It did not take long for her to be spotted, for which she was thankful on two parts. The first being that it meant they still had strong patrols, which she was unusually proud of. The second was because Ampere was not an overly patient mare and would probably have grown weary of simply standing at the borders in the heat. Of course she probably could have whinnied or something, but by the Sun she had some ounce of dignity to not go screaming her presence. If she was meant to be seen then she would be seen - and so it was.

Her gaze traced the shape on the horizon. By its altitude she knew it to be a pegasus, but the identity remained elusive until it drew closer, steadily growing in clarity and size. Ampere steeled herself for the inevitable meeting, unusually nervous for a reason she could not entirely place. She didn't come her to be accepted back, but she kind of wanted it. She had nowhere else to go, although it hadn't really stopped her before, something about being alone was no longer as desirable. Maybe she was finally growing up.

The pale body of Sohalia took her time to descend. "What is she doing? Are the thermals tricky? Ampere wondered, shielding her gaze with a wing to block out the glare of the sun as she watched. The longer it took the more her gut twisted, and she seriously considered excusing herself due to colic and leaving to come back another day, or never. Of all those who would greet her on this fateful moment, of course it would be Sohalia. Maybe it was a sign that this was not meant to be, that she didn't belong here...

Then again Ampere didn't have nearly as many issues with Sohalia as the pale mare had with her, though unlike Africa's grudge it was all for good reasons. Ampere probably should say sorry, or care more, but to do so would be to admit she had someone wronged the mare. Ampere hadn't seen it that way, or at least didn't want to. She had simply gone after what she wanted, not that it had done any good.

Sand sprayed around the pale fetlocks that landed. Sohalia. A voice called from a less than casual distance, kind, yet lacking the kind of warmth one associated with welcome. Sohalia. Sunlight glinted off a golden circlet which crowned the dove's ears. Sohalia.

What was it Sohalia could still find threatening about her? "Just look at where I am now," she mused, a faint, sad smile drifting onto her lips as her head nodded. Sohalia, the sultana, why she had nothing to be afraid of any longer. She had nothing more Ampere could want, but more importantly, nothing Ampere could take any more. Of course if the principle of it all is what mattered, that was understandable, but she didn't think that was it. At the very least Sohalia was trying, she always had. Maybe it was time Ampere did too.

"Sohalia," Ampere replied, barely above a whisper. Her mouth had suddenly run dry, not that that was an entirely unusual symptom in the desert. Her blue gaze lifted to the crown, wondering if it was the one she once, briefly, bore, or if Africa's head was barren too. "You look well," she murmured, managing to get it across louder this time. She meant it too, and it wasn't just the crown. Sohalia seemed genuinely happy, and despite her somewhat defensive approach, she seemed, stronger than Ampere remembered.

The Mother of Companions let quiet settle for a moment, content to listen to the wind rasp over the sand. She struggled to come up with what to say, afraid of saying anything wrong, but not knowing what was right. At last she settled with, "I'm sorry." It was back to whisper, so much so Sohalia may not have heard it, but it didn't change the fact she had said it. Her chest tightened with worry, her usually fierce gaze losing its color and its intensity, glancing anywhere but at the mare for whom she owed so many of those utterances. Yet it wasn't one meant just for her, it was for everything. Ampere had fucked up, (what else was new?) and she finally had the courage to admit it.