Somewhere many miles away from where an alicorn and a Pegasus stood on a muddy but drying road, General Lighting Dust was given a letter. Angry and confused by recent events that had resulted in her cloud bed vanishing from underneath her while she was taking a brief nap in her office, all the letter did was clear up some of the confusion. Without a word and with a glare that could have caused the letter to burst into flames, General Dust sped off to have a word with the head of house Earthborn.

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Torrential offered Star Dancer a small look; As if he was considering how to word his response correctly so that she would understand it. "What I [i]wish[/i] to happen is for the one who ordered my attempted assassination to offer me a public apology and for me to be granted to wander the lands controlled by the Earthborn as freely as any other citizen. When those conditions are met, I shall end my drought happily and hopefully the only effects of this whole situation will be a few Pegasuses being awoken from their naps. What I [i]expect[/i] to happen is for stubborn pride and an unwillingness to bow or admit to being wrong to a 'horned one' to cause this to drag on for the long haul; The growing death toll when the farm lands starts to bake and the water supplies run dry being what finally humbles them. I sent them a message that will ensure that they get my terms and the fact that they can end this at any time means that whatever happens after this point is on their heads, not mine."

Spying the approching figure on the road they were traveling, Torrential decided to wait for them to arrive in order to speak with them and see where they were heading. Having another traveling companion for a time would be quite enjoyable after all. "If ponies don't want to be ruled by alicorns and instead rule themselves, all power to them. I always felt that Celestia meddled in the affairs of ponies far to much and considering how things have gone since since she vanished I feel justified in saying I was correct. But heavy weighs the crown; To be in charge means that you represent not just yourself, but everyone who serves under your flag. For better or worse, the actions of one can affect the many. Besides, treating other ponies with mutual respect is a lesson that seems to have been forgotten since I was last here."

Keeping the approaching pony in his sight, Torrential would wait until they were relatively close before raising his hoof in a wave. "Greetings! What way are you heading?"