Isabella looked around quietly at the destruction that had gone on from the fall out between two major conflicts. Even with time having passed already it was as if recovery had been slowed due to all the red tape that was getting in the way, but the ponies and other beings that called this region home had had just about everything taken from them. Even taking a moment to see how bad the situation was for herself was something she felt uneasy about with all the looks she was getting.
This hadn't been like her time in Ponyville when she was the new face on the block, no this was malice and distrust. Yet they had been told by another source that Blueblood and her would be in charge of things. This was not how she was hoping to start things off, in fact this was one of her worst case scenarios. Even if she could defend herself, what would that accomplish if she was trying to win their favor? All hurting them would do would make them more upset and give them a reason to start all of this all over again. Still, she had an idea of where to start now, while Blueblood had been busy with his own issues.
Isabella felt something bump into her as she was trying to make her way quickly back home. She looked down to see a rather feline face looking back up at her whose owner quickly fell back in a bit of fear. Isabella laughed to herself as she knelt down offering her hand out to the child that seemed to be dirty and a bit on the skinny side, though she couldn't be too sure since she was really only familiar with ponies, which was something she needed to work on.
"I'm not going to bite, you know?" Isabella spoke up, knowing the two guards that were with her were keeping an eye out.
"I....I'm sorry." the small cat spoke up, stammering a bit as she spoke.
"Hmm, a bit of a tip though-" Isabella said reaching around behind the cat and to the cat's shock producing a rather sizeable bag of bits. "-I've had this trick pulled on me before, maybe be a bit craftier next time."
The cat had no explanation for this, save for a few stammering's before giving up. Even as the two guards made themselves known, Isabella didn't see this as something negative. She needed someone who was living this type of hardship to let her know where to start and if she was right. Not only that, but she only had the bare minimum in terms of knowledge of cultures on this world which seemed to be far numerous than she thought.
"It's okay, you're not in trouble. You just wanted food, right?" Isabella asked receiving a nod from the kitten. "I'll make you a deal, you give me that back and I'll give you some."
"You mean you're not mad?" the cat asked, her tail swishing behind her like she had seen their Earth counter parts do countless times.
"No, I'm not. I might have been at one point, but things change. That's kind of why I want to talk to you...will you come with me?" Isabella asked again, taking note of the cat's eyes falling on the guards. "They're not going to do anything, what's your name?"
"Hazel, and I guess I can." Hazel replied, though her ears and tail betrayed her true thoughts on the matter making Isabella laugh a bit as she led her new acquaintance towards the compound they were staying at.
True to her words once Isabella and Hazel were past the gate the guards didn't bother to follow them in. At first Hazel wondered why, until she saw how many troops there were inside. A vast number were at the two royals' disposal but she had opted to bring her here instead. The feline was more than a little curious now as she looked up at Isabella who was giving assurances that she was her guest to which Hazel nodded. This seemed to appease the guards, for the most part who still kept to their post despite what the human had told them.
"They don't stop huh?" Hazel asked.
"They do, you just have to catch them at the right time." Isabella replied. "Speaking of the guard, there should be one more guest coming later today, though he may be a bit late."
"How many guard do you need?" Hazel quizzed, her tail slowly swishing back and forth.
"He's less for me, I honestly don't need as much protecting as one might think....you'd actually be the first one to see them." Isabella smiled, taking note of Hazel's confused expression. "You'll need this though, her magic doesn't seem to work on immediate family, but on others...it can be pretty intense."
Isabella placed a charm hanging on a hook near a door around Hazel's neck which started to glow as soon as she opened it. Inside was colorful room filled with different toys, stands, and what looked like normal things one would expect in a foal's room. There in a crib slept a small baby unicorn filly. She was red in color with a yellow mane that matched both her parent's hair. What appeared to be a smaller human slept beside the foal, the two sleeping soundly together.
"Not that I don't mind wearing this, but...they're both just babies." Hazel commented making Iris fuss a bit before her eyes slowly started to open as her horn lit up.
As Iris' eyes opened just enough to catch a glimpse of who was making all the noise, Hazel felt a chill run through her body, but nothing more. The foal's horn stopped once she felt herself being lifted up by Isabella, her attitude shifting a bit as she cooed and babbled sweetly, leaving Hazel to try and shake of the chilling experience. Isabella looked down at the cat sheepishly. "Sorry, I've been hoping to try and have that under control before taking Iris and Hercules public. I guess you felt why?"
"What was that just now? Was that the foal?" Hazel asked in disbelief receiving a nod from Isabella.
"Iris was born with a odd magic trait that we aren't quite sure where it comes from exactly, but it can cause parlays in anyone that she looks at. While this little chunk-" Isabella smiled down at the baby just starting to wake up. "-can only have earth ponies deal with his strength, though he has less outburst than his sister."
Hazel had a lot of questions but seemed stunned by what she was seeing, until she heard a new set of hooves behind her, to which Iris excitedly reached out before being levitated over in a glowing mist. There, a proud stallion stood, keeping the foal floating with his magic as Iris seemed overjoyed at the sight of what the Cat could only assume was her father seeing as how he didn't seem put off one bit to look Iris in the eye.
"I didn't realize we had a guest today." Blueblood said addressing Hazel. "Prince Blueblood, pleased to meet you. I see you've already met most of my family."
"I had a little chance encounter with Hazel here, she seems like a well behaved kitten." Isabella said winking at the Cat as she was noticing the signs of stress coming from the feline as her tail twitched a bit from anxiety. "I was hoping to get the chance to talk to her about somethings, since she has been here her whole life and has seen a lot of the area before us."
Blueblood nodded seeming to catch onto what Isabella had in mind. While they didn't see eye to eye on everything, after just getting out of meeting after meeting with boorish court upper crust over what could be done, perhaps if he already had a plan and worked to make sure they couldn't raise objections, then he could start to prove that he was more than a pretty muzzle.
"Is that why you really brought me here?" Hazel asked raising an eyebrow.
"It's one reason, that and you did look like you needed some food, speaking of it should be about lunch time by now. Why don't you join us and if you don't like my idea I won't keep you, no hard feelings." Isabella shrugged.
"That's it? You wouldn't be mad or....anything?" Hazel asked confused.
"Should I be?" Isabella smiled knowingly, making Blueblood snicker a bit. He could tell something else had happened, and that Celestia may have rubbed off on Izzy more than she would admit to with her antics when she was "negotiating."