There was a faint roar somewhere ahead and then a lot of thumps that shook the ground ever so slightly.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Flight asked.

"I doubt there's a pony in Umberlight that didn't," Cotton Fluff replied. She was cantering at the helm of the group, pace comparatively brisk. Just behind, Kevin and Flight were trotting a little more slowly.

"What do you think it was?" Kevin asked. "I dunno what they have in the zoo... could it have been a lion or something like that?"

"I doubt it," Cotton Fluff replied, not bothering to look back. "I've heard a lion roar and they usually sound a lot more... ferocious. And a lion's pawsteps couldn't be that loud. I have no idea what it was, though."

"Hmm," Flight hmm'd, but the filly said nothing more, letting the conversation trail off into silence. Well, near silence—there were still the sound of their hoofsteps on the dirt as well as the chirping birds surrounding them. They had left behind the larger bird enclosure and were now passing smaller cages with walls composed of black mesh netting. Occasionally, Kevin and Flight could catch sight of a flapping wing in their peripheral vision.

"Shh," Cotton Fluff suddenly hissed, stopping and putting a hoof forward to beckon for Kevin and Flight to do the same. They stopped and tried to listen for whatever it was that the mare had them stop for—and they heard something. Faint at first, the quiet thumps grew louder and louder—but what was more alarming was that they grew closer and closer. Flight craned her neck forward to see whether she could see what was making the noise; however, there appeared to be nothing on the path save for dirt and the green, leafy bushes on either side.

And then out of nowhere on the path ahead, the shape of a galloping pony skidded into view around the corner and started galloping straight towards them. The pony's hooves kicked up the layer of loose dirt and dust from the path, creating a thick cloud of particles through which the form of the pony could barely be seen. Cotton Fluff jumped to the left, prompting Kevin and Flight to do the same, but as they landed on the edge of the path, hooves half-stuck in one of the bushes, they saw that there was little need to do so; the shape of the pony turned right onto a smaller path and disappeared into the cloud of dust.

As the cloud of dust passed over them, Cotton Fluff was ready; her eyelids were sealed tight and her curled foreleg was held straight across her muzzle and one of her eyes, covering her face as much as she could. Not so prepared, Kevin and Flight found themselves jamming their eyelids closed as hard as they could when it hit. Both were left coughing up particles of dust and little specks of gravel by the time the cloud subsided. Cotton Fluff shook herself to rid her coat of most of the dust.

"The paths here have always been pretty cruddy... something you gotta watch out for. Sorry about that," Cotton Fluff whispered. "Stay right here for a second."

Because they were more focused on coughing up the dust and brushing off the particles that had become matted into their fur, Flight and Kevin paid little mind to Cotton Fluff, who, with a deep breath, took a few steps forward. She turned her head and closed her eyes, listening intently to the path ahead for several seconds. Then, after she was sure she didn't hear anything, she opened her eyes. Carefully, the mare stepped over to the side path and took a few steps down. From where Kevin and Flight were standing, it looked as if the mare had disappeared into the bushes.

Cotton Fluff's eyes scoured the area around the small path. As she'd suspected, it didn't lead far off the main one; there was an additional exhibit with a rare bird back here, but not really anything else besides the rotund bushes that lined the path. She didn't see anything—but she didn't hear anything, either. Closing her eyes, the mare took a deep breath. She opened her eyes again, and looked forward.

There, in between two of the bushes to the left of the exhibit, was a small patch of pink fur peeking out from between the leaves which, as Cotton Fluff noted, were shifting ever so slightly in and out. The mare bent down to get a better look.

Wide, blue irides surrounding big black pupils stared back. The eyes blinked, revealing pink eyelids for a moment before the irides returned. Then, the pony in the bush sneezed, eyes closing once more.

Cotton Fluff blinked. "Um... hello?"

"Hi," a tiny voice from within the bush murmured. "Who... who are you?"

"I'm Cotton Fluff," the mare said, standing up straight. "Who are you? And why are you in that bush?"

The pony within looked up, eyes poking out from between the leaves much higher up as they followed Cotton Fluff. "D'you promise not to tell the guards?"

"Erm... I..."

"Please?" It was such a simple request.

"Well, alright. Just so long as—"

"Splendid—thanks!" the pony said, much louder this time. It was much louder, of course, because the pony took that moment to jump up straight out of the bush, making Cotton Fluff take an alarmed step back. The pink pony—an earth pony mare with a pink coat and a cream mane—landed squarely on her hooves, miraculously not sending up a cloud of dust. Grinning with her teeth showing, the mare held out a hoof. "The name's Mochi, and it's a pleasure to meet ya!"

Cotton Fluff stared down at the mare's hoof for a few moments before her senses kicked in enough to make her reach up her own hoof to meet it. "Charmed. My name is Cotton Fluff."

"Ooh, that's a cute name if I ever heard one!" Mochi exclaimed. "It makes me think of a little bunny or a cotton swab or somethin' like that."

"Heh, I suppose it would." Cotton Fluff smiled, if only ever so slightly. She cleared her throat. "I don't suppose you'd mind telling me why you were running this way and then hiding, or maybe what those loud roaring noises were."

This made the pink pony frown. "I ain't sure what those roars were, though I'd honestly guess that they're not anything good," Mochi said. "But as for why I'm runnin'? Let's just say that the guards think I belong behind bars and we... had a li'l disagreement about that."

"They what?" Cotton Fluff asked, incredulous.

"I know, right? They thought that this cute piece o' pony could stay in prison for long? Heehee..."

"Mochi, I—" Cotton Fluff began, but the mare was interrupted by loud noises just a few metres behind her. She spun around quickly.

"Cotton Fluff, come here!" Kevin shouted. "Quick!"

"Gahhh," Cotton Fluff gahhh'd, turning back to Mochi. "Look, it's been nice, but I've gotta—well, you know…" The mare blinked; Mochi was nowhere to be seen.

"Totally, totally," came Mochi's voice from behind her. Cotton Fluff spun again, only to see Mochi trotting down the side path in front of her. She had little choice but to follow the mare to find out exactly what Kevin was yelling about.