“He doesn’t want a post at the embassy.” Gold Lily grinned as Old Hickory’s eyebrows twitched, and picked the paintbrush up again. “Oh, I still keep my ears moving, I still hear the gossip. Blueblood worries that if Lyra steps in manure, that’ll give Graphite, and Sky Dream enough of a coalition to force him to Ponyville instead of Prance. If he wants me to go to Ponyville as a ‘favor’ before the minotaurs arrive, he must really be worried.”