Laetitia had to admit to herself that there were many things she had not anticipated ever doing, despite the tremendous power that had come with being a Templar, such as being in possession of a non-human body, or having to learn how to use it, and more dangerously, how to fly. She hadn't anticipated falling in devotional love with an inter-dimensional being that would never return her feelings, or was even aware of the true depth of how much she meant to Laetitia.

The ability to react accordingly to unexpected events was, understandably, a critical thing for Templars and soldiers of all factions to possess, and yet there was no training to deal with love, other than turning the impetus of those emotions into action and energy for more combat-worthy pursuits.

The mental exercises that the Templars instilled in all their members through constant training were good for venting frustration and angst into positive efforts, and also had the unexpected and sometimes unwelcome side-effect of distancing them from non-templars, as they would be perceived as aloof and uninterested… which is why when that defense was broken through, they were woefully unprepared to deal with the unfamiliar emotions of joy or love.

Laetitia herself had been considered mostly laid back among her peers… and yet a total bitch to those outside the temple. Not because she was mean or ill-intentioned, but her distance was palpable, her defenses high and her experience outside of her Templar family… mostly non-existent.

That had all changed when Sunset Shimmer and Bradford had visited them, so long ago. She had been as surprised as everyone else to see "normals" walk in, but it hadn't taken long for them to discover that there was nothing normal about Sunset Shimmer.

After her accident and Luna's help, she had found herself staying busy by serving as a quasi-counselor to the others, training, going on missions or simply spending time talking to Luna. She hadn't been alone in a long time.

Alone or helpless.

And if she was honest with herself, it was terrifying. She was familiar with Luna's room. Shared memories and experiences made it so that she instinctively knew where Luna's favorite hai—mane brush was, which pillow was the comfiest to rest her head on when she went to sleep and which pillow she'd wake up cuddling up to.

She knew where the ink was, where extra scrolls were stored, and where Luna's dirty novels were hidden. She knew which regalia she liked the most. She knew which pieces she hated. She knew Luna had a toy version of Nightmare Moon hidden with a small diary that had drawings of Tantabus and little dribbles of poems and fantasies.

Luna and her… they were beyond best friends. They had practically been one entity with two bodies, that's how close they had become… and they both loved Sunset Shimmer in different ways.

Luna's love was not romantic, although Laetitia knew she found her niece physically attractive. She was in awe of Sunset's willpower, her combat skills and her willingness to jump straight ahead with what she wanted… traits that Luna could relate to. She also felt a strong connection to Sunset because of their live choices. Because of how they both had fallen to temptation and had fought their way out with the help of their friends… Luna's love for Sunset was very similar to Jane's.

It was a deep, deep respect and trust.

Contrast with Laetitia, who was infatuated to the point of forcing an objective onto herself even when she was supposed to die. Her feelings for Sunset hadn't changed, although she held them close… very close. There was little point in revealing them to Sunset if she was just going to die after all. Better to be remembered as the tease that never got anywhere.

But now Sunset had given in to her inner demons… or they had taken control and she was here, alone in a dark room that smelled of incense and lavender. She adored the room, but she didn't want to be in there. In this familiar and comforting place that was alien and disconcerting, in a body she knew like her own, and yet wasn't.

Luna had wanted her to experience life here for now, while they figured out how to help Sunset, and worse, Luna would do it in her body because, if Laetitia tried it, she'd definitely die. She was useless.

So much for her noble sacrifice to stay behind to protect Sunset. What could she do? Explode if she tried to help her? She had fought so many times and lost consciousness, relying on Luna to take over… the first fight after her return, when they had fought their first ADVENT priest, she had passed out due to exhaustion and Luna had dispatched the creature with no problem.

Time and again she had been witness while her body followed Luna's direction. Sure… with her own willing help, but it didn't take away the feeling of just how superfluous she was in the scheme of things.

Laetitia sighed.

She was depressed. She felt useless. She didn't belong in this beautiful body. She didn't belong in this cute goth-like room. She didn't belong in this world. She was needed elsewhere, how could she take her mind off of things while her leader and beacon of life had transformed into a monster?

How could she relax when others fought or looked for solutions?

She chuckled into the darkness of the room. She knew these thoughts were self-destructive. She knew it didn't help at all to worry about things she couldn't possibly influence right now. She knew her time would come and that she would be not only useful but prove beyond doubt her love and loyalty before her end… she knew this could be a blessing in disguise, a last chance to enjoy life.

But how could she?

Her musings were interrupted by a knock on the door, and she frowned. Very few individuals were allowed to come to her room, since outside of the inner circle of Princesses and Elements of Harmony, no one knew Luna was gone, and her powers did not work here, so she had no idea who was behind the door.

She really wanted to ignore them.

But there was another knock and she sighed, forcing herself up and shaking her body to loosen up—much like a puppy—before marching over to the door. She studied it carefully before using her hoof (as she had been taught by Twilight) to slowly open it and peer outside, wincing at the contrast from the darkness within her sanctum.

She blinked away the spots, and regarded with some surprise the foursome of griffons outside her door. Two of them were basically twins, if not for the obvious age difference.

"Oh, hey, Laetitia," one of the twins—the elder—said, her voice stirring a memory in Laetitia's mind. "I hope we didn't wake you up! I was going to take some flying lessons with Gilda, Galahad, and Gabby and I heard you were here… would you like to go flying with us?"

While the old griffon took a confident bow and the youngest of the trio stammered a greeting and bowed deeply, it took Laetitia a moment to remember that there were other humans here. And it took her yet another to realize who this was.

"Alejandra?" she asked, studying the griffon with some jealousy. She looked completely comfortable and at ease in this alien body of hers.

"The one and only!" the griffon said with a smile, extending a claw. "Come fly?"

Laetitia grimaced, and looked back at the welcoming darkness behind her, before turning to face her guests and behind them a brand new world.

Before X-Com she had been isolated in her temple, and it had potentially cost her a relationship. Now she had another temple behind her. Welcoming and safe and… lonely.

She found herself smiling as she took Alejandra's claw in her hoof. "Why not?"