"I know rather little equish, but I know enough to tell that you lied to them", Vexillum said.

""Yeah, but they'll figure it out. Let's go," she said.

Her second-in-command followed her down the hallway, taking note of her face and somewhat heavy breathing. "You ok, Praetor? You look like you want to drag someone up a mile into the air and slam them down headfirst into the Teufel."

"Yeah. Just fucking hate those Degenerates."

He nodded and didn't say anything else. That was something that she liked about Vexillum. He was a good officer and knew when to not pry into others businesses. Back to business.

The two of them entered the courtyard, and, sure enough, she was greeted with the Caesars Honor Guard. In the center of the courtyard of the Principia, she saw Caesar Diocletian talking with Gilda. Or, more accurately, Gilda was using a translator to talk to him. Rainbow adjusted her swagger stick on her shoulder, straightened her helmet plume, and took a deep breath, before going up to meet them.

"Ave, Caesar, she greeted, bowing her head as she saluted. "'Sup, Gil. This is a bit sudden, Caesar. What's going on? Something you need?"

"Yes, there is, Praetor", Diocletian said. "Get your me ready to move."

That got her attention. "What is it? The Saurians rebelling or something?"

"Nah, nothin' like that", Gilda said. "However, I do think you'll be familiar with the one who brought this problem to your Caesars attention. Well, I was gonna, but she beat me to it."

"Who?" Then, she saw them behind, and her eyes widened. A pair of stallions, unicorn stallions at that. They had light grey coats, white tails, and yellow eyes. They wore dark navy armor and a golden plate along the back, with a golden badge on the breast. The helmet had a large white plume and ornate etching along the top. The two held spears in their grip and looks of stone on their faces. She hadn't, obviously, seen anything like them in a long time, but recognized them nonetheless: Equestrian Night Guards. And if Night Guards were here, that would likely lead to one conclusion. "Princess Luna."

Sure enough, the Alicorn in question stepped out from behind her guards. She stood tall and regal as always, yet things had changed. Instead of a collar, hoof shoes, and a tiara, she instead wore a suit of armor. Segmented plate, similar to that which covered the shoulders and chests of Pryhan soldiers, covered her torso, colored pitch black with similar runes to her guard's helmets carved into it. Her crown was much larger, being implemented into a basinet with a small blade protecting her horn. Proper vambraces covered her legs, the tips ending in hardened steel. A sheathed sword was tucked under her wing, and she looked like she knew how to use it well.

"Greetings, Rainbow Dash", She said, in perfect Demosian. "It has been a long time."

"Indeed it has, Princess. Indeed it has."

Gilda butted in, saying, "Can we all just switch to equish? Most of us know how to speak it, and the translator can still help me. From all three of you talkin' in it, you're gonna give the poor chick an aneurysm."

Nodding, Rainbow then said, "So, what is this 'issue'? I'm going to assume it has something to do with why you're here, Princess, and in proper armor to boot."

"Indeed", The lunar princess said. "Equestria has fallen. My sister has been captured by the invaders, a species known as-"

Rainbow interrupted her with a wave of her talon. "Adding the part about your blind and worthless sister being captured, I already knew about this."

That drew everyone's attention. "And you failed to report this to the local Legatus, because?"

"Because I only got this info in the last half-hour, Caesar." She then proceeded to explain the events of the previous night, as well as her recent shouting bout with the Element bearers and Shining Armor. As she explained the charges leveled against them, Luna shook her head and face hoofed.

"Caesar Diocletian, I apologize on behalf of my citizens. Is there anything I could do to remove the charges leveled against them?", She pleaded.

"You have already promised much, Princess, for what has been, at the moment, a rather low rate of returns."

As the two began going back and forth, Rainbow asked Gilda, "So, how do you factor into all this?"

She shrugged. "The last Equestrian remnants, at least that I knew of, were held up in this place called the Crystal Empire. While the 'Empire' is only about a capital city, a few small towns along the borders, and some mines, it does technically share a border with the northern parts of Griffonia. And the bug Queen, Chrysalis, is a good and proper imperialist. When she couldn't get the Empire, she began skirting the edges of the Frozen Wastes, heading up north to claim territory along the Landbridge. So, I came down to Pryha to see if I could get a few maniples, maybe some speculatores and/or artillery to give me a bit of help."

"And Luna's draggin' us into a war?"

"You, she is. She had come by shortly after the fall of Canterlot, say a few about the time your 'Unification Wars' wrapped up. She asked for help, and I told her I would when the Bugs come knockin' on my door. They are now, so I was gonna help fuck their shit up."

"Geeze, you've gotten rambly, Beak-brain."

"Can it, Crash."

After the two side conversations wrapped up, business resumed. Apparently, in exchange for Pryhan aid, Princess Luna had promised the Empire some serious tribute. Several million in gold, for starters. Other provisions were the gifting of more advanced Equestrian technology they had either not invented themselves (like the printing press) or things they hadn't created equivalents of. They added a few thousand extra bits in exchange for dropping charges against the traitors, which Dash grumbled about, but let it go.

Now, Rainbows regiment had been selected for a reason. Due to her position along the coast and the fact her fort was on the very edge of the empire, she was the closest to Equestria. She had some familiarity with Equestria and some of its more prominent citizens so that could help out a bit. And, as she and her Regiment reputation traveled, they were rumored to be the best. Rainbow didn't dispute that, even if she had to go and help the traitors.

She sighed as she started on the reports to the Consul about the situation. Sometimes orders weren't the best, or most useful in someone's opinion. However, orders were orders, and she had to follow them.

Next Chapter: 83~Homecoming Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 21 Minutes