Special thanks to electreXcessive and ProtheanBrony for filling in for my usual guy.
You two still have that free request, by the way
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Solitude was breathtaking in the dusk's shadowy caress, the sea-side mountains that held the thriving capital made for a wonderful contrast against the early stars and the city's burning hearths. The ponies were only allowed a brief moment to take in the sights before the the Blue Palace's facade obscured the lights.

“We won't be using the main gates?” Princess Luna looked at the towering sea arch in apprehension, not that she was scared by the Legionnaires that accompanied her group.

“The Penitus Oculatus are waiting for you on the bridge, ma'am.” An officer moved himself onto a small barge, a little smaller than the average fishing vessel, and motioned the motley crew aboard. “I'll be dropping you off at Castle Dour's auxiliary entrance.”

“That seems like a lot of trouble just to get everypony inside.” Twilight's observation was astute as usual, the roundabout way into the city was overly complicated and seemingly pointless. Fortunately, Reman was able to aptly explain the reasoning behind the tactical movement.

“The Emperor is oddly paranoid about assassins.” The Imperial took a seat on one of the barge's rails, completely unfazed by the prospect of falling into freezing water. However, the lycan seemed oddly nervous about something, and it certainly wasn't seeing his ruler. “No one has attempted anything like that since the Oblivion Crisis.”

“Everyone learned the horrible consequences of assassination, so many people think a personal bodyguard is unnecessary.” The Third Era had passed long before Renoir was born, but the undead mage was very familiar with the history, and even more intimately aware of the political views of the Empire's citizenry. The elder man was only stating the facts for the ponies, it wouldn't do them any good to go into a situation like this completely blind.

“Where exactly will we be going?” Rarity knew that Castle Dour was their destination, but she wasn't certain if she had seen the stalwart fortification. The fashionable pony caught a coastal breeze and shivered against Applejack, who was huddled with Pinkie.

“There is a passageway built into the cliff that leads to Castle Dour.” The ferryman wasn't one for smalltalk, and his passengers were starting to aggravate his nerves. It didn't help that dealing with strange, alien equines was far above his pay grade. “The Emperor's personal guard will be expecting you.”

“I thought he wouldn't be getting here for a while.” Dash was near the center of the group's pile, which was more for comfort than actual necessity, and she was greatly enjoying the shared warmth. The prismatic pony was wondering why there were guards present without their charge, Princess Celestia never sent her personal squadron anywhere without her.

“They are merely here to prepare Solitude for His Grace's arrival.” While the answer sufficed for most of the ponies, the humans and Princess Luna thought the ferryman answered a bit too quickly.

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“I've received word that Reman and the ponies have arrived at the dock.” Marcus Tullius felt odd saying ponies in any sense, but the term applied in this situation.

“I'm having trouble believing what you've told me, Grandfather.” Uriel hadn't seen his older sibling in years, and the powerful Imperial wasn't sure how he should have felt about the reunion. Part of him wanted to hug his older twin, and an equal portion wanted to punch him in the head; it was the sort of internal conflict that was so common to Cyrodiil's natives.

“It is a bit hard to understand.” Antonius looked up from his book, the deeply religious man had been thinking the very same, but had been to engrossed in his lengthy novel to air his concerns. Daedra, necromancy, anything involving Oblivion or magic was easy to believe, but colorful equines were a bit out of the realm of possibility.

“Reman's been a werewolf for four years, I'm surprised he won't be walking in with a pack of his own.” The aged general relaxed in his seat, a bad habit for a man of his status to have. Marcus almost laughed at his own joke, but the old Imperial wasn't about to reveal his own suspicions. Reman had clammed up when it came to the individual ponies that were in Skyrim, so there was evidence enough that he was hiding something important. “Wait and see, I bet he'll do something we won't expect.”

“Wouldn't saying we won't expect it mean that we were actually expecting it?” Uriel had taken to riddles and paradoxes in his spare time, mental exercise was key to his role as a negotiator. It had been quite the burden on those not used to the odd quirks associated with the conflict diffusers, many thought impossible logic errors were reserved for mages and the like. Upon noticing the odd looks he received from his two most recent male ancestors, Uriel quickly backed off the subject.

“Either way, we'll have to wait until Reman gets here to make any decisions.” Marcus hadn't informed his son or grandson about the Emperor's early arrival, but Titus Mede would likely make an appearance shortly after the reunion was over with, probably sometime the next day. At least things wouldn't get boring around Solitude anytime soon.

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The wind was harsher on the stone bridge, and the stoic Penitus Oculatus agents only chilled the air further. The envoy walked in a tight formation with Reman at the front and Renoir pulling up the rear, just preparation for the infinitesimal chance the Emperor's bodyguard tried anything. The Imperial had gone through some trouble to make himself appear feral, if only to contrast with his younger brother. If there was one thing that could be said about Uriel, it was his need to wear a formal appearance at all times, so showing up to the reunion would be a colossal middle finger to the junior twin.

“Calm down.” Glade was walking next to her pack-mate, keeping pace without any real effort. The lycan mare had punched the human's thigh to get his attention, if only out of worry for him. Something was making Reman nervous, his skin was looking paler than Renoir on a good day, and it was all the ex-guardspony could do to help him maintain some semblance of confidence. For a man whose grandfather was a general, the Imperial was oddly excitable when it came to family meetings. On that troubling note, the mare thought about her forebear meeting her parents, and immediately understood his fears.

“I am calm, my body is the one panicking.” The group was stopped at the door by two spear-wielding Oculatus agents, both Imperial and angry, almost like they were looking for an excuse to kill someone. After a moment, some unseen signal made them move their poled weapons aside, and beckon the motley crew indoors. When the assorted flavors of life had taken comfort in the warmth of burning hearths, the ponies used the opportunity to drop their bags and gear. Glade was the very first to shed her excess clothing, and almost sighed in relief as the heavy cloth fell to the floor.

“Look at all this stuff!” Pinkie was shouting indoors, and oddly enough, the room was fairly spartan in furnishings.

“Darling, we're in a closet.” Rarity wasn't actually sure if that was the room's purpose, but the layer of dust covering everything made the possibility seem plausible. Then again, it didn't explain the dining table and chairs, but they didn't look like they'd been used in quite some time.

“If this is a closet, what does the rest of this place look like?” Fluttershy was thinking aloud, the outburst wasn't usual for her demeanor and it would have been embarrassing were she not so amazed by the castle's simple and strong architecture.

“Trust me, it's about as interesting as drying paint.” Reman hadn't seen much of Castle Dour during his stay in the dungeon, but he could safely assume that every inch of the place was as bland as the small annex the group was using as a rest stop.

“Sir, I'd rather you not talk about my castle this way.” A gruff Nord walked into the room, looking like he was made of aggression. The newcomer moved like an experienced officer and combat veteran, and it was thankfully relieving that he didn't wear a battlemage's rosette. The dreadlocked warrior looked the Imperial and his comrades up and down, as though looking for something important or a slight detail he may have missed. “I take it that you're Reman Tullius?”

“I am, is the general ready for us?” Much to the lycan's displeasure, the Nord shook his head.

“General Tullius will be seeing you exclusively, the others will have to remain here.” The unnamed officer motioned to the nine, none of whom seemed to take the news well. Glade was particularly aggravated by revelation, if her slightly flared wings were any indicator. The lycan pegasus even had a small trail of fur on her back that stood on end, which was one of the bestial traits inherited by werewolves, but it did quite a bit to her attempt at intimidation. That didn't mean it was effective. “Trying to menace a guardsman is grounds for a month in a cell.”

“Sorry, she's a bit excitable.” Reman moved between the two in hopes of preventing any fines or jail time for Glade. The armored Imperial was more than willing to separate the two before anything bad happened. “I believe you were about to take me to General Tullius?”

“Pardon me, right this way.” The officer bowed to a door, and opened it for the walking nobleman as he approached. The officer followed Reman into the hallway, leaving the ponies to their own devices until they were needed. It didn't exactly take long for things to take the obvious course of action.

“A general?” Luna hadn't been expecting that, neither had anypony else for that matter. She knew the Imperial was from a well-off family, but for him to be from so high up on the social ladder was far from anything the Princess of Night had thought plausible.

“My thoughts exactly.” Renoir wasn't angered by the secrecy, mages encrypted their notes to keep research out of the wrong hands, and this was no different. However, the vampire felt his friend could have dropped some hints every now and then.

“Hey Glade, wasn't your dad in the guard?” When the lycan pegasus nodded, Twilight silently noted the coincidence. Pinkie, however, wasn't quite so subtle about it.

“Hey, that means the baby has two fighting grandpas!” Much to everypony's surprise, Lynette showed no outward reaction to the revelation; in fact, the archer chuckled a bit when the inquisitive eyes fell upon her.

“I put two and two together back at the outpost.” The fact that the Breton maiden was perfectly fine with a pony carrying her ex-fiance's first child was odd even for Tamriel, but High Rock was a rather tolerant place for such things. “I'm really more curious as to how it happened.”

“I believe that makes two of us.” None of the party's members noticed the old man enter the room, and his luxurious shoes no doubt added to his stealth on the stone floor. Penitus Oculatus agents flanked the bearded Imperial, giving him the regular VIP treatment in the event one of the ponies didn't like him too much. While his almost sinfully gorgeous, royal purple robes meant he was very high in status, it didn't mean he actually warranted the security. Lynette's breath seemed to catch in her throat as the man's identity sank in, and the maiden tugged on Renoir's sleeve as she took a knee.

After all, it wasn't everyday one met the Emperor of Tamriel.

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Reman's heart thumped in his chest in time with every step he took. The young man was unused to such entrances, but he was familiar with an ambush, and his body was treating the reunion as such. The lycan was unsure how he should feel, it certainly wasn't the sort of thing he had prepared for. While he had hoped for a homecoming, meeting his father and twin after so long would be trying even for his jaded nerves. While he had been thinking, the wayward Tullius had traversed the hallway and found himself at the lounge's oak door. A single, powerful knock was enough to open the entrance, and Reman made his way within.

It was just as surreal as he had thought such a meeting would be. His grandfather was to his left, brother to his right, and his father was dead ahead. Despite his best attempts to retain his composure, the young Imperial couldn't help but feel his emotions run wild. A tear almost escaped as a warm pleasant feeling permeated his entire being. For the first time in four years, Reman Tullius felt at home. The feral-looking lycan embraced his father, both men were overcome by the joy of seeing each other after so long. The spellsword's day couldn't have gotten better as he ended the hug and turned to his brother.

It was a spectacular occasion, even if Uriel punched Reman square in the mouth.