Aside from keeping the Mistress off of the real Crimson's trail and away from his friends in Gethrenia, it also served a more practical purpose – that of getting through Equestrian territory without undue delays. After all, Handy knew two things about what happened since the whole furore over the tournament: Jack and his brother Shit. Also, if he was going to hunt down that bastard Thunder, he was going to need time to get the lay of the land as he took advantage of his cadaverous status to search for the Mistress' servant. He was not on the best terms with Equestrians in general, and he'd rather not have ponies running for the guards when the mythical human, who was supposed to have died at a very public event a few weeks back, suddenly returned from the dead. In the middle of Equestria no less.