything that followed - all the emotions and thoughts - I was prepared even less for."

"I would say Princess Luna understands or she wouldn't have come knocking on our door later to talk with you," Twilight responded hopefully which she was happy to see also seemed to brighten his mood in turn. Like him, however, she shook her head, "A crowded restaurant probably isn't the best place to talk about this, even with our private booth, so let's save it for later, okay? Changing subjects: you said you didn't really get to explore much of Canterlot on your last visit so, do you want to go anywhere or see anything in particular?"

Titus thought for a moment but this time Twilight was eager to jump in, "If I can make some recommendations the street market is pretty exciting, it's probably close to closed by now but it's where I went as a filly for a lot of the books I couldn't get from the Library, which is another stop we could make before moving on to the Academy's observatory. T-There's also a fairground, if that would be more interesting to you."

"Let's start with that gift store and pick up two of those models," he said which earned the question why he wanted two of the ship kits. "One can be built normally, but I think the other might be a good tool to continue testing your Force aptitude. It'd be similar to what I'd showed you with taking the datapads apart and then reassembling them, remember?"

That was an idea Twilight hadn't even considered and embraced it enthusiastically. She was in the midst of talking about how she'd tried to tune her lab equipment to pick up any relevant data after the last experiment and hoped this time it would provide some definitive answers as to how she was connecting with the Force when their door slid open and Rose came in carrying a metal bucket by the handle which she held in her mouth and two large covered platters balanced on her partially-closed wings.

"Sorry to keep ye waiting! I just had to tell the cook about our special guests at table four and to serve the best," she chirped happily after setting the bucket down and with a bit of practiced pizzazz slid their plates down either wing in front of them in one fluid motion. Dipping back out the open door she retrieved a small folding table which she moved the bucket to at which point Titus and Twilight could see it was full of ice to keep a bottle of wine cold, "Right, that should be everything! I'll come back in a little bit to check in and bring some desert menus but if ye need me before then there's a tug ye can pull and it'll put up a red marker that ye need help." While she was talking Twilight removed the cover over her dish to take a heavy sniff of the savory-looking quiche, and at the same time Titus removed the lid on his.

He had scarcely lifted the cover high enough to peek under it when he replaced it and slid the dish back toward the batpony. "I um, I think there might have been a mix up. This doesn't look to be any of the three fish options we discussed," he said with an apologetic tone which brought a very troubled expression to Rose's face before she asked if he was sure. Titus nodded and moved the plate a little closer in a bid for her to take it, "It must have gotten mixed up with another table's order or another waiter grabbed my plate by mistake."

Sitting where she was, Twilight hadn't been able to see what was on the plate when he had partially lifted the cover and she was a little distracted by how appetizing her own plate looked but when Rose tipped the cover up to look at what she had brought him she almost instantly slammed it back down.

Wide-eyed the batpony's face snapped up to Titus', "I-I don't know how this happened, I'm going to sort this out then I'll be right back with the correct order. I'm so sorry! A-And I'll talk with the manager and see if I can get the meal on the house. Sorry!" Faster than before Rose was out the door and her rush caused an audible change in the tone out on the restaurant floor, several tables looking over to their booth before Titus leaned over to slide the door shut that she had forgotten to close in her hurry.

"Wow, I feel bad for her. With how excited she was to be waiting on us I imagine she wants to impress us and is pretty stressed that everything goes smoothly," Twilight commiserated with a glance to her plate, "This looks exactly like what I ordered. What did she bring you, out of curiosity?" He shrugged while browsing the desert section of the menu, probably to kill time until her return.

"It was just a plate mix up, I guess somewhere some table has fish they didn't order and I got their fruit desert. When Rose gets back I'll be sure to thank her for fixing it and tell her it was really no big deal-" Through the wall there was a muffled crash of something metal clattering to a hard floor which was followed by two voices shouting, one of which was clearly Rose's judging by the accent though the other neither Twilight nor Titus could readily identify. Going off what they could hear over the several seconds it lasted it was somepony working the kitchen. They weren't the only ones to hear it, either, because there was a brief moment of quiet in the air before the other patron's murmurs returned with a new tone of upset uncertainty. There was a little more yelling before it suddenly came to an abrupt halt after which the voices couldn't be heard through the wall anymore. Titus could sense that tensions were high so when he turned to the door he wasn't aware he had set his jaw, something which Twilight observed.

Before she could ask what he thought was going on there was a very light knock on their glass door and in stepped an earth pony dressed in something far fancier than that of the normal waitstaff or greeter. Sliding the door closed behind him his expressionless face turned toward the two at the table, "Bon soir. Je suis Monsieur Le Viandier, ze manager. You say zere was a mix up with your order?"

"Uh, yes." Though his voice remained calm and his body showed no signs it was clear to Twilight's practiced eye he was tensed just from the subtle tautness of his jaw muscles. Concerned, she slid herself a little closer to him as he nodded, "I got a dish that I didn't order. I think it was a mix up so I asked to have it sent back to the kitchen-"

"We pride ourselves on our service and if zere was a mistake you have my apologies," Le Viandier said with a tone to match his equally emotionless face before he stepped to one side of the door, "However, ze head chef iz très furieux, very upset, and says you sent it back with an insult to la cuisine, ah, her kitchen."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight spoke a little louder than she meant out of surprise at what he was saying and shook her head, "He didn't insult her at all, he simply asked our waiter to take it back so he could get what he ordered but told her he understood that things like that happen."

"I ask zat both of you take your things and leave."

The suddenness and flat lack of empathy in the manager's request as he slid the glass door open hit Twilight and Titus like a sack of bricks so that neither of them immediately knew what to say and sat in silence for a moment. When Titus started to slide down the bench it snapped Twilight from her stupor and she grabbed hold of his hand to stop him before turning back toward the earth pony, "No. We didn't do anything, why do we have to leave?" Through the open door the ponies at other tables whispered and shot darting glances at what was going on in the booth and for a third time that night the hushed muddle of conversations in the air could be felt to change again which added to Le Viandier's displeasure that the unicorn was objecting.

With an eyebrow twitch born of his annoyance he motioned a hoof for the door. "Zis is an upscale establishment, perhaps you are unfamiliar with such a concept-" he turned toward Titus, "But your presence alone, monsieur, iz enough of a disturbance to ze other guests zat they cannot enjoy their meals and ze head chef would not threaten to quit out of ze blue. I will not charge for ze plate ze mademoiselle ordered so please, gather your things."

"But we were-"

"Come on, Twi. We can figure something else out, for now let's just go," Titus pulled away from her to stand up and did his best to ignore the eyes of the other tables that he could feel on his back and as he helped her from the bench Titus turned to the earth pony. He had sensed the manager coming from the kitchen well before he had knocked on their door and the disdain the pony had for him was hard to miss. I know your real motive for wanting to throw me out, it may not be apparent to others but your prejudice is not something you can hide so easily from me.

The Force carried the unspoken thought to the conscience of Viandier and his eyes darted briefly to Titus thinking he had verbally said something but was met with a clenched jaw and cold stare. It suddenly felt rather warm so the pony adjusted the collar of his dress jacket, his fake accent suddenly gone, "T-This way, please. You will be exiting out the back so as to not cause m-more of a scene than you already have." After a short jaunt down the isle of booths with every table watching and whispering they pushed their way through a set of double swinging doors. Viandier lead the way through a portion of the noisy kitchen to a heavy metal door which he pushed open but did not go through and instead simply motioned with a hoof that they were to proceed.

As soon as they were out into a small and somewhat dirty back alley where the bagged trash was deposited for pickup - Titus realizing it was the final jab at him - the door was closed behind them without even a word and they discovered there was no handle to open it from their side. Twilight stared at where the knob would have been for a while before she turned to Titus, "I don't understand, why would they ask us to leave? We didn't do anything to warrant this, and we weren't even given the opportunity to apologize. What if we went around front again and asked the manager if we could talk to the chef-"

"I think it's best if we just go, Twi. I can't... no, I won't apologize for this," he said firmly which only raised more questions for Twilight.

"What? This is probably just a misunderstanding-"

"No, there's no misunderstanding," Titus sighed and knelt down to place a hand on her shoulder because he felt the contact would be necessary with what he was about to say. After his intentional pause, however, he found he couldn't look her in the eyes and cast his off to one side, "There was... my order wasn't mixed up. When I took the lid off of my platter there was a bundle of bananas-"

Twilight's confusion on the series of events leading to their current situation morphed into anger, "What?! They had the nerve to do that to you? Why didn't you tell me?! I would have... I would have done something! Nopony has the right to treat you like that!"

"Going in and apologizing wouldn't do anything, I could feel the dislike the manager had for me went beyond the supposed insult I made toward the cook, who clearly has a problem with me, too. I didn't say anything because I didn't want tonight to be overshadowed by that, I hoped that I could quietly get whatever Rose had chosen for me and we'd continue with our meal in peace," he said with a shake of his head and when he took a few steps toward the main street the still-fuming Twilight huffed and followed to catch up, "I wanted to ignore it and just enjoy you enjoying yourself."

The door they had been looking at was suddenly thrown open and Rose tore out into the alley after them with a pleading call to wait. Even from a distance they had seen the tears streaming down her face and marring the light amount of eyeliner she had been wearing before she came screeching to a stop in front of them. "I-I just heard what Le Viandier did. I'm so, so sorry," she sobbed to Twilight, "I never expected anypony here to be like that but when picking up the orders I should have checked what they put on the plate first-"

"Hey, no. You've got nothing to be sorry for, Rose," Twilight consoled the distraught batpony with a touch to her shoulder, "You were great, and we're both really happy to have been part of your birthday."

"B-But I feel like I ruined your night, if I hadn't been so excited and bragged about who was at my table none of this would have happened! You wouldn't have gotten the bananas and Chef Broth wouldn't have spat in your food, Twilight," she said, revealing a new piece of information that made Titus' jaw clench, and then paused to snuffle and wipe her eyes with a forehoof but the tears kept coming, "Let me make it up to you, please! I-I can say I've got another table ordering two more plates and bring them to you to take home."

"Oh, no, that's okay. We wouldn't want you to get yourself in trouble."

Titus was happy that Twilight had been the one to take the lead in trying to comfort the friendly Thestral and it was something Rose took notice of as well so when she turned her golden eyes to him he nodded. "Twilight is right, neither of us want you to get into trouble trying to fix a problem you didn't cause-" he said before going into a breast pocket to double-check he still had the folded note from earlier.

Before he could put it back and reinforce that he was glad to have gotten to meet her, Rose had noticed and clearly looked surprised. "Y-You kept it?! I thought with everything you'd have thrown it away."

"Throw it out? If I did that then how was I going to let you know when you could come get your pictures and a tour?" he asked rhetorically and slid it back into the breast pocket, "I'll write a letter after we get back. In the meantime, keep your nose clean; I'm sure Twilight and I can get dinner somewhere else."

"Actually, if you'd be open to lasagna instead of fish I might have thought of something, but I'll need to go check," Twilight offered but wouldn't go into any more detail when he said he wasn't sure what it was but would give it a try. She turned to Rose with a hopeful look in her eye, "Can I leave him with you for a minute? I'm just headed a few blocks over and want to make sure it won't be a problem for us to just suddenly show up unannounced."

Rose seemed a little shocked at first but was quick to jump on the opportunity to try and help rectify their evening, even if that meant using her only allotted break in her shift to do so. "A-Absolutely!" she nodded and looked to the alien, "I'd be happy to keep him company till you get back." Twilight confirmed he was alright with that before she trotted to the end of the alley and disappeared around the corner but not before a final look back at both of them.

Pony and human were quiet for a moment and neither knew how to break it until Titus finally thought of a potential topic and spoke. "Back when you were asking for that picture I caught a glimpse of your medallion," he said and dug the one Emerald had given him out from his shirt for her to see before putting it back, "Is it a big group? I've only been to one of Ponyville's meetings-"

"You attended a meeting?!" Rose did a double-take and now that it had been said she didn't feel quite so awkward displaying her medallion and pulled it to sit on top of her uniform, "That must have been really exciting for all of the members."

"I think so, and afterwords Lyra said it was the most fun meeting she had coordinated. Everyone had questions for me or wanted to talk so we ended up staying until the Hayburger closed so I think I'll be going to another to meet the ponies I didn't get a chance to talk to."

"Wait. Lyra Heartstrings is your filly friend and she's a member?"

Titus nodded, "It's sort of how we met; she was watching me from the hill one afternoon while I was salvaging and Twilight, who happens to be a friend of hers, invited her to join us for a picnic and introduced me to her. She's the head of the Ponyville branch, that much I know, but the way the others spoke to her it sounded like Lyra might have founded it."

"The Human Watchers movement did originate in Ponyville... Wow, the way that worked out between you two is kinda romantic," she mumbled absentmindedly at the bit of trivia she learned only to catch herself when she sighed out loud and drew his attention. "O-Our group was actually founded after our president visited your crash site, so it's possible Lyra's group influenced her. We meet once a week in the one park over there," Rose hurried to explain to try and distract herself from how warm the tips of her ears felt and pointed a hoof in the general direction so he'd know which one she meant, though what she didn't realize was because he'd never gotten out into the city before he honestly had no idea where she meant, "There's now forty to fifty of us that regularly show up so we quickly outgrew the livingroom we started in. The park has this covered area where we can all fit comfortably but we'll have to figure something else out pretty quickly here as the weather gets colder."

"You know, I can try talking to Lyra about that-" He was cut off at the sudden appearance of two ponies at the end of the alley where Twilight had gone.

"He can't have gone far, my dear." For a second they seemed to search the street they were on before one of them looked over a shoulder to the alley and spotted them whereupon the sharply dressed stallion with a small mustache started down the alley at a brisk trot. "What ho, I've found him!"

The unexpected charge startled Rose who couldn't be sure of their intentions and having been entrusted with the human by Twilight she quickly stepped forward to place herself between them, determined to hold her ground if these ponies were hostile. "W-We don't want any trouble, b-but just so you know I um, I've got two sisters in the Guard that taught me some self defense-"

As she spoke the thin mare approaching also moved in front of her stallion companion defensively which brought him to an abrupt halt. "Oh my! I hardly think that is necessary, Fleur, we simply startled them," the stallion said but still made no move to go around his companion, probably because of the pile of trash bags and a dumpster on either side which prevented him from doing so and Titus picked up that the mare had chosen just that point of the alley purposefully - it's the choke point he'd have chosen as well. The mare seemed reluctant to let him closer to the innately larger Thestral so the stallion peeked around her to tip his tall hat to the unfamiliar pony and human, "Good evening, sir and madam. I believe this to be our first encounter so allow me to introduce myself, my name is Fancy Pants. And please do not be alarmed by my companion. I can occasionally be guilty of being slightly inattentive to my own welfare and the um... location of our current impromptu meeting is reminiscent of a recent run-in with a band of ruffians in a similar alley which I believe to be why my dear Fleur here is on edge."

Rose stepped down a little bit and returned to Titus's side after seeing neither of the newcomers was a threat, further confirmed by the human's casual and relaxed posture which hadn't changed, and Fleur seemed to relax equally but her attention never shifted far from Titus. "Um, no big deal, and sorry for jumping up like that. I was asked to stay with him while his friend went off for something and I wasn't expecting anypony to suddenly come up to us, especially back here," she said with a roll of her head to indicate the narrow alley.

"Oh, I see. Your reaction is quite understandable, I assure you," he responded and paused as the mare with him bowed her head and introduced herself as Fleur de Lis now that the tension had passed. When she was done Fancy Pants turned his attention to Titus, "Please pardon our sudden appearance and lack of action at the time, I only just became aware of the unfortunate events that lead to you being ousted from the restaurant."

"We had seen you and your unicorn friend be seated and your subsequent exit but it was some time before we could inquire with our waiter, Ms. Serendipity, what had transpired," Fleur added to what Fancy had been saying and after Rose clarified that their waiter was a friend of hers that had been present in the kitchen when she had confronted the chef.

"It's upsetting to be faced with such intolerance when you don't see it coming, but there's not much I can do about it except try to move past it," Titus said with a shrug, "So, it sounded like you were looking for me?"

"Quite right! After hearing of your mistreatment, myself and several other patrons lost our appetites and walked out in protest," Fancy explained and went on to list several names that meant nothing to Titus but Rose once again clarified they were rather prominent individuals in Canterlot. "I believe I am acquainted with the owner of the establishment-"

"You are," Fleur interrupted to politely remind him, "Just today you had a rather long talk with Mr. Lucky Break over a glass of chardonnay, Fancy. I believe you two were discussing recent acquisitions."

"Aha yes! Fine fellow, if a little pushy about buying me out, but a damn good fellow as I do recall. Thank you Fleur," he nodded as the reminder overcame his forgetfulness and allowed him to put a face to the name, "Well, if he doesn't hear it from me first he certainly will from somepony else. As we made our exit the news spread from table to table and it was clear other diners were upset at your treatment. Fear not, old chap, Canterlot is most certainly not the city of bigots it must appear to you to be."

"Thank you. I'm still not used to hearing I've got support like that," Titus responded and gave a small explanation to how self-reliant he had had to be in the past and where that unfamiliarity had come from. "I'll be sure to pass that along to-"

At that moment Twilight made her return via an unexpected teleport that poofed her too alarmingly close to Fancy for Fleur and she pushed him back protectively and was instantly on guard again. It was only briefly (although it was enough for Titus to confirm the attractive model was more than she seemed), because Fleur very quickly recognized Twilight from the papers and tabloids and, more prominently, from her time serving in the palace before the young filly had been sent off.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry about that, there wasn't anypony here when I left," Twilight apologized quickly and despite their assurances she asked if they had been hurt. When Fleur and Fancy were finally able to convince her they were perfectly fine and hadn't been in the way of her teleport Twilight returned to Titus' side and asked what was going on.

Rather than let her stallion companion provide a long-winded answer Fleur did so concisely for him. With Twilight caught up on the situation and having also not gotten to eat Fancy was then quick to ask if they had made other arrangements and extended an invitation to his estate where he was sure his house staff would be able to whip up anything they might want. "Actually, just a few minutes ago I made plans and they're expecting us so it'd be rude to back out," Twilight explained but thanked him anyway. Fancy looked a little disappointed but quickly bounced back and didn't press the matter and, with Fleur stepping shoulder-to-shoulder with him, he bid them a good night.

With a small wave from Fleur as they went around the corner the trio was once again left alone in their alley though shortly after that Rose's friend popped her head out the door and asked if she was done with her break so she could take hers. Rose nodded and when the door was propped open for her to return she turned back to Twilight and Titus with a sad sigh, "I know it's my birthday, but thanks again for not being irritated with me being a fanfilly and asking for a picture with you two, it was really nice. I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"Not really, it's more of a 'see you later.' We'll send you a letter once we're back home," Twilight corrected with what she felt was on the tip of Titus' tongue and he was left to say something different but similar. The batpony bid them a farewell and tentatively went for a hug which she found happily filled by both of them before she scooted back inside with her spirits renewed. Twilight bumped her shoulder against Titus' thigh and they started down the alley toward the street where she began taking the lead to their mysterious destination.

"So was there another restaurant you had in mind?" Titus asked, once again falling into the habit of brushing a hand over her neck as they walked, "Where are we headed?"

"It's... not a restaurant," she said sheepishly and took them down another street away from Les Verts Pâturages. Titus grew suspicious and although she truly meant to say where they were going her growing hesitation carried them across the last avenue of shopfronts and to the residential district. Finally, though it was a little late because their destination lay just a few doors down, she stopped, "I um, I knew if there was one place that would be welcoming it'd be my house-"

"Oh," Titus said in realization but was still curious so an eyebrow arched slightly, "All you've ever really talked about is staying at the Palace as a filly, I didn't know you had a home in Canterlot."

Twilight shook her head at his oblivious misunderstanding, "No, by 'my house' I mean... where where I grew up. Where my parents live. Tonight is dad's lasagna night, if things haven't changed."

"Y-You're taking me to meet your parents?!" Titus blurted a little louder than he meant and a family on their couch watching TV looked through their window at him. He waved an apology and dropped his voice when he turned back to the unicorn beside him, "Twi, hang on a second. Are you sure? With the way your brother reacted-"

"*Phbt!* Shiny has always been a little over-dramatic," Twilight rolled her eyes and came to a stop, "Look, I'm nervous too. B-But not because I don't think they'll like you or anything, it's just... you know what? Never mind, we'll just go for the food. If they ask I'm just acting as your Intermediary and showing you around Canterlot before your award ceremony."

Titus was a little skeptical but if that was the plan Twilight wanted to follow he wasn't going to argue, especially when he felt this much like a fish out of water. "Alright. Just give me a sec, okay?" he asked and looked about until he found something reflective with which he could check himself, "I've still got the tie, would that be more appropriate?" With a quick twitch of his fingers he had buttoned up his shirt and gotten the tie knotted and smartly tucked into his jacket before turning around. He put a hand in one pocket in an attempt to strike a casual pose that he could assume when they were on her doorstep, "How do I look?"

"You looked fine before," Twilight huffed and rolled her eyes again. Ugh. Stallions. When she actually did take the time to give him a once over, however, she had to admit Rarity had done a exemplary job with the suit and as a subconscious afterthought she brushed a crease out of her own dress, "W-What about me, do I look okay? Do I look 'Intermediary' enough o-or should I do something else with my mane?" Titus voiced a similar approval to her appearance (and shared nearly the same thought along with it) before they both stiffly continued down the street until Twilight came to a halt in front of a warm grey two-story house. It wasn't anything elaborate and it blended in well with the others around it so it was understandable that Titus didn't immediately catch on why she had stopped until she nervously said they had arrived. Stepping up onto the cheerful welcome mat Twilight wiped her hooves out of force of habit and Titus followed suit with his shoes whereupon she asked if he was ready and knocked lightly.

There was a crinkle as the blinds in a window next to them were spread apart but whoever it was was so fast that neither of them could catch a glimpse of a face however somewhat hushed voices could be heard inside.

"She's back! And he's here, too!"
"Almost done here, hun!"
"I'm going to move, she'll probably want to sit next to him."

Twilight, however, was too nervous to pay it any mind and this was outwardly visible by the way she shifted her weight from one front hoof to the other before she gave a heavy breath that seemed to calm her. She turned toward him and opened her mouth to say something, "Everything's-"

The door was suddenly thrown open and both pony and human were blinded by a harsh flash of light that left their vision to recover slowly.

"Oh, I think you blinked..." a voice from directly in front of them said, clearly a mare which Titus assumed was Twilight's mother. A mechanical whirring filled the brief silence as both he and the blinded unicorn beside him blinked until their sight had mostly recovered outside of seeing multi-color dots which would undoubtedly last for several more moments. "Oh look at you two! Twilight, this must be what it would have looked like if you had gone to that Academy Prom..." the light grey unicorn mare sighed and while both her daughter and the human were distracted by the surprised faces that appeared on the developing photo. She raised the camera for another shot though thankfully Twilight was faster on the draw and stepped forward.

"Mom! Heh, hi..." she said nervously and by closing the distance she knowingly put the camera too out of focus for another picture, "Can we come in? I'd rather make introduction inside than out in the street with all our neighbors watching." Twilight didn't feel too guilty about being a little pushy because it was true and when the grey unicorn poked her muzzle outside she could see all down the street there were numerous ponies peeking out of windows or standing in their front doors watching.

"Of course! Where are my manners?" she gasped and trotted a distance down the entrance hallway so Twilight and Titus could squeeze in with the latter closing the door gently behind him. As Titus looked around at the pictures and decorations distractedly the mother took a step closer to her daughter for a hug. "So... who is this?" she said in almost a hum with a darting glance at the human behind her who was adorably yet awkwardly trying not to look awkward.

Twilight sighed. Her mother knew exactly who this was - everypony did - but she got the feeling this was some long-lived fantasy her mother was finally getting to live out. With no other option Twilight stepped aside and indicated with a hoof which brought the human's attention away from staring at the same photograph again for the second time. "Mom, I'd like you to meet my friend, Titus," she said then shifted her pointing hoof to the other unicorn, "Titus. This is my mom, Twilight Velvet."

"Well, Titus, it's nice to finally meet my daughter's friend," Velvet took a step past Twilight and had to crane her neck back to look him in the face for the wink she gave him. Imagine her surprise when it looked like he collapsed where he was standing only to come to a sudden stop and be balancing what she thought was a little precariously on the balls of his feet at something much closer to eye level, "Oh, that was unexpected. You're very limber!"

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you, too," he responded then cast a glance of his own over to the other unicorn, "Sorry if this is an awkward question, but with Twilight sharing your first name what do you want me to call you?"

"Trust me, sweetie, you're not the first to ask. 'Velvet' is fine... or you can just call me 'Mom-'"

"Mom!" Twilight blurted as her cheeks burned, "D-Don't say stuff like that, it's not appropriate and it's weird."

Before Velvet could respond another pony came partially around the corner from another room and stopped with a big smile directed at Twilight, "I thought I heard my munchkin out here!"

Twilight's face lit up and she practically leapt into the open hooves of the blue stallion, "Daddy!" They both nuzzled in a long-awaited hello before she bumped his neck, "Come on, between you and mom you're going to embarrass me." Turning back around she lead him over to where Titus and Twilight Velvet were still standing, "You've met my mom so this is my dad, Night Light."

Titus had barely offered his hand and was going to politely greet the stallion but was preempted by the way it was grabbed and the subsequent two-hoofed shaking that nearly rattled every bone in his arm, courtesy of Night Light. "Mr. Aelius, it is a pleasure, a real pleasure! Please, I might have heard you haven't had a chance to eat yet and I'd hate to keep someone your size away from their dinner. I hope you like lasagna~! Don't worry, there's plenty to go around and when our little Twilight said she'd be bringing you over I popped seconds in the oven." With a cheerful cry for everypony to head to the dining room he waited at the doorway and gave Velvet a playful swat on the flanks as she passed by before following behind her which meant he failed to see the absolute flush his daughter's face took on from both his behavior and the giggle it had earned from her mother.

"T-They seem nice..." Titus said hopefully though he was still trying to adjust to their surprising enthusiasm and hospitality but Twilight was looking at the door behind them.

"M-Maybe we should just go back to the Palace... the kitchens are closed by now but there's bound to be something set out for the Batpony guards that we could snag-"

"Twilight, come on. You saw how happy they were to see you," he nodded his head to where her parents had gone, "I think they'd be pretty upset if we just bailed now." Twilight begrudgingly agreed it would be cruel of her to back them out of the meal this late but it was clear she wasn't too anxious to get into the next room in a hurry. Titus, after a quick glance that they wouldn't be disturbed, leaned forward and placed a kiss of encouragement on Twilight's lips.

"Hey. Love you," he said quietly so the words wouldn't travel far and after he pulled away she made a quick check for herself they hadn't been observed, "I know I was worried at first that I would make things awkward, what with me being who I am and what I look like, but it's looking like dinner with your parents might be fun."

"That you're thinking that makes me worried," Twilight half joked but she didn't realize it went over his head. She zipped in for another, much faster smooch before taking a few strides toward the dining room and toward where her waiting parents were only to pause in wait for him so they could go together, "Alright, I'll stick around because you want to do this. And I love you, too. Just a warning, be on your toes; my parents can be incredibly crafty. Oh! Quick, take off your shoes so they don't wonder why we were delayed."

Standing up, Titus kicked them off without even untying them and then moved to be thigh to shoulder with her. With a final sign of encouragement in the form of an ear scratch they stepped into the other room together. Among the things one could expect of a dining room - a large circular table piled with food and surrounded by chairs - along with Night Light and Twilight Velvet a familiar face to both Intermediary and Human turned toward them.

"S-Shiny?"
"Captain?"

"Hey Twily! Hiya bud!" he said - he had been upstairs reminiscing in his room when he heard the first knock on the door but by the time he had come down whoever it had been had already left but with his parents in such high spirits he had been compelled to ask why. Their arrival was much to his relief, in fact, as it would take most if not all of his mom and dad's attention and probing questions into his life away from him to be redirected at his sister. He told himself he'd make it up to her later and resigned her to her fate, but not without letting a brief flash of commiseration cross his face which Twilight keenly picked up on before he gave them both a grin, "Long time no see. How are things going in Ponyville?"

Titus began chatting about a few of the things that had happened since Twilight's party and eventually a few conversations got going at once among everyone by the time they were sitting themselves at the table. It was at this point he realized Velvet had scooted into the chair on one side of him and Twilight was on the other, her brother to the other side of her while Night Light rightfully took the other spot next to his wife. It was only a matter of time of conversing before Shining mentioned he had read Quickbolt's report when it came to his desk and asked how he was coping after the attack and, though uncomfortable, it was a subject Titus knew had been coming. What he didn't notice, however, was the body clues of Twilight's heightened interest in his answer.

"Right after there was an outpouring of support from the Ponyville community as well as a surge of fan mail from abroad. I've gotten a lot of support from Lyra, Twilight, and her friends which I'm really thankful for," he replied and couldn't help but give his Twilight a smile, "I'm doing okay, but I'll admit it's been hard to let my guard down now. Physically speaking, Princess Celestia was kind enough to take care of a hairline fracture of my cheekbone which was the worst of it-"

"Don't let him downplay it, he's still got a few deep cuts and scrapes that are healing," Twilight butted in and explained how he had been thrown through a clump of thorn vines that had left their brambles embedded in him which had needed to be removed at the hospital. Shining even joined in saying a few had been recovered as evidence so he had seen just how long they actually were. When he was done Twilight continued, though she tried to move into a more lighthearted tone, "I won't even start on my frustration of trying to get him to slow down and take care of himself for any meaningful length of time. Not even two days later I'm bringing him some stuff I got as his Intermediary and I find he's wrestling with Lyra."

"I remember Lyra always having an interest in that fighter competition stuff, I imagine she's a tough opponent," Night Light commented and began serving out the main course to his wife and then some for Twilight and Shining before floating the large casserole pan over to Titus, "I wasn't sure how much you'd consider to be a normal portion, do you want to serve yourself-?"

Titus' additional height in comparison to the ponies allowed him to get a good view of the red saucy topping with green leafy flakes and what looked like some sort of gooey cheese between flat tan bits of thin bread but he looked at it curiously. "Oh. Um, is this... what was it called, lasagna?" he asked cautiously and shifted his head for another look which caused Night Light a bit of alarm and as subtly as he could he cast a glance at his daughter before Titus looked back at him, "What's in it?"

"If dad hasn't made any changes to the recipe he used when I was a foal it should be fine for you to eat," Twilight answered after she got a questioning nod from her dad that nothing had changed and she quickly sought to provide some context to his behavior. "There was an incident where we were out on a date... with Lyra, I mean. S-She asked me to tag along, for Intermediary stuff," she quickly caught herself and recounted a lunch at the Café and by this point Titus had realized he might have been taken as unmannerly when he didn't mean to be and apologized, "One bite into his dandelion wheat grass and tomato sandwich was all it took for us to realize he'd have to make sure he could stomach something before taking a bite."

"Oh. Does my lasagna not look appealing? I can make something else-" Night Light's voice offered softly if not a little disappointedly.

"No, not at all! Please try to understand from my perspective..." Titus tried to reassure as he scrambled with his wrist pad for what he was looking for before removing it and showing the screen around, "Here, look at this."

It was a little hard to see the tiny screen and the ponies tried to crowd around it until Titus thought to activate the small hologram projector whereupon an image floated above the table for all to see clearly.

"Ew! What is that?" Shining asked of what he would only be able to describe as a plate of a two-tone translucent goo and hair-like protrusions that jutted out of the top. He wasn't alone in this sentiment and soon Velvet and Nightlight inquired as well after spending a bit longer studying the image, though Twilight had gotten this same example before and stayed quiet for him to explain.

"It's a Verpine dish, considered to be a delicacy," the human answered their questioning looks at the hologram and each other, "The process of making it is tricky and laborious as the two layers have to be cultured until they're ready to be harvested, at which point one is put on top of the other and the 'cooking' begins. They have to be kept at precisely the right temperature and humidity levels for the duration of the dish's preparation and if at any point either fluctuates too much they'll meld together and the flavor will be utterly ruined. I'm only familiar with the dish because as a Youngling when I had finished classes there was a friendly Verpine on staff in the Temple hangar that I liked to watch work and one day I saw her on her lunch break eating some her husband had made and I probably had the same reaction as Shining. Explaining it was all either of us ever said to each other, but I still remember it vividly. The 'hairs,' as you called them, form as the layers are cooking and maturing properly and are a supposedly a sweet flavor with the consensus among the Verpine being that cakes with longer follicles are higher quality. From what she said it supposedly tastes a lot like zorpa- um, I think you call them cherries? Yeah, cherries and chocolate."

"So how long does it take to make?" Night Light asked as everypony looked at the goo with newfound appreciation though it was questionable if the knowledge had made it any more palatable.

"Well, between the culturing of the two mucilage layers and the maturing for the follicles to grow it could take many years; a chef will normally only be able to make a single one over the course of their entire career unless they pass the duty off to their offspring to complete, which isn't unheard of. That's what makes it such a delicacy and a chef that devotes that much time and energy to a single dish and succeeds in making the cake come out well will be lauded and well sought after for their expertise."

"Wow, that's... a lot of work for a desert," the father said in deep comparative thought of his own cooking schedule before giving the alien dish another look, "Did it taste good?"

"No idea. When I came into the hangar she was just finishing it. She said her husband had been preparing it for her as a wedding gift, so looking back I'm glad I didn't ask for any," Titus answered and nodded to the casserole that had been set down for the small presentation, "So, I hope you understand I didn't mean to be rude and I hope this sort of gave you an idea where I'm coming from with a lot of the food I'm being introduced to. I absolutely didn't mean to sound rude, I've just never heard of lasagna before Twilight mentioned it."

Night Light seemed relieved from the explanation and happily cut what Titus wanted out of what still remained and, as he had guessed, it was twice the size of what they had taken so he was glad he made more. He bid his guest to try it and although it wasn't intentional everypony waited for what his fresh take on the dish would be, all of them watching (which made Titus understandably uncomfortable) as he deposited a moderately sized bite into his mouth with his fork and chewed slowly. Silence hung in the air and they expected him to answer when they saw him swallow only to have him take just a little longer for a small drink before giving Night Light the thumbs-up of approval. Like many times the gesture needed to be explained to her parents so Twilight filled them in which caused her father to throw a hoof in the air.

"Ha ha, success! I'll take the fact I'm the only one on the block with a human-approved lasagna to the next neighborhood cook-off! Titus, do you think I could impose and get a recording of you saying your name and then something like 'and this is my favorite lasagna in the Cook-off' to use in my booth? That would totally win the judges over-" He turned to Velvet quickly with a look of concern, "That wouldn't be abusing my position as the father of the official Human Intermediary is it, hun?"

"Yes it would be because you didn't follow the rules like everypony else, dear. 'All personal and business requests seeking interaction with Mr. Aelius must be submitted through the proper office of the Intermediary,' or through Princess Luna as I understand," she quoted the well-known rule for him and he deflated a little. Velvet gave her husband a pat on the leg that she was sure the Intermediary's office would have approval for him for the following year, if they weren't too swamped, and with her little joke she then turned to her daughter, "We're so proud of you, sweetie. Princess Celestia couldn't have chosen a better pony for the responsibility!"

"Actually it was Princess Luna who officially gave me the position, Mom," Twilight clarified and quickly swallowed her food so she could speak clearly. Out of a pocket in her dress she pulled the official seal she had been given and passed it to her parents for them to see, "She's been in charge of the real orchestrating of Titus' stay since his arrival, though naturally Princess Celestia also helps when needed. As Titus' Intermediary I serve as his go-between and am responsible for handling Equestria's interface with him, though my favorite part of the job is whenever possible I help him get acquainted with the varying aspects of society that he's not used to."

Night Light mouthed a "Wow!" around the table while Velvet reiterated they were proud of her which had the effect of making Twilight smile out of embarrassment from the praise. Looking between her and Titus, her father was next to speak up, "So, I know Princess Celestia sent you to Ponyville and his ship crashed outside of town, but I'm curious. Is your work as Titus' Intermediary how you two first met?"

"No, Twi was made my Intermediary just a little after we met," Titus answered spontaneously but immediately detected on how wary Twilight was of the question and left it there so that she could pick up and try to better control where it was going.

Wiping her mouth with her napkin Twilight shook her head. "My friends and I were the ones that pulled him out of the crash," she explained which pulled her parent's attention away from Titus for the time being as their interest in hearing more was apparent, "His crash was my fault to begin with, too, I was testing a spell I was developing and... well I still don't know what went wrong, but I cast the spell and everything is going according to plan when these really bad storm clouds that start forming over the town. I rush back and meet up with Dash and Applejack, there's lightning everywhere, and the next thing I know there's this giant fire-spewing thing careening over Ponyville. Because everything had happened so fast we thought it might have been a dragon so we went to investigate and, although obviously it wasn't a dragon, I still had gotten somepony hurt with my experiment. Titus was unconscious and strapped into his seat dangling upside down when me and the girls found him on his ship. At that point we had no idea who or what we were dealing with, so after getting him down we got him in AJ's cart and brought him back to the Library in hopes he would wake up and we could somehow help. Princess Luna arrived a little later and thankfully he eventually came to, though things were a little... tense at first." Twilight reached for some water with the intention of continuing her tale of events when her mother took advantage of the pause.

"Oh, so it was your experiment and not an anomaly, like the news said?" she asked just to clarify things then when Twilight paused to nod before going back to taking a sip Velvet sighed with a prideful smile on her face, "Leave it to my brilliant daughter to conjure herself her perfect coltfriend-"

Twilight immediately choked on her drink.

"I knew the day would come when our munchkin wouldn't be a little filly any more!" Night Light joined in before quickly breaking down into happy sobs as he looked from his sputtering daughter to the wide-eyed human, though because he was so wrapped up in his emotions he didn't notice that Titus was patting her firmly on the back to help her. He wiped his tears and pulled Velvet close into a hug only for the tears to resume, "Y-You two l-look great tog-gether, y-your mom and I couldn't be ha-happier for you-o-o!"

Sufficiently recovered enough to gasp out words Twilight's gaze shifted nervously between her parents, "W-What are you two talking about...? We're n-not-"

Titus couldn't help but notice that Velvet rolled her eyes in the exact manner her daughter would before she scoffed loudly. "Oh please, sweetie. I read the papers and watch the news every time you're on," she said while consoling her husband who continued on mumbling about how grown up their daughter looked, "Other ponies may have missed it but I'm your mother, of course I would notice the way you were always looking at him."

"Having a mirror in the hallway angled just right helps before you commit to saying something, too," Shining mumbled a little louder than he meant as he played with his food which caused both Twilight and Titus to look from the table to the hallway. Just as Shining had said, there was a mirror hanging on the wall that was angled perfectly so that where they had been standing when they exchanged kisses would have been in clear sight from the dining room.

"Yes, well... that only helped confirm things, I certainly wouldn't want to say something awkward to my daughter in front of her coltfriend, now would I?" she retorted as Night Light pulled out of her grasp to head to the kitchen with the announcement he was getting the wine to celebrate. With her hooves free Velvet leaned herself casually on the table, "Your father and I have had our suspicions for a while, but just how long have you two secretly been a couple?" Knowing the look on her daughter's face meant she was trying to think of a way out of this Velvet purposefully directed her question at Titus instead but had to wait as he and Twilight shared an uncertain look before they both closed their eyes and nodded in acceptance they had been figured out.

"I think it's going on a happy two or three months now. Time has sort of flown so I might be off a bit," he said with a relieved smile that he wouldn't have to tread so lightly and, with the gig up, Twilight hopped her chair closer to his so her shoulder was in contact with him.

Velvet looked surprised at his answer. "That would be well before either your father or I started to suspect something, so I suppose some credit is due for your acting," she admitted and shared the bit of information with Night Light when he came back with a bottle of wine and five glasses. As he set the glasses and poured for each of them Velvet disappeared into the living room and by the time her husband was raising a glass in a toast to his daughter she returned with something in tow just in time to partake with a hearty swig. Putting her glass down she beamed at both Titus and Twilight before turning to the former, "I imagine you can tell, but it makes us so happy our Twilight finally found her special somepony-" Suddenly she looked off to her side on the floor at what she had brought and came back to both of them with a timid, anxious expression, "Is it okay if I ask something a little awkward?"

Twilight was a little dubious and in her glance to Titus it was clear he was uncertain how to proceed, too, and a second later the little movement of his head was communication enough that he was leaving it up to her to decide. Leaning comfortingly against his arm Twilight sighed and then nodded; hopefully this wouldn't be too weird.

Velvet smiled happily that they approved but her head sank toward the table, pony body language for showing submission, "Um, is this serious? Are you two... in love?"

Though she was relieved her worry hadn't come to fruition Twilight could feel her cheeks burn red she found herself looking up at Titus as he stared back to her; she didn't have to look to him to know his answer, of course, but she did it anyway and in the moment that they locked eyes it seemed like it slipped away. With two mirroring smiles Twilight slowly slid under Titus' closest arm until it was draped across her shoulder and he tightened it around her before she turned back to her mom.

"Yes."

It didn't seem possible but Velvet and Night Light lit up even more than they already had and the former pulled the latter in to touch her nose to his lovingly. Although Titus was able to watch on admiringly it was a bit too embarrassing of a scene for son and daughter so both of them looked away. This meant they were subsequently caught completely off guard when their mother reached down to the foot of her chair and, with a loud bang, dropped their greatest fear onto the table in front of her.

The family photo album.

"Being her mother I may be a little biased, but Titus? I just want to say you've got yourself a great mare and I know she'll do everything she can to make sure you're happy. Here, I want to show you a few things," Velvet said and slid the album that was thicker than a phone book in front of Titus. She then stood in her chair to lean over him so she'd be able to look at it at the same time; to Twilight and Shining the cover opening occurred in slow motion and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Their parents were both contently oblivious to this and Velvet flipped to the first page, "As you know, Shining Armor was born first, this is him here all swaddled up when we were at the hospital saying our first hellos! Isn't he adorable?!"

"Merciful Celestia, hear my plea and banish me to the moon," the captain groaned and let his head sink to the table before placing his napkin over his face like a death shroud.

"Don't mind him, sweetie, he does something melodramatic like that every time we bring this out. You know, Night Light and I really thought we'd be doing this with him before we would with Twilight," Velvet laughed playfully at her son's misery and simultaneously ignored the upset cry from Twilight that they had such little faith in her before changing to a page with a lock of Shining's hair in a pouch as well as four little shoes attached to it and pointed at another photo, "Ooh! Here he is at his first birthday, he got a toy set of guard armor and marched around like a little soldier. It was so precious. Now when he's in uniform I can't help but see my foal soldier!" Judging from the groan it sounded like Shining was actually dying under his napkin and Titus almost wanted to check but his attention was called right back to the photos when Night Light joined in and urged his wife to skip a couple of pages ahead.

"I was getting to it eventually dear, but alright," Velvet sighed; she still had a few really good photos of the young Shining she wanted to share like the first time he had gone potty by himself but the eagerness of her husband was too much so she had to spoil him a little. She knew which picture Night Light would want shown off first and with a practiced hoof flipped directly to the page it was on.

"Oh please no, not me too..." Twilight whispered and wrapped her hooves around Titus' arm in a bid that he not look.

"Take a look at little Twiwite!" Night Light coo'd and tapped a hoof on a picture of a him holding a violet unicorn foal that was wrapped tightly in a blanket while a weary Velvet smiled beside him and a small Shining looked excitedly at his newborn sister, "What a little munchkin, am I right?"

"A little bundle of joy," Titus chuckled genuinely and felt his arm get squeezed tighter though Twilight didn't look up. It's probably better that she didn't, otherwise she would have seen him perusing the other pictures of her as a filly; her dressed up as a book for her first Nightmare Night being carried by her father who must have been going for a librarian look because he held a sign that said "Shh!", a picture of her going off for her first day of school followed immediately by one of a large tri-fold board labeled The Simplicity of Harmonic String Theory and You which was clearly a science project due to a school-age filly standing in front of it proudly displaying a 1st Place ribbon. Lastly was a picture that was devoted an entire page of its own - from behind a young Twilight looked captivated as she was pulled in close under the wing of Princess Celestia and they walked down a hallway together, neither of whom seemed to realize the picture was being taken.

Velvet could tell Titus lingered on that one and spoke softly so as to not tear him away from it, "That was right after she got her cutie mark and Princess Celestia asked her to become her personal student." She looked over to Twilight, her daughter's ears flat back and eyes glued to her hooves as she clutched onto the human's arm, then over to Shining who was still hiding under his napkin. "They'd both probably prefer you not to, but you're free to look through this as much as you want," she said, tapping a hoof on the album before she turned her gaze up to Titus, "And despite what they think, Night Light and I can't help but enjoy sharing how beautiful our foals were."

Titus nodded in appreciation and turned through several more pages slowly; though he doubted either Shining or Twilight would be up to it he had a desire to sit with them and go through it without the parental input and get their thoughts-

"So, how many do you think you'll be having?" Velvet asked softly so as to not disturb his perusal so Titus only half heard her.

"How many what?"

"Foals, of course," she scoffed like it was obvious outside of what the antecedents had been, rolling her eyes as Twilight's went wide and she bolted upright.

"W-What?!"

"As you can see from the photos, Twilight will have inherited some adorable genes that she will pass along so your foals will be just as gorgeous as they were!" Night went on as Twilight had a near breakdown right beside Titus, "Velvet and I have been talking it over for years now, waiting for one of them to find their special somepony, and we agree that between both Shining and Twilight five would be the ideal number of grandfoals-"

"I c-can't... Twilight and I haven't... talked about..." Titus stumbled as his brain locked up hard, meanwhile Shining revealed he hadn't passed away from embarrassment when he repeated the number disbelievingly from under the napkin.

Night Light was quick to jump in at Titus' floundering, "Oh, not all at once and if you want more that's perfectly acceptable, of course!"

"And by no means are we suggesting right this minute either, sweetie," Velvet clarified with a look to her distraught daughter before she went back to Titus and nodded to her children, "Trust me, foals are incredibly tiring even before you pop them out; the sore hooves, waking up in the middle of the night with weird food cravings, walking down the street and whenever somepony steps aside to give you room you feel like it's because you're the size of a parade float... you'll have your hoo... um, hands? Hands, right. You'll have your hands full, Titus, but oh will Twilight be absolutely glowing as she waddles with a foal-!"

"Sweet Cele- Mom! Dad! Enough!" a red-faced Twilight shouted and pushed the album away before burying herself in Titus' jacket where she refused to show her face when they pleaded with her to come out.

"Munchkin, we're just excited for you is all," Night hummed and pulled Velvet into a hug. "Maybe we let ourselves get too excited, but we watched you be the solitary filly and we both knew one day you'd grow up. As we watched you grow into the mare you are today we've been looking forward to this-" he nodded between her and Titus with a warm smile which she thankfully saw because she turned her face enough to peek at them with one eye, "-For a long time now. We're sorry if our excitement embarrassed you, either of you, we were just... looking ahead is all."

"In time I hope you come to understand that," Velvet said softly because she knew she had upset Twilight the most, "You might be surprised to know, and I only realize it now after the fact, but your grandma and grandpa were the same way with Nighty and me and I remember how much I hated it. Now we've put you through the same thing, I... I'm sorry." With that she got up and left the room, Night Light calling to her to come back as she went around the corner into the living room where she could be heard sitting down on the couch.

An uneasy stillness hung in the air over the dinner table for several moments until eventually Titus put his napkin down and pushed his chair back. "I feel like I'm the cause of this tension," he said as he got up and both Night Light and Shining insisted that wasn't the case, but he shook his head, "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to come back, but maybe I'd better go for the time being-"

"Sit!"

He was halfway out of his chair when Twilight pulled him back into it and he turned to her a little shocked that she was so insistent. "It's not you," with a sigh Twilight hopped down out of her chair, her head and shoulders slumped, "Look, don't go anywhere. I'll... I'll go have a talk with Mom and smooth things out, I promise."

And then Twilight disappeared into the other room as well, the faint squeak of another occupant taking a seat on the couch audible before a shimmer engulfed the doorjamb. "I guess she wanted privacy, might be a while," Night Light commented on the soundproofing spell and with nothing else that could be said on it he turned back to Shining and Titus, "Just us guys now, huh? You fellas want anything like seconds, or maybe desert?" With all the talking he had been doing Titus still had to finish the lasagna and went back at it while Shining simply declined both and another heavy silence hung in the air. The father started picking up plates to take to the kitchen, waiting a moment for Titus to gobble down the last few bites before levitating the whole stack and disappearing into the kitchen.

Once he was gone Shining breathed a sigh of relief which brought Titus' attention. For a moment the unicorn looked like he wasn't sure what to say but then just shook his head lightly, "Sorry it went like this. Please understand Mom and Dad are great and very loving ponies, but they can let that get to them and be a little... excitable." Titus scoffed and told him he wasn't kidding to which Shining nodded then leaned forward and side to side in what the human realized was an attempt to peek around the door frame into the kitchen. "I think we're clear," he eventually whispered when he leaned back but kept his eyes and ears trained where his father had gone, "I um, no offense, but I'm glad you and Twily went and did all this first."

"None taken, but why are you whispering?" Titus responded at the same level.

"I..." Shining started but fell silent again, his brow furrowed in thought for a few seconds before he came to a decision with whatever he was thinking and nodded determinedly, "There's something weighing on me. Mom, Dad, and Twily don't know - they can't know - because I guarantee they'll flip out but I just can't keep going without telling somepony. Stallion to stallion, can I trust you with something? Something you can't share with anypony, not even Twilight - at least not yet?"

Titus was still for a second then bobbed his head slowly, "I trusted you with our secret, and while I think it'd be fair to give Twi a chance, yes; you have my word not to speak of it. What's on your mind, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. Better than fine, actually." Switching chairs to the one Twilight had been in Shining motioned Titus in closer, again eyeing the kitchen as the human leaned in. "Remember how I was in my dress uniform at Twily's birthday?" he asked and got a quiet acknowledgement from Titus, "It wasn't necessarily because I wanted to wear it to the party, it's because I was on a date right before it. I've been seeing somepony for a while but the problem is we're both so busy and it's a bit of a long distance relationship so it's hard to find coinciding free times to do things together. That said, when one occurred right as I was getting things together I really had to drop everything because of how little we see of each other. We lost track of time and I missed the train to Ponyville so I was afraid I'd have to write Twily to tell her I wasn't going to make the party. Ca- um, I mean my date said that would have been wrong and the next thing I know I'm standing on the Library's welcome mat and she's kissing me goodnight." Sitting back, Shining breathed a sigh of relief that he had gotten that out of his system and at least somepony besides Princesses Celestia and Luna knew, "So... tonight was a sneak peek into what I might expect when I bring my special somepony to meet Mom and Dad."

"I noticed you avoided giving me her name," Titus said with a coy grin and interrupted with a waved a hand that he didn't need it when the unicorn opened his mouth, "Relax, after not telling you about Twi sooner I'm not going to pressure you, Shining, tell me when you're ready. But... having been in your shoes, if there's ever a time you need someone to talk or vent to - you know, guy to guy - you'll always find my door open." He paused and let an eyebrow climb hopefully, "You will introduce me to her at some point though, right...?"

"She's... actually asked me the same thing, so..." Shining admitted sheepishly and left it at that, a grateful grin of his own crossing his face that he'd found somepony he was comfortable talking to about it, "It feels good to finally say something. Yeah, I'll definitely be taking you up on that offer-"

At almost the same time there was a fizz as the spell around the living room ended Night Light emerged from the kitchen with bowls of what looked like chocolate ice cream and Shining made a mad scramble for the one thing that could give him and Titus a cover story for sitting so close together.

"Oh, I definitely wasn't expecting to come back to see this," Velvet, who was walking shoulder to shoulder with Twilight, said upon seeing the photo album open in front of them. It was clear that both she and Twilight had cried at one point or another of their talk by the matted fur around their eyes but other than that evidence they both appeared in much higher spirits and seemed to have worked things out. Shining chuckled (nervously, as Titus detected) and told her he was going through a few of the pictures from when he had been in school before he started to move back to his seat when Twilight got closer.

"It's okay, you can stay there, Shiny," she said and surprised both him and Titus with how nonchalantly she hopped into the human's lap.

It was Titus' turn to be slightly embarrassed as Twilight took a seat with a playful grin flashed back at him as she did so which left him a little unprepared for when Velvet retook her spot beside him. He saw her look on fondly to Twilight and then him before a glow in her horn pulled Night Light's chair up against hers and she snuggled up next to him when he had finished setting out the ice cream.

"It's homemade!" Night said excitedly, taking his seat with a request for their opinions. His subsequent explanation into the creation of the ice cream was cut short when Velvet shoved her spoonful into his open mouth when he was between words and the mother sent a wave of embarrassment around the table one last time after pulling the spoon out and immediately using her husband's surprise to lovingly plant her lips on his.

Once they had all recovered amicable chatter rose at the table once again and the delicious desert was soon gone, even the extra that had been in the freezer, and it seemed to Titus and Twilight like the opportune time to go although both of them were completely stuffed and slightly tired from their unexpectedly long night out.

"I think it's rather late for the winding half-hour hike back to the Palace," Velvet voiced when they started saying their goodnight's with a look out of the window into the dark streets that were only occasionally lit by streetlamps so their brightness wouldn't disturb slumbering ponies with nearby houses. With that in her mind, along with the knowledge that the main streets were even more poorly lit because with the businesses along said streets closed they would be deserted aside from the occasional patrol, she nodded firmly, "It's far too dark, too. Who knows what kind of ponies might be out at this hour? Shining already said he was staying the night, why don't you two take Twilight's old room?"

Titus wasn't sure about that idea, and in honest truth was more than confident that between him and Twilight they could handle anything unfriendly they might bump into so the late hour and dark night outside wasn't a concern to him. Despite this, when she looked up to him with a questioning shrug it became clear she was favoring it.

"I mean, she's right about the walk taking that long, some of the gates we used to get here close after sundown for security reasons," Twilight said which Shining confirmed. She had already weighed both options so she laid out her reasoning for him to decide, "With how much you and I both ate I doubt we'd walk very quickly, too, and when we finally did get back to our room we'd still be looking at some unpacking before either of us could actually get to bed. This would just be easier, if you're okay with it."

Titus absentmindedly stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, the tiny toothbrush Velvet had gotten for his stay pinched between only three fingers as he ran it over his teeth; though they had gotten used to doing it at the same time Twilight had started before him and by the time her mother had come back with the brush and a tube of toothpaste she was already done and went back to her room to wait for him. Spitting the fruity paste out which had also been provided Titus rinsed his mouth and washed his face as the customary final act of sleep preparations before stepping out into the hall and subsequently almost tripping over Velvet.

"It's alright, sweetie, I sat myself in a place where I was underhoof while waiting for you," she dismissed it when he tried to apologize for nearly barreling into her, and then again for hogging the bathroom when he misunderstood what she had meant. "No no, I was waiting for you. I've already apologized to Twilight during our talk together and I feel I owe you an apology, too. I realize how insensitive it was for me to be talking about you two having foals the way I did after Twilight informed me of the complication you face in that regard. Although I don't know how you feel about it, either way I never meant to cause you grief by bringing it up. I just wanted you to know that. After we sorted things out between us Twilight told me you two haven't talked yet..."

"No, we haven't gotten around to it. Why? D-Did she tell you what her opinion is?" Titus found himself asking before he realized it but was greeted with a shaking head.

"No, she kept that to herself because... well, probably because she knew I'd find some time to talk to you alone and, being a bit of a blabbermouth as you saw tonight, she didn't want any sort of slip to put pressure on you one way or another," Velvet replied with a chuckle at her daughter's wisdom before taking a seat again after having stepped back to avoid getting bumped into, "The reason I said anything is this: please, seriously think for yourself what you want, and then come together to figure out what both of you want. Like I said earlier, being her mom I may be a little biased but... if or whenever the time comes you two are ready for it I sincerely hope you can find a way past the hurdle because I know Twilight has it in her to be a wonderful mother."

Titus felt an uncontrollable warm smile cross his face and rather than fight it he simply nodded, "I can see that in her, too. I can't make any promises but, should we come to that decision together, if there was anypony that would come up with a solution it'd be Twilight."

"That she would. And perhaps the next time you visit she'll have figured something out so you can bring your parents and maybe they'll have an embarrassing photo album of you to share," she giggled but it quickly faded when she saw he joke didn't have the desired effect, "I-I see I've gone and said something horribly insensitive again, haven't I? I'm sorry, are your parents...?"

"I can't be sure because for their own safety I couldn't get close to them, but last I observed they were alright. Unfortunately they wouldn't have any album of me because I was surrendered to the Jedi Order when I was... well, about as old or just a little older than a few of the pictures you showed me of Twilight, and all of those records were probably seized or destroyed when the Emperor took over," he explained and in an effort to show he wasn't upset he shrugged, "But maybe somewhere there's a dusty datacore with all my Youngling pictures Twilight could summon and hurtle through another portal."

"Careful what you joke about, that daughter of mine would find a way!"

They both shared a small laugh over their agreement on that statement before Titus hesitantly cleared his throat, "There was one thing I knew from my parents - or the culture I came from anyway - though how much of it I can fairly claim is mine I'm not sure, but..."

As he paused Night Light stepped out into the hallway in search of his wife and, when both she and Titus looked to him, he realized they had been talking and apologized for interrupting.

"No, actually. I wanted to say something, or ask something of both of you," Titus stopped the stallion as he was about to go back into the room. Night Light looked a little surprised and walked over to join his wife who told him Titus was telling her of a part of the culture he had come from which seemed to interest the husband and his ears rotated fully forward. This, of course, didn't make Titus feel any more sure about himself and he realized how anxious he felt and his usual methods of quickly controlling it proved somewhat ineffective and he stumbled with his words for a moment before both Night Light and Velvet urged him to take his time.

"T-Thank you, I... I only know of the practice and have had absolutely zero experience with it beyond that, so this is somewhat difficult. I... love you daughter," he started and it was clear to both ponies by his fidgeting and red face he was uncomfortable. They sat down to further enforce he was free to take his time though also clear to Titus was their building excitement and he wondered if they somehow had heard of the practice and knew where he was trying to go. Putting that aside he steeled himself and forged forward, "Right. I love Twilight, and I find I fall more in love her each day and I never want that feeling to end. However, I do not feel the time is right just yet and I don't know if the three months or so we've been with each other is considered long enough, but before she and I sit down and have a talk about what we want to do in regards to kids- um, foals, there's something else I feel we would need to do first. I imagine this might be unfamiliar and the first you've heard of it, but due to the societal structure it is an Alderaanian custom to approach and make it known that one will seek at some point the approval from the House or family heads for m... marriage-"

There was an excited, high-pitch squeal from Night Light that caught both Titus and Velvet off guard (and probably woke Shining down the hall) but she quickly joined him in a hopping dance of happiness before embracing each other which left Titus with an uncomfortable pause as he had to observe the whole thing. "I-I can't believe this is really happening... it might be a little backward, him asking us and it happening to Twilight before Shining... but it's happening, it's finally happening, hun!"

Eventually, still clutching one another, they turned back to him and despite the numerous congratulatory smooches and nuzzles Night Light was imparting on her cheek Velvet spoke, "Sorry, we've just been waiting for her to tell us she'd be approaching somepony's parents so you asking us came as a bit of a surprise, although Twilight explained a few of the things that you do differently so we don't mean anything negative by saying it was backward. But Titus? I really meant what I said that as her mother I've been able to see how our Twilight looks at you for a while now, and I think... well, I think that for how happy and in love you two look that whenever you might be ready you can expect a resounding yes-"

"From both of us!" Night Light finished excitedly.

A wave of relief washed over Titus and unwound all of the building tension he and been experiencing which culminated in a full-body sigh, "I had the hope you would be alright with it, but that... that you're both open to me being with Twilight is wonderful to hear, I can't begin to thank you enough. This would be down the road, of course, but when I know the time is right and before I see if she'll take me I'll come ask you again a bit more officially, and in a more appropriate setting than outside of your bathroom in the middle of the night."

"I guess I'll have you calling me 'Mom' one way or another!" This time Velvet's joke got a smile which she mirrored before she and Night Light bid him goodnight. Titus wished them the same and shortly after as he walked down the hall he heard their door click closed. Though he had offered to just take the couch for the night Twilight nor her parents would hear anything of it because as they had rightly pointed out it was far too short for him to lay down on and would have been an uncomfortable sleep at best. As was reaching for the door knob of Twilight's room where it was insisted he would be staying he suddenly heard a muted *Pst!* to get his attention and then realized Velvet's face was peeking out into the hall with a grin that was much more playful than her last.

"Three would be fine, sweetie."

With a giggle her face was gone in a flash, two blue hooves urging her back into the room, and he was left standing there stock-still with his hand outstretched but not yet grasping the doorknob in sudden realization that these were Twilight's parents and he could only expect to see more of them as time went on. Light give me patience.

Quickly stepping into the privacy the room awarded it was very obviously Twilight's. First to catch his eye was a poster of contrasting neon geometric shapes with the big bold letters "Science!" running in a funky diagonal, there was a chemistry set sitting atop a study desk near the window with a beginner's telescope pointed toward the moon, a wall-to-wall bookshelf which was chock full and there were still stacks of books on the floor by it, and another poster of a wise-looking Star Swirl holding a tattered scroll. The room screamed everything Twilight the moment he stepped foot inside but the pony herself was nowhere to be seen.

Titus knew she couldn't have gotten past him while he had been brushing his teeth: the bathroom and her parent's room sat across from each other at the far end of the hall near the stairs so he would have seen her if she had gone downstairs, and while her room was across from Shining's door it had remained closed so she couldn't be visiting him. He called her name softly to not risk waking either of her parents that were on the other side of the shared wall or Shining who was just across the hall, the Captain having also retired for the night at the same time as everyone else.

"Twi, where-" he started calling softly again and finally noticed a piece of paper folded to stand up in front of the closet. Picking it up he quickly opened it for some answers.

I'll be right back, just popping over to the Palace for a second. It's a surprise but, whatever you do, don't go in the closet! I'm using the smallest space in my room with the fewest things to remember so I can teleport back in one go rather than the several or more to get to the Palace. The only forms of teleportation magic taught to unicorns feature woven-in safety measures to prevent two bodies from occupying the same space. These safeties are so thoroughly integrated within the spell itself so that they couldn't be left out to streamline the casting, and without proper knowledge of dissecting and isolating the components such feats are beyond most unicorns. However, it is still dangerous for somepony to be standing in the point of the teleport arrival as the matter needs to be move out of the way because the teleporting pony has already committed to the spell and is in transit. Teleportation, as you know, is a very rapid means of moving from one place to another so this means the safety protocols have even less time to move offending matter out of the way and what results is a violent displacement of

Just don't stand in the closet.

"Well okay then," he said with a glance at the closed closet doors before sitting down on the bed to read through what she had crossed out. Finishing it quickly, he had scarcely kicked back to relax and wait when he heard a muffled *fwink!* from within the closet and before he could questioningly call out further proof that Twilight had returned came when new text appeared on the paper he still held.

Can you open the door? It's stuck from this side.

Titus found it a little odd he hadn't heard any movement of the door but rationalized it that she must have used the closet as a teleport location on another occasion and it was a known issue so he got up and reached for the small nob. She could have just said something, no need to update the note-

Inside, Twilight peeked through the small crack where the two doors came together and saw him read the message she had sent. Come on, come on... yes! When he started reaching for the door she readied herself, her body becoming like a tightly wound spring as she prepared for her launch forward.

*Tha-thump*

*Tha-thump*

Everything slowed down because of her building anxious tension to act and Twilight could hear her heartbeat as he got closer. She had been fighting to keep herself in control at the dinner table and now that the parental factor had been removed and they were in the privacy of her room she could give in. Mmm, I'm gonna getcha~!

The muscles in her back legs experienced minor tenses and relaxations to stay limber like a cat ready to pounce, her tail and butt wiggling back and forth until the door opened and she went off like a shot. As planned she caught him off guard and got her front hooves looped behind his neck and the impact sent him toppling backward. That's as far as her success went, however, because her attempt to get her lips on his was met by his superior reflexes with his head dodging just enough to one side that hers ended up over his shoulder and the kiss missed entirely. To further counter her surprise assault he got a hand on either of her hooves and let her momentum rotate him as they fell so that when they were finally on the floor he had her hooves that had been around his neck pinned to the floor beside her head by a hand. The sudden explosion into action had left both of them catching their breath but Titus was the first to speak.

"I've caught a few assassins before, though this is a first for a pajama assassin," Titus joked and shot a teasing grin down at the unicorn wearing a familiar outfit of matching magenta pants and shirt, "Let me guess your motive, assasin; Rarity must have sent you when she heard I'd have to wear the dress slacks she made to bed and feared the crinkles they might get. I will let you go if you tell her that if I'd known a special somepony was headed back to the Palace I would have asked her to grab-"

"Your pajamas?" Out from the closet floated his comfy pants and a shirt which distracted him long enough that Twilight teleported out from under him and onto his back where she latched on with all four hooves with a hold he wouldn't break. "Please, like I didn't make an itinerary before I left!" she said from her new perch before leaning in and putting her soft muzzle right against his ear where her voice dropped to a whisper, "And to appease the Pajama Clan you'll change into them slowly."

"Twi, your parents-"

"Would have to have very good ears to hear you changing from a whole room away," she giggled and nibbled the flesh on the back of his neck before returning her muzzle to his ear, "Give me a ride over to the bed so I can stretch out and watch."

Titus begrudging stood up from the floor and did so but before turning around so she could get drop to the bed he paused. "Okay, I'll do this but then you're doing something for me."

"Ooo... that sounds enticing, I hope we're not too noisy," she hummed with a lustful grin and after agreeing lay herself down on the edge of the bed. "It seems like a waste if I'm just going to be taking them off of you shortly," she crossed her hooves comfortably and nestled in for the upcoming show, "Still, I was looking forward to this. You may begin." Facing her he sighed and began undoing the buttoned waist of the slacks but she stopped him and magically re-buttoned them for him, "Na ah ah! Shirt first, and remember - slowly. Then turn around for your pants, but please don't just drop them. Lower them; I want to enjoy this."

Titus grumbled he was sure she already was which earned a snort and a pillow playfully hurled at him. She caught it when he tossed it right back and clutched it against her chest when he started the way she had asked, commencing with the top button and working his way down slowly. As he slid his arms out of the sleeves it was taken from him in Twilight's magic aura and hung on a bedpost as she asked him to put his hands behind his head and remain still.

She spent a moment looking over his bare chest, admiring his upper body muscles in the pose she had him holding. All of this is mine, just as much as all of me is his. The thought sent a shiver down her spine and made her squeeze the pillow tighter before she nodded for him to continue.

As he bent over to lower the pants - a movement which he knew Twilight was eagerly watching - he felt a hoof press against his butt before another joined it and then both wrapped around his waist to pull him closer. Twilight's muzzle was soon on his lower back, brushing and nuzzling with the occasional soft nibble. Titus could tell she had begun to lose control and was going to say something when she overpowered him with her pony strength to pull him into sitting down on the bed at which point she regained a measure of control due to the physical contact. He was honestly proud of her willpower, however, because due to being rushed to get out the door for the train they hadn't engaged in any sort of intimacy since the previous night and with being busy since their arrival they'd been otherwise occupied; it was quite the feat to have gone so long in the middle of an estrous cycle. "It's going to be hard to keep going like this... and I'm kinda uneasy with your parents right on the other side of this wall."

"Sorry," she whispered in regards to her interruption but nuzzled her way up along either side of his spine but stopped to pay the spider-like scar a little extra attention until she was placing light kisses on his shoulder. She was happy when he placed several pecks on her muzzle when it was close enough for him to do and she just relaxed against him, "I think you can tell I would really like to make love with you, but I can be satisfied with some snuggles and a few 'I love yous' if you feel my mom and dad being that close is awkward. I would understand-"

*Er-eee clunk*

*er-EE thunk*

*Cre-ek clunk*

They both knew what that was. Twilight's face screwed up much more than his, of course, before she tried to dislodge the mental image of her parents the rhythmic noise coming through the thin wall created by covering her ears and shaking her head.

On the other side Night and Velvet worked together in a steady rhythm. "Hun, you think this will work?" he asked, bouncing himself in time with her, "I mean, what if we're killing the mood?"

"Oh please," Velvet scoffed around a breath and waited for him to go back up to rock forward before pushing back again; she wasn't sure how long she could go before they'd need to switch, mostly because she thought he had taken the easier position, "Twilight is very progressive, she's dating Titus for crying out loud! And you saw the way she was looking at him at dinner; all we're trying to do is put the idea into their heads to, you know... be playful, get a little frisky, and the friskier the better! The more comfortable they are with each other the more likely they'll start talking foals, dear."

"If it works we'll have to come up with an excuse for Shiny to use that room when he brings his special somepony over," Night thought out loud and his wife hummed that they could always just move stuff into his room when he was gone and leave their daughter's uncluttered. She said all of this around her breathing but thankfully her husband was aware she was getting tired, "Hey, want to switch for a bit? I'll take a turn down there."

Velvet agreed and gladly took him up on his offer, quickly climbing onto the corner of the mattress with the squeaky springs to jump while Night Light positioned himself to push on the foot-board so the bed would clunk against the wall.

Twilight groaned in agony and rolled over; Titus, however, was chuckling at both the awkward noise and her reaction to it. "No no no no~! Stop l-laughing, it isn't funny," she rolled back and forth several times while covering her ears as the noises continued, "Ugh, I can't believe this is happening. This is so embarrassing!"

Titus pulled the soft pajama bottoms on and left the shirt draped over the foot-board before stretching out beside Twilight, catching her with both arms on one of the rolls toward him. "Come on," he said while stopping her rolling by pulling her closer until her back against was his chest, "I think I can help." Thankfully the noises from next door soon stopped and Twilight was saying she thought he was too uneasy for that when his outstretched hand brought a jigsaw puzzle floating over to the bed and set it down in front of her.

She looked back over a shoulder at him in slight confusion of how a simplistic puzzle meant for foals was going to help her. "I can do this in, like, three seconds," she said with another look at the puzzle with its big pieces before she turned to others in their boxes on the bookshelf, "There's one or two with a thousand pieces or more, those would be more of a challenge-"

"Hang on, did you say you can do this one in three seconds?" Titus interrupted and reached over her - noting how she physically pushed herself into him as he did so - and held it so she could see the image. "Are you sure you don't need to look at it to memorize the picture? Who is this of and what are they doing?" he asked rhetorically. His question had much more of an underlying purpose which she failed to understand, though at this point it wasn't that important, and she answered it was very clearly a puzzle of Princess Celestia raising the sun. "So simple that you can do it in three seconds?" he confirmed with doubt then tapped the puzzle upside down to knock the pieces out onto the cover before setting it back in front of her, "Prove it."

"Well maybe not three. It's going to take a little longer, what with a constant reminder you're not wearing a shirt from feeling that skin of yours so wonderfully close," she conceded with a teasing look over one shoulder. All that kept her from rolling herself over and kissing him as hungrily as she wanted to was biting her lip to the point of almost hurting, though her curiosity what his game with the puzzle might be also had an effect in keeping her engaged in the task. He made the comment that the distraction was intended and then he bid her to get started so she turned back to the pile of pieces and channeled magic into her horn to levitate several at once. Okay... even with him like that this will be eas-

A sudden pressure made her gasp and a fraction of a second later she realize he had wrapped a hand around her horn which was enough to disrupt her ability to channel but not break the connection to her magic. He wasn't holding firmly, however, and she turned to look at him questioningly whereupon he leaned in and nuzzled an ear, "No magic. I wanted to do this with that toy model, but this will be good practice."

"Wait, what? We've only ever done the meditation practice," she said shakily, the gentle pressure of his hand on her horn which continued to glow in wait for a spell to make use of the Harmony it was holding being more than a little pleasurable. Twilight sighed but wasn't wholly aware she squirmed her hips anxiously against him, "I-I don't know if I can do this yet."

"Well of course you don't, but you won't know if you don't try," Titus retorted and released her horn when he realized the unintended effect his grip was having on her. She had made a lot of progress with the meditation side of learning to harness the odd connection she had to the Force but it would already be a challenge in her current state without him contributing any additional distractions. "And even if you can't do it right now that doesn't mean you won't the next time, or the next after that," Titus continued. He could sense his words calmed her, as did the belief in her they carried, and he wrapped her arms around her and let a hand brush at her chest gently, "I'll focus with you and help how I can. Start by clearing your mind like you usually do. Then trust-"

"Trust in the Force," she finished. Trust in the Force, Twilight. Trust that confounding form of energy or matter that none of my sophisticated equipment can detect. Closing her eyes she turned her focus inward and breathed a sigh, both physical actions she remembered him explaining had absolutely nothing to do with the actual connection itself and in time and with practice she would be able to call upon the Force as he did without need of either. Until then, however, she was content with the method she had to employ.

Closing his eyes simply for the peace it brought Titus joined her and immediately was observing her state of meditation; ten minutes passed, then twenty before the puzzle pieces finally drifted lazily into the air. Good, Twi. You're getting quicker.

She could tell she was levitating the pieces, too, and unlike the first time in her lab when she had lost concentration in her excitement she had a good control over it now. "Okay, so I'm lifting the pieces," she said calmly with a flat tone, "How do I get them in the puzzle where they're supposed to go? The corner pieces should be easy enough because of their right-angle corners, but what about the others?"

"You're doing good, but try not to think of the geometric shapes you're working with. What you want to do is focus less on the puzzle pieces individually," Titus answered as he continued to observe her state of mind and connection to the Force. This was the stage he had been waiting for since floating the puzzle over for her to look at and now drew that conversation back to the forefront as she questioned what he meant. "When you focus on the small pieces individually what you're doing is focusing on the chaotic nature of the broken puzzle while trying to make sense of it," he explained somewhat cryptically as he tried to assume the role of philosophical teacher but his inexperience and uncertainty in such a role lead himself to feel a little foolish, "As I have said before, meditation is the gateway to many things including understanding yourself, others, and the world around you. This is no different. What I want you to do is ignore the puzzle for a moment and just meditate until you feel serene, I'll observe and will let you know how we'll continue when I see you're ready."

The puzzle pieces drifted back down to the bed as Twilight did as instructed and both human and pony remained in quiet contemplation for several long moments.

Finally, when Titus felt she was ready to proceed, he spoke again, "Alright. I'm going to ask for you to think of the puzzle again, but rather than think of the pieces and the shapes you'd need to sort out I want you to envision the picture the completed puzzle made. Don't even think of it as a puzzle but just get a really clear image of it in your mind as you continue to meditate, describe it in detail if you want to, and focus on that."

"Okay, um..." Twilight's eyebrows angled inward as she brought up the recent memory of the puzzle Titus had just been holding in front of her, "It's of Princess Celestia raising the sun. She's flying in the air above Canterlot, wings extended out to either side and her hooves are stretched above her head with the sun centered between them as rays of light and warmth pour out in every direction while the moon retreats below the horizon behind her. She's... beautiful. And she looks kindly, happily, and protectively down to the ponies on the ground that are smiling and cheering for her in thanks for giving them another day."

"That's a great description, I can see it, too. Now I want you to continue focusing on what all the elements you just described come together to create. Try to visualize any other minor details you might have left out, anything at all will help," he instructed and watched the outline of the puzzle with interest as Twilight fell silent and did as instructed. Nothing happened for the longest while but Titus waited patiently because the passing time was of little consequence and, as he suspected, eventually the pieces started floating once again. Though it was clear she was struggling with maintaining her focus for one reason or another one by one they falteringly drifted onto the puzzle board right where they were meant to go without any sign of second guessing. Also having learned from last time, Titus held off on his congratulations though that was much easier to do as he was getting accustomed to the rapid progress Twilight was making. He waited a little longer as the completed puzzle sat before him before giving her a small squeeze, "You can stop. Open your eyes, love."

"Sorry, I really tried-" Twilight turned over her shoulder and started saying without even looking at the puzzle in front of her until his grin cut her off. Confused, it was his nod for her to look that lead to discover her success sitting right in front of her. "I... I did it? It worked... h-how did you know that would work!?" she whispered excitedly lest her voice carry through the house. Titus explained it was the same method Krua had employed in teaching him when he was no older than the school foals and the same one he had later used to construct his lightsaber. He then asked how she felt which caused her pause as she thought over the question, "I don't know, accomplished? And really calm, like I feel normal and... not in heat. The desire for you... well, it'll always be there, but in terms of my cycle I feel like I can ignore it. H-How is that possible, the meditation?"

Titus simultaneously nodded and shook his head gently to indicate she was partially right, "Remember what I said earlier? 'Meditation is the gateway to understanding yourself.' The reality is that was you taking control of yourself, the meditation was only a means to that end."

"The old 'mind over matter' saying, I get it but I never thought it was powerful to this extent. Well it's just nice finally feeling a little more in control again, regardless of how- oh," a wide yawn interrupted Twilight and she stretched. Without the gnawing urges of the cycle dominating her mind she suddenly felt incredibly tired, but it was a welcome weariness in comparison to being high-strung from her cycle to get what she needed from him. Still, Twilight nevertheless found herself snuggling into the familiar little spoon position that placated the majority of her remaining urges as her flanks settled in against his lap. Once she was comfortable she rolled over her shoulder and gave him a quick peck, "Thanks for this, love. I wish we would have done this sooner in the week so I could give you a break and wouldn't have felt like all this time I've been pressuring you into-"

"I enjoyed myself so there was no pressure felt coming from you. No undesirable pushing, anyway," Titus preemptively corrected with a smooch of his own, "And I can assure you that will never be the case, Twi. Once we get back to our room at the Palace..." He accented his fading out with a hammy waggle of his eyebrows.

"Mmm, I look forward to it," Twilight smiled and turned away to prepare for sleep, her head laying down on his bend elbow of the arm Titus had wrapped under her, "But before we go back I'd like to spend some time with Mom tomorrow, we'll probably go shopping or wander around the market after breakfast. It's going to be a bunch of maretalk so I imagine there won't be much of interest for you, maybe you and Shining can do something?" Titus indicated that might be something he would enjoy and he would approach the Captain in the morning to ask at which point Twilight bid her human goodnight and closed her eyes.

Titus could tell, however, that she wasn't actually sleeping and instead had gone back to meditating and if he had to guess it was because she was eagerly practicing for their next exercise with the model ship kit.

"You never cease to amaze me, Twi. My amazing mare," with a final smooch of sweet dreams on her nearest ear Titus also joined her in closing his eyes and turning his focus to the Force where he continued with the silent observation of the way its flow changed around her as she opened her mind to it. She wasn't aware of his surveillance because her skill wasn't to the point yet where she would be able to push her perception outward in the same manner he had done under their first experiment with the Sense Link spell after fixing the datapads, but as Titus lay watching his mare he felt something.

A small disturbance moving through the house.

He would have missed it entirely if he hadn't been focusing and instantly Titus could tell it wasn't Night Light, Velvet or Shining, all of whom he could feel were still in their rooms. The entity moved through the house absolutely silently and Titus could tell they were obscured in some manner which he best drew the similarity to him being like sensors trying to pierce a cloaking field as he felt it come up the stairs and pass by Night Light's and Velvet's room. Not a burglar, there's stuff of value downstairs that would be easier to get away with. I... I can't feel any motivations through whatever they're employing to obscure themselves. At that point Titus subtly motioned a hand at the suit jacket he had hung up on the back of the door and very discretely so as to not disturb or alert Twilight he floated both of his lightsabers out of the special pocket inside that Rarity had considerately concealed with her expert sewing. Hijkata and other disciplines might work with pegasi and Earth ponies, but unless this cloaking field is created by an enchanted trinket I can't rely on it alone when it comes to unicorns. With both weapons securely in his hand Titus remained on guard, his eyes snapping open as he tracked the entity's location through the wall when it came to a stop just outside their door. He could feel whoever it was pause and turn to face where he was as if they could sense him, too, but suddenly Titus felt Shining move in his room and rush to the door where it was quickly and just a little noisily opened when the hinge creaked.

Titus relaxed a bit because it was clear Shining knew whoever this was and Titus' first theory was it might have been an operative; when they had met for dinner during his first stay in Canterlot a pony had slipped in quietly and given the Captain a few confidential files so perhaps with him away from the Palace this visit was necessary. There was a very quick and hushed conversation outside that was too low for Titus to hear and it was over before he could heighten his hearing to listen in because both ponies moved into Shining's room and the door was closed. Realizing there was no reason to be so tense about the situation Titus carefully reached over Twilight and deposited the sabers on the nightstand.

She was still just barely awake, which was discernible by the small smile that crossed her face at the light pressure he exerted on her in his reach for the nightstand and the conscious wiggle closer to him when it ended. Titus placed another soft smooch on the same ear and got his arm back around her.

He was about to lie down again from the propped up position he had taken when the hair on the back of his neck stood on end and immediately Titus knew whoever had gone into other room was now observing him in a similar way he had done to them. As he had been trained he fortified his mind against intrusion, and was just in time doing so as he felt the tendrils of foreign willpower wash over the bulwark he had formed.

Oddly, it wasn't the forceful attack he had expected. Instead, he drew the parallel to the familiar and gentle warmth he would feel whenever Luna would check in on him from the Dream Realm though she had respected his wishes after he had voiced he was uncomfortable having someone - even someone as trusted as she - probe his thoughts and dreams. The current presence felt different and not nearly as refined as Luna but it was openly there and not trying to hide nor did it try and batter its way through his defenses, instead it simply explored the boundary he had created as if it was curious. Hello? Titus let the thought word hum in his mind as he rolled his perception outward.

There wasn't a communicated response but he felt their surprise by way of a sudden but brief withdrawal and after a short pause of the warmth hanging on the fringes of contact it returned hesitantly and slowly, testing to see if it was welcome. Titus was still cautious and left the fortified maze of defenses around his mind up but rather than construct further walls to contain and then fight off the intrusion like he would under a Force Persuasion or Dominate attempt, he felt again that it was simply curious as to who or what he was. He knew it to be a phantom sensation but it was like soft hands explored him though Titus was too focused inwardly to notice any feelings of discomfort or awkwardness and very quickly he had reached out and found the one he had connected with. Hello. Who might you be?

Again the sensation paused at his words and he came to think that perhaps, unlike Luna who'd say a good night to him when checking on him, this pony didn't know how to communicate through thoughts. This was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as his consciousness made contact and immediately following it he was nearly overwhelmed with a feeling of love that burned deep within his chest that didn't quite break his concentration but was enough that he recognized his own withdrawal from her. Wait, her? Titus felt like there was a giggle and realized the briefest contact had gotten him that information and after recovering he reinforced his focus. As he turned back to the mysterious pony he was touching minds with he could feel she was cautious of the contact like he was but he felt her tentatively call him back.

Slowly he reached out again though this time he was prepared for the sensation so rather than feel again like a heavy blow it came more in the form of being wrapped in a warm, comfortable blanket. Titus felt an urge and, looking lovingly down at the stretched out form of Twilight next to him, he couldn't help but sigh contentedly. As he continued to gaze upon her his mind kept exploring and together both he and the mystery pony began to understand one another; Titus could feel she loved Shining which put him more at ease that this was someone the Captain trusted - which he confirmed by also reading his feelings toward her very easily - so by extension Titus felt a little more trusting, too. The feelings for Twilight surged forward again and Titus inadvertently squeezed her tighter when they were too much to ignore without doing something.

"Hmm? You're awake?" she whispered, moving a hoof so she could pull one of his arms that was around her closer into her chest; she had nearly been asleep when he had tightened his hold on her gently but it had been enough to wake her the rest of the way. In his whispered apology he breathed heavily into her neck which tingled alluringly and sent a shiver down her spine which her attention followed right to what she felt poking her in the tail. When he didn't try to make a sheepish excuse to curtail her interest like she expected and instead transitioned to nuzzling she rolled herself over in his arms to face him, playfully and a little hopefully nudging under his chin with her nose, "So... did you change you mind, then? I can cast a privacy barrier-"

"Do it."

His tone was almost pleading and from its lustful undertones Twilight experienced a full-body shudder which had only finished working its way through her hind hooves when she had completed the sound-proofing spell. As an afterthought she locked the doorknob, as well, and her final preparation was to levitate the whole bed up and inch it away from the wall - the spell might stop noises but a headboard banging into a wall might knock something off on the other side of it. Focusing on lowering the bed back down softly was difficult and Twilight nearly lost her channel because Titus had sat up and was brushing a hand up and down her side. "This feels like a real one-eighty change from earlier," she commented on his eagerness once the bed was back on the floor, turning over one shoulder to say so as she rolled from her side onto her stomach. Both of Titus' hands went to her shoulders and began a strong massage which was something she had voiced on previous occasions she really enjoyed, and it helped relax and get her in the mood though admittedly the latter wasn't so much of an issue this week.

Titus could feel across the hall that Shining and his visitor were in a similarly developing situation, and revealing something like that to Twilight would have felt like a betrayal of the trust Shining had created when he had told Titus of his secret somepony. Although he had retreated from the other mind's presence he could feel its curiosity as it lingered on the outskirts of his perception even through the powerful urge he had to be with Twilight so, ensuring it wouldn't encroach any further, he eagerly turned to focus on the mare in front of him.

Twilight watched over her withers as the hands slid from her shoulders down either side of her barrel to her hips and she shivered with building anticipation. As much as she thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated his ever present desire to see her fully satisfied several times over before giving in himself to climax she still felt bad for snapping at him their first love-making session under heat. After a quickly offered profuse apology and heartfelt kisses she had explained that with the onset of her estrous cycle it was more important for him to be quick rather than satisfying because causing an orgasm without his own release actually made things worse for the mare, which was also the reason all coolers were required to have a discharge function of some form and why coolers weren't considered pleasurable toys. Much to Twilight's relief he had been more than understanding of the special requirements and had done his best to accommodate her situation in the times following.

This seemed no different as he had moved to kneel on his knees behind her and the hands on her hips moved the hem of her pajama shirt up to reveal the waistband. Before Titus had become her coltfriend the pajamas hadn't gotten much use outside of sleepovers with the girls when they would all dress up a bit or when it was cold enough that her blanket alone wouldn't keep her warm through the night, and since then he had fulfilled that job but she had worn them anyway. They were extremely comfortable for starters but in addition to that she had come to notice the extra attention she got from him when she wore them; most ponies would say it was never anything major, a complement and maybe a glance or two or an extra touch here or there. To Twilight , however, who had felt so unlucky with stallions her whole adult life it came as such an uplifting change so the pajama outfit had become more or less a staple of their nights together and had been thinking of getting more sets for some variety but mostly so she wouldn't have to put them through the laundry as often as she was.

Titus had shifted her shirt out of the way enough to reveal the tailored hole just below the elastic waistband meant for the pony's tail to be fed through and, having been instructed on the proper procedure, folded the waist back several inches past her butt which freed the dock of her tail. He would have started gently pulling it through but she interrupted with a giggle and playfully teasing wiggle of her hips. Like she always did.

So, also like all the other times, that got her a light open-handed swat on the flank, "You're making it take longer~."

Their little scripted series of events continued with his sing-song scold and a small bite of the exposed flesh made sensitive by where the waistband had been and Twilight reached a hoof back to brush encouragingly at his hair until he sat up and resumed pulling her tail through the hole. When he was finished he paused and Twilight could tell he had spotted her surprise when his head tilted to one side curiously.

"What have we here?" he asked and pulled the pajamas down so he could reveal the hint of white he thought he had seen.

Twilight stepped out of the pants and flicked them off the side of the bed with a hind hoof where they were quickly forgotten before displaying the article of clothing she had snuck under them by raising her tail. "R-Rainbow gave them to me, she stopped by the library while I was packing," she explained, slightly embarrassed as this was the first she had worn anything quite so closely fitting and risque. Titus was examining the lingerie rather thoroughly so when she felt the hand on her hips urge them a little higher she complied and moved her hind hooves closer together while looking back over a shoulder hopefully, "When you said you were looking forward to doing some unwrapping I thought this would be the perfect opportunity, so I grabbed them out of my luggage. D-Do you like them?"

"Absolutely," Titus shuffled forward on his knees a little closer before brushing a finger downwards and over the embroidered triple gem symbol, "But they'd be even better with your cutie mark rather than Rarity's-"

The touch of a finger on her sensitive slit caused an inadvertent swish of her tail that whipped across his chest which she could correctly guess was somewhat painful by his wince. She was about to apologize when she felt both arms wrap around her hind legs and lift her whole back half up off the bed before he buried his face into her flanks. Wow, what's gotten into him?! His nose dug into her, or would have had it not been for the lingerie barrier, and when his mouth started working hungrily against the fabric Twilight gasped out of surprise, "You've never done this before, I guess the underwear is a bigger hit than I thought it'd be..." Once over her initial shock Twilight assumed this was necessary foreplay because, being the primary instigator in their relationship, she would usually have already gotten herself worked up or close to the point where just the removing of his clothes would be enough to make sure she was ready for him which brought a potential issue to the forefront of her mind. "W-Where my tail is fed through the hole there's a pair of snaps just above that to get them off," she explained the workings of the lingerie which had been a little difficult to get into. A hand brushed up to locate them and his hum of acknowledgement sent her head sinking to the pillow and very quickly she could tell she started winking at him, though it was harder to discern just how much she had contributed to the quickly drenched underwear, and not long after Titus simply pulled them aside.

Titus lapped at the exposed Twilight, probing his tongue into her out of an urge he couldn't immediately place but soon concluded it must have been born from the other presence. He had felt that it had retreated slightly, probably because whoever it was was focused elsewhere, but when he turned some of his attention toward it to see if it was there it came forth again to meet him.

Twilight, in the meantime, knew she was ready for him and though she tried to hold out as long as she could to accommodate what he apparently wanted to do she was at the point she was physically shaking and couldn't take the pent-up frustration any longer. Reaching back she patted him several times which was the signal they had established at the start of the week. Oddly he hesitated and she was about to tap him a bit more in case he hadn't gotten the clue she was getting antsy but before she could Titus lowered her hooves back to the bed. Her shaky knees, however, weren't ready to support the weight and she collapsed onto her stomach.

"Oh wow," Twilight sighed in surprise of the state she was in and rolled over one shoulder in time to see him untying the string waist of his pants. Eagerly she watched them be pulled past his knees where she completely lost memory of them in favor of focusing on Titus' now-exposed crotch, her tail lifting out of the way to allow the twitching member pointed at her uninhibited access. Titus was half way over her when she asked for him to wait and rolled over onto her stomach, a curious but playful grin crossing his face as he waited which she sought to answer, "You know I like it like this, I feel so much closer to you."

"Yeah, I know, love," he said, though the grin got a little wider before he started wrapping his arms under her, "How about a kiss-?"

Immediately Twilight's eyes went wide in realization of what that playful grin was for and what he knew was still on his lips so she pushed him away to hooves-length as he puckered up expectantly, "Um, no thanks."

"What's wrong, Twi?" he asked dryly and craned his neck to get just a little closer, "Kiss me."

"Ah! Nooo~!" she found herself giggling and squirmed to counter his attempts to bypass her on either side before she teleported off the bed to one side with a laugh. Titus attempted to follow, though he was slowed to a shuffle by the pants still around his knees so Twilight was able to get to the other side of the bed by the time his feet were on the ground and he kicked the pants off. With the bed between them they both circled around it, Titus attempting to catch Twilight while making comically loud kissing noises while Twilight laughed and poked her tongue out at him teasingly when he would repeat the request for a kiss. Eventually in one attempt to leap over the bed away from him a hand caught her hind hoof and she rolled onto her back again as he climbed over her amid laughter from both of them. As he closed in Twilight grabbed the pillow and shoved it in his face as a shield. There was no force behind the arms that were wrapped under her so when their combined laughter died down to small chuckles she moved the pillow enough to get a look at him.

"I was starting to think you wanted to suffocate me," he joked.

Twilight smiled but didn't respond and instead used the corner of the pillowcase to thoroughly wipe his lips to her satisfaction before slowly letting it fall to one side and off the bed. Getting her hooves around the back of his neck she pulled him closer to touch noses. "Thanks," she hummed softly.

"For what?"

Twilight pulled him closer, resting her forehead against his while either hind hoof slipped around his hips, "For that. For finding small ways all week to make this cycle fun." She kissed him gently and with a little bit of hesitation but found no lingerings of any odd or discomforting flavor before eventually pulling away, "With all my heart I love you, Titus."

"And I love you, too, Twilight, now and forever," he responded as they came together again, the presence on the edge of his mind exploding in strength as the words acted like fuel added to a blazing fire. The hooves he had felt hook behind his hips pulled them forward and the glow of her horn resuming briefly meant she had steadied his shaft and as their lips came together she pulled him inside whereupon he let Twilight set their pace with her hind hooves.

Descending stiffly to the floor Twilight could feel Titus watching her as she took a stride away from the bed but in the middle of giving him a loving smile over one shoulder she was overwhelmed with a monstrous yawn. She pushed forward to stretch out her legs behind her, her back arching and head reaching back as far as it would go to look at the ceiling before she rocked back, her chest dropping to nearly brush the floor as she stretched her forehooves and rolled her shoulders, a content squeak accompanied a small wiggle of her hips as all the stiffness from sleep was worked out of her body with a final, full-body shake. "Ahh! There's nothing quite like the first stretch of the morning!" she chirped and turned about to find his trademark lop-sided grin aimed back at her.

"You're adorable, you know that?" he answered before yawning himself.

"I'm well aware, yes, but I like hearing you say it." Twilight watched as the yawn turned into a stretch similar to hers, his arms and legs going out straight toward the head and over the foot of the bed which delightfully pulled the hem of his shirt up to reveal his navel as the stretch lingered for a few seconds and he wiggled a little from side to side into the mattress. While his eyes where closed she zipped in to surprise him with a kiss on the belly, her nose quickly worming its way under the shirt to continue upward. The tickling assault was quickly stopped when he grabbed her shoulders and hauled her back up to rest on his chest, his laughter spurring her on to her own giggles as they enjoyed the simple pleasure of another morning of waking up to snuggle together.

It wasn't long, however, before there was a soft knock on their door which Twilight reluctantly left Titus' side to answer.

"Good morning! I thought I heard somepony awake in here, are you both awake or is your coltfriend asleep-?" Velvet greeted quietly and used her half-excuse to peek around Twilight in hopes of catching him with his clothes off but found him sitting on the end of the bed in his pajamas and he waved her a good morning. Breathing a sigh of relief that they both looked like they had been awake for a little bit her voice returned to normal, "Nightie was eager to start breakfast so he's downstairs making pancakes. Will you be staying or...?"

"I think we were definitely planning on it," throwing the door open wide Twilight walked back to the bed and hopped up beside the human, "Though, if you're available, I was hoping I could maybe spend some time with you today, Mom-"

"Oh, but of course!" Twilight didn't even get to provide a reason before Velvet excitedly accepted the offer of time with her daughter before she smiled sheepishly at Titus as she imagined the reaction Night Light might have if he was dragged to such a place, "There's some new stores I've been dying to go to, but I doubt your coltfriend would be as enthusiastic about following us mares around on errands."

Titus shook his head and declined when Twi suggested at trip to the gift shop they had spotted yesterday, "I think you'd have a better time to yourselves without me lumbering around causing a scene everywhere you went. No, I was going to ask Shining what he's got going on today because there were a few ideas he and I both wanted to share in regards to his work."

Velvet's ears perked up, "If that's the case could I ask you to wake him up and let him know about breakfast? Nightie needs me back in the kitchen or he'll get carried away and cook breakfast for the whole neighborhood." Titus chuckled but both Twilights looked at him seriously before his fillyfriend shook her head.

"No, Mom isn't joking. He's done that before; even after sharing it with everypony on the street we had nothing but green bean casserole for a solid week, or some sort of variation to break of the monotony," she explained.

"Which is why I'd better get back before the pancakes are stacked to the ceiling. So you're not standing around waiting like last night with the toothbrush I went ahead and set out some towels in the bathroom in case you wanted to take a shower or bath," Velvet told Titus as she headed back for the door before saying she'd see them downstairs shortly.

Twilight indicated that she wanted a shower to freshen up and, as much as she said she would enjoy it, it was probably best if they not risk sharing one with her parents up and about so she offered him the choice of going first or after her. Titus took her up on that offer and rushed through bathing though midway through washing his hair and with shampoo stinging his eyes to blindness he heard a *fwink!* behind him and soon found Twilight had teleported right into the shower with him. "What happened to this being too risky?" he asked, stooped under the sprayhead to wash his hair out.

"We're just bathing this time," she hummed just before rearing up to hug him around the hips from behind and cast a teasing look up at him as she floated the bar of soap over for her own use, "And if there's a knock on the door I still remember everything about my closet so I can teleport there and say I popped over to the Palace for a shower." Titus grunted and like Twilight said they simply bathed and were soon enough drying off at which point Titus got dressed and headed for Shining's room while Twilight returned to hers to clean it up after last night's events.

Titus rapped a knuckle on the door lightly, "Captain? Captain, it's Titus-" With no response he tested the door to find it unlocked and carefully swung it open while being mindful of the squeak he remembered a hinge making. A sudden rustle of movement and a bedsheet tossed into the air caught his attention leading him to only catch the pink flank and a tri-color tail of a pony disappearing out of the open window. Ignoring the heavy musk of the room Titus quickly strode over to the window and peered outside and though the street was empty on account of the early hour no pony he could see was the color he had noticed. A glance over his shoulder to the sprawled out and exposed Shining revealed him to be sleeping peacefully so Titus turned back to the window and focused. You don't need to run, I'm a friend.

Titus felt the presence he had contacted the previous night and once again picked up on playful mirth from somewhere very close by however looking around at the small overhang of roof just outside the window there was nothing and nopony to see. What he didn't know was that he was nearly nose-to-snout with the shrouded pony hiding right in front of him that had gone as still as a statue and she remained like that, balanced precariously on the overhang, until he retreated back into the room.

Sh... Shining s... said as m... much.

It was clear to Titus it had been a struggle to communicate the thought to him but he could sense the pony was still nearby. Rather than continue to use thoughts to communicate Titus spoke softly, pulling the nearby desk chair over to take a seat as he did so, "And he said to me you were interested in having him introduce you on account he and I are friends. I understand and can appreciate the desire for discretion, we've got a couple of minutes before everyone goes downstairs for breakfast so I can lock the door and we can say a proper hello in privacy if you'd like to wake the Captain up."

Again the thoughts came to him brokenly and slow though he immediately sensed his offer wasn't going to be taken up before the words even reached him. Adorable blabbermouth, that was supposed to have been a secret. Despite realizing he had revealed Shining had shared something he shouldn't have Titus sensed a warm smile being cast his way. Yes, I would be interested, but not today and not because you two are friends. I suppose I'll blab a little, too, and tell you a secret of his: I became interested in meeting because, though he'd be embarrassed to say it to you directly, Shining admires you... There was a pause as the pony thought for a moment which also served as a interlude for Titus to get over his surprise at that revelation before her voice came back to him. Perhaps it's because last night when we made contact with each other I felt you had a good, honest heart that I feel if I were to come back in I could trust you to keep Shining and I a secret. Because of that I'll talk to Shiny about maybe seeing if we can meet before I have to leave Canterlot.

"Careful now," Titus cut her off but his tone wasn't serious and mirrored her earlier playful mood, "You've just given a clue you're either not from Canterlot or you're headed away on a trip."

"Oh, how careless of me. In that case I'll be more careful, although admittedly if you knew the right pony to talk to my identity could be revealed with what you already know so there is little reason to continue so steeped in mystery," a spoken voice rang from several locations at once which made his detecting the source impossible. A playful giggle followed as he physically looked to each one however even then the locations they came from shifted to new ones when she spoke again, "Phew! This is much easier than trying to communicate through thoughts. As I was saying... I can tell you have a good heart, though it is one that is raw from inexperience to being opened up to others. I must apologize for I fear my curious observation - which usually goes unnoticed by ponies it would appear you possess a means of detecting me as well - may have affected you last night. You only let me see so far but the love you have for Twilight and the love she shares for you were palpable, though it was also revealed your heart moves in a similar direction for others which was a very uplifting discovery to make in someone so new to the emotion of love."

"I wouldn't say it's fair to say I'm wholly new. Through necessity I was raised with a different teaching of what love is," Titus corrected and leaned back in the chair, "It was complicated, but basically I was told the love a Jedi could show was respect without attachment, though even then I occasionally failed in the latter regard. It's the conscious attachment to someone that is the new concept for me to grasp, not love alone."

"Thank you for the clarification, implied or otherwise I truly meant no offense. Once we make introductions you'll learn love is... it's who I am, one could say love is my business. It would be fascinating for me to hear of another perspective, perhaps you might be willing to discuss your viewpoints further?" the voice asked warmly from new spots which wasn't much of a clue for Titus to go on from the top of his head. As she had said, asking the right pony with what he knew already would be more than enough to reveal who she was, her comfort of providing more clues rationalized by the fact they would be meeting face to face in the next few days anyway so outside of outright saying her name it mattered little at this point. The human nodded from where he sat and agreed to the discussion which brought another smile to her face, one she didn't know he could feel.

Then he spoke. "Forgive me for saying so as I understand from Princess Luna this might be a normal thing for ponies, she and I had a very long discussion where we both spoke openly. It wasn't until afterwords we understood each other, and since then she has respected the privacy of my mind and my dreams, although I have caught her checking in on me occasionally-"

"I... I do not fully understand," she said softly but with reverence in her voice that only came from one location this time which was right in front of Titus, "However, if it is your wish to have privacy of heart you never need to worry about such an uninvited intrusion as what occurred last night occurring again. I only ask... as a favor, as I now know I have wronged you and I have no right to ask otherwise, that you take the time you took to explain things to Luna to explain to me for I wish to understand, as well. I wish to understand each other."

And with that the presence he felt fully retreated, the manner of it leaving Titus to believe whoever it had been had physically moved away rather than obscure themselves further. Titus sighed, sitting near the window a moment longer before he moved to take a seat on the bed and shifted the blanket to better cover the exposed Shining. He had hoped that would be enough to wake the stallion but he just continued to snore peacefully though in moving the cover a sharp contrast of color against the bed sheet caught his attention. He only had enough time to recognize it was a bow probably belonging to the mystery mare when Twilight unexpectedly poked her head into the room.

"Hey, I'm ready to head downstairs-"

Deftly and before she could potentially notice it Titus subtly hid the bow in a hand and pocketed it in the window of time when he turned to face her.

"Or do you want me to wait so we can go down together?" she said, briefly looking to her slumbering BBBFF who was rather disheveled and drooling slightly on his pillow. Chalking it up to a rough night of sleep she shook her head and turned back to Titus, "I'm fine either way, it's up to you what we do."

"You can go, Shining and I will be down in a second." Twilight agreed and before she left with the relative privacy of her sleeping brother being the only witness she hopped her front hooves up onto his knees for a quick kiss to impart she would see him at the table. Once he heard her descending the stairs he turned back to the sleeping pony beside him. That was a close one.

With a sigh of relief Titus spoke softly through that strange sense of awkwardness one feels when trying to carefully and gently wake someone up, "Shining? Um, can you get up?"

Though still asleep the Captain stirred, somehow detecting the nearby hand which he snagged with a hoof and pulled close for a nuzzle, "Mmm, yeah I can. Anything for you-"

The lascivious hum made it clear he must have dreamed of a different voice and Titus pulled his hand away to shake Shining by the shoulder so there would be no further development, "Captain. It's morning and breakfast is ready."

He bolted upright almost immediately. "C-Cadence?" Shining said with a very frantic look around, both of his ears splayed back until he had made a quick search of the room and returned fearfully to Titus.

"Shining, relax. I'm the only person in the house aware she was even here. She left just a minute ago when I came in to wake you," he said with a nod to the window, "I only barely caught a glimpse of a hoof and tail before she was gone. Cadence, huh?" Titus gave him a grin and a playful bump of an elbow, "At least I have a name now, even if I don't have a face to go with it. Don't worry, I won't repeat it to anyone."

The stallion grinned sheepishly, "Thanks. S-So... you know she was here last night?"

Titus nodded in a manner that made it clear that was supposed to have been obvious so the rolling of his eyes was probably overkill, "Uh, yeah. Let's just say it was a good thing she left the window open when she went so the room had a chance to air out before Twi came in to talk to me a second before I woke you up." He left it at that as Shining's face went a little red before his horn glowed briefly and the room suddenly felt a lot more fresh which Titus recognized as a spell Twilight had used on several occasions after a night of love. "Like I was saying, breakfast is about ready so your mom wanted me to wake you," he continued, "But also Twi and your mom were going to spend some time together today and I was hoping we could do the same, maybe hang out. There were two things I wanted to talk about, including that obstacle course training you were working on-"

Unfortunately Shining shook his head before extricating himself from the sheets, "Believe me, I'd really like to because I'm not expected for duty until this afternoon but I've got a few things I really need to catch up on. Sorry bud, but I'll be headed to my office at the Palace right after breakfast but if you're headed that way we could walk and chat on the way."

"Actually, the other thing I wanted to talk about was if you could help me find something that went missing the night Show attacked," although he was slightly bummed at the turn of events thoughts formed in Titus' head to salvage the morning when Shining indicated it would be no problem to get an inventory of evidence recovered from the scene. Sorting out the details of the plan as it came to him he nodded slowly, "If we find what I'm looking for I think this will be a nice surprise..."

Titus approached the manor's ornate front door that was almost twice as tall as he was which was clearly an outward display of the wealth of the occupants. He had intended to stop by later in their stay but because his plans with Shining had fallen through and he had actually been experiencing a desire to check in earlier on Lyra since breakfast with Twilight that morning. So, while she and her mom were out on a shopping trip Titus had walked with Shining back to the Palace and retrieved something out of his luggage for his visit which he had in his trademark shoulderbag. Centering himself with a heavy breath and a quick brush back of his hair he reached out and rapped sharply but not hard enough to sound like he was pounding.

Several moments passed where he debated if it had been long enough to knock again in case no one had heard him but the door swung open to reveal an older but sharply attired pegasus mare who hardly batted an eyelash at the appearance of the towering biped on her doorstep. "Good morning, sir," she greeted politely before he could speak, "Might I ask; do you have business with somepony of the house?"

"Yes. I'm a little early but I'm here to see Lyra."

"I..." the pegasus started but paused, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly before she resumed her stoic face, "I'm afraid the Lady isn't accepting visitors-"

Suddenly a voice from deeper in the house called out and interrupted the butler, "Mimi, who is that at the door?"

The pegasus asked him to wait where he was then fluttered down the large hallway rather than shout back in an improper manner and stood in front of another door where the voice had come from. "It's a gentlecolt, miss," she answered to the doorway without entering, "He says he is here to check in on Lady Lyra. As you instructed I will be sending him away."

Though the conversation was taking place a good distance from him Titus was able to hear most of it so the silence that followed set him slightly on edge that he might be turned away. What he wasn't aware of, however, was the shuffle of papers and movement within the far room until to his relief a new face peeked around the edge of the door.

"Oh. That would be the young master that she said would be visiting," the alabaster unicorn mare with a familiar style two-tone mane similar to Lyra's informed the pegasus. Just as quickly as she had appeared her face slipped back out of sight where the voice resumed, "You did well, Mimi, but regardless of her condition I believe Lyra would be rather upset when she found out we sent him away! Please show him in, I will just be a moment."

With a small curtsy Mimi flew back to the door where Titus was waiting and politely held the door until he had stepped inside but paused to stare briefly at his feet before asking if he could remove his shoes. He could feel her watching while he obliged and with a glance at the floor he could tell that it was freshly cleaned which was probably why he had been asked to remove his boots so he made an extra effort to not track any dirt onto the pegasus' hard work. The gesture appeared to be appreciated by the smile she gave him before Titus followed her back to the door where the other mare had appeared. During the short walk he subtly took in the large pristine entrance hallway - though his observation was keenly noted by Mimi - and he estimated just this front room was the size of the cargo hold of his ship so he could only imagine the scale of the rest of the house.

Arriving at the open double doors Titus was a little surprised at the contrast compared to the main hall; much like Twilight's desk but on a much grander scale there were papers strew about the office study in loose and sometimes precariously leaning piles, although they appeared to have some sort of organization to them. One suddenly moved when the unicorn balancing it on her back stood up to move the stack to another pile before instructing Mimi that she could return to her duties. The Pegasus curtsied in acknowledgement and then again in bidding Titus farewell before she flew off down another equally-large hallway and disappeared around a corner.

"I've been a bit swamped as of late dealing with some overflow from our legal advisers, as I think you can see. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I was only as familiar with you as what is printed on the back of your action figure box but thankfully before she went under the procedure my daughter provided a few more details. Oh! Please help yourself to some water while I finish this," the unicorn said pausing in her moving of papers only long enough to point at an icy pitcher of water and several crystal glasses before going back to reading and sorting. A few moments later she seemed to reach a point where she could stop and approached Titus who could finally get a good look at her. Lyra's mother wore the same smile her daughter would, one of genuine happiness but also a hint of mischievousness and the fiery orange eyes betrayed she was still young at heart despite her very proper appearance of a sophisticated style of her silver and soft grey mane and fashionable petticoat that he assumed would let her fit in with the higher echelons of Canterlot society.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I assure you I'm usually a much better hostess. I'm sure you've already figured I'm Lyra's mother. Everypony calls me Mrs. Wolf because of work, but no need to worry, I don't bite. My name is actually Windfall Profit. After everything I've seen in the papers and hearing so much about you from my daughter it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Mr. Aelius-" She thrust a hoof out enthusiastically for him to shake however he was taken by complete surprise by the gesture and just stood where he was for a second which was long enough for her to look at her hoof uncertainly.

"A-Am I doing this right? She only showed me once." Very hastily he stooped down and her hoof was taken in a hand and a similar greeting was shared as a request for her to use his first name. It was clear to Windall he was anxious to make the right impression with her so shaking her head she put the hoof down when it was given back. "Please, you don't need to impress me or my husband, Titus. Regardless of whether we approve of you or not we've long since learned Lyra can't be swayed when she stubbornly has her heart or mind set on something, so we let her have her way," the small smile turned upward a bit more before Mrs. W chuckled, "She can be a bit of a brat, in that regard. But you're not here to listen to me prattle on, you've come to see my daughter whom I believe to be upstairs in her room. I will show you the way."

Titus took a large step back so that Windfall could freely enter the hallway and take the lead however she, too, only took a few steps before waiting for him to catch up. "I must admit again I am a little surprised you would visit so soon after my daughter arrived, she had said it wouldn't be until just a little after her final hibernation stint. We weren't expecting you so my husband has taken our eldest daughter with him so that she may to observe the purchasing of stocks, otherwise they would have been here to meet you."

"Oh. I don't mean to impose, if this is inconvenient for you I can leave," Titus offered reluctantly and slowed on the stairs because he was naturally clearing several at a time which was forcing Profit to rush herself to keep up, "I heard this hibernation system or procedure was tough so I just wanted to check in on her. If you can just tell her I stopped by-"

"Nonsense, it's no trouble at all. Unless it has been when we've asked her to Lyra has never invited any of the coltfriends she's had to our home before, let alone be so excited for us to meet him that she went on and on all the way up until she was knocked out by the medication," Windfall cut him off and lead them down yet another hallway when they reached the top of the stairs, "She even mumbled in her sleep so I'm interested in learning what makes you a special case, other than the obvious things she mentioned..."

Titus could guess what that meant by the brief stare his hands received. "I think it's because we appreciate each other's senses of humor and, um, quirks," he answered, not wanting to be quite so blunt however her chuckle stopped him from continuing.

"You are still being far too polite, Titus. I am well aware my daughter is rather strange, but that is what makes her unique and I love her for it."

"As do I." Titus' mouth spoke before his brain could filter his feelings and the arched eyebrow and hum of interest cast his way brought a slight warmth to his cheeks.

Windfall laughed and indicated that from the papers and news programs she had watched it seemed that he and Lyra got along rather well, "I couldn't help but notice how much she doesn't hold back from being herself around you."

"That's what I keep hearing and if that's the case it makes me happy that she's comfortable."

"Mom? Mom, I-"

Their conversation was interrupted when a small filly came around the corner they were approaching however her own words came to a grinding halt much like she did when she caught the unexpected sight of the human. She was clearly shocked but before her mother could reassure her everything was alright her eyes went wide and she leapt toward Titus, her head craned all the way back to look up to him.

"Oh my gosh, you're the 'Big Guy!' I can't believe you're here!" she cried and bounced excitedly on her hooves before he squatted down more to her level, "My big sister told me about your adventures together! Like the rides on the speedy bike and-"

"Somepony is forgetting her manners..." Windfall scolded which immediately brought an end to the filly's bouncing, "Is it polite to almost bump into a gentlecolt then strike up a conversation before apologizing?"

"No m'am," the embarrassed young pony said with a curtsy of her dress though it was detectable she thought all of this was rather silly seeing as how famous he was, "I beg your pardon. A good afternoon to you, sir, my name is Gilded Lily. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Titus bowed his head in response and gave a similar greeting and introduction which clearly appeased the mother at which point Lily returned to what she had been saying. "My friends won't believe me when I tell them you came by and that I actually got to meet you. Are you here to see my sister?"

"Indeed I am. I made her a promise to come to Canterlot and I want to check in on her because I got worried," he explained, "How is she doing?"

"Big sis is-" remembering the scolding she received for poor manners Lily paused in her answer to give Titus an uncertain look before turning back to her mother, "I-Is it okay to say in front of Mr. Aelius? It seems kinda... private."

"'Kind of,' Lily, not 'kinda,'" Windfall chuckled softly and nodded, "And yes, it's alright. For some time now Lyra and Titus have been very close friends."

"Oh! Okay," Lily accepted which caught Titus off guard as he came to realize that, unlike Twilight's parents, Lyra's parents and family hadn't seen through the initial ruse. She then looked to Titus with newfound excitement, "So you're, like, actually her coltfriend then?"

Titus realized that didn't matter now because from the ruse their feelings for each other had been growing into something genuine, the thought of which brought an uncontainable grin to his face. "I'm lucky someone as special as Lyra found me," he said with a nod, "Your sister means a lot and I understand this hibernation procedure is tough which is why I wanted to see how she's doing."

"Well it's a good thing you stopped by because she's up and awake now, or she was just a minute ago when I was helping her get out of the bath," Lily said before turning around to lead the way. It wasn't much past the corner that she stopped them in front of a door with a large L and several carvings of musical notes on it which Windfall stepped forward to knock on.

"Lyra?" she said to the door and gave a second for any call not to enter before she cracked it open and peeked inside, "Lyra, sweetie? How are you feeling?"

Titus didn't hear any response but Windall stepped aside and motioned him in with a nod. Entering the room he was again surprised at how large it was, several upon several times the size of his own remodeled bedroom, and naturally several things caught his eye. Along one wall was a work desk with adjustable lamp where her lyre sat to one side, then a little further down the opposite wall near a door that lead to a balcony what could have been an entire orchestra's instruments including a full-sized piano was set up around a central stool which he believed was probably moved to whichever instrument she was going to play. This thought only lasted a second before he his eyes shifted to the nearby bed where Lyra was stretched out on her back.

Lily and Windfall had come in right after him, the latter of whom spoke to her, "Look, honey, you have a visitor!" Lyra stared blankly at the source of the noise for a moment before slowly shifting her eyes to the larger thing that had entered her room. She blinked once, then twice, and as if a switch had suddenly been turned on in her mind she gasped and her face lit up with recognition.

"BIG GUY!"

Lyra made a mad scramble to the foot of the bed and though Titus was still several body lengths from it and moving to meet her her bounding leap was aided by her bouncy mattress which catapulted her easily across that distance where he caught her.

Or he was expecting to, anyway, but instead it was more like she latched all four hooves around his torso with such desperation that there was no need of support from his arms. Immediately she was nuzzling affectionately, small little bumps of her nose under his chin whenever he'd look down to her accompanied by happy giggles. "Come here, you!" he growled warmly as he returned the embrace which earned a squeak of glee and a subsequent wiggle closer into him, "It's good to see you, too!"

"What... what are you doing here?" she asked wearily, suddenly physically drained by her own enthusiasm. She settled in with resting her head on his shoulder and only nuzzling when she had the energy to do so, "You miss me or something?"

"Titus was worried and wanted to check on you, albeit a little earlier than expected," Windfall answered but suddenly gasped sharply and leapt forward. "Sweetie, did you forget to dry off?!" she asked and while Titus set the soaking wet Lyra down she rushed into a nearby room to emerge with a bath robe which she draped over her shoulders, "Slip into this. Oh, Lyra, you've gone and got him completely drenched through! Lily? Fetch Titus a towel-"

"No time, he's allergic to water! Quick, get him out of his clothes!" Lyra cried frantically as she put a hoof into either arm of her robe.

"W-What?! Here, let me help! Oh, I'm so sorry I offered you a glass to drink-" her mother was quick to apologize however despite the gravity of the apparent situation Titus simply shook his head.

"She's joking," he chuckled and picked up the robed Lyra who was clamoring and motioning at him like a child wanting to be held, "I'm not allergic to water at all. In fact I went swimming just a day ago and took a shower this morning."

"Blah. It was worth a try," Lyra grumbled just as Lily came back with a towel which Titus took and patted on his shirt to try and pull out some of the water it had soaked up while Windfall shot her daughter a disapproving look for her mischievous attempt. Had his explanation been slightly delayed she would have already started helping him undress.

"Right. I had better get back to work. Lily, thank you for helping your sister but you need to return to your school lessons. In case you might need anything, Titus, I will leave Mimi with you," as if on a perfectly executed cue the pegasus stepped into the room and quietly moved to stand in the corner. Windfall didn't acknowledge her entrance and instead bowed her head to the human, "It was very nice to meet you. Perhaps some time in the near future you might stop by when both myself and my husband are available; we had several more ideas in expanding your toy line in preparation for the holiday season. We would of course be happy to write new stipulations in under our current royalty contract."

Titus indicated he could make himself available at the end of the week which was met by her approval before she opened the door, sharing a brief word with Mimi, and bid Lily to follow to allow Titus and Lyra some privacy.

The little filly followed but stopped just short of the door to rear up and balance on her hind hooves with her back to them. Making quiet kissing noises she used the fact they couldn't see around her to make it look like she was cuddling with somepony, meanwhile one of the pillows beside Titus floated up in a golden aura. When Lily turned around to face Lyra with a confident smirk she found the pillow flying toward her with no time to dodge it.

It came to an abrupt halt just short of her muzzle, however, and when Lily opened an eye which she had squeezed shut in preparation for the impact to spot Titus with an outstretched hand. The pillow floated in front of her for a second more before it drifted slowly away and was returned to where it had originally been and she watched in excitement that she'd be able to brag to her friends she had gotten to see her sister's coltfriend's special powers. Her name was quickly called by Windfall and after poking her tongue out at her big sister teasingly Lily dashed around the corner out of sight which left Mimi to wordlessly close the door behind her.

Wrapping her hooves around Titus once more Lyra settled into his arms and sighed, "You can leave as well, Mimi-"

"I can't do that, Lady Lyra, I'm sorry," Mimi interrupted and didn't budge from the corner which clearly surprised Lyra due to the double-take she did at being defied by the usually subservient maid, "Given your condition I must stay."

Lyra, after recovering from her surprise, made a clear demonstration to Titus of rolling her eyes, "Oh Mimi, everything is fine. You don't need to worry, he might be a cuddlebug but he isn't going to take advantage of me or the situation. Right, big guy?"

"My apologies, ma'am, perhaps I should have been more clear: at your mother's behest I'm here for the gentlecolt's protection, not yours," the pegasus explained flatly before Titus could answer Lyra's question. Mimi then proceeded to pay little mind to the flabbergasted stammering of the latter in regard to how preposterous the insinuation that even in a dream she would betray him like that. Instead, she turned to the human and spoke to him directly which took his attention away from the babbling Lyra resulting in him quickly dismissing what she was saying, "As I've said, sir, due to the potential forcefulness of Lady Lyra's advances caused by the height of her estrous cycle the Lady of the House requested I remain here." Mimi paused briefly and wore a thoughtful expression which Titus was about to question when she spoke again. "She... also left the option open should you feel comfortable being alone with her. Personally speaking, sir, I'm aware you are physically capable of dealing with, um, unruly unicorns because shortly after her return to the house Lady Lyra clarified the details of the night of your attack. I did not wish to turn you away from the front door earlier however I was under instruction to do so for anypony seeking her." Suddenly Mimi bowed her head down, "If it is not too forward for me to say, sir, as the pony that has been Lady Lyra's caretaker since she was a newborn foal I owe you a debt of gratitude for your actions and valorous sacrifice."

"I-It was nothing, really. I didn't..." Titus dismissed awkwardly because he had been caught off guard by the maid bowing before him. When she got up and insisted there had to be something she could do to repay him he simultaneously shook his head and gave Lyra a squeeze. This had the effect of silencing the defense of her character that up until that point had continued in the background of Titus and Mimi's conversation, her expression shifting to curiosity as to why he was smiling at her and he simply tightened his embrace. "In the vein of speaking honestly as you have, I say it was nothing because I did what I knew was right and I know in my heart Lyra would have done the same thing for me-" Titus stopped abruptly and shook his head as he corrected himself, "No, sorry. In actuality she did do the same thing for me when she picked up my lightsaber and turned the fight in our favor. I was so accustomed to being on my own so for her to stand with me like she did Lyra earned my implicit trust, so even now I'd be comfortable being alone with her," he told Mimi and took the few steps over to the end of the large bed to sit down comfortably. There he pulled the shoulderbag he had been wearing off and deposited on on the floor at his feet before giving Lyra and Mimi both a grin, "Though maybe you could remain outside the door, just in case?"

"Very well, sir, that is probably for the best," the pegasus said understandingly and with another bow of acknowledgement, "You should know, however, that with the doctor declaring her horn almost sufficiently healed for use and with her abstaining from magic for some time she may be a bit stronger than you're prepared for. Just a warning." Titus said he'd call if he needed her help at which point Mimi excused herself.

Once the door was shut, however, Lyra's eyes remained glued to it and a second later it popped open again and the pegasus peeked in. "Sorry, just checking. I'll be outside."

The second time the door closed Lyra waited a second before turning back to Titus. "Jeez, I thought they'd never be gone..." she said then snuggled up to him with a hum, "Heya, big guy." She gave in to the urge that had been gnawing at her the entire time her family had been in the room and tightened her hold on him, immediately planting kisses and light nibbles on his neck.

"Heya to you too, Lyra. Ever since you left on that train you've always been somewhere on my mind and today I just had to see how you were doing," he responded and waited for her to answer but she just stared blissfully back at him until he cleared his throat.

"Hm? Oh, is that how we're doing this one?" she looked slightly unprepared as if she was expecting something else but simply shrugged it off in her usual fashion, "I'm okay, or as okay as I can be given the cocktail of drugs in my system for the hibernation and the fitful sleep caused by that and my cycle. I will say I feel better that you're here now..." Lyra used a hoof and directed his hand up to an ear in a not very subtle request and soon her eyes slid closed from the scratching and rubbing that she had sorely missed these last few days.

Or had it perhaps been longer? What day is it? Again she paused and tried to sort things out but her own inability to focus on it combined with the rubs and the immensely satisfying gentle scratches at her recently un-bandaged horn that only he was capable of lead to her losing track of the thought. Instead she rolled over onto her back still beside him to stretch out, her forehooves bending to rest on her chest comfortably while her head found a nice position against his thigh where she could look up to him but still give him access to her ears and horn. In such close proximity to her big guy a feeling of safety and comfortable familiarity washed over Lyra and for the first time in several days, or however long it had been, she felt like her happy self again.

"You've been on my mind as well," she chuckled and the raised eyebrows and lopsided grin he gave back at her came as a bit of a surprise as she had expected his usual flush of red around the ears and cheeks. Because of this an irresistible playful grin crossed her face which she attempted to combat or at least obscure by taking his hand in her hooves for a nuzzle which conveniently blocked it from sight, "In one capacity or another..." Looking up at him Lyra made a movement so minor it was undetectable which caused the shoulder of her robe to slide off in an alluring manner which his eyes shifted to briefly before they came back to her.

"What would you do if I said I not only came to check on you, but also because I had a surprise for you?" he asked with grin; unfortunately for him, coupled with the glance he had given her exposed shoulder just prior, Lyra's hormone-addled brain misinterpreted this so when he gently shifted her off his thigh and when his attention was directed elsewhere to reach his bag she leapt up. When he turned around with his bag in his lap ready to reveal the surprise project he been working on he found Lyra had turned around as well, her hips raised and chest lowered to the comforter though potentially as an oversight on her part the bathrobe hung down nearly to the tip of her tail and kept her decent. Titus closed his eyes and sighed. Not that it would be the first time she's flashed me. Kark, I should have seen something like this coming; I'll need to be more mindful that she's more sensitive to the cycle than what I'm used to with Twi.

"I'm sorry, Lyra," he started and with a hand reaching to take one of her front hooves he urged her to return to facing him, "I need to be careful to leave less room for... that sort of miscommunication."

Lyra hummed softly if not a little disappointingly but was quickly distracted when he reached back into his bag. You're just playing hard to get. We've been through this routine before. As she scooted closer out of sheer curiosity he suddenly paused and turned toward her.

"Do you remember when we stopped on the bridge from Applejack's to talk?"

With a brow furrowed in thought she nodded, "That night is a bit of a blur, but... yeah, now that you mention it I do. Why?"

"Well, if you remember I made you a promise, and it was something you were really happy to hear," he said. Slowly he pulled his hand out and along with it a spiderwork of tubes and wires that would have been a nightmare had they not been bundled together neatly at several points along their lengths into what was almost a braid. Reaching in again he carefully removed a large fold of shiny black material that took Lyra a second to identify but when she did she looked up to him excitedly to find he had been waiting for her to figure it out. Putting a hand up he attempted to preemptively pump the brakes on her excitement if only just a little bit, "Yes, it's going to be a sealed suit like mine, minus a good number of bells and whistles of course. The thought struck me after you had left so I've only been sporadically working on it since then. In these early stages it looks like a bit of a mess and is about as space-worthy as a potato sack-"

Lyra's enthusiasm couldn't be contained and she bounced with excitement, "Can I try it on?!" Titus reiterated it was just a framework so it would leak atmo like a sieve in its current state but tossing the robe aside Lyra was eager and with a little help slipped into the one-piece suit. It hugged her like a glove, just like his did outside of the thick patches of fabric that still needed to be sealed and the way it widened at the neck where it connected with a metal ring of some sort, so all-in-all he had done a good job estimating her dimensions from memory and Lyra wiggled about in it for a second or two to get a good sensation of the suit on her. After a moment she exclaimed how cold the material was and Titus explained he'd have to have Rarity make her a thermal underskin out of one of the extras he had before the suit could properly be called completed. That wasn't all that needed to be done, however, because Lyra then asked about the large ring around her neck and a helmet.

"Well, there's my stumbling block. My helmet, which you're familiar with, is a bit cramped around the muzzle," he said while feeling around in the bag for the next item until he found it.

At one point or another on separate occasions Lyra and Twilight had managed to jam their heads inside the helmet he had crashed in and, while initially fascinated by all the sensor readings or bright colors and alien music stored in the memory banks, they each soon found upon his early return to the room when they tried to remove the helmet they realized their muzzles made it not nearly as easy or comfortable to take off. They had both required assistance from him to do so, although for sake of his own amusement only after he had let them stew in their predicament of bumbling around bumping into furniture for a few moments.

Back from that reminder to what was being removed from the shoulderbag he pulled a matching ring and a collapsed framework of plates and bendable bars. "So because the suit is more basic it doesn't have the auto-adjusting armor tetrahedrons that mine does to seal the suit and helmet, that's what this ring is for - you can thank Twi for this, by the way, her help fixing my ship's CNC machine made a lot of these components possible or I would have had to stop working on the suit. Anyway, your helmet is going to have this matching ring that nests in this one, which you then manually lock together. Like so." Feeding her head through the other alloy ring he demonstrated the sealing mechanism before moving on to the other bits he pulled out. "Like I was saying, your 'bucket' is a design problem I'm actively trying to work out, I just need to actually see it on you to visualize how to go about putting the pieces together," he said as he twisted and arranged the skeletal framework of the helmet which Lyra more than excitedly agreed to slip her face into because, though the back and sides hadn't been constructed yet, the faceplate was already attached which was the coolest part of this surprise yet.

Or so she thought, because once the framework was supported by the ring she watched Titus through the gold-tinted visor as he plugged a few of the wires leading from the helmet to a small box attached to a belt before flipping a switch whereupon he sat back with arms crossed and a cocky grin. Lyra waited for something to happen so when she shrugged he leaned forward and found the error, correcting it with a hard pound to the box with a closed fist at which point several lights within the faceplate came on.

"< This is- >" Lyra started but abruptly stopped when the comm distorted her voice. She quickly got over her surprise and her excitement was only catapulted to new levels with the discovery of the voice modulator. "< This is so cool, my voice changes and everything! I. Am. Robo-Lyra. Beep boop... >" she said playfully just before a quick glance of her eyes to one side brought up a menu of suit options and though all of them flashed in red as offline it was a sneak peek into what she could expect to see, "< Sparkles must be super thrilled about this. >" It was at the point she was scrolling over the text when she saw her name under the suit's operator tag which she thought was an odd distinction so she turned to him to ask.

He was there to meet her with a shaking head, "I've only gotten as far as I have because Twi has kept me a bit 'preoccupied' this week and I had to find time when she was asleep to work so... she doesn't even know. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to tell her but this is your suit, Lyra, and I meant it to be your suit exclusively. Go on and take a look back at the fabric on your hip..." Though cosmetics were always last on the list of things to do Titus had opted to skip ahead and there on her hip right above her cutie mark was his best attempt at a reproduction - sloppy and temporary as it was, to Lyra it was perfect. In fact it was better than perfect and out of sheer excitement she leapt on him to impart a crushing bear hug of appreciation.

"< I... I can't believe you'd do this. You shouldn't have done this! Not before making one for Sparkles, >" Lyra whispered but any undertones of her appreciation were all but lost due to the voice modulator. Still, the message within the words was there even if the tone didn't carry it and she squeezed him tightly when his own arms wrapped around over her back, "< She is your fillyfriend, after all. >"

Titus, however, rolled his eyes, "Yes, but I remember saying I don't like the idea of a hierarchy between you two. I can do something nice for you without Twilight having to come first."

The mechanism was easy enough to operate that Lyra slipped the helmet framework off herself without any assistance from Titus, a feat which earned his admiration nonetheless. Setting it aside she tried looking for the way out of the suit, though this time he was faster than she was and got to the zipper before she could find it with her magic. While she literally wiggled out of it on account of its snug fit he asked a few questions about the helmet and if any areas needed to be adjusted for her comfort.

"It was a little tight around the horn, if I had to use my magic I'd be worried about it exerting pressure and keeping me from being able to channel. More room in the helmet would be ideal, but it would work as is," she answered. Titus made a quick note of that which Lyra waited for him to finish to tell him everything else felt fine in terms of the fit before she dismounted the bed and headed for her closet. Needless to say her sudden action piqued his curiosity as she disappeared inside briefly, working around some of the stacked boxes of stuff she had packed away before moving to Ponyville in search of the item she had spent the last day before her hibernation working on in earnest. She didn't have to search far but as she was backing out of the cramped quarters she found herself unable to turn around in a thought struck her. Hm, I could put this in a box for him. With an idea cemented in her mind she started searching through a drawer until she found some fancy ribbon she remembered she had left there and dumped the contents of a nearby box on the floor before returning to the open closet door to poke her head out.

Titus watched Lyra enter the closet and after a minute or so of noises of searching emanated from the open door her face returned. "What are you doing in there?" he said with a small grin which she sheepishly shot back at him but only hummed noncommittally. Her eyes darted to another spot of her room and when he followed her gaze he saw it had fallen upon a writing or work desk that was meticulously organized with shelves of craft materials. A large sheet of decorated paper floated out from one along with a roll of tape drifted past him to disappear into the closet after Lyra which was shortly followed by a long series of rustlings of the paper.

With the package hastily wrapped she emerged to a repeat of the earlier question before the item followed after her. She saw him give it a look but waited to answer his question of what she had until she had hopped back up on the bed to retake her spot next to him. "I was going to give it to you when I woke up, or I will, anyways," Lyra finally responded as she deposited the package in his lap. Watching him gently take the ribbon between his thumb and finger to untie it she couldn't help but stare, inadvertently biting her lip throughout the tantalizing process as her brain bombarded her with what she'd much rather have those digits do. The rustling of the paper she had wrapped the box in broke her from the fantasies enough that she pushed them to the back of her mind where they continued to play though she was able to focus on continuing with what she had been saying, "Before Sparkles and I discovered you were sick we were looking for you but because it was our first time aboard we weren't sure which room was yours so we had to look in each one. When I looked into what I now know was your Master's room I saw something."

Titus had gotten the paper off and now had the plain brown box in front of him which Lyra had accidentally taped well beyond what was necessary so he struggled for a second until she floated a pair of scissors over from her desk for him to use. "I... I've actually had it for a while now, I snuck it back to my house to fix right before Sparkle's birthday party. I hope you don't get mad, I know I should have asked before taking something off of your ship," she went on with a hopeful look that he wouldn't be angry as the box's flaps were finally opened and Titus went stock still save for a hand moving to cover his mouth in surprise.

"Lyra, I..." he momentarily couldn't form any words past that and instead reached forward to brush his fingers down the dark neck, over the taut strings, and across the swirling grain of the body. "I had thought her quetarra was destroyed beyond fixing," Titus said softly, picking the instrument that he had last seen smashed to pieces from the crash. Pushing the box aside he held the quetarra with reverence and turned it over in both hands to admire the extensive work that had been done to restore it to its former state with no outwardly visible signs of it.

"You know how you came up with that idea for me to make a list of things I didn't use magic for and you'd give me ear rubs for a full sheet? I know I already cashed all of those in but I kinda... cheated. I wasn't crossing something off as punishment when I used my magic to fix this... kwe-tar-ah?" she said questioningly as to how to pronounce the alien instrument but only got a quiet hum as his inspection continued, "I did as many of the repairs that didn't require use of my magic as I could. Eventually, however, I got to the point where I had to use it to make any progress which is why there was that sudden span where you worried why my horn wasn't healing-"

"You koochu."

She was cut off when he set the instrument to one side and wrapped both arms around her with such enthusiasm that she squeaked in surprise.

"Thank you for returning something so treasured to me," Titus said with a strong squeeze, "Krua played it as her own way of meditation so I was devastated when I saw it smashed to bits in her room but there was nothing I could do, I didn't think it was fixable." Pulling away just before she could get her hooves around his back he held her at arms length and locked eyes with her so she'd know he was serious, "But at the end of the day the quetarra itself is just a thing, it's the memories of Krua of playing it that I cherish, and even when it was destroyed I still had those. Thank you again, Lyra, but I would rather see it smashed in front of my eyes if it meant you had gotten better sooner because you are infinitely more important to me than it being fixed." They shared a mutual look of understanding before he pulled her close again, this time happily shifting so she could more easily get her hooves around him to return the embrace.

"Well you'd better not break it, big guy, you have no idea how much patience it took and how frustrating it was at times looking through a pile of splinters for the right one to magically rejoin together," she joked to which he only hummed again and then she felt his cheek on her ear before he slowly brushed back and forth. Lyra scooted closer and into his lap before burying her face into his neck where she felt another wave of the sensation of safety and belonging wash over her. "You feel so real," she breathed well under her breath which Titus failed to hear as he was also distracted by the tickling brush of her soft nose against his bare neck, "By Celestia, you even smell like the big guy. Mmm." All he heard was her hum before she hooked a hoof over the opposite shoulder and really nuzzled in earnest.

"How might things have changed?" she said, again at a level below what he could hear without focusing, though his attention was drawn a few moments later when she lightly batted a hoof against his chest in frustration.

Confused but hardly hurt in any way, Titus let the hand he had been brushing her neck with slide to a shoulder where it rested. "Hey! If I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to break me," he jokingly said and tried to get Lyra to look at him but she turned her face into his shoulder instead to strike his chest again. "Oof!" Titus played it up this time like she had actually hit him hard enough to hurt which quickly got a startled look, "What's going on all of a sudden?"

"I just-" she started then broke eye contact to past him over a shoulder, "You already know how I waited for Sparkles to get settled with you before I said anything. Well, that whole time I dreamed of when, after a great evening together of fun and laughter, I'd finally get to open my heart up and tell you how I felt. It certainly didn't go perfectly at the E.F.C. party, but things were working out well until... Show stole that dream from me that night. Even though we beat her and her goons, in a way she still won because it's something I can never get back and we'll never know how things could have been."

Squeezing Lyra tightly to convey his own regret for how the otherwise enjoyable night had changed he suddenly pulled her off of himself to set her down at his side before standing up from the bed. "I regret it took something like Show's darkness to open my eyes to just how special you are to me, and to make me realize I've got someone watching my back," he said before turning to pick up the quetarra and moved over to lean against the wall near the array of other musical instruments, the mint unicorn gave a quiet yet audible gasp the instant the instrument began making noises. Her animated ears and keen eyes were directly on his fingers while they twisted and turned pegs to bring the nine strings in proper tune - or close to, anyway, Titus wasn't overly comfortable with his ability to do it solely by ear after so long having not played it. Satisfied it wouldn't sound like an animal being tortured he set the quetarra on a thigh and turned briefly to Lyra, "The only way she can steal your dream from you is if you let her, Lyra."

She was about to open her mouth when the first real notes were played which caused any words to be immediately forgotten. Lyra didn't tear her eyes away and moved off the bed to sit down in front of him, fully enraptured and unaware that she was leaning toward Titus and the instrument as he played through a short series of chords before his voice joined in.

Lyra was stunned to silence. This wasn't the same voice she had heard poorly singing karaoke at Twilight's party and this wasn't the same human who had awkwardly struggled with the emotion of the songs he had sung, his tone was warm, his voice confident but cheerful. She was fully entranced with the music though her eyes remained locked on his hands as one slid up and down the neck pressing down on the strings to create the notes but the majority of her attention was on the other hand. S-Sweet Celestia, nine strings and he can pluck five of them at once with his fingers?! Unbeknownst to her she had started biting her lip as she watched his hand dance over the strings individually whenever it wasn't strumming a chord. There was a pause in the lyrics as the song transitioned into a brief instrumental where he turned from looking at the strings to her, and as he met her gaze he grinned happily at her with such sincerity Lyra's heart leapt up into her throat before he had began singing again.

The music ceased as Titus knelt down in that always-amazing display of balance on the tips of his toes and he reached a hand out to cup Lyra's cheek which, she realized, was a gesture that he wanted her to take up where he had left off.

"To dream, ♫" she sang, leaning into the hand and as the lyrics died in her throat Lyra surged forward up onto her hind legs and into his arms. She met no resistance from him and instead found herself enveloped though this sensation took a back seat to the feeling of planting her lips on his, like she so desperately had wanted to do that night on the log, and it felt like he had been wanting to, too.

Their kiss lasted a few moments and when they came apart Lyra sighed heavily but happily, "When did you write a song for me?"

"I didn't," Titus chuckled then he shrugged, "It just came to me in the moment. It was like I had this image of you in my heart and my mouth just... did the rest with the words."

Lyra immediately turned to look at him with surprise. "You're saying... that was Harmony leading you to sing from the heart, and for me!" she gasped. As the theory worked through his mind Lyra once again bit her lip but this time she found herself not in control and the next thing Titus knew he was levitated up off of his feet and slowly being floated toward the bed.

"Whoa! Hey, Lyra, slow down," he said as he drifted passed the piano. Tumbling head over heels in her aura he quickly reached out and snagged the sheets of music sitting on the stand before they got too far away and began rolling them up in his hand, "What you're feeling right now is the estrous, that's what's doing this to you. Are you sure this is what you want?"

He was then just dropped to the bed from several feet up, though it hardly hurt due to how soft the mattress of clouds was, and as he propped himself up on his elbows he saw Lyra had followed him the whole way and was now staking toward him from the foot of the bed, her hips and shoulders rolling seductively. "I know, and I'm sure. I'm more than sure, I've never been more sure in my life that if we continue dancing around the sexual tension between us..." she growled and with a flick of her horn the belt he had been wearing was undone and slipped from the loops on his waist before it was flung over a shoulder. "I'm sure if you spend another moment not making love to me..." like a predatory animal she walked over his legs to straddle him, her height just enough that even propped up on his elbows it gave her the slightest advantage in looking down into his eyes dominantly, "Then I'm going to pin you down and ride you into next week-"

*Bop!*

Startled, Lyra sat back and clutched her sore nose. W-What is going on? Looking around in confusion as to where she was she found herself on her bed, sitting on the lap of a stretched-out Titus and in one hand he clutched rolled up music sheets which she knew to be what he had bopped her nose with. I... I was just asleep, wasn't I? That was all a dream. The stinging quickly subsided and a closer inspection revealed the buttoned shirt he had been wearing had been torn open to expose a swath of skin beneath it and his belt was hanging from the ceiling light fixture above them. As the pieces came together to form a picture for Lyra her eyes met his and when he tilted his head to one side with an expectant look she gasped.

"I'm so, so sorry! Are you okay, big guy? I didn't... no, thank Celestia," she said before tears built up in her eyes that her hormones had nearly caused her to force herself upon him. Wiping them away on the back of a hoof she sniffed, slowly losing control of fighting the cry she knew would happen as soon as he left, "I'm sorry, again and again. You were right, I wasn't me..."

"I know that wasn't you, which is why I brought you back to your senses," he sighed and tossed the impromptu bopping device onto the nightstand beside them. When she started getting up amid another apology he moved quickly, getting one arm around her to pull her back to lying atop him while the other cupped a cheek so the thumb could wipe away the tear that slowly rolled down her cheek. "I brought you back to your senses because I wanted to ask you, the normal goofball and dependable Lyra that I love; are you sure is this what you want?"

Lyra did begin to cry at that point however she wore a wide smile which quickly was buried against his shoulder until she had worked the tears out of her system and could look up to him, her eyes sparkling and lit with happiness. "I'm sure, big guy!" she replied and gave him a quick kiss before shooting him a playful grin, "No promises about pinning you, though."

"I think we can let Lyra's imagination take over from there," Titus said as he opened his eyes which also stirred the Princess, "Thank you again for doing this, Luna, I know how rare it is for you and your sister to actually get to bed on time."

It was unfortunate timing that Titus had first arrived just after the effects of the injection had knocked Lyra out again for the last bout of hibernation so he had made the trip back to the Palace to ask a favor of Luna, who unfortunately had just gone to sleep so he had reluctantly woken her to do so. She had insisted she was happy to help throughout his apology for disturbing her and together they had returned to the manor so that Luna could allow Titus and Lyra to make contact, even if it was in one of the unicorn's dreams.

"It was a nice surprise to receive an early visit from you, so I would say it is a fair trade-off, my friend. I understand this has been a trying time for both of you so when I return to the palace I shall keep a special eye on her until she wakes," Luna promised amid a stretch then looked to Mrs. Profit who immediately bowed at the Princess' attention, "Thank you for allowing us into your home, please know it brought your daughter great happiness to see him."

"No, please, I should be thanking you, it was an honor to accommodate a Princess!" Windfall bowed even deeper before looking to Titus as he gently brushed a hand down Lyra's mane. She had been skeptical of him at first, both she and her husband, Lucky Break, had had a very long discussion about whether he was good for her (and they still disagreed) but with the events of the past week and what he had done today it had become a bit clearer to Windfall that he genuinely cared about her. To cement this further Lyra's letters these last few months and how enthusiastically she had talked about his upcoming visit there was little doubt the feeling was mutual. Watching for a second longer Windfall caught the small smile on her Lyra's sleeping face and she, too, couldn't help but smile, "And thank you, Titus, for taking care of my daughter. I hope you'll also pass that along to Twilight, she's been a good friend. I know Lyra is a grown mare now but as her mother I still worry about her when she's not at home."

Titus stood up from the bed and walked to the work desk where the broken quetarra was being pieced back together. "I'm really the one who should be thanking her, more often than not I'd say Lyra has been the one doing the caring. Without her and Twilight I'd be lost," he said while taking a piece of blank parchment from a roll of several. With the quill on the desk he wrote a small note, finalized by pulling the item Shining had helped him find and folding the note in half to secure it before he left it on the nightstand beside the sleeping Lyra. Turning back to Windfall he mirrored the kind smile directed at him then nodded, "But we'll keep taking care of each other, that I can promise."

With the goal of his visit accomplished, and a wide yawn from the Princess which she was embarrassed she let slip, Titus and Luna bid their farewells and followed the pegasus maid out the way they had come.

When the door had closed and in the relative privacy of their long and quiet walk to the front gate and public street beyond it Titus caught Luna off guard by speaking out of the blue. "I wasn't sure it was appropriate to say at the time, but I don't want you to feel left out," he leaned over and place a friendly peck on her closest ear which folded back when he was finished, "Thank you, Luna, I'd be hopelessly lost without you, too, and I hope we can continue caring for each other."

"I-I too would hope to have it no other way, my friend, my dhulsgae," Luna kept her composure, although her sister was admittedly far better at such things so her face still went a little red, an excited smile crossing her face as a lone butterfly fluttered about in her tummy. Then she laughed and snagged his wrist in her magic to direct his hand to her shoulder, "The last time you canoodled me unexpectedly it was to scare Blueblood from my chamber doors."

"I... definitely remember the smooch. I also recall after he had left you whipping me with a towel while saying something about how my roguish charm wouldn't make me impervious forever," Titus answered with a nod and he wasn't even conscious that his hand had switched to autopilot and was brushing her shoulder as he did so. He then paused hesitantly which caused Luna to glance at his hand then up to him before he ventured further with his answer to test the waters, "So, am I still safe or should I expect those 'grave consequences' you alluded to?"

With a contemplative hum Luna looked thoughtful for a moment, which appeared to be on purpose to leave him in suspense when in reality she was going over her Court schedule and how her sister's plans for Twilight which would also impact Titus left very little room open during his stay. Realizing with a little creative rescheduling on her part that would be best to not come to her sister's attention Luna looked to Titus with a grin. "If your memory serves you would also recall that I had requested a forewarning next time," she joked just before they reached the manor's entrance gate where the two Thestral guards that had accompanied her from the Palace had been told to wait.

Neither guard moved from their post until Luna gave them a nod, and she caught the briefest darting of their eyes to Titus which she knew to be born of curiosity because the Lunar Guard Commander had made a special appearance in her office to inform her that with the announcement of the human's upcoming visit there was excitement chatter about who would be on shift to see him, as well as some gossipy whispers, were working their way through the Thestral barracks. Luna had rolled her eyes at the mildness of the issue and told the Commander no disciplinary action was to be taken to squash the talk unless it began to affect their duties.

The Princess continued on with their conversation without pause. "Still, as my best friend I... I admit it wasn't unappreciated n-nor unwelcome," she ventured uneasily in kind and was rewarded with a flash of his lopsided grin before she looked away abashed.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said. The smooch to the ear had been on impulse and belatedly I had wished I had said something beforehand. But I was expecting her to be a little more squeamish about it, especially after her last visit to the ship. It's comforting to hear she's okay with it. Coming out of his thought it was his turn to notice the two guards exchange a questioning glance with one another and he concluded it was because they were trying to figure out the subject of the conversation they had become privy to halfway through. Pulling his hand from her shoulder where it had been this whole time quickly changed the subject, "I apologize again for asking this favor of you and keeping you so long from some much deserved rest. Without you, however, none of this would have been possible."

"As I said in my letter, I will make a better effort at finding time to be with you, my friend," she answered with a nod which also fought off the urge to yawn at the mention of rest, which she sorely needed. "Speaking of time, specifically the matter of its passing... the dinner you requested, I fear, may need to be postponed further," Luna said glumly then an ear folded back and she looked to him wishfully, "Might I suggest - or might I request, more appropriately, that as a favor you and Twilight do not leave directly after your award ceremony, if that is what you were planning to do?"

"That was our original plan, yes," Titus said with an expression and tone that conveyed he was curious about it himself, "But then the morning following your visit we received a letter from your sister requesting the same thing. It didn't provide any context why, however, so perhaps you could shed some light on that?" Both of Luna's ears flicked back and her eyes darted off to the side in a sheepish manner, earning a raised eyebrow from Titus. "Or not... does this have to do with our dinner plans?" he asked.

"I was not even aware she had written. Um, it is not related to our plans but instead with Twilight and her ongoing studies as my sister's student," Luna explained as best she could; while she was comfortable speaking with her best friend about their own matters in front of the guards this was information that couldn't be allowed to leak early under any circumstance. Still, though it wasn't her domain to speak, Luna didn't feel quite right leaving him completely in the dark, "She and have I discussed it over several nights and mornings, as such I can guess that Tia wants you to extend your stay in Canterlot so she can be close to Twilight to help or give her any guidance she might need that arises from this. As I pledged in my letter I will make myself available should you require any support yourself, my friend."

"Okay, now I'm worried-"

"That was not my intention. Kark," Luna swore though neither guard knew the word. Turning back to her friend she gave him a hopeful look that her answer would be satisfactory, "I wish I could say more, however, Twilight is not my student. What I can say is that there really is nothing for you nor Twilight to be concerned over, this will be quite a momentous occasion." Titus' brow remained creased and he shifted uncomfortably, clearly still worried which caused Luna to slump. After a moment for contemplation she took a step closer and returned his hand to her shoulder with her magic where she held it so he would understand she wanted it to remain there, "I can see my words are insufficient in assuaging your doubt. Please, accompany me back to the Palace where we will seek out my sister. She has long left Twilight to discover the lessons behind her studies for herself, however you are not her student and because Tia's plans for Twilight affect you by proxy I believe together we might convince her you deserve an explanation."

Their meeting with Celestia carried well into the afternoon and by the time he met back up with Twilight he had many things on his mind, some of which he'd been tasked with keeping from her until the following day.

Two stone-faced guards opened the gate when Titus and Twilight approached which allowed them to keep their pace as they walked into the courtyard and, off to one side on the parade grounds, the Solar Guard could be seen going through their morning drill routines. One purple and gold armored unicorn caught their eye so both gave him a wave and he broke his stern observation to wave back before they climbed the steps into the grand hallway where, unexpectedly and much to their surprise, the solar alicorn was already waiting for them.

"Princess Celestia!"

"Good morning, my faithful student," Celestia greeted with her customary warmth as she met the charging Twilight with a hug and a small nuzzle to her ear, "As always it warms my heart to have you at my side once again, and I've been looking forward to this day for quite some time." She then turned that same smile toward Titus and a moment later she unexpectedly released Twilight to approach the human. She stepped close and her head came to rest over his shoulder as a hoof looped behind his back on the opposite side to pull him into a hug as well which caused him a brief moment of pause before he carefully returned the gesture, "It is good to have you with us in the Palace once again, Mr. Aelius, your absence has certainly been felt. I understand Luna has made arrangements for some of your time for one thing or another so I hope - at some point of your stay in Canterlot - that you and I might have another chat over tea... and several of the new flavors of scones from the kitchen, if that is bribery enough."

The decision to not mention their meeting yesterday was noted by Titus who had been having a tough morning not saying anything to Twilight. He also wasn't sure what topic she wanted to talk about but the offer of the heavenly biscuits he had yet to find competition for was too good to pass up on and he agreed.

"Speaking of my sister, it would seem I must apologize on her behalf for I was not to be alone in greeting you..." As they separated the Princess cast a look over her shoulder and, almost on cue, her sister came tearing down the flight of stairs at the far end of the hallway. She was halfway through a wide yawn and only noticed the three watching her when it had finally run its course. In that next instant Luna's face lit up and with a flash she teleported beside her sister.

"My deepest apologies for being late. Despite duties having shifted to the Solar Court my attention was required on several matters which robbed me of my sense of the passage of time and kept me from being here on time to greet you. Twilight Sparkle, I trust you encountered no intrusions by the press since your arrival?" Luna inquired with a small nod though neither the unicorn, Titus, or even Celestia knew she had personally seen to communicating with the big names in media that in light of recent events such behavior would not be tolerated as the couple was to be given space; failure to comply would mean being dragged before the Night Court to be sat down in front of a very agitated and unforgiving Lunar Princess. To her relief Twilight indicated they had had a surprisingly normal evening and shared a few highlights of their dinner with her parents, several of which proved to redden the human's face before Luna politely waited for an opening in the conversation to greet her human friend with a much more familiar hug than her sister had given him, "Dhulsgae!!"

That was all Luna needed to say because she gave him her customary enthusiastic embrace complete with near lung-crushing strength and a friendly nuzzle. He did his best to return the same, meeting her with both arms around her back when she reared up to get her hooves over his shoulders, though rather unusual was the subtle peck on the cheek and accompanying nervous look she didn't hide from him like she did from Twilight and her sister. "That's for yesterday," she whispered before letting him go and her unease seemed to disappear when Twilight nor Celestia made any sort of comment because it appeared neither had noticed.

Princess Celestia did, however, speak up a moment later to point out Titus and Luna's quickly approaching appointment before revealing the matters Luna had been dealing with had also forced a series of minor changes in her schedule and meant it might be a challenge to find an opening for another scone and tea breakfast she had much been looking forward to.

"Just an idea for the future but, seeing as you've declared me to be a foreign dignitary of sorts, perhaps you and your sister could tell the Court that you have urgent business with Twilight and I that needs to be dealt with? And what a coincidence, it would need to be done over breakfast!" Titus joked in an attempt to ease the Princess' disappointment but she eagerly embraced the idea because the Court would have very little room for argument. "Alright, I'm glad that plan might actually work. Just please bring extra blueberry scones, those were my favorite," he finished with a quick glance at the large clock set in the circular stained glass window which made him realize their side conversation had cost more time than either of them had reckoned. Luna had already started a short way down the hall and was now waiting for him, "Right, don't want to be late. I guess I'll meet up with you after this award thing is done and we can do whatever you want with the rest of the afternoon. Why not give me a tour of Canterlot?"

"Sure!" she chirped, "Before we do that I'd actually like to show you a few books in the Palace library, if that's okay. Nothing boring, I promise!"

"Please come to the gardens when you're done with the ceremony. My sister knows where we'll be waiting and will accompany you," Celestia added then turned on her heel to leave him and Luna with Twilight falling in beside her happily.

"Wait! Just a sec, Twi," Titus called a second later. When Twilight took the several strides back to be in front of him he stooped down and scooped her up in the same manner he'd use to carry her. He was kissing her gently before she even had a chance at a surprised squeak which was muffled by his lips, and as a further delight his tongue slid into her mouth to dance with hers briefly. In the heat of the moment Twilight's hoof reached up and hooked behind his neck to hold him within range until he retracted whereupon he rested forehead to forehead and booped his nose against hers, "Couldn't let you go without saying how much I love you."

Twilight hummed and pulled his face closer for a nuzzle, "I love you too, Titus. But you can't just kiss me like that out of the blue when I'm on my cycle..." With him closer for the nuzzle she moved up to the spot along his jaw which was conveniently close for her to whisper, however her lust left her voice husky and louder than she wanted it, "You've already got me thinking about the best places in the Palace for some privacy." Titus chuckled and apologized but promised to 'make things right' back in their room when they were both done with their engagements if she still wanted to before he set her back on wobbly hooves. He didn't let go until she had gotten her balance from the quivering he had inadvertently caused and she smooched him as thanks before trotting back toward the Princess, looking over her shoulder to him the whole way.

Twilight had a sheepish grin at her mentor when she caught up however the alicorn, who was blushing herself from hearing what Twilight had said, only nodded more than understandingly. Together they watched as Titus jogged to catch up to Luna before they both headed down the corridor but before he disappeared the human shot her student (or maybe it was to Celestia, it was hard to tell) a wink and a grin over his shoulder just before they rounded the door. Alone in the hallway with only the guards Celestia took a few strides in the opposite direction as Twilight turned her attention back to the Princess and fell in at her side.

Striking up a small conversation as they walked through the Palace hallways to the garden Celestia asked how her friends were doing which Twilight happily responded to and filled her in on some of the more recent details.

"... and so they've all really helped me out. I couldn't have asked for better friends! I was hesitant at first to tell them about my relationship with Titus but when I finally said something they were really supportive. I think it helped that they're friends with him, too, to some varying degrees. Rainbow continues to confuse me in that regard..."

Celestia subtly nodded to the guards who closed the door quietly behind them as they departed which left the Princess and Twilight in complete privacy to walk the garden paths and cross the vast expanses of neatly-trimmed grass up to a small hill where the alicorn took a seat . What followed was a bit of an awkward silence when Twilight finished talking before Celestia relaxed slightly and motioned toward their surroundings, "That's very good to hear your studies of friendship have been so rewarding. Twilight, do you recognize where we are?"

The unicorn knew exactly where the Princess had brought her and looked around in curious confusion, "Yes, Princess. After hatching Spike's egg for my exam this is where you held my first lesson as your student. In fact, I remember I was so focused and nervous that he wandered off and tried to poop in the bushes right over there... oh, that probably didn't have anything to do with the question-" Twilight's apology was cut off by the warm laughter that for whatever reason always made Twilight and many others want to cry happy tears. The smile gracing the Princess' face was infectious so after taking another look at the familiar setting she looked up to Celestia with one her own, "I remember this place fondly, Princess, but why did you bring me here?"

Something in the alicorn's happy expression changed, whether it took on a sudden hint of sadness or not was something Twilight didn't have time to think over before the Princess looked off into the distance and spoke, "It has to do with you studies, Twilight, and it has to do with your time as my student drawing to a close."

"M-My studies are drawing to a close?" Twilight's voice wavered with more than a little bit of worry, "Did I do something wrong? Princess, please! I know I haven't been writing as many friendship reports as I used to, but-" The thought that she had somehow flunked out of Princess Celestia's tutelage and this was the meeting where she was told her dream had come to an end instantly brought tears to the unicorn's eyes and she choked up on any of the words that had been forming in her throat.

Suddenly a soft wing was draped over her shoulders and pulled her up against the alicorn's side.

"No, no, my faithful student. You misunderstand," Celestia said in a soothing voice as she shook one of the ornate shoes she wore off to gently wipe away a tear rolling down Twilight's face, "I did not bring you here because you've disappointed me in some way. Quite frankly I had wanted to tell you you didn't need to send any more reports a while ago but each time I read one you surprised me by learning something new. I'm proud of you, Twilight."

Twilight snuffled and wiped the built up tears from her eyes as relief flooded her system although she was still troubled, "I don't understand..." Rather than receive a direct answer the unicorn watched as the white of the Princess' coat seemed to glow and envelop her vision until eventually her eyes and mane disappeared from sight as well and the light faded. Nearly blinded, Twilight blinked several times and found herself seated alone in a large empty space which bore a similarity to the night skies full of stars and colorful sprays of light. "P-Princess?" she called out weakly as she got to her hooves and looked about her, easily catching sight of the bright alicorn walking toward her as if out of a mirage until her appearance solidified whereupon Celestia's warm smile returned.

"Congratulations, Twilight. I knew you could do it." The clearly confused Twilight trotted over and into another hug, one that erased her worry almost completely that her dream of studying under the Princess was over, though she quickly questioned what she had done to earn the praise. "You've done something very special; something that's never been done before, something even a great unicorn like Star Swirl the Bearded was not able to do because he did not understand friendship like you do," Celestia began walking and Twilight quickly followed as snapshots from the time since her arrival in Ponyville and even several before then played for her to watch. The little windows into the memories floated by on an ethereal wind as she and the Princess walked, Celestia looking from one to the other with fondness in her eyes, "The lessons you learned in Ponyville have taught you well, and you have proven you are ready."

"Ready?" Twilight asked with concern and watched as one of the frames played back images of her and her friends discovering their Elements, "R-Ready for what?"

"Look around you, Twilight. When I first sent you to Ponyville you were dismissive of the idea of making friends," Celestia artfully dodged yet another of her student's questions and seemed like she had no intention of answering, or at least not immediately, "But since then you've made the strongest bonds of friendship Equestria has ever seen, and with those you brought the Elements of Harmony to bear to cleanse the corruption of Nightmare Moon and return my dearest sister to me-" Tears were now welling up in the alicorn's eyes as another set of images drifted by of her and the recently-returned Luna sharing their first hug in one thousand years which did not help to halt their flow down her cheeks as she cleared her throat to continue. "I've been watching you from that very first day; to see how you might grow, to see what you might do, to see what you've been through, and all the ways you've made me proud of you. Through your time in Ponyville you've learned that friendship is one of the greatest joys we can share with one another, and it can overcome even the greatest of perceived differences," Celestia brought them both to a stop in front of a scene of a weary Twilight taking a seat beside a stretched-out biped in a protective suit.

Twilight leaned forward to rest her head on an empty part of the bed beside the large creature, her eyes drifting closed as she stayed like that for several long minutes. "I don't know if you can hear me," the words escaped her mouth before she even realized she was speaking, "I'm not sure you can even understand what I'm saying, but I just want to say I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. It's my fault you crashed your ship here. I was tired and maybe that caused me to miss something in my calculations and now here you are, hurt and probably lost because I'm such an... egghead." Her eyes opened briefly and her muzzle slid into the open palm where she kept it before she closed them again because she needed that point of physical contact to make herself feel like she was doing something to help, "Please be okay. Please. I'm scared because I don't know what to do to make this better... none of us do... we don't know how to help you. You're the first of your kind Equestria has ever seen, as far as I know. I'm sorry. Even if you don't ever forgive me, please... just be... alright."

The image faded and eventually disappeared as the Twilight on the bed dozed off at which point Princess Celestia turned to her unicorn student, "It was you, Twilight Sparkle, who was the first to offer her new-found understanding of friendship to a confused, lost human when nopony else knew how to react to him, and that friendship has blossomed into a love I am overjoyed to be able to witness; you're no longer that little foal I sent to a distant town to learn a lesson and it's time for a new change to come. You've grown up and your new life has begun; to go where you will go, to see what you will see, to find what you will be... it's time, Twilight, to fulfill your destiny."

The bright lights returned as Celestia took to her wings and Twilight felt a small tug at her chest; looking down she watched as what looked like a bit of her magic began to orbit around her and lift her from her hooves well above the Princess' head. The unicorn felt startling changes occurring that she couldn't quite place, her unease grew the faster the magic spun around her though in glancing down to seek some form of clarification from the Princess as to what was happening to her Celestia's unwavering proud smile did wonders at calming her. Realizing that her trusting mentor had things in control Twilight closed her eyes and stopped fearfully resisting what was happening, instead she opened her heart to it and a moment later a flash of light exploded on the other side of her closed eyelids. It was so bright it probably would have temporarily blinded her again however the stars were still floating to the edges of her vision when she felt herself lowered back to her wobbly hooves where she felt the soft grass of the hill.

Opening her eyes she looked about to the empty garden and in her search of her surroundings a glance over a shoulder brought her attention to her own body; two new and rather sore feathery appendages extended from her shoulderblades.

"I-I don't... how is this possible?" Twilight looked at her new wings which felt completely like they weren't hers; awkward and uncoordinated she tried to spread one open for inspection before letting it fall at her side, "From everything I've ever read or been taught, I thought only Princesses could be alicorns."

A small giggle escaped the alicorn's mouth before she leaned in for a nuzzle against he student's ear. "And you would not be wrong; you have displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and, of course, the leadership of a true Princess. From the day of your entry into the School I saw your potential which is why I asked that I be allowed to teach you directly, and since then I have watched you grow into the mare I had hoped you would be," Celestia answered warmly and pulled the overwhelmed Twilight into a hug before her wings also wrapped around her in an embrace. Only a moment later the Solar alicorn felt the small hooves slide behind her own back to return the gesture which sent her heart up into her throat out of happiness.

"But this means I'm not your student anymore," Twilight whispered sadly and tightened her grip on the Princess' barrel and nuzzled her chest in earnest. The thought of becoming a Princess herself, as heavy as it was, was only overshadowed by the condition that she no longer could study under her caring mentor of many years. I've learned so much from Princess Celestia, am I really ready to give up being her student?

Celestia could, of course, see the storm of emotions rolling unchecked within the small pony and continued nuzzling her ear to distract her, "Not in the same way as before. I'll still be here to help and guide you, as will all the friends you've made, but we're all your students now, too."

"What do I do now? Is there a book about being a Princess I should read?" Twilight said a little lightheartedly though the question was genuine which Celestia answered with a small laugh that there would be time for lessons soon before the new alicorn gave another worried look at her wings and the rest of her body, "I wish Titus had been here to see this."

"We shifted to a different plane, so to him we would have disappeared in a flash of light and you would have returned as you are now," Celestia explained, going on to say she and Luna had spent a good deal of time talking it over before coming to the agreement that introducing the human post-change would be the best way to ease him into it. Again she didn't reveal the conversation they had had where he had asked more or less the same question of whether he should be there only to be told there would be little for him to do or see.

"W-What if... this won't affect me being with him, will it? If becoming an alicorn is a problem for him we can undo it, right?"

The solar Princess took on an odd expression at Twilight's worry that he might react negatively to her new form, but she nodded slowly, "His reaction was also a subject we spent much time discussing. While I would like to think Mr. Aelius is comfortable that I label us as friends, or at the very least friendly acquaintances, you do know him better than I do, Twilight. Do you think becoming an alicorn or a Princess will have a bearing on whether he loves you?"

Twilight looked down at her hooves in thought even though the question was clearly rhetorical. The answer came to her when the afternoon they had spent crawling around in the guts of his ship and getting completely filthy together replayed in her mind. "The afternoon that you came looking for Princess Luna and asked us to come to Canterlot, Titus and I had been working on his ship together- well, more accurately he was repairing things and I was there as an extra set of hooves to hold things, though he still walked me through everything he was doing so I could learn as well. When we finally crawled out from the maintenance tube we were both covered from head to hoof in so many gross machine fluids and dust that I swear I can still feel a little grease in my coat; he looked at me and said I was beautiful," Twilight lifted her gaze to the Princess, the worry on her face gone and replaced with a happy smile which was reflected back at her as she chuckled softly, "I'm a foal for thinking this would make a difference, aren't I?"

"Just a teensy bit," Celestia teased with a warm giggle and a wink before her student went back to hugging and nuzzling her affectionately, "My sister had a similar worry at one point during his last visit, any further details of which I am not at liberty to disclose without her consent, I'm afraid. What I learned of him at that time is that he will love you for who you are, Twilight, whether you are unicorn or alicorn. It is with a little jealousy that I say how lucky you are to have somepony as genuine as him."

In the distance the large bells in the palace's clock tower chimed out a cheerful tone cutting off Twilight's questioning reply as to what she meant while simultaneously alerting her to the large gap of time that had passed. Celestia didn't seem too perplexed by what felt like five minutes had in fact been nearly half an hour and instead of explaining the mechanics behind the phenomenon the alicorn shifted, turning them both from the garden back around to face the palace.

"Well then. The ceremony should be wrapping up, if the Delegation is keeping to schedule. I imagine if Mr. Aelius were to look out the window right now he could see us sitting here," the solar alicorn mused aloud and when Twilight asked where he was she scanned the numerous rows of windows adorning the two visible wings of the palace that were laid out before them, one hoof shielding her eyes from the sun. "The ceremony was being conducted in the Council Hall which would be right..." orienting herself only took a few seconds and Twilight followed the Princess' hoof to find she was pointing at the section of large stained glass windows that featured the likenesses of Twilight and her friends that had been installed in honor of them becoming Element Bearers, "There-"

Twilight only had time to notice the windows flex inward slightly before they shattered outward in what felt like slow motion, the sun hitting the tumbling shards to create a visual of glittering rain, and a billowing black cloud of smoke followed behind to roll upward into the sky as the rumbling shockwave and two more explosions added to the cacophony and blew out every window on that side of the building.

TH-BOOOM!

W-What? What just happened? I didn't actually just see that, did I? Everything felt like time had slowed down to a crawl. Even the motion of turning her head to look up to the Princess felt like it was drawn out over several seconds which made the discovery that her always composed mentor was staring wide-eyed and mouth-agape in horrified shock that much more jarring. Twilight's brain snapped everything back to normal speed and she realized that a wailing siren had pierced the air.

TITUS!!!

She didn't know whether she had said his name in her mind or screamed at the top of her lungs as she and the Princess took off for the doors. The palace erupted into a hive of activity with the staff that kept the building in immaculately clean condition while somehow remaining completely discrete and generally invisible streamed from every exit, though very easy to spot in their midst were the blue crests and gold armor of guards that shepherded them out and away from the building in as much of an orderly fashion as they could. Several of them must have spotted Princess Celestia because they shouted to their comrades before galloping toward her and Twilight though neither stopped their headlong charge for the doors and instead the solar alicorn issued the order to begin evacuation of the other wings immediately while Twilight magically held the doors open as they dashed inside down the same hallways they had used not an hour before. The palace was in chaos and it was hard to breath with the fine dust that filtered down through the cracks between the stone bricks, made all the worse by the heavy smoke that still hung in the air and burned at either alicorn's throats when they had ascended the stairs and continued their breakneck sprint for the Council Hall amid confused ponies dashing about and guards trying to restore order.

Rounding the last corner Twilight and Princess Celestia came face to face with two bloodied griffons running side by side the opposite way, a tapestry that had been torn down and slung between them to carry a motionless guard atop it.

"Wounded for the infirmary, make way!" one of them shouted, prompting the Princess to launch into the air and over them with a powerful flap of her wings though that was far beyond Twilight's new appendages and with no time to calculate a teleport she simply hugged a wall as they passed. The slow motion sensation returned as they did so affording her a look at the battered unicorn guard.

It was impossible to tell if he was even alive, his eyes were shut and jaw relaxed so that his mouth hung just slightly open. The fine stone dust Twilight and Celestia had been choking on covered his grey coat, though it could have been any color given how much was everywhere, and a large gash on his forehead disappeared into his matted brown mane and was bleeding profusely down his face to soak into the makeshift stretcher he was being carried on. That was the only visible wound, though the golden armor that hung from him and the helmet beside him was dented in several places which was telling of the high probability of others that weren't readily visible.

Hooves landing on hard stonework launched time back to its normal speed for Twilight who took off after the Princess as soon as the griffons were past her. For some reason she stopped to cast another look back, but by that time they had already disappeared from sight leaving her to catch up with a quick teleport down the straight hallway to the large doors labeled Council Hall. Unlike the rest of the wing Twilight was greeted with fresh air and a small breeze which thankfully was slowly clearing the settling dust and smoke when she entered. The blasted out windows and large hole in the roof obviously facilitated the airflow so that she could clearly assess the scene in front of her - rubble, heavy timber, and broken shingles from the collapsed roof lay in the middle of the room though a small portion was still supported by a structural arch which had caused a secondary pile on the raised platform where the sisters' thrones were now buried. A trio of dusty and battered batpony guards were busy carefully shifting a large chunk of stone out of the way to free a trapped griffon beneath it. A second member of the Delegation was sitting off to one side of the doors clearly in shock while another Thestral guard with a makeshift bandage wrapped around her head looked after him before she caught sight of Princess Celestia and gave a sharp whistle to her comrades.

"Get a message to Captain Armor; Morning Glory is secured but Nightshade is still unaccounted for. Go go go!"

Twilight, however, only paid them enough attention to register their presence as well as one of the guards launching herself out of a window before she attacked the rubble. Clawing at it with her hooves and tossing larger chunks of debris aside with her magic to dig in frantic search of her mate but, try as she might, what little rubble she was able to clear was replaced with more as it settled into the hollow she had dug out.

"Titus!? Titus! Love, say something so I know where you are-" suddenly a set of hooves wrapped around her as a batpony guard started pulling her roughly away, "What the?! Get the buck off of me!" She instinctually threw an elbow back and dislodged the guard but before she could get back to clearing any of the rubble the second guard she had seen joined the first and they collectively removed her amid her cries that her stallion was buried and she needed to help him. Both guards stood in front of her, blocking her attempts to push past them while Princess Celestia was anxiously scanning the rubble just a short distance away in search of her sister; the bandaged mare nodded to the male to go speak with the Princess before turning to Twilight.

"Look, I get that you want to help him but if there's somepony trapped under there in an air pocket your digging could cause something to shift and crush them! I know it's hard, but the best way you can help right now is to sit tight; there's a rescue team on the way-" The guard suddenly went quiet when Twilight paced back and forth in an effort to see past her and she caught sight of the wings plastered to the sides of what she had thought was a unicorn. Going rigid the guard made a deep bow, "A thousand apologies, I did not know you were a Princess or I would not have gotten physical! Please forgive me, but the risk to any survivors was too real not to act!"

At that point Princess Celestia rejoined Twilight, who was a little taken aback by the guard's sudden change in attitude, and carefully helped the bandaged mare to her hooves while dismissing her apologies so as to get directly to the situation and understand what was going on, "Please tell us what happened, or what you can remember. Anything and everything is important."

"I-I'm not really sure, Princess. One moment the ceremony was going smoothly - the human, Titus, was seated at the table, there. The Delegation member on the other side was awarding him a medallion after a long speech then all of a sudden we were getting thrown clear of a cascade of falling roof and stonework as all Tartarus broke loose. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, it literally happened in the blink of an eye," the guardsmare shook her head disappointingly that she couldn't be more helpful in recalling anything else before she locked eyes with Celestia with a very serious expression, "And that's what feels off, Your Highness. Right before either of you arrived I sent one of my guards to fetch a rescue team as well as an analyst because my gut is telling me this explosion was too fast." The guard went on to explain that she and the other Thestrals had all commented they had seen what looked like magnetic distortion around the room after they had recovered from the blast, and while it was common knowledge that the unique eyes of the batponies could pick up things outside the range of what other ponies could, magnetic fields included, neither Twilight nor Celestia could deduce what sort of significance that information held.

A sudden rumble cut off the guard as something within the second pile of rubble shifted and before anypony could react a large chunk - easily the size of a dinner table which would have taken several Earth ponies just to move - was sent rolling down the side and out the window. From underneath the shelter of a tipped-over throne which was also cast aside a battered, bruised, and disheveled Princess Luna emerged with a roar.

"Traitors!"

"Sister!" Before Celestia could take a step forward Luna had launched herself at the two griffons hunched near the wall, not even hearing the relieved cry from her sister, her eyes glowing with a white fire as her alicorn power flowed unchecked in an aura around her and she bore down on them with intimidating resolve, "Fiends! Assassins! Thou shalt pay sorely for this heinous attack!"

"Nay! W-We had nothing to do with this!" the chief Delegation member, Geiléis, pleaded with two talons raised to attempt to shield herself from the approaching embodiment of wrath before desperately turning toward Princess Celestia for help, "I-I honestly don't know what happened, Princess; I recited the speech given to me by the King before I passed the hyoomon the specially crafted medallion, then... the next thing Gearalt and I know we're across the room, pinned under rubble and your guards are digging us out, I swear it!"

While Celestia moved to calm her agitated sister, getting in a nuzzle and embrace while giving quiet thanks that she was safe, the other griffon, Gearalt, cried that his wing was broken and that he was in great pain.

Luna held no sympathy for his injury and stomped her hoof, "Enough! Whether thou were a conspirator or not, thine King vouched for thee yet a saboteur hid within thy ranks and not only attacked a Princess, but a foreign dignitary as well! Titus is my best friend, and should any harm have come to him..." Celestia came between Luna and the griffon, adamantly stating that now wasn't the time to point hooves and that level heads would be needed before asking the remaining Night Guard to walk her through everything he remembered, starting from when Luna and Titus had entered the room.

The bandaged batpony provided a similar explanation of events as his comrade, prompting Twilight to speak up as she was desperate for information on what had happened to Titus, "W-What about the Solar Guard that was taken to the infirmary? Could he have seen something?"

"Beggin' your pardon, um, Princess, but what Solar Guard?" the batpony mare looked from her equally confused comrade back to Twilight with a shake of her head, "There shouldn't have been any Solars from here all the way to the main hallway. With Princess Luna in attendance of the ceremony the Council Hall and this whole section of the Court wing of the Palace was transferred over to the Night Guard so us Thestrals had taken their posts-"

Suddenly Twilight spotted a familiar brown sleeve amid the rubble and launched herself at it. "Titus! I've found him!" she cried, digging furiously to unearth more of the Jedi robe but only seconds later revealed it was just a fragment. Pulling on it in a last ditch hope that it was still attached to the rest talons poked and tore through the fabric just before there was a grunt followed by another chunk of debris skidding down the side of some loose shingles. A large male griffon shook himself free of several other bits on top of him before catching sight of the small group.

Luna briefly locked eyes with him and instantly identified him as the griffon that had made Titus uneasy, the thought of which now tied the alicorn's stomach into knots that she had brushed it off as stage anxiety and hadn't listened to him. "You!"

The griffon, realizing Luna had identified him, grabbed Twilight who was close by and frozen in shock and flung her with all of his considerable strength directly into the lunar alicorn. With his window of opportunity open he bolted from the rubble and launched himself toward blasted out wall in a bid to escape.

It was a fruitless attempt as he almost immediately found himself bound in magic and he skidded face-first across the floor to come to a stop just a few body lengths from the edge, his wings held tightly against his sides and his legs bound by ethereal bonds he couldn't ever hope to break as slow hooffalls approached from his blind side. Glancing over a shoulder he expected to find the imposing darkness of the lunar Princess but instead found the barely contained fury of her solar counterpart bearing down on him with with an intimidating slow gait.

"I cautioned my sister against pointing hooves and maintaining a steady head," she said flatly, her eyes staring with such ferocity it was like they were burning through him right to his core, "But your behavior and eagerness to flee the scene paint you as very suspect. Who are you?"

"H-His name is Garvan, he was selected from the Delegation security as one of our detail. There were two more with him in attendance of the ceremony-" Gearalt, the griffon with the broken wing, answered with a wince as one of the Lunar guard tended to him. He and Geiléis looked to the door in confusion before he turned back to the Princesses, "Your guards were expeditious in their arrival, where is our own security team?"

Twilight was the first to sort out the pieces and turned to Celestia frantically, "T-The griffons we passed! The ones carrying the guard!"

Luna's horn glowed and the bandaged batpony was engulfed in her magic briefly before all signs of injury faded, the transition so abrupt that the Thestral's body shook with a sudden rush of adrenaline. Pointing a hoof at the healed guard Luna barked an order before he sister could take charge, "Tell Captain Shining Armor to seal the city, every gate and possible exit is to be guarded! Commander Moor is to lead the entirety of the Lunar Guard in searching Canterlot, every house from the largest mansion to the smallest apartment! Nopony is exempt! Compliance with this order is mandatory, anypony that obstructs a search is to be considered complicit and immediately detained for questioning by me!"

The guard didn't even bother wasting time with a salute and launched herself up and out of the hole in the roof.

"You're too late!" Garvan laughed and in the distraction of getting their attention he kicked with his hind leg to send a spray of dust and debris directly into Celestia's face and eyes, breaking enough of her concentration that he flung himself over edge, "For the G.R.A.-!" His cry was cut off by a wet thud and when Luna leapt toward the window to pursue him she instead came to a stop and stared downward for a moment before turning back.

"He threw himself upon the jagged rubble below rather than be captured," she stated coldly with another look over the side at the motionless form below; even from this far up it was clear the life had already left him. As she turned to the remaining Lunar guard another explosion from deep underground felt like it caused the whole Palace to shake, dropping another cloud of fine dust from every crack in the stone walls and ceiling.

"Twilight, look out!" Celestia cried as another section of the weaken roof above them collapsed and dropped right for her student. The solar alicorn leapt to her side and wrapped her in her wings, shielding Twilight with her own body in case she wasn't fast enough in conjuring the protective bubble around both of them. Just in time the barrier solidified and deflected the massive downpour of masonry, old square timbers, and slate shingles which buried them both completely.

When they were finally dug out by the rescue team some time later a worried Celestia was clutching a shaking Twilight, the newest Princess weak and trembling in shock as she repeated the two words she'd been saying since being buried.

"He's gone. He's gone. He's gone..."