"So, did you get the plans printed out?" Clove asked. Once he had finished locking the door, he quickly moved past Kaylee and the rest of the group until he was at the lead alongside Later.

"Yep, and I'll give you one to look over the next time we stop. There's no use in looking at it now; we've got to keep moving, 'cause we're behind schedule anyway," Later said between breaths as she trotted full speed ahead.

"There's a schedule?" Scootaloo asked from behind.

"Yes, and the schedule is to get there ASAP before the Bureau can find Doc Zed," Later replied quickly, not even bothering to look over her shoulder. "I did get a quick confirmation that he made his way out, but he tossed his comlink 'cause he can't use it without them tracking him down. He said he and Microfiche will be safe in some... cave, though. Said you might know it, Kevin."

Kaylee, who was still in the back of the group thinking about other things, shook her head to attention at the sound of that name. "Huh? Something about a cave?" she asked, somewhat abashed. "Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention."

"Doc Zed said he was escaping to some cave near Dienna," Flight said, turning to her friend. "Though I'm pretty sure I know which one he's talking about—he took me and Kev down there to show us the stalactites and stalagmites more than a few times."

"Oh, right," Kaylee affirmed, nodding. "I remember that place. Did it have a name?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure if anyone but Doc Zed and us know that it's there," Flight said. "It's kind of... out of the way. Not many ponies go east, on account of the Ridge."

"The Ridge?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, there's a big mountain ridge not too far from town," Flight explained, "and the cave is tucked in pretty tight on the side. I kinda wonder how Doc Zed found it in the first place."

"Regardless, that's what we'll need to do after we get out. What we need to figure out now is how we're getting in and then out of the darn palace," Later said. "I've got a basic schematic, sure, and I know what Scootaloo's supposed to be getting from Prince Aeneus's vault, but I still have no idea how we're going to get past the guards into the CDK, let alone the palace."

"The CDK?" Scootaloo asked.

"Capital District Kindred. It's the name of the city that holds the palace, as well as the chambers of the Kindred Parliament. They run the whole place." Later paused. "It's big and underground, too, not like Ferretfall or Dienna or whatever dinky country towns you kids are used to getting into—they can fortify the place like nopony's business, especially if they know we're out and about."

"Oh, don't make it sound so hopeless," Clove said with a roll of his eyes, nudging Later's side. "We don't know all that. I'm sure there's somepony who can help us get in, or we can at least scout out the place once we get there and figure out disguises. It might be hard, but nothing's really impossible."

Later looked about ready to kick him. "Whatever. Let's just get there so I don't have to deal with your optimism."

"Hey, you didn't have to come!" Clove countered. "In fact, you really weren't supposed to come but you did anyway. Wonder how Turnip feels about that?"

"Grr..." Later grumbled. "Bugger off, you."

As Clove and Later continued their playful verbal sparring, the rest of the group, seeing that the discussion was mostly over, devolved into their now-normal chatmates: Cotton Fluff struck up another conversation with Mochi next to her, talking about how to run a business in modern-day Umberlight, and Scootaloo and Flight were back to talking about something about flying, something Kaylee couldn't care less about. So, with a sigh, she stayed where she was, hanging back at the tail end of the group, keeping quiet.

That name, Kevin. She was loath to hear herself addressed like that—so deeply she desired just to ignore it—but she couldn't help but turn her head when the ponies around her said it. They didn't know any better. Though she didn't know if they would keep saying it even if they did. She sighed. Soon. Maybe not right away, but soon. The opportunity would present itself and—

"Kevin?" It was Flight—dear Flight—who had uttered the blasted name, and Kaylee had to stop so as not to run into the butter-yellow filly who had stopped so suddenly in front of her.

"Y-yes?" Kaylee replied. "What's up?"

"You're being awfully quiet, dude," Scootaloo said, giving him an odd look. "We'll stop talking about flying, if that's what you want. I dunno why you'd care about any of that stuff anyway."

Kaylee nodded. "I mean, you don't have to do that if you don't want to, but sure."

"C'mon, tell us about... tell us more about your time in Esprit," Flight prompted, stepping forward.

Kaylee grinned as she fell into step with her friends. "Ooh, I haven't told you much about that, have I? Let's see... did I tell you about the time that a shipment got stolen right under my nose and I had to go track it down or else my boss would fire me? That was a pretty tough one..."

"How'd you manage to find it?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well, I didn't—not quite," Kaylee replied. "You see..."