“Minotaurs are our friends.” A blush crept across Lyra’s cheeks. “I—they are—they’re—big and kind of intimidating, but not that different from ponies, really. They don’t have a princess; they have kind of a lot of loosely allied tribes. Strength, that’s a thing with them, ‘cause they’re big, but it’s not like griffons, they also value friendships and alliances and they don’t get angry easily. They’re not always the smartest, sometimes you can trap them with words, and when they make a deal they’ll honor it. They’re not usually too subtle.” She glanced around the room to make sure that there weren’t any other ears listening and lowered her voice anyway. “I—it’s a test. If we mess this up, Princess Celestia will put somepony else in my place, but it’s an easy test. It’s not the rock.”