"You sure this is the right way, Ms. Fluff?"

Kevin trotted quickly beside Flight, just a few steps behind the brown-coated mare in front of them. Cotton Fluff looked over her shoulder at the sound of Kevin's question.

"Yep!" Cotton Fluff replied gleefully. "We're already on the north side of town, so we just need to keep going this way and we should be there soon enough."

"Huh, okay." Kevin looked back at what had made him ask the question in the first place, the green sign affixed to a tall metal pole on the sidewalk ahead that read "ᑌM⅂⫙3Гò∞XO ⧾ѦѦ" with an arrow pointing in the direction they were walking. He pointed up to it. "But what about what that sign says?" he asked. "I saw another one a few blocks back... if we keep going this way, won't we run into it?"

Cotton Fluff nodded. "Yes, we'll be going through the zoo to get to the store. It's really the fastest way... otherwise we'd have to go all the way around, and there's no reason why we would really need to do that."

"Oh, is there a clear path through the zoo?" Flight asked.

"Yep, it's designed to just act as a part of the city. It's actually quite cool! Maybe we can even take a look around or something, just as we're going through."

"Ooh, can we?" Kevin asked, with more than a hint of excitement in his voice. "I've always wanted to see a zoo."

"That should probably be okay. We're kind of in a hurry, but a few minutes shouldn't hurt." Flight paused. "Plus, I kinda wanna see the zoo too."

"Wonderful! I've been there many times, going back to when I was a filly, so I know all the best routes. We'll be able to get there quick but also see some of the coolest animals they have there."

"Wow, thanks," Flight said. "I know we bought a lot of stuff from you, but you really didn't need to be so kind. This kinda seems like... overkill."

"Heh, what can I say? You kids caught me in a good mood." Kevin and Flight asked no more questions of the mare, so Cotton Fluff started to whistle an abstract, improvised tune—nothing in particular. She even thought about skipping, but thankfully realised before starting that it would be way overdoing it. She needed to stay believable.

Of course, the only reason that she had offered to take them to this particular store—one of only two left on the list—was because she knew the best path to it was through the zoo. And no, it wasn't because she really wanted to go to the zoo; rather, Cotton Fluff knew that directly on the opposite side of the zoo from her office was none other than the police station. If she could get Kevin and Flight over there... well, they probably wouldn't react well to the sight of such a place, but there would likely be at least a few cops outside. She may have screwed up Gloss's request, but maybe she could fix it.

All Cotton Fluff could do for the time being, however, was attempt to keep up the façade and lead the unaware Kevin and Flight through the zoo.

Two tall marble pillars poked upwards like massive fingers emerging from the ground. Between them, two halves of an ornate golden gate were attached on either side, yet at that moment they lay wide open with a few ponies passing back and forth between the sidewalk outside and the dirt path inside. Through the metal bars of the fence joined to the pillars, Scootaloo could see a well-maintained topiary garden with a line of shrubs in various geometric shapes. As she and Grey approached the gate, Scootaloo could see even further to where there were regions enclosed and even small buildings that seemed to rise out of the ground naturally, as if they hadn't been built there.

"So, like, we can just waltz right in?" Scootaloo asked, turning to Grey.

"Yep! Isn't that cool? It's totally free to use any of the public institutions on the planets in the Bureau's jurisdiction, and that includes stuff like zoos, snail mail, health care, and all that stuff." Grey smiled. "Say what you want about the Bureau, but they sure have some stuff done right."

"Huh, that is pretty cool. Back in Equestria, I'm pretty sure we have to pay for all that stuff."

"Well, they do still have to pay for it here," Grey remarked. "Higher taxes and all that." He looked down at his wrist. "Ah, jeez, we've got to move." He started cantering more quickly, passing through the gates and onto the dirt path.

"How do you know?" Scootaloo asked, galloping to catch up.

As Grey walked briskly down the path, he answered: "Oh, you know, I've enchanted my eyes so that they use my foreleg as a display for... uh... information." The stallion winked.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "You know, now that you're actually answering my questions, I can't even tell whether you're telling the truth or just making it up as you go."

"Me? Lie to you? I assure you, Scootaloo, I have your best interests at heart."

Rather than rolling her eyes again or making some snarky comment, Scootaloo instead turned to face the chicken-wire-fenced enclosure they were currently passing. At first, she couldn't quite make out what was supposed to be in there; a large beige rock with a hole at the base sat in the middle of a patch of open dirt, but nothing seemed to be moving. But then her eyes focused in on the outline of a scaly four-legged reptile sitting atop the rock, its scales nearly the same beige as the rock. "Heh... you wouldn't happen to know Spike, would you?" Scootaloo murmured.

"He can't understand you, silly," Grey said.

Scootaloo sighed.