There are moments when man looks to his leader, and valiantly charges at his command. This was not one of those moments, rather, a mare considered her alpha to be suicidal. Only a fool would fight a being of such immense power as a Daedric Prince, even the weakest made the Princesses pale in comparison. “We are going to fight Hircine to the death. Upon our victory, he is bound by honor to grant each of us one wish within his realm of influence.”

“Are you insane?” Glade shouted at her friend, who moments ago had expressed his plan to kill a god. The mare resisted the urge to slap him again, that would have been the fifth or sixth if she recalled correctly. “You almost die, and your first idea is to attack a being whose very presence warps reality?” This was madness of the worst kind, even Canterlot during Discord's brief attack made more sense than the Imperial right now.

“You fail to understand, Glade, I have a plan.” The situation was only made worse by his calm, even tone.

“And that would be?” For the second time today, the lycan mare had her face within millimeters of her alpha's, but affection was the very last thing on her mind. Despite Reman's power as the pack's undisputed alpha male, that made Glade the alpha female, and she held just as much power as her counterpart.

“I'm certain you recall my death, correct?” Glade nodded in response, but she was still ill tempered about it. The two Princesses just watched in silence as the drama unfolded, both wondered what exactly was happening, though Celestia had some idea, the two most powerful wolves in the pack were in disagreement. Never mind that they were the only members of their pack.

“What of it?” Of course she remembered, she almost lost somepony very dear to her, how could she ever forget?

“I met two of my ancestors in the afterlife.” Wait, what? Not only was Reman saying that he had truly died, but that he had crossed over to wherever Imperials go after they pass on?

“Are you sure of what you're saying?” Celestia wasn't clear on the laws that governed Nirn, nor the Divines or Daedra, but the thought of the man dying and returning to life was farfetched, to say the least. Then again, they'd checked Zenammu's corpse, his brain had been turned to ash, but he rose and stabbed Reman in the chest, so the situation wasn't impossible.

“There are few things I am more certain of, Princess.” This was very true of the Imperial, he was the sort that had to see in order to believe. “I met Aurelius the Crusader, my family's patron, and once we began to speak, I remembered his legend.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Glade had no way of knowing how important this revelation was. If it was possible to sever an Ayleid wizard's soul, then the same process could be manipulated to fit other situations.

“When Aurelius slayed Umaril the Unfeathered, the elf's soul attempted to flee to Oblivion to be reborn. My ancestor followed him into the spirit world and killed Umaril again, permanently ending his existence.” Reman face held a confidant expression, as though victory was assured. “I can't fight Hircine in the next life, at his full power, but we can fight one of his Aspects, and once we kill it, I can bind its power to Equestria.”

“And Hircine will cure us?” Glade ears perked up at the prospect, she still had doubts about the odds, but the promise of combat against a powerful enemy excited something primal within her.

“If he's not too angry about losing some of his power, then, on his honor, he should.” While Reman may have sounded as though victory was assured, in truth, he was scared witless. While the Imperial was powerful in his own right, he was no Nerevarine, and this wasn't the Time of the Bloodmoon. If there was no prophecy foretelling the arrival, then luring Hircine's most powerful Aspect, Guile, into this realm might be too difficult. “I may require some extra magicka to perform the summoning rituals.”

“Magicka?” The term unfamiliar to Celestia, however, Luna knew exactly what he was referring to.

“It's what his people call magical energy.” Reman was surprised that the Princess of Night had recalled the bit of information. The Imperial had almost forgotten that he'd given her that knowledge.

“And you want my help with this?” Celestia didn't sound like she was thrilled by the prospect, but she wasn't put off by it, either.

“Not you specifically, but I do need a powerful magic wielder, preferably more than one.” Reman rattled off his demands, which were worded to sound like requests, as calmly as one might order a tavern meal. The energy for the rituals would still be his exclusive responsibility, no one here knew the proper runes to permanently bind a Daedra to a location, so the duty fell to his shoulders. However, that did not mean that the actual casting was as well, any mage could take some of the burden, with sufficient power or numbers, they could even perform it autonomously.

“I may be persuaded to lend a hoof.” So, that settled it, Princess Celestia was in, good.

“What about me?” Luna was a bit perturbed that she had been overlooked in the plotting, even she wanted to help kick some Daedric ass. The blue mare was more than prepared to deal out payback, nopony hurt her her friends and got away with it.

“If you can use magic, then I have no complaints about it, do you, Princess?” Reman was asking Celestia, he simply referred to Luna by name, by her request. At the Imperial's question, the monarch had no clear response. On one hoof, Luna could provide plenty of power, which would eliminate the need for others to involve themselves. However, was that worth risking her sister's life if the situation soured?

“I suppose that decision can wait for another time.” Reman couldn't blame her for the indecisiveness, if he had to risk his younger sister's life, he would certainly reconsider.

“Don't I have a say in this?” The Princess of Night was none too happy about this, she had the right to choose for herself, after all.

“Luna, listen to your older sister.” The Imperial was rarely so blunt with young women, but this was a life or death situation. Regardless of how often the occurrence was, Luna flinched at his voice, perhaps he should have worded that in a more... eloquent fashion. “This is a very dangerous plan, and we all know that the most either your or Celestia could do is slow Hircine down if he breaks the circle.”

“I don't think you should have used that sort of tone with her, Reman.” Glade was still perched on top of the Imperial, which was odd, she'd had ample time to move.

“I don't believe anyone asked for your opinion, Glade.” Reman smiled as he spoke, of course his words weren't true, this was an open forum. In this situation, the lycan mare's thoughts mattered as much as Celestia's, actually, any idea was a good one at the moment. Summer Glade would have replied, but she was cut short.

“It seems there are a number of ways we can go about this.” The Solar Princess pondered her options, there seemed to be no peaceful end to this fiasco. She could still deny the lycan's this chance if she felt it was too dangerous. No, this had to be done, if not, things could easily escalate. The Daedra might see Equestria as weak, a playground for any twisted plots they may have. The wolves would have their battle, that was certain. “Reman, I have a question for you.”

“Go ahead, Princess, lay it on me.” The Imperial rocked his hips from side to side in an upbeat gesture. It was meant as a joke, but was made even funnier by Glade's reaction, who was still sitting on his pelvic region. The Pegasus squealed and stood up, crimson splashed across her features.

“Why would you do that?” She quietly yelled, that loud whisper one uses to gets someone's attention in a library.

“If the two of you would cease your childish antics, I have something important to ask.” Celestia looked impatient, as though her day had been incredibly long.

“All right, no interruptions this time.” As Reman spoke, Glade sat back down, in the very spot she'd occupied moments ago.

“Where exactly do you plan on hosting the summoning ritual?”

@#@#@#@#@#

You decide where the ritual will be: Canterlot Gardens, Ponyville, or the mountains in the Everfree Forest.