“Hey, Reman.” The Imperial groaned as Glade woke him. The lycan mare must have had a sleepless night so far, if Secunda's presence in the window was anything to base his judgment upon. The pegasus looked as though she had something troubling her, and her forebear knew it was his duty to care for her emotional state.

“Yes?” While the spellsword would have loved a few more hours of rest, his pregnant pack-mate took priority. Glade rolled to face the Imperial, a questioning twinkle clear in her emotive eyes. Reman worried about her for a moment, before he held her close enough to know she wasn't scared about anything, just genuinely wondering something.

“You know how the sword is a phallic symbol, right?” Glade asked the question in such a way that the spellsword almost didn't feel a small spike of anger rising in his mind. The mare had woken him up to ask about something so irrelevant as that, and she didn’t seem the least worried about his possible response.

“Yes.” If Reman sounded irritated, it's because he was. So much so, in fact, that he was considering leaving the room and bunking with Uriel for the night. He wasn't seriously thinking about it, but the fact remained the same.

“And one of the quickest ways to kill is stabbing, right?” If Glade had a point, she needed to make it soon. Her question allowed the Imperial to draw a conclusion about where the conversation was about to go, and it wasn't pleasant in the least. For once, the spellsword was wishing he was back in Equestria, where he never had this much time doing nothing. Maybe he and Shining Armor could become friends, share some nights on the town, the sort of thing that would keep them away from their respective romantic partners for a short while.

“Glade, if you're about to say something involving me being a homosexual because I thrust my sword into other men on a regular basis, I'm getting up.” The bleached pegasus giggled at the sudden outburst, not because of the flat and even tone Reman used, but how ready he was to deny such a non-existent claim. The lycan mare nuzzled into the man's neck in a soothing gesture, homing to alleviate the anger that was surely simmering beneath the surface.

“Reman, we have proof enough against that.” Glade motioned to her lower abdomen, drawing a mixed look from the Imperial. The mare admitted bringing up something he had unsure feeling of may not have been the best idea, especially after she might have insulted the man on a deep level. “At most, you'd be bi.”

“How is that supposed to make me feel better?” The untrained battlemage wondered why he was still in the room, given the more appealing option of a bale of hay in the stables. The bleached pony blushed as she realized her mistake, but the Imperial was sure she was planning to continue her line of thought. A small smile crept onto her face as she found the best possible way to keep the man interested in her words.

“Just think of all the hot stallions you'd have access to!” Glade threw her forelegs in the air, rising to a sitting position on the large bed. This was one of the times Reman was relieved he didn't fully understand Equestrian slang, if only to avoid the mental images such words would conjure. “I served with this one unicorn that looked just like a mare, even had a feminine voice, too.”

“Why are you telling me this?” The spellsword was not enjoying this one bit, but he suffered through it for Glade's sake. Maybe listening to her blab on would calm her nerves enough to get some sleep; she was certainly under enough stress to keep her awake. The mare's smile broadened as she thought about things, especially helping a fellow guardspony.

“His coltfriend left him just before we came to Skyrim, you can totally catch him on the rebound.” As much as things made no sense on Nirn, Equestria had the strangest sense of courtship Reman had ever seen. It made no sense for a female to recommend another male to her lover, unless there was something rather unorthodox in the relationship. “Springs and I are great friends, we could easily have a polyamorous thing going.”

“If you'll be the one to infect him, then I have no problems with it.” Glade did a double-take before she noticed the serious expression on her forebear's face. Reman seemed adamant in his desire to aid the mare's companion, even if it meant things he wasn't exactly comfortable with. “It'd be like those dens back in Morrowind.”

“What?” The lycan mare had no idea what her lover was talking about, especially at that point. Whatever a den was, or the cultural meaning it had to Tamriel's werewolves was lost on her. Glade had been using the apparent unease the Imperial felt as a means of entertainment, even if she had been serious about Springs's breakup.

“Wolf dens, Glade, back in Morrowind.” Reman's took on a wistful tone as he recalled the sanctuaries of beastmen he had used so often in the Dunmer homeland. “Imagine safehouses used by werebeasts where we can be among our own kind.” The lycan wrapped his arms around the mare, embracing her in a way that was both affectionate and predatory. “Passion was always in the air; orgies were an almost nightly occurrence.” Reman lifted his smaller pack-mate fast enough for her to almost fear being thrown from the bed. “Surely you understand why Springs would have to be a lycan to survive the sort of activities we'd engage in, don't you?”

“I'm not sure he'd like that.” Glade was surprised the Imperial seriously considering the idea of bringing the stallion into their relationship, especially when she remembered the fact that the entire thing was a joke. The bleached mare received a grin from her forebear, a silent statement that she had hated being a werewolf at first, but she now rather enjoyed it. But she certainly wasn't about to sell the colt's soul to Hircine just to get the guy a new beau.

“Besides, it'd net us a nanny so we can continue our own pursuit in Equestria.” Glade shuddered at Reman's voice. It was so unlike him to even think like this, let alone tell his plan to infect somepony, which in itself was an act he despised. The experienced lycan brought the mare in an embrace, his mouth next to her ear. The bleached pony could almost hear the smirk in his whispering voice. “Next time, don't make your attempts to steal my spot so obvious.”

“How in Equestria did you figure it out?” Glade's jaw hung open at her forebear's craftiness, completely blindsided by his sudden stealth. Granted, the mare had gone a bit to far in her attempts to subvert Reman's superior sleeping spot, it was a damned comfy place. “What would you have done if I was serious?”

“Glade, I trust you, and I sincerely doubt you'd risk a stallion's life by bringing him into our pack. That's assuming Celestia didn't exile or jail you for even having the thought.” The bleached lycan didn't pay enough attention to notice the Imperial had kept his own involvement completely out of the equation, hence he needed her to infect Springs if her wishes were genuine. The human didn't even know if Springs was a real pony, but Glade seemed far too into the game to have made the mare-like stallion up. “Besides, if we brought your friend in, he'd instinctively know better than to try and inseminate the alpha's bitch.”

“Oh, so I'm yours now?” The very notion seemed sexist in the extreme, but she knew wolves mated for life, so infidelity needed to be prevented by some means. At that moment, Glade recalled Vilkas mentioning the two lycans switching scents. While it seemed unimportant at the time, the tidbit of information provided a new piece to the lycanthropy puzzle, and it was likely the Imperial already knew about it. A sweet smile spread on the pony's face as she nuzzled into Reman's cheek, a slight purr lilting her voice when she next spoke. “Well, then that means you're mine.”

“You're still not getting my spot.”

“Damn you.”

@#@#@#@#@#@#

Princess Luna was still perplexed by the two moons that floated in Nirn's night sky. When the princess tried to connect to the celestial body, she noticed that even the smaller one was several times larger than her own. Masser and Secunda, books the alicorn had found in Castle Dour's library had said they were named for gods. Or maybe she misinterpreted and the were the gods, or maybe just their realms made manifest in the physical world. Gods, Divines, Daedra, nothing on Nirn made sense anymore, not even the unchanging elements of politics were safe from alienation.

“I'm surprised to see you're still here.” Titus Mede had been a very busy man as of late, spending most of his time at the Blue Palace. The Emperor was supposed to have dinner with Jarl Elisif, but there was hardly any time for it anymore. “I suspect you and the Elements would be heading home to your sister.”

“I suppose returning to Equestria for a rest sounds like a good idea.” Luna felt it was amazing to think of, having grown as tired of the strangeness as she had. But there was a practical aspect of her wishes as well, one that dealt with the matter of time. If getting to Solitude from the portal took five days by carriage, then it would take much longer for the Emperor to get from Solitude to the Imperial City, given that Cyrodiil's ports were on the southern end of Tamriel and Skyrim's capital was about as far north as one could go. “You and I have concluded our business, so there isn't exactly anything keeping us here.”

“Maybe you don't want the adventure to end.” Titus Mede was being ridiculous, or was he? The question gave Luna pause enough for it to sink in. While many things in Skyrim were giving the Princess of Night a migraine, she had to admit that it was the most fun she'd had since Nightmare Night. Of course, that was after the terrible loneliness and depression had gone away, but that was her little secret.

“What is it with you Imperials and making me think?” While that wasn't the smartest thing she could have said, Luna felt the Emperor would appreciate the honesty. Much to her surprise, Titus laughed, much the same way she'd heard Reman laugh before he decided to explain something. The alicorn had no idea a mental state could be genetic, but she also had yet to hear any other Imperial laugh in such a way.

“Princess, my people won Cyrodiil from the Ayleids in war, but conquering Tamriel took much more than steel and magic could ever provide.” The aged man knew many things people were not aware of, many of which were things men and mer would rather not understand. The human leaned over the banister, something his Penitus Oculatus agents would have hated, were they around to witness the act. “But, holding the hearts and minds of the people is how you command vast empire, not military might. That helps, though.”

“That seems like an odd afterthought, doesn't it?” Luna turned to the Emperor, only to find that he'd left. Given the shoes Titus Mede wore, such a thing should have been much more difficult than the old man made it look. The entire conversation left the alicorn perplexed, even if she ignored the vanishing royalty. The Princess of Night sighed and shook her head as she returned to her own room, hoping to forget about the odd night.

@#@#@#@#@#@#

Pinkie Pie was glad to be back in the real world again. She even had the Wabbajack to show for her adventure, not that she ever wanted to see or hear from Sheogorath ever again. The Madgod had probably done some serious damage to her psyche, but Pinkie was going to keep it buried deep within herself, just like Granny Pie taught her. Sure, she was horrified by the concept of being in the woods or even using the staff now slung over her back, it certainly beat the dreamscape the Daedra had her trapped in earlier. The pink mare navigated the streets as best she could, trying to find her way to Castle Dour before anypony woke up.

Had her friends missed her? Had she been gone for days? Or had she just been in Pelagius's mind for a few hours? Only one of the questions had an obvious answer, but that was merely a single facet of the complex problem the Element faced. Hircine had been one of the Princes, he still was, so maybe Reman would be able to help her out of this mess. Renoir might know a thing or two as well, but there was still nothing certain about the Madgod or those that may know him. Before she knew it, Pinkie was back at the Imperial Legion headquarters.

The Element of Laughter knocked on the heavy, wooden door.