A Beacon of Light

by Nobrains

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Lyra rolled around in her bed, unable to sleep. She couldn't get the fact out of her head that there was a human sleeping in her house, and right at the side of her bed! The fact made her all the more restless, and soon she was certain she wouldn't find sleep at all tonight. She sighed and looked over the edge to see the human sleeping peacefully on the floor next to her bed.

She looked at him sadly and laid her head back on her pillow. She hadn't told him everything that the strange silhouetted being had said. She felt bad about it, but couldn't muster up the courage to tell Titus while she had been there, having the most exciting discussion of her life with one of the few people that didn't seem to think she was all that weird, which seemed ironic to her, considering he was the human that everypony thought had not existed.

She would keep that little tidbit of knowledge to herself and herself only. Perhaps at a later time, when she got to know this "Titus" on a more personal level, she would reveal the unspoken words that the being had told her, but for now, she was just content to finally know that she hadn't wasted so much time on trivial fantasies.

She took another glance at Titus. He seemed more rugged than what she had thought of the humans, but it didn't bother her. He seemed tougher than anypony she had met in her life, and he hadn't done anything at all yet to confirm her assumptions; she could just tell. Yet asleep he seemed slightly more... vulnerable. She noticed his hands clench and unclench slightly while he breathed softly without a sound.

The sight was out of character for him, but she found it suited him surprisingly well. The closed eyes behind the bearded face flickered ever so slightly. She wondered what it was like being a human, returning back to her previous thought cycles before Titus had arrived. She could ask all the questions in Equestria to Titus, and she would still wonder what it would be like to walk and run on two legs, and be able to grab things with fingers clenched.

Still, the thought of having a human to talk to made her giddy enough to forget her sorrow. Perhaps he could show her how he grabs things and carries them? Or maybe something exciting, like how fast he can run without all that metal weighing him down.

She looked across the room to where Titus had laid his armor. The moonlight drenched the shiny silver surface so softly, and the blue tabard that lay wrinkled upon it. She wondered what it was like to wear something like that. Titus said it was to protect himself from other people hurting him, but certainly there was a more practical use for it also?

She silently lumbered out of bed, careful not to step on her human guest. She made her way to the plate mail lying near the wall. It didn't seem that heavy, the armor appearing to be thinned to almost a sheet thickness. She could probably easily carry this around just like Titus! She wondered what Titus would think when he saw her with his plate mail on. He would probably be impressed that she could hold her own in human armor!

The breastplate began to emanate the familiar green glow that indicated that it was under Lyra's influence, and began to leave the ground. She brought it to her horned head, and gently slid the armor over her head and shoulders, bringing her hooves to the openings that were for human arms.

When she had it on, she released her hold on it, and the weight of what felt like a house came down upon her. She crashed to the ground, struggling desperately to get free of the breastplate. Her air was being cut off and panic began to overtake her. She wanted to cry out but couldn't find any way to force her voice through her throat.

Everything was starting to fade out, and Lyra knew that the worst was yet to come if she suffocated like this. The last vestiges of consciousness were beginning to dwindle away as her fighting and struggling began to die down to lazy twisting and jerking. It was going to end here, she thought, dying while the human she had just barely met slept through the whole thing. What a morbid thing to think of.

She stopped altogether and waited for the end, hoping it would be swift and painless.

Suddenly, two arms picked up the breastplate, and subsequently, her. She felt those same arms separate her from the breastplate that had been crushing her throat, and she coughed and breathed in air desperately, as if there was nothing else in the world. Each breath came with pain, however. She must have hurt herself more than she had thought, but there seemed to be no end to the desperate gasps for breath.

She felt a hand on her neck and a whisper, but only caught several words. It sounded like some kind of prayer, to something called... the Light? She had never heard of any kind of "Light" but there was no time to worry about any of that, she was still struggling to get air into her lungs with each wispy breath.

Warmth shot through her, the epicenter being, to her surprise, the neck. The feeling was great, and she felt strength not only returning to her breaths, but to each limb that had struggled desperately for her life. After just seconds, her breathing slowed down, and was gentle and no longer plagued with constant pain.

She finally found the strength to open her eyes and found her being held in Titus's arms. He sat on her small bed, rubbing her neck softly. His eyes looked caring but agitated. He obviously wasn't happy about the whole situation, but he was too busy using some kind of ability to make her feel better.

She looked down to see his hands glowing softly as they rubbed her trachea softly. He must have been using magic! But he had said he was no magic user previously... She would have to ask him about that eventually, but was afraid to say anything and simply just enjoyed what the crisis had provided her.

She couldn't believe that there were hands on her. Human hands. The thought alone got her stomach all knotted up and she felt better than she had ever felt before, like a weird sort of.. high? What luck the whole accident had brought her! To be in a human's arms and to feel his hands.. She felt the familiar giddiness wash over again as she couldn't hold back a grin.

"What was that all about?" She heard Titus ask.

The moment of enjoyment was over and now came the embarrassing aftermath. Titus put her down in front of him. He did not seem mad, but just concerned and confused. She was glad that she hadn't managed to anger the Paladin, for she had no idea what he was capable of.

She felt her face began to heat up as she tried to explain the unfolding events.

"I... umm...” she stammered.

"Come on, speak up." Titus urged.

"Okay... I just wanted to see what it was like...”

"What what was like?" Titus asked curiously.

"What wearing something that humans wear was like...” she forced out.

She knew that she was on the verge of yet another nervous breakdown. She had kept in check well enough around Titus, but this whole situation was too mortifying. She couldn't imagine Titus ever being understanding regarding her nature ever again. Not after this. She felt like she wanted to cry, but she did her best to fight back the tears.

Then she felt something hit the ground in front of her. It was a glove, like the ones humans wore, fingers and all. She used her magic to pick it up slowly and studied it in glee. Titus came into focus behind the object. He was just sitting there, waiting patiently for her to try on the thing.

She attempted to focus it onto one of her fore-hooves, but to no avail. She tried the other ones, and nothing happened. She felt like a deflated balloon at this point, and dropped the leather glove at her feet. She sat back her hind-legs sadly and closed her eyes in silent defeat, the cruel world she lived in.

She heard Titus step forward, and then she felt something cover her horn. She opened her eyes and saw Titus sit back on her bed. Taking in what he had done. She raised her hoof and felt at her horn, but instead of the familiar texture of her defining gift, she was greeted with very glove she had struggled to get on.

She beamed in satisfaction. She may not have been able to see it, but it was still there, and that was good enough for her, but it was still Titus's and she wasn't sure he wanted to let her keep it. She was reluctant, but removed it from her horn after a minute with a swipe of a hoof, and then using her magic to bring it back up to Titus's grip.

He snatched it and put it back on her horn.

"You keep it." He yawned. "You need it more than me. You'll probably get yourself hurt trying something like this again.”

She pawed at the ground, obviously embarrassed.

"No, I won't..." she said softly.

"Yeah, right." He fell off her bed and back to his pillow on the ground. "May I resume the slumber I was awoken from?”

She quickly hopped back into her bed and laid back. "Yeah, uhmm sorry about that." She played with the glove on her head for several minutes and then looked back over at the Paladin, whose back was turned to her.

"I know you're looking at me." Titus called out from his still figure.

She flew back into her bed, careful not to be caught ogling him again. Before they fell asleep, however, she had to figure out something. Something that had been nagging at her since Titus had saved her from sudden and accidental asphyxiation.

"Hey...Titus...” She whispered.

"Yes?" The paladin returned.

"You told me you didn't use magic, but how else did you heal me, hmm?" She felt like she had asked a question that would finally make her seem more adroit in front of the human, like she was not as dumb as she had seemed back there, trying to adorn armor that was obviously not made for her.

"I’m not a magic user. I simply called upon the Light to heal you. A bruised trachea is nothing to laugh about, especially after doing something like that. We can talk more about it tomorrow if you want."

"Okay..." she said sadly, trying to get comfortable in her sheets.

She had almost died back there, and she hadn't even thanked him for saving her life. What kind of pony was she? A very ungrateful one it seemed. She would find some way to make it up to her savior. She thought about tomorrow and the little things she would need to take care of. She noticed that her thoughts hadn't diverged off to "what it was like to be a human" scenarios, but rather just about her curiosity revolving around Titus.

He was physically fascinating, stronger than she thought possible, even before the whole armor episode. She took a glance when she noticed his breathing was caught in a pattern and looked at him. How many times had she done this already? It didn't matter, she just couldn't stop. He was everything she had thought was possible with humanity and more.

He showed kindness and understanding, and was there in her time of need. All of this in just one day, and what a day it had been. She didn't feel so weird around him like all the ponies that she talked too. He believed her, because he actually was human, and he was better than she could ever have imagined.

Perhaps that’s why she didn't have to think about being a human anymore, because she had one, and he would teach her more and more about being a human every day. The thought was so comforting, and she hoped she would have Titus there to anchor her down forever, even if it didn't seem possible. She pushed that thought aside, however, and enjoyed the thoughts of spending afternoons alone with the human that seemed to come out of nowhere into her life.

She finally fell into deep slumber, where she dreamt of being caressed by large, caring hands.

Comments

[Emerulf]

All right, the glove scene was pretty funny. Imagining Lyra with a plate glove on her horn...

No glaring issues this time around, fortunately. Well, onto the next chapter!

[The Shade]

When she had it on,

W311 Lyra, 7h!2 83 why y0u d0n'7 w345 20u1b0und !73m2.

[Nobrains]

4032522
You better not stop reading, I need more comments like this.