"Say, kids?" It came as a surprise to Scootaloo when Mochi spoke; the mare had been lingering behind her and Kevin and Flight as they had trotted away from the hoverskiff in the previous few minutes. She and the other two ponies her age had made some light conversation and Kevin had told them about the berries, but Mochi hadn't said a thing.

Scootaloo turned to look at the pink mare. "Hey, Mochi. What's up?"

"I was wondering... how about you kids keep going this way looking for berries, and I can go over a different way, maybe, lookin' for firewood or somethin'?" Mochi looked terrified to be even asking the question.

"Of course!" Flight replied. "I guess you probably don't have too much to say to us right now, huh?"

"It's not that, it's just... this is my first time really being outside the South Pen in a long time and I just wanna take a little bit to myself to... explore and think about myself and what's going on. And I wouldn't wanna bog you kids down with that or anything."

"Oh, no worries," Flight reassured her. "I mean, it wouldn't bother us if you did that, but I totally understand if you want to be alone. We'll meet you back at the skiff in a few hours, then?"

Mochi nodded, grinning with a mad, lopsided grin. "Thank you!" Then, she turned tail and galloped away quickly.

"Huh... wonder what that was all about," Kevin wondered aloud.

"Er... you don't really have to wonder, dude. She pretty much said it outright," Scootaloo countered.

"I... guess? Still, seems a bit odd." As he noticed that Flight and Scootaloo were starting to amble along again, so did Kevin. "Anyway... what were you saying, Flight? Something about your maths teacher?"

"Oh, yes... Ms. Brusque. Pretty apt name, if you ask me; never said a word more than she thought she needed to, and that didn't include being nice to students. The principal, however... well, that's a different story."

"Oh?" Scootaloo asked, looking interested. "What happened with them?"

"Well, I just meant to imply that she was more polite when he was around," Flight explained, "but come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the principal just got divorced, and now I'm starting to wonder..."

Scootaloo snickered; Kevin smiled. "Guess that not much has changed, huh?"

"Nope, not at all," Flight said with a laugh. "I'm pretty sure there will always be middle-aged ponies cheating on their spouses... that's just what middle-aged ponies do, I guess."

"Oh, totally," Scootaloo agreed. "I dunno what your divorce rates are like here but dang... back home, I swear like half the ponies I knew had divorced parents. Hmm..." She paused a moment to think. "Fluttershy... Rainbow Dash... heh, me... I'm pretty sure Mayor Mare is divorced... well, you get the picture." She waited a moment, but neither of her companions said anything. "Um, guys?"

Kevin blinked and shook his head. "Oh, I'm sorry! That's interesting, really!"

Scootaloo shot him a confused look.

"It's just that... you started talking about... about back where you're from. About the Ecuestran planet," he continued. "I guess it's... super cool to hear, and I was hoping that if I didn't say anything, you'd keep talking before you realised."

Scootaloo facehoofed. "First of all, I'm not stupid—I knew exactly what I was talking about, Goofus. Second of all, it's 'Equestria'. Not 'Ecuestra' or whatever you just said. Where did you dorks even hear that, anyway? Even if Doc Zed talked to Twilight, there's no way she would've said that."

"S-sorry," Kevin stammered, looking like he was nearly going to cry. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, it's not a big deal. Chill down."

"I-I'm fine," Kevin replied, wiping at his cheek with his wrist.

A moment later, Flight turned to Scootaloo. "You know, that's what we've always called your planet—the Ecuestran planet. I'm pretty sure that's the name of the planet in the Asterismos, too, just like how all the other planets are named."

Scootaloo blinked. "Really? But, like, where would you have gotten that name from? I'm from there, and I'm pretty sure that, based on what Twilight told me, nopony from out here has ever visited Equestria." She paused. "Also, what's the Asterismos?"

"They're... oh, buck, how do I describe them," Flight murmured. "The Asterismos is the book that the Bureau's government and our modern pony and lemur societies are based on. It's like a combination of a religious text and a historical account all wrapped in one, except for the fact that at least six of the ponies and lemurs it talks about are still around today."

"Lemme guess... the alicorns?" Scootaloo asked. "The Bureau guy who kept asking me questions in the South Pen... he mentioned a Prince Aeneus a few times."

"Yep, he's one of them," Flight affirmed. "He's the only one known to still be alive on this planet, actually. Prince Argent and Prince Aureate used to rule with Prince Aeneus several hundred years ago, but within the space of a year... both of them went on journeys off-world and never ended up returning. Prince Aeneus has ruled us alone ever since... well, with the help of the other Bureau planets, of course."

"Huh, weird. You know, I might have run into one of those books in this cave I ran through while escaping from the South Pen. It kinda looked like a room in a church, and there was a big book that was in the letters I could read rather than the weird ones you guys use."

"Hmm... it very well could have been. Can't really say without seeing it," Flight replied.

"How'd you learn so much about the Asterismos?" Kevin asked.

"Heh, it was my stupid parents, actually. They said I had to take the Religious Studies class because it's 'important to my heritage'. I mean, I get that and it was interesting stuff to learn, but I'm just not super into the ideals the Asterismos teach, even if the history is pretty accurate."

"I was never super into history," Scootaloo said. "That was more... that was more my friends' thing. Heh... when we'd do timelines and stuff, I mostly did the little pictures next to the events."

"That's fair," Flight replied, nodding. "We've all got our different strengths. Me, I wanna be something like a history professor when I grow up. I think it would be super cool to teach but also be able to do research. How about you, Kevin?" she finished, startling the colt.

"Huh? Oh, um... I dunno yet. Maybe I'll be a space adventurer!"

"Ooh, you can keep flying with me!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

Flight frowned. "I thought you already said you'd wanna come stay with me and my parents..."

"Of course, of course... I'm just talking about the far future. I dunno what I want to do... for a living, that is." Kevin gulped, feeling his face grow warm. "It just seems so far away... so unreal."

"Yeah, that's true," Flight agreed. "I didn't even decide on what I wanted to do until a few months ago, and maybe that'll change. You never know."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "Is there something not for a living that you want to do?"

Kevin laughed nervously. "Uh... nope! On second thought, everything that I want to do would pretty much be a requirement for me to keep on living."

"...What?" Scootaloo was more confused than ever.

"Erm... I dunno. Forget I said that," Kevin mumbled, looking back down at his hooves. "Let's change the subject..."

"Ooh, I know!" Flight exclaimed. "Scootaloo can tell us more about her cryptic past!"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Oh, joy, I'm soooo excited."

Flight stuck her tongue out. "You don't have to if you don't want to, really. We're just super curious."

"Nah, I can answer some questions if you guys have got any," Scootaloo resolved. "But don't expect me to just tell you my whole life story right now." She stepped quickly forward and stopped in front of Kevin and Flight, facing them. "I gotta keep it mysterious, you know? Chicks dig mystery." Then, Scootaloo winked. And neither Kevin or Flight could figure out to whom the wink was directed.