Arc Two: Chapter One
Holidays. Those were the things that could drive a man insane, and it didn't help when the unicorn you were with was in the thick of it all. She loved these sorts of things, which was the complete opposite of himself. Funny how opposites attract.
It was Nightmare Night this evening, and it was only just beginning. Dusk still shown through the windows of the small cider bar Titus had found in Ponyville only recently. It had become his favorite place to stew when he wasn't with Lyra.
She was somewhere around here. He had managed to convince her that he would have a much better time in here while she went around Ponyville trying to scare all the other ponies and failing horribly.
He remembered the talk they had. It was hard to take it seriously when she was clasped in a black cloak with plastic fangs in her mouth. She had taken the time to explain that she was a vampony, and that all should have an air of caution around her. Titus stifled a laugh when she said that and he immediately regretted that as she tugged his ear magically, dragging him out into the late day outside.
It was there that he pleaded with her to go to his usual spot. He explained that he would be much more happier there and would be very grateful to her if she let him. She agreed, but she gave him a devilish grin. She was going to cash in on his gratefulness to her as soon as this was all over he knew. He was scared to find out what she would make him do.
That wasn't important now, though. He took a swig from his mug of cider, the bartender on the other side of the counter cleaning the surface of it even though it was already spotless. No doubt he was surprised to see even him here. No one else bothered to come in today.
“Not even with your mare, eh?” The skinny bartender pony asked him after a few long moments.
“She understands... all too well,” Titus took another sip with a fearful look across his face. He wished it was alcoholic, but there wasn't much he could do about it here. It still tasted pretty damn well, and the apples came in from Sweet Apple Acres just outside of Ponyville.
The bartender asked, “ever think you're gonna get used to this place?” It was an earnest question, and it didn't bother Titus to answer.
“I do. When you have a 'mare' you're going to have to.” He looked out the window to see the twilight hours nearly at an end, giving way to the majority of the night. It was going to be awhile before she was done. She would just go around with that ridiculous costume yelling 'bleh!' to everyone she encountered. He wondered how long she would get a kick out of that. Knowing her and her stubborn nature, she could do that just to bother him.
“Aye, I know what it's like to be tied down. Still love the poor thing, though. She drives me crazy sometimes.” The barkeep had begun to clean out a mug with his towel covered hoof. Titus was still surprised some of these ponies could do these things. You'd think the handicap would be far more severe without hands.
“Yeah, that's pretty much it.” He had to admit that through all the stuff they had both put up with, he found that he had grown overly fond of the little unicorn. She had already decided she loved him so long ago, and here he was, still trying to figure out how he had fallen for her as well. He envied her and her quick-to-accept nature.
The bartender took Titus's mug and filled it with a bit more of the cider from a keg under the counter. “Just know you aren't alone. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like, but I'd probably recommend you go see your mare soon. Don't want to strain the relationship, ya know.”
“Aye. I won't be able to get out of whatever it is she has planned for me though...” The human grimaced slightly, imagining once more what she might want.
“What was that?” The barkeep blinked curiously.
“Nothing. Nothing.”
For another dozen minutes, Titus sipped at his drink and talked to the barkeep about their relationships and how each could do better with themselves. With each word passed between the two, Titus felt more and more like he was neglecting the poor unicorn. She had seemed complacent enough in letting him go off to the bar on his own, in exchange for some unknown service as of yet. But he knew he should be with her spending time and laughs.
He remembered his first coming to Equestria and how he and her had enjoyed themselves in the booth at Sugarcube Corner. That put a smile on his face. He didn't connect with others that often, but those were definitely one of those times. Maybe it wasn't so shocking he felt this way towards her likewise.
He suddenly broke free of his thoughts and looked up at the bartender who was still chatting about his wife and how their kids were already so far ahead in life. “I'm proud of the buggers, just wished they'd visit more of-”
The doors to the bar opened and they both turned their heads to see who was entering into the establishment. Titus nearly choked on the cider in his mouth when he saw Lyra darting into the place and closing the door behind her.
She was still clad in her black cape and her plastic fangs showed through her mouth even though it was closed. Her mane was scruffy and unkempt, 'a staple to any good vampony' she had told him. All in all, she looked cute. Cute enough to make even a complicated man such as himself ooze with excitement.
She levitated a small sack by her side, filled slightly with what Titus guessed was treats. He was surprised to see her to say the least, however, and he couldn't help but find himself saying, “you're earlier than I thought you'd be.”
“I know,” she said with smile, trotting over to him and the barkeep and hopping up into her own stool seat. “I just thought I'd spend some time with you, is that okay?”
“O-oh, of course it is!” He quickly recovered. Was he really this is easy to fluster now? He was getting tired of asking himself this.
She giggled and her ears flicked as her complexion grew puzzled. “Where did your friend go?”
Titus looked around and saw that the barkeep had busied himself somewhere else. The sly stallion knew just when to leave a man be. He'd be sure to thank him later before they left if he showed up again.
She placed the bag of treats out onto the counter before them, some candies spilling out to give the look that the bag was deflating. “I made sure to be quick, so I could come see you!”
“Really now?” He scratched his whiskered cheek. She must have had this planned since he convinced her to let him stay here. He was actually glad. “Well, uh, lets see what kind of junk you got here, huh?” He began to sift through what she had gotten.
He found some chocolate treats that he remembered some children around Stormwind enjoying after they had been handed out by the innkeeper in the trade district, and there was also a few sugary treats that seemed like lollipops. He wasn't too much of a candy person though, and after looking at all she had managed to obtain, he pushed them all away back into the bag.
Lyra seemed hurt by the action. “You don't like any of that? I got all that for both of us...” Her pretty yellow eyes grew to exaggerate the pain she was feeling. Why was he such a sucker?
He reached a hand back into the bag and pulled out a wrapped chocolate treat. He smiled at her and struggled to get it open. His hands were made for holding a weapon, not for opening such delicate packaging.
Luckily, Lyra had seen him suffer enough and took the treat from his hand magically and opened it up right before his eyes. He nearly gasped after seeing how simple it was with her. “Oh, thanks...” He snatched it from the air and looked it over as if it was some enchanted ring.
“Well?” Lyra went on eagerly. “Try it!”
He didn't give it so much as a look as he threw it into his mouth and began chewing on it, prepared for the most revolting taste ever to bombard his senses. He was pleasantly surprised that that was not the case and he nodded his head in approval. “Hmm, not bad.”
“Glad you liked it!” Lyra took her own and began to enjoy the treats. Titus knew he had had enough, and simply watched her intently as she hummed and enjoyed herself and her candies. She eventually took notice of him and his watching. “What's with the staring? Like what you see?” She put a hoof through her mane to emphasize the question regarding to her physical looks.
“Sure,” he said quickly. He would have been lying if he said he didn't.
Despite how he had said it, Lyra began to blush fiercely and began to pop more and more treats into her mouth in some attempt to douse the rush she had just received. Titus was still in his own thoughts and hardly took any steps to prevent her from overindulging herself.
A half hour later, Titus was walking out of the bar with the moaning unicorn. She berated him heavily for his lack of care in the matter. “I was thinking, I'm sorry,” Titus pleaded.
“Oh, whatever...” she groaned and burped. “I'm gonna be sick...”
“We'll get back home, then you can rest,” he began to step away from the bar and nearly bumped into a bunch of costumed fillies who were prancing about, saying something about 'cutie marks' and 'crusaders.' If only they knew what stress being an actual crusader would bring them.
“Aww man...” she sighed out as Titus walked down the street as careful as he could.
“What?”
“I didn't take out my fangs. I'm an idiot.”
Titus laughed bluntly after that. Her little plastic fangs were probably stuck there pretty good now after all the treats she ate. It was good to laugh at things like this. It was good to be him right now, even after all the strain and sorrow. He was happy with himself.
Since Lyra had returned from her time out well ahead of time, many ponies were still going door to door, looking for all sorts of treats and spooks. Some ponies hid behind corners, popping out for a quick scare on the younger goers who more susceptible to the thrills of the holiday.
One poor stallion even attempted to scare Titus as he passed by an alleyway. He wore a manticore mask and attempted to make the most convincing snarl in the history of his people, but failed to startle either Titus or Lyra. Titus stepped right by the stallion with an irritated sigh, and the unsuccessful night-goer drooped his head in defeat but quickly recovered when a few colts came into view, his past failure out of mind.
Titus looked across town square where many of the ponies were surrounding the fountain, chatting and giggling all over the festivities. Several of the townsfolk were bobbing for apples near a barrel or playing other games such as horseshoes and Titus even saw some sort of 'costume contest' taking place near a small stage.
“Are we home yet...?” Lyra whined out, her eyes closed now.
“Almost,” he could see their house sitting there down the road, untouched from those seeking gratification. Funny what a lack of candle light could assume. He would make sure that it stayed dark in their home so he wouldn't have to deal with any visitors since Lyra would more than likely be indisposed of. He was sure he had a book somewhere in the house he could read.
“Are we-”
“Yes.” Titus stood outside of their home now, preparing to push the door open. Before he could though, a panicked scream broke out from the direction of town square. Soon after, ponies came down their street, shouting and yelling all in a confused rush.
Titus quickly stepped inside their house but left the door open to see what exactly was causing the ruckus. All he could see was smoke beginning to rise over the buildings and colorful flashes of light bouncing off the thatched rooftops of the town.
Titus went to the bed in the small home and placed Lyra on it, who began asking all sorts of questions about what was going on and why were normal days so rare to find in this world she lived in. He left her there and went back to the doorway.
Unfortunately, since Titus had left the door open, several ponies took the liberty of rushing in, nearly throwing the human off balance as they quickly flooded in and rushed to the back of the small home, cowering.
“Whoa, whoa! What the heck is going on?!” Lyra shouted from the bed. She was growing more and more confused by the second.
Titus asked the cowering ponies. “What are you all doing in here?”
One panicked mare began to speak in haggard breathes. “Unicorns in Robes!! White and Black! They’re firing spells at each other! They... they hit my brother! I can’t... I can’t...” She began to break down right in front of them all, the ponies at her side comforting her with hooves on her back.
“Just out of the blue?” The human asked, wanting to know just what what they had all gotten into.
“Yes, near the fountain. They just came out of one of the tents, firing at one another,” another pony answered, this one being more collected.
Titus knew he was going to have to at least see what was going on. The problem was, that it had been a considerable time since he had been in a skirmish. On top of that, he was unarmed, his hammer given to him by the minotaur Totem had been left in the tunnels that had been home to the guardians of the starstones. “You’ll all wait here, right?”
All the ponies nodded but Lyra nearly threw a fit on the bed. “You’re just going to leave them here? Leave ME here?!”
“You’re sick,” Titus quickly answered. “Be careful until I get back, okay?”
“Fine,” she looked upset but as Titus turned away and walked out into the streets of Ponyville, he could see her extending a hoof in his direction in some sentimental fashion.
He wouldn’t be long, he told himself. He just needed to see what was going on and how he could help in anyway, whether that be through evacuation or some sort of force. He couldn’t keep being the fighter for much longer, but the need seemed to always be coming back.
Ponies trampled through the streets in a panic, hopping into alleyways as the lights that bounced off of the buildings chased after them. The ones that had rushed into his home had not been faking their stress for one bit.
He just about to come to the part of town that housed the marvelous fountain when a spell came flying off in his direction. It whizzed by and crashed into some poor soul’s flower shop, sending it ablaze.
If Titus had taken another step any sooner, he would’ve been smoldered no doubt. He tried not to think of it as he returned his focus to the plight of Ponyville.
Sure enough, unicorns in black and white robes were firing at each other, each party containing at least five took cover upon each side of the fountain, standing up for a second to fire another spell at one another.
Titus was looking from the side of the white robed unicorns, they seemed to be screaming at one another to keep aware of the other faction’s actions. They were all covered by their hoods, which seemed highly impractical, but for some reason, that didn’t bother them in the least.
The human quickly rushed towards an overturned cart that had once housed caramel apples and preceded to peek at the white robed unicorns once more.
It seemed to be pretty even between the two groups, but the stress of one misstep would more than likely lead to something fatal for either group. So they played conservative for a while, until one white robed unicorn suddenly hopped onto the rim of the fountain and attempted to cross it, failing miserably and falling off to the side, a bolt of magic leaving a charred bit in the pony’s side.
Titus wasn’t sure which side he should assist if any. They could both be on their own agendas for all he knew, especially since the denizens of Ponyville weren’t an object of concern between them from what he had seen.
He continued to watch them until a stray bolt came flying right over his head, causing him to duck behind the cart once more. When he poked his head out, a bearded white robed pony was just staring at him, his eyes now visible.
“B-Beacon?!” The robed stallion called out after him. That voice... he knew it, from not too long ago.
“Starswirl?!” Titus answered back, ducking down once more as a bolt smashed into the cart.
“Get over here, Beacon! Before you turn into dust!”
Titus hopped out from his cover not a second later and crawled over to Starswirl and his companions. Once he had made it to them, he pressed his back into the side of the large fountain and took a deep breath.
“Fancy meeting you here!” The white bearded unicorn laughed, pulling back his hood to reveal all of his features. That was definitely Starswirl.
“H-how are you alive?” Titus questioned, his mind a confused mess.
“I think that can wait. For now, I must ask you to be patient until we come out victorious in this little battle,” Starswirl took the time to fire another bolt, nearly taking off the head of a careless dark robed enemy.
The human just nodded and mused about what he had just gotten himself into. He hoped Lyra hadn’t chased after him. He should have stayed and told her everything was going to be okay, that he would protect her if anyone entered their home. Instead he was caught out here in the very middle of the action. What was with him and finding trouble?
Another white robe was sent down as a spell had grazed her head, charring her mane and scalp. It wasn’t fatal but it was too painful of an injury to get back up and fight again. Starswirl seemed to be growing more and more antsy after another of his allies had been defeated.
"I believe this has gone on long enough,” he quickly hopped upon the lip of the fountain,much like the last unicorn to do so, but fell into the waters before a spell could hit him. Titus brought his head just over the rim to pay witness to what was about to happen.
He reemerged after a second, his horn glowing with a powerful energy. One of the black robed unicorns screamed for an ice spell, but before anyone else could react, Starswirl’s spell had already been cast.
Spectral glass, at least that’s what it looked like to Titus, bursted from the ancient sorcerer’s horn, pelleting all of the black robed ponies that were preparing their own spells. The force threw many back, while it staggered others, but those still fell after a second.
Starswirl had meant to kill and that’s just what he had done. All of the opposing black robes were lying in pools of their own blood. All except for one, who was left whimpering with a hoof over his head.
“Restrain him. I would speak with him,” Starswirl ordered his remaining allies as he climbed out of the fountain’s waters, soaking, his robe clung heavily against his figure.
Titus stood up and ran around the fountain, meeting with the old sorcerer and studying the sheer brutality of his spell. Some unfortunate souls still had their eyes opened in horror as they had been smitten by the powerful spell that Starswirl had sent their way. “It seems impractical that you would wait so long, when you could have done that right from the beginning.”
“Better to keep things interesting. Don’t you think?” Starswirl walked by the judging human to the now captive black robed coward that held his head down in defiance. Starswirl looked him over a bit and put a hoof under his chin, lifting his head so that their eyes would meet. “I suggest you start telling me where your starstones are at, and why you would even come to a town like Ponyville.”
Starstones? Titus could have sworn they had been wiped from existence when they had defeated the possessed Polaris. That only made Starswirl’s presence make even more sense, however. He was-or at least had been a guardian of the relic. But how did this all come to be? Unicorn’s fighting each other, and the once thought dead to be very much alive.
The black robed pony remained silent, but eyed his captors with a pair of truly scared orbs. It wouldn’t take long for him to speak.
Starswirl shrugged him off, however. “You will speak to my companions about this then. I have a bit of catching up to take care of,” he began walking off from the white robes and the single black one, gesturing for Titus to follow.
“When was the last time we saw one another Beacon?” Starswirl pulled out a pipe from out of his robe and magically lit it, giving it a few puffs.
“That would be the tunnels,” Titus scratched his chin and tried not to point out how it was even possible to forget something like that.
Starswirl bit his lip behind his white beard and looked as if he was indeed having a hard time recollecting just that. “It seems like trying to remember things before my indoctrination gets harder every day...”
“What?”
“Ever since I was recruited by this rowdy bunch, I mean. Just look at em, look at me!” He pointed to himself, trying to emphasize the self imposed ridiculousness of his outfit. Unfortunately, that only made Titus raise an eyebrow, unsure what was the problem.
Starswirl waved him off. “Whatever, that doesn’t matter. What matters is the starstones right now. Oh yes, they’re very much still here.”
“I’ve pieced that much together,” Titus commented thoughtfully.
“Congratulations then, Beacon. That saves me some time trying to explain why, unless you’d prefer…?”
“Go on, please,” better not to be left out in the dark.
“Well apparently all this hogwash is a result of what we did down there, at least that’s what I was told,” Starswirl gritted his teeth. It was obvious he didn’t do well with most others. “Apparently these stones left the physical plane for just a bit before popping back in various locations within Equestria.”
“Okay, I can see that happening,” Titus was thinking about how resilient evil was both here in Equestria and back in Azeroth. Something he could have done without.
“It’s been causing nothing but conflict between us, Beacon. It is paramount that we get these starstones and hide them away, safe from everypony else.”
“A noble cause,” Titus didn’t notice initially, but they were walking back to his home, where he knew Lyra would be waiting along with all those cowering ponies. He imagined her yelling the whole time. Privacy was something sacred.
Starswirl nodded. “Indeed, and-ah, would this be your home?” He pointed to the only opened door, where several citizens of ponyville were poking their heads out, watching them both with careful eyes.
Titus rubbed his jaw and sighed. “You would be right,” they walked up to the house now, where the ponies quickly darted back inside. He could already hear Lyra yelling at few of them to stop being so clumsy in here abode.
“It appears you have a bit of a neighbor problem,” Starswirl seemed honestly confused as to why there was so many ponies inside their home. “Is this a normal thing for you two?”
“This is the result of all your fighting, actually,” Titus hoped Starswirl would understand just how much he had disturbed them both. Of course, he had another question at this point. “Why are you telling me all this, exactly?”
“Heh, no beating around the bush with you, is there?” Starswirl began to stroke his beard. “You’re likely assuming that I’m going to ask for you help, which I am.”
Titus groaned. It figured, with all of this junk constantly going on. Why couldn’t he be a weakling for once? Then maybe he’d be able to get a break from all this. He just wanted to kick everyone out of his home and be with Lyra at this point. He knew that wasn’t going to happen, though.
“Now hear me out, Beacon!” Starswirl pleaded with an apologetic smile. “You don’t even have to leave town, in fact, you won’t step a hoof out of Ponyville!”
That wasn’t what the human was expecting at all. “...and why won’t I?’
“Simple! The ones clad in dark were obviously here for a reason, which leads me to suspect that there might be at least a trace of a starstone here in this little backwater town of yours… no offense, of course. It’s just I remember glorious castles and monstrous keeps back from my days upon the surface of Equestria. It’s all so… secluded for the most part.”
Titus didn’t know why Starswirl thought he had spewed an insult. Backwater was just the way he liked it personally. “So, you want me to do a little search around town?”
“If you could. I have other things to attend to, of course. Something that’s been nagging at me for awhile now, and has started again after you’ve brought up those tunnels…” The sorcerer’s featured grew grim and thoughtful.
“What is it?”
Starswirl raised a hoof for him to cease the thought. “It’s best you don’t worry about it, Beacon. I’ve already asked something of you, I won’t make you deal with a problem of my own.” The old unicorn’s eyes were now once again in their original softer state. “But first, I would like to inform everypony that they may now return to their normal lives, and say hello to your dear special somepony.”
He hopped right by Titus, who couldn’t do anything about it. He was fast for a centuries old stallion.
The ponies that had been watching them slipped back further inside and out of sight. It seemed that they couldn’t seem to grasp the notion that they were in no danger here, yet the trauma from before was clearly still fresh in their minds.
Starswirl stormed in, his voice booming. “Now, there is no need to be afraid! We were simply here to defend you all! Those clad in dark are your real enemies! We will assist anypony caught in our crossfire!” He was staring at all the ponies now backed into a single corner. The ancient unicorn’s eyebrows drooped in irritation. “You won’t cease this cowardice until I leave will you?”
“I doubt it,” Titus said, slipping inside and standing in the doorway. He looked over to Lyra who was sitting up in her bed, fuming.
Her anger turned to surprise as she realized who was now in her home, scaring all the ponies. “What in Equestria are you doing here? I thought you were dead…. for reals now! If you aren’t.. oh that means…” She looked at Titus, some awful realization likely coming over her. “He didn’t ask you to go do something for him again, did he?”
“Uhh…” Titus began, “not exactly-”
“Why yes, I have, little mare,” Starswirl left the corner of cowering ponies to move to the bed Lyra sat on. “But I’m sure you won’t mind once you hear exactly what I-”
“Oh no,” she put a hoof up, signalling for him to stop. “I’m not going to hear any of it. I’m already confused enough, I don’t want to deal with this anymore. Everypony, get out already!!”
Nopony moved, and Lyra growled, throwing herself back on the bed. Titus stepped beside Starswirl. “We don’t even have to leave town, Lyra.”
“All that implies is that Ponyville is going to end up in flames,” she didn’t bother looking at them, still laying back on her bed.
Starswirl coughed before interjecting. “Quite the contrary, young one. While you perform the task, the white robe society’s best members will be monitoring the city with the vigilance of a hawk…. I think.”
“You think?” Titus questioned. “Are you not so sure of your own comrades?”
“No, no, not like that. It’s just, I’m not particularly a pony of importance, yet, and I can’t predict exactly what the rest of them will deem appropriate,” Starswirl seemed a bit bothered by this. Likely he didn’t feel comfortable being one of many, especially after years of seclusion.
Lyra hadn’t said anything in regards to this. She was likely still sick, and was trying to cope with everything falling down on her in this helpless state. Titus sat down on the side of her bed and tried to get her to speak.
“We’re just looking for something here in town, that’s all…”
She huffed and puffed, but didn’t say a word. It was likely only going to continue to spiral downwards as long as the rest of the others remained. He made a quick decision. “Starswirl.”
“Yes, Beacon?” The sorcerer returned.
“We’ll do it, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he nodded towards the group in the corner as well. “We would really like to be alone right now.”
Starswirl seemed to understand. “I will be back sometime tomorrow, after I have completed my task. He trotted back over to the group that feared him like he was a monster. “If you see any white robed ponies running around… please don’t give them a hard time, alright? We are not here to hurt you, as much as you like to think otherwise.”
He left them after that, quickly slipping out the doorway, and back to the streets of the “backwater town.”
Those in the corner looked at Titus expectantly. “If you could, I would appreciate it.”
One by one, they reluctantly stepped away from their place of retreat. One mare spoke up, “My… my brother though…” but another pushed her on, telling her how Starswirl promised they would help anyone who had been hurt. It was nice to see that they had at least listened to him instead of simply tuning him out in their strained minds.
Still, Titus frowned. He felt awful hearing this, and he had not seen a thing about whomever the mare’s brother was. There was simply too much going on. He should have tried asking about something, anything…
The last one left, and Titus closed the door behind them. He wanted to just fall over and stop for a moment, but there was already someone in the house who was doing that for him.
He went back to the bed, and at least this time, Lyra began to speak. “I should expect this at this point.”
“Maybe,” Titus said innocently, reaching over and pinching her twitching ear.
“And you know what?” She sat up, breaking contact from his hand.
“What?”
“I did it to myself, falling for you, so let’s just get this over with.” A sudden flame of anger fueled motivation had just erupted through her.
Titus was shocked. “Uh-yes! You’d be right, but that can wait for tomorrow. Starswirl said he’d be back by then as well, maybe before we even start doing his little task. It’s not as if I want to deal with it myself.”
“Alright,” she said. “But one thing.”
“Okay, what?”
“We are getting away from here as soon as this is done.”
“Like back to Hoofington?” Was that all she meant?
She shook her head. “No, I mean permanently, someplace far away from here.”
“But why?”
“Because,” she drew a deep breath. “Maybe if we’re away from here, ponies wouldn’t bother us as much. All the problems around here seem to fall onto your shoulders anyways…”
“But even when we’re away, trouble still seems to find us,” Titus wasn’t catching onto her logic here. “I don’t think-” but a hoof soon covered his mouth.
“I know that, but we’ve got to try, okay?” Her voice wasn’t stern anymore, filled with anger and determination. It was breaking ever so slightly, and Titus knew what he had to say.
“Then we’ll do it, okay?” He pulled her into a hug, wanting to cementify the promise.
“Thank you..”
They stayed like that for a long while, until Titus knew they had to get to sleep, but time really didn’t matter at this point.
Keeping her happy was his goal beyond all else.
But, in spite of all of that, Titus couldn’t help but wonder exactly where Starswirl went, and what he was doing.