“Am I interrupting something?” Celestia's voice held a teasing tone, meant in good fun. Glade's cheeks flushed red, and she quickly backed away from her alpha.

“I-I can explain!” The lycanthropic mare held her forelegs up, a gesture of nervousness. This was not the sort of situation she wanted to be caught in, especially by Celestia, of all ponies! Glade was certain that Luna couldn't care less about it, but with the Solar Princess, a close friend of her father's and her employer, it was just too much.

“Luna, aren't there rules about members of the Royal Guard fraternizing with each other?” Celestia cast a look to her younger sister, whose face grew solemn.

“Indeed there are, I believe the punishment was summary execution, am I right?” The Lunar Princess looked depressed at the prospect, but understood that rules had to be followed. Glade was horrified at what she heard, was it true? It was then that Reman discovered the flaw in their little game.

“Good thing I'm not a guardsman, then.” The Imperial gazed smugly into Celestia's eyes. The monarch's expression fell, seemed she didn't enjoy her fun being ruined.

“Spoil sport.” The Solar Princess stuck her tongue out at the man, and blew a raspberry. The three conspirators enjoyed a round of laughter at Glade's expense, who was shaking slightly. It took the lycan mare a few moments to understand that it was all a joke, and a well executed one at that.

“Not funny!” Glade slugged Reman's arm, clearly not amused by the jest. “Do you have any idea how scared I was?” Now the Imperial just had to milk this situation for all it was worth.

“You certainly didn't seem scared when you had your tongue in my mouth.” By this point in his adventure in Equestria, Reman had grown accustomed to the pony's strange ability to blush through fur. This phenomena was made all the more satisfying by the contrast of Glade bleached coat. It was obvious that the mare had a rebuttal brewing, but all that came out was a sputtering warble of noise.

“What ever is the matter, my little pony, wolf got your tongue?” Luna failed at humor yet again. If there was ever something to bring Glade form her embarrassed stupor, it was the poorly executed excuse of a pun.

“Can we please get off of this?” By every member of the Firmament, this one was almost too easy.

“Only if you get off of me, first.” It was worth the slap across the face, the Imperial didn't get many opportunities to have a lot of fun, so he took what he could get. “Fine, be a buzz kill.” The excitement died down as time went on, curiosity and worry were in the forefront of those gathered, each for his or her own reason.

For Glade, it was her earlier outburst. The mare didn't know what possessed her to kiss the Imperial, but it happened without pause. She felt worse than when her parents found out about her foalhood crush on Thunderstorm of the Wonderbolts. By Celestia, that had been embarrassing. There were few things worse than one's father thinking his daughter's idol was an Equestrian Royal Airforce reject, that was a direct quotation.

Luna thought about the trial that lay before the lycans. An expedition into the Everfree Forest was dangerous even for experienced adventurers, and Reman as unfamiliar with the local wildlife, he might end up poisoning Glade and himself if he wasn't careful. Sure, they had armor, but a hydra could just tear through it. Or crush them. Or swallow them whole. Or, or... She needed to calm down, panic solved nothing. The Lunar Princess assured herself that the two unlikely partners would be just fine, they would succeed regardless of adversity. It was only after thinking that, when Luna realized the phrase's double meaning.

Princess Celestia was far ahead of any other in the room. During this long, pregnant pause, she had pondered a number of ramifications to Reman's presence in Equestria, and all things that they entailed. The Dominion that Glade mentioned had earned much of the Imperial's malice, the man had even expressed a desire to see its capitol, the Grand Citadel, burn to the ground. The nation was ruled by elves, which sounded like humans with pointed ears, and had banned the worship of one of the Nine Divines. From Luna's own scrying, it was determined that the Altmer, the elves of the Dominion, possessed powerful mages, even enough to make Reman's own spells seem like parlor tricks. That news, along with the information given about the Daedra put Celestia on edge. If a bridge to Nirn was ever constructed, invasion seemed like an eerie possibility.

Compared to the others, Reman's own thoughts were the most far reaching, if only in scale. While he wasn't focusing on nations, his own safety, or Glade's sudden forwardness, he still had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. There were few things on Nirn that could instill fear into the man's heart, and this was one of them. His time in Aetherius had inspired him, if only because of his ancestor, Aurelius, and his battle against Umaril the Unfeathered. While he couldn't fight a champion of Hircine, for he doubted one resided in Equestria, he would need to settle for a powerful beast. Even then, there was no guarantee of success. To be so close, but to have the odds stacked in the house's favor, the suspense was maddening. They might not win, they may fail to find the cure, unless...

“Reman, who was the werewolf that attacked us?” Glade's question broke the ponderous silence. Her curiosity was natural, of course, so it was only fair that he provide an answer. However, the Imperial wasn't sure if he wanted to disclose the information. Reman took a deep breath and prepared himself.

“This is a very long story, but you have to hear it all to understand my relation to the Dunmer we fought.” The mares took notice of his voice's tone, sorrowful with a hint nostalgia. Whatever the story was about, it obviously held some found memories.

“Only if you want to tell us, Reman.” Luna couldn't deny her curiosity, and Glade had some idea of what he was referring to: Kvatch. Rose had shown the lycan mare some of Reman's childhood, and the Lunar Princess had gleaned some information from reading the Imperial's unconscious mind. However, Celestia was left in the dark about the entire situation.

“Alright, where do I begin?” Reman pondered for a moment, searching for a suitable point to start. Finding that the beginning was the very best, he settled for it. “I was born in Cyrodiil, the capital of the Third Empire, home of the Imperial City. I spent my childhood on Grey Gold Farm, which had been owned by my family for over two centuries, purchased by Joan the Champion after the Oblivion Crisis. Life was good, I had family, friends...” The Imperial paused, thoughts barraging him with the force of a mammoth. “Love.” Glade had some faint knowledge of Reman's earlier potential mates, but the man had never spoken directly of them.

“One day, the 13th of Rain's Hand, a Fridas if my memory serves, the family of my fiance was attacked by a werewolf.” The werewolf made sense, but the ponies were taken back by Reman's casual mention of being betrothed at one point. How could he say something so nonchalantly? “I killed that lycan, but not before he had ended the life of Gaston Jemane, my future father-in-law, and not before...” His voice drifted off again, but his hand hovered towards the scar between his shoulder and neck, his infection wound. It was only now that Glade understood why Reman had reacted so violently to Zenammu's insulting of his Breton bitch. “Now you know why I want the cure, and why Hircine sent the Dunmer to kill me.”

“That was... something else.” In truth, Celestia didn't know what else to say. Reman certainly didn't want pity, and he would refuse generosity. The Imperial only wanted one thing: results. He would stop at nothing to achieve his goal, and he would cure Glade in the process.

“How do our odds look?” The lycan mare asked her alpha, she sought his guidance, for he had much experience in dealing with Daedra.

“With my normal plan? Slim to none.” Reman paused briefly, letting his words sink in. To his surprise, Glade didn't seem to be affected all that much, really, she just looked a little depressed. “No need to be so glum, I have a better plan, one that, if successful, will secure a cure.” The Imperial gave something between a feral grin and a jovial smile.

“And that would be?” Glade asked, but Celestia and Luna wondered as well. Ignorance breeds a need to learn in the educated, and the ponies were no exception.

“Summer Glade, you and I are going to kill a god.”