When Sol, Titan, and Morgan returned to Canterlot, they received praise and adulation from the cityfolk as word spread of their deeds, and that the monsters that had plagued the highways and mountain passes had been defeated and driven off.
But very soon, they were called to the castle, and there they did not receive praise but instead cold looks and anger. Morgan and Titan were both confused, but Sol was unsurprised. It was clear that the Baron had disagreed with her decision, which didn't surprise her.
The Baron met with them, and cursed them for fools: he said they would bring the anger of the goddess down on them. Swiftly, before her brother or sister's emotions could get in the way, Sol asked how the Baron could possibly know of the goddess Veliuona, before she also questioned if he had really thought they were going to just walk away... or let themselves die at the claws of the undead.
The Baron was surprised by all this, but he took only a moment to gather his thoughts before he grudgingly admitted that yes, he had known that the Lich was not the true source of the evil. But it was not because of any alliance or meeting with Veliuona herself: rather, she had been slowly but steadily expanding her powers through the swampy territories to the far west, and it was said that at least one barony of Equestria had already fallen to her powers. Canterlot was mighty, but they were in no shape to do battle with an undead goddess and her army of evil.
He had not expected them to fail, nor sent them into ambush: Sol believed this. The Lich had been far too proud of herself for figuring out Sol's identity and had revealed far too much to them for the Baron to have warned her of precisely what she was faced with.
But he had also not expected that Sol would not order a retreat, and nor would she try to palaver, but instead destroy the Lich. And his mood was worsened still more when Sol said calmly that she had actually used the Lich to send a message: she would return to her master and likely be reconstituted.
The Baron asked incredulously what the point of such a brash action was, but Sol countered that it wasn't brash: they were sending a message, and making it clear that they were not afraid of her. She was also certain that Veliuona would not take action against them immediately: instead, she would want to send a messenger, to give a display of power and pride. And Sol would gladly follow this messenger back to its source, to meet the goddess herself.
The implications were clear from her statement: Morgan looked excited, and Titan looked thoughtful, but seemed to hesitate ever so slightly, worried for what unfortunate innocents could be caught in the crossfire, or if Sol was wrong. But Sol projected confidence and strength... enough that the Baron finally grudgingly said he would allow them to continue to use Canterlot as a base of operations, and he would support them however he could until the day that Veliuona contacted him.
He only hoped that Sol was right... and Sol could only hope herself that everything was going to go according to plan, no matter how much confidence she pretended to have.
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