Cotton Fluff stared down at the control panel in front of her. Out from the centre protruded a black plastic wheel. To the side were a few levers and buttons.

"Everything okay?" Flight asked from behind her. Cotton Fluff looked over her shoulder to see all four of her companions standing in a line, watching her.

"Erm... yeah," Cotton Fluff said. "I just need to remember exactly what I'm doing here. I've definitely driven recently, but those were... different types of ships."

"It's no problem," Flight replied, smiling. "Take all the time you need. The last thing we want is—"

"But don't take too long, y'know?" Scootaloo butted in. "We gotta get this show on the road as soon as we can, remember?"

"For sure..." Cotton Fluff agreed, and she turned back to the console and stared back down for another moment before she reached a hoof forward and pressed a rectangular green button. An inquisitive chirp emanated from the console, and in response, Cotton Fluff put a hoof down on a small grey pad to the left and it lit up green at her touch. As she took her hoof away, the white outline of the bottom of her hoof lingered for a few moments before fading away into the green light. Then, she pulled a lever.

And then, with an electronic hum, the hoverskiff lurched forward, nearly knocking all five ponies off their hooves then and there. As she got to her hooves, Mochi in the back glanced to the side and shouted, "Look out!"

Cotton Fluff looked up to see the hill directly in front of them, and then—

THUD.

The five ponies who had just gotten to their hooves were this time thrown forwards; Mochi slammed into the three younger ponies, nearly crushing them, and Cotton Fluff's stomach hit the steering wheel dead-on.

"Crud!" she yelled, stepping back. She could barely even process Mochi getting up off the others and standing them upright.

"Are you... are you gonna be okay?" Flight asked once she had stood up. She stepped forward as she spoke, putting a hoof on Cotton Fluff's shoulder, and her voice was laced with concern.

"Urgh... yeah, I should be fine," Cotton Fluff managed weakly. She was sitting slumped against the ship's railing, cradling her injured stomach. "What... what happened?"

Flight craned her neck around the mare. "Heh... looks like you ran into the hill. I think you mighta forgotten the upward thrust."

"Oof.. yeah, that would do it." Cotton Fluff rolled her eyes. "Rookie mistake, I tell you. I blame the dark."

"Don't worry, Ms. Fluff," Scootaloo said. "We can pause for a moment so you can get your bearings or whatever."

"Whatever happened to wanting to go fast?" Kevin whispered semi-loudly.

"Oh, can it," Scootaloo shot back. "Yeah, I wanna go fast, but not at the expense of anypony else. I really didn't intend for this to happen, but somehow we're a team. And if we're a team, we've gotta stick together."

"How inspirational," Flight said, sticking her tongue out.

"I'm gonna be fine," Cotton Fluff said, pulling herself back up. She turned back around to face the controls. "I just need to... plan what I'm doing a little more."

First she pressed a round button which, through the faint evening light, she could make out held a small circular icon with lines coming off of it. Immediately, the platform was awash with white light; the button had activated a line of small lamps that were inlaid on the perimeter of the railing, as well as two headlights on the front of the hoverskiff. As she listened to the oohs and ahhs of the ponies behind her, Cotton Fluff pulled the lever again, but not as far as she had the first time. The hoverskiff began inching its way forward and, as it neared the now brightly-illuminated swaths of grass that sloped upwards ahead, the mare tapped and held another button. Slowly but surely, Cotton Fluff could feel the ship rising—about a dozen centimetres higher than they had been, but just enough to adapt to the hill's shape. Once they were securely rising with the contours of its slope, Cotton Fluff let go of the button and of a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Woo! Good job, dude!" Scootaloo called from behind.

"Heh... thank you," Cotton Fluff replied, but she kept her eyes on the hill ahead as she guided the skiff faster and faster forwards—it would not do her well to get distracted, lest she crash into something again.

The ponies behind her began to talk in hushed tones, but Cotton Fluff, alone, did her best to look out among the darkened hills and the shadowy forms of shrubbery in the distance to figure out where exactly she was supposed to be taking them.

"Ow! Jeez, watch it!" Gloss rubbed his cheek with an elbow as he sat on an uncomfortable blue chair in a small room in the back of the Umberlight Police Department. Next to him stood a unicorn in uniform that was levitating a small glass dropper filled with clear liquid. This unicorn sighed.

"I tell ya, Gloss, it's important to disinfect somethin' like this with our good ol' buddy hydrogen peroxide, 'cause you never know what ponies have got on their hooves. Otherwise you could get a nasty infection! I know it sucks, but that's protocol."

Gloss frowned. "I darn well know that, Doctor, but I swear that last drop nearly made it in my eye! Please be more careful."

Officer Doctor laughed. "Son, you'd know if I got it in your eye, on account of the chemical burns and all. Besides, I ain't goin' anywhere near your eye."

"Hmph... it's all part of the face," Gloss huffed. "Seems pretty close to me."

Officer Doctor ignored him. "So what were you doing out there, anyway? I know this Cotton Fluff is some bitch ex of yours, but why's she getting all mixed up in the case? How come you didn't just arrest the ponies then and there? I know ya had the backup—you toally coulda if you'd wanted to."

Gloss sighed. "First off, she's not a 'bitch ex'... she's a nice pony, but we just weren't destined to be married like I'd hoped. And second of all, you're not wrong. I definitely could have arrested the lot of them, and brought backup to do so. Hell, the whole department was out there not fifteen minutes before they showed up. But I had them leave."

"You had them leave?" Officer Doctor asked, incredulous. "How come you did that?"

"Heh, I thought you'd ask. Take a look at this," he said, reaching into his saddlebag. Pulling out an envelope, Gloss unfolded the sheet of paper inside and laid it out on his wing for Officer Doctor to read. As the unicorn's eyes scanned the page, they grew wider and wider until he reached the end where a messy signature and a bronze-foil gold seal lay prominently.

"Signed... His Majesty, Prince Aeneus? What in... Aeneus's name?"

"Heh, my reaction too," Gloss scratched the back of his head with a hoof. "I knew that orange filly was pretty darn important, but I had no idea it went up this high."

"No kidding..." Officer Doctor breathed. "In all my years here... this is probably only the second letter from Prince Aeneus that I ever saw. And the other one was just about protecting him on a visit to Umberlight which he then cancelled... as if he'd ever intended to show up in the first place..." The unicorn trailed off into incoherent mumbling.

"So, yeah. Basically, I had specific instructions from our head of state to send Cotton Fluff along with them as a spy, to find out what they're up to." Gloss leaned back in his seat. "I guess Prince Aeneus thinks that there's still useful information we can get out of them."

"Well, if Prince Aeneus thinks it, then I'm sure he's right." Officer Doctor watched as Gloss folded the paper back up, stuck it back in the envelope, and returned it to his bag. "Now... if I may... lean back, and close your eyes."

Gloss sighed. "If I must... ow!"