The still-trembling Cotton Fluff held the card that Flight had enthusiastically hoofed over to her as she looked down at the bright blue glow of the PDQ terminal that sat next to the computer screen on her desk. After another moment's hesitation, the mare quickly scanned the card and then rotated the small screen so that Flight could see it from where she stood across the desk.

Cotton Fluff took a deep breath and then looked up at the filly, smiling warmly. "I just need you to press the okay to approve the amount, and then we'll be good to go."

Flight blinked. "Oh my," she finally said. "Thank Aureate that Doc said he'll reimburse me... my moms would kill me if they found out I was spending this much."

"Uh... how much is it?" Kevin asked.

"Heh, I'll tell you when we call Doc." Flight turned back and pressed down firmly on the red button and the PDQ terminal made a satisfied electronic beep. Cotton Fluff placed Flight's card back down on the desk for the filly to take, and rotated the little screen back to face her.

"Huh," Cotton Fluff murmured as she looked down at the screen.

"That was... a good beep, right?" Flight asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, yeah, it was definitely a good beep," Cotton Fluff replied, still looking at the screen. "I just, uh..."

In reality, the mare had only said something after the beep to give herself time to think of some way to keep Flight and Kevin there, or at least to figure out where they were going so she could tell Gloss. She probably wouldn't have even bothered with telling Gloss if he hadn't made it sound really important. But what could she do to keep them? Their business was done with—Flight had just paid, and soon they'd be on their way. Unless...

"Ms. Fluff? You okay?" Flight asked.

"I think you broke her," Kevin said. The colt had already stood up and was stretching his legs.

"Eheh... no, I'm not broken," Cotton Fluff said, smiling nervously. "I was just wondering... now that you've got the parts here, where are you off to next?"

"Ooh, I'm glad you asked!" Flight said, grabbing the parts list which had also somehow ended up on the desk. "I was actually gonna ask you about that. See here?" she asked, pointing at the next underlined item on the list. "On the other ones, our friend gave us directions or a little map, see? But this one he left completely blank and we've never been here before so I dunno how to get there. Do you think you could tell us?"

Cotton Fluff grinned. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can tell you. The way to get there... it's kind of complicated."

Flight's ears drooped and she reached up to grab the scrap of paper. "Oh, okay. Well, thank you anyway for the parts, and..."

"Now, hold on a minute," Cotton Fluff said. "Just because I said I can't tell you doesn't mean I can't show you."

Flight blinked. "Would... would you really do that?"

"Is there, like, a catch?" Kevin asked. By that time he had made his way over to the desk and had magically tied the tote bag of parts to his saddlebags. "Oof, these are kinda heavy."

"I could take them if you want," Flight offered.

"Nah, it's fine. Anyway, are you sure?" Kevin asked. "I'm sure we can find it if you just point us in the right direction."

"Nonsense! You kids are some of the nicest ponies I've had the chance to do business with in a long time, and it's the least I can do after you bought so much stuff." Cotton Fluff hoped her grin wasn't too wide to be believable.

"Well, if you insist," Flight responded. "That's very nice of you, you know."

"Heh, don't mention it!" Cotton Fluff looked around. "I guess we can just... go now, if you like?"

"Yep, we're ready when you are," Flight said.

"Alright, cool." Cotton Fluff stepped out from behind her desk and walked around Flight and Kevin to get to the front door of the office, which she opened. With a click, she flipped off the light switch and then held the door open to let the kids out before she locked the handle and let the door swing shut. As soon as she heard the click of the latch, Cotton Fluff cantered quickly through the hallway to catch up with Kevin and Flight as they reached the elevator.

"Slow down!" Scootaloo cried. She was cantering down the sidewalk as fast as her hooves would take her, or at least as fast as she could go without sticking out too much in the crowd. Yet it still wasn't enough to keep up with Grey, who seemed to be gliding across the ground as if it were ice, circumnavigating the pedestrians with ease.

Grey glanced over his shoulder. "Speed up! There's no time for dillydallying. Actually..." the stallion trailed off, glancing around at the buildings and ponies and then down at his wrist. "Okay, I think we've got a few minutes for dillydallying. C'mere." Scootaloo watched as he ducked off of the sidewalk into an alley; as she reached that point, she managed to squeeze through the flow of ponies until she popped out at the alley, nearly tumbling over her hooves in the process. Thankfully, she didn't, managing to avoid applying the solid surface of asphalt onto her face; however, she came mighty close.

"I must say, you're using your dillydallying time well," Grey remarked as he watched Scootaloo pull herself back up.

"Nnngh... shut up and give me some answers."

"Right, right." Grey leaned to the side, propped up by the side of a dumpster. "So, what did you want to know?"

Scootaloo looked around the dingy, dark alley and then back to Grey. "Well, uh... why are we going to the zoo? And why are we in such a hurry?" Scootaloo laughed. "I mean, I have other questions but I doubt you'd answer them now, anyway."

"Of course, of course. We're going to the zoo because that's where I went to create a diversion when we were on the roof of the dentist's office. And we're in a hurry because I need to get you there to see this plan into action. As far as I can think of, this is the only safe way to get you out of the city." Grey paused. "The zoo is on the north end of the city, and it has its own special tunnels that go to the surface so, if the zoo staff can be avoided, then you can get out pretty easily without having to mess with the guards."

"Uh, 'I' will? You'll be there, right?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. Me and you and... Kevin and the ponies he's with."

Scootaloo sighed. "And I don't suppose you'd like to tell me exactly what this plan involves?"

"I'm sorry—truly, I am—but I can't tell you exactly right now in case something happens. Just know that I've come up with an excellent way to distract the staff so that, bar anything really weird happening, we should have a clear shot at the zoo exit route."

"Hmph. Fine."

Grey looked down at his wrist once more, though this time Scootaloo could see that it was completely bare save for his grey fur. "We've almost gotta go, but first I've got to say—you should probably take off that gold star."

Scootaloo smirked. "But I thought you liked star stickers! And now we match!"

"Hmm," Grey hmm'd. "Well, if you insist." He looked down at his wrist a third time. "Let's go." As quick as a mouse, the stallion sidestepped into the crowd and nearly disappeared from view with how quickly he became part of the stream of ponies. Sighing, Scootaloo dived back into the crowd. As she snaked her way between them, slowly pushing herself closer to Grey, she found it odd that not one of the foreign ponies seemed to pay her any mind.