The front doors of the museum flew open, and Grey burst out onto the top of a long, wide row of stone stairs that stretched down metre after metre until they met the sidewalk where a few ponies were passing by below.

"What should I do?!" Grey called, head turning quickly from side to side. Scootaloo looked up and saw a white stone pillar to the left, part of the buildings ancient-looking construction to make it look more majestic. There was an identical one to the right.

"The pillar!" Scootaloo cried out. "Go behind, quickly!"

Not letting a moment go to waste, Grey skidded sideways and jumped next to the pillar so that they couldn't be seen from the museum's exit. He compressed his sides and held his breath; Scootaloo did the same, though she couldn't help but peer around the stone ridges of the thing.

A moment later, the double doors of the museum were thrust open again and Scootaloo could hear the thundering sound of hooves running past them. She turned her head to watch as all three stallions galloped down the stairs as fast as they could, obviously well-trained to do so as they seemed not to stumble even once. When they reached the sidewalk at the bottom, all three of their heads were spinning wildly in all directions.

"Where in the hay could they have gone?" one stallion asked.

"Hell if I know," another responded. He turned to one of the suit-clad mares who had stopped to gawk at these three guards. "Excuse me, ma'am, but have you seen a grey-coated unicorn stallion and an orange-coated pegasus filly running this way?"

The mare took a moment to register that she had been addressed but, once she figured out what he had been saying, slowly raised a hoof. Scootaloo was confused for a moment until she realised that the mare was pointing directly at where she and Grey stood. She and Grey merely looked back in surprise.

The stallion nodded. "Thank you very much." Then, he turned to his companions and, beckoning with a hoof, led them forwards, panting as they galloped back up the stairs.

"Move!" Scootaloo hissed, and this seemed to jolt Grey back awake as he spun around. In front of them was a sloped stone drop, much like if the museum stairs had been built on a pyramid. The ground was distant.

Grey took a step forward and Scootaloo had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming. She closed her eyes so she didn't have to watch the sight of the buildings blurring together as they accelerated downward, faster and faster, but she could still hear and feel the wind whistling in her ears and—

"Use your wings," Grey murmured, his voice surprisingly calm.

"Wh-what?"

The urgency in his voice returned and Scootaloo could feel his body trembling on his hooves beneath her. "Dammit, Scootaloo—I need you to start flapping or we're going to crash into the ground!"

Flustered, the filly opened her eyes. This was probably a mistake—she could feel her stomach lurch as she saw the ponies below, staring with mouths agape, and—

No.

She needed to focus.

Closing her eyes, Scootaloo took a deep breath and began vibrating her wings. Quickly, like Rainbow Dash had taught her, but not too quickly. She needed to believe in herself. And quick—otherwise they were toast.

Mmm, toast.

Scootaloo focused on all of the toast she was definitely going to eat after they got out of this. Maybe she could hang out with Kevin and go back to his house, and eat toast. She flapped her wings harder, yet with more precision. She forgot about the extra weight of Grey, whom she was holding onto for dear life.

Scootaloo started to not feel the trembling beneath her.

"Thank Anaxagor," the stallion exhaled. "You're doing great, kid. Keep going."

Scootaloo decided to chance a look, so she let her eyelid unclench and open. She could see the slanted roofs of the smaller roofs below them, as well as some of the windows on the taller skyscrapers. Ponies inside were talking amongst each other or sitting at desks with computer consoles, but not one looked in their direction that she could see.

"Celestia above..." Scootaloo murmured. "I'm flying. I'm really flying."

"You really are, kid," Grey agreed from below. "Rainbow Dash would be proud."

The two of them lurched downwards. Scootaloo swiftly recovered, bringing them back up to an even level. "What?" the filly asked. "How do you know Rainbow Dash?"

"...how about let's get to one of those skyscraper roofs before we talk about anything serious."

"Mmmff... fine. But you owe me some answers, dude."

"And you'll get them, in due time," Grey replied, sounding very much like he was choosing his words carefully. "It would just be better if were weren't, y'know, in danger when we're discussing them."

Scootaloo sighed. "Where to?"

Grey's head turned, his eyes scanning the rooftops. "How about... that one?" He pointed down at a roof slightly below them. Obliging with his request, Scootaloo lowered their altitude slowly until she could feel Grey's hooves land squarely on the roof. For the first time in several minutes, the filly let go and slid off his back, standing once more on a flat surface.