"Where exactly is this Revelin Arch?" I asked as I followed behind Gemini and Mica who were in the lead. We had left the forest the past morning and it was already nearly three in the afternoon. A few snow flurries had hit us on our walk, but nothing too serious. All of us had been walking there not because we had problems with our wings but because Miora had informed us that it was an ancient tradition to walk there, so that's what we were doing.
"I told you before," Gemini said sharply, "that it's between the Eldenwilds and the entrance to the Empire."
"Directly between, actually," Mica said.
"Not exactly between," Miora said. "It was exactly between the nations at the time of its construction, but now that isn't as exact as the Eldenwilds and Agartha have expanded southward."
Curious, I pulled out my phone and Googled revelin. "Huh…it's an actual word," I muttered before I put my phone back in my pocket. "I did say that we'd meet there on the tenth, but we have a few more days to go before that deadline is met. Still, I'd like to get there early so we can at least set up a camp."
"Why would you set up a camp when you have the ability to travel to your homeland with the ancient Aelyssian portals?" Miora asked.
"While that is a valid point," I began, "you said that I should be walking towards the arch. I think, in the interests of good faith, we should remain nearby just in case they arrive early. Sure, I will likely open a portal door back to Ponyville, but only to see my wife and friends."
Miora didn't reply. Instead, she looked contemplative as we continued to walk. Scarlet, who had quickly gotten used to her new bipedal locomotion, still found any excuse she could to go arm in arm with me. Not that I was complaining, of course. At the moment, she was to my right, leaning her head against my shoulder. I looked down at her, my worry for her spiking again. "How are you feeling?" I asked softly.
She looked up at me, her cherry red eyes full of love and gratitude. "I'm doing better," she said, reaching up and cupping my cheek with her new velvety soft hand before it fell back down. "Thanks for worrying about me, babe."
Gemini looked back at the two of us, her brow furled with confusion. "So," she began, "just how in Tartarus did you manage to transform both your mares into that…human-like form?"
"Do you think it would work on non-equines?" Mica asked curiously. "Perhaps on Miora here?"
"Now hold on, there," I said before Miora could react, "that's not really something that's too important right now. Besides, I think it only worked on Zecora because she's an equine, and the transformation has only ever been tried on equines. I don't want to try it without further assurances that it won't hurt anyone."
"I must admit, I have been curious about that magic of yours," Miora said calmly. "Where did you find it?"
Surprised by her question, I shrugged and cleared my throat. "I didn't find it, actually. My friend Twilight Sparkle managed to figure it out when I went on my first date with Zecora." I raised my left wing. "She had a feather of mine from a time when I was accidentally transformed into an anthropomorphic pony when I stepped in Poison Joke. I don't know how she figured it out, but apparently at the time she used my feather as some sort of catalyst for the spell. She's since perfected it so we don't need a feather anymore."
Miora looked intrigued by this. "Interesting," she said. "Perhaps someday I will speak to this Twilight Sparkle and get the details of the spell."
"Jethro knows it now, too," Scarlet explained.
"While that may be true, even he is still a novice when it comes to magic," Miora said. "I mean no offense by that, Your Grace."
"None taken," I said with a dismissive wave. "I'm still a novice and need to learn more about the magic I possess. Flying I've nearly gotten down, and I can nearly control my Earth Pony strength but magic is a lot more complicated."
Miora nodded, raising her head as her own horns glowed briefly before stopping. "I do not know how our magic compares to Unicorn and Alicorn magic," she said, "but I believe that with time, we will be allowed to compare." She looked at me. "Do you believe that, if we revealed ourselves to the Equestrian princesses and them alone, they may allow somegiraffe to speak to that Sunset Shimmer you spoke of?"
"That's not my call," I admitted, "but I think they may allow it in time. That is, of course, when they get over the fact that there's a Giraffe living in Ponyville as an…observer." I didn't use the word 'Spy' so as not to insult the Giraffe people. "I believe her name from the show was Clementine?"
Miora looked at me warily, but then nodded. "She has taken very much to the one called Fluttershy from what I have heard," she said. "She has not made open contact with anypony there, but I suspect now that you know, she will approach you at some point after you return."
"And she will be welcome to do so," I said. "Nearly everyone at my Ponyville home knows your kind are sapient."
With that, we all went silent. I put one wing around Scarlet to keep her warm. Ahead of us, though, I saw that Gemini seemed to be struggling with the cold. Concerned, I moved ahead, then moved my right wing around her, pulling her into a warm embrace. She looked up at me with alarm, but I silenced her with a look. She glared away from me, but the fact that she actually took a step closer to me was telling.
Mica, upon seeing this, smirked. "What, no extra wing for me?" he teased.
"Would you like one of us to keep you warm?" Silica asked from beside me.
Mica waved his paw with a chuckle. "No need," he said. "Male Lycans have a better tolerance for the cold. I'm doing fine with these furs." He pointed to the large black fur cloak he wore over himself which reminded me of the one John Snow wore in Game of Thrones. In fact, I knew full well that the cloak was based off of the one from the show. He had ordered it from Rarity, who had used wool from the sheep to make it look like fur. It was a special spell that she knew as a seamstress, one that even Twilight seemed to have a hard time with.
"Showoff," Gemini muttered.
I replied by tightening my grip over her body. "All boys his age love to show off," I whispered.
To my surprise, she snorted and actually smiled briefly. "You have no idea," she said. Still, I felt her tail wrapping around my waist.
I looked at Silica and Scoria, who were standing to either side of me. "Are you two doing alright with the cold?" I asked.
The two of them, now wearing their armor again along with thick white cloaks I had taken out of the necklace's storage for them, both nodded. "These cloaks are very warm, Your Grace," Scoria said.
"And they're perfect for us Dragons," Silica added, spreading her wings through the holes in the cloaks.
"I should think so," I smiled. "They were made for Aelyssian Dragons, after all."
Again, the group fell into silence, and in fact, it remained that way for the rest of our walk.
"Wow…you can see so many stars from here," Twilight said an hour after we had made camp as she lay to my left. "Of course, if Rainbow wasn't being such a show off up there, we could actually enjoy it without a rainbow streak across the night sky every second," she added with a frown.
I chuckled at this. We had made camp near a cluster of large trees as soon as the sun set. Equestria didn't follow Daylight Savings Time, which meant that the sun set earlier all year round. The moment we had set up camp, I had placed the door on one of the large trees and opened it, only to find that the Mane Six, along with Spike, were waiting eagerly for me, each of them having some sort of food or drink item with them.
Twilight had brought some partially burnt banana bread which, when the burnt parts were scraped off, was actually pretty good, while Rarity brought some warm tea. Pinkie Pie brought some hot chocolate with marshmallows while Applejack brought a hot apple pie for dessert and cool, refreshing apple cider to quench our thirst. Rainbow Dash actually brought us all some steaks from The Prancing Pony, while Fluttershy brought several baked potatoes with butter and chives along with a salad. Spike, bless his soul, had made some sourdough bread and some butter that he had actually churned with help from the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
I chuckled and ran a hand through Twilight's mane playfully. "Hey, nighttime rainbows like this are new to me, so let her show off and clear the sky for the night for us," I said.
Twilight sighed, but nodded as she snuggled closer into me. I wrapped my wing more tightly around her body in response. "Okay, fine," the young mare said with a cute pout.
Lying on top of me, I saw young Spike stir, having strategically placed himself underneath my coat to keep warm. He may have grown up a lot and lost his baby appearance, but he was still adorable. Scarlet, who was on my right, smiled. "He must have really missed you, dear," she said softly.
Twilight, having heard this, smiled. "He always saw my parents as grandparents, I think," she said, "and now I know he saw me more like a mother figure. Him having a father figure is only natural."
I patted the sleeping Wyvern's head with a warm smile. "So," I said as I turned to Twilight with a wry grin, "he's spending time with the CMC a lot more lately, I hear?"
Twilight nodded. "They really seem to like spending time with him," she said. "I can't guess quite why, though."
"Why, darling, can't you guess?" Rarity asked as she came up, holding a cup of tea in her magic while she was wrapped up in warm clothes.
"They're twitterpated," Fluttershy giggled as she, too, walked up with a cup of tea in her wings.
I chuckled and nodded. I had shown Bambi to Fluttershy at her insistence when she learned about the basic plot of the movie. She had taken a certain scene poorly, and I felt like shit for showing it to her, but she never once blamed me. "I think the CMC might all have crushes on him."
Twilight's eyes widened and she looked at Spike. "Really? But…why not?"
"Twilight, Twilight, Twilight," Pinkie said as she came up, shaking her head with a knowing smile and sounding like she was about to smack some knowledge on the younger Unicorn mare, "come on, now. To you, he may be the cute baby Dragon you hatched, but to those three fillies, he's eighty six pounds of pure Dragon studmuffin."
Rarity sputtered, Twilight's eyes went wide with shock, Applejack, who was nearby, hid behind her hat, Pinkie just stood there grinning, Fluttershy's face went beet red, and Scarlet and I could hardly contain our laughter. "Damn, Pinke," I said after I recovered, "I think you broke Twilight."
"…Whu…?" was all that the purple Unicorn mare could say in response.
"Still, he's just reaching Dragon puberty, I think," I said as I patted the sleeping Wyvern's head gently, causing Spike to react by smiling in his sleep. "I really need to speak to Phlogiston about that and how to help him deal with it."
"That sounds like a fine idea, sugarcube," Applejack said as she came and ponyloafed right above my head, her green eyes looking down at me from above. "Ah don't doubt givin' ''im The Talk is gonna be easy."
"I've been on the receiving end, so I can only imagine how hard it was for my own dad," I said with a wry smile.
Applejack removed her Stetson and nodded. "Mah mom told me everythin' ah know 'bout bein' a mare," she said, "and even back then ah could tell it was hard for her."
I reached out and ran a hand through Applejack's beautiful blonde mane, then picked up my own teacup with my magic. "To parents, yeah?"
"Ah can drink tah that," she nodded with a knowing smile as our cups clinked.
As I drank to that toast, Rainbow Dash came walking up, holding a cup of cider. "Well, that should keep any snow clouds out of your hair for the night," she said before she took a nice gulp of cider. "Aaah…that's the good stuff."
"Thanks, Rainbow," I said.
"Just doing what a good and loyal friend would do," she said, her chest fluff puffed out proudly.
"Darling, how has your trip been so far?" Rarity asked.
"Um…eventful for one," I said as I looked over at Scarlet and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "but also informative."
"How does it feel to be another Alicorn, huh? Huh? Huh?" Pinkie, probably hopped up on chocolate, asked eagerly.
Scarlet chuckled a bit. "Honestly, I'm still getting used to it. I haven't flown much since we're walking to this Arch, but once we're done, I'm going to be flying almost all of the way back home."
"You do realize that I can just send everyone home via that portal after this is done, right?" I asked.
She sighed. "Babe, I may be an Alicorn now, but I was born a Pegasus. We're born to fly."
"That's the spirit!" Rainbow grinned as she nodded in approval at her student.
"I wonder what would happen if you cast that same spell on one of the Princesses?" Twilight muttered.
"A Super-Mega-Ultra Alicorn?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm not going to find out," I said, "because the fact that I've done it twice is scary enough. I don't want to make a habit of it if changing someone back isn't an option."
"Which it looks like it isn't," Twilight said, "at least not yet. Maybe one of those two other Unicorns you mentioned earlier might know?"
"Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst," I nodded. "Sunburst is a fount of magical knowledge and Starlight Glimmer is just as much of a magical prodigy as you and Sunset. I think that if you put all of your heads together when things calm down, you could find something."
"If I want to change back at all," Scarlet said.
"Why wouldn't ya want tah change back?" Applejack asked.
Scarlet sighed. "Ever since Jethro found me and helped get me treated, I've devoured human media. I'm sure you've noticed that I don't really use Pony words like everypony or somepony lately, right?"
"Ah did notice," Applejack nodded.
"Well, the point is, even though there's a portal to another Earth with billions of humans, he's still kind of alone here," Scarlet said. "Any humans who come through now will look more like me. I know Zecora is also an Anthro Zebra, now, but I don't want him or her feeling alone. Especially if there isn't a way to reverse this."
I was immediately touched by this and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Thank you for thinking about me," I said, "but I wouldn't want you to give up that for me."
"I want to," Scarlet insisted. "Babe, I may have been born a Pony, but I fell in love with you, you lanky monkey." She grinned at me before it changed into a more genuine smile. "I don't want you or Zecora feeling alone, so I want to be by both of your sides."
"Ah wonder where she learned tah be so loyal?" Applejack pondered, giving Rainbow a grin.
"No idea," Twilight replied in a half sardonic smile.
"Besides," Scarlet said before leaning in and whispering, "with this body, think of all of the positions we could try. Google has been really helpful for me."
I gazed at her, eyes wide. "Oh my God, how horny are you?"
"Hah!" Rainbow giggled before she turned to Applejack. "You owe me a hundred bits!"
Applejack sighed. "Ah'll pay ya when we get back tah Ponyville."
"Were you betting on whether or not I'd say, 'Oh my God, how horny are you?'?" I asked incredulously.
"Come on, dude," Rainbow said, "it's inevitable that you'll say it! It's become one of your catchphrases!"
"Like yours is either 'ten seconds flat', 'OMIGOSH!' a billion times in rapid succession, 'twenty percent cooler' or 'awesome'?" I teased.
"Why are you singling me out?" Rainbow pouted. "Applejack says 'Sugarcube' all the time! Rarity says 'Darling' like it's going out of style, too."
"I tease you because it's fun seeing a cute but awesome mare like you all flustered," I teased further.
That caught her off guard. Her eyes widened and she sputtered out something, but Fluttershy came to her rescue. "Now now, everyone," she said, "let's talk about something else. This is supposed to be a nice night for stargazing and seeing our friend again." She looked over at me, her eyes warm.
I smiled back. "Okay, fair enough." I looked back up at the stars, taking in a deep breath. "Back on Earth, it was becoming harder and harder to find a view like this. So many city lights kept the night sky from being seen." I chuckled a bit. "Actually, I remember a story I read online somewhere. In a city called Los Angeles there was a big blackout and the police were inundated with calls from citizens who said that they were seeing a weird silver cloud in the sky. The police had to explain that they were seeing the Milky Way for the first time."
"Fascinating," Twilight said.
"I wonder how Woona would like that story?" Pinkie asked, suddenly curling around my head.
"I don't know who Woona is or how you found that fandom reference," I said, "but I don't think Luna would find that story too amusing."
"Well, you never know," Pinkie said. "Didn't she wield the Element of Laughter before me?"
"Yeah," I said, "but I think her type of laughter is different than what you encompass, Lil' Pink."
Pinkie's eyes filled my vision, wide as saucers. "What kind of laughter does she have, then?" she asked eagerly.
I shrugged. "Why not send her a letter and ask about it?" I asked, gesturing to Spike. "I'm sure this handsome young drake here would be okay with sending a letter."
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie giggled before she leaned down and gave my nose a lick. "Salty."
I groaned. "Really, Ponkers?" She giggled and then curled around my head, covering my ears to keep them warm with her incredibly soft body. I shook my head a bit. "You're an enigma wrapped in a Pop Tart."
"Those are delicious!" Pinkie exclamimed. "Diane sent some to me!"
"Of course she did," I chuckled.
"Jethro?" Twilight came up and looked down, her purple eyes now full of concern. "You're getting to this arch tomorrow sometime, right?"
"That's right," I said.
"Are you all going to be okay when meeting with Empress Amber?" she asked, and I heard a hint of a tremor in her voice.
Everyone, except for Spike, tensed up at the mention of that name. I looked at the group of ponies around me. Each of them, even Pinkie, had looks of concern on their faces. I took in a deep breath. "I'll be honest," I said. "I'm a bit scared. Okay, I'm a lot scared. Lady Valindra was a very kind and understanding doe and I've grown to like her. She knows I'm new at this and has given me more leeway than I think is proper in these situations. Amber won't do that. And given how we parted ways, I doubt she will actually want some sort of peaceful relationship with the Empire. No, not one with me," I corrected.
Everyone winced at that, but I continued regardless. "She'll look for any way possible to sour relationships with the Lycan Empire and Aelyssia. I will need to be on my best behavior. I've been getting coached a lot by Gemini and Mica and Silica and Scoria have offered a bit of advice, but while I am going to try my best, I'm not too hopeful."
"Bad Jethro," Pinkie said, sticking her cold hoof against my nose. "You can't think like that going in. Sure, she may be planning that, but keep your thoughts positive."
I sighed heavily. "I'm trying, Pinkie," I said, "but being an Emperor is not a picnic."
"Well, duh!" Pinkie said. "There's no sandwiches and cakes and hot chocolate or cold iced tea." Despite myself, I laughed. Pinkie nuzzled my face. "There it is," she said in a more tender tone, "there's the laugh that made this party mare's heart race."
I actually nuzzled her back, my smile remaining. "Thanks, Pinkie. I feel a bit better."
"We all know yer gonna do fine, sugarcube," Applejack said. "If anypony's gonna cause trouble, it'll be that backstabbin' Lycan…well, that Lycan bitch."
My eyes widened. "I never knew you were one to swear, Applejack," I teased.
"Ah was usin' the proper term for a dog like her," Applejack said with a frown.
"Her language aside, Applejack is right," Rarity said. "We all believe you will act like a proper gentlecolt, even if she doesn't deserve it, the brute," she added with a disdainful look.
"And if she doesn't, I know you'll be able to kick her ass," Rainbow grinned.
"Even if we can't be there, just know that you will be in our thoughts, and I believe you would also say that you are in our prayers," Fluttershy added warmly.
"You've become dear to all of us," Twilight concluded. "We believe in you. And I know that Scarlet and Zecora also do, too."
I had never felt so full of positive emotions as I had in that moment. I thought that, for a moment, I could almost taste the love in the air. I saw something pink in the air for the briefest of seconds, but then it vanished. I felt stronger, more assured of myself now. I looked at the group, tears swelling in my eyes. "You guys are…are just the best."
"We're yer friends," Applejack said. "Friendship is magic, right?"
That made us all laugh, which actually woke Spike up. He looked up, his green reptilian eyes reflecting in the nearby firelight. "Did I miss something funny?" he asked as he stuck his head out from beneath my coat.
"Just an affirmation of our friendships," I said.
"Oh…okay." And with that, he put his head back underneath my clothes. "Nice and warm…" he muttered.
The rest of us chuckled at that. "Spike, we can't stay here tonight, you know," Twilight said. "Tonight is the night that we were going to watch the next episode of that nanny show you found."
"The Nanny with Fran Drescher?" I asked.
"He found it during his time on the computer," Twilight said, "and now the two of us watch an episode a night before bed."
"Good show," I said.
"Rarity might have a thing or two to say about what Fran wears, though," Spike said in a muffled voice beneath my clothes.
That caught the unicorn mare's attention. "Why is that?"
"Her outfits are rather interesting, to say the least," Twilight explained. "I admit, I'm not a fashion expert, so I can't tell whether or not what she's wearing is any good or not."
"Perhaps I could come and see this show for myself at some point?" Rarity asked.
This caught Spike's attention and he once more poked his head out from beneath my shirt. "Of course you can! Can't she, Twilight?"
Twilight smirked and sighed. "I don't see why not? You want to come over tonight after we go home?"
"That sounds lovely," she said. "Would it be okay if Sweetie Belle also comes over, though? I wouldn't have anypony ready to foalsit her on this short notice."
"Sure, that sounds good to me."
As the two hammered out details for this impromptu television show session, I lay there and listened. This was just what the doctor ordered. Being surrounded by friends, eating up the positive emotions to help empower me, figuratively of course, and just enjoying the moment. Tomorrow, things would definitely be a lot more tense, but for now, I could forget and enjoy the time.
"Okay, who ordered Aslan's Stone Table?" Scarlet asked as we arrived at the Revelin Arch late in the morning the following day.
I couldn't help but agree. The arch was more than just a simple arch. I half expected it to be like the Arch of Triumph in Paris, but what I saw was more than that. What we found were four pillars, all arched, along with a domed roof, and underneath said roof a massive table made of stone. The stone itself looked like it had been made of one massive slab. The top was smoothed and had absolutely no markings on it, but I could sense magic coming from it. A powerful and somehow ancient magic.
I didn't need to look at the others to feel their own tension. One which matched my own. There were stone chairs surrounding the table, with two of them being larger than the others and having larger backrests.
I approached and was just about to pass through one of the arches when something pushed me back. I frowned and walked back towards the table, extending my hand towards the threshold. Some sort of barrier was in place, and the harder I pushed, the harder it pushed back. I stepped back, circling around the arched building. It didn't take me long to find some ancient letters written on the archway in an older Equish dialect. I let my brain do its auto-translation. "Never shall weapons be allowed within this hallowed hall," I read, "for this is a place of peacemaking. Only leaders of kingdoms may enter here." I looked at Eclipse, which I had strapped to my side. I took it off and placed it inside my necklace, then tried passing through again.
When I was denied access, I pursed my lips. Slowly, I turned to Scarlet. "Hold this for me," I said.
"Of course," she said as she walked up and took the large crystal necklace from me. I turned back, then walked through the barrier as if nothing was even there. The moment I passed through, I saw that the inner ceiling was also arched. I saw nothing painted on any surface of the interior. Not even faded paint. In fact, everything inside the domed building looked impeccably clean. The stone table itself was as smooth as marble. I chuckled a bit at the simplicity of the meeting place and tried to think of possible meanings behind it.
Seeing nothing else, I stepped back out and retrieved my necklace from Scarlet, I heard a distant horn blowing. We all turned in the direction of the blast and saw a large number of banners on the horizon to the south. I pulled out a pair of binoculars from my magic necklace and looked through them. The banners were all a deep orange with the silver sideways relief of a wolf's head placed in the center. Despite the situation, I chuckled. "Winter is coming indeed," I said as I handed the binoculars to a waiting Scarlet.
When she looked through them, she chuckled dryly as well. "We might as well call their capital city Winterfell," she said. However, she paused suddenly and her jaw dropped. "No…fucking…way…"
I felt fresh alarm flaring up. "Scarlet? What is it?"
"How on Earth did they get those?" Scarlet asked, passing the binoculars back over to me.
I took them and looked closer at the approaching bannermen, or bannerwolves, or whatever I was supposed to call them. All of them were female Lycans, obviously, all wearing silvery gray armor and golden cloaks. But what they were riding was what had apparently caught the attention of my marefriend. "Those had better be simple horses they're riding, or I swear to God, heads will roll!" I snarled as I tossed the binoculars over to Gemini. "Gemini, tell me those are horses!"
Gemini looked at the binoculars briefly, then put them to her eyes as she looked in the same direction. She grimaced, but nodded. "The Empire does use horses in deeper parts of the mines," she said as she handed the binoculars over to me.
I looked back at the approaching envoy, this time looking closer at the horses. The ones I could see had saddles, bridles, reins and more. I looked more closely at the eyes, and saw that they seemed to lack the intelligence I had seen in even the other animals in Equestria.
In front of them I saw two horses, both pure white with golden manes and tails. Mounted on them I saw Empress Amber and Princess Amethyst. Both royals, along with four of their guards, were approaching us, all on horseback. I frowned at this and put the necklace away. "This feels like a deliberate ploy," I said.
I got confirmation of that fact from the most unlikely of places. In particular, from a white something which popped out of a bag that Miora was carrying. The white something landed next on my shoulder and glared towards the approaching Lycans. Why the fuck are those bitches riding on Ponies?! Angel Bunny growled, crossing his arms in a very humanlike gesture. Are they fools?
I looked down at the young bunny on my shoulder in astonishment, then alarm. "Angel? The hell are you doing here?"
He turned to me, beady eyes seeming to burrow into my soul. Because the yellow one worries about you for who knows what reason, he said, and the last thing I want is for her to cry because you did something stupid!
"Because I did something stupid?" I hissed, grabbing the young bunny by his scruff. "I'm sending you home, now! Fluttershy is probably freaking out about you being missing!"
I left her a note, he said, waving a dismissive paw at me.
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You can write?" I asked.
She's been trying to teach us all, but she doesn't know how well I've learned, Angel replied.
I facepalmed, pulled out my phone, and sent off a quick text to Twilight. If Fluttershy hasn't already come to looking for Angel Bunny, tell her that he somehow ended up with me. I can't send him home right now, though. I put my phone away and gave the troublesome bunny a final glare. "Fluttershy and I are going to have words with you when this is over," I muttered.
Angel rolled his eyes and thumped on my shoulder. Whatever, he said.
At that moment, the six Lycans on horseback arrived on the other side of the Revelin Arch. The dark gray female Lycan looked down at me, a smile on her face. A smile which didn't reach her yellow eyes. We stared at each other for a while before she dismounted, followed quickly by her daughter and the other four guards. She pointed at a large nearby set of trees. "Tie the horses over there," she ordered.
Can you hear me? Angel asked in what had to be the equivalent of an animal whisper. When the horses didn't react at all, he shook his head and looked at me. Not Equestrian animals.
I simply nodded as I watched the Empress and Princess approaching. She inclined her head in polite greeting, and I did the same. "Your…Grace, I believe you prefer to be called?" she asked.
"You are correct, Your Imperial Majesty," I replied. "We weren't expecting you to come so soon, though."
Amber simply shrugged. "We didn't want to keep you and your company waiting," she replied. "Better early, correct?"
"Agreed," I replied. I looked at the stone table, then back at her. "Would you and yours care to rest before our meetings begin?"
She looked at the table as well, then looked back at me. "That would be most appreciated, Your Grace," she said. "Would an hour be sufficient for both our parties?"
"An hour will be more than enough time for us," I replied.
Amber nodded, then shot a look towards Gemini and Mica. "Captain, whelp," she greeted them somewhat less courteously before she and Amethyst turned and headed towards an empty patch of ground covered in snow where they could sit and rest.
That told me everything I needed to know. This meeting is not going to be pleasant…
