"So, uh, what was up with you and the bear?" Kevin asked. They had been walking down the tunnel for a few minutes without seeing anything but more tunnel.

"Er... what do you mean?" Scootaloo asked. Through the dim light from his horn, Kevin could see the filly looked confused.

"Well, you were acting all friendly like you knew him, or recognised him, or something," Kevin replied cautiously.

"And you called him 'Grey'," Flight interjected, "like that was his name. You said that name a few times before, too, when you were talking with Mochi and Doc Zed."

"Oh, erm... Grey was this pony that helped me and Mochi escape from the South Pen," Scootaloo explained as she walked. "And then, after that, he helped me get to the zoo and hook up with you guys."

Flight blinked. "But if he was a pony, why did you think that he was the bear?"

"And I swear, earlier you said something about him turning into a bird," Kevin added.

Scootaloo sighed. "Okay, well... yeah. There's that." She paused to think. "Basically, Grey transformed into a raven in front of me and flew away when we were on top of a dentist's office in Umberlight. He came back as a crow and then all but admitted to being able to transform into any animal."

"Oh, wow." Flight sounded surprised.

"But, wait... the bear hadn't spoken yet," Kevin said. "It could've just been any old bear."

Scootaloo gulped. "It was the star, Kevin. Grey's animal forms had these star stickers on their foreheads, right between the eyes. Pretty unnerving, actually. You know, I wonder if you could peel them off..."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Focus, Scoots. What colour was the sticker? Gold?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "Nope, silver. Basically the colour of his coat if it were shiny, actually."

"Huh... that's really weird. A gold one and a silver one? Seems almost like there should be a bronze one, too," Kevin postulated.

"Hey, guys, you might wanna look at this—" Flight started but was cut off by a wave of Kevin's hoof. The colt was still looking at Scootaloo, pondering, when—

"Gaahh!" Kevin exclaimed. In his refusal to pay attention to the path ahead, he had ignored the impending impact of a large wooden door that, unfortunately for him, his horn had just become lodged in. "...Argent dang it."

Flight and Scootaloo snickered. "C'mon, Kev—pay attention!" Flight teased, before grabbing hold of one of Kevin's shoulders. Taking the hint, Scootaloo grabbed the other and they pushed back, freeing the colt's horn from the wood.

As Kevin brushed his horn off, Scootaloo tapped the door with one of her hooves. "Weirdly soft, don'tcha think?"

"I suppose, though it could've been here for Aureate-knows how long," Flight said. "There could be termites or something. Heck, we probably don't even need to bother with this." The filly pointed a yellow hoof at a round, black metal handle that hung limply against the door, doubling as a knocker. To prove her point, she rapped on the wood of the door with a hoof. The spot she had hit flew backwards, leaving a sizeable hole in the centre of the door. Whatever lay within remained shrouded in darkness.

Kevin finally looked up. "Well, I guess that's one way to do it..."

"Oh, come off it," Flight retorted, playfulling punching Kevin's shoulder.

"Ow..." he whined.

Flight rolled her eyes. "Excuse me." She turned to the orange filly. "Scootaloo, can you make sure little miss princess here is feeling okay?"

As Flight started on pushing the remains of the door out of the way, Scootaloo looked to Kevin. "You okay, Kev?"

"Yep."

Scootaloo cocked her head. "...why are you grinning like that?"

"Er... no reason," Kevin replied. Before Scootaloo had time to ask anything else, she heard a loud thump and turned to see that the door had disappeared from sight. Only a few splinters remained, attached to the remnants of metal hinges which protruded from the stone wall.

"It fell," Flight stated flatly, answering the unasked question.

"Huh." Scootaloo leaned forward to peer into the darkness. While she still couldn't see anything, her nose and lungs filled with dry, stale air and, along with it, dust. Scootaloo coughed. "Hey, Kev? Could you c'mere and shine your horn or whatever?"

In response, Kevin stepped forward and allowed the green light from his horn to shine forward, illuminating the area beyond the door at least a little bit. While he still couldn't see much, he was able to clearly see where the door had fallen just a few stone steps down. The level it had fallen onto extended off to the left, where there were a few rectangular, pony-height protrusions and a wall, as well as some sort of seating on a further level that was slightly below that.

Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Celestia... I was afraid the floor was just gonna drop out or something."

Flight was already stepping forward, downward onto the remains of the door and then, a moment later, landing on her hooves on the stone. "C'mon!"

"What's got her so excited?" Scootaloo mumbled to herself as she trotted through the doorway.

"Well, I dunno if I'm supposed to tell you this... I mean, it's not a secret or anything—at least, I don't think it is, but—"

"Cut to the chase."

"Flight's kinda afraid of caves. Like, not 'scared-out-of-her-wits' afraid—just 'get-out-ASAP' afraid."

"Huh, I guess that makes sense," Scootaloo replied. "Pegasi and caves... don't really mix."

"Guys! Seriously! Hurry up!"