Handy stepped up on the side of the stage. A few of the crowd had noticed him there, but most of the attention was still focused on the pony princess’ speech. Joachim turned when he noticed the guards shift behind him and looked at Handy in surprise. Handy gave him a reassuring smile before bending down to whisper into his ear. Johan cocked a brow, then asked if Handy was serious. He simply smiled and left it for Johan to figure out. The griffon gave him an incredulous look but quickly recomposed himself as Twilight seemed to be drawing near the end of her speech. He gave one last, uncertain glance to Handy before resolving himself to his task.