The rest of Twilight's afternoon went by in a blur from her desire to get at the information on the datapad which drove her to complete every item on her to-do-list in record speed - naturally she checked that it was, in fact, a record setter against her previous times and made a note of it to put all of it in a graph at the end of the month. Ticking the last item off she checked the clock and placed the device Fluttershy had found in her saddlebags so she wouldn't forget it when she left. I've still got about about two hours before I should head out. Just to be careful she set the clock to chime so she wouldn't get so engrossed that she lost track of time and missed her appointment with Titus and as an afterthought she dipped into her fridge to pack the saddlebag with two bottles of the cider Titus enjoyed as a thank-you for whatever he was building so she could more easily work the datapad. With everything prepared and set at the door (and a spell to keep the cider cold) so she would only have to grab it when the time came Twilight returned to the kitchen to make a small snack platter of crackers, cheese, and some juice and practically pranced her way through her house to the couch. Hopping up she kneaded the cushion for a second then lounged out in the most comfortable position she could before floating the datapad over from the desk where she had left it. Starry-eyed and trembling with anticipation she gently poked the screen with her nose and was rewarded with a soft beep.

Versafunction88^SE
brought to you by MicroData Technologies
Data → loaded (Error! See Error)... Hardware Modifications → loaded... Vessel Link → not detected...
System Message: New Version Available!
No Net Connection - Searching...

Welcome (user undefined)!
Proceed to Main Menu
Load a different Profile

Ver. 6.3
Check for update? (HoloNet connection required)

She couldn't help but let out a small *squee!* of absolute excitement as the screen lit up then eagerly navigated through to the menu the way Titus had shown her where he said she would find the books. Oh, a 'Catalog' entry? Let's try that, maybe it's like a list of the contents. She scrunched her muzzle against the screen to select the option, Alright, what have we... got? Twilight read over the treasure trove before her. There didn't appear to be any order to the titles and a few of the spaces on the list had a blinking "Unreadable Data" tag that was clear enough what it meant. This reminds me of going through our book return bin. Hmm... a creature compendium for various planets, there's a few biographies, one Owner's Manual for a R6 Astromech droid - whatever that is - and lastly a history of something called the Galactic Republic... T-There's fifteen readable books here! She had to take a moment and examine the compact device once again out of sheer disbelief. How in Luna's name did they get all of those on something that could fit in my mailbox?!

Going over the list one more time and weighing her options she eventually decided on the owner's manual as Titus' mention of the name "droid" earlier had piqued her curiosity and her mind greedily devoured all the information held in the intricate diagrams and sketches, even from the advanced sections of the service manual meant for technicians. When the clock in the other room chimed Twilight was so engrossed she was barely aware of anything but a slight sensation of movement as her body switched to autopilot. Still fully focused on reading, she taped a piece of paper in a place of prominence in the hall and scribbled what was an altogether illegible note for Spike that would have told him where she was going and that dinner was in the fridge. Unfortunately her line of text went over the edge of the note and wrote the last squiggly lines on the wallpaper beside it before she put on the saddlebag containing the other datapad and was out the door.

Twilight's ability to read and walk through crowded streets without bumping into anypony - which she had plenty of practice doing while growing up in Canterlot - was on full display as she worked her way through Ponyville, over the bridge out of town, and toward the hill. What Twilight didn't realize was how her walking speed slowed down in relation to how interested she was in what she was reading, and in this case she was moving at a crawl.

As she neared the hill Twilight managed to tear her attention away from the datapad long enough to notice that it was devoid of the usual array of Human-Watchers however a pair of ponies were coming down toward her that she recognized with a small amount of disdain. Great, it's the two photographers from earlier. She had her nose back in the datapad with the intention of passing them without a greeting when one of them stopped and turned around after her.

"Hey, I've seen you around here before. Twilight Sparkle, the human's Intermediary or whatever, right? If you're looking for him he left a bit ago," the grey-coated mare, Snappy Scoop, volunteered after the violet unicorn passed them with her nose in some sort of gizmo, "The guards had to drag some drunken cityponies off for heckling him. They were acting like they wanted a fight or something."

"What?!" Twilight stopped dead in her tracks and whipped about in alarm and was suddenly and understandably all ears for what they had to say.

"Bunch of muscle-heads from Las Pegasus; part of the EFC amateur bracket, I think," Action Shot, the light brown pony, said with a snort and scrolled through the pictures on her camera until she found ones of the offenders which she turned to show Twilight, "Yeah, here we go; recognize any of 'em?"

The four definitely didn't look like anypony Twilight remembered seeing around Ponyville recently so the photos didn't give the slightest clue who any of them were and she didn't know any of the names Action Shot provided. There was one bit of information that could prove useful and she made a mental note to ask Lyra or Applejack as they made a night of watching the Equestrian Fighters Competition together occasionally and might at least recognize the names although what Twilight would or could do as recourse from there she wasn't sure. "So can you tell me what happened?" she inquired after finding no evidence of a physical altercation in either photographer's cameras, the closest being one image of a banana peel being thrown at her friend's back.

"They started out sitting and watching like everypony else for a bit but the more they drank the noisier they got. Soon they started shouting nasty stuff at him and tried to goad him on but when Titus ignored it they got angry they tried to get in his face. Nothing actually happened, the two town guards eventually stepped in after seeing if they needed to intervene and he basically just walked away from it," Snappy Scoop shook her mane then chuckled as she continued before she shot her coworker a glare, "Some of us local Human-Watchers weren't so ready to stand by though, were we, Action?"

"What? He's the first and only one of his kind in Equestria, and it's not like he's doing anything wrong," Action Shot returned the glare defiantly, "If they want a fight there's a few of us on the Human-Watcher's roster would be glad to step up and buck some sense into 'em, myself included. That's probably why the guards hauled the hecklers off: for their own well-being."

Twilight only half listened to their subsequent back and forth about what should have been done and instead flipped through other photos they had taken. These photos aren't like the garbage in the papers... There was one where Titus was talking with a pair of professors from Canterlot University, and the other camera had a set that showed the human laughing and playing hoofball as the foals and Spike hung on to every limb in an attempt to tackle him. These photographers are showing him in a positive light, almost like they're documenting his stay without a bias. Wow, I really misjudged them but as much as I'd like to talk I'd really better get going if I want to catch up to Titus.

"Hey," having gotten their gear back Action Shot called to Twilight as she went off at a canter, "If you catch up with him let him know a lot of us were impressed that he kept a level head!"

"Yeah! He's one cool cucumber!" Snappy added.

"Thanks!" she called over her shoulder but didn't slow on her climb up the hill, "I'll let him know!" Upon cresting the top and not spotting any sign of Titus the thought about waiting until tomorrow to seek him out and see how he was doing crossed Twilight's mind, but then only briefly before she decidedly dismissed it. But... but I need to be sure he's alright right now and I wouldn't wait if it was any of my other friends. We have each other so something like this wouldn't be too big of a deal but he must feel so alone. Her canter turned into a gallop down the other side of the hill and soon she dropped into the trench and disappeared into Everfree Forest, her thoughts swamped as she considered every possible state of mind her alien friend could be in.

Food distracted.

Food tired.

Small. Weak.

Not much meat.

Tender meat. Soft.

They weren't words shared but more of a communicated instinct. The pack stalked through the underbrush on either side of the newly-formed gully, hungrily eyeing their prey and waiting for the right time to strike.

Ahead is water.

Prey must climb.

We strike soon.

The ground underhoof was getting slick and when it wasn't threatening to slide out from underneath her it was sucking at her hooves. All the water in the surrounding ground is collecting down here, it's an absolute mess. As she dodged a few of the larger puddles Twilight searched for a place to climb out of the trench in favor of drier ground and while the sides normally wouldn't have been too steep to walk up and out the visible wet sheen of mud coating the inclines in front and behind her as far as she could see was enough for her to conclude it wouldn't be a good idea to try if she wanted to stay clean - or at least not end up completely covered in mud. Still, her legs were already getting pretty caked and she could feel some muck stuck in the end of her long tail which weighed it down even further. Teleporting out was also out of the question as from the bottom of the trench she couldn't see over the lip and with all of the broken logs and rocks that had been swept aside as the ship came through she didn't want to teleport into the air and risk twisting her hoof in the subsequent fall back to the ground. As she continued forward she was scanning over the piled brush and fallen logs along the top for something suitable that she could move and lay down as a ramp when she caught something in the shadows moving parallel to her on either side. Scarcely a few heartbeats later the only warning Twilight had was the foul stench an instant before a blur launched itself at her.

Timberwolves!

She barely dodged the one that had lunged out at her and blasted it to pieces when it landed with a spell she wasn't sure she consciously constructed or whether she had conjured it purely from fear. It was a temporary breather for her to calm and try to get a better grasp on the situation but as the sticks and logs began rapidly reforming the rest of the pack emerged a second later to peek over the edges of the trench. There was only one option: run, and run hard.

Too close and too many for me to take a stand. The sudden shock and spring into all-out flight meant Twilight was already nearly winded and her being a somewhat sedentary bookworm certainly didn't help matters. Another timberwolf lunged with its maw open wide to bare its fangs but again Twilight dodged, this time blinking ahead a few body lengths with a teleport spell. Not good! The more I have to concentrate on not slipping in this mud the less I can concentrate on spells to dispatch with some sort of permanency. The timberwolves were now both behind her and up on the banks either side of the trench which was also getting increasingly hard to navigate - the deep puddles had turned into miniature lakes or bottomless mud pits and branches and stumps jutted up from the dirt like skeletal limbs trying to trip her. Tearing through the muddy scar Twilight could see ahead where boards had been laid out to form a walkway through the hazardous terrain which was a good sign she was close. Sure enough she had only run on the boards for a short distance before she could see one of the taller parts of the ship breaking over the ridge of the trench and put on as much extra speed as she could, her breathing now ragged from the exertion as she thundered across the planks. Almost there!

The ship came more into view, distracting Twilight just long enough for her to lose her hoofing as one of the planks she put her leading hoof down on shifted slightly beneath her in the muck.

Twilight was thrown far into one of the mud pits alongside the path and a spike of pain shot up her hind leg as something sharp scratched across her coat, the surprise of which knocked the air out of her though, to her credit, she had the strength of mind to force herself from breathing in a lung-full of mud. With her body screaming at her for oxygen she pushed off the muddy bottom and propelled herself upward to break the surface coughing and sputtering, her legs churning frantically as she tried to tread water in the thin mud although she did get the gasp of air she so desperately needed. When Twilight blinked and shook the muck out of her eyes the timberwolves were already snarling and pacing back and forth having since encircled the banks of the large pit and Twilight struggled to paddle toward the center to get as much distance between them as possible. The long gallop coupled with the chase made her legs feel like lead though to her relief she found a shallower spot in the middle where her hind hooves could just barely reach the bottom, but only if she was reared up and hopped slightly and even then when her hooves were on the bottom she was craning her neck just to keep her muzzle above the surface as the mud washed over her face again. She tried calling for help but couldn't achieve much in the way of volume - her throat was parched and she could only shout or take a breath, there wasn't enough time both, as she bobbed up and down in the slop.

The timberwolves were growing bolder (or simply hungrier) with a few of them wading further into the mud after the trapped unicorn. They were rewarded with a blast of magic though this still only bought Twilight a little more time at the cost of draining her magic reserves because they simply reassembled themselves after a short delay. Behind the wolves Twilight would have been able to see the ship had it not been for the small berm and her low angle of vision with her eyes literally being at or below ground level at times. No direct line of sight on the ship. If I can blink behind the wolves and confuse them enough, even for a few seconds, I can make a break for it and hopefully get Titus' attention to come help m- Another jab of pain in her leg as she pushed off the bottom told her she wouldn't get very far if she tried running and Twilight's attention had to be focused on blasting a nearby wolf as it reassembled.

Unseen by Twilight one of the predators in her blind spot saw an opportunity and took a running start at the puddle fully intending to land right on top of its meal.

Suddenly Twilight found herself showered with the remains of a timberwolf as twigs, leaves, and branches splashed down around her or off of her; confused, she whipped around trying to find what had happened only to have a series of sharp whistles draw her attention. Bobbing in a slow circle toward the noise Twilight's heart lept as she caught sight of Titus just as he was sliding down the berm in the distance although much closer than him was a dark brown blur that smashed into one timberwolf with a snarl to bite and tear large junks of bark and sticks away savagely until it stopped moving before it launched itself at another.

The remaining timberwolves' attention also changed - they had no intention of sharing the meal with another predator - and they forgot about the unicorn for the moment in favor of the encroaching threats.

"Over here!" Twilight shouted, waving one leg above her head as she watched Titus thrust an open hand toward one of the wolves closing on him which subsequently was reduced to mere pile of sticks and kindling. What? He must have used a weapon or piece of technology.

That definitely seemed the likely case because in his other hand a blue rod of light jumped out of the familiar silver and black cylinder she had seen him wear, the warm hum turning into an angry snarl when a single slash effortlessly cut down another of the predators, the materials it touched were left smoldering and smoking when they hit the ground and the magic reanimating it was gone. Twilight was left to watch as Titus caught another midair by the throat when it pounced from the top of the berm and slammed it into the mud before the light blade was brought to bear again although in this moment she found a window to blast a timberwolf that reassembled behind him before it could lunge.

Another combination of whistles and the brown creature - a dog by Twilight's reckoning and the few short glimpses whenever it would occasionally stop moving - circled around behind the puddle to flank the last two timberwolves and cut off their escape. Herding the wild wooden constructs with snarls and feigned lunges Twilight got a good line on one and blasted it while the biped dodged the desperate attack of the other and countered with a clean strike that would have lopped its head off had it not collapsed into sticks as they inherently did.

Immediately Titus' face snapped to the large puddle and his worried call came before even a post-fight breath could be taken. "Twilight! Are you alright?"

"Careful," Twilight coughed, still bouncing off the bottom of the muck pit, "The magic; it brings them back after a short time." The two wolves she had blasted began to reconstruct themselves but a shrill whistle caused the dog to leap on one while Titus strode over to the other to terminate the process halfway through with a quick slash from his light beam weapon and like the rest they didn't stir after that.

With the area now cleared Titus was about to ask if she could swim out but one look at the exhausted pony was enough to tell him that she'd need help. He gave another whistle which brought the dog to his side and it sat obediently, guarding the edge of the puddle as Titus placed his lightsaber and pouch belt at the dog's feet before he waded in, first up to his knees, then his hips, and finally up to his armpits. The muck was deep enough the farther he went that he had to take a few breaststrokes before he reached Twilight bouncing on her little submerged island. "I'll have you out of here in a second," he said treading water for a moment before he got an arm around her barrel which she hung on to tightly and, if her expression was anything to go by, appreciatively, "Just try to relax and let me do the work." The muck that didn't want to move like water would have and the extra drag created by towing the unicorn meant the return trip took longer but his progress toward the bank and firmer ground was steady and eventually the human was helping a weary Twilight up the muddy bank where she flopped down onto her side and lay there.

"Th...Thanks," she eventually panted a moment to catch her breath where she could finally take a break and focus on calming herself down but this only lasted a few seconds before she bolted upright and scanned the puddle again. "Oh no, my saddlebag! My saddlebag slipped off when I fell in!" she cried with an anxious glance to Titus, "T-The datapads..." How am I going to make it up to him if I destroyed the datapads? Those aren't something I can just fix or replace! She waited for some sort of reaction out of him like sadness or anger but Titus was busy motioning his dog over and as the pony-sized canine came to its owner's side Twilight gave it a worried look which Titus keenly observed.

"It's okay, Twilight. This is my dog Dex, he's perfectly friendly," Titus ruffled the animal's ears for emphasis and the happy grin plastered across the panting dog's face widened which had the affect of alleviating at least some of the fear in Twilight's eyes, "Dex, this is Twilight. She's perfectly friendly, too." With rudimentary introductions made and a little lightheartedness to ease the mood he cast a glance of his own back at the mud they had just crawled out of and was quick to silence the stammered apology from the unicorn for losing his technology with a finger held up, "What's important is that you're safe, Twilight. Just wait here, relax and catch your breath for a moment, I'm going to go back in real quick and see if I can't find your bag before the mud we stirred up settles over it. I'll be right back." Twisting up from his seated position Titus made a nod toward the librarian, but his words were't directed at her.

"Dex, guard." The dog immediately lay down on his belly near Twilight, ears perked and rotating on high alert as he both looked and smelled for approaching threats.

Satisfied that Dex would take care of things until he got back Titus swam back into the puddle, submerging himself multiple times until he came back up with a mud-laden set of bags in one hand, muck oozing from every seam as he held it aloft. When he finally got back to shore with remnants of the pool falling from him with wet plops when they hit the ground the unicorn was thankfully sitting, albeit a bit languidly. "Twilight, are you alright?" he said as he crouched down in front of her and a hand hesitantly went to her shoulder whereupon he discovered that she was shivering. Not surprising, seeing as we're both covered in a layer of this heat-sapping slime.

"Exhausted. Cold... but fine, thanks to you," tired as she was Twilight managed an appreciative smile with her last words before getting herself to her hooves shakily, though she found she had to briefly lean against the steadying hand still on her shoulder until she got her balance back.

"Alright. Let's get back to the ship so we can clean up and get warm," Titus said as he stood up and placed the saddlebags over Dex's back who handled them without a problem or complaint before he took a few strides away from the pair. Titus and Twilight followed on a path for the ship but had only gone a few paces when the human noticed Twilight was avoiding putting weight on her hind leg and he brought the party to a stop, "Hey, whoa. Twilight, you're hurt-"

"Y-Yeah. I cut myself on something in the mud when I fell in," she said and looked back at where a crimson streak was now tinting the mud that clung to her flank. Putting on a brave face she took several steps forward and tried not to wince, failing on each as well which earned an even more concerned look from Titus that she attempted to brush off, "Okay, yes, I'll admit it hurts but I'll be fine until I get to your ship."

"There's still a fair walk across this muddy trench and then some climbing up the hull to get to the door. Here, I got you," he bent down again and slowly wrapped his arms around all four of Twilight's hooves in an attempt to scoop her up. Quiet protests that she was fine were voiced and an assurance that she could manage to the ship was made but with how much she had been struggling to just walk Titus wasn't hearing any of it, "Listen, you've been through enough already. It obviously hurts to walk so I'm not about to let you hobble all the way there, especially when I can just carry you."

"Really, it's not necessary... but admittedly it does hurt a bit, so thank you," she conceded and let the human pick her up. Or he would have but they quickly found that the mud made her coat extremely slick so it took a few minutes to figure out a way to carry her however they eventually collectively found that if Titus' arms formed a hoop for her to lay on her back in where one of the arms looped below the hook of her hind leg and the other supporting her at the withers they could progress. This arrangement left her head resting on his shoulder and her forelegs tucked against her chest which was actually surprisingly comfortable for her, too, so for a few minutes she just let herself relax as Titus carried on walking them both across the mud flat.

After a short stint of silence, however, Twilight felt compelled and spoke up, "So... are you alright?"

"Hmm?" With his hum her words seemingly had caught the human with his mind elsewhere and she assumed he would have been content just continuing in quiet but to Twilight's relief he nodded and gave her a reassuring smile, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I've had worse run-ins than that."

"Oh, good, but 'run-ins' - as you so casually termed them - with timberwolves can be really nasty. What I actually was referring to was about earlier," she clarified but he didn't seem to follow, "Earlier, with the ponies that were heckling you."

"Twilight," he replied with a sigh and came to a full stop, "Did you come all the way out here to ask me that?" Her head having left his shoulder where it had been resting Titus already knew her answer and spoke before she could respond, "I'm fine, Twilight, they were just some loudmouths that had had too much to drink so I didn't pay much attention to what they were shouting at me. Besides, I know that some of the townsfolk stood up on my behalf." Starting to feel the cold himself he started walking again rather than berate the unicorn at a standstill, slowly working his way along the plank pathway, "I appreciate the concern but coming out here this close to dark was reckless; even if we left now we wouldn't reach town before dark. So, will you be okay staying here overnight?"

"Yes!"

The excitement that she was getting asked to stay - aboard a spaceship, nonetheless - was such an exciting prospect and the answer should have been an obvious one that there may have been a level of enthusiasm that meant she couldn't contain her volume. The sudden startled look he gave her, however, reminded her of the position she was in and she quickly bowed her head meekly. "*heh* Sorry. Yes, I'd be fine with that, thank you, and I apologize for imposing like this," Twilight said in a much more composed tone before sighing and resting on his shoulder again. "But I was worried..." she subtly nuzzled the side of his neck but couldn't tell if he noticed, "They could have seriously hurt you."

An eyebrow arched at that statement although, again, he wasn't sure if she was talking about the ponies or the timberwolves, "I... appreciate the concern."

Another stint of silence followed which saw them to the base of the rolled ship but rather than finding herself enraptured with the advanced vessel before her Twilight instead only harbored a desire to just lay comfortably where she was with her head on his shoulder and her muzzle a scant nose away from his neck as the chase up the trench replayed in her mind. As it came to a close under her breath she sighed jokingly, "Well this ended up all backwards, didn't it?"

"Backwards?" he asked, deftly climbing up part of the fuselage and traversing the top (or bottom, depending on your point of view) of the upturned ship before coming to a stop just short of a large vertical face of metal.

"Mhm," Twilight hummed. In all honesty she hadn't expected him to hear her with those small flat ears of his and was left to explain, "The mare is, um... is supposed to save the stallion in distress."

"Oh, so I'm a helpless stallion now?" he asked and gave a little squeeze and grin just so she would know he was joking.

"I would say that's not applicable given the evening's events, but the ideal is one of the unfortunate side affects of our matriarchal society," Twilight started explaining from her study on the subject but had to twist slightly and place her hooves over the human's shoulders as one of his arms moved out from under her to push a set of buttons. "You, um-" the shift of position caused the arm supporting her rear to apply a light amount of pressure to her marehood through her tucked-in tail and in response she tightened her grip on him involuntarily, "You see- ah!... historically stallions..." Squirming a bit more she lost her train of thought. I know that's unintentional and entirely an accident, but why don't I want him to stop?

"How about we save the history lesson for later, like after we're clean and warm?" he interrupted and struggled momentarily, the pony being a bit awkward for one arm to balance when she wriggled unexpectedly. Thankfully he was practiced enough that he could quickly enter the code for the large blast door to the cargo hold which slid open with a smooth *woosh!* of air. Titus had to push a few more temporarily-rigged controls to get the interior lights on so for a moment more he fiddled, "But besides one friend helping another, how about we say this makes us even for rescuing me from the crash. Deal?"

"Deal!" Twilight openly nuzzled him this time, rubbing up along his jaw and under his ear which caused a slight tingly sensation to flare in her body. Wow, that feels nice. As she continued she got a small chuckle from the human which only heightened the fun she was having until he tried to worm his head away from her, however unsuccessful that might be given their arrangement.

"C'mon, that tickles."

"Oh? You mean when I do this?" Playfully she brushed the spot again which earned another squirm and an openly laughed yes this time. "I didn't think you'd be ticklish... I'll keep that spot in mind." Did I really just say that? What is going on with me?

"I dread to think for what," Titus' expression was deadpan as he shut the door behind them with a simple wave of his hand over an identical keypad on the inside. "Sorry it's such a mess, I would have picked up if I had known I was going to have company," his dry humor didn't go unmissed as he crossed the trashed cargo hold, the shivering unicorn turning every which way and back again to eagerly examine every item in the room around her. She got a second to do so as Titus removed the saddlebags from his dog and set them aside before he carried Twilight through a set of doors to a hallway at the far end of the hold.

A shower of sparks and bright blue light abruptly stopped as the droid at work turned to greet them with a series of whistles when they entered. Hey! I recognize that! "Isn't that the droid from the manual?" Twilight craned her neck for a better look as the human carried her past and she desperately wanted to ask if he would wait so she could examine it further but between the gross mud and the welcome physical contact she relinquished that idea as something for later.

"Hm? Oh, so you chose to read the manual?" he asked and came to a stop partway through the door, "I kinda figured you might. You're correct, that's a R6 astromech droid. His name is Arsix." Titus turned so the unicorn could get a better look when the droid rolled closer and he knew it was so it could get a better look at the pony he was carrying. "Arsix, this is Twilight, she and her friends pulled me from the ship after the crash. She'll be spending the night," He explained which got a soft hum. Titus knew the librarian would be eager to observe the droid further at which point an idea struck him, "Hey, Arsix, could you follow us and run a quick diagnostic to make sure the shower has warm water?"

The droid enthusiastically shifted from foot to foot as it gave a few cheerful chirps and despite its head rotating from side to side Titus explained it wasn't saying no and a second later the third wheeled foot extended to follow them as instructed. This, of course, allowed Twilight to watch over the human's shoulder as the astromech scooted along which was an opportunity she greatly appreciated.

Titus walked down the dimly lit corridor, answering several inquiries related to the manual Twilight had read, and through another set of doors where he knelt down. "Alright, here we are," he said and when he went to set Twilight down they discovered the hoop arrangement made it a little precarious from how slick they both still were with mud and loosening his grip at all risked a sudden drop for the unicorn. Getting Twilight to loop her hooves behind his neck she was able to get her good hind hoof on the floor and with his help lowered her front hooves to the deck though he didn't let go until she was certain she had her balance. Now on her own hooves again she glanced around; it looked like a standard bathroom though a few things had been obviously temporarily jerry-rigged to function with the ship on its roof, the shower being one of them.

Though the operation was similar to her own setup Twilight was shown where the hot & cold water controls were as well as a few of the other buttons on the wall. "If you'd like to wash out that cut, and I'd recommend it, you can press this button here and it'll switch to a saline output-" he flashed a questioning thumps-up (Twilight had learned of the odd gesture shortly after his arrival) to the droid which chirped and whistled a response, "I think you're all set. Arsix says the water agitator is even good to go for hot water, just be careful how high you crank it because the safety limiter is on the fritz. I'll go find some towels and leave them just in the changing room for you. The door is partially broken and doesn't close properly so I'll have Arsix stay outside in the hall. If you need anything just give him a holler and he can come get me-"

"Wait, you're not staying?" her head tilted to one side in confusion, "I thought you wanted a shower, too."

The human also looked confused at the question, "I do, I was going to let you go first and take one after you..."

Twilight looked over her shoulders at the shower which was easily several times larger than hers at home then back at Titus, "It's more than roomy enough for both of us, why take turns?" Twilight immediately saw the blush come to his face.

"I'd, um, have to take my clothes off for a shower."

"Well, yeah," she rolled her eyes, "It'd be a bit silly to take a shower with clothes on." What is the deal with humans and clothes? She pointed a hoof at his shirt and pants and gave a nod, "Go ahead and take them off, you're always wearing something from head to foot so I'm curious to see what you look like under all that fabric."

Twilight's last remark caused Titus to go a whole new shade of red. "Being naked around other people feels awkward, especially when they're the opposite gender."

"Good thing I'm not a people then, I'm a pony," Twilight joked, still not picking up on what he was trying to say, "Besides, that doesn't make sense because ponies hardly ever wear clothes! I'm not wearing any clothes right now and I feel fine like this around you," she was trying to grasp the human's line of thinking but really didn't understand his aversion but then a realization as the word left her mouth hit her, "Does... does my not wearing clothes make you feel uncomfortable?" Though she didn't mean to her ears rotated back, hoping that wasn't the case.

"What? No, of course not!" Titus wasn't sure why he turned to the R6 unit for support, the droid certainly wouldn't know how he felt. "Let me set this straight; when I said 'people' I was using it as an umbrella term, ponies were included in that but them not wearing clothes is different but it doesn't make me uncomfortable. With humans, and other races for that matter, it's kinda complicated. Generally speaking getting undressed is the lead-up to a few things; a shower, sometimes sleeping and, um-" he cleared his throat, "Serious intimacy." He could feel the blood in his cheeks. How do you explain something like clothing and why you wear it to an alien species that views it as completely optional?

"Oh," it was Twilight's turn to blush, "So, you're worried that undressing to take a shower with me might get you... heated?" The briefest image flashed before her and her haunches clenched together lightly before her mind began connecting the dots of all the things she'd been thinking and feeling recently.

Oh no. Please, not now of all times! And I just stated I was curious what'd he'd look like naked... dang it. Another image popped to the front of her mind: one of what she thought Titus might look like under the clothes he wore and one where she had her chest on the shower floor, warm water cascading over her. She held her rump in the air as his fingers intertwined into her tail to-

Nope! Stop right there. Twilight shook the image out of her head which, with no context, was a little strange for Titus to witness though he didn't voice anything. "I guess I'll go first then," her ears flattened and a blush burned through her coat, "I'll, uh, let you know when I'm finished." With a nervous smile, Twilight hoofed the button to close the door, That was too close. She had been been fighting to keep her tail still but now with the door closed it was swishing frantically from side to side as her haunches repeatedly clenched. Forget the hot water; I need to cool off.

With what he guessed was a nervous smile the shower room door slid closed almost in his face. Well, she changed her mind pretty quick. I just hope I didn't offend her or something, but she did ask. The human found some towels in a locker and gave them to the droid and stepped out of the room as the water came on.

Making his way back to the cargo hold he began picking up and organizing the tools and various parts he had left laying about. Hmmm, this manifold is still usable... As the thought crossed his mind the series of twisting tubing floated to a shelf - Same goes for this conduit and heat sink - the parts quickly joined the manifold on the shelf. Power scanner, a set of interface visors, tuning stylus, laser caliper.... The tools set themselves up on the workbench or on the wall of other tools and in very little time the hangar began looking much more organized as like-things grouped themselves together - crates of parts floating toward the work area, wall panels reattached themselves over exposed bundles of wires while equipment and other gear organized itself over in the corner near the hallway door.

Dex, who lounging under the workbench and completely ignoring the commotion as he was fairly used to the odd spectacle, suddenly sat up and look intently at the hallway door and a moment later the astromech droid scooted into the room beeping and chirping. That's my cue. Titus finished moving one last crate before he made his way back to the shower room where he found Twilight waiting for him, "All finished?"

The unicorn nodded but didn't say anything.

"Arsix can show you how to get back to the hold, if you'd like-"

"Can I wait here for you, instead?" Twilight asked hesitantly, "I'd rather not be left alone with Dex right now." Winowa was able to pick up on the pheromones when Applejack was on her cycle so it's logical to assume the same would be true here. Twilight's tail twitched ever so slightly though to Twilight's relief Titus hadn't seemed to notice or didn't know what it meant.

"Oh, sure. If you could wait out in the hall I'll make it quick." Almost getting eaten by those wolf things I can see why she'd be reluctant to be around another dog. I hope she's not scared of him, though, he's so gentle. Waiting until Twilight had left and the door had hissed closed as much as it would on its broken rail Titus pulled his muddy shirt off, unbuckled the belt, and was quickly undressed and in the shower.

A violet eye peeked through the crack in the broken door, curiously observing the biped that had his back to her as he removed his clothing. He really is almost hairless. I wish he'd turn around, but at the same time... mmm, that's a nice set of flanks. Twilight had to make a conscious effort to keep a hoof from sliding between her hind legs and even after he had stepped through and closed the frosted door to the shower she continued watching his silhouette.

Titus took a quick shower, though as he went about scrubbing the mud and bog gunk from his skin he found it odd that the puddles on the floor from the last shower were cold already. When he finished he found the droid had kindly retrieved a comfortable set of clothes for him which he donned and rushed to join Twilight in the hall so she wasn't kept waiting in an unfamiliar place for longer than necessary. "I feel much better," Titus said while rubbing his hair in a towel to expedite its drying, "How about you? Warmed up, at least?"

Twilight nodded, "And I definitely feel better being clean." Standing up from where she had rushed to take as seat when he had looked like he was heading for the door she experimentally stretched her hurt hind leg, "Ow!" She didn't even try moving it more than once because the pain was too sharp and her leg wanted to pull close to her body so no weight could be put on it, "I'm beginning to realize my meager practice with healing magic won't be enough, maybe enough to dull the pain, but that's it."

Kneeling down beside her Titus looked at the jagged slash that crossed one of the symbols on her flank, her cutie mark as he was lead to understand from the lecture she had given him one morning while he worked. Upon further inspection Titus didn't think it was deep enough to cause any lasting damage but the shower had kept it from scabbing and recent movement of her leg had caused it to start bleeding again , "You've got what would definitely qualify as a big gash, but I've dealt with stuff worse than this before. I have some medical supplies in the hold," Titus knelt down and made a hoop to pick Twilight up but she declined the offer and stated she would prefer to walk so they slowly worked their way down the hall from the locker room.

If he even so much as brushes my marehood right now I'd lose it.

She seems a bit... jumpy? Nervous? Titus slowed his pace to that of the unicorn as they made their way back to the hold, saying nothing as she observed her surroundings intently.

"It looks different from the last time I was here," Twilight stated as they entered the large room that was the cargo hold, "But we never got the opportunity to come through here, the doors were blocked by stuff." There was a workbench halfway along one wall, a rack of tools and a set of tool boxes on either side. In the center was something propped up on a set of crates; Twilight couldn't identify what, but she assumed it was a vehicle of some sort because of the obvious seat built into it. A section of it was opened up to reveal some machinery and an object on the workbench looked like it might have been removed for repair. Her muddy saddlebag lay near a blanket that had been tied between two beams like a hammock - she eyed the setup with a raised eyebrow. Well, probably more comfortable than sleeping on this hard floor- er, ceiling. Whatever we're standing on. The human had waited for her as she had turned around in place and when she was clearly done examining the room he beckoned her over with what looked like a small aerosol can in one hand. Sitting down next to him she gave the object a curious look, "What's that?"

"This is an antiseptic and topical painkiller spray that also dries into a bandage after a few seconds," he sprayed a small amount on his arm to demonstrate and, peeling the dried substance off, passed it to her.

"That's a pretty ingenious combination," she said before examining the area of his arm and the clear bandage she had been given.

With her seated Titus looked at the cut on Twilight's leg and found it was deeper than he originally thought. "I'm going to have to open the cut so the spray gets all the way in and pulls it closed. Fair warning but it's going to hurt a bit while it cleans out any dirt or germs but the painkiller will only take a second to kick in. Speaking of kicking," he gave her an apologetic smile, "I'm going to hold you still so you don't buck me by accident." He completely immobilized both legs; placing a knee on either side of her hind legs and gently pinned her hurt leg at the ankle with one hand, his fingers within range to stretch and spread the cut open. Twilight's upper body was wrapped around him to one side as he hunched over in preparation to apply the antiseptic.

"Okay. Here we go," he raised the spray in preparation, "On three..."

Twilight gulped in anticipation and a little pain as he pulled the cut open but nodded that she would be ready.

"One."

He sprayed.

Twilight's eyes snapped open. Ugh, I knew he was going to do tha-SWEET BUCKING SISTERS!

Unable to buck against the pain she inadvertently bit down on the nearby shoulder in response, a muffled groan escaping her lips. BUCK! It burns like that time I backed into a hot plate in the lab! GAAAH! The painkiller thankfully took effect only a second later and the grip on her hind legs was released when they stopped trying to kick and she felt the human pat her barrel. As she moaned appreciatively in relief she relaxed and her muzzle slid away from his shoulder to rest in an arm while she caught her breath, a whole-body weariness taking over from the sudden tenseness.

After a few moments to recover Twilight gave the arm holding her a small nudge to let him know she was ready. "Whoa," she said and slowly got to her hooves to try walking around a bit and much to her surprise her leg no longer hindered her and she moved about freely. I feel good as new! I should ask about the chemical compound that's in that stuff, it's amazing and could work wonders for Equestria. As she continued to walk in circles to test her leg she noticed the imprint she had left on his shoulder and she immediately trotted over, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bite you! The pain just-"

"You didn't bite that hard," he lied; she had a deceptively strong jaw from what he had felt and he pulled the neck of his shirt to try to see where she had bitten him but it didn't stretch that far. "My oversight for not giving you something to bite down on, and sorry for not going on three."

Catching her reflection in a piece blank computer screen nearby Twilight paused and examined herself. Hmm, I hope I packed that. She first tried going over the mental checklist of items she had packed but the excitement with the timberwolves had overwritten much of the list and she ended up having to walk over to the saddlebag that lay on the floor instead. The soaked pouch's flap hit the floor with a squelch! and she floated out the two data pads and the two ciders as well as her muddy stationary equipment but didn't find what she was looking for. "Drat."

When the human inquired what was wrong Twilight summoned a spell that began to clean up her notebook. "My mane is all disheveled and is going to get all knotted. I forgot to pack my-" with her notebook usable again she turned around but stopped mid sentence when she saw him.

Titus had taken his shirt partially off so he could examine his shoulder; half of it was rolled up around his neck, exposing one side of his chest.

Twilight had only been able to see him from behind when she peeked studied (for the sake of science, naturally) him as he undressed for the shower. Human males have teats?! A-A-And they're so high up on the body... The sudden sight of the exposed skin and muscles stretched taut beneath it as he twisted and stretched cautiously to avoid aggravating the large black and blue patch just below his breast to try to get a look at his shoulder rekindled that tingly sensation from earlier and her mind skipped several gears to jarringly finish her previous statement after a moment, "-my... brush."

"I doubt I have anything like that," he said, oblivious to the unicorn's state because an idea had suddenly come to him, one that would allow him to do some tinkering, "Though I might be able to make something, if you give me a moment." Titus strode over to the workbench to pick up the heat sink from earlier off the shelf. "Arsix, would you cut this into thin strips? I need them to be about this wide," he instructed the droid and a few loud moments later had a handful of comb-like blades. Placing the pieces side by side and alternating the location the teeth were in the human grabbed a pair of goggles from a nearby hook to shield his eyes from a bright blue to white light that popped and snapped as he welded the pieces together. He continued tinkering, Twilight watching him but unable to see what he was doing as the tabletop was too high for her even on her hind legs so she took several steps back and sat down in wait for him to finish. After a few moments of a high-pitched whining Titus put down the spinning tool in his hand and got off of the stool.

"It's nothing fancy," he made his way over to Twilight, slowly kneeling down and holding the makeshift brush out, "But I imagine it's better than nothing. I hope, anyway."

Twilight found she could levitate the brush as it didn't create any harmonic dissonance like some of his tech would so she floated it closer for observation. Although it looked a little crude in its design, it still had an aesthetically-pleasing simplicity that she appreciated a bit more because it was a gift; what had once been a square of fluted metal was now semi-oval shaped and the teeth had been filed down and the whole brush had also been buffed to a high polish that sparkled and shined in the irregular lighting of the cargo hold. She ceased channeling her spell, catching the brush in her hooves when it fell and immediately noticed how little it weighed, "It's so light! It can't be iron or steel." She gave it a test-run through a bit of her mane and found that it worked well at disentangling her hair and as an added bonus the spines gave a relieving scratch at the base of the follicles that her other brush didn't. Interesting, there's also no generation of static electricity. Perhaps a property of the alloy?

"Thank you, it's wonderful!" she leapt on him, her hooves going around his neck in a hug and she planted what was probably an overly enthusiastic peck on his cheek when one of his arms returned the hug.

"I'm glad you like it," he attempted to mimic a nuzzle on the pony embracing him and was rewarded with a surprised giggle. H-He nuzzled me!

"I saw you bring out the datapads, I'll take a look at them while you're busy brushing."

He actually nuzzled me back! Twilight was near ecstatic and spent the next few minutes happily brushing her mane and tail. A few stubborn knots gave her a bit of trouble until the human assisted with them, he seemingly was able to make them melt away and even though the tangles in her tail would have normally been too embarrassing Twilight relished the sensation as the fingers snaked through her hair and gave it light tugs, though she felt a bit bad that he kept getting up from his work at the table. She made sure to show her appreciation by homing-in to give the hands an affectionate nuzzle whenever they got close which often resulted in her ears getting rubbed which was an entirely new discovery of their capabilities. And dear Celestia, did that feel divine!

After one such instance of helping with a particularly uncooperative knot (and an ear rub that almost made Twilight moan out loud) she decided her hair was in a satisfactory state and moved over to Titus at the workbench with a renewed spring in her step.

Twilight looked up at Titus sitting cross-legged and slightly slouched with his head resting on a hand, propped up by an elbow on the table while the other arm hung at his side. A strange visor device obscured his eyes from her but traces of light escaped between the edges of it and his face which lead her to theorize there was some sort of display within the visor helping him with his task.

"So," the tabletop might have been too high for her to see what was happening but that didn't stop her from trying to get a peek, "Do the datapads still work? I imagine it wasn't good for them to be submerged, I just hope I didn't ruin them."

He gave a distracted hum, committing to neither possibility of their functionality.

Titus' earlier ministrations with the knots and ear rubs - and the sensations that they had brought with them - had made Twilight feel a bit playful. "I want to help!" her horn glowed and in a flash of violet light she appeared in the human's lap atop the tall stool.

For just a fraction of a second she saw the parts of the disassembled datapad hovering slightly above the work surface before they clattered back down as the stool wobbled with the sudden shift in weight, two hands immediately grabbing the edge of the work surface to keep them from plummeting off their perch.

Breathing a sigh once the wobbling had ceased, Titus flicked the mechanical interface visor up out of his vision to address the unicorn that was now sharing the stool with him, "Twilight..."

She didn't even hear him say her name. Those were levitating... those were definitely levitating! "How did you do that?!" Twilight turned to look at the human incredulously, "How?! I thought humans didn't have any magic!"

Oh shoot. I could tell her it was a bit of technology, a function of the interface visor... no, that will just come around to bite me in the butt. "We don't. If you get down-"

"I know what I saw!" Twilight refused to move out of his lap until he told her how he had made the datapad components levitate. Summoning magic into her horn she checked for any residual Harmony but, aside from what could normally be found in the environment, there were no heightened levels in the area. "According to the newspaper articles, and the independent and much more thorough readings I've taken on my own you have no magical coefficient! None! Meaning you shouldn't- no, sorry, that's not right, what I mean is you can't have any magic!" She shook her head hard enough from her own disbelief that it caused the tall stool they were both sharing to wobble about slightly, "Do you have any idea... any idea at all what the ramifications to established thaumaturgic theory - not to mention the very laws that those theories are based on - would be if a creature without an ingrained affinity could harness Harmony?! It would mean chaos! Disc-" Twilight took a few breaths, "Goatface would be having a field day."

Goatface? Whatever, I can ask later. "It wasn't magic, Twilight," Titus tried to explain and immediately she issued the follow up question asking what ability he had to be able to levitate the components, her bright eyes betraying just how hungry she was for the answer. "It's called the Force. At the picnic earlier today, do you remember when I mention that group of secluded people that used something that looked similar to your magic?" he asked and waited for the unicorn to nod, "They used the Force. I know it might look similar to magic, and many people from my own dimension or whatever would also call it that, but that's not the case."

"Besides," he tried to subtly change the subject, "Just a week ago those same papers you're referencing were saying I was a pony-eater and was going to usurp the Princesses to enslave all of Equestria."

I want to tell him that they still are, but he's trying to steer the conversation. "Show me," she tried her hardest to sound resolute and looked up over a shoulder at him in hopes he would see how determined she was.

"It's kind of-"

"Please?"

"I don't know-"

"Please Please Pleeease?" Her desire that he agree lead her to inadvertently bounce with each word which, in turn, brought a blush to the human's face.

"Whoa, Twilight, stop bouncing."

"~♫~You're blushing~♫~!" The leading edge of her estrous cycle giving her courage Twilight decided to risk pushing her advantage. "Oh, I'll stop," she continued bouncing and flashed him a lascivious smile before shifting around in his lap to lean in and whisper in his ear, "when you show me."

"Fine," Titus sighed, "Just please. Stop. Bouncing."

Twilight gave a mischievous wiggle of her hips at the end of her last bounce and excitedly turned around for the show. Oh oops... I might have gotten us both a little heated. She pretended she didn't notice the changing topography of his lap as she turned around to face the table. I guess that's confirmation that he's equipped.

"Sit still," Titus instructed and turned his focus to the disassembled datapad, "I'm working with a lot of pieces here and being unable to concentrate will make this harder."

Please don't talk about 'harder' right now. Twilight set her jaw and fought for control over her twitching tail and wandering mind. Just... just ignore what's poking you in the flanks and focus. This is a historic breakthrough. Focus.

She got herself under control (mostly) and watched intently as Titus flipped the visor-goggle things back down over his eyes and aimed two relaxed palms at the parts on the table. For a second nothing happened, then one piece and another and another rose up until every component on the table was floating.

There's no visible aura around them, like with pony magic. She closed her eyes to focus. I... I can't sense any affiliation to light or dark magic. In fact I can't detect anything at all, there's just... nothing. If I wasn't seeing this for myself I'd say this was impossible. Twilight stopped focusing and let the glow in her horn fade. The datapad proceeded to reassemble itself before her eyes then settled back down to the table, the screen taking on the familiar warm light as it turned on.

Contemplating what she had witnessed Twilight stared at the datapad until something gently tapped on her shoulder; Titus, the visor flipped up once again, was holding what looked like a fountain pen. It appeared to be made of some metal or alloy and the tip was rounded almost to a hemisphere.

"Here," he placed it next to the datapad and nodded toward it, "This is what I made so you didn't have to use your nose..."

Twilight levitated the pen and was examining it when a whisper tickled the fur on her ear.

"Adorable as it was to watch." The grin on the human's face grew as Twilight twitched involuntarily and her body tensed. Gotcha back for that bouncing.

Twilight's mind was racing at all of the research, potential breakthroughs, and reports she could write on whatever the Force was. It was staggering to even consider the implications of what she had seen and her hunger for knowledge was insatiable, "I'd love it if you'd come to my laboratory so I can take some readings and do some tests. W-Why would you hide something like this!?" She heard the annoyed bordering angry tone in her voice and quickly apologized.

"It's alright, Twilight," he gave her a pat on the shoulder to let her know it was forgiven, "I... hiding it has something to do with where I came from."

Twilight's ears rotated forward, eager to hear more because Titus hadn't revealed much about where he came from to anypony, save for Princess Luna and she was politely keeping her muzzle shut - Twilight had tried asking but had been told by that it wasn't her place to share something he wasn't comfortable or ready to share himself. At the same time of her interest to hear even the smallest amount of information Twilight was concerned; she hadn't heard the human speak in that tone before.

"Doing anything like this-" he floated the datapad up in the air and into his hand, "Would draw a lot of unwanted attention."

"W-What? Why?" Twilight was confused, "Is it similar to how earth ponies can be touchy about not having magic and being underestimated because of it?"

"No. For most of my life it was generally okay to openly do this but... things changed and it became dangerous," he stopped to rub the bridge of his nose when he realized his current direction of the conversation was just going to create more questions than it would answer for the inquisitive unicorn. "It's probably easier if I just start at the beginning, are you ready for a story? Before I got sucked into the portal the galaxy had been in a pitched war-"

"The whole galaxy?!" Twilight, in shock, interrupted him. She had read about the wars Equestria had during its periods of unrest but the thought of a whole galaxy in that state was hard for her to comprehend.

"Yes," Titus replied and poked her lightly on the nose with a finger for interrupting. "The. Whole. Galaxy. Now, please let me continue," he looked past her as he tried to collect and construct everything into a somewhat concise form so they wouldn't be up all night, "I was a Jedi Knight, a member of the Jedi Order which is- sorry, was an ancient organization sworn to protect the peace and uphold justice across the galaxy. My parents gave me to the Order at a very young age so I could be taken to the Jedi Temple to learn and train, much like the special school you went to-"

"Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," she fed him the title, "But what do you mean your 'parents gave you to the Order,' was the Temple a boarding school?"

"No, perhaps 'gave' was the wrong word. They surrendered me for the Order to raise and teach, severing their ties with me."

Twilight was a mix of confused and shocked, "But... they were your parents... that's-"

"That's how it was," he finished for her, a finger going to her muzzle again signaling that the line of discussion was closed for the time being and she should let him continue. Twilight was, of course, all ears and lay down as best she could in his lap to get more comfortable. "I remained at the Temple until I was an adolescent and took the graduation tests, after which Master Krua approached me to be her Apprentice. I continued learning under her guidance until I was ready for the Trials of Knighthood. Two years later I completed the Trials and was promoted to a Knight."

"Now, before I continue there were two major factions you need to be familiar with. The first is the Galactic Republic, a representative democracy lead by man named Chancellor Palpatine, and was the faction the Jedi Order served. The Republic was comprised of various member-worlds or whole star systems from across the known galaxy and governed by the Galactic Senate. The other faction, lead by Darth Sidious, is the Separatist Confederacy, which was an organized movement formed of planets that wouldn't comply with the Republic's rulings, had gotten fed up with the corruption within the representative Senate of the Republic, or could be bought over by the Separatists."

"Just as there was a faction to oppose the Republic there is one to oppose the Jedi; they are called the Sith. Jedi use the light side of the Force, never using it in anger or out of hatred-"

That's almost exactly how the Princess told me to use magic.

"-while the Sith used the dark side of Force. They used it for selfish purposes; not hesitating to harm and even relishing in the pain of others as well as the power their anger or hatred gave them. Darth Sidious was a Sith Lord, and he had an apprentice by the name of Count Dooku. Tensions rose until war broke out," he paused and shifted slightly in the stool to keep his legs from falling asleep, "The Republic mustered a force of cloned soldiers, or soldiers quickly created in a lab, to fight for them. We Jedi were also deployed in certain situations at the behest of the Senate or Chancellor, though the Jedi Council governed itself separately for the most part. Meanwhile the Separatists used legions of droids specially built for combat as well as whatever pawns Dooku could find to further his Master's cause. For three years and across countless planets, they waged their war. The death toll was in the billions."

Billions? Twilight knew the magnitude of the number and felt sick contemplating that many deaths when across all the Equestrian wars recorded the numbers paled in comparison. "So what happened?" she spoke up when the human fell silent for a moment, "Who won the war?"

"No one, Twilight," Titus' whole body seemed to slump in a sigh, "No one won. Toward the end the Republic had the decisive upper hand over the Confederacy and there were good signs that the war was was finally drawing to a close. What no one saw coming was that Chancellor Palpatine and Darth Sidious were the same person."

"What?" Twilight suddenly sat up, disrupting the balance of the stool before their combined effort got it under control again, "How?"

"He deceived the Senate. He made them dance like puppets while he lead the Separatists from the shadows, using Dooku as the public figurehead for the Republic to focus on. The Chancellor had spent decades orchestrating a transition of power that would grant him full control of the Republic and when he executed his plan he painted the Order as traitors and triggered ingrained protocols in the clone soldiers that caused them to turn on their Jedi allies. We were the biggest threat to his rule so he issued Order Sixty Six and had the Jedi Order all but eradicated; Clones in the field turned their blasters or starfighters on their Jedi commanders; a battalion was sent and killed everyone in the Temple, Younglings and even non-Jedi staff included, and any Jedi that escaped the initial culling were actively chased down by the Galactic Empire or by bounty hunters looking for a big payout in what is called the Great Jedi Purge. That is why showing anyone you could use the Force was dangerous - you'd mark yourself as a target for the Empire to eliminate."

Twilight was silent for a while before realizing Titus had finished what he wanted to say and she was free to ask questions, "So... how did you survive?"

"For a while my Master and I avoided being found by laying low on remote planets and though I had passed my tests we used that solitude to continue my training. Eventually a bounty hunter tracked us down. He attacked our hideout with a contingent of specialize combat droids, and in our escape Krua... she got cornered and he killed her. Because of her I escaped into the jungle and evaded his continued search until I tricked him into thinking the carnivorous wildlife had gotten me and with no way to collect the bounty on me he had to settle for the one on Krua so as he prepared to leave and collect his payout I snuck aboard his ship and hid in wait for him to power the droids down for the trip. That's when I killed him." The finality in the human's voice made it clear he didn't want to go into it further which Twilight didn't press but she asked if they were aboard that bounty hunter's ship.

"No, I flew it back to the planet and used parts to repair this one. This ship belonged to Master Krua and me," he stopped, decidedly not going into detail about how they had stolen the ship - which was a story for another time - to reach into a drawer and placed a device on the table before Twilight, "And this was her weapon. They're called lightsabers, and they're the symbol of the Jedi Order. You saw me using mine earlier."

The human looked contemplative for a moment then lightly tapped a finger on Twilight's cutie mark, "In essence the lightsaber is like a cutie mark." Titus placed his own lightsaber next to the one on the table so the unicorn could compare the two, "They're unique to the Jedi that crafted it because each required that the Jedi go on a journey of self discovery for the key component."

Their... cutie marks? Twilight spent many minutes examining and noting every feature of the hilts as they sat on the table though after a moment Titus activated them for her to observe the green and blue blades.

"What about your ability to control things, you called it 'the Force,' right? How does it work?" Twilight carefully changed her position in his lap, curling up so that she was lying down again. A hand stroked her mane almost in rhythm with the heartbeat the unicorn could feel in his chest.

"The Force flows through every living creature and is all around us. Those that are sensitive to the Force can control it by interacting and communicating with midi-chlorians, which are microorganisms present in every living cell." The human scratched the back of his head, "I don't know if they were present here before my arrival or if they came through the portal with me."

"Hmm. Something worth looking into," Twilight hummed, "Your Force shares similarities with our magic, which is also intertwined in some way or another with everything in Equestria." She fell silent for a while as the hand continued its strokes down her mane; closing her eyes proved to increase her perception of the relaxing sensation and when the stroking stopped Twilight was left feeling light-headed but completely at ease.

"Speaking of the portal," Titus said, "I still need to clean the mud out of the other datapad so I can copy the rest of the sensor data to it."

"Are you going to use the Force again?" Twilight looked up at him hopefully, "To take the datapad apart, I mean."

"I sorta wanted to get my hands dirty and go the manual route, but I guess I can if you'd like. Why?"

"I'd like to try something," she started and took things slowly because she was hoping he'd be open to her idea, "There's a spell that lets the caster feel and see what the recipient feels and sees. It's called Sense-Link." Twilight could see his apprehension even on that alien face of his thanks to how much time they had been spending together so she moved quickly to assuage his concerns, "It's a very basic spell and the only one being affected by it would be me. In addition, the effect is broken and ends immediately if I lose focus on maintaining it."

A few moments passed before he spoke, "Alright. There's going to be a lot of information coming at you, I grew up with this so I don't know how jarring it might be for you so try to just focus on a few things at once rather than everything. Just be careful, I don't want you to get hurt." Twilight voiced her appreciation for his concern but when she sat up to prepare the spell she caused the stool to wobble chaotically and they almost went for a tumble. "One condition," the human said after steadying the seat, "We perform your experiment on the floor." I really need to fix the leg on this thing...

Once they had gotten off the stool Titus placed the datapad Fluttershy had found on floor and sat, once again, cross legged in front of it.

Twilight's excitement from the imminent intellectual fulfillment coupled with the increasingly strong urges of her cycle was causing her inhibitions to much less rigid and before either of them knew it she had climbed back into his lap. "I was hoping you'd be more hesitant to this so I could try persuading you again," she teased and put further emphasis into her words when she shifted her hips playfully, this time accentuating it with a nuzzle to that sensitive spot on his neck. Her heightened sense of smell also picked up his subtle scent causing her to nuzzle even more enthusiastically as the intoxicating aroma filled her nose.

"Twilight, I know we're friends but what is going on?" he placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing her nuzzling assault back slightly, "You're acting- well, actually I haven't seen you act like this before."

By Tartarus I'm so heated right now. And if you don't get yourself under control you're going to be too distracted to cast the spell! But I want him. I want him right now. Quiet! I'll deal with you base instincts later, right now I have science-ing to do. Of the two voices in her head, the power of the scholar won out over the strength of desire.

The hand on her coat, giving a subtle rub, brought her mind back, "Oh, sorry. I'm just a bit excited to see what happens." Yeah, 'excited' is one word for it. I. Said. Shush!

She backed off his lap sheepishly and instead opted to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. "I'm going to start casting the spell. We'll need a point of physical contact so when you're ready just touch me," she instructed and slowly worked the magic into her horn.

The cargo hold fell into complete silence, neither Twilight or Titus moving as they both focused intently.

A barely audible sigh was the only warning Twilight got before a finger lightly traced itself down the spiral fluting of her horn. Whoa, it's like my horn is being licked! The feeling of her horn - now incredibly sensitive from the magic flowing through it - being lightly brushed almost threw her off as a wave of pleasure crashed against her willpower to keep concentrating.

She just barely recovered, catching the spell before it failed and her mind exploded into a sudden and acute awareness of her surroundings. The sense of perception rolled outward, constantly-expanding like a sound wave as it pinged off of everything around her. It was like she was submerged, watching as an invisible current washed over the various objects around her. She didn't just see her surroundings, she could sense them. Without even turning around she could tell that the crate behind her was older and a different size than the one it was stacked on and somehow she could feel that the distance between her and it. She felt the astromech droid's presence in the hall as its mechanical arms repaired a bit of wiring, the completed circuit sending a pulse into the ship like a heartbeat. In the back of her mind she could feel the creatures outside the ship as they skulked through the night and she could sense their motivations - primarily food, shelter, and sex. The forefront of her mind, however, was monopolized by the sensation of the human beside her.

I can sense him there; not just his physical form, but his... spirit? Soul? No, I can't think of a proper word for it. And his thoughts and feelings... oh, I can feel his feelings... but there's hesita-

Something cold and wet brushed her marehood and sniffed, shattering her concentration and causing her to lose the spell as she slumped to the floor with a low moan.

"Wha-? Dex! No!" Titus' fingers wrapped around the dog's collar and led him to the hallway, "Stay." He rushed back to the pony that still lay on the deck panting.

The touch to her horn, the human's feelings she had shared, and the unexpected contact to her sensitive rump had all combined to send a rippling wave of pleasure through Twilight's needy body.

"Twilight?"

Twilight heard her name being called as if from a far distance off then felt a hand on her barrel as the voice came again, "Twilight, are you alright?" She opened her eyes to find the human kneeling next to her, worry written clearly on his face. A face that was so close to her own.

She was past the point of trying to fight her twitching tail, clenching haunches, or desire for intimacy. I can't take this anymore. She launched herself up, wrapping her hooves around behind his neck and hungrily pressed her muzzle against his. The voice of the desire had usurped the scholar.

"Twi-mpf!" Titus was caught by surprise. His arms windmilled as he toppled onto his back, a lustful pony falling atop him.

Two hands came to her shoulders to keep her still. Twilight dragged herself up his body as much as the restraining hands would allow to, eager to continue the kiss that had been broken as they both fell backward from her sudden assault. Struggle as she might she was unable to draw herself closer, Titus' iron grip held her fast. Twilight slumped, defeated; laying limply halfway up the human's chest with her legs splayed on his sides. She wasn't so far gone in her lust that she'd use her magic to force herself on him.

"Twilight, what is up with you tonight?!" Titus asked, a bit of irritation in his voice, "What was that?!"

Buck. I screwed up big time. "I'm sorry, I probably freaked you out-"

"Yeah, I'm a bit freaked at the moment. You've been all over me. I mean, a touch here or there is one thing and I get there's going to be a bit of innuendo or playful flirting between friends, but that was just unexpected," he tried to read her but she had buried her face in his shirt and all he could pick up with the Force was a confused storm of emotions within her.

I blew it. Again. Twilight could feel a familiar lump in her throat developing. I moved too fast and was too aggressive, and now I've scared him away. She fought to keep the tears building up behind her eyelids from running down her face, "I'm really sorry, I don't know what made me think you'd be interested in an egghead like me. An awkward... dateless... " Twilight spat the insults out, each one hitting like a sack of horseshoes, "unprepossessing... cacopygian..."

The hands restraining her relaxed.

"Twilight, look at me," Titus put one hand on the side of her muzzle to make her look at him, "I'm probably just as much to blame for this. I just... don't get it."

"What don't you get?"

Titus made a motion with his hands, rapidly indicating to himself and Twilight, "This! I don't get this. Why so sudden? And why me, of all people?"

"Oh..." Twilight somehow managed to slump even more from her uncertainty how to answer, "I-I guess because we're friends and I think you're, um... well, I like that we've been spending time together and... and with all of that I've never experienced this strong of an onset to my estrous cycle-"

"Uh," the human gave her a confused look, "Estrous cycle?"

Twilight was astounded to learn humans didn't have heat cycles so she had to spend a few minutes explaining what she was going through, her lecture giving her some time to cool down and come closer to her normal self.

"So... Oh." Titus had to compile everything Twilight had said before it clicked, "OH." He took his hands off her quickly and for several seconds he didn't know what to do with them so they hovered above her before he dropped them to his sides.

The gesture made Twilight visibly deflate. He must think I've been acting friendly because I'm in heat and just wanted to use him. She looked at the human, his brow furrowed and jaw set. He looks disgusted - he doesn't want anything to do with me.

In actuality Titus was just trying to figure out what to do next. She said physical contact is stimulating, so what do I do in this situation? I've really come to like her, and from what she said it sounds like that might be the case with her, too. But the Order forbade... okay maybe not exactly, they just really frowned on-

"I-I'm s-sorry, I've made this awkward enough. I'll stay out of your way and in the morning I'll go home and ask the Princess to assign you a new Intermediary." I'm just so stupid and clueless. She couldn't keep the dam from breaking this time and she just let the tears streak down her face to leave little dark spots on the human's shirt. I deserve this. "You won't have to see me again."

The tears were also enough to erode his guard and when she tried to get up the two hands snaked their way around her back and the arms they were attached to pulled her back into a hug.

"That's not it at all, Twi. I was just-" he stopped to reword what he wanted to say and as he thought about what he wanted to say his emotions began sorting themselves out. She's obviously a mess right now, but from from her explanation it sounds like maybe this wasn't wholly the fault of her biology or whatever. And from all the talks we've had explaining and teaching each other about ourselves I think it's safe to say we're more than professionally acquainted. I guess we'd be called friends, maybe? I wouldn't mind that. Staring at her laying on his chest he admitted to himself that despite the species gap he had felt a form of attraction to her since a little after they had started regularly meeting at the crash site. Actually, now that I'm kinda being forced to look at it that way see she is pretty and I guess cute, if that's an appropriate term, but more than that I've come to look forward to her company. I feel I can trust her, and I really appreciate that. I guess I need to think whether I'm fundamentally opposed to something happening if that's what she wants to happen, or am I nervous because I don't have the faintest clue what to do in this situation? Lost in thought for a second he came back to an anxiously waiting look on Twilight's face which had the effect of expediting what he was going to say, even if he wasn't entirely ready. "Look, we were fairly secluded in the Temple and this sort of thing was... well it wasn't strictly forbidden, but this is something I haven't dealt with before..."

He's... he has to just be saying that. Twilight snuggled into the embrace but still wasn't convinced, He just doesn't want you to feel bad.

He could feel her sobbing quietly, the reverberations of her sharp intakes of breath thumping against his chest. "I wasn't exactly a socialite myself, I always preferred the company of droids and being elbow deep in the guts of an engine compared to schmoozing with Senators at some banquet or another-" Titus looked down at the unicorn, "So I'm going to ask you; from one awkward, dateless, egg-headed, unprepossessing, and cacopygian-"

"What?!" Twilight's head came up startlingly fast, "Your flanks look great!" She said it before her brain-to-mouth filter could catch up and as it did slowly the realization crossed her face. I... I didn't just say that, did I? Her head dropped back down to the human's chest and her ears flattened back in embarrassment, not catching his mouth as it spread into a smile. Yup, I just said that.

It took a second for Twilight to register the ear rub before her mind melted away into the workings of his fingers. He could make a small fortune charging for this at the Ponyville market if it didn't feel quite so amazingly indecent- Twilight had to bite her lip, Yeah, right there! Ooh buck...

"Well thank you," he kept his thumb and finger working the ear in a circle, "But what I wanted to say was please don't contact the Princess-"

Don't contact the Princess? The ear rub left Twilight with just enough mental acuity to process what was said and her eyes cracked open just a little in hope that maybe this was going where she desperately wanted it to.

"-I don't want her to find a replacement for you."

The ear massage stopped when she inched her way closer to Titus' face, He wants me to stay! Maybe I didn't...

"Maybe it's because of my alien perspective that I'm not seeing where you're coming from, but I find you captivating; and sure, you might sound like you're reading from a holobook from time to time, but there's nothing wrong with being an egghead, that's just part of who you are. Oh and if I may say so-" his hands slid down her back to settle just a little behind her cutie mark, carefully avoiding the injury on the one side, and the pats he gave earned a happy giggle, "I think your butt passes the test with flying colors, too. Sorry for the hesitation earlier, I just... needed to sort some things out in my head. N-Not that it gave me any better sense of direction on how to do this... If you're able to be patient with my lack of experience with this sort of thing I'm open to the idea of... yeah I'll just stop talking."

Maybe I didn't screw up as bad as I thought... A little closer, her chin was on his sternum, she could feel his shirt bunching up under her as she wiggled the last stretch, his uniquely smooth skin brushing tantalizingly against her teats. Finally on level with that flat face of his she hesitantly went in for a nuzzle to gauge his response and felt a hand work its way up her neck, the squeak of surprise when the hand pulled her closer turning into a warm coo as Titus gave her a nuzzle of his own. I... he's really giving me another chance!

Tears of happiness welling up in the corners of her eyes Twilight gratefully pressed her muzzle into Titus'. It was clear she caught him by surprise again but when his lips parted to grant her access to explore his mouth she slipped past that flat tongue of his and brushed along those excitingly predatory teeth. For both of them it was an experience and an experiment; their breath mixed together as their tongues caressed each other and one set of fingers worked their way into her mane to give gentle tugs while the other hand brushed up and down her coat which caused Twilight's cognitive reasoning to slowly disappear in a miasma as she sank into the kiss. Suddenly she pulled back, having become aware that she had started to grind her hips on the wonderfully smooth, exposed skin of his stomach.

I'm not going to let myself lose control again and mess this up; I'm doing things by the book. She shoved her urge to continue behind as many mental doors as she could, "Mi... mind if I use the shower again?"

"Uh, no? Go right ahead," he replied with a breath into her fur before placing a few light nibbles on her neck.

"Hoo! Those teeth of yours..." she panted as the warm bites left a tingling sensation beneath her fur and her mind clouded, "Wow." She went back in to give him an appreciative nip of her own.

Titus watched the unicorn squirm playfully against the nibbles before letting her get up, "This whole 'being-in-heat' thing looks ha-" he caught himself, the word hard being on the do-not-use list she had recited earlier, "It looks like it could be an unpleasant thing to deal with."

"Y-You... have no... idea," her eyes drooped closed and she nodded, "Especially for mares without a herd or not looking to have foals." Twilight kept close attention on keeping her tail covering herself as she moved away from the human, "And if you fall into both categories, like me, it's borderline torture."

"Ah, so ponies form herds. Interesting. I would hazard a guess that's because of a population imbalance?"

"So you already noticed?" Twilight sighed, "Yes, there's approximately, oh... four or five mares to each stallion across Equestria. Add the even lower population of stallions in Ponyville to the equation and you're left with a lot of mares with no herd."

She stared at the human, propped up on his elbows into a semi-sitting position, "Remember how I was saying the whole 'saving the helpless stallion' was a ideal from an unfortunate era? Well, are you familiar with the dark period when Princess Celestia had to rule by herself for one thousand years?"

Twilight continued when he nodded. "During that time the low availability of un-herded stallions lead to their objectification, to the point the number of stallions in a herd was a display of the wealth and power of the mares. Stallions were valued based on their strength and, um..." her tone was a mix of disgusted and ashamed that it was part of their history, "Sexual prowess. Stallions were essentially slaves to the mare population. When the Princess came out of seclusion she came down on that philosophy hard, but by then the damage was already done and even these days there are still ponies that feel the only place a stallion should or can contribute to society is in the bedroom."

"I see. But shouldn't the low population lead to larger herd sizes?" Titus hauled himself up, "Oops! Hang on, Dex is in the hallway. Gimme a second and I'll grab him."

"Thanks. Logically it should, but bio-logically-" a groan from the human as he passed her indicated he had picked up on her intentionally-bad pun, "It puts too much strain on the stallion; you see, the cycle will gradually adjust itself overtime to overlap with other nearby mares so eventually the herd falls into heat at about the same time. Just imagine trying to, erm... service four mares in heat."

Twilight's face went red when Titus took on a thoughtful expression.

"Hold on, I didn't mean LITERALLY!" she was in front of him and up on her hind legs in an instant, frantically waving her hooves in his face to distract him from his thought when she stopped; a rather important question had come to mind.

"Wait. What is the human stance on inter-species relationships?"

"We're pretty much past the point of thinking about it," he shrugged nonchalantly while Twilight's heart skipped a beat and she did a mental hoof-pump at her good fortune, "With over twenty million known sentient species in the galaxy it's been pretty much a non-issue for a while now, though there will always be purists or whatever that are opposed to the idea." To show the dog his seclusion wasn't meant as a punishment Titus briefly roughhoused with Dex before closing him in the hanger behind them. With a door between him and Twilight Titus could resume his thoughtful pose, "So if herd sizes are relatively set, what happens to the ponies not in herds when the cycle hits? You indicated you weren't in a herd, so how do you usually get through a cycle?"

Twenty million variations of human?! Lets see, some probably have horns, other wings, maybe others can breath under water... She was jarred from trying to imagine what sort of differences they could have when she processed his question.

"Well the last time-" Twilight stopped, remembering her last disaster of a cycle.

The first day had been miserable but bearable and, thankfully, the Princess had recalled Spike (the letter referring to him as Secret Agent Spike) to Canterlot on a "Special Top-Secret Assignment" earlier in the week so Twilight could have the library to herself. To myself, until that stallion ducked into the library to dodge the group of un-herded mares chasing him. I started showing interest and he immediately locked himself in the basement and six days later it took two stallion guards to convince him when it was safe to come out. A week after her cycle was over Twilight had mustered up the courage to go to his house to apologize only to find he had moved. Only later did I find out from Rarity that he wasn't into mares at all.

"I just seclude myself in the library and read. Sometimes a friend like Lyra or Dash will lend a hoo- um," Twilight cringed lightly at what that line could have been taken as, "Sometimes a friend will help out."

"So you read to keep your mind off of it? How do your friends help, though?"

"There are a few, er... devices that can be used to reduce the severity of the cycle though the relief is temporary at best. Some of them require assistance to use, which can be a somewhat awkward topic to broach."

"I can see how not being in a herd could be an issue," he paused to regard Twilight. "Well I hope if I can be of assistance, you'll ask. I could spend some time recovering more books from the computer if you'd like, and I might know a technique of meditation that might help-"

The offer of potentially the kind of "help" her biology wanted was like a battering ram against the mental defenses she had locked it behind and thankfully they held firm, but she still acknowledged him with a warm smile. "Hey," she stopped outside the shower room door, "Come down here a second."

Lets lay this out: you're fascinated by him, he's one of the very few stallions that initiates an intellectual conversation - nothing on the level of advanced quantum thaumaturgic relativity or harmonic string theory, but the subjects are certainly uniquely stimulating - and he's got to be the first stallion that's said he thinks you're attractive. He even complimented your flanks! Thinking about that last part made Twilight beam - she had never been very confident when it came to her body. On top of that, he braved a pack of timberwolves to help you, and later you felt that he genuinely cared about you when you used the Sense-Link spell.

When the human bent down and was within range Twilight reared up and wrapped her forehooves behind his neck, "The books would be a wonderful help, thank you." She placed a series of quick, light kisses along his short jaw, lingering a bit longer on his lips though not going as far as their last kiss, pure bliss flooding her system as Titus returned the kiss in full.

"Woo," she finally broke off, breathing heavily, "Right, got to stop. I want to do this by the book, you know, the traditional way; date, dinner, that sort of thing." I should see what the library has on cross-species courtship as well, though I could use Rainbow as a resource. Twilight paused her thought as she rubbed her face against the side of Titus' neck, his long hair tickling her eyelids and nose. I'll gather additional data I need from relevant articles in the library's collection of Cosmarepolitan and cross reference it to the expertise of Rarity. "I need to get you into the lab to run a few tests, as well."

"Hooking me up as the guinea pig for your next experiment? Hope that's not the date you had in mind."

"What? No!" Twilight was shocked until he placed a peck on the end of her nose. Her muzzle adorably scrunched up in annoyance when she realized he wasn't being serious, "No, if I'm going to be around you while I'm in heat I want to run tests to make sure you can't get me pregnant just in the improbable case things get too bad and I... jump... or, um, restrain you..."

That got a raised eyebrow from Titus, "Uh, how improbable are we talking here?"

"Like I said it's improbable - highly improbable, actually," she tried to sound optimistic, "But with how strong the onset of this cycle is I anticipate it getting much worse, so I will admit it's not completely outside the realm of reason. Think when I jumped on you earlier, but the further into the cycle I am it'll be twice, three times, ten times as hard for me to stop myself."

The look on the human's face concerned Twilight, "I-I'd never think of h-hurting you, though!"

"I know, Twi, the same goes for me," he tousled her mane and a playful but confident grin crossed his face, "But I'm capable of handling myself; more than you ponies give me credit for, anyway."

It was ingrained in their species that the mare's job was to protect the stallion. The thought that a stallion could protect himself better than a mare could was just very hard for Twilight to accept; she'd been in a few fights as a filly with ponies that had said something nasty about her brother - not that she won many, but that wasn't the point (besides, you weren't supposed to use magic in those fights) - Shiny was strong and brave but the idea of him fighting for himself just felt wrong to her. Not that any respectable mare would raise a hoof to a stallion; unless she wanted to get smashed into paste by any mare that caught wind of her doing it.

I'm not saying I think stallions can't defend themselves, of course, but Titus is just so... Twilight knew he could handle a few timberwolves but ponies were a whole different basket of apples. He's fragile compared to a pony - long, thin limbs, the legs don't seem capable of a good buck, and his high center of gravity would indicate he'd prefer to grapple rather than throw hooves. Short of employing his fingers to secure leverage and perhaps biting - to his credit he's liable to take a chunk out of somepony doing that - I can't imagine how he'd stand up to the agility of a pegasus or the grounded strength of an earth pony. And forget unicorns, I doubt he'd have a chance if they used magic.

Twilight felt her gut churning and shook the unpleasant thought of stallions fighting out of her mind. "Look, the tests won't take long; when we go back to town tomorrow we can grab something from the cafe and by the time we're done I'll have results," she placed her own peck on the human's short nose and he mimicked the scrunched-up face. "I better get in there," she gave him a quick hug and let him go, dropping back onto all fours as she felt that warm tingling sensation returning. "As much as I really - and I mean really - don't want to, if we minimize physical contact I think I can make it 'till morning without incident," Twilight walked into the shower room leaving Titus standing in the hallway while the door remained open.

"I've got one thing I need to finish before I can crash," he leaned a forearm on a bulkhead, "I'll lower the hammock so you can get into it, it's all yours for the night."

Twilight gave him an appreciative nod and closed the door. This bout of heat isn't going to go away with just a shower, and with no cooler available it's going to take some... She looked at the showerhead and the hose it was attached to thoughtfully. Just a little improvising. A magical aura surrounded the showerhead to float it down from the hook as Twilight switched the output to the saline solution.

Titus couldn't hear what was going on in the shower, the sounds weren't loud enough to reach him in the hangar where he was piecing a turbine engine back together. He was almost through re-installing it into the speederbike, and halfway through the bottle of cider, when a relieved-looking Twilight shuffled back into the hangar. "Better?" he locked the securing anchor in place and slid out from under the bike, intent on finishing after seeing how the unicorn was doing and maybe show her what he was up to.

"Much better, thanks," she hummed, magically blinking the short distance into the hammock. Twilight floated one of the blankets over herself, "But I'm completely worn out so I'm going to hit the hay. See you in the morning." She squirmed a little deeper into the warm blanket and was so quickly asleep that it put Titus in the awkward position of trying to quietly finish up.

Twilight became acutely aware of the soreness in her leg when she rolled over in the hammock, waking up with a soft groan. Ow ow ow... I guess the painkiller is wearing off. She also started to feel how cold it was, despite the blanket wrapped around her. The hangar was bathed in a low red light which her eyes soon adjusted to the darkness as she looked around; it was a stark transition from the warm lighting that had been present when she had fallen asleep. Everything looks so different... It took a split second to recognize the objects in the hangar and a bit longer to spot the low-profile lump of Titus on the floor across the room.

Twilight rolled out of the hammock, still half asleep and covered in the blanket, and stalked over to the sleeping human as quietly as she could. Once she had gotten closer Twilight could see that he had procured a very thin mattress and was using a long brown cloak as a blanket which was draped over his lower half. He was on his back, one arm bent under his head as a pillow while the other lay at his side.

Her teeth began to chatter and she quickly pinpointed that the cold metal of the floor was sapping the heat from her right through the pads on her hooves. No fur and only that shirt to keep his upper body warm. How is he not cold?! Twilight continued to shiver as she looked at the human who for all intents and purposes seemed to be perfectly comfortable with the current temperature. Twilight wiggled herself into the crook of the arm and magic'd the blanket over them both without a second thought.

"Something wrong?" Titus tilted his head slightly so he could look at Twilight groggily.

"No," Twilight snuggled deeper into the hollow and used the human's chest as a pillow, "You looked cold, that's all." She was already feeling warmer and the welcome change was lulling her back to sleep.

Sure, that's why you're the one shivering. "What happened to the 'minimized contact' you prescribed?" Titus teased, wrapping the arm around the unicorn that had snuggled against him as a show of non-protest to her presence.

In her half-awake state, Twilight stretched her long neck up to give him a quick but playful kiss, "Sorry, can't hear you. Already asleep." And very quickly she was, one foreleg draped over the human's chest as the warmth and closeness shuttled her into a blissful dream.