"What's she saying?" Scootaloo asked.

"Shhh! Be quiet so we can hear!" Grey hissed. And, as Scootaloo stopped making noise, she found that indeed she could.

"Please, miss, we must ask you to stand down." It was one of the guards that said this; from what Scootaloo could tell, it was the one in the middle of the barricade of guards, one who had stepped out in front to address the mare. His tone was brusque yet formal.

"Yeah, totally," Mochi sneered. She did her best to stand still and tall, but Scootaloo could tell the mare was panting; however she had gotten all the way from the guards' clutches back outside the South Pen to here in the centre of the zoo, it must have involved a lot of running. "Like that'd do me any good. I ain't stupid, yanno."

"We know you're not 'stupid', Miss Mochi," the guard replied coolly. "And that's why we have faith that you'll do the smart thing and come with us, back to your cell. We can protect you, miss."

"Ya ain't lookin' to protect me," Mochi spat. Scootaloo truly didn't know the mare very well, but the only time she had seen this sort of unbridled rage was when she had been face to face with those guards back in the South Pen, viciously attacking them. "I know ya think that keepin' me in your stupid prison's gonna protect the ponies of the Bureau from vicious li'l me, but it ain't like that. I'm not like that!"

"I know that, miss, but the law is the law. According for your file, you're up for parole review in just a few months, and until now you've had excellent behaviour—some of the best I've ever seen, actually. Well, until now. Until this." The guard gestured with his hoof, pointing at the pink mare in front of him. "And I know things can be hard, and we all make mistakes. That's why we've decided to offer to clear this from your behaviour records, in exchange for your cooperation right now."

Mochi blinked. "That... that's all? Only just a few more months and I can go free?" She appeared to be looking down at the ground in front of her hooves.

"Of course!" the guard said in a warmer, more welcoming tone. "You didn't think we'd keep you forever, did you? You've done terrible things, sure, but you were only an accomplice and I think it's pretty clear by now that you feel remorse and could easily... reintegrate into society."

Mochi's expression was hard to read; she had tilted her head down so that her cream-coloured locks formed a thin curtain over her face. "You really think so? I-I don't know if I'd be ready for that..."

"Well, we have ponies to help you along the way," the guard said, presumably smiling. Scootaloo couldn't tell; he was facing the other way. "Please, Miss Mochi... stop this before anypony gets hurt."

"A-alright," Mochi stuttered, her face still shrouded from view. "But first, can I tell you something?"

The stallion nodded. "Sure, go right ahead."

"Could you please come closer? It's... it's a secret."

"Of course," the guard replied. He stepped forward so that his ear was right next to Mochi's muzzle. The circle went silent; the line of guards watched as the mare's lips moved.

"Oh, I see," Grey murmured. Scootaloo turned to ask him what he was talking about when—

WHAM!

The silence was immediately broken by the sound of Mochi's hoof colliding with the guard's skull and although it wasn't even a particularly strong impact, the shockwave seemed to reverberate all through the circle, past the line of guards that stood immobile, stunned. Scootaloo held her breath as she watched the guard stumble, teetering towards the ground which he landed on with a thump.

Suddenly, with a loud yelp, Mochi rushed forward and leaped over the pony barricade, sailing just centimetres over the guards who were still coming to their senses. By the time the line shifted forward, the mare had already landed on the ground. Her hooves kicked up a cloud of dust as she scrambled forward, breaking out into a full gallop away from the guards, down the path to the right. Scootaloo watched, agape, as Mochi galloped straight past them and out of sight, over a dozen guards hot on her tail.