Fancy Pants watched the pair. For a moment, when Dale had grabbed Lyra, he'd thought he was about to do something . . . predatory, but it had just turned into a hug. He considered how he might use that. Ponies were wary of creatures who were bigger than them, so that was one angle he could play.  Everypony knew bedtime stories of a monster who had a change of heart and saved a poor lost foal. On the other hoof, Dale was clearly capable of becoming emotional; that might also work in their favor. As long as he could make Princess Luna believe that Dale or the girl had been the cause of whatever went wrong, Lyra would be home free. He smiled—that was the angle to play. Dale or the girl had made the spell fail in an unexpected manner, one which Lyra could not have anticipated. It might be a blessing that there had been no other witnesses, for who could say that was not what had occurred?